TenTonHammer.com - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

The Wings of the Goddess expansion pack for Final Fantasy XI simultaneously released in North America, Europe, and Asia in November 2007, so the 500,00+ subscribers already know all about it. It's the rest of us PlayOnline and Square-Enix wants to reach. I recently got a chance to take an action-packed tour of Wings of the Goddess with ONE PR Studio's Tyrone Rodriguez so I could learn why somebody like me--who has never subscribed to Final Fantasy XI--should start playing today.

Cait Sith makes an appearance in Final Fantasy XI.

Unmatched Cinematics
According to Rodriguez, Wings of the Goddess "takes players into even newer and untouched lands - the nearly forgotten, war-torn past of Vana'diel, an era where the Shadow Lord and Beastmen attempted to destroy the three empires of San d'Oria, Bastok and Windurst." My tour began by investigating a mysterious Cavernous Maw. Doing so caused it to suck me inside and triggered a cut scene. This would be my first talking point for the uninitiated. The Final Fantasy brand has a long history (oh, say 20 years) of bringing fantasy lands to life for gamers. The Square-Enix trademark technique for story telling is the use of cinematic elements woven into the game play.

The cinematic shorts in Final Fantasy XI help immerse the players in the world and the history of Vana'diel in a way that is perhaps not matched by any other massively-multiplayer online game (MMOG) on the market. Even someone unfamiliar with the concept of Final Fantasy can get swept up in the story of Vana'diel because of the solid technique of telling story.

A War-torn Past
My scene showed my character speaking with a quirky looking cat wearing a crown. This cat cast me into the abyss, and my character awoke in a field surrounded by soldiers who were debating whether or not to kill him since he was likely a spy or an invader. A later cut scene would reveal the identity of the mysterious crowned cat as Cait Sith (of Final Fantasy VII fame, the game that sold me on the Playstation console in 1996). Cait Sith suspects I may have some special power to influence the events of Vana'diel and charges me with a special quest.

I soon discovered that I had landed 20 years in the past, during the great war that ravaged the land and divided the nations. In this Vana'diel of the past, I could meet famous non-player characters (NPCs) as they were as children, and I could see major cities in the throes of war. I toured the Windurst of the past and discovered that many of the buildings I saw in the present had at one time been razed during the war. I also learned that at least 9 of the cavernous maws had been discovered, so there was certainly room for a lot of adventure.

The Scholar mixes different magic types to support the party.

To Battle
After my tour of the Windurst of the past, I grouped up with 5 tour guides, and we set off to experience some of the new content. We first tried killing some random monsters, and I got to meet some pixies who randomly cast beneficial spells if you walk close to them long enough. Our first battles were just for practice, and I did horribly as I struggled to learn how to properly use one of the new classes, the Scholar. The Scholar has access to black and white magic (damage and healing spells, respectively) but works best as a support type of character. He can augment the power of black or white magic spells for the rest of the party. He also has access to some decent damage over time spells (DoTs) that allows him to stand away from the action and still contribute.

After a brief run with the Scholar, Rodriguez had me switch over to the other new class, the Dancer. This class fit my style better and seemed pretty unique for the game. The Dancer uses melee attacks with her knife early in the battle to accumulate a pool of TP. She can then use the TP to perform dances with various effects. Some would cast haste on any party member who struck the targeted monster. Others would lower the magic or physical resistances of the enemy.

Between the two, I enjoyed the Dancer much more, but I can see the value for both in a party. To learn more about each class, please check out Cody "Micajah" Bye's interview with Mitsutoshi Gondai, Planner for Final Fantasy XI.

Campaigns

This peiste would have killed Ralsu if not for his capable tour guides.

The real action of my tour, which involved more hands-on action than any other game tour I've had the pleasure of taking, took place when we participated in some of the new Campaign battles. This is also one of the key marketing points for people who have never played Final Fantasy XI. Campaign battles take place in the Vana'diel of the past and pit players against hordes of enemies in brief but intense battles. Perhaps you'll need to defend a fort from an invasion. Maybe you are the invaders. Either way, your job is to promote the interest of one of the three main factions: San d'Oria, Bastok and Windurst.

My experience with these battles tell me they are exciting and fun. We killed waves of monsters of increasing difficulty for a while in one section. There was a named "general" in another battle. Rodriguez also says the Campaigns allow for solo missions of the delivery type. In general, Wings of the Goddess is supposed to add more casual content to the game, which counters a frequent complaint against Final Fantasy XI.

Parting Thoughts
When I'd finished my tour, I played around with a level 1 Black Mage near Windurst. Those experiences left me with another thought: people looking for a quality game that captures the difficulty of EverQuest would be well-served by Final Fantasy XI. In fact, I think EverQuest fans would like many things about the game; it creates a rich lore for its players, and nothing about it feels cheap or easy. Sadly, the graphics are starting to show their age a bit (the game is over 5 years old), but spending just a few minutes playing gets you adjusted, and the cinematic sequences make up for it a little bit by drawing you into the game even more.

One thing for certain is that Final Fantasy XI is not World of Warcraft. While Wings of the Goddess does a lot to make the game more appealing to casual players, it's still a hardcore game overall. And there's certainly a place for that. Just check out the comments in response to my Eulogy to the Core. Whether or not Square-Enix will follow the trend and make a new game for the casual masses remains to be seen. Square-Enix Senior Vice-President of Software Development will admit that the software juggernaut is already at work on its next MMOG. What he won't say is whether is will be a sequel to Final Fantasy XI in both name and spirit or if it will be something all together different.

---

Will you give Final Fantasy a try? Tell us why or why not in our forums!