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Final Fantasy XI

EMAIL PRINT pc

7.8 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 80 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Square Enix

Developer: Square Enix

Genre(s): Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game

Players: Thousands

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: October 28, 2003

Summary

The world of Vana'diel stands at the brink of war. Three powerful nations, united in their plight against the beastmen forces, look to their last hope -- brave adventurers like you! Will the beastmen gain the upper hand, and thrust the once-peaceful Vana'diel into another war? Step into the world of Vana'diel and journey forth on grand adventures with players from all across the globe! Final Fantasy XI is the first online game in the award-winning FINAL FANTASY series. How you play is up to you, with limitless possibilities for adventure. Set out on your own to discover the countless secrets of Vana'diel, or form a party with your friends to purge the beastman forces and bring home sensational spoils! [Square Enix]

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Adrenaline Vault Preview GameSpot Preview(s) GameSpy Preview IGN Hands-On Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Gaming Age

FFXI manages to mend the idea of a persistent online community with a story, graphics, and an intuitive interface that begs to be played when other responsibilities rear their ugly head.

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100

Play Magazine

Online RPGs are not supposed to have characters that look this good, nor are they supposed to have the sort of atmospheric brilliance exhibited here. [Dec 2003, p.90]

100

Playboy

It's so engaging that fans may never leave the house, much less visit a theater again. [Dec 2003, p.44]

GameShark

Graphically, the game is a masterpiece. It is, without hyperbole, the most gorgeous MMORPG I have ever played. Characters look richly detailed, and the environment seems alive.

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PC Gamer

A better version of everything the MMORPG community has cooked up so far, and more. [Feb 2004, p.60]

Adrenaline Vault

It could be compared to "Morrowind" in its depth and scope, but the real people that fill the town squares and gathering halls give Final Fantasy XI a living soul that Bethesda’s hallmark title never had.

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GameZone

MMORPG fans should find a deep game with a versatile job system and an detailed universe, and open-minded Final Fantasy fans should enjoy the Final Fantasy nuances and great multiplayer gameplay.

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Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)

You don't buy any MMORPG lightly, least of all this one. It imperiously demands massive chunks of your time, patience and dedication but the rewards are commensurately high. The fierce sense of satisfaction as your fame grows and coffers swell is hard to match. [PC Gamer UK]

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Just RPG

Perhaps the most annoying thing in the game was the focus on gaining experience.

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GameSpy

It's beautiful, it's well-designed, and I can't wait to spend more time in it.

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ActionTrip

In all, the pros of Final Fantasy XI greatly outweigh the cons. The graphics, job and skill system, as well as the overall polish make it an enjoyable experience.

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PC Format

Naturally wanting to be played with a PS2 joypad, the controls are difficult to use and can’t be changed, although a secondary keymap allows for the more familiar [W], [A], [S], [D] combination.

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Game Over Online

One of those games that will probably appeal to any RPG fan, simply by the sheer scope of Vana’Diel and its ever-changing world.

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GameNow

The most beautiful MMORPG currently available. Its environments are second to none, and the character models are elegant and, frankly, a pleasure to behold. The world also feels more alive than any other.

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GameSpot

An online RPG that manages to break the mold, if just barely--but, actually, that's no mean feat.

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Computer and Video Games

You're not going to find another MMOG that's anywhere near as welcoming as this. While the whole PlayOnline front-end interface might initially seem a cumbersome folly, it's not long before you're wishing all your online games could be handled through such a console-style browser.

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Computer Gaming World

Square took the best things about single-player console RPGs and applied them to an MMO - a world densely populated by talkative NPCs, interesting, well-conceived quests, and a whole lot of visual gloss. [Feb 2004, p.84]

GMR Magazine

Offers great rewards to gamers willing to commit the time to it (player-vs.-player between warring nations is coming in January), and the community is filled with surprisingly helpful players, which makes for a deep, compelling, and perpetual gaming environment.

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Boomtown

It has more good points than bad though, at the least it will tide you over until the next generation of MMORPGs hits the streets and at best you will have fun for months, even years to come.

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IGN

Things are only going to get better as they add new content, so you can expect to see this game living a long and healthy life.

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Game Informer

Overall, the game does feel rather slow in comparison to overall MMORPGs I have played, but I is still addicting. [Jan 2004, p.154]

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Computer Games Magazine

Because of the high reliance on other people, diplomacy is a coveted real-world skill as well, and those who can use it wisely always have the most fun. [Feb 2004, p.62]

eToychest

There is a tremendous community established that is very helpful for the most part, and nothing quite surpasses the feeling of adventuring with friends throughout a world as vast as the one Square-Enix has put together here.

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G4 TV

While Final Fantasy XI doesn't currently offer quite as much variety and depth as competing games --especially on the PC -- its superb graphics, sound, and dedicated community make it a match for the competition.

