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| Review by ffkid1 |
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Final Fantasy 5 is a true masterpiece that is often overshadowed by some of the other Final Fantasies of the time. This game is one of my all time favorite games, ousting even the very popular Final Fantasy 3 (6j). The unique job system really lets you create the kind of soldier that you want. I would not mind seeing this job system in a future Final Fantasy.
Gameplay: 10/10
What really makes this stand out is definitely the unusual gameplay. While the job system has appeared before in FF3j, the U.S. had yet to experience it. It also gave Square time to perfect the job class system. The job class system let you create your own super soldier. A ninja/thief, a ninja/black mage, a samurai/ trainer? The possibilities are huge, you can now create the character you've always wanted.
Graphics: 8/10
Good graphics for the SNES, but were outdone by FF3/6 quite easily. I personally liked the spell and battle graphics the best. The moving backgrounds in battle were a good idea, but didn't come off the best.
Audio: 9/10
Great sound tracks that don't loop endlessly. Uematsu always does a great job with the music, and this was no exception. Sound effects were a little lacking, but they always are in this series.
Story: 9/10
The story starts out rather typical, but really picks up speed from there. I wouldn't mind a Square game where the whole world wasn't altered though, or at least in the threat of being altered. One of the better stories from Square, really keeps you captivated and on the edge of your seat.
Control: 10/10
Makes full use of the SNES controller. Everything is quite easy, even runnig away from battle has it's own buttons. Simple, yet gets the job done, and thats all that really matters, right?
Challenge: 4/10
I found this to be one of the easier early Final Fantasy games. Hard by modern day Final Fantasy standards, but it's not. If you can't beat this game, I wouldn't even consider trying the original Final Fantasy, or the second or third for that matter.
Fun Factor: 9/10
The real reason anyone plays any game is the fun factor. This game delivers too. A fun game, even funny at times. This game should bring you hours and hours of good clean fun, if you like RPG's that is.
Character Run Down
Here's a quick run down of all the characters in the game.
Heroes
Bartz
The lone traveler who travels the world with his chocobo Boco. The main character, that you control the whole game. Bartz is the strongest character, but a little lacking in magic power. Makes a great monk or knight.
Reina
The princess trying to save her father the king. You have one in almost every RPG, a princess. And there almost all good at magic. Reina is no exception, and your best magic user. Makes a good Black/ White/ Blue/ Red Mage.
Galuf
The warrior from another planet with amnesia. Good strength and health, but a little lacking in magic. Makes a good thief/ ninja/ samurai/ archer.
Faris
The pirate with a sea creature as a friend. This strong, macho pirate has a suprise up his sleeve. He's not a pirate at all, but she's a pirate. That's right Faris is a girl. Well anyways a strong girl. The best all-around character, make her anything you need .
Krile
Galuf's granddaughter, actually takes Galuf's place for part of the story. She has the exact same stats as Galuf, so the same jobs apply.
Overall: 10/10
A great game, and one that should not be missed. |
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| Reviewer's Score: 10 / 10 |
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| Review by jedy567 |
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I don't know why they didn't bring it to us. They brought Final Fantasy IV, but why not V? Why skip the best game in the series? Oh well, what's done is done. My cousin introduced me to this game a few years ago, translated and all. I swear, the reason why emulation was invented was to play this game. This monster of an RPG has so many great qualities, and once you start playing, you'll know. Let's review, shall we?
