“Final Fantasy” is where is all began. RPGs, I mean. There were RPGs before Final Fantasy; plenty of them, in fact. But Final Fantasy is where it all began for almost everyone playing RPGs. The first installment to the now heroic series gave us a select group of characters, a world, a mission, several enemies, and an array of different spells and skills; and since then, not much has changed. Given the nature of the series, and the nature of the world around it, it was only a matter of time until “Final Fantasy” made the jump to the MMORPG format, and at the time, we couldn’t have been happier.

It just made sense, really. “Final Fantasy,” in one way or another, gave birth to every other MMORPG out there. The same principles—characters, world, skills, enemies, missions—make up the foundations of every single MMORPG on the market today. They even went the extra mile, and retained many of the advanced features made famous by the previous titles, such as the job system that allows you to level up a class individually, and change it at whim, and a storyline with memorable characters and cutscenes littered throughout. They kept many of the now legendary enemies and bosses, allowed players to ride Chocobos, featured a fully fleshed and near limitless crafting system and even a player-run economy.

It’s not even limited to the PC. You can play it on the PlayStation 2 or the Xbox 360, and connect with players from all other platforms. In theory, it was a concept that couldn’t fail, and in Japan, it didn’t. The rest of the world, however, didn’t find it all so appealing. It wasn’t the features that led to its failure, nor was it the nostalgic landscapes, memorable monsters, or the ability to choose your class on the go and combine them together for greater results. No, it was the implementation of it all into a world that just didn’t feel right. It was the boring combat system, the gigantic cities that could take up to twenty minutes to traverse, the irritating chat box that felt like a chore to navigate at even the best of times, the incredibly hard and totally random enemy encounters. It was an overall issue with the fluidity of the game, the ebb and flow of progression, and the inability to feel immersed due to the issues mentioned above.

There are, however, many good reasons to play “Final Fantasy XI,” as the Japanese public has shown us, and if you’re interested in giving it a try then I recommend you do. You can choose to play as one of five different races—Human, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra, and Galka—many of which are unique and specific to only this game. There is an incredible amount of class choices available, beginning with the Warrior, Thief, Monk, and Black, White, and Red Mage varieties, and later, Paladin, Dark Knight, Ranger, Beastmaster, Bard, Ninja, Samurai, Dragoon and Summoner, provided that you meet the specific requirements. Even more jobs became available in the many expansions that followed, alongside a great many other additional features.

It wasn’t the game for me, but it took me several years, and three separate copies of the game on all available platforms, to realize it. There’s a lot to love about “Final Fantasy XI,” though, so if you’ve been interested in giving it a go, and you’re a fan of the series, then jump in and check it out for yourself.

EXPANSIONS

Rise of the Zilart — 2003

Alongside the introduction of the Samurai, Ninja and Dragoon jobs, Rise of the Zilart also introduced many new enemies, items and environments and skills.

Chains of Promathia — 2004

While no new jobs or game mechanics were introduced here, over forty new environments were released, alongside many new quests and missions.

Treasures of Aht Urhgan — 2006

More new environments, alongside three new jobs—the Blue Mage, Corsair, and Puppetmaster—and an array of general bug fixes were released with this expansion.

Wings of the Goddess — 2007

Introducing the new game feature ‘Campaign’ involving large-scale battles, alongside many new spells and abilities, and the Dancer and Scholar jobs included with new types of armor.

In 2008, SquareEnix released the Vana’diel Collection, a game pack that included all four expansions, alongside a copy of the game and a free month of play for a very reasonable price. This pack is available now online, and at many retailers across the globe.

Review Brendon Lindsey
October 9, 2009