You start off selecting what race you would like to play as, giving you choices such as Human, Elveaan (picture elves from Lord of the Rings), Mithral (Female cat/human), Gaulka (Large Male cat like creature) and the “cute” race of the game the Taru-Taru. Once selecting your race you’re asked to pick what job class to play as. Your choices range from direct combat classes such as Warrior, Monk, or Thief to magic users such as White and Black mages. 

In the beginning the Final Fantasy world can seem a little overwhelming but if you’ve read some of the guides that are available online you’ll have an easier time adjusting to the game’s different environments. You start off in one of three cities and begin your adventure killing small creatures just outside the city giving your character experience points and making them stronger. As the game progresses you will move to harder areas away from the city, join with other gamers to form parties and hunt larger creatures. The game eventually gets to the point where once you reach a certain level playing with other players in the Final Fantasy world is a must to continue to raise your characters level. At first I thought “What if I can’t find anybody to play with?”. Well everyone else around you is in the same boat as you are so I didn’t find it difficult to find other gamers to join up with and this is one of the things that make this game so enjoyable.

You’ll interact not only with players from the US but also with players from Japan, Hong Kong and many other countries. Since the game has been out in Japan the last 2 years I found the Japanese players to be very helpful in answering questions I had about where to go or getting help on some of the games’ many quests you can partake in. And speaking of quests unlike some online games FFXI has a story-like mode built-in you can follow by undertaking your city’s many missions they have to offer. Each mission you complete will advance the story of your character and you will be given a cut-scene to watch the story unfold. The first couple of missions is fairly simple and can be completed solo. But later on you will be required to find additional adventurers to team up with to complete the later missions. 

Killing monsters and raising your character’s level isn’t the only thing you can do in the FFXI world. There’s a whole economy setup where you can buy materials, create and sell armor/weapons, cook and sell food, and many other items. Similar to fighting monsters in the game you also level up your different crafting skills. Monsters in the game will drop different items, allowing you to collect materials and put them up for sale at the Auction House for money. You can also purchase these items or keep the ones you find on monsters and start crafting your own items. As you create more difficult items your crafting skill will raise allowing you to create more difficult/valuable items later on.

FFXI also offers quests in the game that NPC’s (Non-Playable Character: Computer Characters you talk to in game) will ask you to do for them. Upon completing a quest the NPC usually will give you an item or money for assisting them. A lot of the quests have level requirements, such as at level 18 you can acquire the Sub job quest. Upon completing it you can now mix 2 job classes together such as a Warrior / White Mage. At level 20 you can undertake the Chocobo quest that will give you the ability to ride Chocobos from place to place (Much quicker than walking on foot everywhere). This is just the 2 main one’s everyone undertakes, there are many more to choose from and the list continues to grow with each update made to the game.

Carrying a price tag of $50 plus the $13 a month subscription fee might turn a few gamers off. If you’ve enjoyed other online games or the Final Fantasy series and you have time to play FFXI its well worth the price. The development team behind the game is continually coming up with new things to add to the gaming experience so it’s not a “once you beat it its over” type of game. You’d expect nothing less than the best from the Company that brought you the Final Fantasy series and Square doesn’t disappoint with this online adventure.

Manufacturer: Square-Enix

Price:  $49 plus $13 per month