Customer Reviews

Final Fantasy XI with HDD

5 star:		(53)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I want to clarify a few points for Amazon buyers who wish to purchase this game used. FFXI is a unique game in the fact that once the account expires you cannot play it ever again. The game Key will be broken and will not work ever again. This will require you to purchase the game again. So be carefull. Even if the game was only installed for the 30 day trial and they didn't play it after that. The game key will last for 3-4 months of inactivity after that you will need to repurchase the game. to get around this you can go inactive and pay once every 3 months to keep the account going.

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Hope this helps for potential buyers of this product. ;)

Now that I've swallowed the price tag, ventured my way around the fabled world of Vana'diel, paid my first monthly fee and had a couple of months to really sink my teeth into the famed series' first expedition into internet gaming, I feel I'm justified in saying my first impressions were ultimately correct; there's something missing. Taking nothing away from the game itself, the mechanics, the graphics, the diversity or the community, this is as much Final Fantasy as it is Everquest. Somewhere in the transition from Tidus, Yuna and Auron to the millions of participants in the story of FFXI, Square-Enix's trademarked personality was lost.

Seeing this massive world hustling around you, encountering all these varied player-controlled and CPU-controlled characters and just trying to find your way from one end of a small city to the other is INCREDIBLY overwhelming. There's so much initial information to absorb, so much going on at any one time that even the most capable of minds will spin within moments of their first connection to the FFXI servers. Now that's a flaw I've noticed with several MMORPGs in the past, so I'd be lying if I said I was surprised to see it in full effect here, but I was hoping the bigwigs and creative geniuses behind the legendary FF series could devise a solution. Instead, you meet half a dozen non-playable characters with a penchant for lengthy monologues and strikingly similar names, gain a brief quest or two and are immediately thrust into the fray. I was stuck in a corner, confused, infuriated and utterly lost within five minutes, and I've been playing digital role playing games for most of my life.

Another thing this title shares with its online-genre competition is the notable de-emphasis on any real, compelling, interwoven storyline. There's always this sense hanging over your head that something big might just be about to happen, but it never does. You'll catch little bits and pieces of information from NPCs in various parts of the globe, but it's mostly inconsequential and not all that interesting. There's a very loosely-illustrated theme of competition between the planet's three dominant countries that surfaces from time to time, yet there's no drama. These three nations seem to be on the brink of war with one another, but they're all afraid of the risk involved with making that first move. It's like they built an entire game around the non-playable characters who didn't matter in previous Final Fantasies.

Gameplay is actually very quick and easy to learn, but seems to rely much more heavily on luck than previous titles. If you're in combat with an enemy, it's not uncommon to miss one another for upwards of three or four turns in a row. Random encounters have been done away with entirely, and you can see (and, if the situation calls for it, avoid) every hostile creature in the field. The endless mashing of the "Attack" option has been removed from play, as once you've drawn your weapon and begun a fight, your character will continue chopping away until you tell him to do something else or either he or the monster is dead. Both dealing out and receiving damage builds up your "TP" meter, which has taken the place of the traditional "Limit Breaks," and can be used to fire off a special attack once it's filled sufficiently. Using magic is a much more strategic factor in this title, since it's possible to have your chant interrupted by a well-timed attack. Thus, you won't want to hold off on casting that life-saving Cure spell until a second or two before the enemy strikes. That hypothetical sword is double-edged, though, and if you're lucky you can halt an enemy's spell in precisely the same fashion.

Online play through Square-Enix's servers is an absolute triumph. The sheer number of players in the world at any one time is amazing, and I can only recall one or two instances where I experienced any lag whatsoever. Additionally, they're always throwing in little bonuses, events and surprises to keep the world fresh, exciting and unpredictable. I signed on one evening to find three moogles floating in the middle of town square, surrounded by literally hundreds of players. When I spoke to the moogles, they gave me an egg with a letter printed on the shell. I was dumbfounded until I realized it was the week before Easter. They were simultaneously distributing and hiding little easter eggs throughout the city, and if you gave them the lettered eggs that matched up with the first three letters of your character's name, they gave you a prize. It's a really nice side effect of putting the whole game online; you can customize the experience for any reason imaginable.

