I managed to watch the Final Fantasy XV Kingsglaive movie twice so far here in Tokyo, and to put it short, the movie is AMAZING. I went in thinking it was going to be a movie that was visually appealing but with a kind of crappy storyline, but it was anything but that! Here’s my long summary/review of the movie (tons of spoilers ahead)~

The movie is definitely an epic kind of movie although the pacing was very fast, but I’ll try to explain the movie in sections (I think that the movie is actually divided into 3 or 4 different “Acts,” much like a play).

PART 1:

The movie starts off with Luna narrating the history behind the war between the Nilfheim Empire and Lucis, among other lands as well. Tenebrae, the land where Luna is from and apparently “princess” of, was taken over by Nilfheim. This is the scene where we see Luna pushing Noctis in a wheelchair. Noctis is injured from his encounter with that snake monster thing we see in the first episode of Brotherhood.

When Nilfheim invades, they kill Luna’s mother, who was the Queen of Tenebrae, because she was trying to protect her son, Ravus, from the mighty soldier Glauca.

Regis tries to save them, but he ends up fleeing along with Noctis and Luna. However, Luna decides to stay with her family, leaving Regis and Noctis as the Nilfheim empire takes over their land.

Fast forward to 12 years later. Luna and Noctis have not seen each other for 12 whole years. She basically is a kind of prisoner where she lives, and she tries to leave her quarters but her brother Ravus, now a very bitter man, denies her permission to leave the castle. So basically she’s stuck where she is.

Now we get to the scene of the Glaives trying to ward off Nilfheim’s soldiers in the borders of the Lucis empire. Insomnia, the main city of Lucis, has been guarded heavily by the power of the crystal that allows everyone to be able to perform magic. This is something that the other empires, particularly Nilfheim, lack. The crystal encases the entire city in a barrier (think the magic move Protect lol).

The Glaives try to defend their borders. While this is happening, we are introduced to Nyx, Libertus, and Crowe. Nyx and Libertus are fighting off behemoths, Nilfheim robot guards, Cerberus, while Crowe is trying to conjure a powerful magic spell (I think it was firestorm).

The spell was cast properly, but Nilfheim brought in the Diamond Weapon (yes, the same weapon from FF7), and this wrecks shit up.

So the Glaives are ordered to retreat, but in the process, Libertus gets stuck by a boulder falling on his foot. Nyx then plays the hero and saves his friend, ignoring orders to retreat, before going back to Insomnia.

PART 2:

Back in Insomnia, a lot of things are happening. The most prominent is Ardyn Izunia, the chancellor of Nilfheim, coming to visit, alone and unguarded. He comes to see King Regis, who sits atop his throne with his council members. Ardyn proposes a peace treaty that Lucis gives up the war on the condition that Lucis gives up their territory to Nilfheim outside of Insomnia, and that Noctis and Luna, the Princess of Tenebrae, now a Nilfheim claimed area, be betrothed. King Regis is very hesitant to allow this, but if this will help them end the war, then the treaty will be signed.

The council members and Regis have a heated discussion as to whether or not they should accept the treaty. Clarus, Regis’ right hand man and good friend (and Gladio’s father), asks him what he should do. Regis decides that the right thing to do is to give up the land and have Noctis wed Luna to end the war.

Meanwhile, Nyx and the others are chilling in an AMAZING PART OF INSOMNIA (literally, this underground world in the city is SO AWESOME. It’s kind of like Midgar but feels more real. Almost like the crappy parts of Tokyo but with a lot of personality and a nice gritty feel). Libertus broke his leg during the seige at the Lucis borders, so he’s sitting with a cast and popping painkiller pills. You can tell that Nyx, Libertus, and Crowe are pretty close as they talk and eat food from what looks to be a shwarma kebab restaurant meets yakitori hut lol.

