Insomnia

Insomnia is a location in the Final Fantasy XV Universe. It is the capital of the kingdom of Lucis, and is known as the "Crown City." The main setting of the feature film Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, it also appears in Brotherhood Final Fantasy XV and the beginning and end of Final Fantasy XV.

Insomnia hosts Lucis's seat of power, the Citadel, that contains a large Crystal within its walls. A modern metropolis stacked with skyscrapers, the Crown City contains lush areas, but is separated from the mainland by a bridge and is surrounded by water and tall ramparts. Insomnia is protected by the Wall projected from the Citadel by the monarch, and this is where the royal family lives. The city is a bustling metropolis fashioned after Tokyo, with elements of London.

Insomnia Ruins has been expanded in the Royal and Windows Edition of Final Fantasy XV. It features new bosses, new sidequests, and is significantly larger.

Story
Insomnia is implied to be as old as the kingdom of Lucis itself. According to the Final Fantasy XV Scenario Ultimania, the statues of the Old Wall that are scattered across the city were created 2000 years ago to serve as coffins to each hold the soul of a dead king. From these coffins, the kings would await the coming of the "Chosen King" and serve as the Wall that protects the kingdom of Lucis, although their purpose has largely been taken by the magic barrier, and thus they are being referred to as the "Old Wall." According to documents produced circa the advent of the Kingdom of Lucis, metal procured from adamantoise shell was used in the construction of conduits used to channel the Crystal's power into the Wall around the Crown City.

Insomnia is isolated from the rest of Eos by a magical barrier maintained by its reigning monarch, King Regis. Thirty years ago at the culmination of the Great War King Mors, Regis's father, concentrated the barrier's power across the metropolis, and Insomnia became isolated from the Lucian outlands. Although done to protect the capitol, the immigration policy immediately put into place strongly restricted refugees seeking asylum into the Crown City, and exacerbated tensions to those affected by the Great War. Over time, the outlands became further impoverished while the Crown City remained a safe haven at the behest of the king, and continued to grow technologically advanced. The Wall is projected by the magical Crystal held at the Citadel the kings of Lucis is sworn to protect. Daemons don't spawn within the city, believed to be held at bay by the Wall and the light of the Crystal.

It is implied the Crown City has its own currency, as Prompto Argentum comments he's never seen gil before when they visit Hammerhead on their first trip outside the city.

Knowing Niflheim is sure to invade the Crown City to steal its Crystal, Regis sends his son Noctis to wed Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret in Altissia. Noctis leaves the city with Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto as his accompaniment, but the Wall falls and he city is decimated by the empire in their absence. King Regis, Noctis, and Luna are reported as having died in the invasion.

As Emperor Aldercapt and Chancellor Izunia escape the city with the Crystal, Insomnia is ravaged by the magitek infantry and daemons. Nyx Ulric, a member of the Kingsglaive elite unit of soldiers, gains the blessing of the old kings and commands the Old Wall in a battle the Niflheim forces, and helps Noctis's betrothed Lunafreya escape the city. Nyx gives up his life to protect the city and to safeguard Eos's future by making sure the Ring of the Lucii will be delivered to Noctis, so he can fulfill his destiny.

Insomnia is blockaded by Niflheim, and Noctis finds he is unable to return home. According to radio broadcasts, occasional outbursts still occur around the Citadel, but the imperial forces quell most sources of unrest. The empire sets up a provisional government in Insomnia and pledges to help repatriate all Crown City refugees who fled amid the chaos at the Citadel. At some point after the Starscourge overran Eos however, Niflheim's "recovery assistance" in Insomnia was felled by daemons that took over the city. Iris Amicitia and Cor Leonis were able to evacuate the citizens.

After the Starscourge has ravaged Eos for ten years, Noctis and his friends return to Insomnia with the intent to stop Ardyn Izunia and bring light back to the world. They find the ruins of Insomnia infested with powerful daemons and magitek troopers, but the party remain optimistic that after the daemons are eradicated people will repopulate the city.

Ardyn awaits the party at the Citadel, but has cloaked the building in a magical barrier. Lunafreya's spirit summons the Astrals to pierce through it. The party battles Ifrit, the rebellious Astral god of fire now corrupted by Starscourge, and three of the kings of yore who have been enslaved by Ardyn. Noctis duels Ardyn one-on-one and emerges victorious. As daemons spawn all around the Citadel, Noctis sends his friends away before sitting on the throne of Lucis and fulfilling his destiny as the True King. As Noctis sacrifices himself, the sun rises and the world is saved.

Enemies

 * Eternal Trooper
 * Nagarani
 * Black Flan
 * Iseultalon
 * Yojimbo
 * Ariadne
 * Salpinx
 * Behemoth King (Boss)
 * Red Giant
 * Psychomancer
 * Ifrit (Boss)
 * Ardyn Izunia (Final Boss)

Royal and Windows Edition exclusives

 * Eternal Artilleryman
 * Floating Death
 * Ahriman
 * MA Hoplomachus
 * MA-X Maniple
 * Cerberus (Boss)
 * Omega (Superboss)

Ulric's Kukris
If the player returns to the opening area and defeats a level 85 Psychomancer after defeating the penultimate boss, they get Ulric's Kukris, the weapons of Nyx Ulric from Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. They are dagger-type weapons that Noctis and Ignis can use. In Windows/Royal Edition, Psychomancer only drops the daggers when using Chapter Select, not when loading a game cleared save as normal, or in Chapter 15.

