FINAL FANTASY® XI: Ultimate Collection Seekers Edition

If you're willing to roll up your sleeves and grab a wrench to work on some of the technical issues of the game using tools like dgVooDoo, Special K, and Windower/Ashita, there is an incredible game waiting here for you. Pick the Phoenix server (at the time of this review) and open up the new player guide on bg-wiki. PS, you can use a steam controller on Windows IF you use dgvoodoo as d3d8.dll, Special K as dinput8.dll, check load steam client dll early, and load steam overlay early. A bonus side effect is that this also tracks playtime, enjoy!

Great game been playing it for 24 years since PS2 release across the backwards compatible PS3 to Xbox360 to laptops and PC towers and finally decided to pick it up for Steam again on this 2nd account Enjoyable game with the right people but hard to find those people now a days due to how old the game is now.

If you are that type of guy to experience every FF game in the franchise its solid, coming from XIV I can appreciate some things. Sub job system is amazing fun to play with warrior that can heal no problem buddy enjoy it, paladin that is jumping around no issue. The combos are endless and quite enjoyable. But damn this game is old, pure old pre wow mmo, sometimes cbt sometimes you want to crack your own skull when playing but in the end good experience.

Playonline is the true raidboss

PlayOnline is the worst thing I have ever had to use to login to the game. This service took hours of my life just to figure out how to log into the game because instead of using my Square Enix ID, you have to make a service account using a key on the website, then you get an e-mail that has a bunch of gibberish keyslams you use as your actual login and password BUT you cannot use just that, no you need to slap those in, then enter your actual Square Enix ID details, but not in the same place, first you put your username in the first page, then get asked for password in the second. Oh and you have to type it in using a clunky inbox and if you end up getting it wrong 3 times, because it's really easy to get it wrong, your account gets locked and you have to wait a couple hours. I do not care how good or bad the game is, this account system is so hideously horrible I would not recommend anyone who is a normal person bother with it.

hands down the best MMORPG of its time if you have the patience to get it going and to figure out POL i think you will have a fun time my play time might show low on here but i played this from 2003 to 2009

edit: after reaching the end of the 30 days given when you buy this on steam, it's become very clear that the only way to enjoy this game to it's fullest is to have people to play with. there simply isn't a player base large enough anymore for any option other than roping a large group of friends into playing at once, and for an mmo that's extremely saddening. first impressions are really, really bad. setting up your playonline account and reliably launching the game are one thing, there's lots of very well documented guides on how to do it. but if you do something stupid like try the free trial to see if you like the game you're in for an impossibly worse time going from free trial to full service account. not to mention the new player guide very strongly advises using plugins. there's lots of ways to gain exp now, and very fast, in order to get you to the endgame where all the players are. problem is the game explains next to nothing, so unless you have someone explicitly telling you what each system does or how to interact with it most of the game is just reading wiki pages. reading the wiki then tells you how much time you'll really be spending in the game. want to make a linkshell and talk to friends? "linkpearls can only be registered by adventurers who have been active in Vana'diel for at least 45 days (Earth time)". want your chocobo? 2 months. want equipment that makes your job viable? 6 months minimum. a log-in campaign giving free keys for free possibly rare loot! that you can't use for 45 days. so just take your time! sure you'll basically be playing a singleplayer game with how few actual players you'll see, and the trusts are good enough to play the game for you when you're at level, but it's all about the experience! maybe once i spend three years with the game i'll find it fun

Played FFXIV. It sucked. Played FFXI instead. It was epic.

playtime doesn't reflect true game time because steam only counts the time you're in the launcher as play hours this is literally the best mmorpg to ever exist

Infuriating setup and sign-up process aside, its a solid and unique mmo experience that still holds up as a Final Fantasy worth playing. It does not hold your hand and forces you to interact with others, as an MMO should. Being designed for the PS2 means that it plays best on controller. A fascinating 2002 time capsule.