Aye, I remember.
A shame FFXIV will fail to elicit the same feelings 8 years from now. You remember FFXI so fondly because of the struggle that brought you and your friends together. The unspoken, unseen force which held you back at every turn. A constant resistance that gripped you, always on the verge of pushing you stumbling back. The very same force that could be conquered through teamwork and diligence. It gave you reason. It gave you a sense of things. That opposition which you hated vilely on a subconscious level was actually what made you feel like a hero in the end. It made all of it worth the effort.
Which we are lacking a great deal of right now. It may not be a bad interpretation of an MMO as it sits and with the planned changes in 2.0 but we're unlikely to ever get as strong of a connection because of it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e07_oCl2o-I
I still remember you Roagrimm. I remember the threat you posed. I recall traveling across the very face of that world and into its most dangerous reaches. Then I came for you. I cross over into your dead land and into your keep. Ascended its corrupt hallows and surpassed its puzzles. Then I came for you.
After it was all finished I look back and realized how sorely I miss your ilk. You may have been darkened but it was you who showed me the light within myself and my companions.