Final Fantasy V

"The most addicting game in the series!"

Let me start off by just saying, in case you didn’t know, that Final Fantasy 5 was never released in America until 1999, as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology. It’s really a shame, though, that Square didn’t bring over this great game for the Super Nintendo. Therefore, this is based on the translated version, available through emulation. Anyway, on with the review!

Graphics: 7/10
The graphics weren’t much an improvement over Final Fantasy IV (II in the US), but still proved to be satisfying. The characters now can do a little bit of extra things. For instance, they now open their mouths and laugh. Anyway, the graphics could have been better, but I don’t care much for graphics, anyway.

Music/Sound: 9/10
Like in all Final Fantasy games, (or at least most) Nobuo Uematsu impresses me with the soundtrack of Final Fantasy V. The music fits very well with the situation. Most of the songs on the soundtrack I really liked, and the soundtrack for the game is available when you buy the Final Fantasy Anthology! And I can’t comment too much about the sound, since there isn’t much sound.

Story: 9/10
Well, the story isn’t as impressive as some of the other FFs, but it’s still good. It begins with a princess at a castle, who is saying goodbye to her father. Her father is leaving because he thinks something is happening to the wind. Suddenly, a meteor comes down and hits the ground. A traveler, Bartz, (or Butz in the translated version) finds the princess, Lenna/Reina. Then, they find a man named Galuf, who hit his head and has amnesia. Together, they go to the Wind Shrine. Anything else would probably spoil it, so play the game for yourself to find out. Overall, the story is quite good with many interesting twists to it.

Gameplay: 10/10
Ahh, the gameplay. Now THIS is where Final Fantasy V shines the most. It has the incredible Job System, which is by FAR the most enjoyable feature of the game. You pick out a job for your character. Jobs include those such as a Knight, a White/Black/Red/Blue/Time wizard, a Thief, and so on. Each job has its own set of weapons and armor to equip, and it increases and decreases the character’s stats, depending on the job. After every battle, you gain points, which go toward gaining a level for that job. Every time you gain a level, you gain an ability unique to the job, which you can now use, even if a character’s job is changed. A grand total of 100 abilities can be learned.

Fun Factor: 10/10
This game is SOOOOOOOO much fun! The Job System makes you wanna keep playing. It makes the game VERY addicting.

Challenge: Above Average
The first third if the game isn’t much of a challenge. It’s quite easy, actually. But in the second third, the challenge rises a lot, and by the last third, the game requires quite a bit of leveling up for you to get through it.

Replayability: 8/10
There are a couple reasons to replay this game. For one, try mastering ALL the jobs. Other things might include something like trying to get all of the blue magic, which is quite hard. So replay value is quite good.

Buy or rent, that is the question!!!
Buy the Final Fantasy Anthology. If you do, you will not only get Final Fantasy 5, but also FF6 and the soundtrack to both games! But if you really don’t want to spend money, at least download the game through emulation.

So that’s that. TRY THIS GAME OUT!!! It’s extremely fun! You shouldn’t be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/01, Updated 02/22/01