Here it is, the very 1^st Retrophilia!!!
This week i will cover Final Fantasy V.

Hit the jump to read

Published in 1992 by Square Co. for the Super Famicom, the game did for the series what handles did for doors.
Introducing new systems, expanding on old ones, this game is what makes the latest Final Fantasy games what they are. The game has since been released on the PlayStation twice (as part of Final Fantasy Collection alongside IV and VI in Japan, and as part of Final Fantasy Anthology alongside VI in North America. [Both 1999]). There was not a European releases until 2002, when Anthology was released, although this time alongside IV.
The game has also been ported to the Game Boy Advance, although it is currently only available in Japanese and North American territories. No European Dates have been released.

The Game

The game was the first in the series to fully incorporate an Active Time Battle or ATB system. Although originally present in FFIV, the system was not fully realised until FFV.
You can now see which character has its turn next, thanks to the implementation of an ATB Gauge, a feature that has been in most subsequent Final Fantasy Titles, and also other RPG epics, such as Chrono Trigger.
The game also expands upon the Job System first introduced in FFIII, offering a total of 22 classes to the 5 playable characters. Mastering these jobs requires the accumulation of Ability points, separate from the Experience points which Level the characters themselves. As Job levels increase more skills are opened. The best part of the job system is it allowed for cross-classing. For example, If you job is currently Thief, but you have previously acquired Ability points for say, White mage, you can use some of the abilities and skills you gained in that Job in your current Thief setup.

Music

Composed by series god Nobuo Uematsu, the song “Clash on the Big Bridge” is probably most synonymous with the title. And as always, the title offers the usual slow melodic themes and the fast paced battle tunes too.

Story

While not the best story ever, it is still a good one, having scored approximately 70%-80% in most reviews. It should be noted, however, that the game was placed at #15 in Famitsu readers all time greatest.

OK so overall /10

Groundbreaking-ness : 6
it may not have been the single greatest game to hit the industry, but it did uses some cool stuff.

Gameplay : 8
The ATB was a revolution, and the Job system is Class (hehe)

Innovation : 4
Not many original ideas here, but old ones done well

Long-Term Impact : 10
Final Fantasy Would be a whole lot different today if it wasn’t for this game

Total : 28/40

Not a bad score, i’d recommend purchasing the re-release GBA version if you’ve never played this before.

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