E ntertainment
T C
P
• 9
at release of 'Final Fantasy XI'
A rts
Nerds everywhere
N ovember 19, 2003
Robb Egan
T he C lackanus P rint
There is an overwhelmingly epic
feeling that comes from seeing a
legion of friends and allies all bat
tling a gang of monsters—swords
flashing, arrows flying and bursts of
magic ripping into the enemy.
On October 28 the RPG pseudo
gods that make up Square Enix final
ly shipped to retailers the North-
American version of their first online
game, ‘Tinal Fantasy XI.”
Classified as a MMORPG
(Massive Multiplayer Online Role-
Playing Game, for the uninitiated),
“FFXI” takes players on a journey
through the world of Vana’diel,
where three nations stand at the
threshold of war.
Granted, it’s not a very original
storyline, but that hardly matters in
the grand scheme of “FFXI,” since it
is entirely possible to play this game
for, months while paying minimal
attention to the so-called plot. In
addition, the North-American release
of “FFXI” includes the first expan
sion, “The Rise of the Zilart,” gener
ating even more features available to
players.
Installation of “FFXI” itself is a
test in patience. This game takes up a
massive amount of space and system
resources. The game client takes up
almost 6 GB of space, and requires a
minimum of an ATI 9000 series or
equivalent 32MB video card just to
run, which isn’t really that bad, con
sidering that “EverQuest 2” is going
to require at least a 64MB video card.
I personally wouldn’t even attempt to
run “FFXI” on anything less than a 1
GHz processor with 512MB RAM
and a 128MB video card.
Registering can be a long process
as well. Players are first required to
sign-up for PlayOnline (Square
Enix’s online service), and for Final
Fantasy XI itself (and yes, there is a
monthly subscription fee). Players
must then register for a content ID in
order to create a character. However,
once these steps are complete, it’s
time for the fun stuff.
Character creation itself is a joy,
giving players the choice of what
they want the race, gender, starting
job class and overall appearance of
the character to be. At this point
players can name the character and
choose one of three kingdoms in
which to begin.
Following the obligatory intros
and game-play tutorials, players are
free to go forth and venture into the
magnificent
community
of
Vana’diel. A player can choose to go
out into the wilderness to do battle
with monsters in order to become
stronger or learn crafting ski 1^ to
become a tradesman such as a black
smith or leatherworker.
Less-adventurous players can
simply park next to a quiet body of
water and take up fishing.
For those more inclined to explo
ration lays the opportunity to accept
missions and sub-quests from the
governments and citizens of the
country, many of which will force
players to travel to other nations and
explore the dangerous regions over
run with monsters and Beastmen (the
bad guys).
Completing
missions
will
increase players’ ranks within the
nation, allowing them to unlock even
more missions and quests. By com
pleting sub-quests, players can
unlock new abilities, such as being
able to set a secondary job class; gain
special items like new magic spells,
weapons and armor; and even learn
new job classes, such as the dreaded
Dark Knight and the powerful
Summoner.
The battle system takes some get
ting used to. Players must lock onto
an enemy, then choose the “attack”
command from the menu in order to
draw their weapon and initiate com
bat. This delay can be annoying at
times, especially when encountering
monsters that will attack without
being provoked.
However, the sheer joy of fighting
in a party overrides any downsides.
Players can “party up” with five
other players, for a total of six party
members. Additionally, up to three
parties can form an alliance, making
it possible for up to 18 people to fight
together against the forces of evil.
Fans of the series will be happy to
know that XI continues in the tradi
tion of stunning visuals and design,
far
exceeding
any
current
MMORPG
The music and sound effects also
lend themselves well to the game,
changing when a player enters a new
area or goes into battle. While only a
few songs could be called truly
catchy, the rest are at least somewhat
tolerable.
Despite suffering from the same
faults as many MMORPG’s, with
continuing updates, including possi
ble future expansions and the upcom
ing ability to duel with other players,
Final Fantasy XI is at least good for
several months of play.
WANTED:
PHOTOGRAPHER
he
rint
A hapiess adventurer goes toe-to-toe against a menacing dragon in ‘Final Fantasy XI.’
Although this dragon appears enormous, there are many other monsters roaming
across Vana’ diel who won’t obliterate new players. Of course, players can join a
party of adventurers, but that means social interaction in one form or another.
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|FiT]AL FAIjtASY: tHE TilJlELirjE
‘(The following list encompasses only those Final Fantasy games released in America)I
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Title
Release Date
System
FFI
1990
1991
1992
1994
1997
1998
1999
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2003
2003
Nintendo
Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo
PlayStation
PlayStation
PlayStation
PlayStation
PlayStation
PlayStation
PlayStation 2
Gameboy Advance
PlayStation
PlayStation 2/Windows
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L
ffh
FF Mystic Quest
FFIH
FF VII
FF Tactics
FF VIII
FF Collection
FF IX
FF Chronicles
FFX
FF Tactics Advance
FF Origins
FFXI
Cast your vote for your favorite Final Fantasy game! Just cut this
timeline out with your favorite game circled, and drop it off at the
Print Office (Mod B) behind Randall Hall by the tennis courts.
Winners may be posted in the next issue!
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