Final Fantasy VII Rebirth: Photo Mode Screenshots From the Frontier

After a nonplayer character guides you to the first of many photo spots, you'll notice rock spurs and ledges that seem tailor-made for screenshots.

The game's backgrounds beg for photos.

Praise for the environmental storytelling: These are placed around a grumpy NPC who's weary of a past war and the friends who didn't make it.

You have to be quick on the shutter to catch some of the funnier moments in the game.

Who among us, Elena.

The lighting can be tricky in the game, often washing out backgrounds, but it also creates a decent distance effect.

The game has a good nose for when a silly effect will land big -- like epic hero Cloud riding a segway like a dork.

Being the middle entry in an epic trilogy, Rebirth has more room to spend on character moments -- both fun and somber.

All that downtime leads to some sweet moments... and undeniable fanfic fodder.

Square Enix knows its players. Win enough mini games and you'll unlock beach attire you can even use in the surrounding open world.

After I've taken dozens of photo mode screenshots, I instinctively snap the funny moments too. This is my favorite sidequest by far.

Another sweet moment ahead of a mini game. 

Credit where credit is due -- a lot of these screenshots pop with color thanks to character and level designers making sure the textures are vibrant yet contrast well.

Not only do ledges provide great views of the laboriously made areas in the game, they give you a scope of the world you're in -- a tenderness, an affinity, that makes open world games their own kind of breathless adventure.