Dad vs Videogames 🎮

A few months ago, I bought Final Fantasy XV Royal Edition because it was on sale. I have played the standard edition before, when it was available on Gamepass. But I never really got past the first few hours in the game. This time around, after having bought it, I resolved to actually finish the game.

This game is such a quirky RPG. Maybe it’s because I haven’t played a lot of Japanese RPGs since Final Fantasy 10. Maybe these features are already in other games nowadays. But I found this game to be a departure from what I expected a Japanese RPG to be. It's like going on a road-trip adventure with your best friends, where you and your friends look like you belong in a K-pop boy band. You could say, it's like a boy band got their own action adventure RPG made for them. Weird, but good.

The game takes place in a fictional world, but is based on our modern world. Almost like a parallel universe. There are cars in the game. There are activities like camping and fishing. Cooking and eating food is a notable part of the game. One of the characters brings along his camera, which he uses to take photos and selfies throughout the game. Characters carry cellphones and would occasionally get on a call in the game. It’s not what I expected from a Japanese RPG. But man is it a good game.

Using a car is the main way to travel in the game. In fact, the fast travel feature is tied to having a car in the game. Without a car in the game, you will spend a lot of time running around because the world in this game is huge. It’s so huge, distances between driving destinations are measured in miles. It can take a couple of minutes to traverse the map depending on how far you’re going. I don’t mind it though, it gives me a short break to do other things while the characters drive to the next location.

I mentioned camping above. Resting in the game is how your characters make use of their experience points and level up. One of the options when resting is by camping outdoors. When resting at camps, you get to see the characters hang out outside their tent (except when it’s raining), sitting on their camping chairs and talking amongst each other.

Depending on the location you choose to rest at, cooking can sometimes be involved. The game will let you choose what food to cook, and then you will see a detailed rendering of that food being served in the game. This game occasionally makes me makes me hungry while playing. And it’s not just for show either. Food gives your characters long lasting buffs. This can be helpful when going up against tough enemies.

Food is also available via diners and restaurants. This makes those places a lot more useful throughout the game. One of the things I would actually do when visiting a new place, is check out the food they serve. Again, it adds to this feeling of going on a road-trip adventure with your friends.

This is also the first time I’ve seen advertisement in an RPG game. I mean I’m used to seeing ads in sports games, but don’t recall seeing one in an RPG. You could buy Nissin Instant Noodles in this game. And the camping chairs they use in the game are from Coleman.

Again, all those elements combined, gives off this “roadtrip adventure with your best friends” vibe. It's quite unlike any traditional RPG I've ever played before.

Tags: #GameLog #FinalFantasyXV