this game is my new gold standard for gameplay in JRPGs going forward. the job system is at its absolute peak here and makes ff3 look barebones by comparison. the story was passable (still pretty good tho!) but the gameplay more than made up for it
I replayed FFV for four job fiesta this year, and honestly, on the replay I think this game has warranted the extra half star bump to 5 stars. It was just, if not more, fun the second time around, and I’ve gained an appreciation for just how much you can do in this game. With a team of blue mage, time mage, beastmaster, and dragoon, I was able to pull off most major milestones and beat the game, including Shinryu (I couldn’t think of an answer to Omega that did not involve extreme amounts of grinding). While the job system is so big and vast, there really isn’t anything you can’t do with any party (except maybe four berserkers, but I’m also aware there is a solo run of them out there!). And I think that’s impressive – I really value customization in video gaming and that element of FFV is something I deeply enjoy.
There is a lot to like about FFV, but there is also a lot that is holding it back. For one, some of the characters and even villains are not very well developed. For example, Gilgamesh. I love Gilgamesh, but that's only because of the questlines he has in FF14. In this game, he's a guy that shows up every once in a while, fights, loses, runs away, and repeat. He forms a bond with the party and grows to like them, but I never once felt that bond. If I ever had the chance to interact with him outside of battle, then maybe I'd feel more attached to him. As is, he's just this guy that shows up every once in a while.
The job system in this game is great, but it also holds the game back at times. I love tweaking my party and finding cool combinations. But there are times where if you don't go into a boss fight with the right setup, then good luck. It's super annoying when you have a great lineup and are getting through the regular fights without much difficultly, and then the boss is immune to almost everything you can do to them. That's just bad game design.
I don't want to come across as negative about the game though. It is good, but I consider it the weakest out of the SNES era games. The Pixel Remaster is the best way to play V if you don't have a copy already.
The job system in this game is great, but it also holds the game back at times. I love tweaking my party and finding cool combinations. But there are times where if you don't go into a boss fight with the right setup, then good luck. It's super annoying when you have a great lineup and are getting through the regular fights without much difficultly, and then the boss is immune to almost everything you can do to them. That's just bad game design.
I don't want to come across as negative about the game though. It is good, but I consider it the weakest out of the SNES era games. The Pixel Remaster is the best way to play V if you don't have a copy already.
(This is the English translation of my Spanish review of this game)
Fact: This was also my first review of the Pixel Remaster series
Blessed the day I decided to give an old game a chance (lmao it's a remaster in any case). I always hesitate because I am afraid that it might bore me, or the gameplay mechanics might be very rudimentary, but this series of pixel remasters is proving me wrong, and that makes me really happy.
It’s so amusing to see games that have the early DNA of RPGs (and being the fifth iteration) it manages to capture the early RPG concepts in such a cool way. FFV has it all. Gods who created the universe, crystals that keep it safe, an evil guy who wants to destroy everything and escapes his prison, and now - THE HERO OF TIME - ehhh the four heroes of light have to mop up and fix the mess. An extremely classic archetype to tell this classic story.
Playing this game made me realize that for a long time I’ve felt somewhat disappointed by modern RPGs. They never managed to “scratch the itch” of the completionist’s bite. I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved completing secondary objectives or finding the game’s collectibles. There’s something inside me that feels peace seeing everything complete and tidy, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that FFV has a bestiary of 300 (depending on the version) creatures! Each with its custom artworks even. I love experiencing such great labors of love like this.
I don’t have many negative things to say about the game, really. Much of the criticism I can think of might not be so valid because at the time, the “old school” RPG formula was not, in fact, old school. For 1992, I feel that the storytelling, the twists and turns, the parallel and fantastic worlds were quite fresh and exciting themes, and I feel that 32 years later (today lol) they still are a bit.
In short, a game with a lot of content, many creatures, and an great joy to play.
4.5 Exdeaths, Postdeaths, and Neoexpostdeaths
out of 5 💀💀💀💀
Fact: This was also my first review of the Pixel Remaster series
Blessed the day I decided to give an old game a chance (lmao it's a remaster in any case). I always hesitate because I am afraid that it might bore me, or the gameplay mechanics might be very rudimentary, but this series of pixel remasters is proving me wrong, and that makes me really happy.
It’s so amusing to see games that have the early DNA of RPGs (and being the fifth iteration) it manages to capture the early RPG concepts in such a cool way. FFV has it all. Gods who created the universe, crystals that keep it safe, an evil guy who wants to destroy everything and escapes his prison, and now - THE HERO OF TIME - ehhh the four heroes of light have to mop up and fix the mess. An extremely classic archetype to tell this classic story.
Playing this game made me realize that for a long time I’ve felt somewhat disappointed by modern RPGs. They never managed to “scratch the itch” of the completionist’s bite. I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved completing secondary objectives or finding the game’s collectibles. There’s something inside me that feels peace seeing everything complete and tidy, so it was a pleasant surprise to see that FFV has a bestiary of 300 (depending on the version) creatures! Each with its custom artworks even. I love experiencing such great labors of love like this.
I don’t have many negative things to say about the game, really. Much of the criticism I can think of might not be so valid because at the time, the “old school” RPG formula was not, in fact, old school. For 1992, I feel that the storytelling, the twists and turns, the parallel and fantastic worlds were quite fresh and exciting themes, and I feel that 32 years later (today lol) they still are a bit.
In short, a game with a lot of content, many creatures, and an great joy to play.
4.5 Exdeaths, Postdeaths, and Neoexpostdeaths
out of 5 💀💀💀💀