GrWhat you really need to do right off of the bat is to talk to every NPC you
can find in town – and there a lot of them. Many of them won’t have much to say,
but the ones that do will provide you with important information on the game
world and on different aspects of gameplay, and you may also find yourself
picking up a quest along the way. FFXI is an online game, but it is also a
Japanese-style RPG and true to form for the genre there is a lot of reading of
NPC conversational text required to make your way through the game. If you don’t
like this style of RPG game then you should be aware that this will affect your
enjoyment of the game.
Not that the game is all reading, mind you, there is plenty of combat to be
enjoyed as well. You are free to go out into the world fighting evil creatures
on your own, but to really get anywhere in the game you’ll need to team up with
other players. Each job in the game plays a specific role in combat, so mixed
teams are vital to your success. You’ll need to ensure that you have players
that can cast spells, heal party members, and fight toe to toe with monsters, so
if you’re playing the game with friends it is not a good idea for you all to
pick the same job for your character. The combat itself mirrors the Final
Fantasy series’ active time battle system with the addition of skill chaining.
Skill chaining allows you to follow up attacks with compatible spells or attacks
to increase the damage.
 |
| A group attacks. |
The game does a good job of giving you different motivations for battling
monsters. In addition to gaining experience and taking part in the game’s story
by battling the Shadow Lord’s forces, you can also take up the banner of war for
your chosen country. Defeating more monsters than the other countries will win
regions for your nation. These regions will give you access to teleport points
and to special items for purchase.
If you’re more the craftsmen or merchant type, the game features a synthesis
system that allows you to combine special crystals and items to create new and
more powerful items. You can then sell these items at the game’s Auction House
which works a lot like an in-game eBay. Spend a lot of time in the Auction House
and it is just possible that you can make an in-game fortune at it.
The game’s community is a pretty large and friendly one. Players in Japan and
North American PC gamers also fill FFXI’s game world. The game has an
auto-translate feature which makes it surprisingly easy to converse with
Japanese players, so there is no language barrier when trying to strike up some
conversation or find a group. With the number of timezones represented by FFXI
players, you’re sure to find plenty of players in the game at just about any
time that you log in to play.
Graphically the game looks pretty good, but not quite on par with the better
looking offline PS2 games. There are plenty of details to the world of Vana’diel
including waterfalls, forests, and the like, but some of the structures and
scenery can look a little fuzzy around the edges. The player and monster
animations are all done well, helping to make their movements and attack to
life.
Overall, if you enjoyed playing the previous Final Fantasy games then you will
probably find a lot to love in FFXI. The game has a bit of a learning curve, but
there’s a lot to it if you stick around to really get into the game. It would be
nice if the registration process were more streamlined, though. The game is very
much a Japanese-style RPG, so if you don’t really enjoy playing that type of
game FFXI will probably not appeal to you and you should probably look to
EverQuest Online Adventures if you want to get into an online RPG with your PS2.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
76%. Final Fantasy fans will love Final Fantasy XI, but a difficult
sign-up process, poor online support, and lack of any kind of in-game tutorial
or training may try the patience of those new to the series of games.
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