This could be one of the best additions to the newly released Final Fantasy XV. A review will be coming soon, but one thing we like to share for now is how brilliant the snapshot feature is.
Instead of a full-blown photo mode, Final Fantasy XV has a different way of letting you get angled and posed screenshots. One of protagonist Noctis’s friend, Prompto, has a knack of taking photos. He carries it around and from time to time, and he will take snapshots of the gang during their travels. That even includes story moments and even during battle.
So the game takes photos for you throughout the game.
These snapshots can be reviewed each time you rest up. These can be saved in the game’s album (limited to 150 slots), shared straight to your social media (a feature included in the day 1 patch), or discarded. Not all of them are great, especially in the early parts of the game. This makes sense, as photography is Prompto’s skill which he can level up during the course of the game to unlock new filters, cameras and photo types. You need to level up a bit before Prompto will take selfies, for example.
The brilliance here is that all of these snapshots are generated on the fly. You won’t notice much when Prompto pulls out his camera, or even remember posing or them in some cases, but it turns out mostly good. There’s even dynamic photos where you see Noctis, Gladio or Ignis doing something else in the world, all viewed from Prompto’s camera lens.
Then there’s the snapshots from battles. These can be really good at times, but if the battles are done in areas with lots of shrubbery and trees, there’s mixed results. Expect some cool looking battle sequences being captured. Interestingly, Prompto has a technique- an ability that Noctis can instruct his friends what to do during battle- that prompts him to take a picture mid-battle.
Here’s some examples of the cool looking shots, all taken from Prompto’s camera lens. A good mix of great shots and horrible ones. Be warned of some minor spoilers for locations, but none are story related.
Since the story beats of the game has a dude-bro roadtrip to it, seeing these pictures generated on the fly as you pay really captures the closeness of the four boys despite their varying interests and personalities. With strong writing fleshing out the main cast, these photos will make you feel more attached to them as the game progresses. While having a full-blown photo mode should be even better, but having this small touch that fits well into the gameplay and story is one remarkable effort. Props to the individuals involved to make this feature.
Keep an eye out on our review of Final Fanatasy XV, coming relatively soon.