TLDR: "14 and 11 at the same time? Are you CRAZY?!?"
Yes, I must be crazy. Insane. Deranged. Unhinged. But when it really comes down to it...I think I've really missed Final Fantasy.
It all started back in '95 that one night I rented FF2/4j, and ended up playing an 8pm-4am marathon. No doubt I was hooked on RPGs in general, and Final Fantasy in particular, following the series to the Playstations.
But when XI appeared, I hesitated. Not only did it have a higher hardware requirement (plus internet connectivity), but it also required the scary concept of playing with *gulp* other people...LOTS of other people. < So I skipped it, as I imagine many others did.
It wouldn't be until 2009 that I would FINALLY try the MMORPG genre via World of Warcraft, and finally caught on to its appeal. At some point during the years following, I did try FFXI as a trial, but it looked (and played) rather archaic compared to WoW, and just didn't do it for me. (Having gotten used to keyboard control - where XI is weak - really didn't help.) And soon XIV would appear, and we know how it started badly. Not that I minded; at the time there was still a lot in WoW for me to discover.
But then this last year...
A Realm Reborn happened. The holiday pricing this last December happened. Me falling to its temptation happened. And after a long time - since WoW had swept aside FFXII - I was once again playing a Final Fantasy title that happened to be an MMO...and LOVING it.
"But what does this have to do with Final Fantasy XI?"
Well, the crossovers happened. The brickmen invaded from Dragon Quest X. And that crazy rhyming Shantotto with her crazy huge puppet invaded from FFXI. And seeing that just made me wonder about that OTHER FF MMO.
So...I did ANOTHER trial run for Final Fantasy XI, and this time I decided to play it with a controller "as nature intended".
And...I LIKE it.
Yes, it's still clunky and archaic. Yes, ARR has taken many of its concepts and presents then in a much smoother and polished manner. But it's still INTERESTING. And due to its age, there a LOT of content to discover, just as I experienced with WoW. Most of all, that fact that it requires more determination and time than its successor is not a roadblock...it actually makes me want to PLAY XI more than ARR to ensure it DOES get played!
So it has happened. WoW is earning a nice long well-earned vacation. In its place is not one but TWO Final Fantasy MMOs. It's good to be back in the series.
The name is Paestar. You might run into me on Carbuncle. Just...don't expect to see me at level cap for a while. It seems that there's 11 years worth of content that will require savoring.
p.s. I'm actually kind of glad DQX isn't released in English...otherwise I'd REALLY be in trouble.