why i love the gourmet grub of ffxv

Not your average consumables: Final Fantasy FFXV’s sumptuous meals enhance story as well as stats Lynda CLark

PubLisher square enix / deveLoPer square enix / format xbox one / reLease date november 2016

right A selection of the delights to feast on to fuel your quest.

Food in videogames isn’t a new idea. Accustomed to lugging around an inventory stuffed with apples and chicken legs, or chunks of whatever animal I’ve butchered, I’m always ready to hurriedly scarf down snacks in the middle of a battle like a dog at a buffet. However, in Final Fantasy XV, Square Enix approaches food somewhat differently. Rather than a button-mapped power-up for times of need, FFXV’s food takes time and planning, just like a real meal. Resident chef Ignis clearly hails from the Heston Blumenthal school of cooking: no Jamie Oliver bish bash bosh will do here. These

succulent dishes are to be savoured, in, eating at restaurants and diners not demolished in a single bite like a becomes its own sidequest. Did we Greggs pasty. try this dish yet? Will this be the one

Before each meal a lingering shot that prompts Ignis to open his prissy ensures you stop and appreciate little notebook and jot down ideas for the calorific glory of the food the his personal twist on Galdin Gratin? Kingsguard are about to devour. Expanding Ignis’ repertoire becomes Chunky breaded cutlet dipped in the driving force behind my other invelvety tomato sauce with a side of game actions. Sometimes overhearing seaweed. Crispy-skinned seabass conversations about food or finding topped with herbs and sautéed onions, recipe books, or even just seeing served with fresh leafy greens. Rich someone else enjoying a meal is the chocolate cake resplendent with thing that gets Ignis snapping his jewel-like berries and a sprig of mint. fingers and yelling: “That’s it!” I’ve got a cupboard full of cereal and Super Noodles at home, so maybe this Getting an appetite is some kind of vicarious eating. I become an obsessive foodie,

Besides looking mouth- eavesdropping on people by watering, each meal eatinG CroW the noodle stand chatting provides a variety of buffs Food plays a part in about their favourite kind, and stat boosts as you might expect. However, world-building too, with price-points and menu options differing to reflect lingering conspicuously by diners just trying like any good meal, each the Crow’s Nest fast food to enjoy their meal in recipe is more than the chain vs the swankiness peace, consuming every sum of its ingredients. of Galdin’s Quay. item on the menu with Obtained and consumed via gusto in the hope it’ll spark a complex web of gameplay, Ignis’ imagination. My pursuit of story events and metanarrative, these Noctis’ fishing skill stems not from the tasty treats imbue mealtimes with surprisingly addictive mini-game itself, greater significance than if they were but because I want the satisfaction of purely a means of bumping HP and MP. seeing that 200lb monster turned into

Via player-character Noctis, I’m the a sumptuous meal for the team to eat. one who digs up the Leiden potatoes Not so sassy now you’re drizzled in oil, and emerges from underground caves huh, Giant Trevally?! with an inventory full of funguar, but Additional benefits can be gained it’s Ignis who takes inspiration from from feeding characters their favourite everything around him to create new dishes, but I’m more interested in what recipes. Once this realisation sets these preferences say about their

“The group bond over food, and this is reflected throughout” ABOVE Perusing the menu can be both mouthwatering and tactically astute.

personalities. Musclebound Gladio likes his food grilled or fried, preferably in chunks gnawed off a skewer. Ignis’ tastes are as varied as you’d expect from a culinary whizz, ranging from delicate chiffon cakes to hearty fisherman’s risotto. Young prince Noctis’ favourite dishes are suitably emo, steeped in nostalgia, evoking memories of the people and places he had to leave behind for this road-trip.

The result of this integration of game mechanic, mini-game, story and character development gives Noctis and the others a sense of depth, and casts their mealtimes as real events. It’s no coincidence that personalised side missions become available after sharing a meal together at camp. The group bond over food, and this is reflected repeatedly throughout the game not only in terms of quests’ availability but also through the chats the group have, reminiscing about meals past. In fact the driving force behind many of these sidequests is to collect rare foodstuffs and victuals.

When I go to a restaurant, I don’t look at the menu and plan how many calories I’ll need to get me through the following day. I look at what’s new to try, or what looks the most delicious, or incorporates my fave foods. Sometimes I look at what I can afford and weigh that against how worthwhile it seems. In FFXV, I find myself doing the same. Which is not to say stat boosts are never a consideration. However, FFXV’s food is a rarity in videogames in that it provides more than just fuel, encouraging you to look beyond its primary function and feast on all the attendant pleasures it has to offer.

Dunno about you, but all that’s made me a bit peckish. Mmmm. Cereal. n