[Jonnyram]

16 May 2002

Square, as the company was still known back then, releases Final Fantasy XI for the PlayStation 2.
The first game to ever require the PS2 Broadband adaptor/HDD add-on.

I remember sitting in my "hobby room" getting it all installed, logging in, and having no idea how to play.
I spoke very little Japanese at the time, and since I hadn't read the instructions I had no idea how to heal. I died quickly and painfully. Then I asked in open channels how to heal, and friendly people told me. Then there was that fun couple of days getting used to the battle system on my own, finding out which monsters would attack me without provocation, trying to discover which prey I could tackle on my own. And then I grouped together with a bunch of other English speakers on GameFAQs, and we started partying together on evenings. The start of a wonderful adventure, in which I would meet lots of wonderful people over the Internet, some of whom I went on to meet in real life and have lasting friendships with.



I'll never forget my first experiences in Konschtat Highlands, Valkurm Dunes, Qufim Island...
Thanks for many wonderful memories, Final Fantasy XI.

[Munba]

Never forget La Theine Plateau.. what a game.
/cheer

[Riposte]

I remember it took 9 hours to download the updates when I got it all the way back a month or two after NA launch. My internet was that shitty. My PC was shitty enough that I couldn't play with sound for some reason lol. Good times.

It is pretty interesting that this game stayed as #2 among monthly MMOs for so long. After WAR, Vanguard, EVE, etc etc. I'm imagine that is ending soon (going to switch to free to play maybe). The game was strangely under-reported game among journos and blogs, bugged the hell out of me (especially since the only time it really popped up was when journos did a shitty job covering the PW incident, calling people losers and whatnot).

Never forget Lathein Plateau.. /cheer

Hmmm...

[Nakazato]

Ive met friends for life thanks to XI it will always have a spot in my heart. cant remember how many hours a day on summer vacation i took playing this.

[Munba]

Fixed :p

[PumpkinPie]

Never forget La Theine Plateau.. what a game. /cheer

Fuck yeah :) I feel old now. Is it too late to get back into the game?

[Riposte]

Warning: This post contains hardcore nostalgia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LQ-iCZ2FnE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSehXgEZyYA

EDIT:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_lis...9CA25E26246611

[Kientin]

I've played this game for years and it's stolen away so much of my time and I'm still playing it now. What... the... heck...

Great stuff for sure, like someone else said. I've made friends for life in this game.

[tribal24]

Warning: This post contains hardcore nostalgia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LQ-iCZ2FnE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSehXgEZyYA

oh shit!!!! i fucking miss final fantasy XI

[Munba]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iesY1XssACM

My fave video ever. This was Vana'diel..

[Suairyu]

Out of all the MMOs I never played, the one I most regret not getting into when the time was right is FFXI. I really wanted to, as well, but couldn't afford the subscription.

I planned to make up for it by getting in on XIV right at the beginning but we all know how that went.

[Olaeh]

I wish I could go back nine years or so and relive those fond memories.
Nostalgia for this game hits harder than any other for some reason. That PlayOnline music struck me.

[rhfb]

I just loved that in the first week I was playing my Sandy Mithra got the Rabbit Charm off jaggedy ear Jack. Wearing it around town got me lots of whispers in Japanese that I didn't understand :(

Only ever got to level 54 or something like that, just couldn't stand the party requirements to level :/ still had a ton of fun playing the game though.

[Riposte]

My biggest regret with Final Fantasy was that so few people enjoyed the game similar to the way I did. I was basically obsessed with looking into all the obscure content no one cared about. From Ballista (which had a "scene" with Japanese players at least) to shitty items that were hard to get (e.g. Evolith). Had no interest in grinding, levels or gear. I wanted to explore the game (and not just "the map") and do challenging content.

That and trying to lead an endgame linkshell at some point (in a futile attempt to get people to do these dumb things I wanted to do on the side). On the bright side that taught me to not sympathize with humans at a young age at least.

