Final Fantasy 16 Devs Apparently Taking Criticism Of Final Fantasy 14 Grapes To Heart

have you heard of it final fantasy 14grapes? Once upon a time, they were the talk of the town in Eorzea – ​​redesigned crystal shapes with beautiful, lush grape textures affixed to them. These low-poly prolate spheres were introduced in the Endwalker expansion pack and quickly became an internet sensation.

Sure, there’s a tinge of irony to people’s obsession with grapes, but it’s not all mean – I think the fans’ overblown reaction is largely due to FF14 players being impressed by the ingenuity of repainting the crystals . with grapes. It helps save resources elsewhere in the game and allows FF14 to run smoothly. Everyone is a winner! (Except for grape lovers).

However, Square Enix is ​​keen to make amends with Final Fantasy XVI. As many of you who’ve played the demo will know, the game is one of the most polished, well-crafted versions we’ve seen in a while. Even the not-so-important assets and areas look incredible, the way Square Enix Creative Division 3 (i.e. the developers) tweaked the lighting engine to constantly reflect the light of Clive’s sword and accentuate his handsome face The Edge is right, contemporary magic. So support the developers.

One area where you can really see improvement is in – yep, you guessed it – grapes. This resource is used many times throughout the game, but the most common place to record grapes is in an area you can access very early on: Oribel Downs. The wine from these idyllic foothills can be seen in almost every scene at the beginning of the game, and almost every NPC is drinking it, which seems to be the lush pride and joy of Valistea.

But double check them. Go to the vine and stick your nose in it. Inhale the bouquet and gaze at the dappled glow of the soft-roasted light on the fruit’s luxurious red rind. What do you see? Honestly, there are so many polygons, you can almost taste them. Start photo mode (pause, then tap the touchpad on the character screen) and pretend you’re the sommelier – rotate, zoom, evaluate. These are some very fine grapes.

It almost feels like Square Enix has a point to prove here. Final Fantasy XVI represents a bold new step for the series, rewriting and revisiting many of the fundamentals that make the series what it is today. I won’t spoil anything here, but the game’s characters often say the quiet parts aloud, and draw some very obvious analogies to the legacy’s impact and how important it is to get rid of it.

In fact, the grapes represent a visual metaphor: instead of the temporary grapes of Final Fantasy XIV, Macgyver added a sense of place to the game while saving processing power. These new grapes are a dedicated asset – proudly displayed in an area you will return to again and again. It was as if Square Enix was saying, ‘Listen, we know you’ve all laughed at us before, but listen. look! Grape! Then lift them up to your face and almost stuff them into your mouth.

The fact that these grapes have their own story may seem ridiculous to you – but honestly, Google “FF14 grapes” and you’ll see how much the world loves (or loves) low-poly grapes, It became a symbol of FF14’s journey. The failed MMORPG became popular around the world.

FF16 didn’t need any patches to work at launch (even if it did eventually need a bit of an optimization update), and I can see why: the graphics, the world, Valistea’s sense of place is so complete that it took me a good 20 minutes Time to stare at this damn grape asset. This really tells everything you need to know.

Our good friends at Digital Foundry are also big fans of grapes. Not only did they give us those lovely pictures of the grapes above, but they also showcased the grapes in a great technical analysis of Final Fantasy XVI, which you can watch below.

Final Fantasy XVI is out now on PS5 and coming to PC later. perhaps. You can read our FF16 4-star review at the link.