wish it was the final fantasy
This game has not aged well at all. Quite frankly the quality of final fantasy games has been waning. This game is just boring as hell.

Not for the Casual Gamer
This game comes with a free 30-day trial, but that is not going to give you an accurate idea of the game as a whole. Its going to take some effort on the part of the player to truly experience all this game has to offer. I've been playing for a year and still haven't gotten a job to level 75. I am in no way unhappy about this, there are so many things to do that leveling a character is just part of the fun.

There are several wonderful web-sites (Wikia for example) available that give information on missions, quests, mobs, items, ect that the lack of a manual is not that big a problem. Someone has already mentioned the controller you can get for your PC that makes the game much easier to play. There are keyboards available for the PS2. There aren't too many problems with this game that cannot be overcome.

One thing that must be kept in mind about the economy of the game(as well as the helpfulness of other player) is that the game has many different servers or "worlds" and the situation can vary drastically from one to another. Square Enix has done much in the last year or so to crack down on gil sellers (Real Money Traders) and this is what's caused such huge fluxuations in the economies of each world. Every account banned for RMT results in gil (and items) removed from circulation. SE is making headway here too. They just had a "lottery" type event in which untold amounts of gil and items were given as prizes to lucky winners. SE is putting alot of effort into making this game fun and they want players to put effort into their characters too.

Gil, Items, Levels, Skill. Little of worth is gotten in this game without effort. But that's what gives you a sense of accomplishment with your character. And in my opinion is what makes this game so awesome!

FF lovers will like it...WoW players will not
I have played all the Final Fantasy's so the nostalgic aspect of this game makes it very appealing to people who enjoyed the series.

That being said, this is one of the hardest games I have played. One phrase will haunt you and will make you quit this game for days at a time when it happens: Experience and level loss. When you die you lose experience points (amount depends on level) and can delevel if your exp is too low. Getting gear and difficult quests done is hard for me because people do not want to help due to the whole exp loss aspect. I can't say I completely blame them for this.

You can solo to level 20 but after that it is extremely difficult if not impossible (unless your job is Beastmaster, in which case you hate yourself b/c you will die alot). The best exp comes from 5 person groups which can be taxing b/c you MUST have a well-balanced group to be successful - tank, healer, 2 dmg dealers and a support/backup healer. Skill comes into play but group composition is key. Getting to level 75 can take a VERY long time because of the lack of groups. It seems there is never a tank or healer on when you need one. They have recently added a bonus to duoing and trioing so it has mitigated some of the problems from not being able to find groups.


Now to the biggest downfall of FFXI: the economy. Oh...my...God...In one word: ATROCIOUS. The gil (currency) sellers have destroyed the economy and rendered crafts and farming utterly obsolete. Square Enix has taken no steps to combat RMTs (real money traders aka gil sellers). One of the best ways to make money before it was destroyed was farming NMs (notorious/named monsters). Basically you would wait around for a NM to spawn and try to outclaim it from other players. If you are lucky a good item would drop and you could sell it for some good cash. Most NMs are now over-camped by gil sellers who use bots to claim the monster before you can. It has gotten so bad that a good portion of those drops are now not sellable or tradable (bind on pickup if you play WoW). Crafts are ineffective because the items you make can be worn and resold after someone doesn't want it. Really the only craft I have seen make money is cooking of all things. I used to talk trash about people who paid real money for gil but now you almost have to to have any fun.

With the bad things about FFXI out of the way the good ones are pretty much the nostalgic factor. The jobs are awesome and will bring back memories. You also get to fight all the classic monsters you can think of. Even some of the old bosses are in the game (I won't spoil it).

The thing you need most in FFXI is patience. There will be bad times...alot of them. But if you love the FF series you will enjoy this game. If you never played any FFs before I would be weary of recommending this game as it doesn't seem worth the effort in alot of cases.

FF Review
Graphics on the game weren't as good as I expected, controls weren't that great. I did not renew my account after the initial 30 days.

Collection '08 and Overview
FFXI is, arguably, one of the most fun, dynamic and addictive MMORPG to hit the markets. One of the latest in the Final Fantasy series, FFXI takes different elements from other FF titles, world history, and theory in developing the jobs, quests, and titles in the game.

Available to play on PC, PlayStation (2) and XBox 360, FFXI incorporates a diverse player base to create a world with it's own fluctuating economy, dialect, and customs. Consequently, the need to schedule event times, group battles and multiple-quest story lines will begin to influence your day-to-day activities.

Overall, if you approach the game with maturity and a keen eye on the clock, you'll avoid the 30-hour-plus parties. At least, that's the only issue I have with the game.