All animals are created equal, but some are more equal than others. (If you have the Final Fantasy XV Season Pass, you get more stuff in the Holiday Pack DLC.)
It’s a busy week for largely pointless New Game Plus modes. First we’ve got the Dishonored 2 version, which allows you to splice both Corvo and Emily’s abilities on a subsequent playthrough for a unique (and probably, quite easy) way to play the game.
Next up, is the Final Fantasy XV New Game Plus mode – to be released as part of the Holiday Pack, more on that below – which doesn’t really seem to make much change to the game at all. It’s possible that Square Enix will release more information about additional difficulty settings, but right now, it just seems like a vanilla playthrough with more stuff. Yep, even less changes than the Corvily hybrid.
Oh, and you’ll be able to add Instagram-style frames to Prompto’s pictures for sharing them online. Yay, I guess.
But there’s more: The New Game Plus mode actually comes bundled in with the 2016 Final Fantasy XV Holiday Pack, which includes the following goodies for free:
- Warrior’s Fanfare – A scroll of sheet music containing a song of jubilation that provides additional AP for earning an A+ in Offence outside of training.
- Nixperience Band – A device that stops experience points from being tallied, preventing the party from levelling up for an added challenge.
- Carnival Passport – An adorably adorned ticket that whisks the bearer away to a fun-filled carnival for a limited time.
- Choco-Mog Tee (available late January) – An exclusive T-shirt featuring everyone’s favourite fluffy and feathery friends. Colourful, comfy and appropriate for any carnival-goer.
If however you’ve stumped for the Digital Premium Edition of Final Fantasy XV, or have subsequently picked up the Season Pass, you’ll find that your 2016 Holiday Pack DLC will include an awful lot more stuff. Here’s the full list, you spoiled kids:
- Ring of Resistance – A protective piece of jewellery that renders the entire party to be resistant to magical friendly fire.
- Tech Turbocharger – A device for Noctis that accelerates the tech bar replenishment rate, but freezes the Armiger bar.
- Armiger Accelerator – A device for Noctis that accelerates the Armiger bar replenishment rate, but freezes the tech bar.
- Blitzer’s Fanfare – A scroll of sheet music containing a song of jubilation that provides additional AP for earning an A+ in Time outside of training.
- Tactician’s Fanfare – A scroll of sheet music containing a song of jubilation that provides additional AP for earning an A+ in Finesse outside of training.
- Key of Prosperity – A lucky charm that increases the rate at which fallen foes leave behind items of value.
- Stamina Badge – A device that enables Noctis to sprint and hang without expending stamina.
- Carnival Passport – An adorably adorned ticket that whisks the bearer away to a fun-filled carnival for a limited time.
- Festive Ensemble (available late January) – A fancy and fun outfit perfectly suited for enjoying the festivities. The darling design puts all who see it in high spirits.
- Holiday Pack + Exclusive Photo Frames (available late January) –Additional themes the player can add to Prompto’s photos when sharing over social media.
It’s hard to say whether all that stuff makes the Digital Premium Edition or the Season Pass for Final Fantasy XV worthwhile, but it’s expected that as time goes on, the free stuff will dry up and only the paid DLC will remain.
The Final Fantasy XV Holiday Pack (including New Game Plus) will be available to download on PS4 and Xbox One on December 22, 2016.
Buy Final Fantasy XV, the Digital Deluxe Edition, or the Season Pass from Amazon.
