Squaresoft - 1992 - SNES/PS1/GBA/iOS/Android
See Also My Top 10 Final Fantasy Games List
I have somewhat of a soft spot for old school turn-based JRPGS, and this is one of my favorites. FFV tragically gets overlooked quite a bit because it didn't have an official U.S. release/translation until 1999, seven years after it came out. This is really a shame because I think FFV outshines the other SNES era Final Fantasy games in a lot of ways. I'm sure this is a controversial opinion as debating which games in the Final Fantasy series always tends to get heated, but if you don't believe me and you haven't played this game, you really should.
FFV's story is kind of... ehhh. It's pretty standard template "heroes save the world" writing. Story is not where this game shines, but pretty early in the game, you’ll unlock FFV’s job system. FFV's job system is what sets this game apart from other Final Fantasy titles, for better or for worse. The various jobs are slowly unlocked at key story points as you progress through the game. You initially unlock knight, monk, thief, white mage, black mage and blue mage but will eventually unlock all 21 jobs (25 in the enhanced remake). You can assign any of your 4 party members any job and can reassign them at any time. Changing jobs will affect your character’s stats and what items they're able to equip as well as grant them different abilities to use in battle. Once you master a job’s ability you can carry it over to use with other jobs. This, to me, is where FFV is at its best. Trying to figure out which combinations of jobs and abilities were powerful and which were useless was really fun and rewarding. For instance, combining the Ninja job's "dual wield" ability with the knight class' high innate defense and ability to equip high damage longswords was pretty good if my memory serves. FFV is paced pretty well such that you'll unlock more jobs just as you were mastering previous ones so you always have new combinations and tricks to try out and experiment with. The ending of the game comes right about the time you've mastered enough jobs to be dangerous. Unleashing all of your ridiculous tricks and crazy combinations on the final boss feels like an adequate final exam of your mastery of the job system.
I think FFV is one of Nobuo Uematsu’s first really excellent soundtracks . Not that any that came before were inferior, but FFV really showcases Uematsu's musical range and his ability to create timeless and catchy tunes one right after the other, over and over again. “To the North Mountain”, “Home, Sweet Home" and "Clash on the Big Bridge" are some of my favorite tracks.
Summary:
If you enjoy old school RPGs or are a FF fan who missed out on this game the first time around, you should check this game out. If you don't mind the slower pacing of the turn-based combat, I've found experimenting with FFV's job system while listening to the genius of Uematsu to be a really enjoyable experience
Some people like shooters and that’s their thing. Some people like MOBAs and that’s their thing. And then some people like RPGs and that’s their thing. I love me some RPGs. This is one of my favorite old school RPGs, I've finished it like three times now. I’m also a fan of the Final Fantasy series which nearly all gamers are aware of, but this game gets overlooked quite a bit because it didn't have an official U.S. release/translation until 1999, seven years after it came out. Having never played this game, most Final Fantasy fans will tell you IV or VI is their favorite SNES FF. But I think this game really outshines its SNES companions.
ReplyDeletePretty early in the game, you’ll unlock FFV’s job system. There are four party members in the game and you can designate them to different jobs (knight, monk, mage etc.). Each job will alter your character’s stats and available equipment as well as grant them different abilities to use in battle. You kind of want to balance your party such that you have a character who can deal a lot of damage, a character who can heal and a character with a lot of health and defense. Once you master a job’s ability you can carry it over to use with other jobs. For example, mastering the ninja’s dual weapons ability and transferring it over to a class with high attack power was a pretty cheap tactic if I remember correctly. As you progress through the game, you’ll unlock new jobs for your characters which you can then try to mix and match to figure out which ones work together well. Some jobs/combinations are pretty useless while others are game breakingly awesome and part of the fun of the game is figuring out which are which. This game executes the carrot on a stick feeling really well with unlocking new jobs just as you've mastered old ones. Then the ending of the game comes right about the time you've mastered enough jobs to be dangerous so you can unleash all of your cheap combinations on the final boss.
This game is also one of Nobuo Uematsu’s first really excellent soundtracks in my opinion. “To the North Mountain”, “Home, Sweet Home" and "Clash on the Big Bridge" are some of my favorite tracks. Unlike other entries in the series, this games’ story is kind of forgettable. It’s not bad, it’s just very light hearted and downright silly in certain parts. It was before Final Fantasy really started taking its narratives seriously for better or for worse.
Summary:
If you like old school RPGs or are a FF fan who missed out on this game, you should look up Final Fantasy V, it’s not too hard to find now.