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==Development==
==Development==
After the English [[language localisation|localization]] of [[Chrono Cross]], development began on ''Final Fantasy XI'' by the same production team.<ref>{{cite video | date=2007-09-04 |url=http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24494.html | title=Final Fantasy Retrospective Part VIII | publisher=[[GameTrailers]]| date2= 2007-09-04| accessdate = 2008-03-06}}</ref> The game was the first developed under Square's new philosophy to develop for "all platforms and media".<ref>{{cite web |author=Nutt, Christian | title=Square Enix Q&A Session Report (PC)| publisher=[[GameSpy]] | date=2005-05-17 | url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/final-fantasy-xi/615391p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> The game was developed and ran on the [[Nvidia]] [[GeForce 4 Series|GeForce 4 Ti]] [[Graphics processing unit|GPU]], which the President of Square described as the most powerful graphics processor available at the time.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jones, Zakk | title=NVIDIA and Square Bringing Final Fantasy XI to PC| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2002-09-19 | url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/371/371603p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> The game cost 2–3 billion yen (~$17–25 million) to create along with the [[PlayOnline]] Network Service and was assumed to become profitable over a five year timespan.<ref>{{cite web |author=IGN Staff | title=Final Fantasy XI—Big Plans, Big Money| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2002-05-10 | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/359/359081p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> By creating a unified game world instead of different ones [[balkanization|balkanized]] by language, development costs were cut 66%.<ref name ="E3">{{cite web |author=Dunham, Jeremy | title=E3 2003: Final Fantasy XI Developer Interview| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2003-05-14 | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/402/402807p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref><ref name="game">{{cite web |author=Woodard, Christopher | title= GDC: Creating a Global MMO: Balancing Cultures and Platforms in Final Fantasy XI| publisher=[[Gamasutra]]| date=2006-03-24 | url=http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060324/woodard_01.shtml| accessdate=2006-08-16}}</ref> Since recurring [[monsters of Final Fantasy|monsters of the series]] monsters of the series are known by different names in the Japanese and English versions of the other installments, it was decided for Final Fantasy XI to use both Japanese and English names for different varieties of the same monsters.<ref name="E3"/>
After the English [[language localisation|localization]] of [[Chrono Cross]], development began on ''Final Fantasy XI'' by the same production team.<ref>{{cite video | date=2007-09-04 |url=http://www.gametrailers.com/player/24494.html | title=Final Fantasy Retrospective Part VIII | publisher=[[GameTrailers]]| date2= 2007-09-04| accessdate = 2008-03-06}}</ref> The game was the first developed under Square's new philosophy to develop for "all platforms and media".<ref>{{cite web |author=Nutt, Christian | title=Square Enix Q&A Session Report (PC)| publisher=[[GameSpy]] | date=2005-05-17 | url=http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/final-fantasy-xi/615391p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> [[Hiromichi Tanaka]], the producer of the game, has stated that ''Final Fantasy XI'' is heavily influenced by [[Final Fantasy III]], especially in its battle and magic systems.<ref>{{cite web |author=Nickel, Thomas | title=Hiromichi Tanaka - Final Fantasy III| publisher=g-wie-gorilla | date=2005-05-17 | url=http://www.g-wie-gorilla.de/content/view/218/18/ | accessdate=2008-03-07}}</ref> The game was developed and ran on the [[Nvidia]] [[GeForce 4 Series|GeForce 4 Ti]] [[Graphics processing unit|GPU]], which the President of Square described as the most powerful graphics processor available at the time.<ref>{{cite web |author=Jones, Zakk | title=NVIDIA and Square Bringing Final Fantasy XI to PC| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2002-09-19 | url=http://pc.ign.com/articles/371/371603p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> The game cost 2–3 billion yen (~$17–25 million) to create along with the [[PlayOnline]] Network Service and was assumed to become profitable over a five year timespan.<ref>{{cite web |author=IGN Staff | title=Final Fantasy XI—Big Plans, Big Money| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2002-05-10 | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/359/359081p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> By creating a unified game world instead of different ones [[balkanization|balkanized]] by language, development costs were cut 66%.<ref name ="E3">{{cite web |author=Dunham, Jeremy | title=E3 2003: Final Fantasy XI Developer Interview| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2003-05-14 | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/402/402807p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref><ref name="game">{{cite web |author=Woodard, Christopher | title= GDC: Creating a Global MMO: Balancing Cultures and Platforms in Final Fantasy XI| publisher=[[Gamasutra]]| date=2006-03-24 | url=http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060324/woodard_01.shtml| accessdate=2006-08-16}}</ref> Since recurring [[monsters of Final Fantasy|monsters of the series]] monsters of the series are known by different names in the Japanese and English versions of the other installments, it was decided for Final Fantasy XI to use both Japanese and English names for different varieties of the same monsters.<ref name="E3"/>


