Final Fantasy XV, a video game about four men who just love hanging out and wearing black, has a few glaring issues. For example: The plot is a complete mess. The emotional beats are all there—by the end of the journey it’s hard not to care deeply about Noctis and his crew—but the story is poorly told.
Nothing makes up for the unresolved plot beats and seemingly missing cutscenes, but it does help to read this scripted prologue, which Square Enix released online earlier this week. This is an English translation of an audio drama CD that was only released in Japan, and it helps establish some of the character relationships leading into Final Fantasy XV.
In the prologue, we see the scenes leading up to the game’s opening, where a strangely sad King Regis sends Noctis out into the world and tells him never to turn back. There are also appearances from Kingsglaive characters and NPCs who don’t get nearly enough screentime in FFXV. It’s worth reading if you want some more context for the game’s opening events.