Compare XI to the rest of the series
I haven't played this, so this is mostly a questioning thread, but doesn't this game kind of destroy everything FF stands for? how can there be a developed plot? and how can this game be played eternally for posterity's sake if it's only online?
And here's my other question. What's with the retro fad? Why are the games going back to the class system of old? It's a good system, I wish there was more of it, but why sacrafice the plots?
Clyde Arronwy, The Great and Magnificent Gumby, Lord Thanatosimii, Having Been Bequiethed of the Poke-dom, Ruler of Gumbolivia, Third member of "The Mind Whose Name Dare Not Be Spoken Aloud"
Obviously you have yet to play FFXI. As for a plot, it has one, it's not as deep as past games, but still entertaining and there none the less. And of course way better than any plot other online games attempt. The plot though, get's developed by doing the different missions of the game, at first the missions (some of the early ones at least) are kind of uninvolving to the plot, but as you hit mission 6 the start of the over all plot begins and as you progress after mission 6 the plot get's deeper and deeper. Personally I have yet to get that far in the missions, I'm only up to 7, but so far the plot seems to be getting nice.
As for the game going back to the class system. I like it, it's way better than any other system they might of tried. Sure it has some down points, but what system doesn't? Besides the class system in FFXI beats most other class systems in other game, in this one your ALLOWED to switch classes as you wish, in most other online games you have to delete your guy and start a new one if you want to play/try a new class.
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It only destroys FF if you choose to see and make it that way. This FF is like no other. You are now playing with other people and behind every sprite except the NPC, is a person, nice or bad. You have to remember everything is balanced, class and all, its unique and remember, its not just your game, but the other people that log on it too.
THere is an developed plot, seeing the ShadowLord in Mission 10 makes me wanna play more to fight him and play expansion story driven missions. I am very excited because no other MMO has ever captured any story element in a major way. Cutscenes are never before seen in MMOs, are seen here. If you dont play any MMO, try Ragnarok Online and try it out. Its not the same as FFXI, but it does show some elements on how MMO generally work.
This game is also being continually refined and added more things into it every now and then. The tech support is very good compared to other games that only fix things and add things when other MMOs appear. FFXI also is the one that in a few months outsold EQ in number of subscriptions.
There is a plot if you choose to accept it, and why not retro? FF is revolved around the job system except in FFVII and FFVIII, where everyone is a carbon copy of one another. The other FFs are all jobish, and i think that gives more individualtiy.
This game is really great, but i will say its not for everyone. If you are not interested in this game it sno big lost, you still have FFCC, FFX-2 and FFXII in the near future.
How can you compare it to the rest of the series? No two FFs are alike, other than re-used spells, the appearance of Cid in every game since FF2, and chocobos in every game since FF3? Each one's a unique, stand-alone marvel. As is FFXI.
Instead of calling it "Final Fantasy IX" they should have just called it "BIG ASS ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME YOU KNOW LIKE THE ONES WHERE YOU HAVE TO PAY TO PLAY OH YEAH AND IT HAS CHOCOBOS" and then maybe so many people wouldn't have complained.
I honestly can't figure out why anyone could be mislead unless they chose to remain misinformed, inwhich case they're not mislead at all, just ignorant. There's a disclaimer on the box, on the website, even in the TV commercials saying that there are monthly charges to play the game, as well as about a billion "Is it free? How much per month? Is there offline? blah blah blah" forum threads all over the internet. Couple that with the fact that the info has been out there since the JP release, long before NA, and even being a proverbial total idiot barely qualifies as an excuse not to know.
Simply put, people just want to whine and get attention. Personally, if they really hate the monthly charge factor that much, I feel they should stop trying to piss in everyone else's cereal about it and just go play other FF games. As for the rest of us, who appreciate a virtually bug-free gaming environment consisting of a massive on-line community, huge content, gorgeous visuals and audio, and a steady stream of improvements and content upgrades... yeah, 12 or 13 bucks (USD) a month is next to nothing compared to what we feel we're recieving in return.
