Final Fantasy V

Overview

Final Fantasy V is the fifth entry in the long-running Final Fantasy series by Square-Enix, released on December 6, 1992. It follows many of the traditions of the series while experimenting with new ideas. As opposed to the previous game, which featured nearly no character customization, Final Fantasy V had an open-ended "job" system which allowed characters to be customized with different roles, and even use one role's abilities while in another one. The execution was similar to the one that Final Fantasy III had, although less rigid.

Release

As originally released, Final Fantasy V only came out for the Super Famicom in Japan. Due to worries from the project team that the game wouldn't be accessible to the average gamer, the translation of Final Fantasy V was shelved, and Final Fantasy VI was translated into American and European regions as "Final Fantasy III" instead. English-speaking countries did not see an official release until the PlayStation port, Final Fantasy Anthology, was released nearly seven years later, on September 30, 1999. Another version, this time ported to the Game Boy Advance, was released on November 6, 2006. It has also seen a release in Japan on Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console in January 2011 and on PSN as a PSOne Classic on April 6th. A European and North American release has been confirmed as a PSOne classic.

Story

The story begins as the winds across the worlds begin to slow, bringing ships to a halt. King Tycoon, on the back of his dragon Hiryuu, sets off to the wind shrine to investigate the matter. When the dragon arrives, the crystal shatters, stopping the wind. As this happens, a meteorite plunges into the ground near Tycoon castle, and close to the spot where Bartz and his chocobo, Boko, are relaxing. Bartz and Boko set off to investigate the meteorite, where they encounter a young girl named Lenna, under attack by some monsters. Bartz saves her, and the two investigate further. They encounter someone else at the site, an old man named Galuf. Unfortunately, his name is the only thing he remembers. As the three talk, Lenna tells them that she was traveling to the wind shrine, where her father was. Galuf realizes that he must go to the wind shrine! Of course, he doesn't know why. With that, the three of them set off for the wind shrine.

The meteorite proves to be quite the obstacle, requiring the trio to travel by sea. They recruit the help of pirate captain Faris Scherwiz, who takes them to the shrine. When they arrive, the situation is bleak. King Tycoon is nowhere to be seen, and the crystal is shattered. The shards of crystal magically react, and an image of the king appears. He tells them they are chosen warriors who are tasked with protecting the crystals from an ancient evil.

Further research reveals that the evil King Tycoon spoke of is the great warlock Exdeath. Exdeath had once tried to destroy the world, but was sealed using the crystals. Now, these crystals were being used for their power, and it was being drained, weakening the seal on Exdeath. If Exdeath escapes and the crystals are destroyed, it would mean certain doom, unleashing a great evil and making their world uninhabitable. The four warriors now have their work cut out for them, they must save the crystals of fire, water, and earth from the fate of the wind crystal.

Just after encountering Faris, the party notices something odd. Everyone in his crew finds him very attractive, and Bartz does too. An awkward situation. It turns out, there is reason for this: Faris is a woman! Later on, Lenna discovers that Faris is her once thought to be lost sister, the princess of Tycoon!

They travel to Walse, Karnak, and Carwen, and ultimately fail to save any of the crystals. Each one shatters as the team arrives, however, they harvest their power in hopes of saving the next crystal. While in Karnak, attempting to save the fire crystal, they meet Krile. Krile has come from another world, looking for Galuf, who is her grandfather! Krile is the key to Galuf's memory, and her arrival brings a flood of knowledge. Galuf is from another world, and with his new memory, he and Krile depart to their home.

Bartz, Lenna, and Faris return to consult with the geniuses Cid and Mid at the library of the ancients. What should they do next? They resolve that they must travel to Galuf's world, and save it from Exdeath. Exdeath wants to destroy that world, not this one, and they feel they must help. With the help of Cid and Mid, they travel across worlds.

The party arrives at Exdeath's castle, where an intense battle is taken place. The three end up as captives of Exdeath, and are locked up. Galuf comes to their rescue, and the team makes haste. They run across the big bridge, and enounter the great Gilgamesh, who vows to stop them. They take him on and defeat him, and as they escape, the castle's barrier is activated, sending them flying across the planet. Galuf reveals that he is king of Bal, a great city in this world, and was once one of the great warriors who sealed Exdeath. a shock to Bartz and the gang. They set off for Bal, and get there with Krile and her wind drake's help.

Unfortunately, the wind drake is dying, and the only cure is dragon grass. The four warriors set off to find some. They meet up with an old comrade of Galuf's, one of the great warriors, Kelger. Kelger reveals to Bartz that his father, who had once left him, was one of the legendary warriors who had once fought with Galuf and Kelger. They travel further, and obtain dragon grass, and heal the drake.

In order to progress further, the team seeks the wisdom of the great sage Ghido. Ghido had warned of the destruction of the crystals before, and could likely recommend a course of action for defeating Exdeath. Misfortune strikes, however, and when the party arrives, Ghido's island sinks into the ocean thanks to Exdeath. Still determined, they seek another way to reach Ghido. The team meets up with the other of the original four warriors, Xezat, and his navy fleet sailing to attack Exdeath. With Xezat's help, they infiltrate and take down the barrier surrounding the castle. Unfortunately, Xezat sacrifices himself in the process. They obtain a submarine, and set off for Ghido's cave.

