Rating: 
Summary: A new final fantasy alright....
Review: The good thing is the characters creations. You can change their faces body type spieces and when u get a new job and armor it show wat ur wearin unlike most FF's Yet that still has it down side. u have to pay $.77 a month for each chara u have. the map is huge which is good. its got a lot of stuff like ff tactics [jobs job abilities]. this game is a combo of fft w/jobs ff9 w/the way the map is and boat/airship things +an online pay. there virtually no lag and the most stable system. i recommend if u get get it for PC. its awsome how u can trade items make alliances and craftin weapons w/ others. the quests and missions are ok some are borin some are good and some not even worth it But $10 a month can be bad if u got a pay n u got no money. you do get a short free trial. if you get the game get the guide it helps a lot more then the manual i give Final Fantasy XI an 8 out of 10
Rating: 
Summary: You better have LOTS of TIME & PATIENCE
Review: First off, this game is OK. If it didn't have the name Final Fantasy this game would merely be mediocre. In many aspects of the game, even including logging on is OVERCOMPLICATED. As another reviewer mentioned, it's like way to many steps do things that should be very simple. How many registration codes do u need to key in? 3, 4 if you want to play tetramaster. And you need to make a playonline id, a final fantasy content id, and a handle. HUH? What if you want to make a another character? Well you better remember that 8 digit playonline id that you got, cause they dont save it for you. AND WHY CAN'T PLAYERS RUN AWAY FROM COMBAT? You can disengage, but there is NO WAY to outrun any monster. Even fat orcs will catch up with u and kill u. On top of that there are hostile monsters which will gang up on you, and you lose MASSIVE exp points every time you die, and YES you can actually lose levels. Takes forever to level, and even longer for you to start enjoying it.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst... interface... ever!
Review: I've been playing this game for about a week now and I have never seen a worse interface for a MMPORG. The windows are all static and are very "modal" and obviously directly converted from the console version. A completely unhelpful manual is included in the game, but finding the information you want or need is next to impossible. The only saving grace is that there are a large number of web sites which have information on how to do the things that the included manual left out. Three examples spring to mind that demonstrate the poor interface and the worse manual:
Crafting. There's no information in the manual about how to craft. This is supposed to be an integral part of the game, but there's nearly no information on it in the manual. The actual process of crafting is very unintuitive. You have to find crystals of various types dropped from mobs. You use the crystal and a window pops up. You click or press enter on a space and then select the ingredient to put in that spot. Repeat until the recipe is complete and then tell it to make the item. Oh, and don't forget to write down the recipe, they aren't stored anywhere in game.
The second thing that comes to mind is the login process. You don't actually start anything called "Final Fantasy" or anything like it. You start the Play Online client. Then, you log into that. A couple of screens in, if you chose the correct options in the previous two screens, you can choose the game you want to play. FFIX loads up (no Window Mode and Alt Tabbing out crashes the game) and while some incredibly annoying music plays, you can choose the character you want to play and then what name is associated with the character and then, and only then you can start playing the game. Square Enix has taken a process which takes about 3-5 steps in other games and refined it into a process taking about 10-15 steps.
The third example is the friends list. You have to either be in a group with someone or be able to search for them (no dice if they aren't online), then once you successfully search for them, you send them a message asking them to be your friend. Then, make sure you tell your friend that you sent them a message since there's almost no way to find out otherwise.
Many of the characters are moronic. You have a thing called a "Moogle" in the free apartment you are given with your character. I swear, if this thing calls me "kupo" one more time I am going to scream! The Tarutaru NPCs all have annoying speech defects that really make you want to slap them. Oh and the free apartment *can* be decorated, but that's sort of a moot point since nobody else can visit it. In Star Wars Galaxies, you can go into other people's houses and see how they've decorated. Doesn't seem to be a way to do that here.
Characters are undifferentiated. A level 10 Mithra Monk is the same as every other level 10 Mithra Monk in the game. The only variation is appearance (Face, Hair and Size) and equipment. Further differentiation is available as you can take sub-jobs that will modify your character and grant you extra benefits and limitations.Now, the game does have its good points. It's extremely stable. I haven't had a single crash since I started playing it, and that's really saying something. The graphics are pretty decent. I have a fairly high end system and with all the options turned up as high as possible, I can definitely say that the graphics don't suck. The upside to the unchallenging graphics is that the game is virtually lag free, which is a refreshing change. As a final note, I feel that this game is mostly counting on the Final Fantasy name to generate sales. It will likely bring a number of people into the MMPORG world who wouldn't have tried it otherwise. I just wish they had done something more creditable for the name.
Rating: 
Summary: ...wow
Review: This game is well worth the money/monthly fees. Period. Amazing if you remotely like RPGs or Final Fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: Virtual World!!!
Review: Best Online Game in History. MUST BUY AMAZING CONTROL, AMAZING GRAPHICS, AMAZING AND WELL COMPOSED SOUNDTRACK, INTERACTION, THE WORLD IS REALLY LIKE A VIRTUAL, it's sooo big and massive you can literally get lost!!!! AMAZING CREATURES AND ENEMIES AS WELL AS PC CHARACTERS. RAGNAROK ONLINE AND ULTIMA ONLINE ARE JUVENILLE GAMES COMPARED TO THIS FULL COMPLETE MMOG!!
