"Underrated" is a buzzword thrown around so often that its lost meaning, but Final Fantasy V is the only FF I'd truly say is underrated, at least in the western hemisphere. Released for the Super Famicom in 1992, North America wouldn't see FF5 until late 1999 with a really underwhelming Playstation 1 port ruined by painful loading times. Even then this 16-bit adventure was seen as a thing of the past, with the 3D full-motion video cutscenes of FF7 and FF8 stealing the show and selling boatloads leaving FF5 in the dust.
In Japan on the other hand, FF5 was/is beloved. In 2023, the main developers of Final Fantasy XVI were interviewed and asked their top 3 favorite FF games. Every one of them included Final Fantasy V. With opinions so spilt across the world, which side was actually right?
FF5's defining feature is the job system, returning from Final Fantasy III but superior in every conceivable way. The main upgrade here is each character can now use abilities from a job they've learned even while they're currently a different job. This opens the floodgates for what feels like infinite combination possibilities, mixing and matching freely at will as new abilities and new jobs are unlocked. The player has true freedom this time compared to FF3 which stubbornly funneled the player into specific party makeups. FF5's jobs feel more distinct from each other and job points actually mattering makes old jobs not feel redundant even as new ones are unlocked. These mechanics are so fun to use and try out that unlocking new jobs often serves as greater motivation to progress further in the game than the actual story does.
Often viewed as Final Fantasy V's weak point, this brings the plot into question. FF5's plot has been described as "a Saturday morning cartoon", a "parody of its own series", or "just plain awful." A rare hot take of mine is I consider FF5's story actually better than FF4's and therefore any previous Final Fantasy. While not particularly deep, and lacking the heavy-handed melodrama of its predecessor, the narrative gets main characters Bartz, Lenna, Galuf, and Faris to all meet and have their goals align quickly, without much in the way of expository banter. This party is notable for their sense of camaraderie, feeling like a real group of pals, a jovial far cry for a series that would become infamous for it's overly brooding and edgy protagonists. Galuf is afflicted by the dreaded amnesia trope, but its refreshing having a grandfather in the party for often-absent age diversity. The aforementioned PS1 localization has Faris speak in a stereotypical pirate accent which strays from the original Japanese script and ruins her character, but in proper localizations she's more compelling. Admittedly, some scenes of the men thirsting over her before realizing she's a woman did not age very well, but them's the breaks.
Whimsical and light-hearted themes allow for FF5 to lean into more of a comedy. Slapstick comedy might not land the same way when portrayed in a 16-bit art style, but some of Bartz' one-liners and practically everything said by meme antagonist Gilgamesh are genuinely pretty funny. There's even an NPC named Mid which is a devastating fate to have. Main villain Exdeath is central to some ridiculous scenes, including this exchange between him and Bartz upon first encounter:
Bartz: Exdeath! No way we'll let you get away with this!
Exdeath: Mwa-hahahaha... Have you any idea what I plan to get away with in the first place?
Bartz: Wha? No, but...
Exdeath is basically an evil tree given sentience, or rather the result of the heroes of old sealing evil spirits into a particular great tree that eventually became corrupt with evil. His status as a sorcerer made of wood isn't often mentioned except for in one infamous and truly absurd scene that I feel I must mention somewhere:
Krile: Ouch! Ooh, this splinter really hurts...
(Exdeath appears)
Bartz: Exdeath!?
Exdeath: Mwa-hahahaha... I turned myself into a tiny splinter, waiting for just this moment! Now you can understand my true goal: to take the sealed power of the Void for my own!
Bartz: What!?
I won't even try defending this, I don't know what the developers were on when writing this shit, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that FF5's story is filled with bizarre stuff. The true serious scenes stand out more when they do happen as a result, like any of Bartz' reminiscence of his parents, or Lenna and Faris learning they're actually sisters and not alone anymore. There's even a major character death that hits far harder than any of the cheap fake-out deaths in FF4. Composer Nobuo Uematsu also did an excellent job as usual, "Home Sweet Home" is one of my favorite Final Fantasy tracks still.
