My reflection is more of an eulogy. I’ve never played Final Fantasy XI.

 

I wanted to Final Fantasy XI. But I didn’t want to purchase a subscription at the time. I just wanted to play a Final Fantasy game, without paying each and every month to keep it going.

 

Yeah, I was like most Final Fantasy fans at the time. I wanted to play ever iteration of Final Fantasy I could, but MMOs weren’t my thing. I was a solo player. I enjoyed the cutscenes, story and game play alone. I didn’t want to talk with anyone. I didn’t want to rely on anyone.

 

Plus, I didn’t want to pay a subscription.

 

This wasn’t what Final Fantasy was all about, right? Well, Sakaguchi, the series creator, conceived of Final Fantasy XI with a model similar to EverQuest, another popular MMO. So then, Final Fantasy XI wasn’t just a cash-in. It was as Final Fantasy as the other main line titles.

 

But I liked the idea of being in the game. I wanted to make my own character and feel apart of the adventure.

 

 

The game itself was hugely popular. Square Enix considered it to be massively successful. I count nine expansions. And people are still paying for playing the game to this day. Who knows how long that’ll last, but it’s been nearly two decades. That’s a very long time for any MMO.

 

I hear that Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is massively popular and successful.

 

I’m just really hesitant about paying for the subscription.