Customer Reviews

Final Fantasy XI Vana'diel Collection 2008

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Jitensha~Kujata Server~75WHM 75BLM

I have been playing FFXI for several years now, and I can tell you that Square Enix always keeps it coming!!! FFXI is not just the first worldwide cross server game, and multi platform game, with beautiful graphics (in comparison to other MMORPGS), it's a world for players who want to be challenged, even if you're not a Final Fantasy fan.

Many of you might find mixed reviews about the game, and I will admit that the FFXI experience is a bit more demanding and time consuming than other MMORPGS. I will conquer on the idea that you can't have fun if you don't have a lot of time though. I'm a young woman, planning to get married soon, just finished school (full time 6 classes a semester), worked, and still had time to play (as well as sleeping, eating, and spending time with loved ones of course). It is possible, you just need to manage your time correctly.

Another reason people don't like the game is because it's not really Newbie friendly. I mean, they have different campaigns for new characters, mentor programs, special items and quests etc, but the constant leveling and less challenging quests can be boring for a player until they reach level 30. That level is when the fun begins, parties become more strategic, players can obtain advanced jobs, and much more, but as stated before, in comparison to other MMORPGS, reaching level 30 could seem like forever.

On a more positive note, once a player reaches level 30+ and is able to explore Vana'diel more, they will start to realize what a detail and amazing world it is! FFXI has an AMAZING jaw dropping story line with each expansion, and they just keep getting better and better! FFXI even covers more than it had when it started. We now can enjoy over 20 jobs, with an amazing sub job system, several PVP's, even more challenging End Game events for rare/exclusive armor and weapons, Campaign battles, and more! Also with the Special Task Force the economy is a million times better, and the game is more fun to play now. Square Enix has for many years kept it's ears open to the players, and I'm sure I can speak for many FFXI fans that the game has evolved into something amazing.

On another happy note, FFXI might now have as many players as other MMORPGS...not they make commercialize in the US, only in Japan (God knows why...)...but I will assure you, the number of 12 year olds are significantly less than that in WoW LOL...

FFXI is a cross-platform MMORPG with a control scheme to fit Playstation 2, PC and Xbox360. However I really can't stand the KB controls in the PC edition(the mouse is totally useless) and many people including one of the reviewers here feels the same way. The better contol schemes for this game requre you to hook up ether a Dual Schock 2 clone(something that functions just like a Playstation 2 controler) or the "Xbox360 controler for Windows". Both of these can be configured to act like the console versions and make the game more playable on a PC so I'd reccomend these items as an aditional purchace with the game.

As for the game well...if you're looking for PvP you are buying the wrong game. Also don't expect much of a solo experence as in this game you'll mostly be teaming up with the other players agnist the monsters from lvl 20 and up. It's pretty much ok since the FFXI comunity can be pretty helpful and they all understand how long it takes to get top level in this game.

Personally I like the storylines in this game but if you're just starting out it'll take you while before you can fully enjoy them. The main starting nation mission lines are availble at the start, and The Rise oF Zilart expansion kicks in after you reach rank 5 in your chosen nation. The storlines of the other expasions can be done at any time but you're gonna want to get a few levels under your belt before trying them. For example the first missions for Chains of Promithia start at a maxium lvl 30 cap. Besides missions we have a few quests with intrestin stories as well, but I won't go too far into it here.

The other unique thing about FFXI vs other MMOs is the job system. With most MMORPGs you are stuck with whatever class you start as for all of the time you play that game. In FFXI there are over 20+ jobs a player can pick from with six jobs available at the start(the rest are unlocked via quests when a player gets his first job to lvl 30). You can swap jobs at any time with the only thing being that all jobs start on lvl 1, but don't fret because the game keeps track of all the levels gain for each job. This means you can be a lvl 30 Warrior one minute and a lvl 20 White mage the next if you wish...just talk to the moogle in your home ^^

This game has alot to offer but don't expect it to be an easy road....this is not World of Warcraft...it's a game for the long haul! So if you wana make some cool friends and battle your way through come on in, but if you wana to solo and do PvP...this is probably not gonna be your game...

I have been playing this game for about 5 years now and all i can say is that I'm still having fun.It does take awhile to master the controls and each job is different.So it's not for the casual gamer.FFXI has a great story line and well as battle system too.The graphics are very nice and not cartoonish looking like WOW.Only bad thing I don;t like is some times it takes a long time to get a party together.The social aspect is very good and it's easy to meet friends here.FFXI is a real fun game and I highly recommend it to some one who wants to get into MMORPGS.PLus the user base is older people so you don't have to deal with bratty kids,one of my biggest turn offs about WOW.

This game comes with a free 30-day trial, but that is not going to give you an accurate idea of the game as a whole. Its going to take some effort on the part of the player to truly experience all this game has to offer. I've been playing for a year and still haven't gotten a job to level 75. I am in no way unhappy about this, there are so many things to do that leveling a character is just part of the fun.

There are several wonderful web-sites (Wikia for example) available that give information on missions, quests, mobs, items, ect that the lack of a manual is not that big a problem. Someone has already mentioned the controller you can get for your PC that makes the game much easier to play. There are keyboards available for the PS2. There aren't too many problems with this game that cannot be overcome.

