FFXI Adventurers Special Interview
Ryo Mizuno — Part 2 of 2

In this part of the interview, I'd like to talk some more about your playing style when it comes to FFXI. Let me guess, you tended to play with the people that originally introduced you to the game?

Actually, they ended up taking a break from the game and pretty much left me on my own. (laughs wryly)

They what!?

All of a sudden, I was out there on my own, but by that time, I was already hooked on FFXI, so I had no issue playing solo. Sometimes, I'd stay up late playing the game, and I remember often playing with people overseas due to the time difference. I'm not sure if it's necessarily because of that, but I have a lot of humorous anecdotes and fond memories of the game from around that time.

Yes, especially in the early going, the playing style between Japanese and overseas players was quite different.

In the case of Japanese players, I feel like they focus on efficiency above all else when forming parties. They're sure to follow the rules, set specific times to meet up and play, only go to the best hunting grounds, and attempt to level up in the most efficient way possible. And once that predetermined time is up, it's like, "Okay, everyone. That's all for today." In the case of players overseas, however, they just immediately send out invites, and the parties are made up of all kinds of jobs and levels. Sometimes, they don't pick the best hunting grounds, or don’t know how to prevent monsters from linking, so I really had to up my game as a result. (laughs wryly) Although, I eventually ended up feeling like that was a much simpler way to play and enjoy the game.

When you're freestyling in a party like that and someone needs to leave and you call another player to join you, they might not have the same role as the player they're replacing. (laughs)

Yes, that's true. It's like, "We don't need three monks! Someone get in there and tank!" (laughs) I'm usually playing more of a support role from the back lines, so I always found that a difficult situation to be in. Although, that was also fun in its own way, and I have many fond memories of those experiences, even to this day.

Yes, you can enjoy simply playing the game, even if you're not always gaining experience points in the most efficient way possible.

I still remember one time when I was leveling my character while the other party members were dropping in and out like usual, and somehow the party got filled with a bunch of high-level characters and I leveled up what seemed like exponentially. The overseas players were yelling excitedly and saying that this was like paradise. They were so happy that it ended up making me feel happy as well. That experience really made a strong impression on me.

I hear that you were also a member of a linkshell, but how did you tend to use that particular feature?

I often used the linkshell for content like Dynamis or taking on the "Sky notorious monsters" (a group of notorious monsters in the Tu'Lia region). I never really used it with any specific group of people though.

Was there anything especially memorable from the times you spent taking on the in-game content?

Part of the difficulty in "Sky" isn't just about battling the notorious monsters themselves, but also competing against rival players to claim the monsters. When the notorious monsters appear, you'd often have people racing to engage them, but if our party wasn't fully assembled, we’d often just get wiped out entirely. So when the claim on a monster expired and it was taken by another party, there were often a lot of choice words between players. (laughs wryly)

How about Dynamis?

I refused to quit until I obtained a Duelist's Chapeau as a red mage, so I probably played that particular content for a good number of years. (laughs) It was tough defeating the Dynamis Lord, but I really had a lot of fun with it.

If you were a red mage participating in the Dynamis Lord battle, were you often called upon to use Stun?

Ah yes, the "Chainspell Stun mage." I did that. It could be difficult though, since if your timing is slightly off, it'd trigger the Dynamis Lord's attack and then you'd really be in trouble.

Was your team particularly large?

There were many members in the team, and a lot of turnover, but the team leader did a good job managing everything. The time commitment wasn't all that strict, and I thought their lot system for splitting up the spoils was also quite fair. I met up with the members numerous times in real life as well. I haven't been able to see them for a while now though.

Did any of them know who you were?

Some of them did.

Whether in "Sky" or in Dynamis, I think you must have formed friendships with some of them due to all that time you spent playing together.

Yes, most definitely. I am still in touch with a number of the members today.

It sounds like you spent most of your time taking on content such as "Sky" and Dynamis.

Yes, I suppose so. I wasn't always up-to-date on the latest information, so I usually didn't lead parties, but I'd try to join well-managed parties and make an effort to contribute to the team. So if they needed a particular job, I'd make sure to level it up. I leveled up my scholar for that reason, but it ended up being a super useful character on its own.

The scholar is a key job class for various content to this day.

There's also a support class variation, which I found super interesting. So I participated in various content and often played with family members as well. I played the game together with my wife, and sometimes my daughter too.

That's wonderful. How did you usually play when you were with your family?

At first, I thought to have my wife play as a thief so that she could acquire items that I wanted for myself. However, she ended up getting into FFXI even more than I did, and I actually started finding items for her instead.

(laughs)

She focused on gardening a lot, and got quite good at chocobo digging too. I think she was even more of a hardcore player than I was. She played as a thief and bard main, and she even managed to make a Mandau and a Gjallarhorn.

That's pretty hardcore all right. (laughs)

After the changes in Dynamis, we both ended up focusing on Dynamis and collecting the Shadowreign era currencies. I leveled up with her in the Trial of the Magians too. She also played as a ninja, so we often had her in the front line, and me supporting from the rear.

Now I'd like to ask you about your favorite areas and NPCs. First, what's the most memorable area in the game for you?

It would have to be the Sanctuary of Zi'Tah. I just love the atmosphere and the music of that place. Whenever I was feeling a bit down, I would enter the forest and not engage in any battles, and just listen to the music while I worked. It's not just Zi'Tah though, as the music in all of FFXI's areas is wonderful. I remember it well.

Can you please share with us any stories or NPCs in the game that made an impression on you?

