Final Fantasy V

"May never get the respect it deserves..."

Ah, Final Fantasy V. One of the lost games of the series, along with Final Fantasy II and III, that never made it to the US. Quite a damn shame it didn't make it here sooner, for it is now shoved aside by ''new-schoolers'' due to the retro graphics and gameplay. Some people just won't look beyond graphics and realize the fantastic gameplay that lies beneath.

Originally released for the SFC (Super Famicom, called Super Nintendo in the US) this game was immensely popular in Japan. However, it never made it here until shortly after FFVIII's debut in late 1999, along with Final Fantasy VI and a music CD in the Anthology package. Only people who used the ROM or imported it got the chance to play it before now. Unfortunately, this game will never get the respect it deserves by some people, due to being released the time of over-the-top FFVIII graphics and flashy FMVs.

Graphics (6/10)- Honestly, I don't think these graphics are much different from part four of the series. It almost looks exactly the same, despite the slightly improved character designs. If you've played FFIV, you pretty much have the picture of this game's graphics. The map looks the same, the town graphics look the same, practically everything in the game resembles FFIV style graphics. I do like the fact that the summons are quick and not painfully long and drawn out, though. Special feature this game contains, along with FFVI in the Anthology deal, are the added FMVs. Unfortunately, I was expecting a bit more; there are only two FMVs, one at the beginning before the title screen, and one when you beat the game. Nevertheless, the FMVs in this game are simply fantastic. Not up to par with FFVIII and FFIX, mind you, but certainly a treat. My only problem with the FMVs is how they drastically changed the character looks. For example, Bartz has gray hair in the movie sequences, but brown hair in the actual game. Other than that, the game's graphics are nothing special, but you won't cringe in reaction to them. Besides, graphics don't make a game!

Music/Sound (9/10)- You'd think that later games in the series would have better sound due to CD quality sound as opposed to cartridges, right? Think again. This game contains some of the best music I've heard in the entire series. I found them stuck in my head for a long while, not forgetting a bit of them. From the opening sequence to the final battle, each song is full of creativity; it's not just garbage that loops every five seconds. Some themes that caught my attention were X-Death's themes, the N-Zone, Gilgamesh's theme, Val Castle...I could go on all day. Most definitely up to par with IV and VI, while surpassing the likes of FFVIII and FFIX.

The sound of the game, as usual in this series, is adequate. The tinny sound of a little swish of the sword, the odd sound of the bow and arrow, and the high-pitched noise of launching a spell is certainly nothing big, but the sounds get the job done. Some sound somewhat realistic, though; I like the spell effects, especially the summons. Some that you get late in the game such as Bahamut and Odin look awesome. To sum it up, the sound gets the job done in the game, though it certainly isn't the main attraction.

Control (10/10)- There honestly isn't much to explain about the control, as it's quite easy to get used to, especially if you've played other Playstation games in the series. Triangle brings up the menu, the O button cancels and lets you run if you hold it down, and the X button is your usual confirm button used to attack and such. Simple. Although analog isn't compatible with this game, the directional pad works just fine.

Story (8/10)- The game centers around Bartz, a lone wanderer traveling the world with his chocobo. In an unexpected event while he is traveling, a meteor hits the ground near the pirate cove. Startled, Bartz investigates the area, finding a girl named Reina and an old man with amnesia, named Galuf. Coincidentally, Reina tells Bartz that her father had gone to investigate the Wind Shrine's crystal. It was for a good reason too; the wind stopped. Puzzled, you, Reina, and Galuf try to find your way to the Wind Shrine to see what the trouble is.

I enjoyed the story throughout the entire game. Although the ''quest to find crystals'' is a bit old in the series, crystals aren't the only important element of the plotline. Meteors play a decent role as well, and after the revival of Bartz's father's old enemy, the plot becomes quite interesting. Although you may not think this storyline to be the best in the series, play through the whole game; the plot twists may surprise you.

A problem I have with this game's storyline is the elements recycled from earlier games of the series. Not only the crystals element was borrowed, but they also revived the Light Warrior idea in this game. While there's nothing terribly wrong with this, I'd prefer a bit more originality. The last and rather major problem I have with this game is that the characters just aren't developed enough. Background info is well provided, especially on Bartz, but all four characters don't really change throughout the game, to my disappointment. The character expressions are a welcome addition to this game, though. Although some are corny, others actually move the game's dialogue along; for example, when Bartz hangs his head low and a dramatic melody plays, you get a better feeling of the type of emotion the storyline is trying to convey.