Concept - An RPG with one unbelievable twist. The class system. So many classes to choose from! Dancer, monk, white mage, caller, samurai, ninja, dragoon, archer, and it just goes on. Each class has a special ability to start with and several levels (anywhere from 3 to 7 for any class, and you need AP to gain these levels, which you get after battles, just like you get experience) and each level you gain grants you another ability. So, you could level up a white mage until it learns Level 1 white magic, and then turn that character into a knight. A knight that excels in fighting AND healing! How much better can it get?! The possibilities are endless. A white mage that uses both black and white magic. A caller who can use a sword. And, if you're good enough, a character who can jump, use magic, and evade physical attacks. Anything you want to do, you can. The new ATB gives you an exact idea of who gets to attack next, so you can plan out attacks in any order. Also, call espers to deal massive amounts of damage. The class system lets you customize every single thing about all your characters, and it's a shame they don't use it more often in other games. 10/10
Graphics: Good for that time. Some great Mode 7, especially near the end of the game. The character models aren't bad, most of the game is about the same as FFIV, but there are some enemies and places that simply shine. The environment sets the mood, and most of the game happens to have a very dark mood. As you can imagine, the levels are large and eerie. There are some bright and colorful areas, but because most of the game is drenched in evil, you'll learn to appreciate dark, dreary, evil places. The magic spells are pretty good, and the espers are magnificent. 9/10
Story: Although most people call it cliched, it's not. It's quite original. The main character is just a wanderer, and he soon finds a meteor has crashed. He goes to investigate and finds a young woman and an old man there. The young woman's father has gone to the wind shrine because the wind has stopped. Our heroes go as well, and the rest is history. I can't spoil it for you, that would be so mean! Let me just say that this game has the best villain in any RPG, and without a doubt, the funniest ''villain's right-hand man (Gilgamesh)''.
Music: Best. Music. EVER! This game has the best music in any Final Fantasy game, any RPG, and any game ever! Every song enhances the game to a point that it sends chills down your spine. This game is Nobuo's finest achievement yet! Some REALLY good songs among the rest (which are already amazing enough, by the way) are ''Battle with Gilgamesh,'' ''Main theme,'' ''Music Box (village of Lix),'' and most of the town songs. If you've played through this game and like the music, then the Official Soundtrack is just what you need (Check eBay). 10/10
Gameplay: As I already stated in the concept section, this game uses the class system. Not only does this make endless possibilities, but another very useful (even though you might not think so) feature is the ''optimize'' option. This automatically equips your character with the most useful armor, weapons, and accessories that that particular class can wear. I hated having to manually equip everything in FFIV, so this was a big help for me. This game is pretty hard, especially the dungeons. Sometimes there's a fork in the road, and if you pick the wrong way and keep on going, you can forget about saving in that dungeon. The random battles are just right, not too many, not too few. There are many dungeons, but luckily, they never get tedious or boring. There's always a new location (underground, mountain, castle, etc.) and new puzzles which keep you playing. There are only a few bosses which pose as major threats, but when they do, they really do. You'll need to level up A LOT, so don't be afraid to! Every ability you gain puts you one step closer to beating tough enemies and surviving through the winding dungeons. Then, there are a few places where you'll just about go insane trying to get through (Phoenix Tower and the final dungeon of World 2). This game is divided into three chapters, or worlds. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll say that it is a long game, and it'll take you quite a long time to get through. Buying magic is a great regulator to your strength, so you know when you're supposed to have what magic and when. There are also so many secrets: secret espers, secret weapons, secret armor, secret items, secret caves...if you can completely 100% clear (including all treasure chests and all classes mastered for each character) this game, consider yourself a king among kings. And if you managed to do that, then you've probably spent several hundred hours just leveling up. In short, this game gives, it gives some more, and then it starts to give. It's challenging, touching, dark, encouraging, and the gameplay is outstanding. 10/10
Replay: Very high. Repeatedly playing through this game is normal. I see nowhere in this game where replay is lowered. All I see is beating the game, then starting a new one. There's so much that you'll never uncover, even if you've played through two or three times. There are so many secrets, and so many great moments, so many fun battles, so many fun dungeons. It's so much fun to try a low level game, or a no class game, or a single class game, or just play around with different classes. This game will never get old. For anyone who reads Game Informer, ''You'll still be popping this game in five years from now.'' I say ''Why stop at five?'' 10/10
Overall: This game is a masterpiece. The best music of any game, the graphics are awesome, the gameplay screams perfection, and the story is engrossing and amazing. It's safe to say that with this game, Square saw perfection and hit it head on. So, what are you waiting for?! Go find Final Fantasy Anthology for PlayStation! Or, for a real challenge, go find the Super Famicom version. I hope you can read Japanese! Do anything, but somehow, just play this game. You will not be disappointed. Sure, Square made it hard for us to play this game before Anthology, but now, there's no reason not to. |
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| Reviewer's Score: 10 / 10 |
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| Review by Jeromec |
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Final Fantasy V is without a doubt one of the most innovative RPG ever. It has everything for success: a good story with a well-balanced mix of humour, cuteness and drama, nice graphics for the time, extremely impressive diversity of monsters, attacks, weapons and spells - well, after all, the first two words of the title are Final Fantasy.
