There is no shadow of doubt that the strongest point of the movie lies in its animation . Rather than engaging in redundancy by attempting to describe the animation in words, watch the official trailer on YouTube to see it for yourself. It's worth the two minutes of your time even if you're not a Final Fantasy fan. The depiction of Insomnia is extremely immersive and it does its job at getting me excited to begin exploring the world of Final Fantasy XV.
The story is nothing standout if one views it as a stand-alone movie. However, I consider that the main purpose of the movie would be more of an introduction to the world and historical background of Final Fantasy XV as it is a prequel to the game after all. While the story might be simple and rather predictable, I think keeping it this way as a prequel to the game was the correct decision as having a convoluted story with plot twists out of nowhere would spoil the movie's purpose of being an introduction as it will scare away a part of its target audience.
The characters are not particularly outstanding, but commendable nonetheless. The main character - Nyx is likable and will get you rooting for him throughout the story. By the end of it he will be remembered as a badass. One thing I must give credit to the creators for is the fact that they did well to show the plight of some of the characters in the story and their moral conflict within themselves in a not overly-complicated way. This movie did not just keep so simple as to merely - "Oh, this guy is good. This guy is bad," but actually displays why some of the characters in the show make the decisions they did, which gives way more depth to their actions. Although I think there could be more focus on that moral conflict, it was sufficient for me to see these characters as more than just mere generic good guys or villains.
Being a Final Fantasy fan, I could notice and appreciate many references to creatures that exist in the Final Fantasy universe, increasing my enjoyment of the show. My only complaint would be the fact that some action scenes can get really messy, which does make it unclear and possibly even confusing as to what is going on. I also thought that the action scenes were slightly too drawn out. However, it is far from boring and it didn't detract from my enjoyment and viewing experience.
Despite this not being mandatory to play the game, do give this a go if you are planning to play the game. It's worth it as it serves as a decent prequel and adds hype to the upcoming release of the game.
