This is one of those games where I spend like an hour planning out job paths and it feels really good when I get everything I am trying to
i ran out of mp and ethers right before neo exdeath but i tell everyone that i beat this game anyway
As much as I love job systems, I just wasn't particularly invested in this Final Fantasy game. I can't put my finger on what put me off with it, but it's a game I should like more than I do.
I lost interest partway through the first time around and then went back to do a complete run-through at a later time. Not one I'd ever want to play again.
I lost interest partway through the first time around and then went back to do a complete run-through at a later time. Not one I'd ever want to play again.
the 3rd best one
Job systems are always fun.
Job system is really cool but frustratingly imbalanced. Some jobs are bad but unlock incredible abilities, while some are just terrible with no upside. If you pick the wrong jobs you might find yourself grinding to correct course. Story is generic and not particularly moving (though faris is cool). Bosses are exciting and have a lot of interesting strategies, will probably take you a few tries. Overall one of the harder final fantasies.
Also known as the game where the bosses get tired of your min-maxing and decide to repay the favour
Lots of avenues for experimentation through the job system. Pretty straightforward plot, but the gameplay here is some of the franchise's most robust.
FFIV ate dirt so the rest of the series could eat gold. Games shouldn't eat gold, please donate a dollar to patreon.com/nerrel to make sure games don't eat gold.
Final Fantasy V aged so well for me, the more I think about it after playing all the FF tactics, the more I love the job system. Now it got all improved compared to FF III, the abilities, the stats... the customization is limitless.
What I really love about the job system is how you can use the neutral job and still have access to all the abilities acquired from other jobs. The possible combos that this features provides is just awesome and it adds some replay value to the game.
The history is a bit whatever, what really stands out the gameplay. Maybe that's why it's considered as one of the black sheeps of the series.
The most rewarding battle ever to me was to kill Omega weapon, that's what I call a tough boss!
What I really love about the job system is how you can use the neutral job and still have access to all the abilities acquired from other jobs. The possible combos that this features provides is just awesome and it adds some replay value to the game.
The history is a bit whatever, what really stands out the gameplay. Maybe that's why it's considered as one of the black sheeps of the series.
The most rewarding battle ever to me was to kill Omega weapon, that's what I call a tough boss!
i want to pee
TL; DR - clears throat FINAL FANTASY V IS SO F-ING AWESOME THAT IT MAKES MY DICK ROCK HARD
I have to preface my musings by making the distinction between 'puzzle'-style gameplay and 'playground'-style gameplay in RPGs. FFVII is a typical playground-style RPG: the materia system is very flexible and customizable, so you can feel free to express yourself, build your characters in any way you like, and take any number of creative approaches to combat. FFIV, on the other hand, is a typical puzzle-style RPG: it often changes around your party composition and throws different challenges at you, often geared towards forcing you to make clever use of the resources and tools you have at that particular time with that particular party.
Time for my hot take: FFV is a better playground RPG than FFVII and a better puzzle RPG than FFIV. While FFVII does afford much more customization, it's also very easy which means you never really get incentivized to really explore the materia system and the varying combat options beyond spamming attacks/limits and healing when needed. FFV, on the other hand, is just tough enough to push you to explore the vast network of jobs and job skills to find combinations that work on that one boss.
The 'puzzle' aspect of the game comes from limited-job challenges like the Four Job Fiesta (let an RNG pick 4 of the 20 jobs which you have to limit yourself to over the course of a run). While this wasn't exactly what the devs had in mind, the fact that you can complete the game with any combination of four jobs (yes, even four Berserkers!) is a testament to how well balanced the game is. Playing the game with different job combinations each time forces you to come up with ever more creative solutions (no healer? Just equip flame rings and nuke yourself with Firaga!) to the puzzles the game presents, and unlike FFIV, the solution to the puzzle is different every single time you play. The sheer replayability and depth of the job system is what makes this my favorite game.
