Why do you think this game isn't popular?

[Wolf Kanno]

Seriously, this game doesn't even get much love here in an FF forum. What gives?

[Pumpkin]

I have no idea. I really enjoy it and so does my boyfriend. I think the job system is excellent. I guess the story wasn't one of the more involved ones, though. That might be why.

Also, Boco is cool.

[Jinx]

I know almost nothing about this game.

[Dalkaen]

I can only assume it never reached a high level of popularity because it was released in English so many years late. I personally think it's fantastic and has probably the best gameplay of the SNES FFs.

[The Man]

a lot of it has to do with what Dalkaen said about it not being released in the proper timespan. Apparently this was due to the difficulty of the game, which is probably another reason (although FFIV isn't exactly a cakewalk and manages to be somewhat more popular than FFV - but then, that was available in an easier version as well). The fact that the game doesn't take itself seriously might not help either; people expect angst with their Final Fantasy games. And it's also the sort of game that is much better on a replay than it is the first time through - a lot of the plot simply isn't explained at the time players encounter it, so things that are actually very well explained seem random on a first play through.

This is one of my top three games in the series (VI and IX being the other two) so it's pretty distressing that it doesn't receive more attention :<

[Jessweeee♪]

Aside from that one god awful boss theme it's pretty great.

But I think it's weird that difficulty would be a factor in it's release. I mean it's a billion times easier than some of the platformers coming out at the time.

[maybee]

Because people are crazy


If you haven't played Final Fantasy V, play it now.

[Fynn]

Aside from that one god awful boss theme it's pretty great.

But I think it's weird that difficulty would be a factor in it's release. I mean it's a billion times easier than some of the platformers coming out at the time.

Oh, you take that back. The boss theme is awesome.

And yeah, I think people have already nailed down the reasons. It's really a shame, as this one is definitely one of the best FFs in my opinion.

[Jessweeee♪]

Oh wait it wasn't the boss theme I was thinking of, it was this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZStUZWg7k&index=5&list=PL9834629D78DBD3DB

The boss theme is still my least favorite FF boss theme though.

[Greatermaximus]

Game wasn't too hard for me but I can imagine it being the reason. I'd like to have seen more than four/five playable characters in the original version.

[Colonel Angus]

I like that they limited it to the 4/5 characters. You don't have people coming & going like IV & VI (more so IV).

The job system is excellent, although I wish in the Advance version they'd've spread out the new jobs to different crystals, as opposed to getting them after the game ended. The Earth Crystal could've used a couple more jobs.

[black orb]

>>> It arrived too late to the west, by that time everyone already played a more flashy game, FF6..:luca:

[Ayen]

I can only assume it never reached a high level of popularity because it was released in English so many years late. I personally think it's fantastic and has probably the best gameplay of the SNES FFs.


>>> It arrived too late to the west, by that time everyone already played a more flashy game, FF6..:luca:

These reasons are most likely why. V only ever had the PS1 re-release over here, didn't it? I don't think Anthology is that popular.


Because people are crazy

This too.

[maybee]

The boss theme is still my least favorite FF boss theme though.

Yeah same here, the game makes up for it with Exdeath's theme and Exdeath's castle theme though.

[Sephex]

Came in here to say that it wasn't released originally stateside. It was said. *vanishes*

[Psychotic]

The gameplay and job system were superb, the music was amazing and I loved the world.

Of the three SNES games I do think it had the weaker story and weaker cast of characters. If you compare Bartz to say, Locke, or Cecil, he doesn't seem to have much personality. Indeed the only real personality traits were Faris's "I talk like a pirate" and Krile/Reina's "I like animals". I wonder if that is also a contributing factor.

[Kalevala]

That's an excellent point. It'd be interesting to know what Japanese critics thought of the plot. I'm not a huge fan of the plot myself, but would that have been enough to sway the decision one way or the other? I can see how difficulty alone could have been the cause.

Also, how were initial stateside sales for FFIV? Did it do particularly well? Maybe that has something to do with it.

[Fynn]

Yeah, the plot being more of a parody of previous FFs probably didn't help. As was said before, FF fans are more used to serious angry stories, while this one was silly. I still loved the hell out of this story and these characters, though. It doesn't treat itself seriously, and yet it can be epic at times. And Galuf is just friggin' amazing.

Wait, that's it! Krile might be the reason! I always felt the story lost something with Galuf gone and Krile never seemed like a worthy replacement.

[Elpizo]

These reasons are most likely why. V only ever had the PS1 re-release over here, didn't it? I don't think Anthology is that popular.

Don't forget the GBA release, which is the definitive V version as far as I'm concerned. The translation was great and the graphics nicely updated, especially during battles. Even some of the music sounds better on GBA than on the SNES (sacriledge!).

[Ayen]

These reasons are most likely why. V only ever had the PS1 re-release over here, didn't it? I don't think Anthology is that popular.

Don't forget the GBA release, which is the definitive V version as far as I'm concerned. The translation was great and the graphics nicely updated, especially during battles. Even some of the music sounds better on GBA than on the SNES (sacriledge!).

Yeah, I didn't learn about the GBA version until after making that post. Then I remembered their was a cellphone port, too.

[CimminyCricket]

The first time I got around to actually played this game put it really high on my favorite main numbered FF list. Right now it is only behind IX and VIII.