FF5 showcased such an early mastery of job system mechanics that it took a decade+ before Square would return to it in a traditional FF game, an unusual standout JRPG where story takes a backseat to gameplay. In the end I have to side with the Japanese on this one, I believe FF5 would be near the top of the Final Fantasy totem pole if it weren't for Sakaguchi and team going sicko-mode on the next two games.
4.0/5.0
In Japan on the other hand, FF5 was/is beloved. In 2023, the main developers of Final Fantasy XVI were interviewed and asked their top 3 favorite FF games. Every one of them included Final Fantasy V. With opinions so spilt across the world, which side was actually right?
FF5's defining feature is the job system, returning from Final Fantasy III but superior in every conceivable way. The main upgrade here is each character can now use abilities from a job they've learned even while they're currently a different job. This opens the floodgates for what feels like infinite combination possibilities, mixing and matching freely at will as new abilities and new jobs are unlocked. The player has true freedom this time compared to FF3 which stubbornly funneled the player into specific party makeups. FF5's jobs feel more distinct from each other and job points actually mattering makes old jobs not feel redundant even as new ones are unlocked. These mechanics are so fun to use and try out that unlocking new jobs often serves as greater motivation to progress further in the game than the actual story does.
Often viewed as Final Fantasy V's weak point, this brings the plot into question. FF5's plot has been described as "a Saturday morning cartoon", a "parody of its own series", or "just plain awful." A rare hot take of mine is I consider FF5's story actually better than FF4's and therefore any previous Final Fantasy. While not particularly deep, and lacking the heavy-handed melodrama of its predecessor, the narrative gets main characters Bartz, Lenna, Galuf, and Faris to all meet and have their goals align quickly, without much in the way of expository banter. This party is notable for their sense of camaraderie, feeling like a real group of pals, a jovial far cry for a series that would become infamous for it's overly brooding and edgy protagonists. Galuf is afflicted by the dreaded amnesia trope, but its refreshing having a grandfather in the party for often-absent age diversity. The aforementioned PS1 localization has Faris speak in a stereotypical pirate accent which strays from the original Japanese script and ruins her character, but in proper localizations she's more compelling. Admittedly, some scenes of the men thirsting over her before realizing she's a woman did not age very well, but them's the breaks.
Whimsical and light-hearted themes allow for FF5 to lean into more of a comedy. Slapstick comedy might not land the same way when portrayed in a 16-bit art style, but some of Bartz' one-liners and practically everything said by meme antagonist Gilgamesh are genuinely pretty funny. There's even an NPC named Mid which is a devastating fate to have. Main villain Exdeath is central to some ridiculous scenes, including this exchange between him and Bartz upon first encounter:
Bartz: Exdeath! No way we'll let you get away with this!
Exdeath: Mwa-hahahaha... Have you any idea what I plan to get away with in the first place?
Bartz: Wha? No, but...
Exdeath is basically an evil tree given sentience, or rather the result of the heroes of old sealing evil spirits into a particular great tree that eventually became corrupt with evil. His status as a sorcerer made of wood isn't often mentioned except for in one infamous and truly absurd scene that I feel I must mention somewhere:
Krile: Ouch! Ooh, this splinter really hurts...
(Exdeath appears)
Bartz: Exdeath!?
Exdeath: Mwa-hahahaha... I turned myself into a tiny splinter, waiting for just this moment! Now you can understand my true goal: to take the sealed power of the Void for my own!
Bartz: What!?
I won't even try defending this, I don't know what the developers were on when writing this shit, but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that FF5's story is filled with bizarre stuff. The true serious scenes stand out more when they do happen as a result, like any of Bartz' reminiscence of his parents, or Lenna and Faris learning they're actually sisters and not alone anymore. There's even a major character death that hits far harder than any of the cheap fake-out deaths in FF4. Composer Nobuo Uematsu also did an excellent job as usual, "Home Sweet Home" is one of my favorite Final Fantasy tracks still.
FF5 showcased such an early mastery of job system mechanics that it took a decade+ before Square would return to it in a traditional FF game, an unusual standout JRPG where story takes a backseat to gameplay. In the end I have to side with the Japanese on this one, I believe FF5 would be near the top of the Final Fantasy totem pole if it weren't for Sakaguchi and team going sicko-mode on the next two games.
4.0/5.0