Libertus and Nyx are then seen at a training ground for Glaives to practice their warping. Nyx has a flashback to the time when he tried to save his sister and mother, but could not do so. Apparently, Nyx is one of the best knights who has one of the strongest grips on magic and warping powers. He notes that the Glaive who is practicing is not timing his landings properly, that’s why he’s getting hurt.

Sometime after, the Glaives hear the news that the war will end by means of a peace treaty for Noctis and Luna to wed. They are pretty apalled at this since they feel like all that they’ve been fighting for thus far has been for naught. Nyx is appointed to be in charge of the ceremonial proceedings while Crowe is being sent away to deliver an elaborate hair piece to Luna personally.

Libertus finds this slightly suspicious, but he and Nyx see her off as she goes into a Speedy Chocobo Delivery van LOL (there is actually a chibi Chocobo in the design of the logo). Libertus tells her to be careful because she’s like a sister to them all, and she says “Yeah yeah. You two be safe.” And drives off.

When she gets to a point in a desolate area, the van drops her off and she proceeds on motorcylce. But it appears that she’s being followed by someone, and before she even is able to leave, the car drives up to her.

As the music goes into a crescendo, we cut to a scene where Nyx is watching some weird cartoon show on TV (drawn in a style of Cartoon Network type animation LOL) and he’s shirtless and is playing with fire in his hands. Yes, fanservice. Nyx’s house is super small and really shitty. It’s a run-down apartment with one bed, a desk, and a small window. Being a fancy knight and protector of the kingdom who works directly under the King, you would think that Regis paid the Glaives more lol. Anyway, shortly after this scene, Nyx then gets ready to go out and puts on his Glaive uniform.

Back at Insomnia, Drautos, the guy who looks like a younger Sean Bean but more buff, who is captain of the Glaives, escorts Nyx to help the Princess come into the city. While they drive in a nice ass car, they talk briefly about what it means to follow orders and what it means for the kingdom to finally end the war. Drautos says that this is necessary, but Nyx kind of brushes it off.

Nyx then gets in the car that Luna is currently seated in and drives her to the castle. He then waits as she goes to meet King Regis.

When she sees King Regis, this is apparently their first time meeting after 12 years, with the last time being when Luna’s mother was killed by Nilfheim soldiers and King Regis and Noctis fled. Now, personally, I don’t understand how the hell Luna and Regis can still be so friendly amongst each other. 12 years passed and they act like they’re best buds. To me, this “relationship” that is shown on screen doesn’t work because we literally know nothing about how much they bonded before the events that happened 12 years ago. Moreover, Luna says that she doesn’t mind wedding Noctis if it will bring peace. While she says that her feelings after 12 years still have not changed, it seems pretty dubious to me. In either case, Regis is concerned that she is giving up her own freedom and happiness for Lucis, but she said that this is for the greater good.

The movie cuts to a scene where two men are looking for scrap metal in a dumpy place, much near where Crowe was last seen. There are flies flying around everywhere, and one of the men find a body covered in flies, who wears the same gloves that Crowe wore.

Sometime later, Nyx gets an urgent call from Drautos saying that something happened to Crowe. Nyx and Libertus then rush to the castle’s coroner to ask what happened, and they show Crowe dead with a shocked expression on her face.

Libertus and Nyx leave the place and mourn her, with Libertus saying that her eyes looked as if someone betrayed her, as if the Kingdom betrayed her. He then says he doesn’t want to do this Glaive crap anymore and decides to take matters into his own hands by going to some underground network and figuring out what is exactly going on, as there is definitely something suspicious going on with this treaty signing. Drautos comes to them and gives them a box of Crowe’s belongings, including the hair piece that she was trying to deliver to Luna, as well as a watch that does not tell time.

Iedolas Aldercapt, the Ruler of Nilfheim, arrive in Insomnia. That night, there is a grand party on the rooftop a fancy hotel with fireworks and Somnus playing in the background (this is to allude to the party scene that was scrapped with Noctis and Stella from FF Versus 13). Iedolas and Regis talk briefly about the treaty, and during this time, Luna and Nyx speak for the first time.

