Final Fantasy XIV fans relieved with latest graphical update in Fan Fest sneak peek

Final Fantasy XIV fans caught a glimpse of what to expect with the game’s new graphical update, with the new face models for all races shown off at Tokyo Fan Fest.

Final Fantasy XIV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its relaunch, A Realm Reborn, last year, but the original game saw its release back in September of 2010. Making many aspects of its engine and graphics, well over a decade old.

While Square Enix has overhauled the game’s graphics in the past the most notable overhaul happened with the transition from 1.0 to ARR. The devs have stated their intentions to keep the popular MMO viable for another decade. So, it’s no surprise their new graphical update is well underway.

Fans had already caught a sneak peek of the game’s new face models back at Fan Fest Vegas last year, however, the reception was mixed.

After Vegas, many players expressed concern about how the limited examples showing how changes would affect characters with darker skin tones. And players with Au Ra characters also expressed concerns about potential texture changes to the race’s scales and horns.

Thankfully, Square Enix and the dev team were listening to players’ feedback on the forums, and the reveal of the new face models at Tokyo Fan Fest was much more well-received by the community.

“The Roegadyn look so much better,” Commented one user in the discussion thread on Reddit.
“Between the elezen improvements and the dark skin improvements… I’m genuinely looking forward to it now,” agreed another.

But not all players were happy with the preview of the new race models. “Where did Viera girls bunny nose go?” Said one player, commenting on a clear difference between the old and new models. “Still no eyebrows for male highlanders?” Asked another.

Although it will be difficult to please everyone, it does seem like the graphical update will please the majority of FFXIV’s fans.