Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is a feature-length CGI film set during the events of Final Fantasy XV. It was officially revealed during the Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV event, and is 110 minutes long. According to developers, one can enjoy Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV without playing Final Fantasy XV, and vice versa. Experiencing both tales, however, ensures a deeper level of appreciation for them, as they are intended to complement one another.

Characters

 * Nyx Ulric - The main protagonist.
 * Lunafreya Nox Fleuret - The former princess of Tenebrae.
 * Regis Lucis Caelum - The reigning monarch of the Kingdom of Lucis.
 * Luche Lazarus - A member of the Kingsglaive who considers himself to be the group's leader.
 * Libertus Ostium - A cheerful member of the Kingsglaive, and Nyx Ulric's best friend.
 * Titus Drautos - The commander of the Kingsglaive.
 * Crowe Altius - A female member of the Kingsglaive, whom Libertus sees as a sibling.
 * Ravus Nox Fleuret - The brother of Lunafreya, and now deputy high commander of Niflheim's army.
 * Sonitus Bellum - Master of weapons in the Kingsglaive who values discipline.
 * Axis Arra - A member of the Kingsglaive who is reserved and quiet.
 * Tredd Furia - A member of the Kingsglaive who is considered top in his class, thanks to his extensive training.
 * Pelna Khara - One of the intelligent and perceptive members of the Kingsglaive.
 * Petra Fortis - A royal Lucian guard that dislikes the Kingsglaive immigrants.
 * General Glauca - The main antagonist. Head of the Niflheim military, who is sent to kill King Regis and retrieve the Ring of the Lucii.

Story
While Final Fantasy XV tells the story of Noctis's journey, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV depicts the events that take place in Lucis during the prince's absence. The members of the eponymous Kingsglaive serve as the film's main characters; together, they comprise an elite team of royal guards tasked with protecting King Regis, the crown city Insomnia, and the kingdom of Lucis.

Regis and Noctis—who is recuperating from a near-death experience—once visited Tenebrae, then an ally of Lucis. Niflheim launched an attack on the kingdom in to kill the Lucian royals, and in the ensuing invasion the Queen of Tenebrae, Queen Sylva, was killed by General Glauca. Regis attempted to flee with Noctis and Lunafreya, either not aware of, or unwilling to return for, Lunafreya's brother Ravus as he knelt beside his mother's body, as the king and his son are closely pursued by Niflheim soldiers. Lunafreya decided to stay with Ravus, and both became subjects under Niflheim's rule. Twelve years later, both Niflheim and the forces of Tenebrae are allied against Lucis due to Tenebrae's apparent abandonment by their ally, as Ravus is a high ranking military officer in the Niflheim army, who feels King Regis abandoned him and whom he blames for his mother's death.

The Kingsglaive are in the midst of a battle to protect Lucis's borders from both beasts and daemons, and the attacks of Niflheim's magitek armies. During one such operation, Nyx defies his orders to withdraw to rescue his friend Libertus, whose leg was trapped under a rock, from a giant daemon captured by Niflheim and sent to the Lucian front. In the wake of the operation, Nyx is reassigned as a city guard by the Kingsglaive captain and Nyx's superior officer, Titus Drautos, where he experiences first-hand the hostility Insomnia residents feel towards the Kingsglaive. The Kingsglaive themselves feel this hostility, although Nyx doesn't let it bother him due to his faith in Regis.

In the wake of the battle, which has left Lucian forces in a weakened position, Ardyn Izunia, Chancellor on Niflheim, arrives and offers terms for peace between Lucis and Niflheim—Lucis must surrender all territories beyond Insomnia to Niflheim, and Regis' son Noctis must marry Lunafreya. This causes consternation and division among the Lucian Council, but Regis agrees due to his accelerated aging preventing him from commanding the greater magics of the hereditary Ring of the Lucii, as well as being unable to fuel the Crystal's magical barrier for much more than a few remaining years, as maintaining the New Wall is what has been draining his life-force and causing his accelerated aging. With this in mind, he agrees to Niflheim's terms. This causes dissension among the Kingsglaive, who feel Regis is abandoning their families and homes that extend beyond the Crown City in other parts of Lucis.

During this period, Lunafreya attempts to leave for Lucis incognito to pursue her own goals concerning Regis and Noctis, but she is prevented by Ravus. Despite her telling him that Niflheim is using him as their "lap dog", Ravus continues to blame Regis for the death of his mother. Parallel to this, Kingsglaive member Crowe is sent on a mission beyond Lucis to help escort Lunafreya and present her with a tiara, and is killed by an unknown assassin. Her death and the circumstances surrounding it enrage Libertus and he leaves the Kingsglaive to join a group of Lucian rebels, giving them information about the workings of the capital's security, as he balmes the king for Crowe's death, who he cared for as a little sister.

