Final Fantasy 5
Reviewed by CB007
Graphics
To fans of Final Fantasy IV, the graphics in this game will
seem familiar. But that isn't a bad thing at all.
Graphically, battles are set up just like they are in FFIV
and FFVI. During most fights, your party appears on the
right side of the screen, and your enemies appear on the
left. Enemies look really good, and are very detailed.
However, your characters don't look as good as the enemies
do. At first, they actually seem quite similar to characters in FF1.
However, things do get more interesting. When you change a
character's class, his appearance in battle also changes.
For example, if you change a character into a Black Wizard,
he looks like the Black Wizard from FF1. If you turn someone
into a Lancer, they look just like Kain from FF4. For every
class, you character will have a different appearance in
battle. This makes things much more interesting, and much
easier to understand.
Spell effects are very good, considering the age of the
game. As with many other things, the battle graphics are
more similar to FFIV than anything. However, with the
exception of your characters' appearance, they are probably
a bit better.
The overworld looks almost exactly like it did in FFIV.
Everything is presented in an overhead view. Things are
simple, but nice. The grass is green, the water is blue, and
there aren't really any surprises. The view changes
depending on whether you are walking, or using some other
mode of transportation. You can also get a map during the
course of the game that you can use to find your way around.
It looks very similar to the In-game map from the first
Final Fantasy.
Castles and towns are simple, but nice. Some of them are a
little unusual looking, but for the most part, they look
like most other SNES RPG's . Some areas are large, but it's
usually very easy to find your way around because of the
organized layout. Areas like Castles and Caves are also very
similar to FFIV, and to most other SNES RPG's .
Game Play
The Job System is probably the most interesting thing about
FF5. During the course of the game, you gain the option to
change your party members into different classes. Examples
of classes found in the Final Fantasy series are Knight,
Black Wizard, and Summoner. Each of those classes has
abilities unique to it. You learn those abilities by
fighting enemies and earning ability points. When you change
a class, you can take one ability from one of your other
classes. For example, if you fight enough enemies as a
Lancer, you will learn an ability called 'Equip Lance'. If
you change that lancer into a knight, you can give the
Knight that ability. This would allow the Knight to equip a
Lance, something he would not normally be able to do. If you
do all of this strategically, you can make an extremely
powerful party. It may sound complicated here, but it is
much easier to understand after actually playing the game
for a little while.
During battles, you will have a maximum of four party
members, sometimes less depending on what's happening during
the game. Each class has it's own unique ability, and as
mentioned above, you can sometimes 'Borrow' an ability
from another class. The Main Ability for Wizards is of
course, magic. However, in this game you actually buy most
of your spells. Remember in the original Final Fantasy when
you had to go to shops to buy various kinds of magic? It's
just like that in FF5. In most places, there are separate
sections of shops for White, Black, and Time Magic. Summon
magic cannot be bought. In most cases, you must find a
Summon, and defeat him. If you are victorious, you will be
learn that Summon Spell.
Story
If there is a low point to the game, this is probably it.
Personally, I really loved the story, but some might find it
slightly sub-par for the series. It starts of rather slowly,
with you and three other warriors having to save the 4
Elemental Crystals from destruction. However, as the game
progresses, the story begins to change in many ways. Your
goal at the end of the game will probably be comepletely
different from what you expected at the beginning. There are
many surprises along the way, and many interesting
characters. X-Death makes a great villian, and actually
seems Extraordinarily powerful, unlike most other RPG
villians. Most people, especially fans of the old FF Games
should really enjoy the story.
Music
In my opinion, the music in this game is some of the best in
the entire Final Fantasy series. Compared to FFVI, it isn't
quite as spectacular. However, with that possible exception,
I think it surpasses all of the other Final Fantasy games.
As far as I know, it hasn't been enhanced at all for the
PlayStation. Even so, there are some tunes in the game that
are simply unforgettable.
Final Thoughts
To put it simply, this is one of the best games I have ever
played. I was introuduced to the Job System with Final
Fantasy Tactics, and being able to use it with at
traditional RPG is a wonderful experience. The only Final
Fantasy game that might surpass this is FFVI, and even that
is a pretty tough decision. If you like Old-Style RPG's, I
strongly suggest that you try this game.
Overall: 9 out of 10
