Final Fantasy XV downloadable content
It was mostly developed by a smaller team from the core Final Fantasy XV staff, supervised by director Hajime Tabata and headed by producer Haruyoshi Sawatari.
Episode Ignis was intended to be the final story-based DLC, though positive player feedback resulted in Square Enix wanting to develop further content focusing on other major characters such as Ardyn Izunia.
Other noteworthy DLC's included time-limited events like the Moogle Chocobo Carnival and Assassin's Festival, as well as crossover content with Final Fantasy XIV and Mistwalker's Terra Wars.
To this end, Square Enix announced free DLC updates that would tweak the gameplay of Chapter 13 and add further story-based cutscenes to expand upon character motivations left unexplained in the base game.
[11] In response to popular demand, the team decided to extend DLC support into 2018,[12] focusing on content to expand character stories and the world's lore.
[23][18] The music for the downloadable content of Final Fantasy XV was mainly composed by Yoshitaka Suzuki, along with Tetsuya Shibata and Yoshino Aoki.
[33] A King's Tale has the visual aesthetic of a 1980s beat 'em up with 16-bit pixel art and a chiptune-like soundtrack, but incorporates a modern combat system that includes magic attacks, companions and summons.
[38] In combat, Regis may string together combination moves or "combos" by utilising strong and fast attacks as well as a shield bash, or summon his companions Weskham Armaugh, Clarus Amicitia, and Cid Sophiar to his aid.
[40] Several commentators felt that it did not offer anything special, either as a game or as a new entry to the narrative, though its combat system is judged as unexpectedly deep which may provide an enjoyable experience for some players.
[41][39] In his review of A King's Tale, Chris Carter from Destructoid described it as "the opening salvo" from the marketing campaign for Final Fantasy XV, though he wished it was a properly developed video game project instead of a being relegated to bonus content.
Carter concluded that the game will be appreciated with players who enjoy old-school beat-'em-ups, as did José L. Ortega from the Spanish edition of IGN, who also praised A King's Tale as a good tribute to the franchise.
[42] Jacob Hull from Push Square found that A King's Tale further expands upon the personality of Noctis and his relationship with Regis, who lacked development in the series' other media.
Following his initial confrontation with Ravus, Gladiolus leaves the party to seek guidance from the leader of the Kingsglaive, Cor Leonis, who leads him to challenge Gilgamesh and claim his legendary sword.
Waking up inside an Imperial research facility, Prompto discovers his true origin as an experimental clone of the mad scientist Verstael Besithia, designed as one of Niflheim's Magitek soldiers.
With help from the mercenary Aranea Highwind, Prompto defeats Verstael—who transfers his soul into the Magitek machine Immortalis to conquer the world of Eos—before heading for Gralea.
When Ardyn led an assault on Insomnia sometime after his liberation by Niflheim, he discovers that he was chosen by the Astrals to become a sacrificial vessel for the Starscourge; he reluctantly submits to this fate in exchange for revenge against Somnus's bloodline.
[55] Jonathan Leack said the aspect he disliked most about Episode Gladiolus is that it abandoned most of the qualities that made Final Fantasy XV good, opting to focus on a "dull character" as opposed to the expansive world setting of Eos.
[59] Jason Schreier from Kotaku was in agreement with regards to the superior quality of Episode Prompto over its predecessor, and noted that while the gunplay is not as satisfying as a proper shooter video game, "mowing down Magitek soldiers with a stolen machine gun" was still fun.
[66] Ramsey described its additional story elements as indispensable for players who are invested in the series, and praised Ignis' "flashy, fast, and fluid fighting style" which keeps combat scenarios engaging.
[41] Triezenberg enjoyed the narrative, and felt the alternate storyline featured in the DLC provided some good character development for Ignis, Noctis and Ardyn.
[3] Titled Comrades, it takes place during the ten-year gap in the game's narrative, focusing on player-created members of the Kingsglaive combating powerful monsters.
The player has access to a variety of weapon types from normal swords to maces and shurikens, which are enhanced using materials to increase passive abilities such as their damage capacity.
He said it has basis for a good "co-op-based grind" and found the bite-sized missions to be enjoyable, but criticized the constant bouts of loading time which make the whole experience felt like a chore for him.
While he felt that the overall experience may improve with a few patched updates, the long loading times of Comrade overshadowed its positive aspects and that it is difficult for him to recommend to anyone other than dedicated fans of the main game.
