The Chinese client for Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker released in March of this year. Now that Chinese Final Fantasy 14 players have had the chance to complete it, fans have voted for their favorite characters from the expansion–and an unexpected and adorable face scored the first place trophy.
Endwalker was a momentous chapter in Final Fantasy 14’s history. The climactic expansion pack tied up story arcs laid from the game’s original release, and Endwalker called in a massive cast of characters both old and new. Though there are tons of incredible characters in Final Fantasy 14, a select few have stolen the hearts of fans across the globe, and players expected the same to occur in China.
However, rather than the expected faces claiming the top spot, China instead chose the Adventurous Ambystoma as their favorite character. The Ambystoma was a minor character who showed up briefly in Endwalker’s fifth zone to lead players on a chase, and again as an easter egg in its final zone. Since the little pink critter uses the same adorable model as the axolotl eft minion, most expected the Ambystoma to leave an impression on players, but no one expected it to become an entire country’s favorite character.
The runner-ups of the contest were mostly to be expected–popular Final Fantasy 14 characters like Emet-Selch, Venat, and G’raha Tia trailed shortly behind the Ambystoma, and the following slots are also filled with beloved characters. However, the latter parts of the contest winners are filled with some hilarious picks. Puddingway–a lopporit whose major gag was his love of pudding–sits at 17th place, with the Phoinix, whose claim to fame is solely in its difficulty in the Pandaemonium raid, is right behind him. Somehow, the Great Serpent of Ronka–a goofy sidequest minion who appeared in Shadowbringers–and the primal Alexander even made the list, despite not appearing in Endwalker at all.
Players got a kick out of China’s choice of favorite character from Endwalker. Though many of the choices were congruent with those from other parts of the world, China’s list contained some pretty hilarious and unexpected joke entries. The list gave some excellent insight as to what the Chinese Final Fantasy 14 community enjoys: devious and adorable creatures, morally-questionable powerhouses, and genuine heroes.
Final Fantasy 14 just released its next major content patch. Titled Buried Memory, this Final Fantasy 14 patch takes players deep into the Void, where they encounter some mysterious new characters. Players will have to see if these new faces can dethrone the Ambystoma in China’s next character popularity poll.
Final Fantasy 14 is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
Source: Reddit/MKillerby
