Take a Spell at Tokyo’s Ultimate Final Fantasy Staycation

On the 33rd floor of Royal Park Hotel in Shiodome, you can take a step through the looking glass, cross a portal to another realm, or to use the appropriate video game parlance, enter the Seventh Umbral Era of Final Fantasy XIV’s world of Hydaelyn.

The lone room, bursting forth in its ecstasy of colors and Final Fantasy XIV-inspired artwork and memorabilia, is a fantastical outlier in an otherwise classy business hotel. Though it hasn’t been gutted to remove all traces of its default condition as a twin suite with towering city views, incredible attention to detail has been applied in recreating the essence of Square Enix’s world.

The world in question is Il Mheg, the Faerie Kingdom, part of a questline that becomes available in the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers expansion pack. The room is a love letter to fans of the game, and will strike a chord in particular with those who have explored the wildflower valleys, craggy peaks and crumbling ruins of Il Mheg’s virtual realm.

The room is a temporary collaboration, available for guests to stay from March 18 through June 30 (except May 6).

A Realm Reborn

The Il Mheg guestroom aims for full immersion, with a gameplay trailer and in-game soundtrack running on a continuous loop, demanding your attention the moment you enter. The soundtrack fuses harpsichord, piano and soothing vocal elements with the bucolic sounds of nature. While the accompanying trailer features characters exploring the various landscapes of the mythical world.

Everything from the walls to the windows – through which you’re greeted by views of the Tokyo Bay skyline, Hamarikyu Gardens and the Sumida River – have been given a fresh coat of paint, so to speak.

Character and landscape art decorate the frame of the room, from a huge portrait of Titania the faerie king to a snapshot of Dohn Mehg dungeon and miniature drawings of Ent-like creatures Puck and Mustardseed. A huge canvas depicting Il Mheg Kingdom dominates one wall, while the windows are home to glowing green faeries which look to be in flight when contrasted against the night sky.

Final Fantasy Comes to Life

Though Final Fantasy XIV isn’t available to play in the room, there are other things to keep you interested beyond superficial changes. Teddy bears based on in-game characters, figurines remolded upon your favorite protagonists, and a desk topped with monsterpedias and concept art books nestling under lamplight in the corner all help to blur the lines between reality and the world of Hydaelyn.

A free-to-download smartphone app, COCOAR2, can also be used on certain objects in the room. It uses augmented reality technology to superimpose and manipulate images from your environment while incorporating them into your phones in-built camera program. What this means in practice, is if you want to take a selfie where it looks like your hugging a giant version of Emet-Selch or The Crystal Exarch, basically you can.

In Need of a Potion?

The Royal Park Hotel’s Il Mheg, the Faerie Kingdom room comes with several creative additions built into the price, including: one original game-themed mug per person, a complimentary Final Fantasy XIV-styled drink at “THE BAR” on the 24th floor, and a take-home dining mat and a coaster depicting game scenes and characters.

The drinks are the highlight of the inclusions, conceptualized by the hotel’s in-house mixologist and based on the kingdom of Il Mheg. Both are non-alcoholic but can be ramped up a couple of notches if requested at the bar (additional cost may be required). The bar staff will suggest accompanying spirits or liquors to suit your taste preferences.

Ever Green is an iced kiwi fruit juice inspired by the faeries of Il Mheg, from the baby green color tones to the wing-shaped spoon. Triple Colorant is more like an in-game tonic drunk by characters to imbue themselves with stat buffs or health regeneration capabilities.

This ‘interactive’ drink set combines cold blue tea from the butterfly pea flower with lime, lemon and pomegranate juices, each served in a separate receptacle. Adding the tea to the juices changes their color, mirroring the process of armor dyeing in Final Fantasy XIV.

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Rates Weekday & Sunday: 1 guest ¥35,000, 2 guests ¥40,000; Saturday & May 3–4:  1 guest ¥40,000, 2 guests ¥46,000

Feature photo: © 2010 – 2020 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.