A car is a recurring method of transportation in Final Fantasy games. Sometimes they do not appear as vehicles the player can use, but are still part of the game world.
Appearances[]
Final Fantasy VII[]
Gaia is the first Final Fantasy world to have cars. Cars are manufactured by the Shinra Electric Power Company, and are widely used on top of the plate; the slums meanwhile don't have road infrastructure and people move about in chocobo carriages instead. During the party's visit to the Shinra Building, they can view a promotional video of Shinra Manufacturing Works' latest models in the shop. When the party escapes the building, Tifa Lockhart drives the others in a three-wheeler pick-up (Shinra Hauler SA-37) while Cloud Strife defends it from Shinra motorcyclists while riding his Hardy-Daytona.
Cars are scarcer outside Midgar. Cloud rides in a truck with Sephiroth and other Shinra personnel in the story of the Nibelheim Incident he tells his friends in Kalm. Many wrecked cars and lorries are seen in Corel Prison, especially near where Dyne is met. The player can sleep in one of them for free to replenish HP. Afterward, the party gains a buggy, an eight-wheeler "minibus" the player can drive around the world map until they get the Highwind, able to cross shallow rivers and desert.
There is also an old car in the entrance to Nibelheim, and Palmer is knocked down by a Shinra truck when he tries to steal Cid Highwind's Tiny Bronco airplane. In a flashback scene, Cloud and Zack ride on the back of a pick-up toward Midgar.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children[]
Cars remain prevalent in the area around Midgar, although Cloud and the Remnants of Sephiroth stick to using motorcycles. Yazoo and Loz take many children to the City of the Ancients on a pick-up.
Final Fantasy VIII[]
Cars come in a variety of shapes and models depending on the area of the world they are seen in, and are accessible to the player via rental services. Driving a car on the world map expends fuel, but is faster than walking and avoids random encounters. Cars and trucks can also be seen around towns and cities.
SeeD Personal Carrier Vehicle is used by Balamb Garden for transporting SeeD members and cadets. Deling City runs a free bus services. Squall Leonhart drives a car called the Tempest during the parade in Deling City, and dummied content suggests Laguna Loire was to drive a green pick-up during his stay in Winhill. Galbadia's G-Forces also employ various armored vehicles for transporting their troops.
Final Fantasy XIII[]
Cars are seen in Eden, the capital of Cocoon. By the time the party visits the city it is amid chaos and the cars lie abandoned along the streets. They don't have wheels, but instead work via hover technology, possibly Antimatter Manipulation Principle.
Sazh Katzroy's Eidolon, Brynhildr, transforms into a race car for Sazh to ride in Gestalt Mode.
Final Fantasy XIII-2[]
Hover cars are used extensively in Academia.
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII[]
The presence of the remains of major routes indicates that after the flood of Chaos cars were used, but over the course of five hundred years these roads became hotspots of Chaos infusions and the routes were closed in favor of the monorail. In Luxerion's Warren remains of a traditional wheel car are found, suggesting that after the formation of Nova Chrysalia the hover technology fell into disuse.
Final Fantasy XIV[]
Vehicles with vague resemblance to cars appear in the ruins of the city of Garlemald, probably operating thanks to ceruleum like all the Garlean Empire's magitek technology. Various different flying cars are also seen in Solution Nine.
Final Fantasy XV[]
Regalia is King Regis's car. It is a black convertible that his son Noctis and his friends use to travel the world. The car is the party's main mode of transportation and customizable at Hammerhead.
The cars seen in the outlands of Lucis are small and more old-fashioned than the ones seen in Insomnia. The design of most of the game's cars is based on American and British car models ranging from the 1930s to the mid 1960s by manufacturers such as Ford, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Morris, Austin and Wolseley. NPCs drive cars randomly on the roads, but stop if the player steps in front of them, or there are enemies on the road. NPC cars don't drive at night. Cindy has a yellow tow truck she will use to tow the Regalia at the player's behest. The player can come across drivers in distress who have crashed their car and help them by giving them Repair Kits bought from service stations.
Being pushed by cars over the edge of the designated playable demo area has been used by players in Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae to explore unfinished areas. Police cars similar to the actual police cars used in Japan were also spotted in the E3 2013 reveal trailer for the game.
Ardyn Izunia drives a red muscle car when he leads Noctis and his party over to the Disc of Cauthess. It is also parked near Vesperpool when the player visits it. It is a generic car model seen in towns. A similar car appears on the back of the The World Wanderer magazine during the times Ardyn is saving by sitting on a bench in Final Fantasy XV: Episode Ardyn. The episode also has armored vehicles used by the Crownsguard that the player can wreck to unlock an Archives entry.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII[]
A car that appears to be a precursor to the Regalia appeared in early footage for Final Fantasy Versus XIII. It was also driven by Ignis. This car still appears in the opening FMV of the final Final Fantasy XV, but has been replaced by the Regalia in Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition.
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV[]
Numerous cars appear in the CG movie. Crowe drives a yellow chocobo-themed van during her mission to find Princess Lunafreya. An Audi R8 appears as product placement. It is driven by Titus Drautos to Nyx Ulric, the former wanting Nyx to drive the princess as her bodyguard. Later, Nyx and Lunafreya drive the car to escape Insomnia. This is actually Prince Noctis's car he had lent to the Kingsglaive for the treaty-signing festivities.
A real life replica of the Audi in the movie was produced, called Audi R8 Star of Lucis.
Final Fantasy Type-0[]
The Militesi Empire uses cars for transport. Lorries and cars are both seen in Militesi towns. Rather than having wheels, the cars hover and glide along the ground. It is assumed they work via C-Engines that siphon power from the White Tiger Crystal.