Final Fantasy XI opening movie transcript

[02.23.02] » Shedding further light on the Crystal Era and the world of Vana'diel.

   Square surprised the audience at the 20020220 Music from Final Fantasy concert with the first-ever showing of the opening movie for Final Fantasy XI. It began with the following narration, spoken in English:

   "It all began with a stone, or so the legend says. In ages past, the sentient jewel, enormous and beautiful, banished the darkness. It's many-colored light filled the world with life and brought forth mighty gods. Bathed in that light, the world entered an age of bliss, until after a time, the gods fell into slumber. That world was called Vana'diel.
   "In the 863rd year of the Crystal Era, Vana'diel was in the midst of a great war. Faced with the invasion of the Shadow Lord and his hordes of beastmen, the leaders of the enlightened peoples united their forces in desperate alliance. They were the Kingdom of San D'oria, the Republic of Bastok, the Federation of Windurst, the Grand Duchy of Juno [sic]. Together they struggled for survival in battle after battle as chaos engulfed the land."

   Despite the online, MMORPG nature of game, the opening movie contained the kind of story content normally found in traditional RPGs. It chronicles the story of a young boy named Aldo and his older sister, Emolyn, who are desperately fleeing the beastmen after the destruction of their village. It is not yet known if this story has any bearing in the game itself, or if it is just an example of potential experiences in FFXI.