It has been a month since Square Enix finally released “Final Fantasy XV” and the fever has still not died down. Just as soon the said video game was released, it was declared as the fastest-selling video game. Nothing less of course from the developer that created the most successful and highly acclaimed Japanese role-playing game series.
Square Enix, even back when it was still called SquareSoft, created the “Final Fantasy” video game series and each installment released was highly anticipated. Avid fans expected original story, new characters, immersive open world and a challenging gameplay—all of which are greatly met in the end. “Final Fantasy XV” is the latest installment in the video game series and though it offers several various familiar features from the previous titles, it also introduces new things to explore that only the said new video game can offer.
One of the things that mainly stand out in “Final Fantasy XV” is the road trip experience it bestows upon its players, which is as real as it can get. In the new video game, players can finally actually drive a car in the open world, go camping, cook diversity of dishes, take photos and even just tumble with pals in training. The excessive product placement in “Final Fantasy XV” is clearly noticeable in all these features but so far they have been tolerable.
“Final Fantasy XV” includes driving the Regalia as one of its main features and boasts of it, too. Driving allows players to explore every corner of the open world as long as there is a path for the vehicle to pass through. Driving the Regalia alone has several perks, which includes fast travel to destinations, listening to official soundtracks from all “Final Fantasy” video games, and even gaining ability points during long drives. Sometimes, during drives, a cutscene with Prompto triggers various quests that will involve photography.
Another thing that makes road trips fun in “Final Fantasy XV” is when the party needs to set camp. Noctis and his party (and even their chocobos, actually) can set camp at different camping areas in the world, which are identified by a smoke and blue glowing indicators so players can easily spot them. Camping areas are also always surrounded by mineral deposits so when Noctis finds one, a place to camp in is clearly nearby.
Camping does good to Noctis and his party as this enables all the members to level up with the accumulated experience points. Aside from that, camping is the only time Ignis (and sometimes, Noctis) can cook and make dishes for the party, which are all status boosters. Ignis can learn countless recipes from harvesting crops, ordering dishes from eateries, and purchasing various recipe books.
Another fun thing that makes “Final Fantasy XV” the perfect virtual road trip experience is its fishing feature, which is actually Noctis’s hobby. Fishing in the said video game is terribly close to how it is in real life as Noctis has to lure in the bait, wait for a catch, and even be patient with pulling in the reel. Noctis skill level in fishing increases every time he successfully catches a fish.
The last thing that makes up this road trip is the tantamount picture-taking thanks to Prompto. The video game makes sure that memories are made and kept as characters share events with the players. Photos are developed, or shows up, every after the party rests.
