I have been waiting a long time for the annoucement by Square Enix of their new MMO, and alas, it has finally come! Final Fantasy 14 Online was annouced, and FFXI fans everywhere drooled, danced, and cried esctatic tears. All that is displayed on na.finalfantasyxiv.com though is a short trailer, screenshots from the previous trailer, and information letting you know the game will at least be available for PS3 and PC. 

Not much to go off of, or is there?

In the background image on the website as well as the logo, if you look close enough, depicts the normal FFXI races as well as a possible male Mithra. Also, there is a large earred female character on the right, that could be an Elvaan or a Mithra, but doesn't seem to be either seeing that the ears are animalistic but much larger than a Mithras, maybe a Fran-type rabbit race?

Most people, including myself, want to know more about game play system though. Is there going to be the same type of jobs from FFXI? Subjobs? Is the leveling going to be party based or solo? Will there still be the amazing store cutscenes and Missions?

After reading a few interviews from the annoucement, it seemed to be that Square Enix is going to do things completely differently. Leveling is going to be completely new, possibly not even EXP based, and more of a balance between partying and soloing. The job system is going to be changed too. In fact, the only thing that has been confirmed to be the same, is the races so that it will "allow players to create a character that is similar to their current Final Fantasy XIV Gil [character]". There has also been a hint that the weapon choice is going to be very important. Which weapon you choose will change the growth of your character and the ideal weapon will be different for different situations.

After discovering all of this I was a little scared. FFXI, to me, is near perfect. To change something that is already amazing, risks making it worse (*cough*WoW*cough*). If FF14 ends up to be a huge let down as Warhammer and AoC were, I would be seriously dissapointed, and I must emphasize seriously. Square Enix, if you hear me, please don't fall into the trap that WoW has laid out. WoW has made companys believe making an MMO that satisfies anyone and everyone is the way to be successful, but that's not true! It's impossible, and ultimately, you will only hurt your true fans. Yes, most people are casual gamers, but casual gamers also never play a game for a long period of time. Hardcore gamers will be with you for years, and in case you didn't know, FFXI fans, and FF fans in general, are hardcore gamers. It took me over a year to get one max level job in FFXI, and you know what? If it takes me that long to reach max "level" (or whatever it is) in FF14 I will do it, and hundreds of thousands of people will do it, and hundreds of thousands of people will love every minute of it just as they did in FFXI.

But don't listen to me!

Ok, not completely, but partly. Basically, what I'm saying is that I love FFXI, and I'm afraid of change. But you know what, every FFXIV Gil game recently has been a change from the previous. Heck, FFX had no levels, your character grew from the sphere grid, and believe you me, it WORKED. FF12 had a partly active battle system, FF13 has a guy with an AFRO. Square Enix, you've made changes in the past, and every time we are floored by it's innovation; you've never let us down.

So why am I worried? I think it's just because of the state of the MMO industry. It doesn't matter if there's tons of hype, gorgeous graphics, never before used features, the game can be a failure. But you know what, the more I think about it, the more I stand strong in my trust of Square Enix.

Bring on the change, if anyone can push Blizzard into the back seat it's them.

And honestly, even if FF14 doesn't strike my fancy quite as much as FFXI, it's not like FFXI is going anywhere.