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Let's Do the Time Warp Again
Rodriguez took me back to the storyline next, this time to a scene involving the player character and the dance troupe. My monk had finally caught up to Cait Sith, who was spouting the usual cryptic messages about bringing joy to the world, when the dancers swooped in and tried to kidnap the mystical feline. Of course Cait Sith could not be captured by the three women and left me there to deal with them alone. I was promptly beaten and and bound. Lilisette (the dancer I chose for the finale earlier) seemed to be the leader and interrogated me about Cait Sith. Lilisette somehow knew I was out of place and that I must have some magic. She tried to blame me and Cait Sith for some bad things from her past.

I next got to witness the patrol readying for departure. Lilisette was insistent that Portia, one of her companions, could not go to "Dav--La Vaule." At that point, I caught on. Lilisette had almost said Davoi, the modern name for the Orc stronghold that was built on the same spot where the monastery La Vaule had stood in the past. The fact that she almost called the place Davoi could only mean she was from the future.

When the patrol took off, it was up to me and my new "partner" to chase them down. We lacked the speed of their chocobo mounts, so we arrived a little lat and found the battle was mostly over. A massive ambush had killed most of the patrol. There Portia and the commander were facing off against Haudrale, who called himself the Spitewarden of the Lady Litith. When my monk and Lilisette showed up, Haudrale brought in Aquila to kill us. Aquila summoned a very big something from the ground and then...

Mind if I Cut in?
Before I could get eaten by whatever Aquila had summoned, Rodriguez whisked me away to get to fight one NM before the tour was over. We spawned a Giant Sandworm, which Rodriguez said had a secret ability that was really cool. Having played other Final Fantasy games quite a bit, I could guess that the Giant Sandworm would suck us into its belly where we'd find a dungeon. Rodriguez confirmed that it starts a chain of quest, but our Giant Sandworm was not cooperating. We managed to kill it without triggering the ability. And that ended the tour.

Parting Thoughts
My tour with Rodriguez and his crew was even more fun than the previous one. Again, the storytelling prowess of Square-Enix was on display, and the cut scenes were better than ever. Particularly, the last scene I saw was very visceral and action-packed. I have no doubt that the story is engaging, and with the changes in the Wings of the Goddess expansion making the game more accessible to casual gamers, Final Fantasy XI has broader appeal than ever before.

The real challenge for Square-Enix in my eyes is competing with the newer games on the market in terms of graphics. Final Fantasy XI has been around for many years now, and players still log onto the servers from the Xbox and Playstation consoles. Because those console players play with the computer owners, Square-Enix is severely limited by both the small hard drives and puny RAM of the consoles in comparison to modern personal computers. In short, the game shows its age graphically.

For gamers looking for a world with rich lore, Final Fantasy XI is worth a look. With the customizations available via the job system, players can find the right play style for them. The new NMs give veterans a reason to activate accounts again, and the story of Vana'diel is getting better than ever. View my complete tour gallery here.

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of the Ten Ton Hammer network or staff.