Just to stay on topic, as they've all stated above, there is a story and it's a damn good one. The reason you may not hear much about it too often is because the game is so tremendously non-linear that everything else contained within the sheer awe inspiring volume of other things to do besides progress the story for your character is usually what everyone wants to discuss. As for the job system, it's a wonderful thing. I can be anything at anytime and adapt to all situations based on how much time and effort I put into the careers I've chosen to develop for my character
Originally Posted by HOOTERS
Its FFXI not FFIXGet it straight first. Yea again its just whining, it doesnt screw anything up and theres tons of info everywhere. If you dont like it or want to play it thats up to you, you dont have to. Theres tons of other FFs out there.
It's Hoot, he doesn't care.
Warning, probably LOTS of spoilers involved:
Yes but all the FF's have one underlying theme: finalizing a previous defeat of evil or stopping an evil from resurging. With I, it was an actual temporal loop. II and III have more subtle themes, but stopping a problem from deep in the past from happening again runs through them, such as III's stopping the darkness from surging again like light had in the past. IV stopps the lunarian rebel from trying to take over earth again, V stops the last weapon on an evil euno from destroying everything and destroying him rather than resealing him. VI is obvious, it's loop is explicitly told in the prologue. VII is clear cut: stop jenova from destroying man like he killed the Cetera. VIII has more time loop stuff, and IX has one more of those less pronounced themes. Is this theme present in XI? that's what makes it an FF or not. I am also concerned still on how it will keep for posterity if it is an online game. The online service can't last forever, then the game is dead, is it not? And one trivial question. The normal battle theme in FF's I - VI and IX have all been varients on the same basic theme. Is there such a varient music in XI, or did it go the way of VII and VIII?
Clyde Arronwy, The Great and Magnificent Gumby, Lord Thanatosimii, Having Been Bequiethed of the Poke-dom, Ruler of Gumbolivia, Third member of "The Mind Whose Name Dare Not Be Spoken Aloud"
(Somehow, no spoilers)
Yeah, there is something like that: There was a war initiated in the recent past by the beastmen, which was won by a union of the nations of Bastok, San d'Oria, Windurst, and Jeuno, but now the beastmen are beginning to surface again.
If you watch the intro movie, it shows scenes from that war--a couple of kids running from some orcs that are invading a city (Looks like Bastok to me), and one of the kids, all grown up now, returns to his hometown as an adventurer.
The battle music is more orchestral in feel, but it does have a rhythm similar to other FF battle themes. Not a literal translation like 1-6 and 9, but a more liberal interpretation like 7,8 and 10. Even so, you'd guess it was an FF battle theme if you heard it. Actually, all the battle themes sound like boss battle themes. I like them.
Knock yourselves down.
Actually the monthly charge had nothing to do with my point at all, I was just saying that they shouldn't have called it Final Fantasy, and then everybody wouldn't have complained that it had nothing to do with Final Fantasy even though it does have things to do with Final Fantasy, like chocobos and swords and fighting the chocobos with swords.
And I was talking about FFIX. I know this isn't the right forum and FFIX isn't a MMORPG but hey, I'm a rebel.
Yea one of the underlaying themes is to stop the resurgance of evil in the land. You really have to find a site that shows it because that is the main plot and why things in that world, are that way. FFXI is in a war torn land, and people are just recovering from the Great War with many lives lost. You will see many scars from that war from the NPCs you talk to. Everything is well planned out, even the PvP thing has cutscences on how it came to be, it wasnt just there after the last patch.
And no its not Bastok, its none of the cities that are there. If you do mission 11 you would get an item that relates to the city, thats all i am saying.
And another thing, do you know how old is EQ(Everquest)? Its super old but it still has like 400,000 or so subscriptions i think. If soemthing as bad serviced as EQ can last that long, i doubt that this game would fall so quick.
The thing about EverCrack is that it was the first MMORPG, people didn't know what they were getting into.
In FFXI-land, everybody knows what an MMORPG is and won't buy it if they don't have the time to get hooked.
One of the best things about FFXI that you don't get in other FF games is the ability to create your own storylines, if you can fall in with roleplayers. Right now, I'm in an awesome RP linkshell on Quetzalcoatl that has a story arc involving possession by the essence of the Shadow Lord, and Chosen Summoners who are destined to save Vana'Diel as they have countless times in the past. (See: Vana'Diel Tribune Vol.22, "And His Name Was Fenrir!", re: Karaha-Baruha, Hero of Windurst) Talk about awesome! I mean, seriously... How many times in an FF game have you wanted to have your character say what you'd really like them to say?
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