Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn – Prologue - Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn – Prologue is an animated episode that acts as a prologue to the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn game, one of the story DLCs released for Final Fantasy XV. The prologue gives details and more information about the background of Ardyn and details his life 2,000 years ago when he worked as a healer. The audio for the anime is in Japanese but subtitles are available in English and can be watched for free on YouTube. The prologue was brought about from the voice of fans who requested that they wanted to know more about the character Ardyn. Therefore the production team created an animation gives viewers more deeper content and features the backstory with context from Final Fantasy XV before the actual release of the game as a teaser.
Plot
The world is in ruins after daemons have spread throughout the land. The noble family of House Caelum have used their divine powers to fight them and gained widespread notoriety as a result. When gods sought a leader among men, it came down to two brothers of the Caelum family, a young warrior named Somnus or Ardyn, a man that dedicated his life to the people. An Oracle will announce the decision of the leaders and await in a tower where the magic Crystal is kept. The Crystal is said to be a chrysalis of Eos, representing the soul of the planet itself. When a person infected by the Starscourge enters the village. Somnus then leads an army to a wasteland area where he leads an attack against those infected, but they disappear into miasma and become daemons. Somnus and Gilgamesh later burn what remains of the bodies of the infected. Ardyn sees the human/daemon remains and is guided through the village by an old man that tells how Somnus rounded up those alive and burned them to death. In the village, Ardyn meets a woman and saves her daughter from disease by absorbing the infection into his own body. He explains to the people that a safe way of curing the disease can be developed instead of simply sentencing all that are infected to burn. He explains that he will take the throne if it is best for the people but is otherwise uninterested in the role.
Ardyn eventually meets the Oracle Aera, his fiancee, who then explores some mystic, ancient ruins that are shrouded in unknown history. Aera tells Ardyn that she will always remember him. Ardyn collapses due to his Starscourge infection and is soon discovered by soldiers who were pursuing him. Aera sees the Crystal, and it shines and gives its message to Aera. Somnus wishes to hear the message and Aera says the stone has no will of its own. The villagers later come to Ardyn and tell him he has been chosen as a king. Ardyn goes to the Crystal, but not before he finds Somnus declaring himself king. Ardyn and Somnus begin fighting and Somnus impales Ardyn. Aera dies when trying to stop Somnus. Ardyn then turns into a monster and picks up Aera, taking her to the crystal while under attack by Somnus. From the Crystal, Ardyn learns that Somnus was chosen, and Somnus then kills Ardyn. But, as Ardyn had become immortal, Somnus imprisons him in Angelgard. The episode ends with Ardyn on the throne and smiling as he waits for Noctis to fulfill the prophecy of him becoming the True King.
Characters
- Ardyn Lucis Caelum - a healer who travels throughout the countryside of Eos and eventually faces off with his younger brother, Somnus.
- Somnus Lucis Caelum - The younger brother of Ardyn who leads battles against daemons and burns them and others infected with Starscrourge in order to keep the country free of the disease.
- Aera Mirus Fleuret - An oracle that awaits the gods' decision on the Chosen King.
- Gilgamesh - Somnus's bodyguard.
Creation and Development
The idea of creating something to detail the past of Ardyn came from a survey taken by fans of Final Fantasy XV. At the time, it had already been decided that FFXV: Episode Ignis would be the last DLC, so it was determined that Ardyn would have his story revealed through an animated special. However, Square Enix later decided to add a playable DLC that featured Ardyn as well. The anime was designed as a kind of PR for Final Fantasy XV and was also a means of thanking loyal fans. The main purpose of the anime was to reveal more about Ardyn and show another side of him that was yet to be revealed. The anime was developed by Satellite Inc., but the main story and design development was taken care of by the main Final Fantasy XV team.
The director of the anime Shinichi Kurita had concerns when converting the original 2D to 3D. However through consultation with his art team was able to create a detailed 3D movie that placed focus on each character’s expression. In addition, referencing scenes from the actual game to incorporate each character’s gestures and mannerisms.
Voice Cast
- Ardyn Lucis Caelum - Keiji Fujiwara
- Aera Mirus Fleuret - Saori Seto
- Somnus Lucis Caelum - Daisuke Namikawa
- Gargoyle - Yoshihito Sasaki
- Villagers - Hiroki Maeda, Hiromichi Tezuka, Natsuki Miwa, Yuki Ishikari
- Soldiers - Atsushi Kosaka, Reiji Kawashima, Makoto Sahara