With the launch of Final Fantasy XI Online on Xbox 360, Square-Enix adds yet another platform for its long-running, massively multiplayer online (MMO) RPG, joining the PC and PlayStation 2.

The game also marks the console’s first MMO, giving Xbox 360 owners an opportunity for a second life in the persistent world of Vana’diel. There they can meet up with hundreds of the world’s residents—computer-controlled AI characters and those manned by players from around the globe—for conversation, quests, combat and more, 24/7.


However, Vana’diel has been around for a couple of years now, with Xbox 360 players somewhat like immigrants just off the boat from the homeland far away. What’s alien to the newcomers, others have been experiencing for some time. Will this new world, already well-established and -researched, offer enough for the neophytes or will it be a case of overpopulation in a land that’s been plundered and is now obsolete?

The good news is, there’s plenty of room and resources for everyone. As with most MMOs, Final Fantasy XI (FFXI from here on) offers a gigantic world, with a constant spawning of creatures, potential combatants and chat-mates (real and AI) to keep players busy. If you want to discover, you’ll have hours of roaming ahead of you before you’ve covered all of Vana’diel. If you want to smash and bash critters, there are acres of four- and two-legged antagonists waiting for you to start swinging. And there are hundreds of quests to be triggered by finding the right conversation to start.

Still others are content to minimize their conflicts in favor of the social and role-playing aspects of the game. If that’s the case and you’re looking for a graphics-driven chatroom experience, there are plenty of residents who’re happy to oblige you.

Perhaps best of all is, the Xbox 360 version of FFXI comes with the base game as well as the three expansion packs that were released over time to PC and PS2 players: Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia and the Treasures of Aht Urhgan, which was released to all FFXI players the same day the Xbox 360 version shipped.

The downside, though, is that many of the veteran Vana’diel inhabitants have been here for some time, and there are plenty of online sites (such as Final Fantasy Vault [link: http://ffvault.ign.com]) where you can find every tidbit, non-player character and quest documented down to the smallest detail. Okay, that can be good or bad depending on whether you’re satisfied seeking all this out on your own or if you’re the type who’ll opt for a cheat sheet the second you feel stuck.

And for those inexperienced in MMOs, the game also brings a monthly subscription cost. Granted, you don’t need to have an Xbox Live Gold account (which brings with it its own price), as FFXI is playable through the free Silver account, there’s a $12.95/month cost to keep your “Content ID” active. (Buying the game brings with it a free 30-day starter subscription.)

With all those on-the-surface considerations, what comes up on your screen when you load it up on your Xbox 360?

Gameplay

It might be a bit misleading to call the section “Gameplay,” because there’s a lot to do before you get to actually enter the world of Vana’diel. FFXI resides on the hard drive (one of the requirements for playing the game, by the way), so there’s an initial install that takes place. Once that’s set up, the game software connects to Square-Enix’s servers, which starts a long process of updating to the most current version. Reports from users have put this at more than an hour at best, and obviously it’ll vary depending on the speed of your Internet connection and how much data is needed to complete the update.


There’s also a lengthy process in registering, with a lot of time taken up simply entering text. Though it’s not required, if you’re expecting to play FFXI for any length of time, text entry will be much less time-consuming and frustrating with the addition of a USB keyboard. This will help you enter your registration text and the setting up of the account under PlayOnline (Square-Enix’s online-game service); the lengthy ID codes to enter your 30-day Content ID, to register your game and each of the expansion packs; and, most of all, for any chatting you’ll be doing in-game.

Now you can start playing. When you enter the world, you’ll have the option of creating a character in a number of races: the human-like Hume, the elf-like Elvaan, the pixyish Tarutaru, the feline Mithra or the hulking Galka. You can also pick the gender (with the exception of the female-only Mithra or male-only Galka), as well as adjust the character’s look slightly. The last bit of business is selecting a “job,” which includes Warrior, Thief and three kinds of Mage. You’re not locked into the job you’ve chosen, as other jobs are available after you complete certain criteria.

