Final Fantasy XI
September 18,2006 - Since 1987, the Final Fantasy series has been the most prolific RPG franchise, and is still among the most popular to this day. Although some newer franchises, like Grandia, have come along and surpassed it on the gameplay front, it is still one of the must-mention series in the genre when discussing top-of-the-line RPGs. In recent years, it has made a point to essentially reinvent itself with every installment, which has both earned and cost it fans. A few years ago, one of the most substantial reinventions came in the form of Final Fantasy XI Online for the PC and PlayStation 2, which was met with a reputation as a solid MMORPG for what it was, but slightly generic for a Final Fantasy.

Although it has since been overshadowed by more recent MMO titles like World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI still has a very strong following, and is still being supported strongly by SquareEnix, with a third expansion having just been released this year. SquareEnix has never been supportive of the Xbox brand, however, so it was quite surprising when they revealed that Final Fantasy XI Online would be making its way to the Xbox 360. Unfortunately, the fact that it's somewhat of an older game put a slight damper on the otherwise earth-shattering news that SquareEnix was developing for the Xbox 360.

The package in question is solid – Final Fantasy XI Online, along with its three expansions; Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and the latest one, Treasures of Aht Urhgan. This effectively makes it the complete Final Fantasy XI experience, with a price tag of $49.99 (roughly the same as you would pay for the PC's Vana'diel Collection and Aht Urhgan expansion). FFXI also carries a subscription fee of $12.95 per month (+$1 for every character you wish to play beyond the first), but the first month is included free with the game.

Starting Final Fantasy XI Online, you will first select from one of four races, and one of six job classes (the original six Final Fantasy jobs; Warrior, Monk, Thief, White Mage, Black Mage, and Red Mage), along with your character's overall appearance. The appearance options probably aren't nearly as deep as they should be, but it's still possible to give your character a fairly distinct look, especially once you really get playing into the game. You are then asked to choose a country of origin, which will serve as your base of operations initially, and then you are randomly assigned a server, unless a friend bought you a World Pass allowing you to play with them on the server they started on.

Once you perform a minor task or two in your base town, you'll be ready to suit up with basic equipment and head out, levelling up on low-level monsters and taking on small quests. Levelling up is a pretty simple process early on, so it will take only a small investment of time and gil to learn the basics of any job class. However, once you get past level 10 or so in any job, you'll have to start making a real commitment to it, because at that point, levelling will start becoming something of a chore unless you can find a really good group to work with. Hopefully, by then, you have joined a guild, or “Linkshell” as they are called in FFXI. These are very large groups of players that, ideally, benefit each other as they play through the game and eventually take on the highest-level quests once some members reach the maximum job level of 75.

Upon reaching level 18 and accomplishing a certain quest, you will gain the ability to pick a secondary class, called a sub-job, to complement your main one, much like in Final Fantasy V. This system works fairly well, but is somewhat imbalanced in the fact that your sub-job must statistically complement your main, as certain jobs can actually have a detrimental effect when combined with each other. Because of the very strict methods of winning difficult battles, party members are often expected to make one kind of contribution to the battle, and stick to it. Combining Warrior with Black Mage will be fun for soloing, but don't expect to get any party invites.

Finally, upon reaching level 30, you can start taking quests that unlock more job classes. This list includes many long-time Final Fantasy favorites like Dragoons, Dark Knights, and Summoners, along with newer additions like Puppetmasters and Corsairs. The quests needed to unlock these classes can be fairly painstaking, and starting a new job class from level 1 can be depressing at this point, but having both a powerful main job and sub job is extremely rewarding and necessary for some battles you will encounter later on in the game.

Final Fantasy XI Online's weak point is its visuals. Although this is an Xbox 360 release, the game was developed in the first half of the previous generation, for the weakest hardware of the bunch. It has been graphically tuned-up for HDTV owners, but it hasn't been overhauled to take advantage of the Xbox 360's more powerful hardware. There will be inexplicable pop-up, poorly detailed character models, and chuggy frame rates (especially when walking by a crowded auction house), none of which should be happening on the 360's watch. Perhaps the straight dump was the reason for the game's biggest benefit, however; unlike any other Live-enabled 360 game to date, Final Fantasy XI Online is playable across platforms, meaning you will be playing with PC and PS2 players as well as 360 owners. This could have been a major concern, considering repopulating an entire MMORPG on a new platform, after it's been out elsewhere as long as it has been, could be bothersome at the very least. Relax; you're jumping into a large community with FFXI.

The audio, despite the all-but-total departure of famed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, is amazing. Newcomers Naoshi Mizuta and Kumi Tamioka do an unexpectedly great job in Uematsu's place, with Mizuta handling the bulk of the work (including all of the incredible battle music). Unfortunately, voice communication is not compatible across platforms, so while you will be able to voice-chat with party and Linkshell members who have Xbox 360s of their own, you will still need a USB keyboard to play alongside PC and PS2 gamers. Thankfully, virtually all USB keyboards are compatible with the Xbox 360, so this should be very little trouble, if any.

Final Fantasy XI Online may not be the best MMORPG out there, but if you don't have a gaming PC, or just prefer the Final Fantasy brand for your MMO experience, you won't be disappointed with this game. Furthermore, it is also the most convenient form in which FFXI has ever been offered; you don't have a hard drive to buy (unless you got stuck with a core system), and all your expansions come in the same box. Gamers who run strictly on console offerings, and haven't yet had the chance to experience an MMORPG, would do very well to make the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XI Online their first experience in the genre. If, on the other hand, you're already owned by another MMO like World of Warcraft, or have already gotten everything you're going to out of one of the previous versions of FFXI, you can safely pass this one up.

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