Short for Final Fantasy XI, a Massively Multi-
Player Online Role-Playing
Game (
MMORPG) developed by
Square-Enix in 2001. Follows several Final Fantasy 'guidelines' for
game design: in-depth storyline that takes much time to traverse and complete, detailed graphics, highly-recognizable music, chocobos, airships, and (of course) Cid.
FFXI is a monthly-payment
MMORPG and is constantly updated by the developer. Comparable to many other MMORPGs of this age, FFXI is somewhat inexpensive and is well-kept due to the monthly fee (if there was no playing fee, there would be no development/upkeep). According to the last report given by
Square-Enix, there were over 500,000 players active with over 1.
5 million characters by the third year of gameplay. Though several players have switched over to play other MMORPGs or have left the online
game-play world completely, there is near-constantly more players entering the realm of Vana'Diel.
Known for: ability to
change character jobs/classes without having to create a new character; having various tradeskills enabling players to create hundreds of items to sell/use; vast and graphical landscapes, underground areas, and building-type structures; various modes of transportation, including chocobo, airship, ferry, and teleportation; extremely long storyline in which players must undergo NPC-given missions to learn more about; and much more.
