I have been waiting a long time for the annoucement by Square Enix of their new MMO, and alas, it has finally come! Final Fantasy 14 Online was annouced, and FFXI fans everywhere drooled, danced, and cried esctatic tears. All that is displayed on na.finalfantasyxiv.com though is a short trailer, screenshots from the previous trailer, and information letting you know the game will at least be available for PS3 and PC.
Not much to go off of, or is there?
In the background image on the website as well as the logo, if you look close enough, depicts the normal FFXI races as well as a possible male Mithra. Also, there is a large earred female character on the right, that could be an Elvaan or a Mithra, but doesn't seem to be either seeing that the ears are animalistic but much larger than a Mithras, maybe a Fran-type rabbit race?
Most people, including myself, want to know more about game play system though. Is there going to be the same type of jobs from FFXI Gil? Subjobs? Is the leveling going to be party based or solo? Will there still be the amazing store cutscenes and Missions?
After reading a few interviews from the annoucement, it seemed to be that Square Enix is going to do things completely differently. Leveling is going to be completely new, possibly not even EXP based, and more of a balance between partying and soloing. The job system is going to be changed too. In fact, the only thing that has been confirmed to be the same, is the races so that it will "allow players to create a character that is similar to their current Final Fantasy XI [character]". There has also been a hint that the weapon choice is going to be very important. Which weapon you choose will change the growth of your character and the ideal weapon will be different for different situations.
After discovering all of this I was a little scared. FFXI Gil, to me, is near perfect. To change something that is already amazing, risks making it worse (*cough*WoW*cough*). If FF14 ends up to be a huge let down as Warhammer and AoC were, I would be seriously dissapointed, and I must emphasize seriously. Square Enix, if you hear me, please don't fall into the trap that WoW has laid out. WoW has made companys believe making an MMO that satisfies anyone and everyone is the way to be successful, but that's not true! It's impossible, and ultimately, you will only hurt your true fans. Yes, most people are casual gamers, but casual gamers also never play a game for a long period of time. Hardcore gamers will be with you for years, and in case you didn't know, FFXI fans, and FF fans in general, are hardcore gamers. It took me over a year to get one max level job in FFXI, and you know what? If it takes me that long to reach max "level" (or whatever it is) in FF14 I will do it, and hundreds of thousands of people will do it, and hundreds of thousands of people will love every minute of it just as they did in FFXI.