Reviews from

in the past


I’m not a huge fan of MMO’s so a 4/10 would’ve been no surprise to me, but the ideas this game had was interesting enough to keep playing solo for a while which not many MMO’s have. The game was even a fun at some points even though I despise the genre, so a 6/10 but nothing higher. Didn’t finish it and never will probably, but it’s not necessarily bad.

Trying to get a pension irl so I can clear chains of promathia some day

Şeytan icadı bir oyun. Kesinlikle öner(m)iyorum.

I, really, REALLY wanna try to enjoy this. But PlayOnline makes a clunky game more clunky to access. I still like a lot the looks of it, it reminds me of the early 2000s crustyness nostalgia.

This is less a review and more so a warning for people curious, but don't know what they're in for.

This is video game, like a real video game for real "Gamers". It's design is archaic, the U.I is clunky (even for the time) and it will not respect, or coddle you. The story is great, the characters memorable (Shantotto, my beloved), but, and I have to stress this, if you choose to play this - you're doing it for the gameplay.

You will NEED to have a walkthrough on a second screen at basically all times. You will be confused where to go, what to do, and how to do it - that is part of the charm. If you can climb that hill you will find one of the most engaging RPG experiences out there, with some absolutely wild quest designs that would not fly in the modern gaming landscape. Dungeons that change layout based on the in-game day, bosses that target specific races with debuffs, door switches that are triggered by the combined weight of the races standing on them. Honestly, there are so many little instances that will make you say "wow, that's neat" or "what were they thinking?".

If you're easily put off by a lack of handholding, don't even try this. I can guarantee you will hate it. There is no way around it - its sink or swim. You really need a certain mindset going in to enjoy this game. If you are a XIV player curious about XI, its nothing like that outside of aesthetics. I've met XI players who love XIV, but few who went the other way. This is a time sink, with a harsh opening that only gets easier as you become more accustomed to its design. Your memories will be defined by your personal accomplishments, rather than story moments. Your first trip to Jeuno, climbing Delkfutt Tower, getting lost in the mines in Bastok only to have another player who bought the map guide you out; little things that would be standard in many games feel like triumphs - it's a feeling hard to replicate in modern game design.

I love it, and still recommend it - just don't be surprised that the MMO from 2002 plays like an MMO from 2002. Its harshness is by design, and rewards a mindset that is open to a challenge. There's a reason so many still have fond memories of this game; there's nothing else quite like it.


Quality of life features are bolted on to a game that used to be harsh, demanding, and require cooperation. It's not enough to ease the pain of progression compared to modern MMOs yet it is still too much to ever replicate what the game was originally like. I am well aware of the fondly remembered original experience but I don't think I'd personally ever want that. It was a punishing time sink that gave people who, at the time, had the time, great memories. Now, it asks far too much from new players like myself compared to what it gives back.

If you're a newcomer like I was. If you want to play every FF game. If your sole goal is to simply see all the story content. I can't recommend this to people like me. There is no breezing through the story content. You will have to dig in fairly deep and engage with much of FFXI to get to the end. There are some fantastic stories and characters in this game. Some among the best in the series. Playing the game to see that is more engaging than watching it all on YouTube especially because none of it is voiced. I am not someone who could've enjoyed the story as much if I just read it. With no break from the dialogue, no area or battle music, and no atmosphere to soak in. Yet I can't deny this is a matter of tens of hours vs hundreds. And I don't think the time investment justifies the returns you get. Mainly because I find playing the game to be the least fun part. It hurts me to say that because there is a lot to love about Vana'diel. Yet even with the quality of life updates, FFXI is an archaic game that will frustrate a new player who only wants to see the story.

If you're still committed to seeing this story unfold before a potential shutdown then I offer a few bits of advice. First, try and find some fans to play with who share your goal. The company improves the absurd amount of time you'll spend traveling, leveling, and farming drops. Second, don't be afraid to ask for help in-game. Much of this game is soloable now with the help of NPC party members but the more human players, the lower the barrier to clear some of the harder story content becomes. You will inevitably hit a wall, but when my group stopped being stubborn and gave a shout for help, it came instantly. It's a social game, don't be afraid to ask. Lastly, use a guide. This game needs it, especially if you're going to be efficient

an mmo that levels you down if you die. would be kino if it wasn't for the asinine grind and awful raids

and wasn't final fantasy

[HorizonXI private server] like 2000 hours and counting... truly an evil game

I have played this game until level 50 and I still love the way it is designed. It is not an MMORPG for everyone, but for people who enjoy more involved quests, better stories and more nuanced classes in their MMORPGs, this is the game for you, even if the gameplay can feel antiquated in some regards.