Run count: 51 and still not bored
I have to preface my musings by making the distinction between 'puzzle'-style gameplay and 'playground'-style gameplay in RPGs. FFVII is a typical playground-style RPG: the materia system is very flexible and customizable, so you can feel free to express yourself, build your characters in any way you like, and take any number of creative approaches to combat. FFIV, on the other hand, is a typical puzzle-style RPG: it often changes around your party composition and throws different challenges at you, often geared towards forcing you to make clever use of the resources and tools you have at that particular time with that particular party.
Time for my hot take: FFV is a better playground RPG than FFVII and a better puzzle RPG than FFIV. While FFVII does afford much more customization, it's also very easy which means you never really get incentivized to really explore the materia system and the varying combat options beyond spamming attacks/limits and healing when needed. FFV, on the other hand, is just tough enough to push you to explore the vast network of jobs and job skills to find combinations that work on that one boss.
The 'puzzle' aspect of the game comes from limited-job challenges like the Four Job Fiesta (let an RNG pick 4 of the 20 jobs which you have to limit yourself to over the course of a run). While this wasn't exactly what the devs had in mind, the fact that you can complete the game with any combination of four jobs (yes, even four Berserkers!) is a testament to how well balanced the game is. Playing the game with different job combinations each time forces you to come up with ever more creative solutions (no healer? Just equip flame rings and nuke yourself with Firaga!) to the puzzles the game presents, and unlike FFIV, the solution to the puzzle is different every single time you play. The sheer replayability and depth of the job system is what makes this my favorite game.
Run count: 51 and still not bored
The story is some fantasy b-movie levels of shlock, however without spoiling them I do like a lot of the twists here FFV introduce to the Final Fantasy story formula before the later games would expand upon them.
But what makes FFV shine for me isn't the story, but rather it's amazing gameplay here. This is by far the best gameplay the mainline series has seen yet and that's all thanks to the job system and the bosses.
The job system is simple enough to understand while also being complex enough for unique customization. In a nutshell, All four characters get jobs as the story progresses and each jobs have certain skills you can unlock and equip. However what makes the job system unique is the fact that you can switch jobs at anytime for any situation, and any skills you unlocked for the jobs you've been using can be equipped to any other job as a sub-skill. Or you can go as a freelancer and use any skills you've collected. This not also makes your characters so much more customizable but makes it so if you wish to grind it's much more rewardable.
This is all backed by a fairly challenging game with some stellar boss fights that uses the active time battle system Square developed to it's fullest potential to create some unique fights here. There's not a lot of dungeons that drag on for too long, and because of that, FFV is for me the most fun Final Fantasy to play, and I find myself replaying this one more and more.
Also Gilgamesh is based.
But what makes FFV shine for me isn't the story, but rather it's amazing gameplay here. This is by far the best gameplay the mainline series has seen yet and that's all thanks to the job system and the bosses.
The job system is simple enough to understand while also being complex enough for unique customization. In a nutshell, All four characters get jobs as the story progresses and each jobs have certain skills you can unlock and equip. However what makes the job system unique is the fact that you can switch jobs at anytime for any situation, and any skills you unlocked for the jobs you've been using can be equipped to any other job as a sub-skill. Or you can go as a freelancer and use any skills you've collected. This not also makes your characters so much more customizable but makes it so if you wish to grind it's much more rewardable.
This is all backed by a fairly challenging game with some stellar boss fights that uses the active time battle system Square developed to it's fullest potential to create some unique fights here. There's not a lot of dungeons that drag on for too long, and because of that, FFV is for me the most fun Final Fantasy to play, and I find myself replaying this one more and more.
Also Gilgamesh is based.
The story sucks ass but i dont even care this is the most customizable and fun ff game gameplay wise
This review contains spoilers
This is considered to be one of the the black sheeps of the Final Fantasy franchise. Would I say it's underrated? Not really. It's more like overlooked. I don't usually see many people talk about this game, it gets overshadowed by the other games. So you know what? I wanna talk about it, cause I do enjoy this game a lot despite its flaws.
