It took long enough, but Square Enix classic "Final Fantasy V" is finally available on a U.S. Nintendo system. But whether this Game Boy Advance port is worth the wait depends entirely on one's appreciation of gaming history.
To some "Final Fantasy" fanatics, "FFV" is one of the better role-playing games of its time. Featuring a vastly comprehensive job system, an enthralling musical score and a boost in graphics, "FFV" combined a lot of the best features of older titles and infused them into one title.
For the majority of gamers looking to play this classic, "FFV's" job system is the most appealing aspect of this title. Unlike other role playing games, in which the player encounters a variety of characters with unique abilities, "FFV" only features four characters. Instead of being able to swap out characters to use different abilities, the crux of "FFV's" game play focuses on the player's ability to assign a job to each of the four main characters.
The jobs, ranging from the typical monk to a powerful summoner, gain power as the player fights battles. Gain enough job levels in one job and the player can extract abilities from one it and add them to another, creating a massive amount of combinations. The idea of having a knight that can cast magic or a mage capable of wielding powerful swords is something that still hasn't been properly implemented in modern titles.
New jobs are unlocked as the story develops and Square Enix has even added four new jobs just for this Game Boy port. Unfortunately, the new jobs (Gladiator, Oracle, Necromancer and Cannoneer) are not unlocked until the end of the game.
Complementing the job system are decent graphics and sound, at least for the Super Nintendo era in which this game was made. They of course pale in comparison to the remake of "FFIII" for Nintendo DS and are definitely nothing compared to PSP or new console systems, but the Final Fantasy series always had a knack for making the graphics good enough to get the message across. Any gamer seriously needing a graphic fix is not going to find it here.
Many ask why "FFV" was never released in the U.S. back in the Super Nintendo era. The main reason was most likely the lack of an immersive story, like "FFIV" and "FFVI," which were originally released for the SNES in the States as "Final Fantasy II" and "Final Fantasy III." Gamers spend a lot of time wandering around the world looking for the next story event based on vague clues given by the last important character. In addition, there really isn't much character development and the now-typical story of megalomaniac trying to take over the world gets tiring when there isn't any thing to differentiate it from the plethora of other games that have used it.
But those willing to forgive "FFV's" lackluster story will be rewarded with a deeply immersive gameplay experience. Even though FFV is not designed for a quick pick-up-and-play experience, the title still works wonderfully as a nice game to kill time on those long commutes. "Final Fantasy V" is recommended for the classic role-playing gamer in all of us.
