Final Fantasy XIV Info!

I don't know how many of you have played(or currently are) Final Fantasy XI, but I have not. Most of you probably won't think of that as very surprising since the game never generated a massive interest since it came out during a time when MMO's were still kind of only for PC players, and the PS2 was barely online capable. Add to that the fact that the Xbox 360 had just launched and most of those players were looking for a different kind of game. Imagine my surprise at E3 when Jack tretton announced Final Fantasy XIV for the PS3(and PC). A lot of people were shocked, most especially since Final Fantasy XIII has yet to even be released in Japan and this game is set to come out next year as well!

For me this is a personal win, I have had a love affair with the Final Fantasy series since I was a kid and played Final Fantasy IV on my Super Nintendo(that would be II to us Westerner's playing it at that time), and then followed that up with Final Fantasy VI(again III to those not in Japan). With the exception of Final Fantasy XI, I have played and loved every Final Fantasy released, even X-2. Details on Final Fantasy XIV have been kinda scarce since it's announcement in June but the official site has launched given up a ton of info for the game.

The new game takes place on the world of Hydaelyn, in the geographic region of Eorzea, on the continent of Aldenard. There are three city-states in the game each with it's own denizens and bustling culture, I would presume that the world itself will be expandable with other area's of Hydaelyn to be explored through expansion packs, such is the nature of an MMO. There are several races in this world that will be sure to give players plenty of options in who they want to be, though it is currently unknown what the game's antagonists look like and/or will be though my money is on humanoid creatures.

The Elezen are an Elf-like race and seem to be the more refined species of the bunch, the straight out pointing ears are definitely interesting. The Lalafell look like this game's Moogle type character, I am not saying they look like Moogle's, they just have that small and cutesy look to them. Hopefully Moogle's make an appearance, they are one of my favorite races that have traversed the series and since there are Chocobo'sin some screens I will go ahead and presume that Moogle's will be in there as well. The Hyur are the definite human race of the game, and it would be pretty hard to dispute that. The Roegadyn are the pirates, merchants, and muscle of the game and the Miqo'te which seem to be an animal humanoid race similar to Fran of final Fantasy XII. This is supposed to be a world unlike Ivalice or Vana'diel, but it seems to me they are definitely drawing inspiration from the games that take place in those worlds, Final Fantasy XI and XII are the most recognizable games.

SquareEnix has stated that this Final Fantasy will be high on the fantasy aspect of it's name, and the civilizations will have a more prominent technological prowess than Final Fantasy XI's more medieval setting. With airship's, vehicle's and other things that are set to drive the machine of war this looks to be a very promising outing in SquareEnix's best series. Though the different races seem largely similar to those in Final Fantasy Tactics/XI/XII, it looks very different in terms of the worlds and setting they are building which is always a win for RPG fans.

I think it goes without saying that I am excited for this game, and hopefully others are as well and it ends up doing well on the platforms it is released on. Though the Xbox 360 isn't a listed platform I would not be surprised if it made it over to it as well, so don't lose hope if you want this game and own an Xbox 360. Check out the official site for more in-depth info.

Final Fantasy XIV is listed for release on the Playstation 3 and PC, and is expected to be released sometime in 2010, my guess would be late in the year.

Final Fantasy XIV (site)