Rating:
Summary: Final Fantasy XI
Review: I am not a big MMORPG type person, I didn't care much for Everquest. But after beta-testing this title, i was very impressed, not only with the visual detail but great storyline that you follow throughout the game. I don't know about those people that say you can't solo this game... I did fine by myself for most of the game, true there are some parts which may require a party, but it can be solo'ed if done right. I also love the fact that you weren't limited to just your starting job. This game has many great features and I highly recommend it, whether you like MMORPG's or not.
Rating:
Summary: $$$$$$$$$$
Review: One thing that just is crazy is how much money square wants. Its soooo much. Im sure you guys know and everyhting but i just want to emphasize it. A normal MMORPG cost about 13$ a month with 5 charecters. Square wants like 19$. $^&%!!!! 1$ per guy. OUCH. Then they want 50$ to buy. Have you seen Asherons Call price when it came out? 20$ to buy 10$ a month. Boy has it changed over the years. Greedy basterds =/.
Rating:
Summary: Things I don't like about the game.
Review: There are 3 things that bug me the most in FFXI. 1. Unlike any other MMORPG launched in North America in that it WILL NOT be opening up brand new servers to US players. US Players will begin their life within the servers currently located in Japan with an existing player base of Japanese players.
Meaning we all will be newbies running around in server full of people who play this and done that years ago. It kind of took the "Fresh" feeling out of the game. Example: while you are trying your best to kill that rat so you can have a penny to get bread. While the other players next to you are chopping up dragons for dinner. 2. No server selection!!
Meaning You CANNOT select which server to play on. Everyone will be RANDOMLY assigned one of the 29+ servers. This makes playing with friends VERY VERY difficult! To play on the same server as a friend, you will have to save up money(GILs) to buy a "WORLDPASS" in game. BUT, the problem is WORLD PASS cost around 1000 to 2000 Gils. It may take days to get that much Gils at lower levels to buy one pass. If you have a lot of friends everyone will need a world pass...That will be a lot of time spending farming money when you should be enjoying the game with friends. 3. Communication/Server in Japan:
With no new servers are been created and we will be spread randomly to one of the 29+ servers. That means there will a only a few hundred of us per server and more if the game sells well.
A) Because of the time zone difference we will be along on US prime time. BUT, with us all spread out a few hundreds per server this will make finding groups very difficult.
B) Even at Weekend when everyone in the world plays together it will be very difficult to understand each other. Square soft did created a translator for common words like Group, yes, no, monster, Attack, run, we are dead, etc... But, still is not like you can chat with just a few words. And most people would prefer to group with people they understand. WORLDPASS: a ticket number your friends type in during character creation to assigning to them your server.
GIL: In Game money.
All in all I think Square Soft are being a little Greedy. They figure US and JP are different Time zones meaning they can squeeze 2X the people on the same servers and make double the Money. But, still I hope they realize their mistakes and create some new servers for us US players. ;-)
Rating:
Summary: The Trump Card of MMORPG's
Review: If MMORPG's (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)are your cup of tea, dive in. If you are a standard RPG Gamer (i.e., Breath of Fire series, Final Fantasy series, Zelda, et al.,) don't pick this game up, you will be disappointed unless you are open-minded to the future of gaming. (I recommend those that are traditional FF gamers to get Final Fantasy X-2, Origins, Chronicles, Anthology, VII, VIII, IX, X or Tactics instead.) I, myself, am a story-driven person who loves the solo play of standard RPG's, however, I am a writer so the aspect of delving into a vast world with endless possibilities and so many "real" people controlled characters enthralled me. Is this my first? No. EverQuest and Phantasy Star Online came before. While those two hailed in my mind, Final Fantasy XI raised the plateau. When I elected to try it out, I was thinking of The Elder Scrolls as its style of gameplay. (Note: As much as I liked Morrowind's environment, I loathed the combat.) XI doesn't resemble The Elder Scrolls in any way, albeit the world is huge - that's an understatement simply because XI hand's ES's a Trump Card in that department. The game is interactive, and meant to be that way. Some reviews have labored to state that you tell your character to attack, then sit back an watch. True, and not true. Keyword here is: Interactive. If you are going into this game to play it solo...well, you'll be captivated by the environment, but bored silly. Final Fantasy XI is meant to be played with other people, form alliances, and interact with other players.
Rating:
Summary: I went on the FFXI diet as well...
Review: Good, it wasn't just me. I only had the beta for 2 weeks, and just like the others, I found it hard to stop playing even long enough to do the most menial tasks. I loved Final Fantasy, or I never would have stepped into the world of online gaming, already aware that I might love it too much. But the world created by Square-Enix is simply the most beautiful place I've ever been. The worlds/backgrounds are simply so stunning, I dream about them in my sleep. The characters are engaging and real, and for your character, you get to choose between the fanciful creatures created by Square or regular Hume creatures, all of which you can further customize by size and hair color. All the standard jobs are represented in your initial choice of character; mages black, red, and white; warrior, thief, monk, and ninja. As you advance you can further develop your character into sub classes and then special classes...I can't remember them all, but I fought with some summoners, bards, beastmasters, paladins and rangers...there are more. The spellcasting and summoning was excellent, but I was just blown away by the environments. The character animation for the tarutaru characters was also extremely entertaining! Even if you don't love fantasy or online games, I still bet you won't be sorry to have this game, if only to walk around this gorgeous world. The subscription to PlayOnline will cost $12.95 per month, and $1.00 for each additional character. However, I'm willing to bet that you won't mind that either. I know I won't. See you there!
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