Final Fantasy XI: The Treasures of Aht Urhgan 1UP Preview

ESRB Rating: N/A  Genre: Online

by James Mielke 01/12/2006

Final Fantasy XI fans take heart -- today Square Enix finally unveiled the first significant screenshots of its upcoming expansion Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan. While the previous trickle of screens showcased bright green fields and misty pirate ships, these new screens reveal much more detail about what's in store for FFXI players.

One of the new areas announced today is called the Mamool Ja Savagelands, an area hostile to the Near Eastern Aht Urhgan Empire, itself more clearly defined as an ongoing concern rather than the treasure-filled ruin the game's title suggests. The inhabitants -- the Mamool Ja (which translates to "brethren of the shining scale") -- are divided into four biologically distinguishable classes, comprised of warriors, aquatics, sages and knights. The Mamool Ja, interestingly, are republicans, ruled by four overlords, one representing each class. The recent hostilities towards the empire of Aht Urhgan point back to the emergence of one of the four overlords known as the Autarch.

Mamool Ja's capital city is Mamook (shades of Star Wars creep in ever so slowly), which is built deep with the forest seen in the screenshots, on a peninsula west of Aht Urhgan. The land is overrun with termites, though (an interesting detail), and so the Mamool Ja burn down any wooden structures every few years and rebuild them, which explains the crude architecture of the the buildings and houses. The Mamool Ja are superstitious as well, as evidenced by the sacred stones that decorate the capital area, and are believed to harbor the souls of Mamool Ja heroes killed in battle. These spirits are said to protect the capital of Mamook from harm.

Another area called Arrapago Reef is a dangerous area, known for beaching any ship that wanders near. Perhaps this explains the pirate ship screens Square Enix released previously, but it's also significant because Arrapago Reef hosts the last remaining survivors of a kingdom that was all but wiped out by the Aht Urhgan Empire. It's said that the treasures of that kingdom are hidden in the coastal caverns of the reef, but the race called the Lamiae is using the natural enclosure as its stronghold, which is also occupied by the sleepless undead. This is obviously going to be a difficult area to explore, with its Pirates of the Caribbean look, but presumably less family-friendly welcoming committee.

Some of the screens show Mamool Ja warriors with battle-ready cockatrices amassing their forces. Mobs with pets are no new thing in the world of FFXI, but the forces assembled here look more organized than the goblins and quads and yagudos we've come to know and love. While the screenshots released for Square Enix's previous expansion, Chains of Promathia, did little to ignite the fires, these new shots are indicative of what you can expect to see graphics-wise on PC and Xbox 360. They're actually quite nice-looking and have us very excited at what Aht Urhgan has in store.

One interesting observation, though, is with the Xbox 360 beta underway, we're confident the 360 version will be inclusive of Treasures of Aht Urhgan, and obviously all the pre-existing content. Given the timing of the previous expansions that have come out for XI, and forecasting that the big focus in the upcoming year will be the PS3 and Revolution, Squenix would want to launch their first big app for 360 before those systems start grabbing headlines. That said, we'll put money down on Treasures of Aht Urhgan, on PS2, PC and 360 hitting market sometime this Spring -- and if it hits this Spring, it's going to bundle everything into one disc on 360. We'll have more news on this as we get it, but we recommend that all FFXI veterans finish up their CoP missions and get ready to rush the Savagelands.