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Final Fantasy XI, also known as Final Fantasy XI Online, was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), developed and published by Square Enix as part of the Final Fantasy series. It is also the first numbered installment in the series to be published by Square Enix after the merger of Enix and Square in 2003.
Designed and produced by Hiromichi Tanaka, it was released in Japan on May 16, 2002, for PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. The official hard drive was launched for the PlayStation 2 in North America along with this game, which was required to play the game. It is no longer playable on the PlayStation 2 and was the last online game for the PlayStation 2.
Why It Rocked
- It was the first MMORPG from the Final Fantasy series and the first MMORPG game to have cross-play between PS2, PC and Xbox 360.
- The game had lots of expansions.
- Tons and tons of quests.
- Beautiful graphics.
- Epic soundtrack.
- Players were able to customize their characters, including selecting from one of five races and choosing their gender, facial style, hair color, body size, job, and nation allegiance.
- Battles occured in real time as opposed to the random encounters used in previous games.
- There were currently 16 public game worlds available for play, down from 32 at the game's height, with approximately 15,000 to 20,000 players in each.
- Explore one of the biggest Final Fantasy worlds.
- Many challenging boss battles, such as the infamous Absolute Virtue (which many players couldn't defeat even after 18 consecutive hours).
- Easy menu and interface.
- Join multiple quests with many players online.
- Story related gameplay in Final Fantasy XI consists of two major components: missions, through which the main storyline of the game is told, and optional quests.
- From time to time special seasonal festivals and events are held. They last only for a set period of time and offered a variety of fun or useful rewards.
- Some special events include Dynamis, Salvage, Assault and Nyzul Isle, which involve anywhere between 6 and 64 players!
- A party could expand into an alliance, with up to three parties combined, with a total of 18 players. Alliances are necessary to complete more difficult challenges.
- Popular shared spaces activities include hunting Notorious Monsters, fiends that rarely appear and drop precious loot.
- Many different jobs to choose from.
- Many mini-games and other activities, such as Chocobo Racing and fishing.
Bad Qualities
- The game requires an online connection to play, and it is now impossible to play it on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 due to the servers being shut down.
- The PS2 version couldn’t be played on the slim model due to the required HDD accessory being incompatible.
Reception
Final Fantasy XI received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the PlayStation 2 version 85.04% based on 57 reviews and 85/100 based on 49 reviews, the PC version 82.11% based on 44 reviews.
Famitsu rated the game 38 out of 40. Computer and Video Games Magazine noted that it was one of the most welcoming MMORPGs despite the cumbersome initial registration and setup.