O tempora is a series of retrospective posts where I play games from ages before to see if they stood the test of time.
Back when I was going on my Final Fantasy spree in the early 00s, trying to play all of the titles in the series, being late to the party myself, FF V left me conflicted. On one hand, I remember enjoying the vast majority of the game and the way the Jobs (character classes of FF series) were handled. On the other, I also remember serious difficulty bumps, most notable one being the final boss that I simply could not defeat no matter how hard I’ve tried, which lead to a long and exhausting grinding session, before I was finally able to finish the game. Yet, with recent years Final Fantasy V has become a very popular entry, leading to really cool charity events like Final Fantasy Four Job Fiesta, and I was curious about replaying the game myself.
Now with the Pixel Remaster version available, I was happy to see that my opinion on the game became more positive.
Final Fantasy V is a curious title in the timeline of the releases. After IV has simplified things by taking out a lot of player choice with different systems and upgrades and focusing far more on the story and adventuring, while also being partially a revisit to a lot of the concepts from FFII, V is very much a return to the ideas of FFIII. You have a party of 4 people again and most of these people are unchanged and available throughout the entire game. They all start at a default class that has no special abilities and after some story events get more and more Jobs they can switch to at any point.
Unlike III, every job is completely unique, so there’s no definitive progression that you aim for – you will never get a better White Mage or a different Bard, the abilities are unique to those classes only. However, every Job can be “mastered” after leveling it up to the maximum level. And every level of the Job makes one special trait of said job (either active or passive) available to be equipped for other Jobs. And that means that while all jobs are unique, you still can switch a Job to adapt for the situation, while not necessarily loosing the ability from the other class that you enjoy using. And also gives you the endgame incentive to master all jobs, which will, in the end, make your character incredibly customizable.
Going for that, though, is pretty grindy. You can avoid most of the grind if you’re not interested in lots of optional challenges and unlocks, of course, like beating the two extremely tough superbosses (the first time these appeared in the series), but there would still be a few moments where you might feel slightly underleveled and underprepared for the encounter. Like that final boss fight that I’ve had so much trouble many years ago. Unfortunately, some of the obnoxious and grindy parts, while still optional, can happen pretty early on, like one timed section which isn’t difficult to just go through, but is ridiculously difficult to go through, while grabbing all treasures and getting all bestiary entries. It’s not a fun part of the game and I almost wish they’d up the timer at least in Pixel Remaster version. But that’s not the case and, in fact, I didn’t feel that the game rebalanced much if at all. Which isn’t surprising, I suppose, given how popular the original version has become for the challenge runs.
I haven’t been talking about the story much, because it’s not that engaging for the most part in this one. Despite characters being considerably more nuanced and interesting in comparison with IV. The overall plot seems like a strange retelling of the Silmarillion, except mixed with the usual Four Crystals of Final Fantasy. And I probably shouldn’t be saying “usual”, since this was the last title in the series until FF XV to really focus on the Crystals and sometimes to feature them in a recognizable form at all. Either way, most of the time FFV isn’t played for the story, but that said, the game has many memorable moments and characters. And it also really pushed the expressiveness of the characters and the cinematography of the scenes for the franchise. The character of Gilgamesh is wonderful, going beyond a comic relief rival he’s at first presented to be. And the ending sequence in the game is genuinely moving and well delivered. But again – most of the time, you forget that the plot is there because it’s pretty simple and the characters have very simple motivations and needs.
I’m glad that I’ve replayed Final Fantasy V, even though it remains not an entry I would name among my favorites. For a fan of jRPG mechanics, this is a gold mine, as you can challenge yourself with crazy party Job combinations and still be able to go through the game. For a fan of stories in Final Fantasy titles – it’s not the first choice for you. But it shouldn’t be the last either. I really liked the Pixel Remaster of Final Fantasy V, and you should check it out as well. Just be aware that it will take you at least twice as long as IV to finish.