With a new job system, this final fantasy is revolutionary in its time, and an instant old-school classic
For some reason or another, final fantasy five slipped through the cracks and I only recently discovered it.
At first, I was not impressed with the game. It seemed kinda dull, and I couldn't understand the plot or the job system. But as the game opened up, I realized it was a diamond in the rough.
Let me give you a review by the categories.
Gameplay: It is a turn-based, active time, battle system. You get to assign your character a "job" Some of the jobs include: knight, black mage, white mage, summoner, ninja, monk, etc. Each job has learning abilities which you can permanently assign to your character. There is also a freelancer option which allows you to equip any weapons you want. This takes a while to get used to, but is really satisfying. The battles are fast-paced, and the gameplay is quite hard. If you do not level up your characters and equip the proper weapons and job classes, you will die several times in this game!!!
Graphics: Old schol, 2D; although they were pretty good back in the day. Graphics are comparable to any super nintendo game.
Sound: The sound is quite good. There are several battle tunes, and story scores that will have you emphasizing with the characters.
Replay Value: The replay value in this game is amazing. There are sooo many dungeons and side quests to explore, not to mention the addiction that achieving each job will bring forth. You can easily put in 50 plus hours into this handheld gem.
Overall: A great game. The story line will not captivate you, but the gameplay will. A great pick-up if you haven't played this yet. I give it an 8.5 becasue of the weak storyline and dull characters.
Rating: 8.5