Eorzean Evening Post: Celebrating Final Fantasy XI in Final Fantasy XIV .

Last week, we saw the much-awaited Final Fantasy XIV patch 3.1 finally release. Oh man, it wasn’t a moment too soon, either! There’s a ton to talk about in this patch, and I bet you thought I was going to write about it this week, didn’t you? Well, I’m not. The reason being, I think I need to take a bit of time to digest all the content that dropped on us, and a few days is not enough for me to formulate my thoughts and opinions.

So, instead, I want to talk about Final Fantasy XI, and how, for me, it is so very relevant to why I’m now playing Final Fantasy XIV. Not to mention it’s relevant due to The Maiden’s Rhapsody limited time event that is paying homage to FFXI in FFXIV and began on November 11.

 

The Final Chapter

So what’s all the fuss about? Why is there a special event for FFXI in FFXIV? We’ve seen these cross-over events in the past, usually linking to a special release in another SE game, such as Lightning Returns.

A Journey to Remember celebrates a time that is both exciting and sad. The very same day as patch 3.1 dropped in FFXIV, the final chapter of the Rhapsodies of Vana’diel released in FFXI. This is a three chapter series that marks the ultimate conclusion of the main scenario storyline in FFXI. After this, after all these years, the world’s story ends. Forever.

The game that was released in Japan in 2002, with an English release in 2004, saw five expansion packs and six add-on scenarios through its life. The Rhapsodies of Vana’diel story seeks to reach through all of the vast history of Vana’diel and tie it together with major characters showing up and the nostalgia you’ve come to expect from Final Fantasy MMO.

If that doesn’t deserve a special event in FFXI’s younger sibling, I don’t know what does. It’s obvious that while the two games are very different, a FFXIV’s foundation took a lot of inspiration from FFXI. It’s also relevant to FFXIV’s players, many who may be playing FFXIV due to having played FFXI in the past.

I am one of those players. I wouldn’t be playing FFXIV if it wasn’t for FFXI. How did that come to be? Well, let me tell you a story.

 

Getting Personal

I don’t want to delve too much into my past and gaming life, but a little history is required to spin this tale. I fell in love with JRPGs when I first discovered games such as the original Final Fantasy (NES) and Final Fantasy IV (known as FFII on SNES). Because of this, all the nostalgia for older Final Fantasy games that the developers pack into FFXIV really hits home, and is one of the things that delights me.

Over the years, I kept up with single player FF games as much as I could. I was a big fan of FFVI, and thought that FFVII was pretty good (sorry, folks, FFIV will still be my first love). But in my early college years, I was also branching out into the vast new world of the Internet with these MMOs… such as Ultima Online.

So, it was only natural that I’d gravitate to a game that would mesh my two loves – a Final Fantasy MMO. It seemed like it was perfect. How exciting to become and develop the black mage or white mage or dragoon, like the characters I played in my favorite single player Final Fantasy.

Only, it wasn’t to be.

 

Struggling with Final Fantasy XI

I’m a shy player in MMOs. I wouldn’t go as far to say that I’m anti-social, but I like to be able to play a game independently when I don’t have much time to log in and get things done. In a case of “it’s not you, it’s me,” FFXI really did not fit the type of MMO player I am.

I picked up FFXI fairly close to US release, so all of my memories of this game were of a time when everything needed to be achieved with a party. Even the smallest trash mobs could destroy a solo player once you got past the starter area and beyond level 10. Or, if you could solo them, they had to be much weaker than you and worth a pittance in experience gain.

Important things, such as the sub-job quest and earning your chocobo, required group assistance. I struggled to get to level 20 the best I could, and couldn’t even begin to think about unlocking advanced classes or come anywhere near artifact armor that the higher levels wore.

While I heard that FFXI is no longer that way, back then, if you didn’t have a group, or wasn’t a part of a linkpearl, you simply couldn’t progress. That’s not even mentioning the time sinks the game had built in – just travelling and finding a group could take a long time.

These old-skool elements may be what charmed many players to Vana’diel, and I’m not knocking that style of play. I had school and I had work, so a game that demanded that much time and dedication didn’t mesh with my lifestyle. I eventually had to give it up. It hurt – I had so many unrealized dreams, so many adventures I knew I’d never see.

But that’s where Final Fantasy XIV filled the gap for me.

 

Finding a Home in Eorzea

I didn’t play FFXIV during the 1.0 release. I heard too many dubious things about it, and I was likely playing other games at the time. I knew SE was remaking FFXIV after it was closed down in 1.0, but I hardly paid it any attention. I had no thoughts of picking the game up as I was somewhat entrenched on the F2P path at the time.

Then, when A Realm Reborn came about, I started hearing people talking. They were saying quite positive things about FFXIV, a game I’d mostly heard negativity about previously. As time went on, I heard more and more good things until I started to get curious.

Remembering my experiences and struggles in FFXI, I started to do some research. I discovered, to my surprise, that FFXIV was far more solo-able and much more casual than the previous MMO. For the record, there is still forced grouping in dungeons, but most of the leveling experience can be done just fine on your own.

I thought about all the things I could never accomplish in FFXI. Getting a chocobo mount. Getting that artifact hat with the fancy feather for my Red Mage. Unlocking Dragoon.

A game I had no intention to play was suddenly on my radar in a big way. As soon as they started selling the game again (at launch, the demand was so big and the servers struggled so much, they actually stopped selling FFXIV for a while), I picked it up.

Since then? Not only have I accomplished all the unrealized dreams I had in Vana’diel… but I’ve gone so far beyond that! I had no idea that over two years later, I’d still be subbed to FFXIV, running a Free Company, playing and enjoying the game, and even writing this very column!

 

The Maiden’s Rhapsody

I may not have a long history with FFXI, but I still respect what that game brought to MMO players. I know that a number of people in my FC still look back on their time in FFXI and admit that they came to FFXIV because of their memories of Vana’diel.

That’s why I feel that the current event, The Maiden’s Rhapsody, is probably the most relevant cross-game event that FFXIV has hosted. While I’m not familiar with the FFXI characters that appear in this event, taking part in the FFXI-themed FATEs with the FFXI battle music really took me back. I hadn’t heard that song in years!

The event does require your character to be at least level 30 to participate. It begins at the Inn in Limsa and sends you out to various areas where you undertake a number of level 30 FATEs. These FATEs could be somewhat tricky to solo unless you have the gear to do it. So, if you have a lower-level character, you should probably get it done while the event is still fresh. The reward is a really nifty set of cosmetic armor, and it’s all fairly quick to finish.

There’s plenty of time to get into the event as it last until Thursday, December 31, 2015. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy all that patch 3.1 brings!