FFXI is the most atmospheric, well-written, and unique computer-game of all time.

[Dihlyte]

Also, if you're "not here to argue," then you're not in the right place. By posting opinions on a forum, you open them up to be disputed (or agreed upon) by others. Your comments demonstrated a clear bias I felt obligated to dispute due to inaccuracies.
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I left feedback regarding FFXI (by agreeing with the original post) and further outlined why I think certain products did in fact fail, and why I am not pleased with new products being released by SE.

You are welcome to disagree all you like, but I'm not here to debate you.

I believe, and know the forums are used for leaving feedback and I would like to continue to focus on that, instead of responding to your replies that do not include feedback regarding any SE product.

I am sorry.

To try to bring the focus back to feedback I will add why I personally did not try FFXI sooner, a reason why SE might have not have seen greater success with FFXI earlier on.

I cannot speak for others, but in my example, and I am most certain that I am likely not the only person in this situation, I was simply too young to start playing FFXI at its release.

When FFXI released be that in 2002, or 2003, in the USA, I was simply too young.

When I turned 16 I was required to start buying my own needed products such as shampoo and other household needs, so having a parent pay for XI was not an option.

When I did join, it was well after release, and after FFXIV 1.0 had already released, but I chose to start with FFXI regardless.

The next issue, I faced with XI, was all the players had already had long moved on to level 99 content, and I was level 1 so leveling was very difficult, let alone completing missions solo. (Pre-trusts and pre-RoV.)

Ever since FFXI addressed those last two issues, I have been enjoying FFXI.

Which is quite wonderful considering I do not enjoy any new products from SE or many other developers for that matter.

For this fact, to be capable of still playing and enjoying XI, I am grateful.

[Dihlyte]

The next issue, I faced with XI, was all the players had already had long moved on to level 99 content, and I was level 1 so leveling was very difficult, let alone completing missions solo. (Pre-trusts and pre-RoV.)
l.

I would also like to touch on this further.

I believe FFXI went too far into "the right field" on this aspect of the game.

Clearly making leveling and main scenario missions so difficult that they cannot be completed solo, creates a nearly impossible situation for players joining the game years down the road.

My personal opinion, with FFXIV for example, went far too far into "the left field" by making the leveling and "MSQ" experience mind-numbingly easy.

I personally believe its extremely easy to strike that perfect balance.

Creating an experience where at release the players are well distributed, the enemies are challenging while in a party, and people who want to play solo still can, and both ways feeling "efficient" to the player/s.

I enjoy imagining a world where FFXIV retained its 25+ million players, and where FFXI is thriving with tens of millions of players as well, but I know what Final Fantasy players imagine, and what SE ends up doing is rarely the same. (My opinion of course.)

[Alhanelem]

For this fact, to be capable of still playing and enjoying XI, I am grateful.

Well, I certainly do share this sentiment.

[Stompa]

FFXI deserves so much better... I hate how they have removed almost all funding for the game even tho it has been a stable source of income from them for over two decades. It deserves more and it would help them retain that revenue even longer instead of investing it into complete failures like Forspoken and such. FFXI is the best game ever made by them, and it is very unique and special to me. I think its quite an achievement to have a game still going after over two decades. While there are others also out there as long, this game has broken many records and achieved a lot of firsts. I wish we could continue it strong, but what can we do.

Forspoken is clumsy and oafish. Foamstars is garish and insulting.

Octopath is well-intentioned and well-executed but it is still a step backwards. Jrpgs were a 'thing of their time' and I really enjoyed Jrpgs before FFXI arrived.

The core problem with Jrpgs is the same problem we saw with FF titles (excluding FFXI), which is that they are too Linear.

Simply put, RPG games by their very nature, can never be Linear. The whole point of RPG games is choices. A real RPG should always start with Character Creation, and at no point during the game, should the game force you to play another character just for plot reasons.

Back in the early years of computer-games, we accepted that the technology limited us to playing a little stick-figure. I myself coded a ZX80 game in 1981, forty-three years ago, which was literally a stick figure. And later in Jrpgs we accepted that tech limitations meant that we had to play the pre-created heroes. But with the digital age, there was enough dataspace to accomodate actual Player Characters, designed by the player. That was FFXI, it was the first FF title to be a true RPG, as you could grow attached to, and fond of, your character. Your character felt comfortable and familiar to you. By contrast, FF titles that are completely Linear, and force you to play pre-made characters, and even swap characters just for plot reasons, were the opposite of RPG.

In actual physical Gaming style, there is a huge difference. A character you are comfortable with, and identify with, a personal character you created, is faster to play. There is less delay. I am a woman, so when I see the screen with a male character for me to control, there is the tiniest delay while my brain jumps the cognitive hurdle of "that can't be me" and realises "that is who I am playing."