It was originally announced that there would be simultaneous release on the [[PlayStation 2]] and [[personal computer|PC]] as well as concurrent Japanese and American release, but this was later changed.<ref>{{cite web |author=Zdyrko, Dave| title=Colossal Final Fantasy XI Revelation| publisher=[[IGN]]|date=2000-02-08| url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/074/074935p1.html| accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> There was also discussion of an [[Xbox]] release, but it was abandoned mainly because of its small 2 GB hard drive.<ref name="xbox">{{cite web |author=Sheffield, Brandon| title=AGDC: How Square Enix Hunts The Hunters| publisher=[[Gamasutra]]|date=2007-09-06| url= http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15400| accessdate=2008-02-29}}</ref> Originally announced in January 2000 at the Yokohama Millennium Conference, there was a great deal of negative press.<ref name="esper"/> There were questions raised about naming the game the eleventh in the series, since it was not clear whether the game would have a structured story, which it ended up having, and the title of ''Final Fantasy Online'' was suggested.<ref>{{cite web |author=Vassar, Darryl | title=Final Fantasy XI (PC)| publisher=[[GameSpy]] | date=2003-11-13 | url=http://www.power-gamers.net/ffxi.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> Following an August 2001 [[software release life cycle#Beta|Beta test]] in Japan, a public Japanese Beta test was done in December 2001.<ref>{{cite web |author=IGN Staff| title=Final Fantasy XI Due For Full Test In December| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2001-07-31 | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/097/097013p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref>
It was originally announced that there would be simultaneous release on the [[PlayStation 2]] and [[personal computer|PC]] as well as concurrent Japanese and American release, but this was later changed.<ref>{{cite web |author=Zdyrko, Dave| title=Colossal Final Fantasy XI Revelation| publisher=[[IGN]]|date=2000-02-08| url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/074/074935p1.html| accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> There was also discussion of an [[Xbox]] release, but it was abandoned mainly because of its small 2 GB hard drive.<ref name="xbox">{{cite web |author=Sheffield, Brandon| title=AGDC: How Square Enix Hunts The Hunters| publisher=[[Gamasutra]]|date=2007-09-06| url= http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=15400| accessdate=2008-02-29}}</ref> Originally announced in January 2000 at the Yokohama Millennium Conference, there was a great deal of negative press.<ref name="esper"/> There were questions raised about naming the game the eleventh in the series, since it was not clear whether the game would have a structured story, which it ended up having, and the title of ''Final Fantasy Online'' was suggested.<ref>{{cite web |author=Vassar, Darryl | title=Final Fantasy XI (PC)| publisher=[[GameSpy]] | date=2003-11-13 | url=http://www.power-gamers.net/ffxi.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref> Following an August 2001 [[software release life cycle#Beta|Beta test]] in Japan, a public Japanese Beta test was done in December 2001.<ref>{{cite web |author=IGN Staff| title=Final Fantasy XI Due For Full Test In December| publisher=[[IGN]] | date=2001-07-31 | url=http://ps2.ign.com/articles/097/097013p1.html | accessdate=2006-08-15}}</ref>

