Loporrits are a new beastmen race introduced in Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker. The adorable rabbit people are no bigger than lalafells and live on the moon. They were created by Hydaelyn after she sealed Zodiark, live in a place called Bestway Burrows, and have prepared the moon (which is also a ship) as a refuge for those to escape the Final Days. This article contains spoilers for Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker.
While the fact that they are rabbit-people on the moon may be unusual to western audiences, eastern players are probably quite used to rabbits being associated with the moon due to a certain folktale that spread out from China long ago. For those that play a lot of Japanese games and watch anime, this trend might be easy to notice as well.
Moon Rabbit Origins
Most have heard about the "man in the moon" and conjure the image of a face in the dark marking seen on the moon's surface when it is full. Other cultures, though, saw a hare with a mortar and pestle. The folktale is believed to have originated in China, with a rabbit as the companion of the moon goddess, Chang'e. The story goes that the image of the rabbit in the moon with the mortar and pestle is her rabbit companion making the goddess elixirs of life.
In Japan, the folktale changed a little. The rabbit in the moon, rather than making elixirs with mortar and pestle, is instead pounding out some mochi, a Japanese rice cake that is made from pounding rice into a paste. It is this specific folktale of a rabbit making mochi on the moon that has inspired Square Enix's loporrits. Of course, instead of making mochi, they are preparing for an entire spaceship for refugees.
From Sailor Moon To Hummingways
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Loporrits are one of many references to the folklore of a rabbit in the moon. They are not even the first Final Fantasy creatures to do it, with Final Fantasy 4 having Hummingways that live on the Red Moon (and they obviously were part of the inspiration for Loporrits). Other video games to use this folklore to inspire rabbit-like characters include Touhou, Smite, and Super Mario Odyssey. True to the folktale's origins, most of these games are made by Japanese companies such as Square Enix and Nintendo.
Other modern references can be found in anime, manga, and movies. Sailor Moon's human name is Usagi Tsukino, which means "moon rabbit" in Japanese. The movie, Over the Moon, has the moon goddess Chang'e as well as her rabbit making elixirs main plot.
Final Fantasy 14 And Folklore
The Final Fantasy series has always been a fan of folklore, using old stories and legends to inspire characters, places, and plots. Loporrits are just one example from the MMORPG. Other examples go into monsters, minions, summons, and places. In terms of minions, the Fox Kit is based on Japanese kitsune which are foxes that are actually spirits that can shapeshift. The summon and primal Bahamut is based on an Arab folktale about a fish that holds up the earth along with an ox and angel. The Final Fantasy 14 primal, Lakshmi, shares the name of the Hindu goddess of wealth and good fortune.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, with the folklore list ever-expanding. Garuda was based on a legendary bird creature from Buddhism, carbuncles stem from South American folklore, and, of course, Hades stemming from Greek mythology. With this in mind, Final Fantasy 14's world and creatures are a product of many cultural ideas.
Final Fantasy 14 is playable on PC, PS4, and PS5.
