FFXI: A 2003 Time Capsule

I’ve been digging through a lot of old files lately due to restoring my retro websites on Neocities. Yesterday, I ran across a folder which was a treasure trove of time travel for me – FFXI screenshots that date back to 2003!

Seeing that FFXI released in NA for PC on October 28, 2003 – my earliest picture seems to have been taken on November 8, 2003. So I was basically participating in the launch window. I probably played a bit before that because the first picture I took had my character in harness gear which means I’d already gotten through the intro bits, and was finally out in the forest where I was leveling.

My First Character & Screenshot

Ironically, my first character in FFXI was Ben. It just so happens that my current main in FFXIV is also now Ben! I never got Ben beyond level 20-ish if I remember right, and sadly, I don’t think his character exists anymore, either.

Still, here’s a gallery of Ben’s early progress as a Red Mage (which is also his main job in FFXIV now).

I see that I took some pictures of the landscape (it was amazing graphics at the time) and random things. Namely… a summoner with a carbuncle! How exciting!!

Probably the first time I saw a carbuncle and chocobos

And… my first group in the Dunes! Working on drops for that sub job quest!

And then, my sister joined the game. I have pictures of her on her White Mage.

It seems that I rolled an alt character (yes even back then) to level with my sister. This was a Mithra named Aywren. I think I see a pattern there and in FFXIV. 🙂

This character MIGHT still exist. It seems somewhere down the line, I had two service accounts and both have an Aywren on them.

Anyhow… seems I still made more progress on Ben, however.

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