Windows and Royal Edition exclusives
In the Royal and Windows Editions, three new sidequests along with an expanded dungeon for Insomnia are included. Should the player complete the three sidequests and have unlocked the Regalia Type-D beforehand, an additional sidequest "A Gift from Cid" is given by Talcott that rewards the player with a replica of the vehicle that can be driven around in the city. Three new sidequests that can be undertaken in the Glaive base are:
 * Crown City Without a King
 * A Glaive out of Time
 * Relics of the Empire

Creation and development
Insomnia was planned to appear in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, although its name was not revealed until the game was rebranded "Final Fantasy XV." Based on the real-world location Shinjuku, Insomnia's royal Citadel is modeled after the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. Since the Citadel is a palace, developers added traffic circles for cars near its entrance, as well as a red carpet for ceremonies. To get Insomnia's lighting correct, Yusuke Naora, one of the art directors of Final Fantasy XV, painted over real pictures of Tokyo. When designing Insomnia, the developers aimed for an "cultural amalgam", and thus the city blends elements of London, New York, Paris and Tokyo, and has a lot of product placement.

In Final Fantasy Versus XIII, it was originally planned for Noctis to be at a party in Insomnia with Stella Nox Fleuret, the princess of Tenebrae. They were to be present for Niflheim's invasion of the city, but this was removed from the final version of Final Fantasy XV when it was decided Noctis and his friends would be out of Insomnia before it occurs. Despite this change, Director Hajime Tabata promised players would still be able to fight in Insomnia.

After Final Fantasy Versus XIII was rebranded "Final Fantasy XV," developers decided which elements of their original concepts they could maintain to create a unique gaming experience. The scale of their project was so massive that they eventually chose to depict Insomnia's invasion and downfall through a feature film, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.

Visual effects studio Image Engine created the 23-minute battle scene where the Lucii come to life for Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Square Enix sent Image Engine a variety of environments and other assets at the start of production, and Image Engine commenced the animation process using body and facial motion capture provided by Square. In addition, Image Engine's own animators donned Xsens MVN suits to capture in-house mo-cap data. The animators even filmed themselves acting out fight scenes with cardboard swords, working with a martial arts expert who helped provide direction on combat choreography. Sequence director Yamamoto Kazuhito stayed at Image Engine's Vancouver headquarters to work with the team. For Insomnia, Image Engine team produced a library of buildings, many of which were intended to be destroyed by the Lucii, and populated them throughout the city based on a guide map provided by Square Enix.

Insomnia is expanded in Final Fantasy XV: Royal Edition. Updating Insomnia was chosen over other things, such as expanding Niflheim, to reward Final Fantasy XV: Comrades players and expand on the multiplayer episode ending.

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy
Insomnia appears as the background during the Field Music Sequence for "Somnus", available as DLC. The appearance of the city is based on how it first appeared in Final Fantasy Versus XIII, which Final Fantasy XV was originally titled under.

Gallery

 * Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

Etymology and symbolism
The name alludes to New York, one of whose nicknames is "The City that Never Sleeps."

Insomnia hearkens to many properties told within religious lore. Within Christianity, Insomnia is reminiscent of the land of Zion, and the city of Eunoch, the first city mankind is said be built by Cain and his family. While Cain and his close family lived prosperously as Eunoch's founders, they were oblivious to, or even responsible for, the hardships of those within lesser status. From a Buddhist perspective, it is believed that the karma of a founder ultimately determines how their endeavor grows and progresses, and even ends. Within Asian mythology, the northeastern direction is considered a cardinal direction capable of both good and evil. While the Bagua within certain schools of feng shui and onmyodo have the area of Heaven located in its northeastern compass, it is also believed that disease and demonic activity rides from the winds and stems from that direction.

Within Buddhism, Insomnia is reminiscent of the palace of pleasures provided to Buddha by his kingly father. Buddha was sheltered into his young adulthood, and while his father did so out of goodwill to protect his son, this only brought Buddha closer to the want of seeing the outside world.

Trivia

 * There is a poster in Insomnia in Final Fantasy XV that depicts an empty chair and the text "The Palace of Lucis". The chair is the one Noctis was seen sitting upon in . In Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV when Regis and Aldercapt prepare to sign the peace treaty, they also sit on these chairs.
 * The "green man" symbols on pedestrian crossings in the city are a.
 * Many of the businesses in Insomnia have names that allude to previous Final Fantasy games.
 * The station the player can enter in the Royal Edition is the "LR Citadel Station", short for Lucis Rail Citadel Station. This is similar to the rail company in Japan, JR = Japan Rail.
 * The newspaper of Insomnia's fall enters the player's key items inventory after the scene where the party finds out about the invasion. Its dated for May 17 and some of the pictures on the front page originate from the E3 2013 trailer; the imperial airships hovering over what appear to be apartment buildings, and Verstael Besithia leading a group of magitek soldiers.
 * Near the end of Chapter 1, the group reaches a hill on the outskirts of Insomnia, looking over the kingdom beyond a bridge. This may be allusion to the original Final Fantasy, where the Warriors of Light are to look over Castle Cornelia before departing on their journey, as they cross the Drawbridge to the lands beyond the starting area.
 * The Drawbridge in Final Fantasy may be homage to the original, a bridge in Tokyo during the Edo period that everyone would have to cross to travel elsewhere in Japan. It is still sometimes used as a symbol for a starting point of a journey. In Final Fantasy XV, people also need to cross the bridge to leave Insomnia and travel elsewhere in Lucis and Eos.
 * Li'l Malbuddy is a popular cartoon character in Insomnia.
 * Insomnias skyscrapers are constructed with Balouve-made building stones.