VanaFest 2012: A Decade of FFFXI

June 23-24

2012

Pacifico Yokohama

VanaFest 2012:

A Decade of

Final Fantasy XI

VanaFest 2012: A Decade of Final Fantasy XI was a two day event held from June 23-24, 2012 in Exhibition Hall B of the Pacifico Yokohama, Japan. Opening hours were 9:00 to 17:00 on the first day and 9:00 to 16:00 on the second day. Tickets costed ¥1,500 for advanced purchase and ¥2,000 for same day purchase.

Stamp cards were distributed upon entry and stamps were collected for participation in the event's various attractions. Once all stamps were collected, attendees were gifted with the in-game items "Mog Mask" and "Mog Suit". A gift bag with the following items were also gifted:

Final Fantasy XI 10th Anniversary ball point pen (for use during the event's live quests)
Final Fantasy XI 10th Anniversary neck strap and admission pass
New Special Battlefield "Heroine's Tower" Athena Orb Campaign code sheet (in-game item)
Event venue limited pamphlet and attraction stamp rally sheet
Final Fantasy XI "Guardian Cruz" and Final Fantasy Brigade collaboration venue limited trading card (with codes for in-game items)

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OPENING CEREMONY

The opening ceremony was addressed by Yoichi Wada, the President of Square Enix. He addressed the 10th Anniversary of Final Fantasy XI and confirmed that the title was the most profitable Final Fantasy title of all time.

“This work is the title most loved by customers in the entire history of Final Fantasy. I only made a rough calculation, but it seems that the total gameplay time of all players so far is 200,000 years. In regards to the playtime and revenue, Final Fantasy XI has become most profitable Final Fantasy title of all time."

Japanese voice actress Emiri Kato and voice actor Katsuyuki Konishi took to the stage, acting as MCs for the event.

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EVENT STAGE

The event stage had a jam-packed schedule that spanned the entire two days.

Developer's Talk Session: taking place at 11AM on both days, the talk session with Final Fantasy XI's developers featuring upcoming releases, new announcements, new content, etc. Guests included Izumi Takashi Ito (director), Yoji Fujito (associate director), Tomitoshi Saito (planner), and Masaru Taniguchi (planner).

Live Music Special by Naoshi Mizuta: taking place at 12PM on both days, composer of Final Fantasy XI's OST and member of the band "The Star Onions" Naoshi Mizuta takes to the stage. Special guests included Takuro Iga (piano) and Machi Okabe (violin). Arranged songs were performed, such as "Battle Theme", "Kazham", "Airship", and "Mog House".

Cosplay Contest: the 10th Anniversary Cosplay Contest was held at 1PM on Day 1, with a total of 28 cosplayers participating. The judges were Hiromichi Tanaka (producer), Izumi Takashi Ito (director), and Yoji Fujito (associate director).

Successive Director Talk "Project XI ~ Developers ~": taking place at 2PM on Day 1, behind the scene stories and incidents during development were shared, with guests including Hiromichi Tanaka (producer), Koichi Ishii (original director and current president of Grezzo), Nobuaki Komoto (lead planner), Koichi Ogawa (dungeon map planner), and Akihiko Matsui (lead battle planner).

Live Music Special by Kumi Tanioka: a live piano solo recital by Kumi Tanioka took place at 4PM on Day 1, composer of the Final Fantasy XI OST.

Nomad Mog Bonanza & Real Mog Bonanza: a lottery for prizes and in-game items. The Nomad Mog Bonanza returns from VanaFest 2010 and is also available to non-attendees of the event.

Vana'diel Trivia Challenge Quiz: taking place at 1PM on Day 2, teams of two took to the stage and participated in a trivia challenge quiz where prizes were awarded.

Live Music Special by Nobuo Uematsu: a live performance of the rock band "Earthbound Papas" led by Nobuo Uematsu took to the stage at 3PM on Day 2. The band performed familiar pieces such as "One-Winged Angel" from Final Fantasy VII, "Distant World" from Final Fantasy XI, "Seymour Battle" from Final Fantasy X, and the opera "Maria and Draco" from Final Fantasy VI. "Distant World" was unveiled for the first time to the public.

Event Grand Finale: a special surprise announcement was made at the end of the event, where original producer of Final Fantasy XI, Hiromichi Tanaka, announced his retirement and handed the torch to the game's battle planner, Akihiko Matsui, as the new producer.

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SPECIAL BATTLEFIELD "HEROINES' TOWER"

The main attraction for the event is the new special battlefield "Heroines' Tower" (also known as "Heroines' Holdfast"), a new dungeon that would be added to the next update of the game, where players fought against various heroines of the game, such as Lion, Prishe, Nashmeira, Lilisette, Mumor, Mnejing, and Ovjang. Players had to sign up in teams of six on a first come, first serve basis at the party signup area. Teams are assigned Team A and Team B, respectively and the clear times for each team is recorded. The winning team were rewarded special in-game items.