Revision as of 22:51, 7 March 2008

Final Fantasy XI
Vana'Diel Collection 2008 boxart
North American cover art for Vana'diel Collection 2008
Developer(s)Square Enix
Publisher(s)PlayStation 2
Sony Computer Entertainment
Windows (PC)/Xbox 360
Square Enix
Designer(s)Hironobu Sakaguchi (executive producer)
Hiromichi Tanaka (game producer)
Koichi Ishii (game director)
Ryosuke Aiba (art director)
Ken Narita (program director)
Masato Kato (plot and events supervisor)
Yoshitaka Amano (image illustrator)
Character designers:
Tetsuya Nomura
Nobuyoshi Mihara
Tamae Kisanuki
Composers:
Nobuo Uematsu
Naoshi Mizuta
Kumi Tanioka
SeriesFinal Fantasy series
Platform(s)PlayStation 2, Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360
ReleasePlayStation 2


Windows (PC)
  • JP: November 2002



Xbox 360



Genre(s)Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Final Fantasy XI (ファイナルファンタジーXI, Fainaru Fantajī Irebun), also known as Final Fantasy XI: Online, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Square (later Square Enix) as a part of the Final Fantasy video game series. It debuted in Japan on the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2) video game console on May 16, 2002, and was released for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers on November 2002. It was then localized and released for the North American market on October 28, 2003, and for the European market on September 17, 2004. An Xbox 360 version was released worldwide in April 2006 as the system's first MMORPG and also the first cross-platform MMORPG.[1]

The story is set in Vana'diel, a fantasy world created specifically for Final Fantasy XI, where various tasks can be performed to improve a character's powers or to complete quests. Players are able to customize a character that they will guide through the story that unfolds in the game and its expansions. There are also hundreds of quests that allow players to gain various rewards and a growing number of player versus player competitions.

In January 2004, Square Enix announced that over 500,000 users using more than one million characters were playing the game and that the game population has not significantly changed since. As of 2006, 200,000 and 300,000 active players logged in per day, and the game continues to be the dominant MMORPG in the Japanese market.[2] Four expansions for the game have been released since 2002, capitalizing on the game's success.

Gameplay

Main article: Gameplay of Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI is unlike previous titles in the series in many ways besides being a MMORPG.[3] Unlike the specific individuals who were the focus of previous Final Fantasy titles, players are able to customize their characters in limited ways, including race, gender, face, hair color, body size, job, and allegiance. Also unlike previous games in the series, all battles occur in real time, and enemies are no longer randomly encountered.[4]

There are 32 public game worlds (a cluster of servers) available for play with approximately 15 to 20 thousand players in each.[5] The servers are named after summoned monsters from previous Final Fantasy titles, such as Ifrit and Diabolos. Players have the ability to move between servers, though few do; more common is the creation of different characters on different servers who can send items between each other.[6] There are no region-specific or system-specific servers, and unlike most online games, players of different languages play in the same world and can interact through automatic language translation.[7]

Interface

Players have the option of using any combination of a keyboard, mouse, and controller to play Final Fantasy XI. If a player using a PlayStation 2 or an Xbox 360 does not have a keyboard, the game also provides a method for communication within the game. The heads-up display in Final Fantasy XI consists of a log window, menus, and several game information elements. The log window at the bottom of the screen displays system messages, battle messages, and text input by other players. Players may choose to filter what appears in the log window. "Menus" allow the player to access different commands, status windows, and configuration options. The "action command menu" appears just above the log window and gives the player several options to interact with the game world. Several menu options are available through the use of keyboard shortcuts as well.[8] Square Enix also allows players to communicate by text messaging with people playing the game online.[9]

A player engaged in a text-based conversation

Basic gameplay

Gameplay in Final Fantasy XI consists of two major components: missions, through which the main storyline of the game is told, and quests, which do not advance the main storyline but fill out the game's fantasy world.[10] Missions are undertaken to advance in rank, to access new areas, gain new privileges and to advance the various storylines in the game. Each nation and expansion has its own set of missions, which a player must complete to advance in rank; a player may only complete missions for his home country. Quests may be undertaken for various rewards. At release, over one hundred quests were available to play and new quests are added frequently.[11]