At a party dedicated to the signing of the peace treaty, attended by both Regis and Niflheim's emperor Iedolas Aldercapt, Lunafreya meets and forms a connection with Nyx, learning of Crowe's death and receiving the tiara. While praying for Noctis' continued safety, Lunafreya is abducted by Glauca, who confirms her suspicions that the treaty is a ruse. Nyx discovers this and finds that Niflheim has stationed their airships outside Insomnia. Regis agrees to deploy the glaive, although their leader Drautos has disappeared. While Nyx succeeds in rescuing Luna, many of the Kingsglaive turn on him and the other loyal members, and all but Nyx, Luna and a few of the rebel traitors and the rebel leader, Luche Lazarus, are killed in the ensuing battle with an Ultros daemon commanded by Niflheim. At the treaty signing, Regis prepares to either capture or kill Iedolas, but the Niflheim delegation springs a surprise attack, leading to a temporary stand-off. Using information from the Lucian rebels, Niflheim soldiers infiltrate the Crystal's sanctuary, destroying the apparatus that powers the city's shield. This allows Niflheim to attack in strength, leading to the swarming and death of most of the Lucian Council once magitek soldiers infiltrate the room along with General Glauca.

As Lunafreya and Nyx head for the Royal Citadel, Regis and his former protector Clarus Amicitia fight together against Glauca and the Magitek forces after Glauca kills the remaining council members, only for Clarus to be killed by Glauca. Just as Lunafreya and Nyx arrive, Glauca attacks Regis, cutting the Ring of the Lucii from his hand. Ravus, having wished for Lucis' downfall since his childhood, attempts to put on the Ring and access it's power to destroy both Lucis and Niflheim: the Ring violently rejects him, severely burning his arm before he can get it off. Taking the Ring, Lunafreya and Nyx lead the wounded Regis away with Glauca in pursuit. Despite Nyx's anger at Regis for seemingly allowing the destruction of Insomnia to protect his son, as he knew what the empire was planning, he agrees to get both Lunafreya and the Ring out of the capital.

Lunafreya tries to bring Regis with them, but, his strength waning, he commands them to leave without him. Staying behind, Regis raises a barrier to protect Luna and Nyx before he makes his final stand and struggles to defeat Glauca, holding him off with lightning magic before eventually being overpowered and killed. At the moment of his death, the surviving members of the Kingsglaive and all those close to King Regis lose their magical abilities, rendering them powerless against Niflheim's attack. At the same time, Iedolas and Ardyn successfully steal the Crystal from the Citadel, fleeing the besieged city with it in their possession. In the midst of the chaos, Libertus learns that the rebels—himself included—were used as the empire's pawns and will now be blamed for the fall of Insomnia as terrorists.

Lunafreya and Nyx are summoned to the city plaza by a call from Drautos: once there, the two are cornered by Lazarus. Severely wounding Nyx, he reveals that he was the one who killed Crowe, and that Niflheim promised the Kingsglaive and their families Insomnia as their new home if they cooperated. Lazarus almost obtains the Ring, but Lunafreya tricks him into putting it on, killing him. Drautos then appears during this time, but he is attacked by a repentant Libertus, who learned of the rebels' role in Lucis' fall, and Drautos' true identity. It is revealed that Drautos is Glauca, and his indomitable strength means Nyx is powerless without access to magic. Glauca is about to kill the three when Nyx puts on the Ring; he finds himself in an otherworldly realm, where he demands the spirits of the past kings of Lucis to appear. They initially denounce him as unworthy of bearing the Ring's power, not being of royal blood and unwilling to choose between Libertus' or Lunafreya's life as the demanded sacrifice, only to relent due to King Regis' spirit's intervention, and when they realize at Nyx's urging that Niflheim will otherwise capture the Ring just as they did the Crystal. Nyx is thus granted use of it's power when he reveals he fights so that others will have a better future, with the cost being his life once the sun rises.

His power restored and enhanced, Nyx fends off Glauca. He returns the Ring to Lunafreya, entrusting her to Libertus and telling them to flee. Nyx and Glauca then engage in a titanic battle throughout Insomnia, with both the city's statues animated by the Ring's power—the "Old Wall"— and the Daemons used by Niflheim clashing around them. From an airship above, Iedolas and Ardyn watch, with Ardyn being intrigued by the Old Wall's power, but Iedolas simply orders them to leave the ruined city and destroy the Daemons now the Crystal is theirs. Though following his orders, Ardyn decries the "waste" of the great city and powerful Daemons being needlessly destroyed.

