Final Fantasy XI Online (2002)

Developer: Square Product Development Division 3
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment, Square Enix, Square
Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox 360, PlayStation 2
Genres: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Rating: 4.0 of 5, 44 player ratings
Main story: about 300 hours
Completionist: about 1000 hours
Where to get it: Website

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A sprawling, interconnected world where progress is earned slowly alongside others, rewarding patience and cooperation over solo heroics.

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About

Final Fantasy XI Online is the franchise's first MMORPG as well as the eleventh installment in the main series. FFXI was the world's first cross-console MMORPG, available for Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360 and Steam. Since its release in 2002, it has become the most financially successful title in the Final Fantasy series. Due to the nature of online RPGs, FFXI differs in that the player is not the only hero. Instead, each player creates a customizable character and adventures through the world of Vana'diel with other players; leveling up, exploring, completing missions, quests, and much more. Leveling up requires a group of people working together in what is called a Party, with each participant contributing their own skills to help take down a foe and gain Experience points. Battles occur in real-time, taking the ATB system to a new level, which was emulated again to a certain extent in Final Fantasy XII.

What players say

A famously hardcore, time-intensive MMORPG where grinding was bearable only because it was done together; remembered for forced grouping and a tight-knit, cooperative community that defined its slow, demanding progression.

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This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.