A 91-year-old Japanese gamer grandmother passed away on February 3. On top of her impressive age, she was an avid Final Fantasy XI player for nearly 20 years, according to her grandson.
“On Tuesday, February 3, my beloved grandmother passed away at the age of 91. Up until her health declined, she was a veteran player of FFXI for nearly 20 years. She watched me play since the beta version. I bet she’s adventuring through the world of Vana’diel with Mimi (her dog) right now.”
Her grandson’s post quickly gained traction on X, with Final Fantasy XI fans offering condolences and reminiscing about their time with the game. The story reached so far, in fact, that FFXI game designer Kensuke Shimoda and composer Kumi Tanioka took the time to respond,
“May she rest in peace. As one of the original development team members, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart for playing.“
“Thank you for journeying through Vana’diel for nearly twenty years. I do hope you are enjoying yourself in heaven. If you have been reborn in Vana’diel, I should love to know if you occasionally hear music being carried on the wind. May you rest in peace.“
Responding to Tanioka’s reply, the grandson explained that several of his family members are fans of Final Fantasy XI’s soundtrack, with his grandmother loving the theme of Gustaberg in particular. Tanioka replied once more, saying she was honored to compose the game’s many pieces.
Final Fantasy XI was first released on the PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, before being ported to PC, Xbox 360, and Steam. Its PS2 and Xbox 360 servers were shut down worldwide on March 31, 2016. Given that the Final Fantasy XI veteran grandmother can be seen playing on a computer, it can be safe to assume that she played for longer than the game was active on consoles.
Just to show how much of a badass she was, both she and her grandson played on the Valefor server, with her joining him in Ambuscade and Omen content. As a final farewell, her funeral service will be set to the tune of Final Fantasy XI’s piano collection.
Final Fantasy 14 director Yoshi-P is “rethinking the game from zero” as players’ free time dwindles
