I feel as though Final Fantasy V often gets the short end of the stick in terms of recognition, being released in between two games that many consider to be classics, but trust me when I say that it had far exceeded my expectations. It's silly, stupid, and ridiculously fun. What it perhaps lacks in maturity it makes up for (if you really believe that that's something that needs to be made up, anyhow) with good humor and sincerity. Each party member has their moments- many in which are heartfelt, believe it or not- and good rapport with the others. This is all backed by a good soundtrack and some neat sprite work- the latter which seems to feel relatively untouched by the remaster, save for the saturation, and the former which I had set to the original. Similarly, the gameplay is very engaging. The ATB system works in favor of the pacing and the mismatching of jobs and abilities allows for some fun strategies. I won't lie and say that the ending doesn't drag or that the final boss isn't almost entirely dependent on RNG, but I believe that the rest of the game is well worth overlooking my frustration. If you're looking for a simple and sweet RPG, then I'd wholly recommend that you give this a shot.

The job system took a little time for me to get used to, but even before it did, I could tell that I was going to love this game.

I love the Moogles. I love Gilgamesh. I love Boko. I love Ghido the Turtle. I love the dances you can partake in at the bars. I love how Exdeath turns himself into a splinter. I love how there are so many hard enemies and bosses in here throughout the game, and then by the end, you have Bahamut and you can just sweep the floor with him. But most importantly, I now fully understand why Nobuo Uemetsu is considered a musical god. His score in here is simply incredible (it's really nice they give you the option to change between both the new and old soundtrack, because I love both).

Even if this isn't the first Final Fantasy game I've played, I feel like I've finally (lol) been fully introduced to what the series has to offer, and I'm happy to say that I'm going to stick around to see more. And based on what I've heard for as long as I've known about video games, the next one I play chronologically is going to be even better...