The Digital Continuum: Vacationing in Vana'diel
Summer has arrived, July is only just around the corner and with it comes the gaming drought. This seems an opportune time to explore an old favorite, write about it and try to make it as interesting as possible. I figured, what MMO is less known about and more curious than Final Fantasy XI?
Plus, I'd never played it on a console, so this had the potential to be a semi-new experience at the very least. Something about that prospect has always intrigued me -- playing it the way it was originally designed. sorta. I mean, I did purchase the Xbox 360 version.
My goal with this idea is to crack open the sometimes mysterious world of Vana'diel to people who wish they could spare the time and patience to experience it themselves, but otherwise cannot or will not. But before that, a little bit of back story is required and I also need to actually get to those juicy story and boss bits.
When Final Fantasy XI first launched in the states, I played it more than I'd like to admit. During the trek to earn my Samurai job, I slept beside a computer for a couple nights. I also remember running to and from the bathroom like a monkey hopped up on disgusting amounts of stimulants.
Ah, the things you can do when you're only 18 years old. Then again, I could probably -- and potentially might -- do it again at 24 years old, too... hrm. It could be a long, long summer.
Moving on!
It was a hard game, make no mistake. But I had time to kill and a Final Fantasy fascination to fulfill, not to mention the rewards taste oh-so-sweet when you do attain them. Money restrictions eventually caused me to quit, but it was a solid three months of playing. Afterwords, constant reminiscing about the good times spent adventuring throughout Vana'diel was the norm. Time passed, other games (ahem, hello World of Warcraft) released and those good times fell from immediate memory.
Eventually though, a couple years and several MMOs later, I once more returned to my old home. By that time things had been added and changed, but the difficulty was very much the same. It only took me a week of playing the game before I sadly uninstalled it and finally moved on -- or at least I had thought.
Fields of Valor, Level Sync and an experience curve have all made revisiting the game much more enticing. If that weren't enough, I've also got a static group to play with now. What's even better is that this leads into another, bigger reason: seeing the main mission storyline as much as I can before fatigue sets in along with the need to stop.
I suppose the third reason for my going back into the game is potentially the same as many others right now, that is to say, Final Fantasy XIV -- or maybe that's just me.
Playing on the Xbox 360 has certainly enhanced my enjoyment of the game -- almost to the its original level back at launch. You'll hear many players decry playing an MMO in this fashion as too complicated, but with a large enough HDTV (24 to 42 inches, I'd say) and a USB keyboard it's a lot better, as far as I'm concerned. My biggest gripe with the game on the PC was the obtuse control scheme, but on the 360 controller this problem quickly evaporates. Sure, you need to drop the game pad to occasionally type something, but this isn't an action game, it's an MMO. And the trade-off for easier controls is well worth the one or two seconds it takes to go from controller to keyboard.
