My FFXI Review

[starlightCRUSH*]

Final Fantasy XI
The biggest name in interactive role-playing makes a giant evolutionary leap...and you can color me suitably impressed.

When it comes to console RPG,
the Japanese lead a privileged exis-
tence. Notable releases regularly
premiere on foreign shores months
before the US ship date arrives.
Therefore, the build-up to a new
Final Fantasy release is
always bolstered by a
lead time during which
English-speaking
players scour web-
sites for any and all
info pertaining to the
long-running series'
latest addition. When
Square-Enix recently
declared intentions
to take the newest
addition, Final
Fantasy XI, online
only, many fans
despaired of any
Western release.

Like Final Fantasy X, the new online
universe is populated by realistic char-
acters rather than the super-deformed
caricatures of Final Fantasy VII.
Their world is Vana'diel, in which an
epic conflict has recently resolved into
an uneasy peace between three king-
doms. Without openly entering battle,
each power vies for supremacy by
quietly annexing nearby land. Players
are an integral part of this process.
Each adventurer can acquire a sigil
from the local government, thereby
transforming even simple actions into
a complex foreign policy maneuver.

As you'd expect from a massively
multiplayer title, the world of Vana'diel
is expansive. The three kingdoms are
each characterized by specific terrain;
Windhurst is the Hobbiton-like green
region, Bastok is the home of industry
and San d'Oria houses the Elvaan
population's impressive architecture
and monuments. The character cre-
ation process requires that you choose
an allegiance, but you may re-align
during play. Travel between kingdoms
is easy, provided you've got either the
strength to face danger on the road
or cash to buy passage by sea or air.

Homeland security
Each kingdom is home to specific
race, but you'll find a diverse cultural
mix wherever you go. Humes and
Elvaan are plentiful and the most
balanced of the races, while the dimi-
nutive Tarutaru are blessed with a
doll-like appearance to mask their
immense magical power. Less plentiful
are the catlike female Mithra and the
powerful male Galka. As in any fantasy-
based RPG, each race is prone to
success in certain
trades, and your first
character will have
limited class options.
Many young warriors,
monks, mages and
thieves are found
wandering near each
city. But FFXI allows
you to switch classes
at any time, and once
a certain level is
reached, more power-
ful and interesting
jobs such as ninja and
summoner become
available.

The process of char-
acter evolution offers
an incredible array of
options, as you can
swap between jobs
almost at will and
indulge in secondary classes as well.
Studied players will recognize the
system as a modified version of that
from Final Fantasy V. Each class is
quite well balanced, so that, a suc-
cessful party will consist of a diverse
member assortment. Naturally it's
impossible tp get very far in Vana'diel
alone, which goes a long way to assist
in overcoming shyness when it comes
to talking to new people. The biggest
hurdle for any massively
multiplayer online
(MMO) title is building
community, and the
way FFXI is set up
makes it both easy
and integral to play.

Parties can be formed
at any time between
interested players,
and membership defi-
nitely has privileges.
Foremost among them
is survival. Start a
fight with a monster,
and no one else can
help unless you
requst it. That's
great when newbies
are frantically trying
to gain expierence.
But when you find
yourself unexpectedly
outclassed, the benefits of solo work
diminish. Parties fight together, and
while they also have to share experi-
ence and loot, the trade-off makes
perfect sense in terms of saving your
skin. Fortunately, when you do find
yourself on the recieving end of a
deadly blow, FFXI doesn't
consider it a grave error.
Unlike EverQuest, your death
does not leave a body that
must be reclaimed, or that
others can pillage. Characters
re-spawn at a home area,
minus a chunk of expierence
points. As I discovered, hav-
ing to walk 20 minutes to
rejoin your party is a drag,
but it beats losing all your
gear to opportunistic bandits.

[Hazuki Sensi]

I played FF11 for 8 months last year - I had the imported american version - I got to level 58 as my main job (Black mage) and got up to at least lvl40 as a red mage, plus a load of other jobs - heres my review

DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME

my reasons -

1. its damn addictive, seriously the hours fly off when you play this game, youll sit up all night and drag yourself like a zombie to work/uni - its bad! you think about it constantly....it takes you....

2. Its ridiculously hard, I played for 8 months solid,, no breaks or anything.... and didnt even break the high levels, the quests take many players, its such a pain to get help, high level players get resentful when you have to beg just so you can get your AF armour, its a tough game....

3. People on that game are assholes, plain and simple, theyre either totally inept at the game and can barely type or move or are so damn perfectionist its annoying, you make one mistake they shout at you, you make one silly comment or joke to have fun, they shout at you, you shout back, you get annoyed - not what a game is about

4. when you earn roughly 10 gil a fight, when you have to spend MILLIONS and i mean this literally MILLIONS of gil for just stuff to level up with, you get so annoyed having to spend days and weeks just doing money tasks - its so damn annoying that to keep playing the game you need to keep killing the same dull monsters OVER AND OVER AND OVER againn just to earn enough to keep playing.


Seriously do not play this, it wastes your time, its for nothing, you get angry, bored, frustrated and o not enjoy the game, its ridicoulsy hard and youll get addicted to it - save yourself the bother and go outside in the sun, I totally regret the time I wasted on this game....

[Son of Sephiroth]

I might get wow 3 as well as FFXI. But I might not have the time for them

[Alex]

Great review so far.

[starlightCRUSH*]

There's at least a full page more.

[Hazuki Sensi]

starlightCRUSH - quick question - what level are you on the game? cause from my experiance it changes dramatically in the higher levels.

[starlightCRUSH*]

I don't even remember the blur of FFXI well. I remember I had at least a few thousand hours and I never looked at HP or anyones levels or stats. I ignored everything and played.

[Hazuki Sensi]

wow, you must have been one in like a billion, everyone i met was obsessed with leveling and exp, they put it in theyre comments and search results, they partied at the best places, I did too, I never saw the game as a chill out thing cause often it was too damn hard or had nothing to do that didnt involve like 400 people... was cool in the level 50s when you could just wander around in safety in the main zones cause no monster would attack you cause you kicked ass though lol

[starlightCRUSH*]

When I was riding my chocobo, I ignored all bodily functions.

[Son of Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by starlightCRUSH*

When I was riding my chocobo, I ignored all bodily functions.

ALL?