The forte of the game is its "job system". Heroes have to choose a job to progress. Jobs have inherent powers, like Knights protect the weak in battle, Ninja attack with two swords, etc. Each character progress by learning abilities that depend on their current job. Then, they can use them in combination with an other job, to have a Black Mage that can use a sword, or a Dragoon that can Dance. There are so many jobs and so many abilities to learn (hundreds) that each character, in each game, is really different.
Why such a game has never been released outside Japan is a complete mystery. Fortunately, benevolent Japanese speakers have developped patches that translate it in English (it is also the best translation of any Square game to date). If you ever see it in your favorite import store, buy it with no second thought. |
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| Reviewer's Score: 10 / 10 |
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| Review by Lagunathemoron |
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Final Fantasy V is easily one of the best (or the best) RPG's out there, along with Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger and Suikoden. Square have really out-done themself in this game, it has Great characters, Brilliant Gameplay and the best badguy!
Storyline - 10 : ''Father!'' Cried Princess Leena, she ran to the balcony of Tycoon Castle, watching her father take off on the Dragon, Hiyruu. King Tycoon felt the wind stopping, and raced off her the wind shrine. Leena doesn't think her father will be safe, so she escapes the castle and goes off to save him. She doesn't get very far. A metor came flying through the sky and made a touch down near Tycoon Castle. Butz, a Local adventuer and Boco, go and check it out. Butz meets Galuf and Leena, and eventually decides to go with Galuf and Leena to save Tycoon, but they bump into pirates.
There are many thrills and spills in the game, and lots of places where you jaw will automatically drop!
Graphics - 9 : The characters are tiny, and a bit bblocky, but they are a bit impressive for the Super Nintendo, and the details in the buildings and dungeons are pretty neat.
Sound and Music - 10 : Final Fantasy V is the Final Fantasy with the best music, it has the best FF tune, the Hiyruu theme, and the world map music is just brilliant. I can't describe the music, as it feels so special, and fantastic.
Gameplay - 10 : Being an RPG, Final Fantasy V is turn based, meaning the players and enemys take it in turns to fight an enemy. The game is huge, and what makes it even bigger is the ability system. Those who have played the spin off, Final Fantasy Tactics, the game features Jobs, like Black Mage, White Mage, Knight, Monk, Thief, Samari, Trainer and a lot more, and you can customise your own party at any time by changing jobs. Each job class have their own abilitys, like a Black Mage might be crap at fighting, but can cast great attacking magic, a Thief is very fast, can steal and has poor defence.
Replaybility - 10 : This is the hardest Final Fantasy to date, and has about 30 hours of Gameplay, and mastering everything will take months of hard work.
Overall - 10 : If not the best, I haven't decided, this is one of the best Final Fantasys. It has one of the greatest villians in villian history, who is completley insane, Yes, more insane then Sephiroth, Kefka, Ganondorf and Kuja. I suggest buying this game, it is one mighty landmark on the RPG map! |
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| Reviewer's Score: 10 / 10 |
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| Review by Mogster11 |
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This is one of the best RPG's ever, and squaresoft decided not to release it in US. When I got the imported game, I thought "Ah well, since I have the game, let's find a game who knows Japanese. It was AWESOME!!! The story line was great, the battle system was awesome, and the fact that there were 4 worlds just blew my head. The characters had rich storylines. I almost cried when...never mind. Even the bad guy was cool. And the major surprises in the game kept the game fresh, such as the islands making a complete circle around the world. There were the numerous miniquests that let you overpower your character. However, these all paled in comparison to the Awesome class system. At four points in the game, your characters were given the abilities to change their classes. None were extremely overpowered, and could hold their own against the others. Each had a special ability that would be kept throughout the rest of the game, and could be applied to the other classes. The overpowered bosses gave you a chance to test how well you were building up your characters, and gave you something to brag about.n It even has good replay value. All in all, this is an excellent game with innovation, strategy, replay value, and just good simple fun. |
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| Reviewer's Score: 10 / 10 |
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