When one thinks of the RPG genre, the first name that comes to mind is Final Fantasy. In 20 years, the series went from an obscure title from a company on the brink of extinction to one of the most decorated franchises in video game history. Each iteration and spin off has introduced gamers to new worlds, characters and stories that have the ability to hook gamers time and time again. With the next game in the series, Final Fantasy XIII, quickly approaching, let's take a look back at the evolution of the series that put RPG's and Square on the map.

After Final Fantasy X made so many changes to the system that had gamers had become so accustomed to, it was hard to believe that the next game in the series would make those alterations to the system look like mild tweaks. Rumors had surfaced of a Final Fantasy massively multiplayer online role playing game, (or MMORPG,) but nobody would have imagined that it would be the next official release in the storied franchise. Final Fantasy XI debut on the PS2 and PC bundled with the removable hard drive that Sony had promised would be the next evolution of the Playstation experience, and introduced many console gamers to guilds, questing, partying up with real people and the joys of paying a monthly subscription fee. Many Final Fantasy purists do their best to discount XI as not being a true entry in the main series, but it doesn’t change the fact that it lives up to the standards of the series in many ways.

FFXI takes place in the world of Vana’diel, a place that was rumored to have been created as a sort of playground for the gods, but eventually got split apart and overrun with monsters. In this world, five races were born, Humes, Elvaan, Galka, Tarutaru and Mithra. The world is split into different sections with their own kingdoms, customs and needs. This is where the player comes in, and selects one of the five races and their job. Each race is better suited for different job types, and much like the job system in the past games, players can choose between different classic classes, such as being a thief, white, black or red mage, warrior or monk. Completing missions advances the standing of the kingdom that the player selects, but recruiting a party of players to help with the quests is the only way to complete most of the later tasks.

MMORPG’s revolve around being social with the other gamers occupying the world, and FFXI is no exception. Being able to create a party of up to 5, players share items, rewards and experience as quests are completed and monsters are defeated. Because of the new play style, EXP points make their return, but random battles are replaced with on screen enemies that can be engaged at nearly any point. Teamwork is vital for survival, so it always helps to have a variety of races and classes to be prepared for any situation. As levels are gained, sub-jobs can be learned to enhance the abilities of a character, and once level 30 is achieved, a new set of jobs can be used. Of course, switching jobs doesn’t let you carry over your levels, so you can be a level 50 warrior and a level 5 ninja. Be prepared to spend a lot of time in order to see everything the game has to offer.

Despite the change in genre, XI does its best to retain some of the standout Final Fantasy features. Familiar creatures can still be summoned, nearly all of the selectable jobs have appeared in previous games and recognizable monsters are scattered throughout the world. A form of the ATB battle system returns, where players can move freely while their attack bar filled up, and chocobos and moogles return as the series mascots. A large amount of side quests and main missions found in each kingdom expand on the experience of the game on top of the story, and it becomes very rewarding to take down a seemingly impossible enemy with a strong group. Numerous expansions have extended the life span of the game, adding many more unique features, abilities and stories. Most notably is the Tarutaru professor Shantotto, a legendary mage who was popular enough to represent the game in different forms such as in Dissidia: Final Fantasy. Despite the fun characters and game play, the game still had many problems that some fans have yet to forgive.

Even for frequent MMORPG players, FFXI proved to be a daunting task to take up. The genre has somewhat of a time suck reputation, but this game seemed to be the king of stealing away your real life. Getting missions accomplished takes an excessively long time to do, and the strongest skills, abilities and jobs aren’t obtained until at least 20 to 30 hours in. The game is very unfriendly to new players, who will be lucky if they can get through the beginning parts of the game without becoming overwhelmed and frustrated. If you’re lucky enough to find a veteran who will help you learn the ropes, (thanks, thelaughingman!) the fun really begins after that first full day of growing pains. Even then, the strict guild system, level up system and item storage system adds to the potential roadblocks, and the lack of direction can make it very hard to find what to do. The time investment is great while the rewards can be few and far between, (making a guide your best friend,) but those who are willing to invest the time required to really get into the game won’t be disappointed. It’s not like Square isn’t looking out for you either. They give you a disclaimer “reminding” you to eat, drink, sleep, go outside and talk to real people once in a while.

Despite so many potential deterrents, Final Fantasy XI is extremely popular. With over 2 million characters created, annual conventions held around the world, re-releases on the Xbox 360 and a still thriving community almost eight years after it was released, it’s hard to argue that the game was a success. While some fans might dismiss this game as a black sheep or bastard child of the series, the popularity of the game along with some of the traditions that have been carried over make it a worthy entry to the prestigious Final Fantasy name, Square seems to agree considering that the upcoming Final Fantasy XIV is continuing Square’s MMORPG ventures. Non-multiplayer fans breathed a sigh of relief when Final Fantasy XII was announced, but little did they know that it would end up becoming the most controversial game in the series yet.