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• Last Update: June 02, 2012, at 09:53 AM
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Final Fantasy V will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s where I learned that Japanese RPG stories don’t have to be super melodramatic. It’s where I learned that the story didn’t have to be the focus of an RPG. And most importantly, it’s where I learned about the Job System.

The Job System is quintessential Final Fantasy. The very first Final Fantasy introduced the concept, but it wasn’t until Final Fantasy V that it really came into its own. As you play through the game, the unfortunately named Bartz and his companions unlock new Jobs. Each Job should sound somewhat familiar to RPG fans: Knights use swords and wear armor. Monks fight with their fists. White Mages use healing magic, and so on. FFV also introduced a slew of new Jobs that quickly became fan favorites and staples of the series (Blue Mage, Time Mage, etc.). Each time you switch Jobs, your character’s appearance changes. Part of the fun of the Job System is playing dress-up and seeing what adorable outfits (and make no mistake, they are all adorable) your characters will put on next. The more you play as a specific Job, the more abilities you learn for it. Once you learn an ability you can equip it on a different Job. For example, you can make a Knight who can use healing magic, a Black Mage that can use White Magic, and so on.

The Job System allows an extraordinary degree of player freedom. I can guarantee you that somewhere, someone just read my idea of a Knight who uses healing magic and scoffed. After all, from a statistical standpoint, it is a fairly ineffective combination. But in FFV, the game’s difficulty is never overwhelming. You can get away with using the “wrong” Job combinations and still make progress. And if you want, you can use the “right” Job combinations and break the game in half. That’s the truly fantastic thing about FFV: It’s entirely up to you how you want to beat it. There is no right or wrong way; just your way.

Series composer Nobuo Uematsu returns, and as usual, he is on the top of his game. As is par for Uematsu’s course, musical genres are mixed and matched with aplomb and always with stellar results. Whether it’s the whimsical “Town Theme,” the extremely prog-rock-influenced “Battle on the Big Bridge,’ or the subdued and thoughtful “Dear Friends,” Uematsu proves yet again why he’s considered one of the greatest game composers of all time.

The game’s story and cast are fairly simplistic; evil has returned and you must stop it. It’s nothing to write home about. And really, that’s what FFV is all about. It has a story and characters. They’re charming and likable, but ultimately it’s all kind of irrelevant. FFV is a game that’s primarily focused on gameplay. The game is built from the ground up around fun dungeons to explore, fun battles to fight, and Jobs to mess around with. FFV doesn’t have some overwrought message it’s trying to impart, and that’s what makes it work. It’s just trying to be an RPG that’s fun to play, and in that regard, it’s an absolute success.