writing this review as of defeating the shadow lord in the nation missions and achieving rank 6

interesting experience lol. ff14 content drought and the incoming vanadiel raids have had me curious, and so here i am.

gameplay is interesting, its nothing like your typical mmo gameplay. its an attempt to convert traditional final fantasy atb gameplay into an open multiplayer mmo format, and it ends up being kind of cool. unfortunately due to how progression in this game works atm, i honestly don't know much about properly playing the game despite having beaten the initial final boss. npc "trust" avatar npcs carry you through much of the combat while progressing in this game and in my case, my beastmaster pets have picked up damage where the trust npcs could not. my actual playable character isn't doing much, and i assume that isn't really going to change until i hit the level cap at endgame. obviously, this makes for a less engaging experience in gameplay than the sister final fantasy mmo, and 14 already gets criticism for an unengaging gameplay loop at lower levels.

story is very mmo-y here lol. the nation missions are very basic and don't really start picking up emotional stakes until about the last second, but of course thats not really what the "story" is here. the story is how you explore the world, discover the game, meet people and make friends, etc. that being said i am hoping the expansions will have more of a traditional rpg story to offer like 14 does. as it happens i've already made some headway in chains of promathia and rhapsodies of vana'diel, due to how progression works here. the game doesn't really want you to move through expansions one after another, but rather open them up in bits and pieces to unlock stuff from them as needed. which is kind of an interesting way to do things given that the actual stories here are told in their release order.

funniest thing to me has been the timeline issues between the nation missions and the rhapsodies of vanadiel missions. the rhapsodies missions are intended to be played asap to help facilitate early progression, but the story within them assumes you have completed at least the nation missions. lion and zeid are introduced within these missions as your trusted allies, but of course you do not actually go through the scenes of meeting them until the last nation missions of the base game, where zeid in particular treats you like a stranger. feel like these rhapsodies "catch-up" missions could have had storylines that better suit the point in the game at which you are intended to play them?

the music is nice and the game looks nice too, its really nice just being in this world and getting to explore it. if not for "the vibes" i'd probably find this a lot less engaging.

on to rise of the zilart!

oh and general protip, level thief to 15 as a support job option. treasure hunter is a godsend to have when you need it.

I own the complete edition for the 360 but those servers are defunct. Collector's item.

Played back in the day and absolutely loved it nowadays I don't remember much of it.

Reviewing just the base game, it has definitely aged but there's a pretty solid game under here. It requires a lot of guidance but I appreciate its take on trying to literally be an online version of Final Fantasy. The plot in the base game is pretty average but I can see hints through RoV that it will get better. Trust system is alright but would be nice if it was more persistent between zones. Getting mounts was a must.

ughh, i played some more and now i like it more, but the clunkyness uuugh its just so clunkyyyyyy uuuuuuuuurgh

how can a game with this many anti-features be THIS DAMN GOOD

(note this rating is for FFXI's classic era, played on HorizonXI)

One of the best MMO's I have played in my life. Had an absolute blast playing this with friends during its peak years back in 2002-2008. I still casually play and enjoy every minute. Chains of Promathia is one of my Top 3 story lines for all of Final Fantasy series.

this game ended up being a lot more work to get into than i have time for atm... its incredibly charming and im a fan of so much it has going on but i am definitely not in the "old mmo" headspace right now

I spent most of December 2023 playing through the first main act of this game (Up until Shadow Lord basically) and my thoughts on this are just like... Wow. This game is old, clunky, grindy, has stupid systems, the story is just average and it really does look like a PS2 game. With all of this you might think wow you don't like this game but no... I actually think all of that serves to make an experience that is filled with so much soul and love and care, it is like every little design choice and every little annoyance serves to just enhance this game and propel it further and further. I loved exploring Vana'diel and spending hours just wandering around the big landscapes fighting like bugs and lizards while listening to the absolutely fantastic soundtrack. Final Fantasy XI is all ambiance and it exceeds in that. I think objectively Final Fantasy XIV is the better game but this game is very very special in its own right. If you only have experiences with XIV, play this, there is a lot to love here.

Awful UI design with navigation that requires a google search just to know what to press to get to basic actions etc. Awful login process that requires you to add exceptions to your firewall if you use a modern computer because square cant be bothered to make a proper port. Dead game in itself and when you start it youre thrown into the world with little explenation and nothing to do. Wandered around for a bit but lost interest after like 4 hours. This was clearly meant to be played in its time and has no place in todays age especially when you got better MMOs out there like FF14.

