Above: Don’t worry, it’s not the same horrible game it used to be.

Hey, remember Final Fantasy XI, that massive multiplayer online role playing game that people said would tank but actually turned out to be pretty good? And remember Final Fantasy XIV, the next online game in the series that ended up being absolutely abysmal? Yeah, it was a few years ago, and we’ve all gotten over it, but the folks over at Square Enix have managed to make Final Fantasy XIV relevant again to the MMO gaming crowd at large.

How you ask? How else? A reboot.

The reboot features a complete overhaul of the core gameplay mechanics, tossing out the rather clunky user interface it initially had and opting for a more traditional one a la World of Warcraft or Guild Wars. But this familiarity shouldn’t be taken as a blatant rip-off of other games, not when it works so well. In addition to this, Square Enix is apparently adding a slew of new content to commemorate the release of the PS3 version of the Final Fantasy MMO. What’s more, the PS3 release will coincide with a re-release of the PC version of the game which the developers are dubbing: Final Fantasy XIV 2.0 – A Realm Reborn. If you weren’t enticed yet, the fact that it has Limit Breaks (That’s right FFVII, fans) or that it won the Community Choice Awards from Gamescom 2012 should do the trick. They’re clearly excited, and I have to say, this writer is intrigued as well. Why not give it a shot? Check it out at the official website: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/

Here’s a Slew of Pictures to Tide You Over