A 91-year-old Japanese woman who played Final Fantasy 11 for the better part of 20 years has passed away, and the MMO's devs have been paying tribute.
Her grandson announced her passing on February 4. "On Tuesday, February 3, my beloved grandmother passed away at the age of 91," he said in a post on Twitter, as translated by Automaton. "Up until her health declined, she was a veteran player of FF11 for nearly 20 years. She watched me play since the beta version. I bet she's adventuring through the world of Vana'diel with Mimi (her dog) right now."
That's a long time to enjoy any game, and his tweet began making the rounds among people involved in making Final Fantasy 11 in some capacity, with composer Kumi Tanioka giving a truly poetic response. "Thank you for journeying through Vana'diel for nearly 20 years," she said. "I do hope you are enjoying yourself in heaven. If you have been reborn in Vana'diel, I should love to know if you occasionally hear music being carried on the wind. May you rest in peace."
Another of the developers, game designer Kensuke Shimoda, simply said they were thankful for the woman's dedication. You don't often hear this sort of thing about Final Fantasy 11, not least since Final Fantasy 14 became the primo MMORPG of the series.
First launched back in 2002 on PlayStation 2, a PC version came out the same year, followed by an Xbox 360 port in 2006. 11 was a pioneering game for online services, as it was the first MMO to offer cross-platform play between PS2 and PC. Console support ended in 2016, relegating it to being PC-only.
It's a bit of a black sheep as a result, due to both only being on one platform and feeling a touch retrograde mechanically. Nonetheless, there's a community who love it, including this grandmother. Her grandson added she loved the music, especially the Gustaberg theme, and if you've never listened to the Final Fantasy 11 soundtrack, this would be a fine day to do so.
