So, I ran out and pre-ordered Final Fantasy XI back in August of last year. I had jsut gone through a terrible breakup with EverQuest a few months before. I wasn't sure if I was ready to get into another long term commitment, but crap people, it's FINAL FANTASY.
After rangling with the credit card, I waited the two hours to allow the new release patch to download. Soon, I was slaying bunnies with my uber sweet Elvaan female on Ramuh server.
And for awhile, I felt at home.
Now, it is the month of July, in the next year, and I find that FFXI is a hollow experience.
First, let me get it straight off, the PATCHING NEVER ENDS. If it isn't a registration server issue (which repeatedly kicked me off even with a clean, 0 balance credit card), the game jsut needed so much work. The social aspect was enough to keep me there for awhile, but as a friend said " Final Fantasy XI is jsut EverQuest with fewer things to do"
Is this true?
It might be. But, you see, EverQuest has had so much time to grow and develope. Will Final Fantasy come close? I don't know. The world wide fan base of the RPG epic is huge. We are talking Orca huge. Maybe it's partly a fact that S-E doesn't care about its gamers. Leveling down, restrictive monthy fees......16 hour server maintenance. Christ, the game was out in Japan for what, a year and a half? You would think the issues would be worked out by the NA release.
Let's talk about a couple of other aspects. One of the things that grabbed me was the fact that you are not, as a character, cast into the single class for the game. I started as a monk, then switched later because monks aren't appreciated. It beats starting a new character, and new Content ID from scratch...but wait. There is more. You are the same character. The problem is that if you get a bad reputation as one character, one class, that doesn't go away. I have been in a Linkshell where the leader of that linkshell has been practically banned from grouping with much of the server. How is that for horrible? So, while you can play any class you want, except the lv 30 ones, you have to live with all your mistakes.
Leveling down...need I say more.
Final Fantasy is a beautiful game. The fact that I loved the graphics so much I dropped good money on a good video card should prove it. But, graphics alone aren't enough. While some of the level content is being addressed, the difficulty of some of the added stuff is brutal.
So, I closed off FFXI until the expansion, Chains of Promethia. Maybe it will be better, with a lot more to do. I lvl grinded in EQ for almost 5 years, and I am disillusioned with doing it again.
For those of you that want to try it, by all means, do it. But keep in mind the issues I have said or the issues that have been said by others. It is worth trying after all. But maybe for the PS2 where you don't have to beef up the system to play.