The fight ends with Nyx fatally wounding Glauca by stabbing him in the chest; Nyx seemingly dies shortly after as payment for using the Ring's power as his skin has become like ash with his veins burning, and seemingly starts to disintegrate from using the ring's power. The movie ends with Libertus—now the sole survivor of the Kingsglaive—deciding to stay behind at Luna's behest, while Lunafreya leaves with the ring to find Noctis.

In a post-credits scene, Noctis and his companions are heading for Altissia to meet Lunafreya, when their car suddenly breaks down.

Themes
The core theme of Final Fantasy XV is "the bond between parent and child." Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV details the parent's side of this relationship: Regis acts as a link between the stories of both Final Fantasy XV and the film.

Music
Composer John R. Graham has written the original music for Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. The soundtrack also features the main theme, written by Yoko Shimomura, who composed the music for Final Fantasy XV.

The soundtrack will be out digitally in the US on August 30 2016, digitally worldwide September 7 2016. A CD release is forthcoming on October 26 2016.

Development
At the Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV event, Aaron Paul, Nyx's voice actor, revealed Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV had been in development for at least three years before its announcement. The first trailer for the film premiered at the event, as well.

When the developers of Final Fantasy XV first sat down to re-plan the project from Final Fantasy Versus XIII, they evaluated which elements they should use to create a kind of gameplay experience they wouldn't get anywhere else. They felt because the theme they were trying to handle was so massive, they couldn't fit all of that into the game. Because the Niflheim invasion of Lucis episode is something that would take up so much effort and time, rather than force it into the game, the team started up its own separate project: Kingsglaive.

With Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix aimed to create a film of the highest quality, for it was not limited by the capabilities of a game console. The movie and Final Fantasy XV were meant to share voice casts, but scheduling conflicts and high costs prevented this from coming to fruition. Real actors inspired the designs of some of the characters in Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV; the appearance of King Regis was changed because of the film, and this transformation was carried over to Final Fantasy XV for consistency's sake.

The cast was chosen based on its acting ability, and to give viewers a truly cinematic experience, developers hired a professional screenwriter and other Hollywood staff. Square Enix's internal team of approximately 50 members cooperated with various other production teams from around the world; other studios who worked on Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV include Digic Pictures, which is known for its work on Assassin's Creed, and Image Engine, which is known for its contributions to major Hollywood productions like Jurassic World and Game of Thrones. According to Takeshi Nozue, the Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV project never slept: the Los Angeles team worked on the film during Japanese mornings, while the European team worked on it during Japanese nights.

The movie's main objective was to reach out and engage fans who might have played Final Fantasy before, but had grown estranged from the series. Director Takeshi Nozue is most proud of breaking new ground for Final Fantasy with realistic character designs, as previous characters lean more toward fiction in appearance and presentation.

When the creator of the Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi, saw Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, he stated King Regis's eyes seemed too immaculate, clear, and child-like; they did not suit someone who had a lifetime of experience. Sakaguchi also claimed Regis's eyes prevented viewers from becoming immersed in the monarch's world; despite the lifelike visuals of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, the eyes of the film's characters gave away their true, CG nature. Takeshi Nozue took this feedback into consideration, and his team decided to further polish the film.

Release
For marketing purposes, Square Enix decided to release Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV before Final Fantasy XV. Aniplex is in charge of the film's distribution to Japanese theaters; screenings begin on July 9. Pre-orders for tickets to these screenings went on sale on April 23.

On June 13, 2016, it was revealed Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV would be viewable in select theaters across the United States on August 19. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV will be downloadable on August 27, 2016 for $17.99, according to streaming service VUDU.

On June 24, 2016, at San Diego Comic Con, it was announced that Kingsglaive would receive a release on streaming and digital download channels on August 30 with the physical release on Blu-Ray and DVD happening on October 4. It was released digitally in the United Kingdom on August 29.

The UK premiere was hosted by PlayStation Access at Picturehouse Central in Piccadilly, London, on August 23. Le Grand Rex will show the French premiere on September 15.

Reception
The movie was rated "7% rotten" by twelve out of thirteen critics on RottenTomatoes as of August 31, 2016,, lower than both Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (44% rotten) and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (33% rotten). However, it was rated 7.4 out of 10 by 1,700 voters on IMDB.

Trivia

 * Great beasts are used by the warring nations in massive-scale battles. These beings are inspired by classic Final Fantasy entities (i.e. summons, bosses, recurring enemies), such as Cerberus, Diamond Weapon, and Ultros.