Tweet
I played at NA release, left for some other games (wow included) and am now back. I want to say that I'm here because FFXI brings something that I can't get with any other MMO, something substantially different. I just can't put my finger on what it is.
In discussions of the "next big mmo revolution" there are a lot of things bantered about. A lot of things that FFXI doesn't do. The leveling is slow. Farming is a requirement if you want even decent gear. Death penalties come in the form of xp loss and the kind you can actually level down from. It's an older game with older ideas. Very wave 1.5, you can see the EQ1 shining through.
That being said, it's different. I've played a ton of MMOs back to Meridian59 and it all feels the same. Rathunter 3D. Even up to WoW and some of the closed beta products out there, it is still the same "Get Quest. Kill Stuff. Get Reward" or "Mass Murder till Ding" mechanics. I'm installing SotNW today but I expect more of the same. You also see similar mechanics in FFXI. So what is it that sets this game apart from the others?
Looking at combat, there's a lock-on camera that makes fights feel more cinematic. I can see an immediate difference when I unlock. It feels more game and less of an experience as soon as I click the button. There are also skillchains. Extremely rewarding from, if nothing else, a visual level. You really feel the teamwork when a series of skills drop followed by a successful MB. The reward is easily seen, both in the fight and simply on screen. This is totally the opposite of a game like LOTRO, whose combat is the lowest of hack-and-slash drudgery.
Outside of combat you have cutscenes, big and small. I feel much, much more immersed in any quest I do where the npc is talking to me, not just feeding me text. AC2 had something similar but nowhere near as polished and including as you see in FFXI. It's something totally ignored in any other game I've seen and FFXI gets you into it from the second you roll up as a new player.
I can't say that the world is new, because it isn't. Instanced zones full of generic wildlife are old hat. The variation in the races isn't a big thing because most games have something similar. I do, however, see the job system as a big standout. Barring buttersheep subs and still-existing job prejudices, there's a lot of variety. And, since it's all attached to one character, a real feeling of permanence and growth. Similar to EVE, where most people focus on one main and maybe a mule, FFXI really builds a feeling of life around a single entity. All other MMOs I've played tend to favor feeding alts as a way to give content but the problem with that is that you need to redo all of your old quest content to get anywhere. FFXI happily skips a lot of that, with the exception of subjob level grinds. That, like the other games, can be mitigated by just leveling somewhere different. If you're willing to suffer slow soloing or are lucky enough to have a partner.
So what is it? Is it the combat cam, renkei, cutscenes and jobs or is there something else I'm missing entirely?
Or am I just being nostalgic? Is it because I know the game and love what I do about it that is letting me ignore the generic EQ1-standard drudgery that's keeping me out of so many other games?
Serious design questions, all. No fanboy flag waving, if it can be avoided.
In discussions of the "next big mmo revolution" there are a lot of things bantered about. A lot of things that FFXI doesn't do. The leveling is slow. Farming is a requirement if you want even decent gear. Death penalties come in the form of xp loss and the kind you can actually level down from. It's an older game with older ideas. Very wave 1.5, you can see the EQ1 shining through.
That being said, it's different. I've played a ton of MMOs back to Meridian59 and it all feels the same. Rathunter 3D. Even up to WoW and some of the closed beta products out there, it is still the same "Get Quest. Kill Stuff. Get Reward" or "Mass Murder till Ding" mechanics. I'm installing SotNW today but I expect more of the same. You also see similar mechanics in FFXI. So what is it that sets this game apart from the others?
Looking at combat, there's a lock-on camera that makes fights feel more cinematic. I can see an immediate difference when I unlock. It feels more game and less of an experience as soon as I click the button. There are also skillchains. Extremely rewarding from, if nothing else, a visual level. You really feel the teamwork when a series of skills drop followed by a successful MB. The reward is easily seen, both in the fight and simply on screen. This is totally the opposite of a game like LOTRO, whose combat is the lowest of hack-and-slash drudgery.
Outside of combat you have cutscenes, big and small. I feel much, much more immersed in any quest I do where the npc is talking to me, not just feeding me text. AC2 had something similar but nowhere near as polished and including as you see in FFXI. It's something totally ignored in any other game I've seen and FFXI gets you into it from the second you roll up as a new player.
I can't say that the world is new, because it isn't. Instanced zones full of generic wildlife are old hat. The variation in the races isn't a big thing because most games have something similar. I do, however, see the job system as a big standout. Barring buttersheep subs and still-existing job prejudices, there's a lot of variety. And, since it's all attached to one character, a real feeling of permanence and growth. Similar to EVE, where most people focus on one main and maybe a mule, FFXI really builds a feeling of life around a single entity. All other MMOs I've played tend to favor feeding alts as a way to give content but the problem with that is that you need to redo all of your old quest content to get anywhere. FFXI happily skips a lot of that, with the exception of subjob level grinds. That, like the other games, can be mitigated by just leveling somewhere different. If you're willing to suffer slow soloing or are lucky enough to have a partner.
So what is it? Is it the combat cam, renkei, cutscenes and jobs or is there something else I'm missing entirely?
Or am I just being nostalgic? Is it because I know the game and love what I do about it that is letting me ignore the generic EQ1-standard drudgery that's keeping me out of so many other games?
Serious design questions, all. No fanboy flag waving, if it can be avoided.
Comment