As a whole, though, I was disappointed. The magic of the entire line of Final Fantasy games is missing from this title, and even attempting to associate it with its brethren was a mistake. Don't let that fact mislead you, however. As a standalone title with no ties whatsoever to the FF universe, this still wouldn't have knocked my socks off. It's full of unrealized potential, moments that stopped just short of being spectacular and long, dull periods of nothingness. The vast majority of your game time is spent running along an empty path, healing in a corner or participating in a boring, pointless conversation with one of the million useless non playable characters. Its successes are few; the successful transition from full-blown fantasy to a more reality-based setting, the tremendous capabilities of the Square-Enix servers and the gorgeous visuals, and its failures are many; the lack of story, the stale taste of almost everything in the world and the unnecessarily difficult battle system. I've got no problem calling this is an above average game, but claiming it's much more than that would be something of a stretch.

I read the reviews about Final Fantasy XI for PS2 and I was worried whether or not it was worth the money. After purchasing the game, installing it, and then playing it I must say this game is awesome!!! I would definitely recommend you have a cable modem and not dial-up! And buy a simple USB keyboard for the PS2 it makes a huge difference in playing. They graphics are great and its fun playing with many different people from different parts of the world. If your considering finding a game to play I would recommend this one hands down!

I was reluctant to buy this game, even as a fanatical fan of the Final Fantasy series. Eventually I bought it, and have recently signed on. While I find the story elements a plenty, this game is more about interacting with other players all over the world in what is perhaps the largest RPG I have ever played. I'm about level ten, but have been taken under the wing of a good friend of mine who happens to be on the same server I am. He's lead me around massive deserts, huge mountain paths, seemingly endless valleys, and I have only seen a small portion of the country of Bastok. We haven't even set foot in the other countries. It's absolutely amazing to me how much of this game there is. I can explore for hours on end and still be only scratching the surface of the country.
I am truly entranced by the weather system, and the sheer variety of people and monsters you encounter.
I do have a few disappointments however. Perhaps this can be attributed to the massive undertaking that this game is, running on the PS 2, but I have been able to see both the PC version of the game and the PS2 version running side by side (LAN party) and I must say that the PC version is drastically better looking. Putting it bluntly the PS2 version is simply ugly. Final Fantasy X and X-2 are much better looking games. The draw-in (or pop up) distance is much greater in the PC version, and barely noticeable. I remember one instance where my friend and I were running side by side toward a structure that he could see clearly on his laptop, but hadn't yet begun to be drawn in on my PS2 version. The lack of detail, and polish for the PS2 graphic creates a mind boggling eye sore. For a 128-bit system, this is awfully disappointing.
Money is also very scarce, which makes buying new weapons and armor very cumbersome, and the user interface has quite a huge learning curve. It's not the simplest game to play. The lack of options in character creation is also a disappointment. More options by way of hair color, clothing, etc would have been nice, but over all I'm pretty satisfied with my character. These things aside FF XI is an amazing game, but won't be for everyone. If you're not excited by the idea of endless exploration, and if you want something more story focused, FF XI is not for you. Also, considering the PS2 version costs twice as much as the PC version, and that is nowhere near as polished I recommend the PC version over the PS 2 version. Sad fact is that FFXI is really the only game to really use the Hard Drive anyway. Sony really hasn't made the HDD worth the extra $50 yet. We'll see how that plays out though.

This is one of the greatest games i have ever played. And has won a reward in my book as "The most addictive game ever". Let me start with the hard drive is remarkable it makes online gameing so fast and is now working with most of the new games now. It comes preinstalled with the Playonline and Final Fantasy XI game. Final Fantasy XI is a trumph in video game history, the comunity traits and the overall package is enough to make ONE spend the rest of his life on the game. The playonline is also a great server system, giving chat room systems to anyone and tetra card to those who spend a dollar to play a month. This is a great package all to gether and is well worth the money for the price, heck ill spend twice the price for the system ITS THAT GOOD trust me you will not be dis apointed.

