The Final Fantasy series is fantastic, and I
won't hesitate to say that it's my favorite video game series of
all time. However, Square has denied us the opportunity to play
some of the best Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy II, III and V
were never even released in the US, and our IV was dumbed down.
IV through VI were all re-released in Japan on the PSX, but they
never made it to our shores. Final Fantasy Anthalogy is releasing
V and VI to America soon, but not IV like in Japan, oh well, you
can't win 'em all. Final Fantasy V has some of the best game play
of any game. It may seem like just any other RPG game at first
glance, but if you look closely, you'll find out where it's
better. The story of V isn't as good as some of the other FF
stories, but it's still better than most RPGs. There are many
great weapons, armor and items available for use, and they add to
the joy of playing. There are two different super bosses, just
like in Final Fantasy VII, Omega and Shinryuu. These are
optional, but their very presence makes you want to fight them!
The best feature this game has to offer is its job system. By
visiting all the different crystals, you can earn a variety of
jobs which give your characters different abilities. There are
20+ jobs you can find in this game! Spend a lot of time with a
job, and you'll earn abilities. You can than use your abilities
with other jobs if you want. For example, you can be a thief
until you earn the "steal" ability. Then you can become
a knight and if you equip the steal ability, you'll be able to
steal items even though you're a knight! The graphics of this
game are greeat, although not as good as Final Fantasy V. The
enemies are all really well drawn, and your characters all look
good too. The real selling point of this game is its music.
Although the music isn't quite as good as VI (what is?) it's
still some of the best music you'll find in a video game. The
Playstation game is not a complete rehash of the Super Famicom
game. Not only is the game found complete on the disc, but CG
movies are included for the Playstation release as well. The CG
movies are fantastic, and it feels great to see all your favorite
scenes acted out in full cinematic glory! All and all this is a
good import, but it may not really be the best choice you can
make. Final Fantasy V is a fantastic game, but since it's never
been released in America, all the Japanese text makes it hard to
figure out what's going on. Another reason why this game probably
shouldn't be imported is because it will be released in America
very soon, but with VI with it! Finally Americans will have a
chance to play this game in all its glory, complete with
fantastic CG movies!