Usually I talk about the story before the gameplay but this is a pretty gameplay heavy game, so I'll dive into that first.
{ Gameplay }
The Job System makes a return from Final Fantasy III but it has been so refined that the game is a real joy to play despite how underwhelming the storytelling is, like with Final Fantasy X-2.
Any character can be practically anything that you want them to be. And while some are more keen to physical or magical prowess, you have total control on how you want to make them. As you play through the game, you unlock more Jobs, and some of the best Jobs in the game are unlocked via side quests.
The Jobs have been expanded from the ones in Final Fantasy III. You no longer have to pay Job Points in order switch them, and now, each Jobs have Passive Abilities to go along with battle actions. This includes things like:
Thief: Can sprint, find hidden passgeways, reduce the chance of back attacks
Ninja: Can equip 2 swords, and increase the chance of preemptive strikes
Geomancer: Can avoid trap doors and pitfalls, and makes the party immune to damage-inflicting terrain like spikes and lava
As you level up each Job, you unlock more actions to use in battle. And each Job comes with one initial ability and an open slot to equip any OTHER ability that you earned. Either one to use in battle or any other passive ability.
I can't stress how insane this is in terms of customization. You can essentially play the game however you want to. There is so much mixing and matching to do here.
You could do things like:
- Give the Sorcerer the ability to equip the the Knight's 2-Handed ability so you can hold a sword with 2 hands for more damage, or learn the X-Fight ability from the Hunter Job so you can attack 4 times in one turn.
- You can have a Mime Job equip Black, White, and Time magic at once (since they get 3 open ability slots).
- You you can use a Ninja and have them use the X-Fight ability since they have 2 Swords equipped by default, meaning you can attack EIGHT times in one turn.
- Or have a White, Black, Blue, or Time Mage have the Red Mages x2 Dualcast ability, which allows you to cast spells twice in one turn.
There are literally dozens of combinations that you can give to your party. It's amazing.
And there are no bosses, aside from a couple of them, where you must use specific Jobs in order to beat them, unlike in Final Fantasy III. You can use whatever combination you feel is best for you. Some Jobs are more overpowered than others, but unlike FFIII, FFV provides free reign to the player.
And this freedom makes this game one of the most replayable games in the series. And what makes a game like this so fun is the reward for mastering its mechanics. The reward comes from leveling up those Jobs. It's like how I feel about the Junction System in Final Fantasy VIII.
I know people either love or hate the Junction System, but me? I am a fuckin' geek. I love micromanaging my characters, seeing these tangible improvements to each aptitude. I love being able to customize my characters the way I would like them to be. I like to see just how much power I can gain, it's much more exciting than just gaining experience points and gaining levels.
Every time a Job levels up, there is always a payoff for doing it. Some abilities are much more useful than others, but having that flexibility encourages experimentation.
Each Job have different speeds of advancement. And the amount of Ability Points required increases as they level up, but, the more you level up the Job, the better the rewards are.
And if you reach the max level to a Job, you MASTER it. The Freelancer, which is the base Job, is able to get the highest stat adjustments to all Jobs they have mastered. Essentially, huge boosts in their stats, which automatically makes them the best they can be. They also get 2 open ability slots.
So basically, by the late game, there are an endless amount of possibilities to mess around with, it's mind-blowing.
This can even encourage you to replay the game again and see how you could play the game a different way.
Wanna know my personal favorite Job setup?
- Bartz (Primary DPS)
Abilities: !X-Fight and !2-Swords
- Lenna (Primary Magic DPS)
Abilities: !Black and !Summon (sometimes I'll give her !White instead of !Summon)
- Galuf/Krile (Primary Healer/Support, and with Mime equipped)
Abilities: !Time, !White, and !Blue
- Faris (Secondary DPS)
-Abilities: !X-Fight and !Spellblade
I'm curious as to what your favorite Job combinations are.