Gameplay Controls:Overall Gameplay Impressions:

Rather than detail every aspect of FFXI’s gameplay—which is beyond the scope of a review such as this and, as noted, is amply covered on myriad other outlets—we’ll summarize by saying that the game is like many other RPGs in that you earn points through accomplishments and combat that enable the “leveling” of your character. Leveling, in turn, enables you to utilize higher-level gear and clothing, which enables you to fight more difficult creatures, and so on.


And, like other MMOs, you can group with up to five other players in a party, to take on bigger monsters and adventure en masse. If you’ve never played an MMO before, this is not only one of the more enjoyable and social parts of such games, but it’s also generally a more efficient way to level up your character and experience more of the world. You can certainly play the game alone, but many will find that, especially at higher levels and in certain circumstances, banding together is the way to go—and there are always lots of players in the game at the same time ready to group up.

Quests come in various forms, from delivery missions to the standard “get me three rabbit pelts” type of task. You don’t have to complete them one at a time; it’s easy to stack up a bunch of quests in your log, returning to complete one when you’ve accomplished all that’s required.

Graphics and Audio

While the Xbox 360 version of FFXI sports the best visuals and sound—featuring the standard 720p and Dolby Digital capabilities—of the three versions, it still pales in comparison to other games that are out for the console right now. If you look at a recent RPG such as Oblivion, you’ll find big, in-your-face creatures, rich sounds and anxiety-filled battles that are quite compelling. In FFXI, the animations are nice, but lack intricacy or variety; and the sound quality is good and immersive, but lacking an intensity that would make you forget you’re playing a video game.

Even Square-Enix admits, though, that the Xbox 360 version is an upgrading of what’s now more than a two-year-old game, and it couldn’t justify the cost of doing a massive rebuilding of the world to fully meet the capabilities of the Xbox 360. It would require reworking every single texture and character model, and we certainly wouldn’t be playing the game just a few months after the console’s release. In all fairness to Square-Enix, while it may not feel like you’re playing a next-generation game, it also doesn’t feel like you’re playing a hastily ported retread either.

Obviously, a game such as FFXI inspires mixed feelings. It’s the first MMO on the Xbox 360, a unique experience with hours of gameplay and a large variety of things to do, as well as the ability to coexist with hundreds of other players in a thriving world. And it’s important to note that it’s an open door into the long-running Final Fantasy universe, which has its own rewards.

However, it’s also clear that FFXI isn’t all that it could be. As nice as it is to see something of its ilk cross over into the Xbox 360 realm, you can’t help but feel that you’re taking a step back at the same time. For some, that (along with a monthly fee) will be too large a leap to make.

In the end, the decision to purchase and play FFXI comes down to whether you’re interested in being a part of an MMO with some sacrifices, or if you’re willing to wait (perhaps for quite a while) until someone else makes a fresh MMO that pushes the Xbox 360 to its limits and truly feels like a “next-generation” game. FFXI is good, but not great…though it’s the only game of its type for Xbox 360 owners at the moment.

Simply put, MMOs are usually more complex then the standard console game, and while you can certainly play FFXI with your control pad, the previously recommended USB keyboard will offer you a lot more flexibility. For instance, you can create macros—predesignated commands or functions, or even a string of them—that are displayed in a line for easy one-click execution by hitting either the left or right trigger (which mirror the CTRL and ALT keys on a keyboard), then pointing and clicking on the desired one. Using the keyboard makes entering the text easier and quicker (such as “/magic Cure your_char_name” for a self-healing spell). Certainly in the heat of battle, it’s easier to hit a couple of keys than to burrow through a series of menus to trigger the same thing.

Whether you stick with a control pad or go with a keyboard, there’s a learning curve to understanding all that you can do in an MMO, and FFXI is no different. The controls are as simple as possible, and once you’ve had an hour or two under your belt, the more comfortable you’ll be. It’s certainly not like a driving game that has little more than an accelerator, a brake and steering controls.

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