I am mainlining two games right now: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Final Fantasy 14. I rather foolishly resubbed to the latter right as the former was released, and now I’m stuck in a perpetual cycle of catgirls and dice rolls. Turns out the two may be more closely linked than I realised, as a small but heartbreaking reference has surfaced that shows someone at Larian has definitely been spending their free time playing the critically-acclaimed MMORPG. Spoilers for both games below, of course.
As spotted by GamesRadar, Twitter user DividusYliaster tweeted the nod to one of Final Fantasy 14’s most agonising moments, which appears early on in Act 2 of Baldur’s Gate 3. Inspiration points are awarded throughout the game for making choices that fit either your own background or the background of your companions. Picking the Folk Hero background and offering “a hopeful response to Alfira’s inquiry” awards you an inspiration point with the title “Folk Hero: A Smile Better Suits…”
Veteran Final Fantasy 14 players will be all too familiar with the saying, which comes from the utterly heart-wrenching moment in Heavensward when your good pal Haucherfaunt has just taken a spear of light to the gut. While your Warrior of Light is, understandably, on the verge of bawling their eyes out, Haucherfaunt uses his dying breaths to say “a smile better suits a hero.” It’s an incredibly emotional moment, and the line remains one of the most memorable in the game, which makes it no surprise that fans have been all over the reference.
I would love to know who at Larian is a fellow Warrior of Light, and if there are any other little references sprinkled in throughout the game. It’s not even the first time a Final Fantasy 14 reference has seeped its way into other games. The Sims 4 has somehow ended up with a small bundle of them at this rate—like furniture items referencing areas like The Rak’tika Greatwood and even an illustration of a certain little bird that appears in Endwalker.