Final Fantasy V

"Not much of a storyline... but an incredibly fun game"

Perhaps you've heard about how the Final Fantasy games follow a certain ''pattern'', with the even numbered being more story orientated and the odd numbered being more focused on gameplay. Well, this pattern certainly holds true for Final Fantasy V, as the game's strong points are its skill system and level of challenge, not its story. It should be noted that FF5 strongly resembles FF3j, so if you have played that game, you know what to expect.

Graphics (8/10)
Very colorful, detailed graphics, good for their time and certainly an improvement over FF4. Spell effects and battle graphics are quite impressive, especially during boss fights. The character designs could have used a little work, though; some of the job outfits look as if they were thrown together in a couple of minutes. On the other hand, the monster designs are great. Overall, FF5's graphics are a pleasure to look at, even though they will not stun you.

Music/Sound (7/10)
The soundtrack to FF5 is probably Uematsu's weakest score, next to FF2j's music. It's still good however, which is a testament to his musical skills. The best thing about the music are the battle themes and the more upbeat tunes, like ''The Dragon Spreads its Wings''. I bought the OST and still listen to it occasionally, but it's just not as great as, say, FF6's or FF8's music, and there are a few grating pieces. Sound effects are your usual Final Fantasy fare, which means good but not impressive.

Story (3/10)
Retarded at best. Let's face it, this is the worst storyline of all modern FFs (not including the three 8bit games). It's about four light warriors brought together by fate (or corny plot devices) and strictly follows the ''good ole'' FF pattern of ''Save the crystals, kill the bad guy''. The plot is totally hackneyed and reads as if it were made up in the process of writing, with Deus Ex Machinas a plenty. Sure, so was FF4's plot, but that game had memorable, well developed characters. FF5 hasn't. The main character, ''Butz'', doesn't have a shred of personality, and his chocobo sidekick receives more development than three of the four other playable characters. The villain is, in a word, pathetic and totally lacks background and motivation. As mentioned above, FF5 is a ''system game'', not one you'd play for the story.

Gameplay (10/10)
Excellent! This game has it all. A brilliant character system which is easy to understand, yet allows you to customize each of your characters to a high degree. Fun, fast-paced battles against multitudes of different monsters. Great dungeons. Challenging boss battles. Two worlds to explore, complete with plenty of secrets, hidden weapons, armor, magic spells, summons, job classes, everything! Gameplay-wise, this is the best Final Fantasy, no doubt, and perhaps the best overall RPG as well. It's simply flawless.

Challenge (10/10)
Not too easy, but never frustrating. Perfect.

Replay Value (10/10)
You'll play this over and over again. The battles are fun even the fourth time through and you'll never get tired of messing around with the job system.

Overall (9/10)
If you play RPGs mainly for gameplay, this is your game! If you play them for story, this should still appeal to you, even with its bad plot- it's so much fun! My second favourite FF, next to FF8.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/00, Updated 09/26/00