She tells Nyx that she’s sorry she did not ask for his name earlier today when he drove her to the castle. He says that he’s one of the Glaives who works directly for the King. She then tells him, “So I guess the safest place to be is by your side, right?” ( and lol i ship them ). Nyx laughs it off and finally tells her his name. He also gives her the hair piece saying that it was intended to be delivered to Luna by a close friend of his who was killed during the delivery of it. Luna says she is very sorry to hear that but takes the hair piece from him anyway.

Sometime later, we see Luna on the rooftop alone, praying for the Gods to protect Noctis. Glauca, the soldier from Nilfheim who killed her mother, comes to her and tells her that she knows what will about to happen. She tries to leave him, but he grabs her and says that she is much too clever to think that this is some kind of “peace treaty.” Luna asks him why is he doing all of this, and he tells her that she will understand, everything will happen tomorrow during the signing of the treaty.

PART 3:

Iedolas and his council along with Regis and his own council are getting ready to sign the peace treaty. There are huge crowds outside of the castle, some supporting the treaty and others protesting against it. While they make proceeds to sign the treaty, Nyx receives an intercom from Drautos saying that the Princess of Tenebrae, Luna, is nowhere to be found in Insomnia.

Nyx then thinks about the watch that he took from Crowe’s personal belongings. The watch did not tell time, but it did have numbers running. He then figures out that the numbers were coordinates for something, so he asks his friend (I can’t remember if it was Libertus or someone else) to find out where these coordinates point to. They point toa somewhere outside the Insomnia borders where a fleet of airships are waiting to attack.

Nyx first asks Drautos over the intercom to give permission to deploy the Glaives, but Drautos is somehow missing. He then goes to the King to ask for permission to deploy the Glaives. King Regis gives the okay, and now is very suspicious of this treaty signing. Nyx then gathers all of the Glaives and heads to the direction of the coordinates of the watch. They then end up outside of Insomnia and to their surprise, a massive fleet of Nilfheim airships are stationed right outside the crystal’s protection shield, ready to attack.

They then infiltrate the airship while Nyx looks for Luna. It turns out that half of the Glaives betray Nyx and the other Glaives who are still loyal to the kingdom. While this is happening, Nyx finally finds Luna and they try to escape the airship together. This scene is freaking AWESOME. There is so much going on, and I don’t even know how they did this in CG, it’s just…mind boggling. When Nyx and Luna are running, Luna gets pulled back by an Ultros octopus. Yes, there is a giant Ultros octopus on board the ship LOL. While the Glaives are fighting each other, Nyx tries warping to Luna to save her from the claws (tentacles) of Ultros. He manages to save her, and they hop onboard another air ship that crashed into the airship they were into. Nyx and Luna then get into the cockpit. Luna tries to drive the ship but Nyx tells her to move aside and let him handle the ship.

While this is happening, the treaty signing is still going on, but Iedolas betrays Regis right at the last second before they are about to sign the treaty. He brings out a gun, and immediately all the Lucis council members ready their magic weapons out of thin air. This is the part where we see from the E3 Trailer in 2013 where Regis and his council have their weapons pointed at the Nilfheim side.

We learn from Iedolas that they are here to infiltrate the castle and take the crystal. Their army then storm the castle and detonate bombs to take the crystal, which is heavily guarded by Lucian soldiers. However, the Nilfheim empire’s machinery is too strong, so they are able to stop the crystal’s protective shield from working.

This part was AMAZING. It was definitely a great homage to what they had planned in the E3 2013 trailer when FF Versus XIII was revealed to be FFXV. I had goosebumps lol.

Back to Luna and Nyx. Luna gets into the driver’s side of the airship, and then Nyx asks her to move since he will be steering them. They then both see from the airship that the protective shield of Insomnia has disappeared and that the Nilfheim airships have already begun to enter the city by air. One of the airships takes the huge crystal away, and the invasion begins.

