Square EnixSquare Enix is taking drastic measures to curb server congestion after a wake of excitement for its popular Fantasy Fantasy massively multiplayer RPG. No, not that one. While Final Fantasy XIV may still be the developer’s golden child, the older, weirder Final Fantasy XI is seeing something of a resurgence as well. That means it could be a good time to check out one of the most fascinating MMORPGs ever — if you can even get your foot in the door.Recently, the 23-year-old Final Fantasy XI has seen such an increase in players that it’s had to close its most popular server (a World in FFXI speak) to newcomers.“The Development and Operations teams have been working hard to help all of you enjoy your gaming experience even more, but it has been discovered that the concentration of player populations on certain Worlds has led to a series of unexpected issues that have managed to affect the quality of that experience somewhat,” director Yoji Fujito writes in an update.Crossovers with Final Fantasy XIV have kept Final Fantasy XI in the spotlight. | Square EnixIn short, the Asura server has gotten so overpopulated that it’s causing issues including system messages not getting delivered. To remedy the issue, Square Enix is temporarily closing Asura to new players and halting the transfer of existing characters to the server. There’s no word on how long the measures in Asura will last, but Square Enix says it’s monitoring other servers for solutions to possible overcrowding there, too.“Since there is a possibility that similar issues may arise on other overly crowded Worlds, we are also considering other potential measures that will help equalize the populations across Worlds,” Fujito says.This doesn’t mean Final Fantasy XI is on a total blackout for new players. Asura is just one of more than 30 servers worldwide, the rest of which are still open for business. But Asura is the most popular by a wide margin, and has been for some time. For a game that’s more than two decades old, even with its population growing recently, heading for the most populous server with thousands of other players is a much better option for most people than heading to the smallest, where there may be only a few dozen active players online at any given time.Decades after release, Final Fantasy XI is seeing a renewed surge of interest. | Square EnixEven Square Enix seems to be a little surprised at how well Final Fantasy XI is doing, though. According to Fujito, the developer was prepared to shut the game down entirely as recently as 2024, but player interest surged so much that the team started working on new content instead.As for why Final Fantasy XI is suddenly struggling to contain everyone who’s interested, the game’s more popular sibling is mostly to thank. Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion, Dawntrail, includes a raid series, essentially a set of high-end dungeons, based on Final Fantasy XI. They’re set in the older game’s world of Vana’diel, and spending a bit of time there seems to have sparked a desire in players to see the original.Once they’re there, new Final Fantasy XI players may be in for a bit of a shock coming from Final Fantasy XIV. The older MMORPG came about at a very different time for game development and internet culture, and it relies a lot more on players figuring things out for themselves and struggling to reach the top. In the best cases, though, it remains one of the most engrossing RPGs ever made. And much of what made Final Fantasy XI great in its heyday is how much it demanded players work together to solve problems rather than thinking they can conquer the game on their own. A lot of that has changed with patches that make solo play easier, but while Final Fantasy XI is a different beast now, it’s still well worth exploring.Final Fantasy XI is available now on PC.