It is the weakest of the 16-bit entries in terms of plot, but considering the other two are FFIV and FFVI, two of the best entries in the series overall in terms of the plot, that's not really saying much. FFV's story is a lot less serious than those two games', but it improves a lot on a replay and you notice a lot of nuances that don't really stick out to a first-time player (mostly because there is a ton of foreshadowing that you won't pick up on the first time, not to mention a ton of references to events that mostly seem silly or nonsensical the first time through). When you compare it to a lot of what Square Enix has put out more recently, FFV's story holds up quite well.