EDIT: The Chain of Promathia campaign pre-nerfs, pre-player buffs, etc remains my favorite Final Fantasy content and one of my favorite multiplayer experiences I've ever had. Not so much Promys at launch, but then I enjoyed those for another more twisted reason. What a brutal one-of-a-kind experience those were.

[shadyspace]

Out of all the MMOs I never played, the one I most regret not getting into when the time was right is FFXI. I really wanted to, as well, but couldn't afford the subscription. I planned to make up for it by getting in on XIV right at the beginning but we all know how that went.

Why? Same boat too btw. My friends got me the game for my 13th birthday but my parents wouldn't pay the subscription :/

[speedpop]

I have a physical copy of the game floating around somewhere yet I only invested several hours in to it. But one thing I adored the heck out of the game was its soundtrack. I may have never walked its lands properly, but even I can state with a straight face that its music was beautiful and I understand its nostalgic values completely.

Gustaberg played by Tanioka at the Anniversary concert last year. Absolutely breathtaking.

[Yuripaw]

Oh man, it's been 10 years, I feel so old. I wasn't able to import the PS2 version at launch, but I was hyped as hell for it, and watched everyone's videos that they were posting online for it, like yours Jonnyram, as well as Ping's videos from FFXIonline. I didn't get my import copy til the JPN PC version came out later that year.

Edit: I was trying to find some of my old screenshots from my early PC days when I had the JPN account, but I couldn't find that folder. Only could find a few of my last recent ones from about a year ago.


I really am tempted to reactivate again now...lol

[jae]

Here's another one from the first week. I still reactivate and play for a month every now and then. Probably will until the day the servers die.

[Thoraxes]

Wow.

I almost feel like resubbing.

[Diablos]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0rKhkseWDU

This is cooler than what FFVI had to offer.

YEAH, I SAID IT.

[Tguy]

Certainly one of my favorite mmos ever. A lot of great memories with this game and a lot of fucked up ones too lol. I was part of many different linkshells, but one I used majority of the time I played the game(3 years or so) had this couple who were pretty cool.

The girl would help me get to places that I wasn't high even level to reach just because I was curious and wanted to see cool environments and the guy would help me get these items I needed from time to time. They were really damn cool, then I recall SE added in a way to get married in-game. It was a bit corny, somewhat cool. The funny/fucked up part was that maybe 3 months after the whole in game marriage between them two, the girl turns out to be guy. The other guy was pretty pissed, I rarely saw him after that. It was like the downfall of the linkshell once that happen haha. People started to split and no one used to talk to each other as much. It got pretty damn sad.


Edit:That feeling when you level up then the next monster your party takes kills you and makes you delevel

[Yuripaw]

Here's another one from the first week. I still reactivate and play for a month every now and then. Probably will until the day the servers die.[/IMG]

Yeah, I used to say this for a long time, but it has been over a year since I last booted it up =/ I don't really know anyone who still plays anymore, and it's just sad logging in without knowing anyone, and seeing all your linkshells broken. I want to go back...but it's hard to make new friends.

Edit: I'm gonna say something that is gonna cause a lot of controversy, but I think FFXI was and still is the best MMO ever made.

[Tguy]

Yeah, I used to say this for a long time, but it has been over a year since I last booted it up =/ I don't really know anyone who still plays anymore, and it's just sad logging in without knowing anyone, and seeing all your linkshells broken. I want to go back...but it's hard to make new friends. Edit: I'm gonna say something that is gonna cause a lot of controversy, but I think FFXI was and still is the best MMO ever made.

Yeah, that is what sucks about going back. I've had thoughts of replaying it too.

Also, I think it's the best I've played too and I've tried plenty of MMOs before and after FFXI. From free mmos to trials of p2p, none of them hooked me the way FFXI did at all. The closest one to come to it personally is Guild Wars, but I saw people don't label that as an mmo so it's whatever lol.