Also, if you want to know what each Job does what, click on this link. Because there is quite a lot, you'll thank me later.
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_V/Jobs#Starting_job
There are also additional tweaks done to the battles that can be both good and bad depending on how you look at it.
This is the first game where you can actually see the ATB gauges, letting you know exactly when a character is going to get their turn. However, you can't switch from one turn to another like in Final Fantasy IV.
If you want to skip a turn, you have to use the Defend command (Right D-Pad and A) which puts the ATB gauge back to 0, which can be annoying if you skip a turn but then your enemy hits you really hard and you really need that character to act again.
The game also has the Front and Back Row mechanic from FFIV. If you're in the Front Row, you deal normal physical damage but also take normal damage from physical attacks, and if you're in the Back Row, you take half damage from physical attacks but you can only deal half damage yourself.
Enemies can also be in either the Front or Back Rows, so it's recommended that you attack the enemies in the front before you attack the ones in the back, unless if you use magic or attacks that ignore Rows. It creates the mentality of "Mash A to win" which is prevalent in a lot of RPGs. It can result in some battles being mindless button mashers.
Also, there is no cooldown for magic spells. As soon as you select the spell and the target(s), it immediately pops off, so there is no punishment for spamming your most powerful spells.
Despite these few flaws in the battles, the game is still a blast to play, because even nowadays there are few JRPG games that can top this level of character customization. The amount of different battle strategies and experimentation you have at your disposal is staggering. The gameplay alone is why this game is so good, and is the biggest reason why you have to play it, or just play it again lol.
{ Story, Spoiler Warning! }
This is a first for the Final Fantasy series, but in this game, you don't actually obtain the four Crystals of the Elements. By the time you reach them, they're already destroyed.
It turns out the Crystals were used as a power source for the people's cities and machinery, and were so overused that they ended up shattering. So while this is a story about the crystals, you don't save them. It's already too late. Instead, the four heroes are imbued with the power of these shattered pieces, hence the Jobs.
The main villain Exdeath gets pissed by the actions of the human race so he then becomes the physical embodiment of Mother Nature so to speak, using the power of The Void to rid the world of humanity, so it's up to you to stop him. It's a story about environmentalism.
However, the issue with the story though is one simple word: underwhelming. It's serviceable, but it's the weakest part about this game. The characters barely ever develop. Stories are about weaving a narrative and how a person or a group of people change from beginning to end.
From the beginning of the game to the end, you don't see many changes, if at all in any of the characters. But if I was to choose, I'd say the most developed characters were Galuf and Faris, but even then, it's nothing to write home about, because half of the game with Galuf is spent with him suffering from amnesia and trying to find out who he was.
And early on it's revealed that Faris is a pirate but is also a woman at the same time, which isn't really that shocking. She was originally a princess but she wanted to trade that captivity for her own freedom.
Though later on in the game, Galuf sacrifices himself to save his allies in a 1v1 fight against Exdeath. This was the best part in the game, because it made Galuf into a badass. And he died with dignity.
But then it goes downhill from here, because after that, his granddaughter Krile takes his place and she immediately inherits all of the abilities that he learned. Which not only makes his death inconsequential, but it actually makes the story even weaker, because Krile doesn't develop at all, especially since she is introduced so late into the story.
Interestingly enough, a character even more fleshed out than the party is actually an enemy which is Gilgamesh. He has quite a lot of joyful dialgoue and it actually got some chuckles out of me.
You meet him in the second world and throughout the rest of the game you encounter him time and time again, and by the end of the game, he actually becomes your friend. It's no wonder he is in almost every FF game after this, he's a really cool character.
Despite the weaker storytelling, it's a more humorous Final Fantasy game, which may have been the point, I don't know. One of the funniest and yet dumbest moments in the whole game, hell, in all of Final Fantasy is when Krile gets a splinter inside of her finger. The party then meets Sage, who is a...turtle who was actually one of the old four Guardians of Light who sealed Exdeath away from the world 30 years ago.
