Final Fantasy V

"To think that America might have gone without this game... I shudder at the idea"

Originally released for the Super Nintendo, Squaresoft decided to withhold Final Fantasy V from the American gamers. I can't say I know why, but needless to say, it was a bit of a drag. At that point the Final Fantasy series was a bit bizarre, with FFIV being called FF2 and FFVI named FF3; things were just a bit whacked out at that stage in Square's production relationship with American Nintendo.

However, their mistake was reversed with the release of Final Fantasy Anthologies, a collectors set that featured both Final Fantsy VI and Final Fantasy V. Thank God for that- Final Fantasy V stands the test of time as one of Squaresoft's finest hours, and it's a game that any fan of RPGs should try.

Gameplay
Final Fantasy V uses the ATB system introduced in FFIV, but takes it a step further. Now, your characters have little bars that fill. When the bar is completely full, you will be allowed to perform an action. Enemies also have bars (although you cannot see them) to provide a different turn based game from what the originals had.

However, Final Fantasy V is most famous for the job system. Final Fantasy III, another game that never hit American shelves (damn, we got ripped) was the first to use the job system, but it had some glitches. In FFIII, changing your job was an ardous task that required the player to think twice before picking and switching jobs. While it was good for requiring the player to think, it was not very gamer-friendly and didn't forgive mistakes especially well.

FFV fixes that problem, giving your characters free reign to change between jobs whenever they want. It also introduces AP into the mix, as abilities that you learn are learned through gaining AP while using a job. By using the knight job in several battles, you will gain AP in the knight job and will learn knight abilities.

Of course, it's not an easy endeavor to level up your jobs. AP averages at... oh, 7 or 8 per battle, starting at just 1 or 2. The average job takes over a thousand AP to master, and there are over a dozen jobs. So, while you can indeed move between all jobs, it's best to pick a job or to and stick with them, as the abilities really only get good once the jobs are in their final levels.

Storyline
Butz is a young chocobo rider who was one day riding along when a meteor came crashing down out of the sky. You ride over to the crater to find a woman and man being tormented by goblins. After killing said goblins, Butz is introduced to Reina and Galuf. Reina is a princess in the reigning castle, and Galuf is... actually, Galuf doesn't know who he is; he has forgotten entirely. However, what the group does know is that they must get to the wind shrine, as the falling meteor has released monsters that will destroy the wind crystal. If it is destroyed, wind will fail forever.

So, you and your four characters (you pick up a fourth, Faris, a few minutes after the opening scene) travel to the wind shrine only to find out you're too late. Now, it's up to Butz and his companions to stop the other three crystals from being broken, for if all four are destoryed, an unspeakable evil will be released onto the earth...

I won't go into anymore detail, but I'll sum it up with this- this game has plenty of action, and while it's pretty straightforward, it's very unique in that EVERYONE dies at some point in the story or another (won't say more than that, other than the fact that someone obviously has to come back to life, eventually. It doesn't end in oblivion)

Graphics and Sound

Eh, not impressive. Weak graphics, and very weak music. For Squaresoft, it was actually pretty disappointing- I would have expected better out of them.

The job system is widely acclaimed as one of the best systems ever devised for a Role-Playing game, and FFV has perfected the art, rivaled only by Final Fantasy Tactics. With a great battle system and a simple yet entertaining story, everyone should give this game a try, especially fans of the Final Fantasy series.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/05