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games(TM)

If it weren't for a few titles like "City Of Heroes" taking the genre in interesting new directions, we'd find it far easier to recommend this more traditional life-consuming abyss of a game.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 80 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Turffie L gave it a4:
Masochistic. Honestly it is just that; the game was heavily created around community when it first released. Don't get me wrong MMOs are suppose to be about people helping one another; but when you start forcing people to do just about everything together plus throw in grinding and deleveling, those are ingredients for disaster. From levels 1-12 that took around 8 hours to gain. After that you are off to the dunes (that is if you could safely make it there. No you can not ride a Chocobo there; because the license to ride one is level 20). Once there, depending on server you might have a long wait for a party. Back then if you happened to be half way to the next level while other party members were only at 10,100 or even 300 into a level you would not be considered into a party. Why? Because after you have leveled your newly gained leveled just half others exp while you wanted to gain an exp buffer. If the people allowed you to stay and dwarf their exp you would be considered lucky. It would be rather hard to find another party with in your level and exp range. Thus started the waiting game. To which people decided to quit, tried to solo on their own or simply play Beastmaster. Adding insult to injury Chains of Promathia also frustrated people. It was hard to find people; let alone wanting to be picky about what kind of people you wanted helping you do missions for that expansion pack. People weren't willing to help out with missions if you weren't popular in one level another. During my 1 year and 11 months absents the game introduced Fields of Valor which introduced training Regime. Which is very nice when one can not find a party or they do not have time to stand around to wait for an invite. With players running around occupying areas leveling their adventuring fellow and low spawn rates it makes it rather hard to enjoy using the field manual pages to gain exp better. Can't really complain, but better spawn rate could fix that issue. If field manual isn't one's cup of tea then level sync can help with find a party; without worry about dwarfing the rest of the party's exp. Looking at these things and noticing how nice they are and a welcome to the game, it makes a person wonder; why wasn't this here before? Had it been there before WoW wouldn't exactly be tooting their own horn about the massive amount of players.

Dan D gave it a6:
This game is recommended for gamers who have no life. The gameplay and the interface is great and so is the community; but the amount of time that you'll have to devote to this game just isn't worth it. I will say this though: FFXI is alot more fun and in-depth than anything that I can compare it to. I just don't like how it consumes years of your life to get anywhere in the story.

Eeach L. gave it a10:
Jack Attack must be confused. Besieged, Campaign, Level Sync, & Fields of Valor are all new systems added since 2003 that fix a lot of the complaints people had about the game. IMO if FFXi were released as a new game today, it would be the WoW killer. Trouble is, it is a 7 year old game; people like Jack Attack that played it in 2003 aren't willing to give it a 2nd chance and new players aren't willing to try an older game.

Andrey S. gave it a5:
I have played FFXI for about 2 years. The Game does not run above 30FPS no matter how good your PC is. The game is very time consuming and requires 2-3 people to accomplish anything minor and 6-8 for anything more serious. There is a lot of cultural diversity on the servers with Japanese, French, German, British, South and North American players. Japanese players usually want nothing to do with English speakers so forget asking for help from them. Square Enix is working on FF XIV online which will basically be the same game except more WoW-like. In 2 years I was able to level 3 Jobs to LvL75 as well as about 6-8 subjobs to 37. Completed Chains Of Promathia, almost completed Rise Of Zilart and Completed Aht Urgan Missions as well as nation missions. All with a LOT of help. If you plan making any progress in this game, you HAVE to make A LOT of friends. Good Luck.

Joshua F gave it a10:
let me just state that i love this game. I have played it on and off since the release date I own it on the PC and Xbox 360 and i love the community. It is not a WoW game You need to form a party to level up once you hit 11-13 or you are in for a long haul. Great game and I wont stop playing it unless FF14 is as great as i think it will be.

Ryan S. gave it a9:
No MMO can surpass the beauty, depth, and addictiveness of FFXI. The game is over 8 years old, is is still going strong. In fact, there's more people playing now then there ever have been. The graphics are showing age, but you simply cannot find another MMO with characters and environments as beautiful and well-designed as those in FFXI. The combat isn't your average MMO combat, but more of a real-time system made to seem turn-based. It takes some getting use to, but it allows for more strategy than faster-paced combat. The sound is this game is jaw-dropping. The sound effects are well-done, but the music is just gorgeous. There are hardly any games(not just MMOs) that can match the quality of music in this game, except some very high-budget games, and the other Final Fantasy games. The story is of the same quality Final Fantasy fans have come to love, and surpasses some other Final Fantasy games, despite being a MMO. As of right now, you can buy the game for $20, which includes every single expansion pack(they're not making any more expansions), and all three mini-expansions. Paying $20 for the game with 1 month free, and then $12 per month after that, you will be hard-pressed to find any form of entertainment of this quality, for such a low price. Worth every penny.

Troy R gave it an8:
I started playing this game around the time the Xbox360 version came out. It is a lot of fun. You will have to do a lot of grinding. It will take you a lot longer to get to lv75 then it does it WoW for example. If you get find a group of people that play around the same time as you and can communicate well with since the amount of people playing has gone down. Use level sync and the fields of valor and the other new things they have added and you can still get to 75. Don't take the easy way out and get into a SMN burn and get to 75 and have no idea how to play your job correctly.

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Final Fantasy XI

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