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Enough expository banter. It's time we fight like men. And ladies. And ladies who dress like men. For Gilgamesh... IT IS MORPHING TIME!

Beaten: 2006, played a little in 2007 and 2016
Version played: SNES, Gameboy Advance, PC (Steam)


The first time I played FFV, I screwed up.

I have always been a lover of story before gameplay. When I had the opportunity to play the original FFV, I thought, well, why bother with the gameplay at all? I can use cheats on this version, so I'll just max out my levels and go from there.

Yeah. I know. In FFV of all games. What a mistake!

FFV follows on the heels of FFIII in that it's entirely about the job class system. FFV has one of the most robust instances of jobs in the series: there are up to 22 jobs to pick from, and you can easily multiclass between them. This makes for a system full of variety: you can kit out the playable characters any way you like.

The story is perhaps the most lighthearted and comedic in the entire series. Sure, there's some drama, but it's mostly just a fun adventure. (This, again, is why it was such a mistake to focus only on the story!) Because it's been so long since I've played it, I don't remember most of the story beats very well, so I'm looking forward to replaying it via the Pixel Remaster.

Favorite character

Faris! Of course I love the pirate, for reasons that become clear pretty early into the game. Faris's connection with Lenna makes for an easy way to relate to both characters.

I am also, of course, very fond of Gilgamesh, and am delighted that he's gone on to visit so many other games.

Favorite music

FFV's soundtrack is fairly underrated, in my opinion, which is a shame because it's fantastic. Here's some favorite tracks:

Favorite location

Despite not remembering the game very well, I'll go with the Ship Graveyard. What a nice, spooky setting for a RPG!

Other than that, about the only place I remember is the Great Forest of Moore...

Gameplay thoughts

I really can't speak with any authority about the gameplay, because I hardly remember it! I know there are fantastic job combinations, but who knows what they are.

I do remember that the GBA version had a Cannoneer job, at least, which is pretty much the greatest RPG job ever. Also, FFV introduced one of my favorite jobs in the whole series: Blue Mage.

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