Final Fantasy XI

Play it on: PS2, Xbox 360, Windows (Steam Deck N/A)
Current goal: Take a break from the Final Fantasy XIV grind by enjoying a different, older, MMO grind

It shouldn’t be shocking to regular Kotaku Weekend Guide readers that I’m going to be playing a Final Fantasy MMO this weekend, but it might surprise you that this time it’s Final Fantasy 11. Sure, I’ve been running through Final Fantasy 14 for the past month-and-a-half at this point, slowly catching up to the recently released Dawntrail, but it’s time for something different. FF11 first released in 2002, and has been steadily getting updates ever since. At the start of this year, egged on by a great deal in the Steam winter sale, I purchased FF11 and dove in. My first foray into the dated MMO was spent struggling through the game’s frustrating set-up, but I did eventually figure it out and start exploring the world with a friend. I declared that 2024 would be the year of FF11, at least for me.

In the months since I created my character, the constant itch to play FF11 has remained. That has only been enhanced by my time with FF14, which is a sleeker and more approachable MMO, but one that lacks the particular old-school charm of its online predecessor. Final Fantasy 11’s world of Vana’diel has a unique friction to it, something rooted in a more adversarial relationship with the player. Die too much and you can lose levels; enemies often drop loot in password protected chests you need to solve or watch disappear; and NPC party members must be recruited one-by-one through special missions. It makes every step of progress feel hard-earned in a way that I find extremely satisfying. The experience has been made easier in the two decades since the game’s original release (like the addition of the NPC party members), and there are plenty of helpful beginner’s guides out there. It would be perfect timing for any FF14 players, since Dawntrail’s Alliance Raids will be an homage to Vana’diel. — Willa Rowe