In this week's Wayback Wednesday, we take a fond look back at one of the classic MMOs of our time, Final Fantasy XI. Grakulen is joined by Josh aka Daggart as they take a romp through Vana’Diel. Check it out!

FFXI is the first MMO from Square Enix based on their popular Final Fantasy franchise. Like all other numbered Final Fantasies that came before it this game is not a direct sequel to any previous entry in the series, nor does it take place in the same world as any of the other Final Fantasies. FFXI was released in North America on October 28th, 2003. This is a year after it launched in Japan but the North American release also came with the first expansion, Rise of the Zilart. This expansion increased the level cap to 75 and added in 3 new classes; ninja, samurai, and dragoon. Since then the game has had three additional full expansions, Chains of Promathia, Teasures of Aht Urhgan, and Wings of the Goddess; with a fifth expansion on the way, Seekers of Adoulin.

Read more of Rob Lashley's Final Fantasy XI: Wayback Wednesday in Vana'Diel.

Originally posted by Leucent
I don t agree with FFXI not being updated soon, its making them the most money of any other product still. FFXI will have content updates for years to come.

Yes.  FFXI makes SE a lot of money.

They will also continue to make content updates for FFXI, but that is it.  You will not see any significant improvements to the engine or anything like that.  Just a few minor UI tweaks.

I wanted to play this game very much and I bought it through steam, but the account setup was so confusing and somehow I ended messing up and cannot actually log into it because it always says my "member password" is wrong and that is not something you can reset through email or anything so I basically wasted money for nothing.

Oh well, there is still Final Fantasy XIV I suppose.

Originally posted by Razeekster

I wanted to play this game very much and I bought it through steam, but the account setup was so confusing and somehow I ended messing up and cannot actually log into it because it always says my "member password" is wrong and that is not something you can reset through email or anything so I basically wasted money for nothing.

 

Oh well, there is still Final Fantasy XIV I suppose.

 

FFXIV account creation system is only slightly less confusing than FFXI.  

Your member password might be the password you have to make on SE website.  Which is different than any playonline account you may have created.

You forgot to include in your list of important features: 1. The job change system. This is probably the most signficant feature that FFXI has to offer over most (if not all) other MMOs. This is what really made the game for me personally and I know kept a lot of other ppl very interested.  I realize in other games you can just reroll characters but there was something very important to me about investing in just one character. 2. BCNMs! These are soooo much fun and incredibly rewarding. Yes they fall under NMs but they are something completely different altogether. They aren't just rare monsters, they are really challenging scenarios that you have to plan for to be successful. I loved collecting enough seals to finally use to try my luck at one. Yes they can be frustrating but I rolled a BST and was able to find groups easily that could take them on. Have done with other classes such as SMN, BLM, and NIN as well. 3. Campaign - not everyone likes this but if it had more real-world impact I think it could be an even more fun (if not amazing) experience.  There are other features as well such as in ToAU but I did not do things like Nyzul Isle and I barely have done Besieged or anything which from what I understand is a lot of fun for people as well.

I think bottom line there are a lot of very unique and what could be badass game features that I think other games could stand to benefit from. Even better, though, I'd love to see a revamp of FFXI or have an unnumbered FF title (Final Fantasy Online - was that ever used?) that maybe has more of an action-oriented feel with modern game mechanic elements but that includes a lot of the same features that helped make FFXI so successful in its day.

Originally posted by nickster29
Abyssea ruined FFXI.

I can't agree more. FFXI was my first and favorite MMORPG of all time. Ok, I loved EVE and WoW too, but you will always remember your first. 

Grinding old school before Abyssea was tough, sitting in tunnels for hours on end killing crabs, dogs, bats etc...could really get monotonous. But they changed quite a few things over the years through expansions and patches. Some was for the good, some not. But when I went back and ran a Mithra ninja to 90 through abyss, I knew that the game had totally changed. It was all about grinding NM's, getting these stupid pieces of paper to upgrade armor and killing X amount of NM's to upgrade a weapon. Yeuch >.< too much grinding for me. 

Sometimes you have to enjoy something for the time period that it is and move on. Keep that fond memory intact and not revisit it to try and "capture" that feeling again.

Originally posted by Inktomi

 

Sometimes you have to enjoy something for the time period that it is and move on. Keep that fond memory intact and not revisit it to try and "capture" that feeling again.

Amen to this. I've had to come to that resolution - reluctantly - myself. 

I keep thinking, "I'll go back to FFXI and just take in the world and all it offers again". But then I realize that's pretty much impossible at this point because "the world" no longer matters. The story no longer matters. SE turned their back on all that the moment they  jumped the shark by green-lighting Abyssea. 

I tried to go back for Abyssea, twice. Each time ended very quickly as I found all that Abyssea is and represents appalling. The changes Abyssea brought didn't bring in many new players, and they lost many of their most loyal long-time players... a community that hovered at ~500k active players (not characters) over 7 years into the game's existence. Despite making the game a speed-leveler's heaven, their sub numbers have continued to dwindle. That should say it all right there.

SE had something rare in the MMO space, and they blew it. Utterly squandered it. I wonder if they realize, or appreciate that.

All in the name of "catering to the casual crowd", a segment of players FFXI was never targeted at. Apparently, someone influential at SE forgot that, and the results speak for themselves.

I talk to people I know from my time playing it who've gone back and they all have had the same experience. One friend who's playing it now, only with the hope that the new expansion will somehow restore some of that classic FFXI feel, also seems to realize they're doing it against the odds, and it's a struggle. FFXI will never be the same.

I have decided that it's better for me to remember the good times I had and be appreciative that I got to enjoy and experience the game when it was still truly Final Fantasy XI - a MMO about the community, adventure and experience of exploring a massive and amazingly detailed virtal world. Now, it's Final Abyssea Online - a game about power-leveling and grinding NMs.

Man this video brings back sooooooooooooooooooooo many memories. My two friends returned to FFXI two weeks ago and are trying to convince me to return. I heard Gilgamesh server is gone though because it was merged with Carbuncle... How fortunate for Carbuncle lol.

I loved this game but I doubt it would ever truly be the same for me

Originally posted by Scripture1

Man this video brings back sooooooooooooooooooooo many memories. My two friends returned to FFXI two weeks ago and are trying to convince me to return. I heard Gilgamesh server is gone though because it was merged with Carbuncle... How fortunate for Carbuncle lol.

 

I loved this game but I doubt it would ever truly be the same for me

I played on Gilgamesh also for 6 years.  I quit when they released abyssea and ruined the game.  Everyone I know who's tried to go back to it says the same horrible things about how the community has been taken over by casuals.  There were hundreds of casual games on the market... why in the world SE ruined their game to cater to them is beyond me.