Without a doubt, this is my favorite Final Fantasy game.
Like other games in the series, Final Fantasy V is RPG where you control a team of heroes on journey to rid the world of a great evil. You will fight countless monsters and equip various weapons as you journey on. The story of this game, while not as deep as others in the series, is still quite enjoyable. You are entrusted with protecting the world's 4 crystals. Though the game does feauture some twists and turns here and there, there really is not anything too dramatic that is usually part of a FF game. The main draw of this game is it's gamplay system. Like other RPGS, your characters gain experience points from battling the various monsters . Gaining sufficient points will raise you a level. The difference in FF V is its Job System. The Job System is essentially an interchangeable class system, where your four characters have the liberty to change their class at any time in the game. If you have a Fighter but you want a Black Mage, then you can do that. The beauty of this system is just how deep it is. There are more than 20 classes, and each one has its benefits and weaknesses. While some are a bit better suited for the main game than others, the classes are overall well balanced and add a great sense of variety to the game. Characters are never required to remain a certain class at any point in time. However sticking with certain classes alllows characters to learn class specific abilities. Once learned, this abilities can be transferred over to other classes for creating some pretty good characters. You can therefore have a Black Mage casting White Magic or a Theif with a Dragoon's Jump ability. This allows for a sheer amount of character customization and ensures the high replayability of the game.
Graphics for this game are decent. They are on par with what you would expect from a 16 bit RPG title. Granted, they are not perfect, but they are well done. The enemy depictions are well drawn. Overall, there really isn't much to say about the graphics aspect of this game. Just know they are well done and worth mentioning.
The sound department is a bit more mixed. Overall, the sound quality is of good quality. The little slashing and spell casting sounds are here and well done, though what really did not click with me as well was the music. The actual music is well done on the Gameboy Advance hardware. The compositions themsevles are what not up to par. They are not horrible, but we have heard better in other Final Fantasy titles. There are a few tunes that do capture that touch that is known to be present in the series. But there are not in plentiful amount.
The game features some cool new things. The translation here is done from the ground up, so it makes more sense. There are times where the dialogue attempts comedy, but they actually do help with the somewhat serious tone of the game. Some names are changed here and there, though they are for the better. The game also features a bestiary and a music player for your convenience.
For fans of RPGs. this title should be in their posession. Some aspects of the game do not stand out as well as others, but the gameplay is so solid that the few problems this game has will be looked over. If you consider yourself a fan of the Final Fantasy series, do yourself a favor and get this game. Even fans of other genres should consider this title. It is just that good.