They traverse the underwater cave, and meet the old turtle sage Ghido. Ghido tells them that Exdeath was once a mage named Enuo, who had control over the void. When he was defeated, his evil was sealed in the trees of the Forest of Moore, where after 1,000 years, his evil broke the seal and was reborn into the world as the being known as Exdeath. The party then sets out to the forest to try and find something to help them destroy Exdeath.

They travel to and through the forest, and reach the tree. Exdeath, bent on stopping them, shows up to spoil the party. He immobilizes them, and all hope seems lost. Krile arrives in the nick of time to save them, however, she proves no match for Exdeath. Determined, Galuf breaks free of Exdeaths spell, and takes Exdeath on head to head. Galuf fights until Exdeath retreats, when Galuf collapses. Bartz, Krile, Lenna, and Faris rush to his side, but he passes on. His spirit passes

on his power to Krile, who joins our warriors, now out to get Exdeath once and for all.

The group heads straight for Exdeath's castle, climb up, and face him in battle. They defeat him, but it is too late. Exdeath accomplishes his goal, and two worlds - Bartz's world and Glauf's - fuse together. The group once again seeks Ghido's counsel, and he advises they collect all of the legendary weapons. The group travels far and wide, breaking the seals on the weapons, and taking each one. Once this task is completed, they head for the rift. They meet Gilgamesh one final time, who gives them his friendship. They go further into the rift, where Exdeath has gained the power of the void, and reveals his true form: a monstrous tree. He shows his true form, Neo Exdeath, and the final battle begins.

Jobs

The main gameplay feature that Final Fantasy V is remembered for is its open-ended "Job" system. Unlike most games in the series, each character can be assigned to perform any role the player desires, whether that be spellcaster, dual-wielding ninja, or hard to kill knight. At the start of the game, six classes, some based on classic Final Fantasy archetypes ( Black Mage, White Mage, Thief) are given to the player, and a total of 22 are gradually unlocked over the course of the game. Each of these Jobs comes with various advantages and disadvantages; spellcasters are typically weaker, but their ability to cast magic can make them very useful, while classes such as Thief are more adept at subtle advantages (like stealing from enemies) rather than sheer damage dealing.

As characters gain the traditional experience levels, they also gain AP, which serve as a sort of "Job experience point" system. As a character levels up their experience in a Job, they unlock various abilities that can then be used while the character is using another class, an example being casting Black Magic while the character is a White Mage, thereby allowing one character to serve both offensive and defensive roles. Characters are limited as to how many abilities they can have equipped at once, however, requiring strategic choices by the player to get past different points in the game.

A few of the character types introduced in Final Fantasy V have become staple elements of future games. The Blue Mage is the most prominent, with his ability to learn attacks that enemies have used on him being present in just about every game in the series since, and the concept of Time Mage has lived on in most games since, providing a category for spells like Slow and Haste which were previously placed with Black and White Magic, respectively.

• Knight
• Monk
• Thief
• Lancer
• Ninja
• Samurai
• Berserker
• Sorcerer
• White Mage
• Black Mage
• Time Mage
• Summoner
• Blue Mage
• Red Mage
• Trainer
• Chemist
• Geomancer
• Bard
• Dancer
• Mime

Soundtrack

Disc 1

1. Ahead on Our Way

2. A Presentiment

3. Four Valiant Hearts

4. Hurry! Hurry!

5. Lenna's Theme

6. Fate In Haze

7. The Battle

8. Victory's Fanfare

9. Requiem

10. Pirates Ahoy!

11. Tenderness in the Air

12. Good Night!

13. Sealed Away

14. Cursed Earth

15. Deception

16. Harvest

17. Walking the Snowy Mountains

18. Danger!

19. The Fierce Battle

20. The Dragon Spreads its Wings

21. Royal Palace

22. The Fire Powered Ship

23. Run!

24. Nostalgia

25. The Ancient Library

26. Reminiscence

27. Musica Machina

28. The Day Will Come

29. What?

30. Mambo De Chocobo

31. My Home, Sweet Home

32. Music Box

33. The Airship

34. The Evil Lord Exdeath

Disc 2

1. Exdeath's Castle

2. The Four Warriors of Dawn

3. Battle with Gilgamesh

4. Unknown Lands

5. Critter Tripper Fritter!?

6. The Castle of Dawn

7. Beyond the Deep Blue Seas

8. As I Feel, You Feel

9. Waltz Clavier

10. Go Go Boco!

11. The Land Unknown

12. The Book of Sealings

13. Intension of the Earth

14. The Prelude of Empty Skies

15. Searching the Light

16. The Decisive Battle

17. The Last Battle

18. The Silent Beyond

19. Dear Friends

20. Final Fantasy

21. The New Origin

22. The Prelude

23. Fanfare 1

24. Fanfare 2

25. I'm a Dancer

26. Piano Lesson 1

27. Piano Lesson 2

28. Piano Lesson 3

29. Piano Lesson 4

30. Piano Lesson 5

31. Piano Lesson 6

32. Piano Lesson 7

33. Piano Lesson 8