Gameplay (10/10)- This is it, the heart of FFV. The reason it's such a great game even today. What FFV lacks in storyline, it more than makes up for in its outstanding gameplay.

I for one have not played Final Fantasy III for the NES, but if the job system in it is anything like this game's, it's damn good. This game was the second in the series to use a rather cool way of customizing your characters, the job system.

While other most Final Fantasies lacked a bit of customization for your characters, this one has endless possibilities. Any character can switch to any job they like in this game, regardless of who they are. There are never any points in the game where a character has a certain job forced upon him or her; you're free to choose. Jobs range from the Black Mage to the well defended Knight, even into more unique classes like the Mime, which are only useful if you use them carefully.

Characters in this game level up via the standard experience system that you gain after battles, as well as getting gold from enemies as well. However, levels will mean nothing in this game if you don't gather Ability Points (ABP) for your job classes as well. Each character, while switched to a certain job, gains ABP after battle; this AP goes toward the learning of new skills to make your characters even deadlier. While the ABP cost seems low for simple commands such as Guard for the Knight, which blocks physical attacks for a turn, don't be fooled; later classes like the Mime require extreme amounts of AP to master, even going as high as 999 points. The AP you gain from enemies is rather minimal, usually in the 1-5 range, so don't count on winning these techniques in a few battles.

Better yet, you aren't limited to the certain characteristics of a job class. You can give a character the power of another job simply by gaining enough ABP to learn a certain ability. For example, if you want your Samurai to use low level black magic, learn the Black Magic Level 1 skill from a Black Mage and put it in your Samurai's secondary ability slot. With the secondary slot, there are endless possibilities; you just have to find a useful combo that works for you.

A seemingly useless class of this game is your characters' initial Bare status. After getting your first jobs and switching your characters to versatile characters such as Knights, you'd wonder why someone would bother with switching to the Bare status, but don't be fooled. Each time you master a class, the Bare status gains a unique ability from that job. For example, master the Ninja class and switch the character back to Bare. You'll find that the character now has the ability to use two weapons at once. The more jobs you master, the more useful this class will become; with patience, the Bare class can be the most useful class at the end of the game. And since the Bare class has no special ability, you have not one, but two slots to put abilities in. This class will be almost unstoppable once you master enough jobs.

Overall, the gameplay of this game is simply brilliant. It is full of customization, and one of my favorite styles of FF gameplay ever. This is the reason FFV is such a fantastic game; I hope to see the job class used many times in this growing series, as it adds a whole new level of enjoyment to the gameplay.

Difficulty (5/10)- Pretty average. It certainly isn't that challenging, but a good few bosses will have you leveling up quite a bit. You'll need to learn the right abilities to use for some bosses of the game, or they might overwhelm you at times. The two optional bosses of this games are immensely tough and a welcome challenge to your skills. The game is fairly linear despite the side quests, which are fairly easy and allow you to acquire powerful summons and weapons. Summons like Bahamut and Titan have returned, as well as weapons such as the legendary Excalibur blade. Overall, the job system adds challenge to the game, but I didn't have to much trouble playing through it.

Replay (5/10)- Once you've played it, you're pretty much done. I really am not compelled to play this game over, like most RPGs, because of some tedious spots that I just don't want to go through again. If you missed some side quests you might want to play it over again, but I really don't see any reason to. I'd rather just build on your initial file by leveling up, playing missed side quests, and mastering classes instead of restarting a new file.

Buy/rent? Buy, most definitely. You won't finish this game in one rental. Grab it along with FFVI in the Anthology deal.

In conclusion, this game is great, but will never be recognized this way by many people who shove a game aside due to graphics. While the storyline was a bit lacking, the fully customizable job system makes up for it. Just look past the simple graphics, pick up the game, and play it until you've done all there is to do. When you finally put it down, you'll have gone through a gaming experience that you won't forget. This game is no exception to the standard of excellence Final Fantasy has set, and you'll never regret playing it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/01/01, Updated 06/05/01