Battles in Final Fantasy XI take place in the same world in which players move around, unlike previous Final Fantasy games in which a battle would take place in a new screen. Monsters within the game operate under a system of "claim" and "enmity". A monster is "claimed" the moment a player performs any offensive action upon it, including but not limited to attacks, usage of offensive job abilities and casting an (offensive) spell. With some exceptions, once a monster is claimed it can only be attacked by players in the party or alliance of the player that claimed it. A monster will focus its attention on whoever has built up the most enmity. Players have a number of means at their disposal, from spells to abilities to items, to both build up enmity and shed it to their advantage in battle. Players obtain in-game money known as gil by defeating a type of monster called Beastmen, though unlike previous Final Fantasy games this monsters leaves only small amounts

Unlike many MMORPGs, there is no way to attack other players. However, since 2004 several ways of competing with other players have been added. The system of player competition is known as "Conflict", and occurs only with both players permissions. The first form of competition was called "Ballista", where players score points by throwing rocks into a castle-like construction known as a "Rook".[12][13] In February 2006, a second form of competition was released called "Brenner", where players steal the opposing teams flame and place them in a container on their own teams side. By maintaining these flames, points are awarded and determine the winner. With the expansion Treasures of Aht Urhgan, two other modes known as "Assault" and "Besieged" were added.[14]

Crafting and hobbies

In addition to completing quests and missions, players can participate in several side mini-games and other activities.[4] One of them is fishing where players can measure their strength against the fish that they attempt to catch. Another is Clamming, a minigame where players collect as many fish or sea creatures as possible without going over a limit determined by the size of their bucket. Gardening allows players to raise plants in their residence, or "mog house" as it is known in the game.[15] The raising and breeding of Chocobos was a long-requested activity that was enabled in the summer 2006 update.[16] Chocobo racing began in March 2007 which allowed for the racing of player-raised Chocobos against NPCs. Winning racers can earn “Chocobucks” which can be used to buy prizes such as items that assist in Chocobo breeding.[17]

Chocobos were a much requested addition to the game

An important part of the game is the finding of items, especially rare ones, which allow players to create powerful spells and weapons. There are many way to obtain items, such as harvesting, excavating, logging, mining, defeating monsters, and digging using Chocobos. Square Enix has attempted to increase the opportunity for players to find rare items in order to equalize the game and stop the practice of "gil selling", or exchanging real money for in-game items.[18] There was also an item auction system that was shut down due to some players exploiting the system.[19] Items can also be created using elemental crystals obtained by fighting monsters with other items in a process called "synthesis".[20] Unlike other MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft, each synthesis has a chance of failure, though this can be mitigated. The recipes results can vary widely based on the players skill and the quality of his items.

Game economy

Final Fantasy XI has an almost entirely player-based economy, with a heavy reliance on "Auction Houses" in each of the major cities of Vana'diel. Despite this, there are certain economic controls in place mainly in the form of fees and taxes. There is a percentage tax on items purchased, and also a fee for putting items up for auction. Since transportation, auction house, item storage, and tax fees do not go to players, these gilsinks effectively remove money from the economy to prevent inflation.

Square Enix has stated that the trade of items for real currency is officially a violation of the Terms of Service for Final Fantasy XI.[21] In early 2006, Square Enix discovered that a group of players had found a way to generate game currency and exchange it for real currency, which in turn drove up prices for all items across the game. In response, 700 accounts were permanently banned and 300 billion Gil was removed from circulation.[22] In July 2006, Square Enix banned or suspended over 8,000 other accounts for similar manipulation and commerce.[23] Since 2006, Square Enix has regularly banning players' accounts found in violation of the terms, some of them using third-party tools, effectively removing billions of gil from the in-game economy.

Setting

Main article: Vana'diel
See also: List of Final Fantasy XI characters

The world of Final Fantasy XI is known as "Vana'diel". It consists of two main landmasses with two smaller islands flanking them, which in turn are surrounded by small islands. It features diverse climates, ranging from the northern glaciers to the southern deserts.[24] The four main cities in Vana'diel are Bastok, San d'Oria, Windurst, and Jeuno. The expansion Treasures of Aht Urhgan added the large Aht Urhgan Whitegate/Al Zahbi city area. The rest of Vana'diel is made up of a number of outdoor, dungeon, and minor town areas split into various regions. While most areas are accessible by walking, various modes of transportation, ranging from the classic Final Fantasy Chocobo and airships to special spells, facilitate movement across the game world.