All the while, the airship that Luna and Nyx are on still has Ultros hanging on, so Nyx tries to do a kamikaze dive so that the Ultros gets pierced in the heart by one of the skyscrapers. He then steers the air ship away, but Luna says that they’re going to pass the castle. She wants to go to the castle to go to Regis’ side, but Nyx says it’s too dangerous. As they get closer to the castle, Luna says she’s going to jump from the airship, to which Nyx says, “Are you kidding? In THAT dress?” Luna’s resolve is clear and she actually jumps out of the airship in hopes of landing on one of the castle’s ledges. Nyx says, “You’ve got to be kidding me” and warps out of the airship and holds her while they land onto one of the balconies of the castle.

They then run to look for King Regis. Regis is currently fighting Iedolas, but Iedolas soon leaves when more Nilfheim soldiers come. Finally, Regis and Clarus, along with other council members, face off their ultimate opponent- Glauca, the ultimate soldier of Nilfheim.

Regis tells Clarus if he wants to leave, now is the time to save himself. Clarus scoffs at the idea, saying, “Why would I leave the King’s side? As if that would ever happen.” Clarus then proceeds to fight with Glauca, but Glauca is too powerful. Regis then tries using powerful magic against Glauca, which helped a bit, but Glauca swung his sword and threw Clarus against a wall. He then flings his sword, stabbing Clarus through the heart and skewering him to the wall. Regis yells out Clarus’ name and is very angered. Glauca then slices Regis’ finger off, and the ring that he wore falls off.

Ravus, Luna’s brother, is watching this the entire time, and once the ring falls off of Regis’ hand, he picks it up. He heard from legends that the ring contains ultimate power given by the Great Kings of Lucis. He puts the ring on, and time stops. However, he is not strong enough for the ring, and it in turn burns his hand.

Nyx and Luna arrive and see that Regis is injured. Nyx then fights Glauca for a bit before they retreat into an elevator. Luna then rips a part of her dress to help wrap Regis’ hand, which is bleeding profusely. Regis then begs Nyx to protect Luna, not as an order from the King, but as a request from human to human. He then reveals to Luna that Noctis is heading to Altissia, and that Luna needs to meet up with him to deliver the ring to him. Nyx then scoffs at Regis, saying that the King would rather sacrifice his entire fleet of Glaives and army to save his son rather than allow his son to take part in the battle. Regis says this is not true, and Luna says that this is for the purpose of the future, that everything is done for the future King, to save the world.

Nyx then agrees to protect Luna, and while they escape with Regis, Glauca breaks the elevator. Regis then lets go of Luna’s hand, much like how Luna let go of his hand when they were running from the Nilfheim emperor (and Glauca too) 12 years ago. Regis then tells Luna that they must go to safety, for Noctis MUST have the ring. Luna then asks Regis to come with them, but Regis puts a strong barrier between them and him.

Luna runs to the barrier and wants to go to Regis’ side, but Nyx holds her back and tells her that they must leave. Regis then proceeds to fight with Glauca, and after some time, Glauca manages to dramatically stab Regis while Nyx and Luna are watching from the other side of the barrier. Nyx is furious and wants to rush to fight Glauca, but Luna calms him, and they escape together while Regis is lying on the floor dead.

PART 4:

Nyx and Luna get into a super fancy Audi LOL and zoom away from the castle. While they’re on the run, Nilfheim soldiers attack them from the airship. However, Nyx’s Glaive friends help out, and they are able to escape into an abandoned building after a lot of crazy action scenes going on with cars lol. Nyx asks Luna to hold the steering wheel as he tries to warp to the air ship that’s assaulting them with bullets, but he finds out that his warping abilities and magic is gone since King Regis is now dead.

