I think I would have made these changes and to me at least the game would have been better. Spoilers for those that didn't beat the main story.
1. Re-write the plot and get rid of the movie Kingsglaive. The invasion would have happened in the actual game and Noctis would have been tossed from his kingdom. He could have done some of the stuff that Nyx did like Save Luna and Regis could have still died by having the ring use up his lifeforce to stop Glauca. When Noctis and the bros save Luna they are unable to return to Insomnia because it gets conquered.
2. Luna is a temp party member for 1/3 of the game to half of it then gets killed. After they are unable to return to Insomnia her, Noctis, and the other three begin on a journey to meet with the 6 and get Noctis their blessing so they can take down the empire. When they meet with the last one or get close she still gets killed by Ardyn but she dies on screen.
3. Aerena joins the party as a permanent member late in the game when you meet her that second time.
4. When Noctis goes into the crystal have it make him experience some sort of flashback to Ardyn's past so he and the player can see it first hand.
5. When Noctis emerges from the crystal the final night at the camp fire Cindy, Cid, Iris, Aerena, and Cor are all there and he tells them of his impending sacrifice in some sort of emotional moment type cutscene. Everyone has some involvement with the final mission that gets the main party into the citadel. The final mission being far more involved than just that quick walk to the citadel. Maybe fighting through hordes of daemons.
6. Show the remaining main cast and supporting characters in the final post credit scene somehow and what happened to them instead of just showing the world having daylight again.
Obviously with Luna and Aerena being more prolonged party members would have damaged their bro road trip formula but I think that their insistence on that weakened the overall plot of the game. Between Luna dying and Aerena joining at the tail end the bro trip could have still been a thing. I would also be open to Kingsglaive being a movie of my #1 happening and the game opening in the aftermath at #2. I would also be open to Aerena not actually joining the playable party but becoming a NPC ally involved with helping the protagonist.
2. Luna is a temp party member for 1/3 of the game to half of it then gets killed. After they are unable to return to Insomnia her, Noctis, and the other three begin on a journey to meet with the 6 and get Noctis their blessing so they can take down the empire. When they meet with the last one or get close she still gets killed by Ardyn but she dies on screen.
3. Aerena joins the party as a permanent member late in the game when you meet her that second time.
4. When Noctis goes into the crystal have it make him experience some sort of flashback to Ardyn's past so he and the player can see it first hand.
5. When Noctis emerges from the crystal the final night at the camp fire Cindy, Cid, Iris, Aerena, and Cor are all there and he tells them of his impending sacrifice in some sort of emotional moment type cutscene. Everyone has some involvement with the final mission that gets the main party into the citadel. The final mission being far more involved than just that quick walk to the citadel. Maybe fighting through hordes of daemons.
6. Show the remaining main cast and supporting characters in the final post credit scene somehow and what happened to them instead of just showing the world having daylight again.
Obviously with Luna and Aerena being more prolonged party members would have damaged their bro road trip formula but I think that their insistence on that weakened the overall plot of the game. Between Luna dying and Aerena joining at the tail end the bro trip could have still been a thing. I would also be open to Kingsglaive being a movie of my #1 happening and the game opening in the aftermath at #2. I would also be open to Aerena not actually joining the playable party but becoming a NPC ally involved with helping the protagonist.
