Sure, let’s dive in! So, eight years before FF14 even hit the scene, we had FF11, you know? It was like the granddaddy of online RPGs in the Final Fantasy line-up. Seriously, a lot of the cool bits from FF14—like those chocobos we all adore and customizable characters—you could trace back to the days of Vana’diel in FF11. Despite FF14 being the big thing now, FF11 isn’t just fading away into the sunset or anything. In fact, it’s gearing up to celebrate its big 23rd birthday. Wild, right?
Even though it’s, like, ancient in gaming years, FF11 isn’t just some relic collecting dust. Since it started in 2002, it outlasted its console versions and was pretty rad for being the first cross-platform MMORPG. And sure, FF14 has all the buzz, making it understandable that some fans haven’t dipped into FF11 yet. But, ya know, 2025 could just be the perfect year to give it a whirl. Seriously.
Now, I bet you’re wondering—it’s been over two decades, so how the heck has FF11 stayed fresh? Spoiler alert: they basically stopped churning out expansions around 2015. Then, fast forward five years to 2020, and boom, new stories, updates, and expansions started rolling out again. It’s like a rollercoaster of content or something.
Oh, and get this, there’s this sweet anniversary event happening for its 23rd year! Players aren’t stuck messing with the old PlayOnline system, either. Now it’s all smooth sailing with Square Enix accounts instead. Epic move, right? If you played before May 2025 and switched accounts, congrats—you’re playing for free.
But what really kept FF11 alive? Players. Yeah, apparently it was almost curtains in 2024 until director Yoji Fujito spilled the tea in an interview. Square Enix had this plan to kinda just keep it on life support unless people kept logging in. Thankfully, the player base wasn’t having any of that and kept things going strong.
Into 2025, down comes a whole bunch of new stuff. FF14 even threw some love back to FF11—like, they let you change your race like those Fantasia bottles in FF14! Plus, there’s this neat crossover with that Vana’diel thing in the Alliance Raids. Whether you’re a FF11 or FF14 die-hard, the overlap makes it clear if you like one, the other’s got something for you.
No lie, who knows how long FF11 will keep ticking? But it’s hanging in there because of a loyal, if kinda niche, group of fans. It’s got its old-timey quirks, sure, but there’s still magic there to charm even the latecomers. If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, now’s as good a time as ever. So, yeah—why not give FF11 a shot?
