Final Fantasy XI (PC)

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You can choose your starting kingdom, but, strangely enough, you can't choose the server on which your character will live. This is another one of Final Fantasy XI's slaps in the face to more-casual players: Basically, if you and a friend both wanted to start playing Final Fantasy XI together, the game seems to go out of its way to make it difficult for you to get together. It's possible to keep re-creating a character until the game "rolls up" the server that you want; but what you're "supposed" to do is purchase an item in the game called a world pass, which allows a number of other players to create characters on (not transfer existing characters to) the purchaser's server. There's probably some way to defend the logic behind this system--maybe it helps ensure that all the servers are equally populated, or something--but it's bizarre, at best, and it's a substantial deterrent for prospective players, at worst. Also, the servers are international--expect to see plenty of high-level Japanese players (who had a significant head start in the world of the game) right off the bat.

When you go at it alone, Final Fantasy XI's combat is initially very straightforward, and even boring. Like in other online RPGs, all you do is target an enemy and initiate attack mode, causing your character and his or her new enemy to exchange blows until one of them dies (player characters incur an experience penalty if they're defeated, unless they're resurrected by a white mage). As your character uses his or her weapon of choice (including bare hands, swords, scythes, axes, lances, bows, and more), over time, you'll learn special moves exclusive to that weapon category. These moves can be pulled off only when you've charged up your tactical-point meter past 100 percent, which naturally occurs after a few minutes of fighting.

Weapon skills present you with some interesting tactical decisions. They can be quite powerful, especially if you bide your time and charge up your meter to 200 or 300 percent--and even more so if you chain weapon skills together with allied party members. Skill chains require coordination between players, but they are a fine way of rewarding that kind of coordination, which permits cohesive player groups to tackle enemies much more powerful than any of the individuals in the group could possibly handle. Similar to the skill chains, magic bursts allow mage characters to deliver big damage by combining their spells, and they are even more challenging to pull off. Meanwhile, stronger enemies will use a variety of spells and special moves to keep you guessing. They'll attempt to target the weakest link in the party, forcing you to fight carefully.

Starting out in Final Fantasy XI, it's not difficult to gain experience levels alone. Low-level characters are reasonably strong compared to most low-level monsters and can quickly regenerate their health or magic power. However, like in most any online RPG, as you get deeper and deeper into Final Fantasy XI, you'll realize that you can't get by without the help of other players. The game's more than two dozen servers, which are home to both Japanese and North American players, seem to be reasonably well populated, so you'll certainly be seeing other players running about. Joining into groups of up to six players can be pretty easy, as the game includes some basic tools for finding player groups or looking up players of similar experience level.

In addition to the six starting jobs, higher-level jobs, including the paladin, the ninja, the ranger, the summoner, and the dark knight, become available, once you complete a unique quest to unlock each one. On top of that, Final Fantasy XI features a system similar to 2nd Edition Dungeons & Dragons' dual classing, whereby you may choose a secondary profession for your character--you will never grow as powerful in it as you will in your primary job, but if you want a thief who can use some white magic on the side, for example, you can make it happen. The 15 different jobs therefore create a great deal of potential for developing a relatively unique character, and, in turn, there can be a lot of variety from one player group to the next.

There's a good amount of other stuff to do in the game. Various trade skills from alchemy to blacksmithing can be learned and developed. There's a functional in-game bazaar, allowing you to auction off your hard-earned loot to other players who might have better use for it. As previously suggested, there are a variety of missions and quests that can be accepted from the game's non-player characters. You may travel by ship or airship or on the back of Final Fantasy's quintessential chocobos, which are basically giant chickens. You even get your own personal room, from the get-go, which you can decorate to your liking (however, only you yourself are permitted in your room for the time being). The game doesn't break much new ground in terms of content, but it's fully featured.

It also looks great. Despite how some of the character races are oddly proportioned--the elvaan and the mithra have unusually long arms--their faces are expressive and detailed, and they're very well animated. One particularly notable aspect of the game's visuals is that, unlike in pretty much all other online RPGs, there's a good sense of impact during the battles in this game. Bright, colorful "hit sparks" are a telltale indication of when one character hits another, and the occasional critical hit looks even more powerful. The game's environments are also pretty good looking, though not as interesting as the rather original character and enemy designs. Also, the game runs quite well on a midrange or faster machine, and it doesn't seem to bog down as more player characters crowd into an area. The game sounds very good, too, and features a rousing (though, over time, repetitive) musical score that's actually one of the better soundtracks the Final Fantasy series has been graced with in a while--and this is a series well known for its memorable compositions. The music sounds synthesized, but it's upbeat and very fitting. Other sound in the game is minimal but well done, with the highlight being, as mentioned, the various combat effects.

You'll have to jump through several proverbial flaming hoops before you start having fun in the world of Vana'diel, but the good news is, the effort may well be worth your while. Go into this game with the right expectations--knowing, for instance, that this is a time-consuming game that takes a while to get into and isn't dramatically different, at its core, from other online RPGs--and you'll find in Final Fantasy XI a different-enough take on the online role-playing genre that the experience can end up being both rewarding and refreshing. And, since the world of the game is already filled with dedicated players, who mostly seem to be enjoying the game rather than complaining about its problems, the tone of the experience of Final Fantasy XI is ultimately more uplifting than that of most other, similar games. As such, if you enjoy online role-playing, then you'd do well to try out Final Fantasy XI, which might just pull you away from your previous time-sink of choice. Alternatively, if you're a fan of the Final Fantasy series who's looking for an excuse to give online role-playing a try with this game, by all means go for it, though proceed with caution.

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