

What's the battle system like? Early reports point to a hybrid of the good-ole FF system and something more Everquesty. It all sounds quite promising, yet many questions linger. That way, your Monk can learn a few white magic spells on the side. In addition to your main Job, you can assume a secondary class. Old-school Final Fantasy fans will swoon with nostalgia-classes include Fighter, Monk, Thief, White Mage, Red Mage and Black Mage, just like in the original NES game. More importantly, you can select a character class for your hero. In addition to selecting from among multiple races (see sidebar), you'll be able to customize the appearance of your alter ego with clothing and hairstyles. Plot details remain sketchy, but we've scavenged some character-creation information. Like these titles, FFXI boasts a persistent world in which a great number of players can talk, fight and quest together. PC gamers spend oodles of money and time on MMORPGs like Everquest, With this game, Square transforms its flagship series into a MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game). Will even more change prove to be better? FFXI doesn't simply alter the Final Fantasy formula-it utterly reinvents it.

Remember when we had to wait at least a year or two between sequels? These days, Square's on the ball-both FFX! and FFXII are in the works, and we might even be experiencing the former by year's end.Ĭhange is good, as the many successful tweaks to standard RPG-dom in FFX prove. It's odd to be talking about Final Fantasy XI so soon after the release of FFX.
