Sitdown Review – KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV

It has been ten years since Final Fantasy XV was announced in the form of Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Originally purported as a part of Final Fantasy XIII’s over-branching Fabula Nova Crystallis series, it was much darker, gloomy, and it lacked a sense of hope apparent in previous FF entries. Fast forward to 2016, and the dark tale of the Twilight Prince became a coming of age tale for four friends, and how their journey mattered to the soul of Lucis.

It is also a welcome delight to see the entirety of Final Fantasy XV being fleshed out in other formats other than the core game itself. We have an anime series contemplating on our heroes’ past lives, a pachinko game similar to the one Noctis and his friends play, and a movie which expands on the core tale’s narrative.

That said, your FlipGeeks Team’s editors sat down for a review of one of the year’s much awaited CG flicks: Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV.

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Yuri Mangahas (Managing Editor for Movies, TV & Animation, Twitter: @shutterkindler, IG: yurithekid)

Instead of serving as a pale tie-in to an existing Final Fantasy property, Kingsglaive expands even further on the plot, as it aims to explain the gaps of the game, as well as the events that took place during our heroes’ unlikely journey. Think of the film as a companion, rather than being just a mere prequel.

Kingsglaive takes place in parallel to the events of Final Fantasy XV, focusing on events surrounding Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII, the father of the core game’s main character Noctis. The protagonists are from the Kingsglaive, an elite guard sharing Regis’ magical powers that defend the kingdom of Lucis and its crystal from the invading empire of Niflheim. Faced with continued detrimental conflict, Regis accepts an armistice with Niflheim: as part of the peace treaty, his son must marry Lady Lunafreya Nox Fleuret of the imperial province of Tenebrae. The treaty turns out to be a ruse for Niflheim to invade, and Kingsglaive soldier Nyx Ulric is caught up with Regis and Lunafreya in a battle to secure the future of Lucis.

Unexpectedly, it surpasses Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in more ways than one. The CG work here is top notch, and is almost real. You can see more detail, grit, and human-esque expressions with the characters’ models. The team even took it higher by improving on the game’s landscapes and visuals. How can you not love Tenebrae’s lush greens, Galahd’s desolated lands, and Insomnia’s urban jungle? Square Enix definitely scored a huge win on this aspect.

Unlike Advent Children’s focus on flashy moves, Kingsglaive utilised a different approach in terms of the fight choreo. The battles are insane, frenetic, and raw. You can feel every strike, crash, and movement with each frame. They did a great job as well with the camera work, emulating the ones we see with live-action fight films.

The plot is wonderfully written, and despite the short running time, there is a sense of sympathy with the film’s protagonists. It was surprising that there’s enough room for character development even with the amount of characters lugged to the narrative. The voice actors also did well portraying the core protagonists. Sean Bean’s Regis did better than the game’s iteration, and he certainly laid gravitas with the role. Aaron Paul owned Nyx in every bit, synching his voice work with the character’s CG model. Lena Headey didn’t disappoint too, though it lacked the strength personified by Lunafreya’s Japanese voice.

If you are looking for a movie to watch this weekend, choose Kingsglaive, and make sure you’re patient enough to wait a few months for the game.

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Ryan Villanueva (Managing Editor for Gaming, Tech, and Collectibles, Twiiter, IG: @luiboi)

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is the prequel to one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, Final Fantasy XV. The game will not come out until November 2016, which is why Kingsglaive couldn’t have come at a more better time.

Kingsglaive basically serves as a one hour and fifty-minute cinematic intro to the game. It tells you everything that there is to know about the Final Fantasy XV universe. The story rightfully begins how the war between the kingdoms of Niflheim and Lucis started. Then the story shifts to the protagonist of the movie, Nyx (Aaron Paul) who is a member of the Kingsglaive (which is similar to the role of a King’s guard) who was asked to protect Luna (Lena Headey) as she is soon to be wed to Final Fantasy XV’s main protagonist, Noctis, the son of King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII.

Unfortunately or expectedly, King Regis is played by Sean Bean, who has a long history of movies wherein the character he portrays always dies and Kingsglaive is no different.

The story is well-written, classic Final Fantasy. It’s one of the movies strengths but if there’s one flaw to the story, it’s the dialogue. Since this is your standard, classic Japanese Role Playing Game, the dialogue tends to be cheesy at times. It’s not terrible, may be it’s because of dubbing or the translation but it’s not that bad.

Kingsglaive is a thing of beauty, the cgi’s is crisp, detailed and life like. They definitely made use of the technology that we have today. It’s unfair to compare but Kingsglaive is way better than Advent Children. The attention to detail given to Kingsglaive is simply outstanding.

Fight scenes are my favorite part of the movie. Each fight scene is drop deap gorgeous. It’s so beautiful that there are moments wherein your eyes can’t seem to follow and you just absorbed everything that is on the big screen. Kingsglaive should be re-released in IMAX format!

We were just fortunate enough that we were able to take advantage of SM Cinema’s exclusive screening of Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. Kingsglaive is everything that I have hoped for and more. The movie is more than a teaser to Final Fantasy XV the game, it perfectly sets up the stage for things to come. As the credits were rolling, I’m already imagining holding a PS4 controller waiting for the game to start.

Can’t wait for the game? We feel you.

Special thanks to SM Cinemas and Sony Pictures. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV is playing in select SM Cinemas.