Airships, crystals, Cid, and even Chocobo popcorn buckets are part of the tie-up between the theme park and video game giants.

Over the last few years, Universal Studios Japan has been ramping up its Universal Cool Japan series of limited-time attractions, in which it collaborates with indigenous franchises from the worlds of video games and anime. However, there’s a bit of irony in that while the Osaka theme park itself is primarily oriented towards fans of Hollywood movies, the Universal Cool Japan attractions all hail from outside that sphere.

For 2018, the Universal Cool Japan initiative landed one of the biggest partners it possibly could: developer Square Enix’s Final Fantasy role-playing game series, which has resulted in the Final Fantasy XR Ride. The question for Final Fantasy’s many fans then becomes whether or not the VR indoor roller coaster warrants a trip to USJ if you’re not all that interested in, say, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter or the other Hollywood-themed activities on offer. Helping make that decision a little easier, though, are a pair of preview videos from Universal Studios Japan, the first of which gives you a taste of what it’s like to fly through the worlds of Final Fantasy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iae7k49YkY8

After slipping on their VR headsets, riders will find themselves riding an airship, piloted by a fuzzy Moogle, as it zips past memorable scenery such as a pack of wild Chocobos, an armada of flying machines, and the city of Midgar, where Final Fantasy VII hero Cloud faces off in an aerobatic duel against nemesis Sephiroth.

There’s even a pretty elaborate framing story for the ride, introduced by Cid, the Moogle engineer head of the Magitek Observation Guild, in the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td9xkI8YjKk

Following the discovery of the Universal Crystal, the guild is embarking on a research expedition in order to better understand its mysterious powers, which allow one to slip between different dimensions, each of which conveniently happens to correspond with a different Final Fantasy installment.

▼ Wouldn’t we all pay more attention in science class if our teacher’s presentations included Final Fantasy-font visual aids?

The video plays in the Final Fantasy XR Ride’s line-up area, as shown in this fan-recorded video below, which also includes shots of the awesome Final Fantasy merchandise shop and Chocobo popcorn buckets that are part of the Universal Cool Japan team-up.

The Final Fantasy XR Ride is in operation now, and will be taking adventurers on its exciting voyage until June 24.

Source: YouTube/ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン(USJ)公式チャンネル via Anime News Network/Jennifer Sherman
Top image: YouTube/ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン(USJ)公式チャンネル
Insert images: YouTube/ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン(USJ)公式チャンネ (1, 2)

Follow Casey on Twitter, where he says you can never really have too much Chocobo merch.