After more action scenes, Nyx and Luna finally hide in a room in a deserted building, but their moment of peace is interrupted when suddenly, a bug monster thing breaks through the window and tries to attack Nyx and Luna. Nyx then wonders how they found us, and he figures out that the hairpiece that Luna is wearing has a tracking device in it. He then tries to figure out which part of the hairpiece has the tracker, and he finds it in the crystal that is the centerpiece of the accessory.

They then have a small talk about Nyx’s past. Nyx explains that he was not able to save his mother and sister a long time ago, and that’s why he decided to join the Glaive, to be able to defend and protect people and his kingdom. Luna then says that people would do anything for family they love.

Their moment of peace is interrupted again when the Nilfheim soldiers as well as a whole fleet of flying bugs find them. Luna and Nyx then escape again, and Nyx hurts his leg while in the process. During this time, Drautos appears back on the intercom and communicates with Nyx, asking him if he and Luna are all right. Nyx then tells Drautos to meet him at the intersection in the center of the city.

Nyx and Luna then reach the area at a street roundabout intersection. Nyx tells Luna to stay hidden while he makes sure that the coast is clear. He walks slowly to the open space, saying “My name is Nyx Ulric. If someone is there, show yourself!” Luna is watching from behind a column, but then Luche, one of the Glaives, shoots Nyx two times through the chest. Luna then calls for Nyx as he slumps to the floor in pain. Luche, the Glaive that was supposed to be on Nyx’s side, reveals that there is no point for Glaives to be loyal anymore. Nilfheim is far stronger, and the war that the Lucis empire fought was for no reason. Nyx tells Luna to run, and she tries to while carrying the ring with her, but Luche stops her. She then reluctantly gives him the ring, and when he puts it on, he is engulfed in flames.

Luna picks up the ring once more and runs to Nyx’s side. She holds his hand and he puts his hand over hers while trying to stand, and he leans into her but cannot get up since he was shot. Libertus then comes out of nowhere driving a huge SUV. Drautos also drives up in a car and comes out, looking at what had just happened. Libertus then spots Drautos and floors the car, ramming him into the wall. However, Drautos flings the car away from him, and it is revealed that Drautos IS Glauca the invicible soldier from Nilfheim.

He then tries to kill Nyx and Luna to take the ring away from them, but Nyx takes the ring from Luna and puts it on his finger. Time then slows down, and Nyx is visited by the great Kings of Lucis. They ask him why he wants the ring’s power. Nyx laughs at them saying he doesn’t want power. They then ask Nyx who does he want to save? His friend Libertus or the girl, Luna? Nyx says that he wants to save the world and the future king. The Kings then set Nyx’s hand on fire, but then Regis’ voice comes in and takes pity in him. The Kings then tell Nyx that he has until dawn to set things straight. However come dawn, he will fade away. He then laughs again, saying, “That’s a great deal now, isn’t it?”

Time suddenly resumes its normal course and Nyx fights Glauca with powerful magic now. He uses shield to protect himself and Luna from Glauca’s onslaught, and while he distracts Glauca, he gives the ring back to Luna and tells Libertus to take her out of the city. Luna says that she can’t leave Nyx, but Nyx says that she has to for the future King. He tells Luna to give his regards to Noctis when she finally meets up with him. Luna then reluctantly leaves Nyx as he resumes his fight with Glauca.

Libertus and Luna then hop in a car while Glauca and Nyx duke it out. While this is happening, the Nilfheim empire is bringing in the Diamond Weapon once more into Insomnia to destroy the city. Nyx then summons THE KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND (I was freaking out lol). The Knights of the Round are actually statues that you see around the city throughout the movie, so it was SO COOL to see them fight. They also possess the warp ability, much like the glaives, and fight off the air ships as well as the Diamond Weapon.

While Libertus and Luna are fleeing, Glauca suddenly appears, but Libertus is able to fend him off while Luna drives the car. Nyx then comes on the shoulder of one of the Knights of the Round, and he then punches Glauca, and the two proceed on a battle that takes FOREVER with both the Knights of the Round vs. Diamond Weapon and Nyx vs. Glauca.

