A Deep Investigation Into The Grapes of FFXVI

Folks often get caught up in the silliest of debates over video games, whether it’s the puddles in Marvel’s Spider-Man, the windows in Back for Blood, or anything in-between. None more famous than the grapes of Final Fantasy XIV’s most recent expansion, Endwalker.

Final Fantasy XIV is not known for its incredibly detailed graphics or over-the-top animations, but for some reason, these grapes were incredibly low-hanging fruit for folks to gawk at.

There wasn’t any malice or ill intent; it was just something the community grasped onto and had some fun with before the textures were updated.

Let’s talk about Final Fantasy XVI’s grapes, though. Early on, you’ll encounter a vineyard full of grapes, so naturally, I did some investigating. I painstakingly scoured the countryside, looking at all of the grapes to ensure they were pristine. Surely the team wouldn’t make such a large blunder a second time?

Looking to the Future

I’m happy to report the grapes in Final Fantasy XVI look fantastic—perfectly plump and juicy, round spherical morsels of greatness.

While Clive doesn’t actually eat any grapes in this game, I like to imagine him sitting in the countryside sipping some wine and popping a few of those bad boys into his mouth; I know I would.

I was only able to see the grapes at night time, and when I went back to see them at a later point in the game, the vines had died, the leaves dried up, and the grapes GONE.

I felt betrayed, I never saw these grapes shining in the sun, their perfectly round purple shape glistening in the sunlight. However, as I took a photo next to the grapes, I realized that these grapes were too perfect. Gone are the imperfections in shape and size, so perfectly round and homogenous in size.

They don’t have the charm of Endwalker’s grapes, but if this is the true power of the PlayStation 5, the ability to render grapes at unrealistic levels of perfection, then I don’t understand why more developers are not putting all of their power into making more grapes.

GRAPES

PROS:
● Step up from Endwalker
● Heavily detailed on the Vine
● I want to eat them

CONS:
●They are too perfect, lacking realism

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A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review. Reviewed on PS5

You can read our full review of Final Fantasy XVI right here.