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4/18/2010 9:13:37 PM
Final Fantasy XIV: FFXI to FFXIV
Love it or hate it, Final Fantasy Eleven has been out and going strong for eight years (six years for US players). The first MMO incarnation of the Final Fantasy series, Eleven had some major expectations to live up to amongst its legions of followers. Originally launching with only a limited number of classes, it has now expanded to a whopping twenty class system. The game has had its ups and downs like all MMOs of its time, however FFXI has always remained steadfast in its niche. With Square Enix now on the cusp of their beta stages we must ask ourselves, why a part two?

People have always joked that the series title was a play on itself, "How can they say it's a FINAL fantasy if there are so many of them?" Fans of the series will always argue, "Because each game is its own story!" This however, is becoming more of a convoluted statement with each game released lately. With endless spinoffs to popular games in the series now sprouting out of every direction, fans are hard-pressed to stick to their guns. The question now resounds, "Why not just make this an expansion to FFXI instead of calling it FFXIV if you are already using the same world?" Players have been debating this endlessly since fourteen was announced, but should we see this as a big deal? If we already saw games like FFX-2 become popular as spin-off, stand alone titles, then why should giving this game a new number be any different? It's all in the lore and game-play for me; if Square Enix can convince me that this is indeed a new world to explore, then I'm sold.
Just for an example, let's compare these two games to the Jurassic Park movies (one and two only however, we just don't talk about number three). The first movie is what caused people to become enthralled with the idea, it allowed audiences to become exposed to this new fantastical world. Viewers met interesting and quirky characters, and they developed their initial opinions on the movie itself. Then The Lost World came out, this movie was in the same universe but with key differences. First and possibly most noticeably, there was no Sam Jackson in the second movie! The other two main characters from the movie, Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler, were also missing in action. They did however keep the ever-awkward Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm, and we also got to see Vince Vaughn as Nick Van Owen (we also got Julianne Moore but we won't talk about that either).
Here is where the debate comes into play. In almost every case, you will have people in your life that either love the first movie and dislike the second, and vice-versa. There will also always be people that have no preference and enjoy both. In the case of the Final Fantasy Online games,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], some players will stay die hard to Eleven even if they try Fourteen,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and others will be the direct opposite. Some players will even keep both subscriptions active because they see the pull from both ends.
The games' developers have made it sound like they are working on tools to make the transition for FFXI players as painless as possible. According to a recent developer Q and A session in Dengeki magazine1, players will not be too overwhelmed with the changes that have been made to the game thus far. While they have tried to make improvements to the systems by changing some things around, such as their supposed switch to a hotbar system instead of their old macro system, they wanted to remain true to the soul of their game play. We are hearing whispers of subjobs still being in the game, but the validity of these statements remains to be seen. The new battle system that plays an intricate part of the game has been met with mainly positive reviews from all that have seen it. We have heard that it has managed to retain its sense of complexity, while making the flow of battle seem more fluid and natural.
All of us have heard the hype and by now, have read all that we can from what's been released from the developers. I wanted to get some player perspectives however, so I went to some friends for their opinions on the matter and asked them, "How do you think FFXIV will affect FFXI?" I received mixed answers from everyone; some thought that FFXIV was going to cater to more of a western audience being that it was rumored to be more solo friendly. Others stated that they felt FFXI was going to retain their eastern market being that they are more inclined to enjoy retro gaming. This to me brought up an interesting point; will players react to this new, more polished version of Final Fantasy Online in the same way that the community reacted to the 3D version of Ultima Online? Personally, I don't think that updating the graphics and the code are going to negatively effect this game in the slightest. Some players however feel differently; once a certain type of player has gotten used to their game and how they like things,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], change can be a difficult and sometimes impossible obstacle for them to tackle.
For a more in depth view on the question of how will the old affect the new, I sat down with my friend Ganen from the Bismark server and asked him how he felt.
MMORPG.com:

How do you think that FFXIV will affect FFXI?
Ganen:

Probably population loss first and foremost. I think that a lot of FFXI players will want to at least try FFXIV out when it launches, but if it's too different I think most people will go back to eleven. I think only the biggest fans of eleven will stay and the people who can support having both subscriptions. Other than that, like most games, if people don't like the new one they will return to their old game.

MMORPG.com:

you feel that the western audience will be more inclined to go to fourteen and that the eastern audience will stay with eleven?
Ganen:

No I don't think that it will matter, at least I don't believe that fourteen is being designed for more of a western audience.
MMORPG.com:

Do you think that it is being westernized in the sense that fourteen is being rumored to have more solo content and a finite number of classes at launch?
Ganen:

Not really, I think it's just a design principle stemming from the MMO's that are current in today's market. They want to make the game more appealing to everyone, or at least to the average player regardless of which market they are from. They want to make money in the end and as for the less classes at the start, eleven launched with only a few classes and now it has a ton of options so I'm not worried about variety.
MMORPG.com:

So you think they are taking a more broad approach to their design rather than focusing on niche gaming?
Ganen:

Absolutely, from what I've seen and heard anyway. That's why I think eleven won't have much trouble, because of the hardcore players who like eleven due to the fact that it is brutal and tough on you. They will go back to it if fourteen is too easy and hands you everything. I hope they take a lot of the design elements from eleven and keep them in mind, otherwise I don't think I'll enjoy the game. I have at least some faith in the company however.
MMORPG.com:

What do you like / dislike about fourteen vs. eleven?
Ganen:

Well for one, fourteen has better graphics and coding for it. The reason that I initially quit eleven was because my high end computer couldn't run the game well because of the poor coding. It was also a console port from Playstation Two so hopefully FFXIV will have some PC design elements in it. I just really hope that they keep the subjob system in place, that was the best class system that I've ever played and eleven pulled it off very well.
MMORPG.com:

Are you disappointed with the possibility of having to use a hotbar instead of the original macro system?
Ganen:

No and yes, the simplicity of a hotbar is awesome but the customization of the macro system was pretty great as well. Being able to slot your abilities into a bar and then quickly bind them to your keys will be sweet, I'm definitely looking forward to that. I just hope they do have some kind of macro making system in the background, unless you won't need to gear-change, etc.
MMORPG.com:

Do you think this will alienate some of the players or will it be widely adopted?
Ganen:

I don't think it's such a big issue really, most players will either say it's meh, or awesome. I think they will play the game regardless. I just don't see it being a major decision maker for most; the gameplay will decide that.
MMORPG.com:

What do you think is the biggest sore spot amongst veteran players in regards to FFXVI right now?
Ganen:

The possible "easiness" of the game from what I've heard about it. If there are private instances, that will be a killer for a bunch of people. One of the best things about eleven was being able to go to a zone, see other people there, fight for spots, and fight for mobs. If the game is all instances and privatized, the game will feel less like an MMO and more like a single player game with a chat box.
MMORPG.com:

What do you feel FFXIV has to do right in order to be a good successor for FFXI?
Ganen:

Port a lot of the qualities off of eleven and don't try to change the formula too much. If they just improve upon the rest and don't make the game too watered down, it will be successful.
Thanks to Ganen for his insight into this topic. Since the game is still very much under wraps in regards to information, we can only speculate how things will turn out. With beta hopefully just around the corner, I'd like to pose the same question to you the players. How do you think FFXIV will affect FFXI?