One thing that must be kept in mind about the economy of the game(as well as the helpfulness of other player) is that the game has many different servers or "worlds" and the situation can vary drastically from one to another. Square Enix has done much in the last year or so to crack down on gil sellers (Real Money Traders) and this is what's caused such huge fluxuations in the economies of each world. Every account banned for RMT results in gil (and items) removed from circulation. SE is making headway here too. They just had a "lottery" type event in which untold amounts of gil and items were given as prizes to lucky winners. SE is putting alot of effort into making this game fun and they want players to put effort into their characters too.

Gil, Items, Levels, Skill. Little of worth is gotten in this game without effort. But that's what gives you a sense of accomplishment with your character. And in my opinion is what makes this game so awesome!

I have played many Final Fantasy games, and XI really brings the world to life by putting real people behind the characters. No more being "stuck" with the same old boring/not-so-boring NPCs, and more of a dynamic atmosphere. I like it. Like most MMORPGs, there is a lot designed to draw you in and keep you here.
As a white mage, I found death and soloing two particularly harsh aspects of my early life. After you get beyond level 10 (what most consider the stage where you are learning your limits and abilities), parties change things up a lot. I am sad I did not get to play much longer than this though.
I will leave you with my last warning: This game takes time. Real time. If you expect to get anywhere in this game, you have to set aside some time to play. Even walking places requires at least 10-20 minutes of your time, making sure your character doesn't get attacked by the stray goblin in the middle of nowhere. If you do not have time to devote to this game, wait until you do. I didn't have this kind of time to devote on a day-to-day basis -- not even a weekend-ly (is that a word?) basis because of college.
If you can get past all that, and if you are even remotely interested in XI, do some research, find a well-populated server, and go play! Though you may say its graphics are dated, I assure you it will still impress. And it's always better to try -everything- now for 20 dollars before you bolt in for 100 a year.
Best of luck.

This game was one of the first, MMORPGS that introduced the nice graphics and the good sotry line, all games nowadays modifed aspects from FF11 to get thier game going like WOW and GW. This is not your average every other day game, u need to put time in it and its rewarding, yes you might say it takes forever to lvl up and ur paying 15 bucks a month, but w/e. Don't be cheap, its totaly worth it, and the comminity is great unlike other mmorpgs where no one cares about you and or calls u a dam noob. However this isnt you solo/grind mmorpg and not good for ppl who like to pvp.

The complete collection of Final Fantasy XI Online and Expansion Packs.
A great MMORPG since 2002 and still going strong. You get a 30 day free trial and then must continue by paying an affordable monthly subscription fee.

In this game you begin by creating and naming your own custom character. You will meet and talk to many people to team up with from all over the world to advance in your quests.

I started this game in 03, JP release, quit in 06 for WoW, then quit WoW in 07, came back to this, then recently I started Age of Conan... and I think I'll go back to FFXI again.

Let me explain,

This game gives you everything EXCEPT open world ganking and glowing weapons. I'll break this down even further;

PVP COMBAT -
Not really much of it. There is a few PVP scenarios you can get into, but for some reason they arent very popular. If you get into a Ballista or Brenner or something of that nature its a scheduled thing, unless you start one yourself... then its even harder to people to go with you. But if you find a good group of people who want to do this, the rewards can be great!

PVE COMBAT -
Open world is HUGE. There are tons of different monsters and beastmen you can battle against. Unlike many other MMOs out there, the mobs dont all look the same here! Higher level ones with challange you with more abilities, and that makes for interesting game play for sure. Oh, and this game is not really Gear Oriented, but in most cases, skill oriented (Ninja tanking, for example).

QUESTS -
Holy Cr@p there are a Sh!!ton of quests in this game! Down side to them is they dont give you experience points. They do, however give you a fame rating for the city/town you do these quests for... and fame sticks with your character (toon for you WoW fans) for the life of it. As you can see, I have been playing this game for a very long time, and I have yet to repeat 1 single quest (unless I want to help someone else do it). Massive content that no other game EVER has came even remotely close to being able to match.

CRAFTING -
Some people like it. It takes a lot of time, as do most things in this game. You can make probably 60% of the items in the game through crafting. Personally, I'm big on this games Fishing. You actually have to fight the fish and wear it down to get it up out of the water. Good stuff!

CHARATER CREATION -
As far as looks go, theres not a big difference in anything other than race selection and hair color that anyone will notice much. Hume = Male or Female Human, Elvaan = A tall elf (compared to Santa Style or WoW) either Male or Female, Tarutaru = A very small pudgy (sometimes refered to as Cute) Male or Female humanoid, Mithra = a Female only cat that walks on 2 legs, and Galkan = a Massive Non-gender (refered to as male though) Hulking Dinosaur looking thing. Each race has thier own strengths and weaknesses associated with job selection.

