Square Enix and the Japanese luxury mall Isetan just launched a Final Fantasy XIV collaboration event, and one of the most surprising elements is a gorgeous diorama model of the familiar city-state of Ul’dah.
The diorama is titled “A New Hope” and it was built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn in 2013.
It reproduces the scenery from the game faithfully on a scale of approximately 1/180, allowing the Warriors of Light to observe the familiar city from a different angle.
You can check out a video below.
The diorama was created by Walnuts Clay Work, a studio led by Tomohiro Yatsubo who previously worked with Hironobu Sakaguchi’s studio Mistwalker Corporation on Fantasian and Terra Wars.
Personally, having walked the street of Ul’dah in the game for 13 years (while A Realm Reborn is 10 years old, Final Fantasy XIV 1.0 was released 13 years ago, and it already included Ul’dah), seeing such a beautiful model in real life is quite moving.
Just look at the entrance of the Quicksand, where many roleplayers have met and mingled every day for so many years.
Here’s the Ruby Road Exchange and the entrance to the Gold Court. You can easily imagine it full of adventurers going about their business.
The palace is absolutely majestic, with the Airship Landing and the Arrzaneth Ossuary in the background.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PS5, PS4, and PC; with an Xbox Series X|S version coming soon.
Also coming soon is the new update 6.5 titled “Growing Light,” which is releasing on October 3 and about which we recently learned quite a few new details.
A brand new expansion titled “Dawntrail” is also coming, and it’s expected to release in Sumnmer 2024.
