My Views and Reviews

Final Fantasy XIV Core recently updated their gallery with new Japanese and English screenshots from Square Enix’s MMO sequel to Final Fantasy XI. While Square’s first online adventure received mixed reviews, they’re moving ahead with their plan to revamp the combat system and user interface. Though the races and plot are essentially the same, it looks like there’s been a major overhaul in the graphics department. Oh, and guess what? The North American Beta is now accepting applications.

Interested in testing this game for yourself? Well as of December 16, Square Enix is looking for individuals eighteen and older to to give this thing a spin. You need not be a member of the press or an experienced MMO player. Just make sure you have a hard drive big enough to handle the downloads they’ll send your way.

Now, shall we take a closer look at the new and improved FFXI? Why of course.

The menu has been moved from the top right corner to the bottom and now sports a more iconic look as opposed to the text list of earlier days. This menu also includes quick keys for attacks and support moves, meaning victory may only be a click away rather than a tedious process of designing hot keys for a simple combat action. The tactical point system remains intact according to the blue bar on the bottom right portion of the screen. This worked like an overdrive gauge, allowing players to release powerful attacks after getting struck in combat multiple times.

The chat box also appears to be movable and far more transparent than its predecessor.  We can also see the quest tracker in the top right corner and what may be either a timer or just a means to see how quickly you achieved your goal. Each quest  is accompanied by a card-like icon called a “Guildleve.” According to FFXIV’s English site, these are cards of Eorzea which allow those sent on quests to access certain restricted areas depending on the nature of their task. They are plates that may even allow them to teleport to specified locations. All I can tell is that it looks like a shark eating a parrot.

Though I regard Final Fantasy XI with a wary eye, the graphic enhancements of XIV are gradually luring me back after many years of loathing/loving the game. The success of MMO sequels has been mediocre at best, though I’m thinking specifically of Everquest II. However, Square has had plenty of time to learn from its mistakes and just might actually do this genre justice if it paid enough attention to the outcries of its tortured players.

A word of advice, Square Enix? People really don’t like to level down, so please get rid of the experience penalty for dying. Thank you.