The five playable races in Final Fantasy XI are Elvaan, strong melee fighters, reasonable healers but weak in black magic; Hume, a race resembling humans, with no notable strengths or weaknesses; Galka, an all-male race, strong and tough, but weak with magic; Mithra, agile and dexterous, but physically weak, cat-like humanoids of which only the females of the race are playable characters and Tarutaru, tiny humanoids with incredible power over black magic, but physically weak.[4] In addition to the player races, there are two primary non-playable races known as the Zilart, an ancient race which is the focus of the first two game expansions, and the Kuluu, a race of beings similar to the Zilart and thought to be inferior to it. There is also a huge supporting cast of NPCs who give quests and missions and appear in the game's storylines. The game features several typical Final Fantasy monsters including races such as the Goblin, Orc, Yagudo, and Quadav. Some of these creatures follow the Shadow Lord, one source of the game's conflict.[25]

There are nine major plotlines in Final Fantasy XI, including the storylines of the 3 nations (San d'Oria, Bastok, and Windurst), the four expansion packs (Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, and Wings of the Goddess) and 2 sets of Dynamis realms. The Dynamis storylines are unique in that the storyline progresses through clearing special Dynamis zones, not through completing missions as with the other storylines in the game (although due to the nature of the Dynamis storyline, players must have other storylines advanced to a certain point in order to start it). The expansion Wings of the Goddess added the ability to travel to the same regions 10 years in the past. There are also numerous sub-plots that players can experience while solving the hundreds of quests available in the game.

Development

After the English localization of Chrono Cross, development began on Final Fantasy XI by the same production team.[26] The game was the first developed under Square's new philosophy to develop for "all platforms and media".[27] Hiromichi Tanaka, the producer of the game, has stated that Final Fantasy XI is heavily influenced by Final Fantasy III, especially in its battle and magic systems.[28] The game was developed and ran on the Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti GPU, which the President of Square described as the most powerful graphics processor available at the time.[29] The game cost 2–3 billion yen (~$17–25 million) to create along with the PlayOnline Network Service and was assumed to become profitable over a five year timespan.[30] By creating a unified game world instead of different ones balkanized by language, development costs were cut 66%.[31][32] Since recurring monsters of the series monsters of the series are known by different names in the Japanese and English versions of the other installments, it was decided for Final Fantasy XI to use both Japanese and English names for different varieties of the same monsters.[31]

It was originally announced that there would be simultaneous release on the PlayStation 2 and PC as well as concurrent Japanese and American release, but this was later changed.[33] There was also discussion of an Xbox release, but it was abandoned mainly because of its small 2 GB hard drive.[5] Originally announced in January 2000 at the Yokohama Millennium Conference, there was a great deal of negative press.[34] There were questions raised about naming the game the eleventh in the series, since it was not clear whether the game would have a structured story, which it ended up having, and the title of Final Fantasy Online was suggested.[35] Following an August 2001 Beta test in Japan, a public Japanese Beta test was done in December 2001.[36]

Following its PC release, Final Fantasy XI was listed as one of IGN's most anticipated PlayStation 2 games of 2004.[37] Having also been released on the PlayStation 2 as well as the personal computer, it became the first cross-platform MMORPG ever created.[38] On 14 June 2002, the game server was down for four hours for maintenance to the database servers, bug fixes on the text interface and a new patch for the game client.[39] This is thought to be the first patch ever released for a console game.[40] Other early issues included complaints by American players that experienced Japanese players had already completed all the quests. Square Enix responded by adding new servers in order to have game worlds with fewer expert players.[11]

Final Fantasy XI is one of the first cross-console video games, and has continued to update its software to allow the game to run on new consoles. In December 2006, the PlayStation 2 versions of PlayOnline and Final Fantasy XI were able to install and run on the PlayStation 3. The Vana'diel Collection 2008 discs for the PlayStation 2 had installation issues on the PlayStation 3, causing them to be unusable. This problem was fixed on 18 December 2007 when firmware update 2.10 was released. After working with Microsoft to resolve Final Fantasy XI's incompatibility issues with Windows Vista, Square Enix released a downloadable version of the PlayOnline client which is compatible with the operating system, though small bugs have popped up.[41]

Expansions

Main article: Expansions of Final Fantasy XI

All the expansions, including Rise of the Zilart,[42] have been released on PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360.

