Final Fantasy V is perhaps the most overlooked entry in the mainline series. It appeared in the West a few years after its initial release, and was left in the dust by its genre-defining successor by the time it finally got a PlayStation port. It never really received the retrospective attention given to the likes of Fantasy IV.
But Final Fantasy V deserves another chance. It combines a more complex gameplay loop with a storytelling focus to create an RPG that feels pretty robust. That said, the story and characters are actually a step backwards compared to its predecessor. The game’s crystal-based plot is a bit boisterous and predictable, but the party members lack depth in terms of personalities and motivations.
Still, the game as a whole retains that key retro Final Fantasy sense of adventure. This is another world that is fun to explore. There are also more lighthearted moments sprinkled throughout V, giving it a unique charm when compared to its darker and moodier siblings.
Final Fantasy V’s gameplay system is worth playing today. It takes the job system from Final Fantasy III and allows you to tweak your heroes in amazing ways. As well as assigning classes to your team, you can learn specific abilities for various jobs and apply them to others. This basically means that you can create a hybrid his character his class, allowing for an addicting level of party customization.
However, this increases the need for a grind if you want to unlock a wide range of job abilities. It makes the process easier than ever. handy!
With a decent story, decent characters, and fairly standard turn-based combat, Final Fantasy V can feel a little too safe at times, but the expanded job system really ties a lot of the experience together. Forgotten Final Fantasy, but still fun to play.