Ranking Every Final Fantasy Spin-Off Game

Square Enix stated in the run up to the release of Final Fantasy XV that their intention was to build the world of the new game solely through the Brotherhood limited series and Kingsglaive movie. They nevertheless released four spin-off games.

Two of these, the Justice Monsters Five pinball mini-game and a remake of King’s Knight, an obscure '80s game, were only released on phones and are no longer accessible. One was the aforementioned Monster Of The Deep VR experience, whilst the fourth was originally only available as a pre-order bonus at certain retailers – A King’s Tale.

A side-scrolling beat-em-up in the vein of Streets of Rage or Double Dragon, A King’s Tale put players in the shoes of Noctis’ father, King Regis, as he told a sensationalised story from his youth to his son. It added nothing to XV’s overarching story, but was a fun '80s throwback that gave minor characters like Cid, Weskham and Gladio and Iris’s father Clarus a brief moment in the spotlight.

Completable in around an hour, the gameplay was simplistic, with the only semblance of challenge coming from a series of optional battles unlocked after finishing the game. Given that it became a free download several months after XV’s release, however, it was a harmless timewaster, worth exploring for the presence of one of the series’ recurring comic relief characters, Ultros, as the villain alone.