Maybe my favorite MMO?

Not the one I've spent the most time in - that's World of Warcraft, Destiny 2, Warframe, or FF14 - but I think about the world of Vana'Diel surprisingly often. Iconic locations, slow-burn story, esoteric mechanics, and best played without a mouse.

after having a gay old time installing the game (and actually enjoying browsing playonline), the game crashed on me on the character creation. then when i was starting to play it it crashed again and got stuck in a crash loop there. i looked for a solution for hours to no avail then decided to recreate my character Speedboat (female hume). then the game started actually working but it's crashed twice more even with the dx8 wrapper things and whatever. lol. will update in the comments as i go, i really like the mood and aesthetic but it's really fucken slow so far and the menu navigation is kinda hilariously overstuffed. still think i could end up loving this one but we'll see

Man, there is so much SOUL in this game. Everything from the themes, the immersive world, the nostalgic visuals and the enchanting music, to the heartwarming interactions and overcoming challenges together, all resonate with a special magic that evokes strong feelings of nostalgia and fondness in me. It's all part of the unique charm that makes FFXI feel like an adventure.

Writing this while on a boat to Selbina, hiding from the rain, surrounded by fog, and enjoying the atmosphere with other players. I don't know of any other game that has something like this. There's a reason why tens of thousands of people are still playing FFXI years later. There's just nothing else like it.

Thanks to the private servers we still get to experience this fascinating world called Vana'diel the way it was meant to be experienced.

Who thought it was a good idea to lose XP upon death? Not like souls games, but already earned XP.

I have tried to get into this game a few times, and whether you play on a private server or the official ones, I think Final Fantasy XI is just at a state where the die-hard fans are keeping it alive and not much of anybody else. I will probably still boot up Horizon every now and again just to gallivant about and explore the world. I just want to say that I really appreciate everything this game does and I'm sure that if I could have played it when it was new, it would have been a life-changing experience. This is definitely one of the cooler MMOs out there, and I think I'd still be playing FFXIV today if it had retained some of XI's more interesting ideas.


FF11 was a decent early MMO if you ignore that dying makes you level down. I personally quit because you can't alt tab on PC without crashing the game. Any MMO that forces you to actually play the MMO is bad.

Playing this as a first time player in 2023 is challenging, but once you get past the extremely obtuse onboarding there's an enjoyable experience here. This is my second MMO ever, and while it's very outdated I respect a lot of the design philosophies here. That doesn't mean I like them, but I respect them.

The best way I can describe FFXI is that it is a very literal translation of the classic FF experience into an online game with a focus on immersion, with all the pros and cons that come with that. Combat isn't interesting until you're nearly at level cap, and even then it's slow, zones are huge and a chore to navigate until you get mounts and learn how to efficiently warp, and the interface is incredibly clunky and slow. But I did really enjoy how dungeons feel in this game. They feel pulled right out of FF games of the era. Especially coming from this as XIV player, where dungeons are extremely linear and formulaic, getting to the end of a dungeon in XI felt like an accomplishment.

The plot of the base game is nothing special but I don't think that's the point. The appeal of the game is exploring the world, connecting with other players, and overcoming challenges together. Of course I didn't get to experience that aspect of the game but I can imagine how cool it would have been to experience in 2004. But in 2004 I was 11 years old playing Crystal Chronicles on the other console.

Its easier than ever to get into this game. I solo'd all of the original vanilla storyline with no issues. It also made going through Castle Zhval really fun and very final dungeon-esque. The story is very barebones until the final vanilla mission and the RotZ plotline, which you can now start at your own leisure, though I would recommend doing Rhapsodies of Vana'Diel simultaneously so you can get the benefits of cheaper teleports/more trusts out/etc. The story also works well in that aspect.

I'd still prefer a singleplayer/diablo-esque remake, or another form of preserving this game rather than keeping it in the way its currently available, but it does a lot to make itself accessible.

Je serai incapable de donner une note à ce jeu. C'est vraiment la définition du MMO old-school. Je pense que j'aurai kiffé à l'époque de sa sortie, mais aujourd'hui il est beaucoup trop laborieux sans soluce et il faut vraiment s'investir à fond dedans, ce qui n'a pas grand intérêt quand aujourd'hui il existe de meilleurs MMO comme FF14.