On the eve on of the release of Episode Ardyn DLC in March, Square Enix released a free anime episode about Ardyn’s past. Here are my thoughts on Final Fantasy XV Episode Ardyn Prologue.

Fans have always known that Ardyn is a complex villain with shadowy motivations tied to his past. And fans have been getting tasty little snippets of his past that has had us salivating for more. We know that he had a brother whom he claims stole the throne from him. This is all information that players of Final Fantasy XV get from the villain himself, but as it is for most villains, they aren’t the most trustworthy information source.

So for fans this prologue episode for Ardyn is extremely intriguing. Much like the other episodes for the Chocobros, this episode is a short, animated episode that gives fans a window into the past of Ardyn. While the Chocobro’s episodes are endearing, Ardyn’s episode is just tragic.

SPOILERS AHEAD

As it turns out, Ardyn is not lying about that portion of his story. He was betrayed in a brutal fashion, and if you want to see how, watch the episode on youtube and watch it to the very end as there is a new trailer for the DLC coming out in March.

I loved the prologue episode especially the tragic ending. I thought it was a step above the other episodes (Prompto, Gladio, Ignis). The only real critique I have is that it is way too short. I really wish we could get an entire animated series or even a game on Ardyn. The world he lived in, the dynamic he had with his brother and the love story he had with Aera, his fiancee, was so interesting that they could have created an entire series around it.

And let’s talk about Somnus for a moment. We have only heard bits and pieces of this elusive brother that Ardyn hates so much, none of which is particularly good. After watching the prologue, it’s very clear why Somnus is hated so much by Ardyn. To put it frankly, Somnus is quite terrible and not what you would expect in the ancestor to Noctis. Now he does betray Ardyn as seen by Aera’s reaction when he announces that he was chosen and not Ardyn. Clearly Ardyn was chosen and Somnus is lying, but the crystal still rejects Ardyn. I think Ardyn was the Astrals preferred king, but they didn’t know the extent of how much he was infected by the Star Scourge. What Somnus did was horrible, but to be fair, he was not infected with the Star Scourge. He also builds a lasting kingdom and lineage that protects the crystal (and thus the world) for 2000 years.

Somnus did not hide his ambition or his very strict treatment of the Star Scourge even if it bordered on cruel. His mission was to destroy the Scourge at all costs. Did he know his brother had the Scourge? More than likely yes he did or else he wouldn’t have had his men chasing Ardyn. His goal was to destroy the Star Scourge no matter who was destroyed in the process. Was having Ardyn turn into a monster used to his advantage? Yes. That’s the terrible part to him, but no one can deny that he played a large part in bringing the world out of darkness. Some may argue that Somnus is the true villain that started it all in FFXV, but I disagree. I think that the true, true villain is neither Somnus or Ardyn or Niflheim. I believe it has always been the Star Scourge. I will admit that what he did to Ardyn and, more importantly, to Aera the Oracle was despicable, but he may have seen it as a necessity especially if he thinks his brother has been compromised by the Star Scourge, but hasn’t told anyone yet.

And let us not forget that Noctis has a striking physical resemblance to Somnus. I can understand why Ardyn was so obsessed with going after Noctis and why he killed Lunafreya in the way that he did. Let’s remember that Noctis and Lunafreya could have been killed so many times by Ardyn, especially Lunafreya who was a Niflheim political hostage.

So why kill her in Altissia? I think it was because of the way Aera died. Aera is killed by Somnus, and dies in Ardyn’s arms. To get vengeance not only on the Astrals, whom he feels betrayed him, but also on his brother’s bloodline, Lunafreya always had a target on her back. She was the Astrals representative to the world and she was Noctis’s fiancee. This made her a prime target for Ardyn, but Ardyn waited until Noctis was helpless to kill her right in front of Noctis just as Somnus does to Ardyn. The similarity in the deaths is not coincidental. I think it was planned that way.

Overall, this prologue really made me even more excited for the DLC coming out in March. The DLC will take place early on in Regis’s reign, which is quite some time after the events in the prologue, but before Noctis is even born. Check out the new trailer for the DLC below (which is also seen after the credits for the Prologue episode):

This episode is definitely worth checking out. I can’t wait until March 26th for the DLC!