[LeMaximilian]

Still have a lot of really amazing memories...but I'm glad I stopped when I did. Would have been so easy to just keep on playing.

Thanks again Johnny for saving my account nearly 7 years ago. That was pretty awesome to help out a stranger. Who else on GAF was a XI importer? I think Djplaeskool frequents the forums too.

[Zomba13]

Easily my favourite MMO ever and quite possibly my favourite Final Fantasy (don't worry, VI would be a very close second).
I played the first time around the EU launch as a Hume WAR and didn't enjoy it at all but went back to it a while later as a Tarutaru (aka best race) BLM and met my LS leader not long after playing in the fields of Sarutabaruta. The Pathfinders on Alexander was the best LS/Guild/Clan I've ever been in. So friendly and fun. It was such a shame that they disbanded at some point between my second or third quit and my subsequent return. Still had contact with some of the members though but was part of my real life friends very tiny LS which was still cool.

I also haven't come across anything as rewarding as the solo lvl 20 Avatar fights as SMN in any other MMO. It felt so good getting my Avatars with just Carby by my side.

I've had to remove the game from my HDD to try and stop me from going back and wasting too much time. Then again it didn't help the last time...


Also, best FFXI related music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVYhcXmXSB0
I love Distant Worlds so much. Best Final Fantasy vocal theme.

EDIT: And of course the FFXI version of the FF theme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKrMpWyekUw
They sure took their time getting that in there.

[jae]

Thanks again Johnny for saving my account nearly 7 years ago. That was pretty awesome to help out a stranger.

Johnny helped me get the HDD that got me playing, and helped so many others. He was the patron saint of Ragnarok.

[Tguy]

I remember it took 9 hours to download the updates when I got it all the way back a month or two after NA launch. My internet was that shitty. My PC was shitty enough that I couldn't play with sound for some reason lol. Good times. Hmmm...

I had to get my PS2 repaired once this game came out because my damn PS2 wouldn't run blue disc anymore lol. I remember starting up the download before I'd go to sleep then wake up for school just to see the download is still going lmao. I used to hate when updates came so much because of that.

Tarutaru (aka best race) I also haven't come across anything as rewarding as the solo lvl 20 Avatar fights as SMN in any other MMO. It felt so good getting my Avatars with just Carby by my side.

Long neck Elven>>> :P lol

I always wanted to use a summoner, but I avoided it because I simply never was a good white mage and not particularly a role I like to play. I loved having summoners on my party though.

[state_vector_collapse]

I put so many hundreds of hours into this game. There was a group of us who would meet every night and play into the early hours. Some of my best gaming memories are with this game.

But I ultimately got bored of the slow slog to level up and so being stuck in the same place each night and not really seeing anything new. It's the reason others stopped playing, as they switched to WOW and found they could level up so much quicker and therefore make more progress in the game. I have never found WOW's graphical style appealing though to be honest.

I too wish I could somehow go back in time and relive the early days of this game. The only thing I don't miss is that god damn playonline front end.

[Grampasso]

Wow! Happy birthday to me!

[Hix]

Happy birthday to the greatest MMO in existence.

I haven't played since 09, but still fondly remember my 6 year stint (with over 400 days playtime). Having all the soundtracks helps, of course.

Game had unrivalled story-telling, must remember to rewatch the Promathia cutscenes some time.

[echoshifting]

One of my favorite mmos and I'm not even sure why, since I spent most of my time sitting around waiting for a group in one boring zone. Still, when this game comes together, when a group really clicks? Goddamn. Good stuff. The world was well realized, too. It felt big in a way WoW never has.

I didn't play for more than a year, but a couple of my friends have invested obscene amounts of time into it.

