No, the featured image in this article is not the cut content I'm talking about. This is Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV's 1st anniversary promotional artwork. For the uninitiated, Kingsglaive was a CG film that effectively served as a prologue to FFXV. Because the game barely had a prologue. And “effectively” is very subjective. It's a pretty good movie and has its moments, but I'm not sure many will agree that its presence so far removed from the game's main characters is worth sacrificing an emotionally moving opening.
Final Fantasy XV has lived rent-free in the hearts of many fans for nine years. The game is a monster. Despite having significant post-launch support, including numerous free updates and a few paid DLCs (three more unceremoniously canceled and reworked into books), I've always described these additions as being like putting a bandage on a wound that can't stop the bleeding. FFXV is beautiful and unfinished, and its unfinished state can never be disguised by its best aspects alone.
stand by me
What this all boils down to is the Final Fantasy community's slavish dedication to removing every bit of cut content, and so much of the world has sprung up on its own. This latest batch is our best-ever performance and the strongest evidence yet that promises are not being fulfilled.
The Arkane director assures everyone that Blade hasn't followed the path of other Marvel games.
There was radio silence for two years, but don't worry. Blade is alive.
Credits are important, so I'll start with a shout out to ResetEra (pictured above!) for bringing this to light by user Jaredus. This mod, which includes a partial restoration of the authentic Insomnia prologue, stands in stark contrast to the infamous way the game begins. Pushing the team's car onto the road to get gas is honestly an encouraging choice, but having Noctis and the gang learn about the kingdom's fall through the newspaper is like reading a headline in FFXV that says “Kefka did something bad” instead of witnessing it for yourself.
Anyway, as you can see, there was an actual mission here. Brought to us by Noctis' trusty carbuncle friend, the tutorial-like bit sets players up against the Iron Giant. It's certainly reminiscent of the Platinum Demo, but it's almost proof positive that something actually happened here. As Jaredus points out, even though the game is “obviously incomplete and fragmented,” it's now playable.
This year has been a big one for insomnia enthusiasts. A few months ago, the video above was taken down, courtesy of YouTuber World of Eos. (Aptly named.) It takes almost an hour to traverse the capital. It was a complete ghost town because the NPCs were not programmed. Oddly enough, this may have been the beginning of the story. But a beggar cannot be a chooser. I'm not a modder, but maybe one day someone will be able to add multiple characters and roleplay to make the experience more satisfying.
Tetsuya Nomura once described FFXV's original vision, “Final Fantasy Versus XIIII,” as a tragedy. We definitely got something different than what was predicted in the E3 2006 trailer. But uh, we've certainly had tragedies. I will forever dream of a complete version of this game.
Silent Hill is now an annual series, so don't expect another 10-year gap.
Noisy hill.
