Summary: Ardyn and Ifrit assault Insomnia. Battling Regis and Somnus. Ardyn’s purpose. The end of FFXV’s Episode Ardyn DLC.
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-Transition voiceover. Ardyn helped Verstael to raise the Magitek army and was promoted to Chancellor. I wonder how much Iedolas knew about the man he was promoting.
-King Mors died. Regis took the throne.
-Ardyn began spreading the Starscourge, gaining memories and knowledge with each move.
-The voiceover says those memories transformed him. Did they really make him more evil, or is it just his commitment to tear down Somnus’ legacy?
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Return of the Savior
-Back to Ardyn’s invasion of Insomnia, in that soldier’s guise.
-The timing of this is interesting, as a young Regis watches. He’ll come take Ardyn on himself.
Burning down his brother’s house.
-The music choice is interesting. Not my favorite, but I do like it.
-LOLOL, I love the save points. Ardyn rests from his destruction by reading a magazine to smooth jazz.
-I like the Easter eggs, like the Winhill vending machine or the Bevelle sign.
-This next section features a particular gameplay loop:
1) Warp up to the top of a skyscraper.
2) Defeat the mini-boss at the top.
The Guardians take the form of the Fierce or the Rogue.
3) Explore the surrounding sector. Clear troops, get loot, destroy infrastructure.
It’s a fun loop! The combat is a blast. I love trying to sneak behind enemies to knock them into the air and then DAEMONIFY THE HECK OUT OF THEM. And the grappling that was a bit awkward in Episode Ignis is smooth as butter here.
-Omg the gearing system is HATS
The fast progression helps too. I accumulate lots of Descension Points for new abilities, which gives a feeling of significant character progression even though this is a (presumably short) DLC.
-One pet peeve: the map in-game shows west at the top of the screen, and the mini-map shows north at the top of the screen. WHY. Super confusing to navigate.
*a long bit of sector clearing later*
-The way to the Citadel is open. Verstael isn’t too happy that Ardyn’s pressing ahead, but he’s not UNhappy either.
ARDYN: “Time to call in a favor with the king and have him summon my beloved brother.” So he’s going to force Regis to power up, and use that as an opportunity to confront Somnus directly.
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-Transition voiceover. Ardyn helped Verstael to raise the Magitek army and was promoted to Chancellor. I wonder how much Iedolas knew about the man he was promoting.
-King Mors died. Regis took the throne.
-Ardyn began spreading the Starscourge, gaining memories and knowledge with each move.
-The voiceover says those memories transformed him. Did they really make him more evil, or is it just his commitment to tear down Somnus’ legacy?
---
Return of the Savior
-Back to Ardyn’s invasion of Insomnia, in that soldier’s guise.
-The timing of this is interesting, as a young Regis watches. He’ll come take Ardyn on himself.
Burning down his brother’s house.
-The music choice is interesting. Not my favorite, but I do like it.
-LOLOL, I love the save points. Ardyn rests from his destruction by reading a magazine to smooth jazz.
-I like the Easter eggs, like the Winhill vending machine or the Bevelle sign.
-This next section features a particular gameplay loop:
1) Warp up to the top of a skyscraper.
2) Defeat the mini-boss at the top.
The Guardians take the form of the Fierce or the Rogue.
3) Explore the surrounding sector. Clear troops, get loot, destroy infrastructure.
It’s a fun loop! The combat is a blast. I love trying to sneak behind enemies to knock them into the air and then DAEMONIFY THE HECK OUT OF THEM. And the grappling that was a bit awkward in Episode Ignis is smooth as butter here.
-Omg the gearing system is HATS
The fast progression helps too. I accumulate lots of Descension Points for new abilities, which gives a feeling of significant character progression even though this is a (presumably short) DLC.
-One pet peeve: the map in-game shows west at the top of the screen, and the mini-map shows north at the top of the screen. WHY. Super confusing to navigate.
*a long bit of sector clearing later*
-The way to the Citadel is open. Verstael isn’t too happy that Ardyn’s pressing ahead, but he’s not UNhappy either.
ARDYN: “Time to call in a favor with the king and have him summon my beloved brother.” So he’s going to force Regis to power up, and use that as an opportunity to confront Somnus directly.
-Boss fight. Against FRIGGING REGIS! I love this.
Ifrit swooping in feels unfair, but idc. Ardyn is unfair.
