Final Fantasy XI

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 191 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 137 out of 191
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 191
  3. Negative: 34 out of 191
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  1. AngeredPlayer
    Nov 29, 2003
    5
    Haven't played a final fantasy game that was worst than this since Mystic Quest. The battle system needs work, if this game wasn't called final fantasy most people would recognize the many errors that are encountered. The battle system is the most irritating part of this game, don't bother running away, monsters will hit you no matter how far you run; I know this fromHaven't played a final fantasy game that was worst than this since Mystic Quest. The battle system needs work, if this game wasn't called final fantasy most people would recognize the many errors that are encountered. The battle system is the most irritating part of this game, don't bother running away, monsters will hit you no matter how far you run; I know this from experience as i see players wiped out from monsters that appear right next to them from out of nowhere. Annoying instances you will also encounter are monsters that will appear from nowhere as you are resting, some will even appear during a current battle, usually resulting in a death if you are too weakened to fight. I agree that this game is beautifully created, but what's more important, a good solid bug free gameplay or pretty graphics with battle glitches that you pay for every month? … Expand
  2. DanD
    Dec 16, 2009
    6
    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.
  3. AndreyS.
    Dec 5, 2009
    5
    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 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.… Expand
  4. MikeN.
    Nov 6, 2003
    6
    It's pretty and well animated. But in a genre that desperately needs new gameplay ideas, it doesn't have any. The same ol', same ol' with a lousy interface.
  5. AnavlisandRellima
    Mar 15, 2004
    7
    I compare it to Asheron's Call that I played for four years. FFXI graphics is much better. It actually looks like I'm watching an anime cartoon on TV (gotta have the right vid card to experience that). That took it to a vote of 11, however, the interface is terribly keyboard controlled instead of ez-click-mouse-action (-2). The critters are very much turn-based and not much of a I compare it to Asheron's Call that I played for four years. FFXI graphics is much better. It actually looks like I'm watching an anime cartoon on TV (gotta have the right vid card to experience that). That took it to a vote of 11, however, the interface is terribly keyboard controlled instead of ez-click-mouse-action (-2). The critters are very much turn-based and not much of a variety to choose from -up to tedious leveling to level 10 (-1). The music, battle sounds and action sounds stinks and I keep speakers off (-1). as an adult player, I would give it another -1 for being so childish (no blood and guts, pain and fear) just a smiling face hitting the ground and disappearing. It seems like a cute game for kids only. For us hardened gamers though it's not much of a thrill other than watching pretty crystal synthesis and say "oops it failed" :) I will stick with it a bit longer before I fall back to my beloved action packed Asheron's Call.… Expand
  6. wtfux
    Jan 4, 2012
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The purpose of this review is to shed a little light as to what a new player will face if they ever decide to join the FFXI community. Take note that this user review is currently up-to-date with post Abyssea, current main endgame, events.

    First of all, this game is NOT new player friendly. Alot of times new players will be happily grinding their way to level 10 then it gets epic boring grinding. I don't know how new players are suppose to know this but, the current trend is to join a fields of valor tome burn party. On the good side, at least these tome burn parties are way faster than the conventional experience grind parties.

    So lets say that a new player flags his party request icon, post a little party request "/seacom", search comment. message and gets a private message to join an tome burn party at x location. Well chances are, that new players will have no idea where its at. Unlike other MMO's the maps of FFXI are not player friendly at all. The NPC's, non-playable characters, do not give directions to locations, nor is there any conventional game implementation to direct players to a certain area, you know like a big arrow that hovers your head pointing you to go there. The best way to get to an area that you have no idea is at is to either, explore the entire world or ask around and hope that you find a player that speaks English and is willing to show you.

    Another major deterrent that runs wild in FFXI is progression. This covers a wide area of things from mission progression to level cap increases and quest. When it comes to mission progression such as Chains of Promethia, Rise of Zilart, Treasures of ?? Whitegate, etc. new players will find it extremely difficult to find members willing to rerun those missions because they yield very little rewards and some take very long to complete. I would also like to mention that because FFXI has a very low new player join rate, there aren't that many people who would be likely to join. The same idea goes for level cap quest, these quest increase your level cap from 50-55-60-65-70-75-80-85-90-95-99. Personally I think that some level cap quest are just unnecessarily long and some of them require you to either have good gear.

    If you ever reach Abyssea, most of your time will be spent joining pick-up-groups (PUG) for seals and +2 items, for gear upgrade. The rest of your time you either spend leveling a new job or sitting around in Port Jenuo reading other people's shouts. I would recommend doing some Chains of Promethia so you can have access to Dynamis, the old endgame. Only thing worthly in Dynamis is a few pieces of gear, dynamis currency which is used towards relic items, and forgotten currencly which is used for +2 relic armor.    … Expand
  7. diablo4randy
    Aug 13, 2012
    7
    wasted alot of my life on this game but not alot alot! like some of the virgins on this game. The people on this game really ruined the game for me. they where such low life losers but other then that the game was good when it was out DONT EVER BUY IT NOW!

Awards & Rankings

20
#20 Best PC Game of 2003
14
#14 Most Discussed PC Game of 2003
80
#80 Most Shared PC Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
85

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Boomtown
    80
    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.
  2. IGN
    80
    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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  3. GameNow
    83
    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.
    Read full review
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