Then the splinter flies out of Krile's finger and then it...transforms into Exdeath..and then he says
Mwahahaha... I disguised myself as a little splinter, waiting for this moment...
And then he fuckin' fights Sage via warping around the room like it's a fucking Dragonball Z fight. Pfffftt!!
I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.
{ Soundtrack }
It's great. Like with many other FF games, some of the best tracks in the series are in this game. The Super Nintendo is a powerhouse in terms of making music. Any songs that have drums in it sound incredible. My most favorite songs in this game are:
- To the North Mountain
- Fire Ship
- Exdeath's Castle
- Battle on the Big Bridge (best track)
- A New World
- In Search of Light
- The Decisive Battle
- Battle 2
And the chocobo theme is the greatest fucking chocobo theme in any FF game, I'm dead serious. Go listen to it, it's incredible lol. Go listen to these other songs while you're at it.
The soundtrack in this game pales in comparison to the ones in Final Fantasy IV and VI, but it's still a great listen.
{ Best Version }
The best version of the game that you absolutely should play is the original Super Nintendo version. It's the most accessible and the best way to experience the game.
The easiest way to access it is via emulation, and getting it to run isn't difficult at all. Hell, I can play the game on my Android cell phone with a PS4 controller via Bluetooth with no issue at all. No joke. I do own the PS1 port but I refuse to play it again for good reasons.
It has a shitload of problems. The load times are really bad, the translation is fucking appalling, and the music and sound effects are total shit. They're actually compressed. How does music and sound effects from an SNES game become compressed on a PS1 disc??
This is also a problem with Final Fantasy VI, which is why you should avoid that as much as possible also.
The Gameboy Advance version is a good version but again, it has compressed music and sound effects, but not to the same butchered degree of the PS1 version. The only reason you would play that is for the extra exclusive Jobs and a couple extra boss fights. You could download a mod for the game on PC that restores the sound quality if that's what you fancy.
And for the love of god, do not, and I mean DO NOT play the mobile port of the game. Holy mother of shit, it's horrible. The graphics and the character models are beyond ugly and the user interface is just... Ugh!! I find it hard to believe that shit even exists, let alone charging people $15-18 to play it. Avoid that shit like the Black Death.
{ Final Thoughts }
A fine but ultimately weak story, an excellent soundtrack, and absolutely amazing gameplay with insane replay value. That's this game in a nutshell. It's a damn great game. If the story was better, the characters were given the Final Fantasy VI treatment, and some changes were given to the battles, then this game would easily be a 9 or even a 10/10.
This is definitely a game that you should play merely for its gameplay.
It's a more light-hearted fun adventure but I think that's the beauty of it. It's a very fun game, one of the most fun games in the franchise. God I love JRPGs.
8/10
Usually I talk about the story before the gameplay but this is a pretty gameplay heavy game, so I'll dive into that first.
{ Gameplay }
The Job System makes a return from Final Fantasy III but it has been so refined that the game is a real joy to play despite how underwhelming the storytelling is, like with Final Fantasy X-2.
Any character can be practically anything that you want them to be. And while some are more keen to physical or magical prowess, you have total control on how you want to make them. As you play through the game, you unlock more Jobs, and some of the best Jobs in the game are unlocked via side quests.
The Jobs have been expanded from the ones in Final Fantasy III. You no longer have to pay Job Points in order switch them, and now, each Jobs have Passive Abilities to go along with battle actions. This includes things like:
Thief: Can sprint, find hidden passgeways, reduce the chance of back attacks
Ninja: Can equip 2 swords, and increase the chance of preemptive strikes
Geomancer: Can avoid trap doors and pitfalls, and makes the party immune to damage-inflicting terrain like spikes and lava
As you level up each Job, you unlock more actions to use in battle. And each Job comes with one initial ability and an open slot to equip any OTHER ability that you earned. Either one to use in battle or any other passive ability.
