| Final Fantasy XV: | |
| Title Orig: | 小説 FINAL FANTASY XV -The Dawn Of The Future- |
| Orig Lang Code: | ja |
| Translator: | Stephen Kohler |
| Author: | Emi Nagashima |
| Country: | Japan |
| Language: | Japanese |
| Series: | Final Fantasy |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | Square Enix |
| Pub Date: | April 25, 2019 |
| English Pub Date: | June 23, 2020 (Square Enix) |
| Media Type: | Print (ebook and hardcover) |
| Pages: | 408 |
| Isbn: | 1-6460-9000-4 |
Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future is a fantasy novel, written by Emi Nagashima (as Jun Eishima) and published by Square Enix. It is based on the universe and characters of Final Fantasy XV, an entry in the company's long-running Final Fantasy franchise. It was first released in Japan in April 2019, before being released worldwide in June 2020 as one of the debut titles in the company's newly formed Western publishing house.
The story follows four characters from the game; main protagonist Noctis Lucis Caelum, lead heroine Lunafreya Nox Fleuret, supporting character Aranea Highwind, and main antagonist Ardyn Izunia. The four experience a series of events which alter their destinies and bring them into conflict with Bahamut, leader of the world's deities. The Dawn of the Future was intended as an alternate finale to and definitive ending of Final Fantasy XV and its additional media.
The novel's narrative was originally planned as episodic downloadable content for Final Fantasy XV in 2019, but only the first episode was completed due to the departure of project leader Hajime Tabata. The team wanted to release the planned narrative, so opted to have Nagashima turn their draft storyline into a novel. Both the staff and Nagashima, who had written novels for both Final Fantasy and , were skeptical about the project. In Japan, the novel saw higher-than-expected sales. Western reviews were mixed; several praised the character portrayals, but its theme of defying fate saw negative reactions when compared to the game's themes of sacrifice.
See also: Development of Final Fantasy XV. The Dawn of the Future began as downloadable content (DLC) for the 2016 role-playing video game Final Fantasy XV. The parts were provisionally titled Episode Ardyn, Gaiden Episode Aranea, Episode Lunafreya and Episode Noctis. Following the success of the original wave of DLC in 2017, developer Square Enix greenlit The Dawn of the Future to provide closure to the game's story and characters. The Dawn of the Future was to expand upon the base narrative and offer a new scenario where key characters defy their predetermined fates to create an ideal future. Development was handled by internal studio Luminous Productions, which had taken over production of post-release content in 2018.
The DLC's main theme was "grand finale", with the aim being to provide a happy ending for the characters. The dark tone and exposition of Episode Ardyn was intended to contrast with the lighter tone of Episode Aranea and the last two episodes. The scenario draft, written by the DLC's narrative director Toru Osanai, was completed by March 2018. Each episode was being handled by different writers. Episode Ardyn and Episode Aranea were being written by Koichiro Ito who had worked on the playable teaser P.T., while Episode Luna was being co-written by Osanai, Tomoyoshi Nagai and Yuichiro Takeda. Takeda, known for his work on the Xenoblade series, was also writing the scenario for Episode Noctis. Some of the narrative reused concepts that had to be cut from early brainstorming sessions for Final Fantasy XV.
During this period, the game's original director and later producer Hajime Tabata was losing interest in the project and wanted to go on "his own path" without inconveniencing anyone. After internal discussions, Tabata decided to leave Square Enix and form his own studio. The company parted with Tabata on good terms, but the decision was made to cancel the second series of DLC and end post-release support for the game. At the time of cancellation, Episode Ardyn was almost complete, and the other episodes were at various stages of completion or drafting. After internal discussions about what to tell the public, they finally announced that the remaining episodes were cancelled. Episode Ardyn was released in March 2019.
Despite the cancellation, Square Enix looked into alternative ways of releasing their planned story. The unfinished content was turned into a novel, written for long-term fans of the game to provide closure for the project and its universe. Square Enix hired Emi Nagashima, who had previously written supplementary materials for Final Fantasy XIII and . Writing under the pen name Jun Eishima, Nagashima based the novel on materials from the Final Fantasy XV development team, including Osanai's story draft. There were mixed feelings from staff about turning the DLC into a novel, including from Nagashima herself. Osanai was worried that the narrative would be destroyed by the format change, but he felt Nagashima succeeded in turning the DLC narrative into an effective novel. The novel adapts Episode Ardyn and follows the scenario where Ardyn rejects his fate in order to deliver a new ending to the fans.
Final Fantasy XV: The Dawn of the Future is set on the Earth-like world of Eos, where humans are overseen by a divine race called the Astrals. A formative event is the Great War of Old, a conflict between the Astrals triggered when humanity attacked them and sent the Astral Ifrit into a destructive rage. The present world is split between the Niflheim empire and the free kingdom of Lucis, who fight for control of Lucis's magical Crystal. Additionally, an ancient plague called the Starscourge re-emerges, turning native life into monsters called Daemons and lengthening the nights. The Oracle, a human gifted with the power to commune with the Astrals, acts as a healer holding the Starscourge at bay. According to prophecy, a figure called the True King will cleanse Eos of the Starscourge at the cost of his life.
The novel follows four characters during events leading off from Final Fantasy XV and its DLC. Noctis Lucis Caelum is heir to the throne of Lucis and the prophesied True King. Lunafreya Nox Fleuret is the current Oracle and Noctis's fiancée in a political marriage. Aranea Highwind is a dragoon mercenary working for Niflheim who turns into an ally of Noctis's. Ardyn Izunia—also called Ardyn Lucis Caelum—is the Chancellor of Niflheim and the game's main antagonist.
The novel was released in Japan on April 25, 2019. It was published both as a standalone book, and as part of a "Celebration Box" which included an artbook, a postcard set, a themed coaster, and a Blu-ray copy of Episode Ardyn Prologue, an original video animation detailing Ardyn's past. Upon release, Square Enix ran out of inventory due to popular demand, prompting both an apology and rapid restocks. Work on an English translation was confirmed in early 2019. The English translation was done by Stephen Kohler. It includes fifty pieces of artwork, including illustrations and concept art. The novel's planned date for English version was June 23, 2020 through Square Enix Books & Manga, a publishing imprint of Square Enix created in partnership with Penguin Random House. Due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the physical release was delayed to July 14, while the digital version was released on the original date.
James Beckett of Anime News Network was critical of how the fight scenes and resolution were written, but still lauded the narratives of Lunafreya and Noctis as superior to the game. Anime UK praised the character writing, particularly Ardyn and Aranea, but faulted its alternate take on events which continued to leave gaps in the original game's narrative. RPGFans Peter Triezenberg enjoyed seeing Noctis's perspective, and praised Aranea's personality, but found Ardyn and Lunafreya's chapters lacking; Lunafreya in particular was criticised due to her inconsistent portrayal in both the book and the Final Fantasy XV universe as a whole. Alex Fuller of RPGamer felt it could be enjoyable for Final Fantasy fans, but noted a lack of explanation for newcomers, and faulted the second half's premise relying on "a complete, clumsily justified ret-con". Both Anime UK and Triezenberg faulted a shift from the game's theme of sacrifice to that of defying fate borrowed from the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy subseries.