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''Final Fantasy V'' (ファイナルファンタジーV ''Fainaru Fantajī V'') is a Computer Role-playing Game developed and published by Square Co., Ltd. in 1992 . Originally released for the Nintendo Super Famicom . The game was remade for the Sony PlayStation , and this version was eventually translated and marketed in North America and Europe as part of the '' Final Fantasy Anthology '' collection. The Super Famicom version of the game is notable for being one of the earliest Fan Translation s to reach completion, by RPGe in 1997 . It is interesting to note that it was the first Super Famicom ''Final Fantasy'' to incorporate the use of, in the Japanese text, Kanji . Previous NES ''Final Fantasy'' titles had originally used an all- Hiragana script due to character-space limitations. '' Final Fantasy IV '' was the last to have this (despite the fact that a Kanji script was possible), and is the most visibly connected to its predecessors in style. The game is being ported to the Game Boy Advance under the title ''Final Fantasy V Advance'', and is scheduled for release sometime in 2006 . {Link without Title} The '''', serves as a Sequel to the events depicted in the game. GAMEPLAY The main feature of its gameplay was the revamped Job system (originally introduced in a different form in '' Final Fantasy III ''), allowing all characters to potentially master up to 22 jobs. The player starts out with no job classes (they are defaulted as "Normal," a class which can be reverted to later on), and as they travel to new Crystal locations, they acquire new jobs. A separate form of experience, ABP, was created for the advancement of the characters' job levels, while they continued to earn regular Experience Point s. The system also introduced a streamlined method of 'multi-classing,' allowing each character to learn job-specific abilities and carry one or two over when they changed their class. The Job System would disappear in the series for a short time, but would reappear in the '' Final Fantasy Tactics '' series, '' Final Fantasy XI '', and '' Final Fantasy X-2 ''. However, the ABP mechanic has persisted in nearly every game since ''FFV'' under one name or another. Battle innovations include the famous Active Time Battle system, in which the player could, for the first time in the ''Final Fantasy'' series, see whose turn would come next. Other ''Final Fantasy'' conventions like the Blue Mage were introduced, adding new elements to battle. Another first for the series was the introduction of two "super" bosses, namely ''Omega'' and ''Shinryuu''. Both of these bosses can rapidly wipe out the party (even if every member has absolute maximum status points) and special tactics are required to defeat them. Facing these enemies is not required, and battles with them are manually initiated by the player. If the player defeats Shinryuu they will receive the strongest sword in the game. Defeating the Omega has no reward, however. While this may be the first occurrence of two super bosses and the first appearance of Omega, the very rare, randomly-encountered Warmech from the first Final Fantasy could be considered the first super boss of the series. STORY The story opens with Bartz, a lone wanderer with his chocobo, coming upon a young woman who is under attack by goblins near a meteor crash site. He rescues her, and they soon discover an old man in the wreckage who is unable to remember anything except for his name, which is ''Galuf.'' Reina reveals that she is on her way to the Wind Shrine, where her father has gone to discover why the wind has suddenly ceased. Galuf, suddenly realizing that he needs to go there (though he has no idea why), goes with her. Bartz continues on his way, but is unable to get far before his chocobo forces him to return and rescue them from more goblins. The three decide to travel together to the Wind Shrine, but the path is blocked by the crash, leaving water as the only route. Because there is no wind, there is no way to sail. However, the trio observe a pirate ship pulling into a secluded harbor, and they attempt to steal it. The captain, ''Faris'', soon captures them, but recognizes Reina's pendant and decides to help them get to the Wind Shrine. He reveals that the ship is pulled by a water dragon named Hydra. They travel to the Wind Shrine, but discover that the crystal has shattered, and ''King Tycoon'' appears and explains that it is X-Death's doing. He goes on to reveal that the four of them (Bartz, Reina, Galuf, and Faris) are fated to protect the crystals, then vanishes. The party decide to go to ''Walz'' to prevent the Water Crystal there from shattering. The ship docks in the town of ''Tule,'' where the pirates stay at the bar and Faris joins the party permanently. Reina receives the key to Torna Canal from a friend named Zokk, but a monster attacks them while travelling along it and sucks Hydra into a whirlpool. The ship drifts to the appropriately-named ''Ship Graveyard'' and the party is forced to cross a water-filled room. As they are warming up by a fire, Galuf and Bartz try to get Faris to take his clothes off to dry, but he refuses. When they struggle, it is revealed that Faris is actually a woman who has been disguised as a man since she was young in order to blend in with the pirates. When the party leaves the ship graveyard, they are stopped by a Siren who presents them each with illusions of a loved one. Galuf, however, does not remember the young girl in his vision and breaks the others out of the trance. When the party arrives at Kerwin, they decide to use a dragon to finish the trip to Walz. The only remaining dragon is dying, however, and can only be cured by the poisonous Hiryuu Plant. Reina risks her life by walking across a poisonous field to obtain it and feeds it to the dragon, which heals her and takes the party to Walz in thanks. At Walz Castle, they are unsuccessful in persuading the king to stop exploiting the energy of the Water Crystal. A warrior arrives in a meteor similar to Galuf's to protect the crystal from Garula. He addresses Galuf as King after the party helps him to defeat the monster, but dies before Galuf can get any information. ''Final Fantasy V'' also features the first recurring Miniboss of the franchise, Gilgamesh (ギルガメッシュ). Bartz and his friends fight him several times over the course of the game, a concept that the series continued with Ultros ('' Final Fantasy VI ''), the Turks ('' Final Fantasy VII ''), Biggs And Wedge , Seifer ('' Final Fantasy VIII ''), General Beatrix ('' Final Fantasy IX '') and Seymour Guado ('' Final Fantasy X ''). CHARACTERS See Also: List of Final Fantasy V characters The game stars a crew of five unique characters. The initial four characters remain together for much of the game, until one is permanently replaced by a fifth character.
LOCALIZATION ’s translation of ''Final Fantasy V'' was one of the early major fan-translated works. Original Japanese is on the left; RPGe's translation is on the right.]] The original Super Famicom version of ''Final Fantasy V'' was never released in North America. As translator Ted Woolsey explained in a 1994 interview, "it's just not accessible enough to the average gamer." Plans were made to release the game in 1995 as ''Final Fantasy Extreme'', targeting it at "the more experienced gamers loved the complex character building"Neil West. "Interview with Ted Woolsey." ''Super Play Magazine''. September 1994. ([http://www.chronocompendium.com/wiki/index.php?title=Super_Play_Magazine_Woolsey_Interview full text ). For unknown reasons, however, ''Final Fantasy Extreme'' never materialized. In Patch for the ''Final Fantasy V'' ROM Image was released on the Internet by RPGe . The release was well received, and until 1999 was the only widely available English language version of the game. In 1999 , a PlayStation compilation, '' Final Fantasy Anthology '' was released, which included ''Final Fantasy V'' (as well as the PlayStation version of '' Final Fantasy VI ''). Some names were interpreted differently, yielding ''Butz'' in the fan translation, and ''Bartz'' in the official. In 2002 , this version of the game was released in Europe and Australia (alongside '' Final Fantasy IV ''). Some fans were unhappy with the dialogue translations, particularly Faris' 'pirate accent' which was not part of the original script. SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS |
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