#maybe the happiness dlc episode?? or the errands one

[thepinkhippoinhungryhungryhippos]

i just love the phrase "two softies trying to make each other happy" bc yeah. we are aren't we

[summonerwithbedhair]

Final Fantasy XV DLC - Predictions and Things I Want to See

(FYI - Before you read on, I'm going to get super spoilerific, so save this for later if you haven't yet finished the game.) 

First, I'll state the obvious - FFXV was severely lacking in the story department, even with the supplemental material courtesy Brotherhood, Kingsglaive, and Parting Ways. As someone who typically values good storytelling before all other aspects of a video game, this is the biggest thing I feel needs fixing via the DLC. 

I’ve thought about this practically non-stop since finishing the game, so I think I’ve established some pretty solid (and in one case, story-altering) theories here. I know this isn’t holy rote by any means, though, so if you have any ideas of your own, I’d love to hear them.

Here's what I'm guessing we're going to get from the three upcoming chocobro episodes: 

Gladiolus 

I’m fairly certain that this episode:

Occurs simultaneously with Chapter 7 of the main story (Party of Three).

Involves teaming up with Cor for a mostly fighting-based mission. 

My Theory: Whatever Gladio and Cor are doing is either a personal revenge errand (perhaps to do with Gladio's father, who along with Regis, was killed by Glauca in the attack on Insomnia), some other mission Cor does not want Noctis involved in, or to retrieve or kill Calgo, the Niflheim soldier who escaped during the fort infiltration in Chapter 6. 

What I Hope To Learn: More about Cor? A little more backstory concerning the Noctis/Gladio dynamic, which would help explain why Gladio in particular flips out at Noctis in Chapter 10 (it did seem rather overblown to me). Honestly Gladio doesn’t present much of a mystery to me, even though he has the least character development of all the chocobros (no real character arc here). So as long as I get to learn a bit more about the guy, I’m happy.

Questions That Will Probably Stay Unanswered: Whatever the mission, Gladio ends up sporting some hefty new scars, so unless I'm messing up the timing here, how did he heal so quickly from his injuries? Also - what book is he reading? ;)

Prompto 

I’m fairly certain that this episode:

Occurs following Chapter 11, after Noctis mistakes Prompto for Ardyn and knocks him off the train. 

Is a more story-based mission - obviously Prompto is going to be very tempted to shoot someone. I’m also thinking that, since Prompto isn’t the muscle of the chocobros, there’s going to be a lot of stealth involved.

My Theory: Prompto ends up on the run from Niflheim troops, trying to elude capture, all the while attempting to process why his best friend attacked him. I think the person he's aiming at in the brief preview we've had thus far is Verstael, who according to the official guide, is his biological father, and the reason Prompto has had to hide who he is for his entire life. That said, how would Prompto come to know this information? Perhaps Ardyn lets slip this info via creepy voiceover, now that Verstael is of no more use to him.

What I Hope To Learn: Much, much more about how Prompto came to escape Niflheim and avoid becoming an MT. Did he know what he was the entire time, or did he only come to grasp the full purpose of his “birthmark” after his fall from the train? How did his adoptive parents find him? Why are they never around?

Questions That Will Probably Stay Unanswered: How did Prompto become a member of the Crownsguard, especially since a) he’s not the greatest in a fight and b) he doesn’t have a long-standing “in” with the royal family the way Ignis and Gladio do? How did he prove himself? Did Noctis pull any strings? How did Ignis and Gladio come to place that much trust in him? I really want answers to these questions, but I have a feeling the DLC won’t go into this much depth.

Ignis

I’m fairly certain that this episode:

Occurs during Chapter 9, during the Leviathan covenant-gone-wrong, in which Ignis is attempting to evacuate Altissian citizens and fend off Niflheim attacks on Leviathan.

Concerns the circumstances surrounding Ignis’s injury and resulting blindness. As such, it’s probably equal parts story and combat.

Will have the most “impact” on the overall story, according to Tabata.

My Theory: I’m not sure who or what blinded Ignis, but story-wise, a person committing the act would bear much more weight than a random piece of debris. I can’t really nail down the culprit (since at that point Ravus had already decided to help Luna (and, by proxy, Noctis), and Ardyn was busy stabbing Luna at the time, unless Ignis was injured some time after Luna died and Noctis lost consciousness). I have a feeling that Ignis took the fateful hit for Gladio, which would explain why Gladio chooses to lash out at Noctis, since none of this would have happened had he been able to quell Leviathan’s wrath in time.

What I Hope To Learn: My biggest, hugest, CRAZIEST question of the whole game - did Ignis know Noctis was destined to become the true king? Maybe Regis didn’t tell him explicitly, but given Ignis’s studious, thorough nature, and the available lore, surely Ignis should have seen the pieces fitting together ahead of time. Perhaps he couldn’t predict the timing of the prophesy (given that the Niflheim attack came as a surprise to everyone in Lucis except Regis, and Noctis only needed to seek out the Armiger weapons and forge covenants with the Astrals after this point), nor that Noctis would be held captive by the crystal for ten years - but just IMAGINE the weight of that knowledge, especially when Ignis comes to realize all this is happening much faster than he had hoped. Did he keep his mouth shut at Regis’s behest, or simply to maintain his friends’ state of blissful ignorance, living without the knowledge that Noctis was destined to die? Is this the real tragedy of FFXV - the “story impact” Tabata hinted at?

Questions That Will Probably Stay Unanswered: How did Ignis become adjusted to his blindness and get back in fighting shape in the ten years Noctis was in the Crystal? Is he like Daredevil or something? Though I’d love the ability to go daemon-hunting with Iggy, Gladio and Prompto, it sounds like they didn’t hang out much after that point, and, let’s face it, playing as an injured Ignis struggling to get his groove back doesn’t scream “exciting.”

Any or All of the Above DLC

More than any other story aspect, I hope the DLC (or some other update) adds a significant amount of depth to the Noctis/Luna relationship. Is there any way Noctis can visit with her prior to the Leviathan covenant? Surely they can give us just one reunion scene? Surely there’s a purpose for this hole in the wall that leads to Luna’s quarters? Given Final Fantasy’s history of beautiful, tragic romances, I’m looking for a lot more here than I got. I can’t mourn someone I never knew, and when I’m feeling more compassion for a car than an actual character, you know there was a missed storytelling opportunity somewhere.

Then again (though I’d prefer it sooner), this could be fodder for a FFXV-2, which, given the game’s insta-success and Square Enix’s sudden fixation on FF sequels, is probably inevitable. As such, I’m going to theorize on that next, so stay tuned... 

In the meantime, if you want to weigh in on any or all of the above, whether you think I’m on the right track or completely out to lunch, let me know. I’d love to bounce some ideas around somewhere other than inside my own head. ;)