First off I would like to state that the harddrive is for all the updates that are constantly being done. The updates fix bugs, add areas, quest, and make general adjustments to the game. You will have to a subscription fee to continue playing this game past ur first free month.

The game is time consuming! Having 3-5 hours at a time to play this game is an unsaid requirement. You will have a very hard time getting anywhere if you don't have such to sit down and play the game. If it wasn't for this black hole of time consumption I would rate the game 5 of 5.

This is by far the best game i've ever played.Once u get passed the annoying details of buying all the stuff u need to go with it for the PS2, then it's a blast! You start by picking ur race: Hume, Elvaan, Tarutaru, Mithra, or Galka. Then Pick a face, there ar 8 to choose from, u get to choose 2 different hair colors for each. Then Body type and gender. Next u pick ur job: warrior, black mage, white mage, monk, red mage, or theif. Don't worry, you can change jobs if u don't like yours or want a different one later. Finaly, u pick ur home country:
San D'oria, Bastok, or Windurst. Then your own story begins. Train hard and u will be able to travel all over the world known as Vana'diel. Vist friends in other countries. Also, i would highly recomend getting a USB Keyboard for the PS2, trust me, u will need it!!! Deck yourself out in the armor of your choosing from what u where on ur head or body, down to your earrings, necklaces or rings. Get ur style of weapon, you have a wide variety to choose from, choose the one that suites u and your job. Once ur ready, venture out and fight ur way through the fiends' hords! But of coarse, for those not wanting to fight, and wanting to live a peaceful life in the city,go ahead! Buy materials, make armor, cloths, weapons, jewlery, or furniture for your Mog House, and then keep it or sell it! Money is hard to attain, so of coarse it's good to be a rich salesperson! But over all, the message of FFXI is to be yourself, be strong, and most importantly, have fun! Take it form a 15 yr old gamer, u won't regret it!

The good thing of owning the PS2 version of FFXI is that you no longer need to worry about hardware specifications that much. All you need to do is buy a compatible PS2 Network Adaptor (sold seperately), plug it in and play. The bigger problem now is that many, if not most PS2s sold these days are the slim types, and hence has no space for the HD. Good luck finding the old-fashioned thick bulky PS2 to plug it into. You'll definitely need a keyboard for this one, a mouse is not needed. Heck I evne rarely use my controller during my gameplay other than camera angles.

However, there's one thing you need to know, and it's VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. If by any chance your PS2 is MODDED, don't even dream of buying this because you won't pass the software authentication process, which is a very clever anti-piracy move by Square-Enix. Repeat: IF YOUR PS2 IS MODDED, DO NOT BUY, DO NOT EVEN THINK OF BUYING.

I paid alot for this game, the HDD, the PS2, and the other acessories. Now I have to pay $12.95 a month more just to play this one game. What a rip off. I can play Socom II for free. After my free 30 days trial period is over I am going to try to return the game.

Ok, I've played other MMOG's (Massive Multiplayer Online Games) including EQ and DAOC and I was anxious to see how a MMOG would translate to a console. Controlling this game with the PS2 controller is an absolute dream and and everything about the game (as far as MMOGs are concerned) is very slick and streamlined. There's always something to do and while getting started is a bit underwhelming (as they are in every MMOG), spending a couple hours exploring will have you busy following leads teaching you about the vast directions this game can take you. This game follows Final Fantasy in lore only, gameplay itself is suited for completely wide-open-ended, explore-anything-you-want, do-what-you-please MMOG's, everything from fishing (yes fishing) to battling epic creatures. Learn the menu system, talk to NPC's (Non Player Characters) and explore, explore, explore. This game is amazing!