JOB SELECTION -
Fisrt off, theres a ton, and patcheds keep adding more! Heres the list:

Warrior, Depending on the way you pla, can be a tank or a damage dealer

White Mage, A caster of healing magic

Red Mage, the jack of all things magical, the master of enfeebaling

Black Mage, Master of the Dark Magic

Blue Mage, Learns the abilitys of what its fights and uses them against your opponenets

Monk, The Master of Martial Arts with Hand and Foot

Thief, Steal Items and Money, Stab enemeys in their backs and run away fun!

Dragoon, Calls and controls his/her own dragon and wields a deadly spear

Paladin, A very Heavily Armored Tank with magic to heal themselfs

Dark Knight, A very Heavily Armed Dealer of Death

Beast Master, Charm enemys and force them to fight others for you

Puppet Master, Controls a puppet to do its bidding for them

Ninja, Master of Deception!

Samauri, Wields a Giant Katana and uses it to inflict many skills quickly

Dancer, Uses the power of Dance to change to do various abilities

Bard, Sing or Play an intrument to give your group various power boosts

Scholor, Can instantly switch between Black and White magic

Corsair, uses a deck of cards (and a gun) to give boosts to your group

Ranger, Pretty much like any ranger in any game

Summoner, call upon the mightiest of all creatures the History of FFXI has offered to fight for or with you

More, I'm sure there is, but theres just so many I forget about them all!

And on top of that, just because you chose 1 job at the beginning dont mean you have to start a new character to start a new job. Simply go into your house and talk to your Moogle, viola, change your job. You keep all the levels you have earned and all the experience and everything as you progress through the game. And thats not all with job selection, after lvl 18 you can do a quest to get a support job to your main job. For example, you are a lvl 18 warrior, and want to be able to cure yourself... well warrior does not have magic, so you go talk to your moogle and select white mage as a support job (I dont really reccomend doing this, but its a good example), now, you are a Warrior/White Mage. Your support job can be = to or less than your current main jobs level. Example again, 18warrior/9white mage. Max level in this game is 75, and that point you have the merrit system to make you even more powerful, which also carry on to other jobs if you chose to play a different one.

CUSTOMIZATION -
You pretty much choose the way you want to play the game. Although there are strong notions as to the way you should play a particular class, mainly because the game has been out for so long, but really theres nothing to stop you from doing things the way you want.

WoW bored me after a year, well, long before that, but I had a lvl 70 and wanted to see what endgame had to offer... that was a dead end for sure. I was also tired of how one-sided the PvP system was... IE; Rogues stun lock you, kill you, and theres nothing you can do about it while the swirly junk is over your head. This is not the case with FFXI, as EVERY job is perfectly ballanced. Your Human Skill, really does make the difference.

Theres never any lag issue. At all. Ever. The servers run like a finely tuned sports car.

This game is for PS2, Xbox360, and PC, so youll see a TON of people still playing this game today, and all day every day.

There really is almost TOO much to this game, and can be quite overwhelming, especially for the new player. The game helps out with that though, as it does start out slow, and gets faster and faster as you progess.

If you are a new player, and end up on the Titan Server, look myself or my wife up and one of us can help you out! I am Robotchicken, my wife is Shadowsith.

Basiclly, if you have come to the point of reading this review, just stop what your doing, buy this game, and get hooked like the rest of us. Sure you wont see glowy weapons or floating skulls off your shoulders like WoW, but you also wont see any of the cartoony kids stuff either. This is just purely a great game with tons of social interaction.

FFXI is, arguably, one of the most fun, dynamic and addictive MMORPG to hit the markets. One of the latest in the Final Fantasy series, FFXI takes different elements from other FF titles, world history, and theory in developing the jobs, quests, and titles in the game.

Available to play on PC, PlayStation (2) and XBox 360, FFXI incorporates a diverse player base to create a world with it's own fluctuating economy, dialect, and customs. Consequently, the need to schedule event times, group battles and multiple-quest story lines will begin to influence your day-to-day activities.

Overall, if you approach the game with maturity and a keen eye on the clock, you'll avoid the 30-hour-plus parties. At least, that's the only issue I have with the game.

With all due respects to other reviews, this game is one of the best online games there are, it isnt overly easy like that of WoW or AoC or other games, still has that FF feel, so yes SE didnt spend a load of money on the GUI they put it into content. Tho due to the lack of character customization in the char creation, you have thousands of types of armor and styles to choose from!

as for pvp, it will be later on, and it is based upon nation wars, so dont get your hopes up for a open pvp, remember guys this is still a FF game, but large scale wars make up for that lack of 1v1 pvp.

The handling, well as others have said the mouse is pretty much useless, unless you go into your config and change to a mini keyboard, which will put u in the same formate as that of WoW so your mouse is more used and you have wasd movement....tho i have gotten used to the numpad movement and already have a rumble2 controller (recommeneded cordless rumble 2 from logitech best for your money) so pretty much ill be playing like that of a ps2, the system it originally came out on.

Be aware that tho some world clusters(server) are full of jerks and meanies does not mean that all are, i was lucky to find on my 14day trial one of the nicest, balanced eco, and friendliest servers, within the first 30 mins i found someone that has helped me and guided me thru and thru...so do not dispare on that first server, if you dont like it delete the char, and start again on a new server...hundreds to choose from...so no worries you will find the right one!