You know...the game is NOT supposed to be a jab at JRPG cliches. It's just that they for some bizarre reason decided to localize FF 5 as a running joke filled with pop culture references (Simpson's quotes, really Squeenix?) The lighter tone may be appreciated by some but I see it as messing with the original intentions of the writers. The only thing I feel really benefitted from the shift in tone, was Gilgamesh, as his lines were already wacky. Also the music takes a major dive compared to the orginal SNES/Super Famicom version. This version isn't bad by any means, but I'd have to suggest finding the fan translation and play it on emulator.
Gameplay wise, FFV is one of my favorite Final Fantasies. It has the best version of the Job system, by far; half of the fun was just playing with the different skill configurations. The plot was pretty weak, but it was fun to play.
I have a suspicion that the writers would have recognized that this was one of the weaker plots and thus would have applauded the localization, but I don't know their intention any more than 70.68.134.193. Regardless, the localization team had a mediocre plot to work with and they made the best of it, hence "localization" as opposed to "translation".
Eh, I don't think every Final Fantasy needs a super complex plot. Sure, I enjoyed the ridiculous convoluted plots of Tactics, VII, X, etc., but sometimes it's nice to just have a simple "evil entity breaks free and smushes the worlds together, go kill him" plot.
And as mentioned above, the simple plot is just an excuse for the ridiculously fun combat. I've always liked the idea of the Job system (which is why Tactics is my favorite game ever), and I love the way it's implemented in V.
Actually, there IS a story in FFV: it has plenty of good moments (including several Tear Jerkers eg. the deaths of Stella and Galuf). Heck, Galuf's Heroic Sacrifice may count as the most Awesome in the entire series.
And the plot is ultimately as convoluted as any other FF's (the whole split-the-world-in-two-to-seal-away-the-evil-power thing doesn't make much sense, but it IS awesome).
It's just that most people think of the story as an Excuse Plot because they focus mostly on the gameplay; with its huge number of Job Systems, bosses, dungeons etc. It has a LOT of replay value. Besides, the other games add so much Wangst that this game looks positively tame next to them (but again, it does have its tearjerking moments.) If only the remake had better graphics (like the one of FFIII did) instead of its NES-era superdeforms, it might be taken more seriously today. (Seriously, not even CGI cutscenes? Bah.)
And yes, the game has its definitely silly moments too, but not to the point you'd say it's absurd. (My favorite was the Lap Dance.)
I've added a Synopsis of the game to the site so people can check out the story for themselves. (Though I left out some of the optional cutscenes eg. Stella's death out since they are, well, optional.)
As well as Gilgamesh, I liked the characters and even Exdeath a little (had he been executed better, he could've been a pretty good villain.) And the job system was fun of course. But I just couldn't care for the weak plot (which was not meant as a parody, it was just more self aware than other JRPG plots of the time) and travelling the world was not fun for me. Too much random battles every step I took. Gah. The Gag Dub GBA translation, however, was a big improvement over the Blind Idiot Translation of the "Anthology" version.
All in all, it's probably better than the first three Final Fantasies for the NES but it's no FFVI and defenitely no FFVII.
Though, BTW, is it just me or do the six 2D FF games follow a pattern story-wise?
Odd numbers (1, 3, 5): Simple plotlines about four Warriors of Light saving the world from some monstorous menace and crystals are heavily involved somehow.
Even numbers (2, 4, 6): More ambitious, complex plotlines with many characters fighting against an evil empire, with crystals serving as more of a backdrop element.
Saying it's better than FF 7 is not blasphemy by any means. But then I've thought 7 to be one of the most overrated (not bad, mind) games in existence. That aside though, I don't think any game in the series is held sacred to begin with, as no two lists of favorite games in the series will be alike.
5 had one of the most flexible systems in the series, yet was less broken than later games that gave TOO MUCH customization (VII and VIII, I'm looking in your direction). Heck, I might just do a review for this.
Too many people don't like this game because of the "Excuse Plot". Just came across one troper who bashed the game "to piss off its fanboys" in the thread for his/her own review. Also consider said troper defended the more popular 7 and 8 from haters via haiku. Can you say irony?
The pendulum swings back and forth from serious to goofy. V is sort of stuck in between IV and VI: the Amaao pixel art clashes with the 'toony battle backgrounds, Exdeath is caught between Golbez and Kefka, etc. If you ask me, FF strikes gold when it's a blend of both.
I think the story is great. If it surprises you with a few curveballs, that's a success in my book. I realize story is paramount in this genre, but don't gamers know what they're getting into when they play something that's 20 years old?
I'm a skeptical squirrel
Good point.
Besides, great gameplay ALWAYS trumps a great story. Besides, game stories are mediocre to their counterparts in other more narrative centric media (theatre, books, film, TV, etc.).
Wow, four comments, four years. This is really something unusual. Anyway, it's not really possible to have an objective comparison of games' stories vs. other media (I'll use films for simplicity) when said comparison is games and movies from last 5, 10, or at most 20 years and doesn't acknowledge the fact that the film is more than a century old, while gaming history is barely greater than 30 years.
I challenge you to watch some films from 1908, 1910, 1912, etc. Most of those focus on visual trickery, cheap gags, etc. at have plots with similar complexity to the NES games. Films of 1920's have only slightly better proportion of great-to-shit plots as modern games, once you include all the indies in it: the main skewing factor is that while film industry had to earn its toys at a rate of roughly one per decade (first sound, than colour, than proper sound effects, then passable practical effects, then great practical effects, then shit CGI, then good CGI, then 3D), while gaming gets its stuff at the rate of about once per 3 years, never had to start off with no sound and was black-and-white for much briefer period. If 1930's studio execs got the technology to perform equivalent of modern blockbusters, we would have gotten Delgo, Prometheus and I, Frankenstein before the second half of the century even begun.
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Final Fantasy V (Advance): There's more to it than Gilgamesh
Story:
First things first: At least in the GBA translation, this game is more or less and Affectionate Parody of the JRPG clichés and plots of the time. If you're looking for something serious like Final Fantasy VII or Diablo II, FF5 isn't for you. If you don't mind wackiness and ridiculous plot devices, then you're probably going to like FF5.
That being said, the plot exists... barely. It's mostly just weak excuses to move into the next part of the map. However, I've played Final Fantasy IV halfway through, and I've got to say that the only difference here is that FF5 seems to be aware of its Excuse Plot and therefore plays it for laughs most of the time.
Characters:
FF5 only has four playable characters at a time, and there's no swapping between people, ever. Whether this is a weakness or a strength depends on how you look at it. On one hand, if you really dislike someone, you'll have to drag them along nonetheless. On the other, it means that each character manages to get fairly much development, since screen time is only split five ways.
The supporting cast ranges from forgettable (the King of Tycoon) to hilariously over-the-top (Gilgamesh, Ghido).
Gameplay:
In a game with a self-conscious Excuse Plot, the gameplay is beyond vital to the overall quality; I really liked the Job System's FF5 incarnation, which made the game for me. I'm kinda sad that there isn't a Dark Knight class and that the Dragoon is ridiculously underpowered, but on the whole the system is really cool. I like how every character has a different sprite for every job, which makes switching them look cool in addition to changing gameplay. There's little micromanagement (unless you really want to start comparing stats), and lots of munchkin potential.
Something that annoyed me was that you can't switch turns in combat, which sucks.
Music:
It's a Nobuo Uematsu track. Enough said.
Overall:
If you liked Final Fantasy IX, you're going to like Final Fantasy V. Must-play for 2D-RPG fans. I know I'll be hated for this, but I preferred this to FF7.
Four stars out of five.