Why did you start playing FFXI?

[lowkey]

I had a gift certificate, and Media Play didn't have anything else that interested me that day. I didn't like the idea of a pay to play game, but it came with the free month trial, and I figured I'd surely be able to beat the game within that amount of time.

[Dragen]

My roommate at the time was playing the Japanese version and it had piqued my interest for when the NA version was released. I'm still playing 7 years later but he left for WoW and never returned.

[bungiefan]

I started in 2002, while taking college Japanese classes. I thought it would be a practical way to practice the language, and there were a bunch of importers that spoke English organizing to all be on the Ragnarok server. Homework and work kept me too busy to play as often as I wanted though, and I didn't get above level 12 before American release of the game.

I also got it because it was the only way to play an MMO, since all I had were game consoles and a Macintosh from 1995. I wouldn't have played any MMO if FFXI hadn't have been released on PS2.

[sungaga]

ive been playing final fantasy since no8 came out many years ago and played it since came to ffxi as a beta tester for the xbox

[Avidon]

My cousin and I were working on our FF10 files at the time when he found a website promoting the release of this game. He was interested, and I made fun of it, thinking it was a stupid idea. We both buy it months later. He hated it. I stuck to it, reminding myself that it's a FF game and that I must have faith in it, and that faith has rewarded me oh so nicely.

[MrWigglles]

I joined because I am not only addicted to Final Fantasy games, but b/c I needed an escape from the drama of real life for a short period of time.

You escaped real life drama and joined the FFXI drama. mmk.

I was dooped by Sony. Pre-ordered the ps2 hdd because Sony said it would have a Media player and a bunch of other features when it launched. By the time it launched all the extra features had been removed and it was just ffxi on the hdd. Played the free 30 day trial then canceled. Tried it again a few months later and stuck with it.

[Gwynplaine]

I started because I wanted to make sure I played it through, as a FF completionist I guess. With single player console games you can always go back and just play it anytime years later. But with an MMO you know that some day you won't be able to have that chance. So I got into it to make sure I could experience the game while it lasted.

Also part of what interested me was how little I knew about it. FFXI got next to NO attention in any gaming magazine at the time (the internet was still building up). The only info I had was a single EGM review, and the weekly articles "Milkman" wrote in GMR. So I had to find out for myself.

[Amerlyn]

You escaped real life drama and joined the FFXI drama. mmk.

Lol, yah. But at least with FFXI drama i can /ignore or just hit the power button. RL I have to find a corner and hope it doesn't find me. =p

[rog]

It was a final fantasy game.

[cidbahamut]

I spent a summer searching for a decent MMO and nothing really clicked for me until after I'd given up my search and a friend suggested we try FFXI. It was pretty out of the blue but I figured, sure, why not?

Nearly two years later I'm still here and my friend is long gone from Vana'diel.