Title Year Notes
Rise of the Zilart

Released in Japan as Visions of Zilart[43]

[44] When news was first circulated about an expansion to Final Fantasy XI, it was thought that the game's title would be Final Fantasy XI: Vision of Girade and was unclear whether it would be a free upgrade or not.[43] The Xbox Live version was also beta tested to see how their online playing system supported Final Fantasy XI.[45] A demo version of the Xbox 360 release of the game was the first game on the Xbox 360 to require the use of its hard drive addition.[46]
Chains of Promathia

Released in Japan as Curse of Promathia[47]

On 16 August, 2005, the day of the expansions release, a bundled version was released on DVD called "The Vana'diel Collection"
Treasures of Aht Urhgan

Released in Japan as Hidden Treasure of Aht Urhgan[48]

The game was also released on the Xbox 360 bundled with all three of the expansions released to date, and on the PC as "The Vana'diel Collection 2007". As of June 6, 2007, Square Enix performed a version update which consisted of many things including: a new Aht Urghan Mission being added, Einherjar being introduced, and Mog Locker capacity increased to 80 slots.[49] As of June 12, 2007, the mercenary rank "Second Lieutenant" was introduced and various other issues and fixes were addressed.[50]
Wings of the Goddess

Released in Japan as Divine Soldiers of Altana[51]

The fourth expansion of Final Fantasy XI, entitled Wings of the Goddess, was announced on May 12, 2007 at the Square Enix Party event in Japan.[52] The expansion shipped for PS2 and Xbox 360 on November 20; the PC version was delayed until November 21 due to manufacturing issues. The expansion went live and became playable on November 22, 2007. As of November 20, 2007, Square Enix updated Final Fantasy XI in preparation of the expansion Wings of the Goddess. This update included notably: a new large-scale battle known as "Campaign", users no longer need to speak to an NPC to move into a Rent-a-Room, party members can be invited into each other's Mog House, Gobbiebag quests Part VII and VIII added, new jobs Scholar and Dancer available, and various new spells and job abilities were added.[53]

Audio

Uematsu emphasized cross-cultural communication in his composition
Main article: Music of Final Fantasy XI

The music of Final Fantasy XI was scored by Nobuo Uematsu, Naoshi Mizuta, and Kumi Tanioka.[54] Composer Yasunori Mitsuda was also asked to contribute, but was busy scoring Xenosaga.[34] The expansion packs were scored by Mizuta alone after Tanioka left to pursue other projects and Uematsu left Square Enix. The opening of the game features choral music with lyrics in Esperanto.[34] According to its composer, Nobuo Uematsu, the choice of language was meant to symbolize the developers' hope that their online game could contribute to cross-cultural communication and cooperation. He also noted the increased difficulty of scoring a game for which there was no linear plotline, a major change from the previous ten Final Fantasy games. It was the first game in the series for which he composed while he was no longer a Square employee.[55] New music has been employed for special events, such as a holiday score titled Jeuno -Starlight Celebration- can be heard in the city of Jeuno each mid to late December since 2004. Unlike its immediate predecessor, Final Fantasy XI features almost no voice acting. Vocalizations are portrayed by battle cries and related sounds. Text descriptions are instead utilized to express player communication.

