Massively Multiplayer Online RPGs are better suited to the PC than consoles anyway

 December 7th, 2002 - Final Fantasy is back for the Personal Computer. After FFVII and FFVIII Square lost interest in developing their games for the platform. The games were designed for a console, so they never worked really well on a computer, and after seeing the poor sales of both of these games they decided not to develop FFIX or FFX for the PC at all.

PCs have always been preferred for one genre - and that is online gaming. Now that Square have brought their hit series online, it was natural that the PC would get a version of FFXI, and it was released in Japan a little less than a month ago.

The demand for FFXI for the PlayStation2 hasn't been as great as Square had expected, but bringing out the PC version has raised the popularity of the game. The company expects around 150,000 players to log on every day and play FFXI online.

Character designs are a lot more fantasy-based than those in FFX

The PC version of FFXI runs under the Windows operating system and is the first PC game developed by Square itself. (Yeah, that's right - Square didn't develop the PC versions of FFVII and FFVIII on their own.) They've already sold 50,000 copies of the PC version of FFXI in Japan, compared to the couple of hundred thousand PS2 copies there are. The Japanese have always preferred console gaming over the PC, so FFXI will probably become one of the hugest selling PC games over there.

Exactly when the game will arrive on the market in the USA and Europe isn't known yet, but the release is still on the schedule. Square believe that the success of FFXI in North America is important so the game can, on the whole, be called a "success".

Is your PC beefy enough? You might need a new hard disk...

FFXI PC Minimum Specs
Operating System: Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP
CPU: Intel Pentium III, 800Mhz (Pentium 4 Recommended)
Memory: 128MB RAM (256MB Recommended)
Graphics: DirectX8.1 compatible (GeForce 3 Recommended)
Sound: DirectX8.1 compatible
Hard Disk: 5GB Free
CD-ROM: 4X or Higher (32X Recommended)
Modem: 56k

So far the PC seems to require a lot of power to be able to run FFXI. Over 4GB of free space is also huge compared to what other games need. But nowadays when people have hard drives bigger than 40GB total, it might just work. On PlayOnline's website there also seems to be another version for Windows XP Professional that needs ever more power.

Direct Visual Comparison of PS2 and PC Versions

Comparing the PS2 and PC versions of FFXI, you can clearly see how the PC version looks better. It has more detail, it's sharper and has more vibrant colours. Playing FFXI on a PS2 still looks good because the lower resolution of a TV screen softens everything quite a lot, but the PC version of the game looks simply great.

In the game, the characters are the players and there is no linear storyline as in previous games. Also everyone is able to create a character of their liking. There are lots of different races and jobs to choose from...

Race: Human
City: Republic of Bastok
Humans are the overall good race of the game. They have no great advantages or disadvantages. Humans can acquire many different skills, but they can't specialise in anything as some other races can.

Race: Tarutaru
City: Federation of Windurst
Tarutarus are small and cute. They look a little like elves, just that they are smaller. This race specialises in using magic, but they are physically weak.

Race: Elvaan
City: Kingdom of San D'oria
Elves are tall and they have big ears. This race specialises in fighting and they are real masters in it, from martial arts to weapons. The downside is that they have no magic skills and are also weak against it in battles.

Race: Mithra
City: Federation of Windurst
Mithras are usually females and live as a minority in the city. Only females are allowed to travel outside and they're very good at natural science. Mithras resemble cats a little with their noses, ears and tails. Mithras are an important part of Windrust, helping in the rebuilding after the war that took place 20 years ago.

Race: Galka
City: Republic of Bastok
High stamina and strength. They also have no gender, because of their unique reproducing style.

The game takes place in a world called Vana'diel and besides the races there are many jobs that you can specialise in, like three kinds of mages, ranger, monk, warrior, and so on. Vana'diel is a mysterious world mixed with swords, magic and technology. In the past, Vana'diel had everything - all because of the magical Crystals that are the source of everything. Those who believed in the crystals believed in the light and they fought against the monsters of darkness, who destroyed the beautiful cities and turned Vana'diel into wasteland. Mankind fought against the darkness and with the help of crystals, the monsters of darkness disappeared.

20 years have passed since the war and people have forgotten how darkness had taken over the land once before. But the monsters of the darkness are back stronger than before... everything rests on the power of the crystals.