Final Fantasy 14's graphical update has committed the cardinal sin of messing with lalafell teeth, making them more terrifying than ever

The lalafell. Eorzea's potato. A whole mountain of evil condensed into one tiny gnome-like overlord. Consider: a mouth that opens as if its jaw was unhinged, revealing nothing more than a top row of teeth gracing an endless void.

Well, at least that's the way lalafell physiology has worked in Final Fantasy 14 since its inception, but things are changing—upcoming expansion Dawntrail is being accompanied by a graphical facelift, and that means some of the ageing character models are getting updated. While we wait for it, the recently released benchmark has given fans a pretty decent insight into what we can expect.

For the most part, fans seem pretty happy with the changes. My Viera has lost some of the twinkle in her eye, a result of the changes to how they're lit, but I'm pretty happy with her upgrade overall. For some, however, tragedy has befallen their Warriors of Light. 

Some of the changes are hopefully accidental—like the removal of fangs from Keeper of the Moon miqo'te, which is one of the traits that distinguishes them from their Seeker of the Sun brethren. Some seem more intentional, and here to stay. One such change that has been getting particular attention on Reddit is whatever the hell Square Enix has done to lalafell mouths.

The wide gummy void has been swapped out for a distinctly narrower gob. It looks fine in isolation, but the teeth's where the real bizarreness kicks in. They're squeezed in considerably closer now which, as one Redditor put it, implies «that the cheeks are empty storage space, like a hamster.» It's created a rather unsettling image, which is saying a lot considering we're already looking at a lalafell.

I personally prefer the new lalafell mouths, as do a number of the commenters in the thread. «I like the new mouth, but not the new teeths,» one user wrote, while another said «It actually makes them look cute for the first time… the black abyss was scary and now they just look like silly little goobers». Maybe you're in the same