Final Fantasy XI

Final Fantasy XI was the series' first MMORPG, released on PlayStation 2 in November 2002 simultaneously with the PC version. It wasn't a later port, then, but one of the two original platforms on which the world of Vana'diel launched – Xbox 360 joined them four years later. For Square and for the whole series, it was a bold move: a brand that had until then been purely single-player was for the first time to become a shared online world where players spend time together long-term, not just for the duration of a single story playthrough.

Playing on console came with a few quirks that PC players never experienced. The PlayStation 2 itself had no internet connectivity, so the game required a network adapter, and because an MMO is largely about typing commands and chatting with other players, many people ended up buying a keyboard to go with their controller. However, Square thoroughly adapted the interface for gamepad play too – command menus, targeting enemies, and basic communication via preset phrases all worked fully without typing, an unusual approach for MMOs at the time. PS2 players also connected to exactly the same world as PC players via the PlayOnline service, so they could regularly meet and play together rather than in a separate version of the game, and could even message each other outside the game itself through a linked application.

Content-wise, the console version was equal to the PC one and received the same expansions and updates at the same time. The difference lay mainly in the technical execution – lower resolution and simpler textures matched the capabilities of the console of the time, while the PC version could offer a sharper picture for those with a more powerful rig. For many players, the PlayStation 2 version was in fact their very first encounter with online gaming on a console at all, since in 2002 this combination of genre and platform was highly unusual.

Why play it: For players who wanted to experience an online MMORPG for the first time on a console, the PlayStation 2 version offered the same content and updates as the PC edition, just with simpler textures and lower resolution.