After an extended absence and some odd posting dates, it’s time once again for the playthrough update! This time around we’re discussing Final Fantasy V, which I managed to beat in a week! I started last Tuesday (a little before my update for that week, I know), and am watching the credits roll as I type. To save a little time I’ve cut out a few of the side things I did, as this game went by so fast. So, let’s get started shall we?

Progress

~Tuesday, May 7th

• Started Final Fantasy V
• -Renamed Bartz to ‘Blake’
• Rescued Lenna and Galuf from the crater of the meteorite
• Tried to steal the pirate ship, but was caught by Faris
• Arrived at the Wind Shrine and ascended it, discovering the shattered crystal
• Set out to protect the other crystals after recieving the crystal essence
• Passed through the canal and drifted to the shipwreck graveyard
• Defeated the Siren and escaped the graveyard
• Climbed the North Mountain and rescued Hiryuu the Wind Drake
• Flew to the City of Walse and witnessed a meteor crash near the Water Crystal’s tower
• Failed to protect the Water Crystal, and escaped the sinking of the tower with Syldra’s help
• Used the meteorite to warp to Karnak
• Met Cid after being thrown in the Karnak dungeons
• Failed to protect the Fire Crystal, and escaped the collapsing Karnak Castle

~Wednesday, May 8th

• Defeated Byblios at the bottom of the Ancient’s Library
• Repaired the Fire-Powered Boat and sailed to Crescent Island
• Lost the boat, and flew the Black Chocobo back to the Ancient’s Library
• Set out for the Shifting Sands and searched for Lenna’s father in the Ruined Town
• Traversed the underground ruins and discovered the Airship
• Arrived back at the Ruined Town right as it began to float high into the clouds
• Retrieved the Adamantite needed to allow the Airship to fly higher
• Failed to protect the Earth Crystal and prevented Exdeath’s revival in the floating city
• Said goobye to Galuf and Krile, then collected the energy needed to follow them back to their world
• Broke out of Exdeath’s dungeon and fought across the Big Bridge

~Thursday, May 9th

• Flew back to Bal Castle on Krile’s Wind Drake
• Traveled to the Werewolf village of Quelb and learned the truth about Bartz’s father
• Retrieved the Dragon Grass from Drakenvale
• Tried to land on Sage Ghido’s island, until Exdeath sank it
• Flew to Xezat’s Fleet to help in the fight against Exdeath
• Snuck into the Barrier Tower via Submarine
• Defeated Atomos and destroyed the barrier antenna

~Friday, May 10th

• Consulted with Sage Ghido and learned Exdeath’s origins
• Set out for the Forest of Moore to stop Exdeath from obtaining what he seeks
• Lost Galuf in the fight against Exdeath after being tricked into breaking the final seals
• Assaulted Exdeath’s castle but failed to protect the remaining crystals
• Awoke in the newly-merged world
• Saw Faris’ feminine side, then beat up an Antlion
• Met with the Sage Ghido and learned about the truth about the worlds

~Saturday, May 11th

• Leveled absentmindedly (Mother’s birthday, can’t focus on the games!)

~Sunday. May 12th

• Decided to break the seal on Castle Kuza and obtain the Twelve Legendary Weapons
• Made for the Pyramid at the Shifting Sands and obtained the first tablet
• Released Excalibur, the Holy Lance, and Sasuke’s Katana from their seals
• Traveled to the Island Shrine and obrained the second tablet
• Released Masamune, the Magus Rod, and the Fire Lash from their seals
• Entered the Void

~Monday, May 13th

• Fought through the mashed-up worldspace of the Void
• Defeated Twintania and arrived in the heart of the Void
• Fought with Gilgamesh once last time
• Defeated Exdeath and banished the Void from the world

Final Fantasy V ~Parting Thoughts

I first played this game on the PS1 in the Anthology collection, and I actually didn’t get a chance to pick up the ‘Advance’ version until very recently. I enjoyed this version of the game even more than I enjoyed the original, to be honest, partially due to an updated translation. I’ve always loved the job system, and while FFV has one of the most basic versions it’s still pretty solid. I greatly enjoyed finding the new Jobs that were added to the Advance version, although for the life of me I couldn’t figure out how to get new Dark Arts for the Necromancer. I’ll probably look that up for a future playthrough! Jobs aside, the mechanics of combat seem a little slow to me and I’m hoping that should they make this game again for the Vita or the 3DS they’ll spring for something cleaner. Playing the first five titles over again, I realize that many of them practically used D&D ‘Monster Manuals’ to populate their beastiaries. For me this is a good thing, and it gives an extra sort of nostalgia flair to this title in particular.

While I’m glad they updated the script (Butz using the power of Quest to seal away the Void was just painful), I’ve noticed something glaringly wrong with the localization which I hope isn’t present in the original Japanese version of the game. Despite being set in an obviously medieval-style world with very little technology to speak of and filled with characters that are princesses and kings, most characters aside from the main villain talk as if they were being written in a game set in the USA, circa 1990s. The fact that Galuf actually says ‘Tarnation’ at least twice causes me very nearly physical pain, and I had to put the PSP down and play something else when Bartz reacted to Sage Ghido by saying ‘Sweet Christmas, it’s a talking turtle!’ (I’m not joking, this is word-for-word what he says). The game has a lot of humor, but most of it feels out of place to me.

Unfitting script aside, the story is one that I consistently enjoy. Two worlds (or even just one) slowly sliding into an endless nothingness is a pretty common theme in Final Fantasy, and it’s definitely a formula that works. The origins of Exdeath were a nice twist to the narrative, and those origins were kept in mind when it came time for the final fight. The use of Werewolves as a ‘good’ race was refreshing, especially in the face of the repeated use of Dwarves. The Sage Ghido (a turtle-person of some kind) was also pretty enjoyable in the Advance version, for consistently berating Bartz’ habit of restating things that have just been said. In particular, I broke into a grin when in response to his question about the Twelve Legendary weapons Ghido said “They are weapons. They are legendary. There are even twelve of them.”

Overall, Final Fantasy V is a game with a classic story and fun (if somewhat slow) battle system. It went by much too fast, but remains one of the entries with a warmer place in my heart.