Low-Poly Grapes Are Safe & Sound in FF14's Dawntrail Expansion

Fans of Final Fantasy 14 were eagerly anticipating its Dawntrail expansion, which was released on July 2nd alongside a brand new trailer. The expansion introduced new areas, quests,  improvements, and a significant graphical upgrade that has breathed new life into the 14-year-old game. Yet among all these changes, players were pleasantly surprised to find that the game's low-poly grapes have been well preserved.

As spotted by Game Spark, and translated by Automaton, developer Square Enix has decided to keep the low-poly grapes in the expansion by slightly making it brighter. The grapes can be found in Labyrinthos, a location that was introduced in the Endwalker expansions. They were designed using fruit textures on crystal-shaped models to reduce memory usage in the expansive area. Because of their low polygon count, the grapes stand out against the advanced graphics of the rest of the game, becoming something of a meme among the Final Fantasy community.

The grapes' distinctive appearance has made them special to fans, who find them somewhat adorable and appealing. Players have created earrings, key chains, and stickers featuring the grapes. There's even fan art of "low-poly wine," humorously crafted from these low-resolution fruits. 

Square Enix seems to be enjoying the joke as well, as they offered those squishy soft grapes in a goody bag given to those who joined the FFXIV fan fest in Las Vegas last year. Who is jealous? 

You can check out the original report from Automaton here and don't forget to join our 80 Level Talent platform and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.