When Nyx finally fatally stabs Glauca, the sun is already rising. The Knights of the Round also manage to defeat the Diamond Weapon but the city is in shambles. Iedolas and Ardyn watch as the city goes to ruin, with Ardyn commenting, “wow, what a waste of a beautiful city.” They then fly back to Nilfheim.

As Glauca is dying, we see Nyx also slowly fading into ashes. Glauca then says that he learned from the past and wants to see a better world, and he knows Nilfheim can do it. Nyx says he’s wrong, and that all of this fighting is so that the future king, Noctis, can set the world right again.

Libertus and Luna finally reach the border of the city. Libertus then tells Luna to give his best regards to Noctis, and Luna tells him thank you. Libertus tells Luna that she and Noctis must return to Insomnia one of these days as he and Nyx will be waiting for them. He cries as he says this, knowing that Nyx is probably gone already. Luna smiles sadly and says that all of this is for the future king, and for the future of the world.

Luna then walks away on the highway with the ring in hand, and this is the infamous scene from the secret ending of the Duscae Demo where we see Luna walking alone as Insomnia lays in ruins.

There is one more scene at the end after the credits where we see the four boys in the Regalia, and Prompto is driving the car. They’re on their way to Altissia when the car breaks down.

END

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MY THOUGHTS:

The movie blew me away LOL. I thought that it was going to have a pretty sub-par storyline, but the storyline was actually extremely complex and gripping. Definitely had me on the edge of my seat the entire time even though we all more or less know what happened while Noctis and his bros were out in Duscae fixing their car lol.

The easter eggs in the movie were awesome, from the Knights of the Round summon to the Diamond weapon to even a freaking Ultros LOL??? So great.

Also, Nyx Ulric is such a great character. I really hope that he comes back in FFXV in some way. Or maybe, if he’s THAT popular of a character, I hope there will be some DLC about him since I want to know more about his background, how did he become so strong? Why did he pass the trial of the Kings when he put on the ring? Is there something about him that makes him different? THERE IS SO MUCH MORE I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT NYX ULRIC.

In terms of shipping or whatnot, I personally think that Nyx and Luna have way more chemistry than Noctis and Luna. First off, Luna and Noctis have not seen each other for 12 years. I personally cannot see them liking (much less LOVE) each other after not seeing them all throughout their teenage and adult life? Second, with the treaty in shambles, Luna and Noctis are technically not betrothed at the moment. While Noctis thinks he’s still scheduled to marry Luna, since the wedding has been called off after the invasion of Nilfheim, where does that bring their relationship now?

Further, while Noctis thinks he’s meeting up with Luna in Altissia to be wed, Luna is actually meeting up with him with the sole purpose of delivering the important ring of power (lol lotr reference) that Regis bestowed upon him.

Does this mean we will see a romance between Noctis and Luna? I personally do not see it happening at this stage, but maybe the game can prove me wrong. Also, if the FFXV game spoilers I read online are true,

**POSSIBLE MAJOR SPOILER NEXT LINE*



Luna dies at the hands of Ardyn, so if that’s the case, what impact does that have on Luna and Noctis’ relationship?



**END MAJOR SPOILER**

However, throughout the entire movie, although the time is short, we do get to see Luna and Nyx interact a lot. From the way they bicker, which is pretty hilarious, I see a lot of on-screen chemistry. Of course, that’s all gone (I GUESS??) since Nyx “dies” (DOES HE THOUGH???) but we’ll see what happens in the game.

Overall, I think that this movie was definitely breathtaking visually as well as very impressive storyline wise, and I wish that we got to see more of Insomnia because the city is so vast and amazing. I want to explore every nook and cranny of it, but apparently Insomnia is not a very large map in the actual game, so we shall see what happens when the game finally comes out!