[Zomba13]

A little FFXI Story: http://youtu.be/ARghlVjBab0

;_;

[The Praiseworthy]

Awwww.... Remembering this game makes me really sad and almost to cry :(

One of the best days of my life is with FFXI, god that world and that feelings are still likw no other ;_;

Long live FFXI <3

[LeMaximilian]

Can't forget Fin and Pru

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL2QW30veoo

[Kandinsky]

Worst mmo after XIV lol

[Jijidasu]

Much like many of the people who have played FFXI, it has truly had a mysterious effect on my life. I've become very close friends with some of the people who I played FFXI with on Ragnarok server.

It's always easy to keep track of how many years we've known each other when we think back to the launch of FFXI.

Honestly one of the greatest gaming experiences in my life and I can only hope FFXIV 2.0 can put up a decent fight.

[Soul_Pie]

That was officially the day that final fantasy became inaccessible to me, because I didn't have any proper internet access at my parent's house, nor could I afford the hard drive required to play it or the ongoing subscription costs. Up until that point I'd played every one of the available main line titles so I was very disappointed, I remember being insanely jealous of my friend who used to play it every night and come into school and tell me how amazing it was.

And somehow I've never actually managed to play it in any capacity, I think I considered buying it on the 360 but never got round to it. I feel like I really missed the boat.

[Riposte]

Who was there for the wild west/hell that was day one promyvions? I don't think any videogame has made me so stressed out. You might have entered with 18 people and you KNEW you weren't going to end up at the top with a nice and fair number of 6, 12, or 18. Every man for himself. And then you would likely fail the boss and have to start the whole affair over (especially if you were relying on "2hrs"). (Going double digits for me). Chilling adrenaline rush. But then if you succeeded the coolest and most beautiful outdoor area for the game at the point would become accessible to you lol.

In any case this song used to make my skin crawl just thinking about it. Talk about traumatic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqXHyoCper4

To me it still remains the ultimate "stop fucking around, time to get serious" song. CoP missions would make it so.

Speaking of which 6-4 (again pre-nerfs, etc) was the best boss fight in Final Fantasy history. (And guess what? No one can ever experience it again, lol)

Judging from CoP and Ballista I think the game was at its best at level 60. After that things got out of hand and "zerging" and whatnot becomes too powerful. I can't even imagine what the game is like now. (I left the moment the level cap increased beyond 75 because I wasn't really liking the direction the game was going in with those Abyssea expansions, which is a rare opinion I take it.)

[Clear]

This game scares me, no joke.

Just listening to "space" (bgm from the Pol viewer) I felt my stomach tightening a bit; I feel like a recovered junkie!

Amazing game, but horribly, horribly addictive.

[DoctorWho]

Probably my favourite MMO experience. Only made it to level 25 but there was a great sense of community in that game.

[Anteater]

Happy 10th anniversary, my favorite gaming experience ever, met a lot of great people, exploring, killing shit together was fun, we built a pretty great LS, and we had a blast for all the years we've spent.

[sky]

Wow, 10 years... !!!

Awesome game. I started playing in the ps2 beta, and loved it. It's quirky and weird, but also mysterious, exciting and full of heart. I've also never experienced such highs when working together with other players - especially finishing difficult missions, which might last for many days on end! There was a real sense of accomplishment that I haven't been able to recapture in other games.

I think I played for 4-5 years before letting go. And obviously I'm not the only one who has a habit of rejoining every so often.

[Fancy Corndog]

This game had a bigger impact on me in my formative years than I'd like to acknowledge.

Bastok and Gustaberg...will never forget that music/setting after setting foot in it the very first time. After playing this game on and off for 7 years, I think it's worth calling it my favorite game of all time. Will also never forget my first real groups in Valkurm Dunes (way before sync and even before PL'ing was a thing). Hoping that I'd get picked over the other guys. Hanging out in Selbina because it was too dangerous to go outside alone unless I had a reason to. I remember most of the time the leveling areas before ~50 would always have a good patron, a 'high-level' player, wandering around hot points and protecting parties from danger like goblin aggro. Kazham, oh Kazham. Starting this game and being lost and bright eyed in an active, living world was the best gaming experience that I've ever had.

dat soundtrack:

Opening Theme
The Sanctuary of Zi'Tah

Gah, I need to get out of here. I was seriously addicted to this game.