The games music has been released in CD form several times and has been featured in concerts of Final Fantasy music. Some of the game's music has been released on iTunes for download, such as the vocal Distant Worlds, performed by Izumi Masuda, composed by Uematsu and arranged by Mizuta, was released on the Japanese iTunes Music Store on 13 September 2005, having been put in the game in a July 2005 patch.[56] A compilation CD box was released on 28 March 2007, titled Final Fantasy XI Original Soundtrack Premium Box, and includes the four OSTs for Final Fantasy XI and its three expansion sets, unreleased tracks from the game, along with the previously unreleased Final Fantasy XI Piano Collections.[57] Dear Friends -Music from Final Fantasy-, a 2004–2005 concert series, featured "Ronfaure" from Final Fantasy XI. A ten-track album of music inspired by Final Fantasy XI entitled Final Fantasy XI—Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel was released by The Star Onions on 24 August 2005.[58]

Reception

Sales and subscriptions

The user base for the PlayStation 2 version was truncated initially because of limited sales of the PlayStation 2s hard drive and network adapters that were needed for the game.[64] The Japanese release of Rise of the Zilart was the number one selling game when it debuted with 90,000 copies sold in the first week.[64] The Final Fantasy XI All-in-One Pack was number 36 and Wings of the Goddess was number 40 on the top 50 best selling Xbox 360 games in Japan as of December 2007.[65]

For the April-September 2004 financial period, Square Enix saw online gaming, particularly Final Fantasy XI, sales increase by 101 percent and operating profit increase by 230.9 percent.[66] Revenues held steady from subscription services in the summer of 2006; in the fall however, Square acknowledged that online subscription revenues were "unsatisfactory".[67][68]

In December of 2002, Square president Yoichi Wada announced that there were over 200,000 subscribers to Final Fantasy XI, allowing the company to break even and start making a profit.[69] In January 2004, Square Enix announced that over 500,000 users utilizing over 1 million characters were playing the game. Before the release of World of Warcraft, it had the most active players of any MMORPG.[70] There are also currently between 200,000 and 300,000 active players daily.[32] Since its Xbox 360 release it has become by 14 August 2006, the sixth most played game at Xbox Live.[71]

Critical reaction

Famitsu rated Final Fantasy XI 38 out of 40.[59] Computer and Video Games Magazine noted that it was one of the most welcoming MMORPG's despite the cumbersome initial registration and setup.[72] IGN called it a well done but unoriginal game, and in fact with only Japanese servers running North American players were forced to play with already much more experienced Japanese players; all the quests had literally already been beaten.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). Other problems have included EXP grind which involves constant battles to access different parts of the game, and overcrowded camp sites.[73] With regard to the Xbox 360 release, there has been criticism that the game would only work if accompanied by a hard drive.[74] The expansions have been mostly positively received, with praise for the amount of content added, but increasing signs that the graphics of the game are becoming outdated.[75][76]

Awards and legacy

Final Fantasy XI was awarded the grand prize from the Japan's Consumer Entertainment Software Association (CESA) for 2002–2003 along with Taiko no Tatsujin.[77] It has also been awarded GameSpy's 2003 PC MMORPG Game of the Year Award and IGN's Game of the Month for March 2004, citing the game's huge customization and its successful cross-platform and cross-language game world.[78][79] Final Fantasy XI was referenced in the online game Minna no Golf Online. in the form of a Final Fantasy XI-themed lobby.[80] A direct sequel of Final Fantasy XI was thought to be in development, but Square Enix denied this report; they did confirm that the team that created Final Fantasy XI was working on a new MMORPG, though it is not Final Fantasy related.[81][82]

The game has spawned several written works. Starting in 2003, a series of novels titled Final Fantasy XI: Oath to the Planet (ファイナルファンタジーXI 星の誓い, Fainaru Fantajī Irebun Hoshi no chikai) was written by Miyabi Hasegawa and released in Japanese,[83] German,[84] and French.[85] In 2004, a Japan-exclusive manhwa titled Final Fantasy XI ~The Out of Orders~ was created by artist Kim Byung Jin and story writer Kim Sungjae. Additionally, Adventure Log, a webcomic by Scott Ramsoomair, was commissioned by Square Enix starting in 2007.[86]

Promotion and merchandise

Final Fantasy XI PlayOnline Visa and MasterCard credit cards were available in Japan with features including no annual fees as long as cardholders remain PlayOnline subscribers and various other rewards.[87] There have also been posters with limited edition phone cards and keychains released, also exclusively in Japan.[88] Several T-shirts have been made available for order in North America.[89] Several plushies have also been made available to order of different races from the series.[90] A Vana'diel clock was also marketed, as well as CDs of the game music.[91]

References

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External links

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