I can't stress how insane this is in terms of customization. You can essentially play the game however you want to. There is so much mixing and matching to do here.
You could do things like:
- Give the Sorcerer the ability to equip the the Knight's 2-Handed ability so you can hold a sword with 2 hands for more damage, or learn the X-Fight ability from the Hunter Job so you can attack 4 times in one turn.
- You can have a Mime Job equip Black, White, and Time magic at once (since they get 3 open ability slots).
- You you can use a Ninja and have them use the X-Fight ability since they have 2 Swords equipped by default, meaning you can attack EIGHT times in one turn.
- Or have a White, Black, Blue, or Time Mage have the Red Mages x2 Dualcast ability, which allows you to cast spells twice in one turn.
There are literally dozens of combinations that you can give to your party. It's amazing.
And there are no bosses, aside from a couple of them, where you must use specific Jobs in order to beat them, unlike in Final Fantasy III. You can use whatever combination you feel is best for you. Some Jobs are more overpowered than others, but unlike FFIII, FFV provides free reign to the player.
And this freedom makes this game one of the most replayable games in the series. And what makes a game like this so fun is the reward for mastering its mechanics. The reward comes from leveling up those Jobs. It's like how I feel about the Junction System in Final Fantasy VIII.
I know people either love or hate the Junction System, but me? I am a fuckin' geek. I love micromanaging my characters, seeing these tangible improvements to each aptitude. I love being able to customize my characters the way I would like them to be. I like to see just how much power I can gain, it's much more exciting than just gaining experience points and gaining levels.
Every time a Job levels up, there is always a payoff for doing it. Some abilities are much more useful than others, but having that flexibility encourages experimentation.
Each Job have different speeds of advancement. And the amount of Ability Points required increases as they level up, but, the more you level up the Job, the better the rewards are.
And if you reach the max level to a Job, you MASTER it. The Freelancer, which is the base Job, is able to get the highest stat adjustments to all Jobs they have mastered. Essentially, huge boosts in their stats, which automatically makes them the best they can be. They also get 2 open ability slots.
So basically, by the late game, there are an endless amount of possibilities to mess around with, it's mind-blowing.
This can even encourage you to replay the game again and see how you could play the game a different way.
Wanna know my personal favorite Job setup?
- Bartz (Primary DPS)
Abilities: !X-Fight and !2-Swords
- Lenna (Primary Magic DPS)
Abilities: !Black and !Summon (sometimes I'll give her !White instead of !Summon)
- Galuf/Krile (Primary Healer/Support, and with Mime equipped)
Abilities: !Time, !White, and !Blue
- Faris (Secondary DPS)
-Abilities: !X-Fight and !Spellblade
I'm curious as to what your favorite Job combinations are.
Also, if you want to know what each Job does what, click on this link. Because there is quite a lot, you'll thank me later.
https://strategywiki.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_V/Jobs#Starting_job
There are also additional tweaks done to the battles that can be both good and bad depending on how you look at it.
This is the first game where you can actually see the ATB gauges, letting you know exactly when a character is going to get their turn. However, you can't switch from one turn to another like in Final Fantasy IV.
If you want to skip a turn, you have to use the Defend command (Right D-Pad and A) which puts the ATB gauge back to 0, which can be annoying if you skip a turn but then your enemy hits you really hard and you really need that character to act again.
The game also has the Front and Back Row mechanic from FFIV. If you're in the Front Row, you deal normal physical damage but also take normal damage from physical attacks, and if you're in the Back Row, you take half damage from physical attacks but you can only deal half damage yourself.
Enemies can also be in either the Front or Back Rows, so it's recommended that you attack the enemies in the front before you attack the ones in the back, unless if you use magic or attacks that ignore Rows. It creates the mentality of "Mash A to win" which is prevalent in a lot of RPGs. It can result in some battles being mindless button mashers.