I am quite a small lady, and so my Tarutaru girl feels the most automatic and responsive. My reflex-time, hand-eye co-ordination, is much faster on a Taru girl, than it is on a Galka male. Simply because it takes my brain a micro-second longer to realise that the character is supposed to be me.

But FF titles that are Linear also suffer from lack of freedom, you can't just say I'm going fishing for a year, maybe go punch some goblins, help a friend with AF quests, etc. With Linear games, such as most FF and Jrpg games, there is a Plan For You, and you literally can't change the plan in any way. Again, this is the opposite of RPG in the true Role-Playing sense, because Role-Playing is all about freedom and imagination.

So, after FFXI, there were several Linear FF games, and that is a step backwards. And for SE to go from FFXI to Foamstars in two decades, is proper astonishing backwardsness. If they go backwards any further, we'll have to use flint and rocks to start fires in our caves again.

As for what you said,"what can we do" obviously nothing, except politely point out to SE that the reason they lose hundreds of millions is because not all formulas are winning formulas, and that FFXI was and still is a winning formula.

[Alhanelem]

Foamstars is garish and insulting.

I'll give you garish but... insulting? lol

You know, you don't have to like every game a company makes, most people don't. But about the only context in which i could consider using that word is maybe it's insulting to my intelligence if they try to argue it's not a ripoff of Splatoon.

[RichLester]

FFXI certainly stood up to the test of time & has outlasted many online games but I do fear for Final Fantasy's direction as a whole. I don't know what SE will do after the FFVII Remake trilogy is over & done with. Not sure what FFXVII will end up looking like. Overall, they have done a very good job on this game over the past 22 years. It just needs a bit of polishing up in places to keep it going for another 5 years, at least. The community in-game is what make this special, comparing to others.

[Alhanelem]

I certainly hope that happens.

[Stompa]

I am just going to mention, that Online Bullying is now, thankfully, finally recognised as a crime in many nations, and is also considered morally repugnant by most Internet users.

As this thread was originally intended to be a polite reminder to SE that they lose hundreds of millions because they lost sight of what Gamers liked playing, I will also add that SE lost sight of policing RMT and botting and indeed Online Bullying on their OF.

SE did actually listen when I suggested adding a Cardian Trust, and they added one like six months later. That was nice, it felt nice that SE were listening.

However, I don't expect SE to listen to my advice on FFXI being a sure-fire hit success going forward, nor do I expect SE to recognise that Online Bullying is a super badbad thing.

Back in the 1970s, nineteen-seventies, I was a little girl in Primary School, and as I was born with severe Spastic Cerebral Palsy, I was violently Bullied by a Mean Boy, who called me insulting names relating to my Spastic Cerebral Palsy. When I made daisy-chains in the playground, he would take the pretty and beautiful thing I had made, and he would tear it to pieces, and stomp on it, and laugh victoriously.

One time, the Bully slapped my spectacles / glasses off my face, and stomped them into pieces. As I was born 92% ninety-two percent blind, this meant that I had to spend the next 2 two months bumping into walls and falling over things. My Mother was a Single-Parent, and I have never met my Father, because he ran away abroad when my Mother was pregnant. So my Mother worked a Factory Job, and it took her 2 two months to save up for my new Spectacles / Glasses. During that time, I couldn't read, and I was getting bruised from bumping into walls etc.

So, I have always disliked Bullying, and I applaud other Forums where the owners are very strict about policing Bullying, and punishing users who are mean and aggressive to others.

Now I am in my 50s fifties, and still live with Spastic Cerebral Palsy, and almost total blindness, and I am happy because in my life-time I have seen society change from totally ignoring Bullying in the 1970s, to now society is taking Bullying much more seriously. I hope that in the future, every corner of society will recognise Bullying as a seriously traumatising crime, and kids will learn at an early age, that picking on vulnerable people is not acceptable.

[Alhanelem]

I share your sentiment, but I'm admittedly not sure what that has to do with the thread.

I actually had someone from FFXI who saw me in an Overwatch match and they asked, "Are you (me)?" and I said yeah, that's me, and then they started throwing the game and spewing obscenitiies. I'm not sure what I did in-game to deserve that, but I ended up having to change my battletag to stop it after they kept doing it game after game (open queue you often see the same people more than once). So I can definitely relate to your situation. I've considered changing my name back but now I'm afraid something stupid like that is going to happen again. So my battle.net name is completely different from everything else I play.

[Stompa]

"The Head Of State,
Has called for me, by name,
But I don't have time for him.
It's gonna be a glorious day."

[RADIOHEAD - "LUCKY."]