Let's get one thing straight before I indulge you with my first impressions of Final Fantasy XI. I am not a big RPG fan. I never was and I thought I never would be. The only ounce of interest I had in RPGs was watching my two younger brothers play them over and over again, and that was only when I was bored and had absolutely nothing else to do. I have to admit that my favorite RPG when watching my brother play was Final Fantasy VII, so I did have some understanding of the Final Fantasy world. However, watching a game and playing a game to me are completely different activities when it comes to RPGs. To me, watching a RPG game is like watching a movie being played out, with a great plot and storyline. Playing a RPG game, on the other hand, is like having a crummy job, where it feels I have to do redundant work using the controller but never really have the opportunity to enjoy the game as I could by watching someone else play. This is because my focus would be so engaged in the battle sequences and what to do next rather than to just sit back and enjoy the game itself. Whenever someone started chatting about a RPG with me, I would quickly turn them off and say that I don't play RPGs and that my passion is in sports and action games. Not long after my first experiences with RPG games, I began to totally disregard RPGs as something I would ever consider playing.