Also, there is no cooldown for magic spells. As soon as you select the spell and the target(s), it immediately pops off, so there is no punishment for spamming your most powerful spells.
Despite these few flaws in the battles, the game is still a blast to play, because even nowadays there are few JRPG games that can top this level of character customization. The amount of different battle strategies and experimentation you have at your disposal is staggering. The gameplay alone is why this game is so good, and is the biggest reason why you have to play it, or just play it again lol.
{ Story, Spoiler Warning! }
This is a first for the Final Fantasy series, but in this game, you don't actually obtain the four Crystals of the Elements. By the time you reach them, they're already destroyed.
It turns out the Crystals were used as a power source for the people's cities and machinery, and were so overused that they ended up shattering. So while this is a story about the crystals, you don't save them. It's already too late. Instead, the four heroes are imbued with the power of these shattered pieces, hence the Jobs.
The main villain Exdeath gets pissed by the actions of the human race so he then becomes the physical embodiment of Mother Nature so to speak, using the power of The Void to rid the world of humanity, so it's up to you to stop him. It's a story about environmentalism.
However, the issue with the story though is one simple word: underwhelming. It's serviceable, but it's the weakest part about this game. The characters barely ever develop. Stories are about weaving a narrative and how a person or a group of people change from beginning to end.
From the beginning of the game to the end, you don't see many changes, if at all in any of the characters. But if I was to choose, I'd say the most developed characters were Galuf and Faris, but even then, it's nothing to write home about, because half of the game with Galuf is spent with him suffering from amnesia and trying to find out who he was.
And early on it's revealed that Faris is a pirate but is also a woman at the same time, which isn't really that shocking. She was originally a princess but she wanted to trade that captivity for her own freedom.
Though later on in the game, Galuf sacrifices himself to save his allies in a 1v1 fight against Exdeath. This was the best part in the game, because it made Galuf into a badass. And he died with dignity.
But then it goes downhill from here, because after that, his granddaughter Krile takes his place and she immediately inherits all of the abilities that he learned. Which not only makes his death inconsequential, but it actually makes the story even weaker, because Krile doesn't develop at all, especially since she is introduced so late into the story.
Interestingly enough, a character even more fleshed out than the party is actually an enemy which is Gilgamesh. He has quite a lot of joyful dialgoue and it actually got some chuckles out of me.
You meet him in the second world and throughout the rest of the game you encounter him time and time again, and by the end of the game, he actually becomes your friend. It's no wonder he is in almost every FF game after this, he's a really cool character.
Despite the weaker storytelling, it's a more humorous Final Fantasy game, which may have been the point, I don't know. One of the funniest and yet dumbest moments in the whole game, hell, in all of Final Fantasy is when Krile gets a splinter inside of her finger. The party then meets Sage, who is a...turtle who was actually one of the old four Guardians of Light who sealed Exdeath away from the world 30 years ago.
Then the splinter flies out of Krile's finger and then it...transforms into Exdeath..and then he says
Mwahahaha... I disguised myself as a little splinter, waiting for this moment...
And then he fuckin' fights Sage via warping around the room like it's a fucking Dragonball Z fight. Pfffftt!!
I couldn't make this shit up if I tried.
{ Soundtrack }
It's great. Like with many other FF games, some of the best tracks in the series are in this game. The Super Nintendo is a powerhouse in terms of making music. Any songs that have drums in it sound incredible. My most favorite songs in this game are:
- To the North Mountain
- Fire Ship
- Exdeath's Castle
- Battle on the Big Bridge (best track)
- A New World
- In Search of Light
- The Decisive Battle
- Battle 2
And the chocobo theme is the greatest fucking chocobo theme in any FF game, I'm dead serious. Go listen to it, it's incredible lol. Go listen to these other songs while you're at it.
The soundtrack in this game pales in comparison to the ones in Final Fantasy IV and VI, but it's still a great listen.