[Callo Merlose]

I remember reading about the servers being down on TheGIA.com. I hated that it required a subscription, but holy fuck did I love the soundtracks.

[Anteater]

Who was there for the wild west/hell that was day one promyvions? I don't think any videogame has made me so stressed out. You might have entered with 18 people and you KNEW you weren't going to end up at the top with a nice and fair number of 6, 12, or 18. Every man for himself. And then you would likely fail the boss and have to start the whole affair over (especially if you were relying on "2hrs"). (Going double digits for me). Chilling adrenaline rush. But then if you succeeded the coolest and most beautiful outdoor area for the game at the point would become accessible to you lol. In any case this song used to make my skin crawl just thinking about it. Talk about traumatic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqXHyoCper4 To me it still remains the ultimate "stop fucking around, time to get serious" song. CoP missions would make it so. Speaking of which 6-4 (again pre-nerfs, etc) was the best boss fight in Final Fantasy history. (And guess what? No one can ever experience it again, lol) Judging from CoP and Ballista I think the game was at its best at level 60. After that things got out of hand and "zerging" and whatnot becomes too powerful. I can't even imagine what the game is like now. (I left the moment the level cap increased beyond 75 because I wasn't really liking the direction the game was going in with those Abyssea expansions, which is a rare opinion I take it.)

Yea, did promy when CoP first came out, not day 1 but a few days after when we got 3 groups together, we prepped a lot before going, beat all of them on first try

Then it was all downhill after that.... mainly to do with using unconventional set ups and we keep failing, and having to go back and switch jobs, god i hate the inventory management in that game, otherwise it would've been a lot more fun without sending shit between characters for space.

I remember getting to mammets, got our ass kicked, go back and switch jobs and had to climb through Riverne Site again.

Edit: CoP is by far the best missions in the game, even though I had a lot of terrible memories, but it felt amazingly rewarding.

[Neptune]

Final Fantasy XI is easily my favourite game of all time. I started playing in 2003, and I was not prepared for how it would captivate me. Despite the hours of fruitless waiting, the wasted efforts and failed parties you would frequently deal with, its world was simply magical, and when it all came together successfully, it felt like no other game could touch it.

I met my best friend and my fiancé in Final Fantasy XI. I played for 6 straight years until 2009, but I recently reactivated. While so much has changed and many good people haved long since moved on, it feels "right" to be back in Vana'diel again. There are many more options to progress alone or in smaller groups now too, which suits my schedule well.

I don't think I'll ever forget or be able to let go of this game completely, and I'm thankful for all the experiences and memories it has given me.

[we.are.the.armada]

My first MMO, ah the memories. From SATA Spinning Slash to KrakenDRK Spamming, I'll never forget all those crabs and beetles.

[Atolm]

I started playing in september 2007, until september 2009. In that time I leveled 5 jobs to 75, did all the story missions for Zilart, CoP and ToAU (that Alexander battle!!), completed Nyzul Isle, Salvage, Einherjar (great Odin battle too!), Limbus and Dynamis and met many great people. On my endgame LS I was the only main COR, and I enjoyed that.

The thing I loved the most was solo'ing with my DRG. With the 2-handed weapons buff and the healing breath from certain subjobs, it was no longer lolDRG, you could do amazing things. I leveled the job with a partner all the way from 1 to 75, we did merits together, we solo'ed ENMs75 by ourselves for the Hagun great katana...great times indeed.

It was a great experience. But I wouldn't repeat it. I'm done with mmorpgs D:.

[Kuraine]

Wow, it has been 10 years, hasn't it? Memories indeed~ Thanks for making this thread Jonny!

[Solstice]

Best song in the damn game. Whole reason I made all my characters in San d'Oria

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clld-gFL050