Final Fantasy V

[ZeaLitY]

Finished it tonight. If you've played it, what did you think?

I really enjoyed it, and just wished the world and plot had been a little more expansive. Just a little more; it was already well done, and I could see the beginnings of FF6 in it. It would have been nice if Exdeath had been a little more human as a villain; I never thought I'd be defending Kefka's humanity in terms of making an attractive villain, but Exdeath was kind of one-dimensional. Gilgamesh was the real show-stopper; he's a fantastic character in the springtime of youth, and I'm happy he has such a visible position in the series now. I was happy to see strong female characters with Faris and Lenna, and Bartz...

I've been noticing people comparing Bartz to future FF heroes and saying "Bartz was a REAL HERO, not a whiny emo," but 1) honestly, shut the fuck up about FF protagonists being "emo", and 2) I really felt Bartz has a feminine side. He wasn't overly aggressive, and something about him struck all the right senses of wanting to know more, and filling in the blanks of his life. Something about him is very solitary, yet emotional and contemplative. Uematsu must have thought so too; I had that feeling before finding his home town, and when I did, I heard Home, Sweet Home—and it captures Bartz perfectly. What a moving song. Galuf was also really cool; the comic relief worked pretty well.

The music was overall incredible. Have to note these individually:

Lenna's Theme - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cl3zolyjW8
Deception - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt5S1eebBVU
Walking through the Snowy Mountains - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-Fc23Ksh7I (god, Uematsu was on a roll with mountain themes)
The Fire-Powered Ship - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1fKxAZzvH4 (hell yes; this is imperial, human glory)
Home Sweet Home - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZgApBKQSE4
What? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2svxrrQEdY
Clash on the Big Bridge - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtdQl6WuFeI (of course; hearing this when Gilgamesh sacrificed himself was awesome)
Hehehe zz no billy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6uKc6gAoK0

FF9 will be next, but who knows when that'll be.



FINAL FANTASY VIII-2: ZELL AND GILGAMESH TAKE ON THE WORLD

[utunnels]

Hmm, I should have finished FF V, but I only managed to fight Gilgamesh for the 1st time years ago, the bridge is quite impressive.

For some reason, I feel Rydia's theme from FFIV, Lenna's theme from FF V and Relm's theme from FF VI have the same spirit.

[FaustWolf]

Final Fantasy V was the first full game I played after moving to my current hometown, a little over a decade ago now. Maybe it's for that reason that I associate it with feelings of wide open adventure and starting out fresh. A music CD came with the Playstation re-release that year, so listening to pieces like "Pirates Ahoy!" really completed that feeling.

Was there any particular gender relations insight with Faris' character that you picked up on? I vaguely remember that she hid her gender during the beginning of the game, maybe to be taken seriously by the other pirates or something.


Man, I forgot how inspiring Gilgamesh's character design is!

[rushingwind]

Final Fantasy V is a good game, and it makes me sad that it doesn't get the respect it deserves sometimes. Faris was my favorite character by far... She was so kick-ass.

The concept of the Void was very influential in some of my writings, and the formation of my book. I have always remembered that haunting, terrifying place. To many people, a vast nothingness/non-existence doesn't seem as threatening as something like, say... Hell, but when I was younger? The Void scared the crap out of me. Especially the city frozen in time... I seem to recall that there was a way to unfreeze time (I may be mistaken, as it's been a while), but to proceed, you had to freeze the town once again. How tragic... and how sad for the people trapped within.

I heard the song "Dear Friends" before I played the game, and loved it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGJza6YGAes&p=DF486C461A268EA1&playnext=1&index=1

"The Day Will Come" is another favorite of mine:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r98of93IMTU&feature=related

I usually end up remembering games by their music. If the music is good, I'll play it again. And FFV has some really good music.

[tushantin]

I loved this game! Just not enough to actually replay it though. But yeah, how long has it been, seven years? Back then I didn't own a comp so I played it at a cafe, and I played this right after finishing FF6 and I remember I was at a good point in the story when my father barged in, scolding me and grabbing me by the ear for not doing my homework and I said, "fuck you, dad, fuck you!" Seriously, that was the first time I ever did that, and it was FF5 to blame just because it was so awesome. (Of course, I apologized when I got home)

But yeah, one thing annoyed the shit outta me was "Gilgamesh" -- not because of his character, mind you, but because of his name. I was annoyed that the King of Legends/Heroes was actually being portrayed as some pathetic comic relief, but then I eventually lost my bias and loved the character for its sheer development and creativity within the realms of pixel world.

LMFAO Bartz is a chick with a... okay...

[Acacia Sgt]

Oh yes, I've played FFV, and it's really one of my favorite games.

I enjoyed playing it through. Well, at first it took me a while, and that's thanks to the Job Class system. Sometimes I find it hard when you're given that much of a freedom when developing your characters, but now that's past.

And I definetly enjoyed hearing the music. Most of the time it really captured the atmosphere. Exdeath's Theme was certainly a good way to tell you things were about to turn for the worse. And then there's Clash on the Big Bridge, an awesome theme for an equally awesome character.

One of the things I didn't liked was the way it killed off the previous Warriors of Dawn. Yes, I understand the job now lies in Bartz and company, but still, their 'It's now up to you!' didn't had to include their deaths. And then there is the cases like Kelger, quickly sent injured to his bed after just meeting him and staying there until he finally died. At least Xexat and Galuf were able to be more active, but still died. And especially Galuf, who had been an actual party member up to that point. But still, I guess that's what you sould expect when he refused to die when his HP reached 0. Now that's a determinator.

Overall, it is a very good game.

[ZeaLitY]

Oh, not really with Faris. It was just a refreshing change from the usual Japanese princess-in-distress stereotype.

[Lance VII]

FFV is fantastic. Sadly, I have yet to beat it. I need to.

FFIX is my favorite FF game hands down. Then comes FFVI.

[gatotsu911]

I played the Game Boy Advance version of this game a couple years ago. The soundtrack (fun fact: Mitsuda worked as sound designer on the game) and battle system were easily among the best in the series (Home, Sweet Home was my favorite track as well, next to Battle on the Big Bridge) and the otherwise-average plot was spiced up with a colorful and at times hilarious localization that the likes of Paper Mario and Dragon Quest would be proud of. (Seriously, if you haven't checked out the GBA version yet - even if you've played another version - go do so.)

[tushantin]

Infinite cheers for teh awesome Gilgamesh! http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01515/

[deviant_ambition]

I never finished. Enjoyable, loved the job system, but never finished.

[GenesisOne]

Man, with all this talk about FFV...

I better get to playing it before I get left out of the loop.

*Dashes off to download the FFV rom online and play it non-stop until he passes out from sheer exhaustion*

[_Janus_]

FFV is pretty good, even though the story is nothing to spectacular, it's good enough to grip you in, and the job system is the second best in the series.
All tracks you listed are pretty good, but you forgot one of the town themes.

[gatotsu911]

A sampling of the phenomenal GBA translation:

"Enough expository banter!! Now we fight like men! And ladies. And ladies who dress like men. For Gilgamesh... IT'S MORPHIN' TIME!!!" - Gilgamesh

[ZaichikArky]

1. Worse than FF6, otherwise the best of the 2d FF games.
2. Faris is really cool
3. Liked the gameplay better than most other FFs
4. Story kind of sucked.
5. Main baddie was really stupid. Wasn't he a tree?

Maybe I'll replay it one of these days. I'd rather just replay FF6 a ton more times.