{ Best Version }
The best version of the game that you absolutely should play is the original Super Nintendo version. It's the most accessible and the best way to experience the game.
The easiest way to access it is via emulation, and getting it to run isn't difficult at all. Hell, I can play the game on my Android cell phone with a PS4 controller via Bluetooth with no issue at all. No joke. I do own the PS1 port but I refuse to play it again for good reasons.
It has a shitload of problems. The load times are really bad, the translation is fucking appalling, and the music and sound effects are total shit. They're actually compressed. How does music and sound effects from an SNES game become compressed on a PS1 disc??
This is also a problem with Final Fantasy VI, which is why you should avoid that as much as possible also.
The Gameboy Advance version is a good version but again, it has compressed music and sound effects, but not to the same butchered degree of the PS1 version. The only reason you would play that is for the extra exclusive Jobs and a couple extra boss fights. You could download a mod for the game on PC that restores the sound quality if that's what you fancy.
And for the love of god, do not, and I mean DO NOT play the mobile port of the game. Holy mother of shit, it's horrible. The graphics and the character models are beyond ugly and the user interface is just... Ugh!! I find it hard to believe that shit even exists, let alone charging people $15-18 to play it. Avoid that shit like the Black Death.
{ Final Thoughts }
A fine but ultimately weak story, an excellent soundtrack, and absolutely amazing gameplay with insane replay value. That's this game in a nutshell. It's a damn great game. If the story was better, the characters were given the Final Fantasy VI treatment, and some changes were given to the battles, then this game would easily be a 9 or even a 10/10.
This is definitely a game that you should play merely for its gameplay.
It's a more light-hearted fun adventure but I think that's the beauty of it. It's a very fun game, one of the most fun games in the franchise. God I love JRPGs.
8/10
Pirate mages and a character named Buttz? What more do you want from Square people?
The job system is much adored and with good reason, but the story is just... it's so dumb. It's so very dumb. At some point though, that stops being a negative. In replaying, I have to give some more credit to these characters, particularly Bartz, as there's a bit more to them than I remember there being, and there's a pretty clear reason why. Much of the necessary "fleshing out" is relegated to optional, easily overlooked scenes that I probably didn't even see the first time. Gameplay is extremely flexible and replayable, which is V's saving grace. It's a fun, whimsical romp that probably won't leave much of a lasting impression on anyone who's touring their way through the franchise. It's meant to be replayed multiple times and in numerous ways, and that's a virtue lost on those who are just visiting on their way to FFVI.
Just a delightfully charming game on all measures. The job system has endless depth to play with, the dialogue is witty and goofy. Its a Saturday Morning Cartoon, but like the best of its pack, it knows what it is and goes full-hog on the fun goofiness. I find all Final Fantasies a bit too long, but this works feeling like a full season of television adventure. A blast!
you did it! you broke final fantasy down to its bare essentials!
2 started the job system but 5 perfected it, even decades down the line JRPGs like Bravely Default are copying its exact model. While 5's plot is more basic than its predecessor it more than makes up for it with genuinely funny, and sometimes touching, character interaction.
Gilgamesh is the series' best character
Gilgamesh is the series' best character
job systems are kino
Took IIIs job system and improved it, good characters too. Music is catchy
Faris best girl
Faris best girl
My favorite in the series. Job system goated, and the cast/story are quite good as well. Bartz is the cutest FF protagonist.
This is more like it! The job system in this game is so good. As are the bosses. The GBA translation is full of groaners though.
Sometimes I wish every FF game had the job system, so much fun to play around with
se lo merece solo por el sistema de clases
this is mine
Once you get past the so-so story, you have the best Final Fantasy gameplay-wise. I will do a four job fiesta one day.
Your enjoyment entirely hinges on whether you enjoy having customization for party classes. If so this will be one of your favorite in the series. If not, like me, it pales compared to 4 and 6 but is still great.
Divertido e tal, mas depois de 5 jogos, dominar o basico e ser divertido não é mais grande coisa.