As far as the stories, I really enjoyed the first story up to the Shadow Lord battle. As for NPCs, it'd have to be Aphmau! She was so cute. I believe there was a scene where it's like you notice her walking up alongside you, but the scene was captured in such intricate detail that I found it to be really moving.

The cutscene animations from Treasures of Aht Urhgan onward were all quite detailed.

Naturally, Shantotto also had a pretty strong impact on me. I thought her lines and dialogue in general were amazing.

You mentioned that you mainly played certain content, but did you ever use the synthesis feature much?

I did. I think I mainly focused on clothcraft. Also, being able to make food was a necessity, so I boosted my cooking skill. I believe I leveled up my smithing, goldsmithing, and woodworking crafts as well. My wife and I divided up the necessary synthesis skills between us.

I feel like synthesis can be quite difficult if you don't have enough resources, so what did you do to earn money in the game?

My methods changed from time to time, but my wife enjoyed chocobo digging, so she ended up finding lots of orichalcum ingots and other valuable items. The method I remember the most for making money was probably collecting silk thread.

Yeah, that was always a stable source of income.

The two of us even hunted a crawler together. We also stole coins from beastmen...

Did you choose to boost your clothcraft skill because you were mainly playing a support role?

Yes. I liked wearing equipment that I'd crafted myself. Plus, items that are high quality sell for even more, so I also used that as a way to make money. I really enjoyed the on-screen effects whenever you synthesized a high-quality item.

It sounds like you took a more slow and steady approach to making money rather than going for high-value targets like battlefields and notorious monsters.

The scramble for notorious monsters can be quite exhausting. (laughs wryly) That reminds me, it was extremely difficult trying to obtain a Joyeuse. It wasn't as powerful as I'd expected, but it was a lot of fun using it with Enspell while dual wielding in order to boost my hit rate.

Yes, it was more about layering damage than dealing single powerful blows.

I relied on stamina when using a Ninja Support build for my red mage. Although it took me a while when playing solo, I employed a strategy of casting enhancing magic and Enspell while also utilizing Poison and Bio to slowly reduce the monsters' health, and then going in for the final blow with Level III or IV elemental magic.

As a fantasy author and someone who has worked on the world design for TRPGs, what did you find unique and interesting about the world of Vana'diel?

From a game design perspective, there were many names for things like the items, monsters, and notorious monsters that I wasn't really familiar with. I was surprised at just how much information there was packed into the game. You have to remember that at the time, there wasn't nearly as much information available online as there is now.

Yes, the game does draw upon various sources, such as mythology.

I also worked on the Collection Series*, so I purchased many western books for my research, but the sheer amount of information contained with FFXI exceeded what I had managed to accumulate. I had no idea whether it was because Square Enix simply threw waves of personnel at the issue, or just hired people who had an amazing amount of knowledge regarding such matters, but I remember being impressed with what the company had accomplished.

Titles such as Item Collection really helped people become familiar with the various weapons and items that appeared in RPGs.

I was tasked with working on titles such as Item Collection and Monster Collection by Mr. Hitoshi Yasuda* and came up with the overall outline for them. I also added some reading passages, which went on to be quite well-received, so I was definitely proud of what I created.

When you were writing those books, did you look to video game RPGs such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy for reference?

I mostly used various TRPGs as a foundation, but I also looked at how titles such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy treated topics like monsters and items since they were famous RPGs that had taken the world by storm. Naturally, I also drew inspiration from titles like Wizardry as well.

So would you say that FFXI had an influence on your various works?

In terms of fantasy, I think the largest influences came from TRPGs and titles like the Lord of the Rings* series. However, I've spent years playing FFXI, so I'd say it definitely had an influence on me as well. Although I never did anything like an homage to it, it's a title that is etched into the fabric of my being, so I suppose it may have had an indirect influence on some of the things I've done.

If you were to design a new RPG today, what kind of game would you like to make?

My entry into the world of games in general started with Record of Lodoss War* and I went on to direct and write various games over the years, but I've always operated with the idea that we shouldn't try to force the story on players. So I'd want the game to be something that each individual player could enjoy in their own unique way.

You mean like a game where the players would have complete freedom within the game "world"?

I want players to be able to play and enjoy both the game's "world" as well as its "gameplay." Given that and the general trend of games these days, I suppose it'd have to be an action game. Although, I'm not particularly good at action games, so I think I'd probably end up creating just the "world" while someone else handled the gameplay and other elements. (laughs) If anyone out there needs a setting for their game, give me a call anytime!

When you're writing a novel, I imagine you first come up with a detailed setting before you get into the story itself?

I have to do it that way or else I'm unable to get any writing done. In fact, I can't start writing until I have the setting completely locked down, which isn't very optimal in terms of efficiency and the general use of my time. (laughs wryly) Of course, the story and characters are important too, so people often tell me, "You should start with the characters first. It's easier that way and you'll be sure to make something that'll sell." However, I prefer starting with the "world" itself first, and I want to make sure that it is absolutely riveting for those who experience it.

In closing, is there any message you'd like to share as FFXI nears its 23rd anniversary?

I'm not sure if I'm really qualified to say this after only having played FFXI for a period of about ten years, but I'd like to congratulate all of the adventurers out there on coming all this way. FFXI is one of my all-time favorite games, so it's a world that I developed a strong affinity for and it still holds a special place in my heart and memories to this day. As such, I hope that people who have enjoyed their time in Vana'diel over the years continue to do so for a long time to come, and I'd like to share with them both my feelings of respect and support.