This review contains spoilers
This concludes my journey of the Pixel Remaster collection. Despite hearing mixed opinions on this title from friends and mutuals, I personally believe Final Fantasy V is one of the strongest entries in this classic collection and even in the grand scheme of (SNES) JRPGs.
First off, the characters and story are well done. A more lighthearted story than Final Fantasy IV’s and its sequel Final Fantasy VI, with a cast who possess individual traits and characteristics that contribute to the overall themes of the game. The story isn’t anything special, but the simple nature of it allows these characters to shine with what they add to it. I believe the latter half of the game is not as strong (both story and gameplay wise), but I did enjoy the conclusion. Gilgamesh, too, is an incredible character and I love seeing his many appearances throughout the duration of my journey. I also loved all of the Moogle encounters throughout the journey and was happy to finally witness the origins of the iconic Moogle theme.
The gameplay flow was great overall. The job system is incredible in this game, definitely my favorite feature of FFV. I thought Final Fantasy III’s job system was neat, but this took it to a whole new level with incredible skills and ways to become OP towards endgame. It was rewarding trying out all the different jobs for my cast and bringing over their abilities to other jobs and eventually mastering them all for Freelancer. However, I wasn’t big on the endgame’s side content (for summons, sealed weapons, etc.) and it felt like a struggle to me with gimmicky bosses and trials. However, once you acquire everything and have these new abilities your disposal for final bosses and dungeons, it felt rewarding.
Overall, this is an amazing experience with another masterpiece of an OST by Uematsu. Going for the completionist route (as I attempt for most games I play) was hell with all of the missables and methods needed to acquire new Blue Magic spells. I highly recommend the SNES trilogy of FFs and Final Fantasy V shines bright amongst the franchise.
First off, the characters and story are well done. A more lighthearted story than Final Fantasy IV’s and its sequel Final Fantasy VI, with a cast who possess individual traits and characteristics that contribute to the overall themes of the game. The story isn’t anything special, but the simple nature of it allows these characters to shine with what they add to it. I believe the latter half of the game is not as strong (both story and gameplay wise), but I did enjoy the conclusion. Gilgamesh, too, is an incredible character and I love seeing his many appearances throughout the duration of my journey. I also loved all of the Moogle encounters throughout the journey and was happy to finally witness the origins of the iconic Moogle theme.
The gameplay flow was great overall. The job system is incredible in this game, definitely my favorite feature of FFV. I thought Final Fantasy III’s job system was neat, but this took it to a whole new level with incredible skills and ways to become OP towards endgame. It was rewarding trying out all the different jobs for my cast and bringing over their abilities to other jobs and eventually mastering them all for Freelancer. However, I wasn’t big on the endgame’s side content (for summons, sealed weapons, etc.) and it felt like a struggle to me with gimmicky bosses and trials. However, once you acquire everything and have these new abilities your disposal for final bosses and dungeons, it felt rewarding.
Overall, this is an amazing experience with another masterpiece of an OST by Uematsu. Going for the completionist route (as I attempt for most games I play) was hell with all of the missables and methods needed to acquire new Blue Magic spells. I highly recommend the SNES trilogy of FFs and Final Fantasy V shines bright amongst the franchise.
What a fun time did I have with this game. It's probably the most fun I had with any main title Final Fantasy. It is not by any means the most profound story (that would be FFVI), nor the most impactful (FFVII), nor the most touching (FFX), but it works as an adequate frame for the absolutely fun and well balanced (with smart cheesing oportunities) job system.
The characters are loveble and everything is serious and unserious at the same time, like children's movies of the 1980's. The fact that it came after a quite serious story (FF IV, another great game) is a testament to Square's team versatility in story telling and game design.
The characters are loveble and everything is serious and unserious at the same time, like children's movies of the 1980's. The fact that it came after a quite serious story (FF IV, another great game) is a testament to Square's team versatility in story telling and game design.
This one came as a bit of a surprise. FFV was the Final Fantasy game I knew the least about before playing it, but it ended up being my favorite of the pixel games so far.
Instead of a big revolving cast of characters like IV, Final Fantasy V focuses on a much smaller and more charming group of individuals. Because of this, both the main party and the villains (Gilgamesh, I love you) end up being the most memorable yet. This game fully realizes what it is and doesn’t fall for the somewhat delusion of grandeur that the previous story-focused titles had. It keeps things simple, which works in the game’s favor since the writing hasn’t been entirely there yet.
The reintroduced and expanded job system from III is the cherry on top an already incredibly joyful experience, and the mixing of various abilities can lead to some fun battles, which gives the combat system a nice little shot in the arm.
Instead of a big revolving cast of characters like IV, Final Fantasy V focuses on a much smaller and more charming group of individuals. Because of this, both the main party and the villains (Gilgamesh, I love you) end up being the most memorable yet. This game fully realizes what it is and doesn’t fall for the somewhat delusion of grandeur that the previous story-focused titles had. It keeps things simple, which works in the game’s favor since the writing hasn’t been entirely there yet.
The reintroduced and expanded job system from III is the cherry on top an already incredibly joyful experience, and the mixing of various abilities can lead to some fun battles, which gives the combat system a nice little shot in the arm.
The biggest and most mechanically complex FF so far, which is both its strength and weakness. There are no fewer than seven schools of magic, with so many spells to collect, on top of all the other weapons and abilities. Lots of cool job combos to experiment with, though it took me until the back third of the game to have enough tools to really appreciate the flexibility. I would probably like this even more on a replay where I could plan my early progress more carefully, rather than getting overwhelmed by all the options. The mix of comedy and comic book drama makes for a cozy tone that reminds me of playing default asset RPG maker games.