-I also love that we see the other side of the confusion around Ardyn. I remember feeling that same confusion as Regis does. “Why doesn’t he finish me off?”
Now we know he doesn’t really care about Regis. He and Noctis are both just avenues for vengeance against Somnus.
[Later edit: This is one of the unique triumphs of this DLC. The other DLCs spotlighted Noctis’ supporting cast, but they all saw themselves as Noctis’ help. This DLC actively reframes FFXV as the story of Ardyn, with Noctis as a bit player who comes in at the end as almost an epilogue.]
-Ardyn keeps beating the downed Regis, taunting Somnus to come out. But he doesn’t.
“Huh… is he dead?”
LOLOL, the casual way Ardyn lifts and drops Regis’ arm, as if checking whether his batteries died, just cracks me up.
-Soon, the Ring of the Lucii activates.
Somnus descends as a titanic knight.
It looks awesome, but the fight itself runs into a common game problem with giant enemies where I just swat at the feet.
-The music is FANTASTIC!
-Somnus comes to express reflection, if not really regret. Acknowledges that he was jealous of Ardyn’s popularity, power, how he was loved by the gods.
But he still insists “a sinner couldn’t sit the throne!” WHAT DO YOU CALL WHAT YOU DID TO ARDYN?? What was Ardyn’s sin before you usurped him?
-Ardyn finishes off Somnus with a Hellfire from Ifrit.
-The game does a great job of making me empathize with Ardyn. As Somnus fades away, acting holier-than-thou, all “I did it for the sake of our people, and I hope you find peace!”, etc.
I want to punch his condescending and hypocritical face.
-Ardyn moves to finish the line of Lucis, aiming a stab at Regis. That’s when Bahamut butts in.
“Ardyn Lucis Caelum. I command thee to halt and kneel before me.” He summons Ardyn into that crystalline void.
ARDYN: “Why do the gods deny me my revenge?”
BAHAMUT: “Because thou hast been chosen to serve a different purpose. To spread darkness throughout the world is thy true calling.”
…whew. They’re setting up Ardyn as the common antagonist around which the world will rally and rebuild as his DIVINE PURPOSE.
Hears before Noctis is even born, Ardyn sees his own death. He sees that he will receive his release from life at last, and simultaneously wipe out the line of Lucis.
(Oh my God, Ardyn would HAAAAATE the alternate happy ending.)
-Even now, Ardyn has a choice. He can accept this fate, or he can fight it. But if he fights it, he will remain alive, a eternal sufferer in darkness.
-oh you gotta be kidding me. The game lets me pick!
Which do I think wins out here? Ardyn’s defiance or his exhaustion/vengeance? I’ll go with exhaustion for now. I wouldn’t wish eternal life on my worst enemy, let alone on someone who already suffered for 2,000 years.
-Bahamut fades. Ardyn rages at both Aera and Somnus, wondering how much they knew of his impending sacrifice. (I’m gonna guess that Aera knew everything and Somnus didn’t.)
-Flash forward, to Ardyn unchained in Angelgard.
“Nothing matters. None of it. Not the ‘blessed’ gods above nor the accursed kings below. To hell with them all!”
-He walks onto a golden field then, where he started the game. Sees Somnus and Aera talking, smiling at him, and knifes them both as he cackles wildly. What is this? I think it’s a fantasy.
So much for submitting to his fate. [Non-rhetorical question: Is this the same ending as if I had picked for Ardyn to resist his fate? It sure feels like it.]
-And that’s it. What a classically tragic story. He wasn’t innocent – I mean, “let’s murder thousands” isn’t the moral reaction to your brother screwing your over and murdering your fiancee – but he really was screwed from the start. Tortured for literal millenia, a pushed into a lose-lose path by the gods.
-Aww! The title screen changes to Ardyn and Aera sitting beneath a tree.
-A new “Kingly Clash” mode opens up. I assume this is a challenge mode of sorts vs Noctis?
-Yup! It’s XV’s final battle from Ardyn’s perspective. Team Noctis joins in midway through.
I try it a couple of times. It’s hard, and I don’t really care enough to really work on it and beat it.
[Later edit: I think the reason I didn’t try for the challenge modes in this or the Ignis DLC is that I still didn’t really understand the combat system nuances, especially on the defensive end.]
This was easily my favorite DLC. Really loved it!
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Next time: Final thoughts on FFXV.