A set of rules for the challenge were created for the event:

A 15 minute time limit
Fixed characters and jobs
Use of support jobs were prohibited
The challenge was cleared upon defeating the boss, Lion

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VANA'DIEL CAFE -RARAB TAIL HOSTELRY-

The Vana'diel Cafe reproduced and offered meals inspired by those found in Vana'diel for the hungry adventurers of the event. It was inspired by the hostel and restaurant "Rarab Tail Hostelry" found in Windurst Waters of the game. The available menu items are listed below:

Meals:

Vana'diel Bento (¥1,500): Tonosama rice balls, Dahlmel stew, rarab meatballs, sautéed batagreens, bataquiche, baked popoto, Windurst-style salad.
Dahlmel Stew with Iron Bread (¥800): beef or camel meat, potatoes, carrots, onions, mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, demiglace sauce, camel meat, tomato ketchup, red wine, chicken consomme, sugar, salt.
Nebimonite Pot-Baked Paella (¥2,000): white rice, shrimp, scallops, squid, mussels, onions, butter, chicken consomme, smoked fish, white wine, saffron powder, parsley, salt, pepper.
Windurst-Style Tacos (¥800): tortilla wrap, ground beef, onions, beans, cheddar cheese, salsa sauce, chili con carne, lettuce, sour cream, boiled tomatoes, chicken consomme, soy sauce, mirin, sake, sugar, salt, pepper.

Snacks:

Galkan Sausage (¥500): lamb, kataguri powder, salt, sugar, pepper, spices.
Mithkabob-Style Mountain Skewers (¥800): chicken, duck, onions, soybeans, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, apples, lemons, salt, fructose, glucose liquid sugar, black honey, fermented seasonings, white sesame, sesame oil, honey, mash, spices, pepper.
Bataquiche (¥500): pie dough, egg, whipped cream, parmesan cheese, shiitake mushroom, shimeji mushroom, salt, pepper.
Red/Yellow Curry Bread (¥400/¥300): wheat flour, eggs, onions, beef, carrots, celery, yogurt, curry flakes, tomato paste, yeast, baking powder, chutney, parsley, red wine, honey, garlic, curry powder, salad oil, salt , sugar, pepper.

Dessert:

Trio Dessert Assortment (¥1,200): black pudding, pamama tart, rolanberry pie, 10th anniversary logo chocolate.
Goblin Chocolate (¥600): sweet chocolate, cocoa mass, whipped cream, butter, white tapioca, pumpkin seed, honey.
10th Anniversary Logo Chocolate (¥700)

Drinks:

Yagudo Drink (¥300): pink grapefruit juice, water, blueberry jam, grenadine syrup.
Mulsum (¥300): grape juice, water, honey.
Persikos au Lait (¥300): peach mixed juice, yogurt, water, honey, peach syrup, corn syrup.
Goblin Drink (¥300): spinach, carrot, bean sprout, celery, green peas, asparagus, kale, chinese cabbage, brussels sprouts, parsley, broccoli, pumpkin, radish, apple, grape, lemon, orange.
Windurstian Tea (¥300): green tea, water.
San d'Orian Tea (¥300): black tea, water.
Imperial Coffee Iced/Hot (¥300): coffee, water.
Giddeus Water (¥200): natural spring water bottle.

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FLOOR EVENTS

A number of activities were available across the two day event.

10th Anniversary Random Deal Corner: capsule machines were available for attendees to collect six types of metal tags exclusive to the 10th anniversary event. A code for bonus in-game items were also included inside each capsule. Cost per try was ¥500.
Vana'diel O-mikuji: Japanese fortune-telling paper strips that can be found at shrines and temples. With a cost of only ¥100, attendees were able to ask the goddess Altana, creator of Vana'diel, for their fortune.
Final Fantasy XI Original Katanuki: also known as diecutting, it is an activity common at Japanese festivals in which colored molds of candy were carved using a needle or toothpick. Twelve different Final Fantasy XI themed shapes were available, costing ¥100 per sheet.
Live Quest: quests given by event staff (known as NPCs) to undertake around the venue, with prizes upon completion. The website states that quests are not straightforward, and requires adventurers with confidence in their intelligence, physical strength, and luck of time.
Substage: live events all day, including the live broadcast for the event. The stage also accepted letters from fans that contained congratulatory messages to Square Enix staff as well as song requests for Kumi Tanioka's performance on Day 2.
Commemorative photo corner: a photo op corner where attendees could take photos with full-scale monster silhouettes, country flags, etc.
Sponsor booths: booths from the event's sponsors include Enterbrain and Dengeki Brigade.

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EXHIBITION CORNER

An exhibition corner allowed attendees a glimpse of the past decade of Final Fantasy XI. The exhibition featured goods and promotional material no longer available. A special real life crystal was created to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the game.

A fan art contest was also held to commemorate the 10th anniversary, with artworks selected by the game's development staff displayed at the venue. Theme's for the artworks were to evoke the 10th anniversary, such as "anniversary celebrations", "trajectory of adventures so far", and "scenes of memories". An award was given to the artwork with the highest number of votes by the event's attendees. Three tiers of awards were presented:

Crystal Award (1 winner): "Mog Mask", "Mog Suit", "Town Mog Shield", and "Mog Rod".
Mythril Award (4 winners): "Mog Mask", "Mog Suit", and "Town Mog Shield".
Copper Award (10 winners): "Mog Mask", "Mog Suit", and "Town Mog Shield".