AVAST, AN FFV NEWBIE APPEARS!

[Forsaken Lover]

So the Four Job Fiesta has kinda inspired me to finally beat FFV. I have started it and stopped it many, many times over the years but this time, I vow to complete it.

Not with the Fiesta itself, no. I was wondering if I should try that but I was told the Fiesta is more of a challenge run and you shouldn't do challenge runs your first time through a game. You would be missing out on all the fun and trying out different things. I definitely don't want to be cutting myself off from parts of the game for my first complete run.

Now, since everyone says the Advance version is the good one, I decided to play the PS1 version. I'm so contrarian.


Now, from what I remember last time I started up the game, everyone I talked to said Black Mages were useless. But the old guy should be a black mage. Okay? Until such times as a Job more suited for him comes to light, he's gonna be a black mage. He is Not-Tellah. Although I guess Tellah was more of a Red Mage...or just a Mage period because he could do everything.

Gonna be playing this in-between playing Skyrim. I'm just missing team-based RPGs. I like Skyrim, just like I enjoyed Fallout 3 and New Vegas, but I grew up playing team-based RPGs and I miss that.

Now, where does FFV rank on the Difficulty-o-meter? I realize gameplay difficulty is one of the most subjective things in the world. But with FFV, you're presented with a rare opportunity to play the game in any myriad of ways. For example, if I pick all the "wrong" jobs, will that make the game nigh impossible, whereas if I pick the "right" jobs it will trivialize it? An LP'er I was watching start his Fiesta run mentioned that Berserkers are kinda crappy and I've already gone over how I was told black mages suck.

[Wolf Kanno]

In terms of difficulty FFV is a bit more challenging than VI but not quite as hard as FFIV Super Famicom/DS. It really comes down to how well you utilize your jobs and sub-jobs. What FFV is probably the most notorious for is having more missables than other games... like the summons. If you're hoping to make the most of all the job classes the game can be difficult without a guide.

Black Mages don't suck, they are quite powerful if used right and giving them the Barehanded ability helps keep them useful in random encounters without blowing through their MP. It's things like that that keep the jobs useful. Berserkers are also much better than people give them credit for, their strength comes from the weapons you give them but a Death Sickle or Earth Hammer makes them pretty badass on the field. Hell the game may have the most useful version of the Bard class in the series barring the MMOs and remakes.

In terms of bad classes? Trainer is largely only useful for getting all the spells for the Blue Mage. Blue Mages and Chemist are incredibly powerful but require some thorough knowledge and finding everything about them to make them useful. The real issue with most of the jobs is that the sub-job system makes a few of them obsolete once you obtain certain skills from them. You'll use a Ranger to get Rapid Fire/X-Fight and then probably never use them again. Other classes become more useful the further you get in the game such as Freelancer and Mime, but even Red Mage doesn't really come into their own unless you spend time leveling up the Black and White Mages. You can potentially beat the game with any class combination if you build them right, so don't worry about shooting yourself in the foot. Granted some builds are more efficient than others.

Honestly, I would play a fan translation before the PS1 version. It's not technical issues like IV, VI, and CT that hurt this game as much as it's the game's lousy localization that sucks out the ability to take the game serious. Granted FFV is one of the more lighthearted entries but the GBA script is better. On the other hand, the PS1 version has the better music and graphics quality between the two. I do love the soundtrack to this game.

For the most part, the cast of FFV's stats are pretty close to each other. Bartz and Galuf favor melee a little more and Lenna and Krile favor magic, with Faris being the most balanced so you can build people anyway you want and not have to worry about it. The game is flexible as jobs and equipment do all the heavy lifting in regards to stats for the most part.

Hope you enjoy it.

[Mirage]

Picking the PS1 version over a fanslated SNES or officially localized GBA version is literally the worst idea ever concieved.

[Forsaken Lover]

But I need mah good music and graphics. The GBA really hurts music quality, I noticed that when I played FFIV Advance. Not enough to ruin the soundtrack mind you but still, if you can avoid it, you should.

I guess I could get that from a fan translated Super Famicom version but meh. I don't like fan translations of anything if an official version is available.

[Galuf]

the game is actually pretty easy for me on the Snes version, except the final boss.
Its the hardest final boss of all FF games for me. by a mile. so be prepared. ( Though its really easy in the advance version because you can exploit the game to farm Movers, they give 199 AP. and you can then mimic spam Bahamut dualcast or something.)

but be prepared to see the most saddest scene in FF history...

PS: how far are you now, or how far have you got to before, if you havent beat liquiflame Watch out. he is the baddest of the bad.

[Wolf Kanno]

The issue is that the translation for the PS1 version is bad...

It would be like saying you want to play the U.S. version of FFIV (SNES) over every other remake of the game. I mean they've got Faris talking like a generic pirate for most of the game in the PS1 translation.

[Galuf]

The issue is that the translation for the PS1 version is bad...

It would be like saying you want to play the U.S. version of FFIV (SNES) over every other remake of the game. I mean they've got Faris talking like a generic pirate for most of the game in the PS1 translation.

That pirate bit sounds awesome. i like pirates.

[Mirage]

But I need mah good music and graphics. The GBA really hurts music quality, I noticed that when I played FFIV Advance. Not enough to ruin the soundtrack mind you but still, if you can avoid it, you should.

I guess I could get that from a fan translated Super Famicom version but meh. I don't like fan translations of anything if an official version is available.

I've played all the versions so I know the differences . I still prefer the GBA version though, the script is that much better. The GBA does have a pretty bad sound chip, I'll admit. If someone could just move the GBA script over on the SNES version...

[Wolf Kanno]

I figure their is a fan patch for that on in the emulated version. I know FFVIAdvance rom has a patch that restores the music and color quality to the SNES version. I figured FFV would have one as well.

[Mirage]

It doesn't restore the audio quality. It changes the music "sheets" to play the exact same notes and instruments as on the SNES, but it is still being played by an inferior sound chip (or rather, an emulation of an inferior sound chip).

edit: and yes, there is such a patch for FFVA too.

[Wolf Kanno]

Well that blows.

So Forsaken Lover, have you begun your new playthrough yet?

[Forsaken Lover]

Not quite. I am going to start it Friday when i get paid. I'm just gonna buy it off PSN and play it on my PS3, which is another reason i favored the PS1 version.

As for the earlier question about how far I've made it in the game in the past...I have no idea, really. I think I got to the first town after you find the first crystal and get your first set of Jobs. That is as far as I have ever gotten. Of course, I already know the Big Bad is Exdeath, Galuf dies and....uh...that's it, really. Oh and Gilgamesh. I don't know what Galuf's deal is, or who or what Exdeath is, or anything specific like that.

I don't know what's going on with that meteor at the start of the game or ay of that.

[Mirage]

Seriously though. Many of the characters are much cooler on GBA. It's almost like it's a different cast, at times.

[Colonel Angus]

GBA version is the way to go, fo' sho'.

You also get some cool bonus jobs (even though they come pretty late in the game).

Overall, the whole experience is better, even if the sound quality isn't up to par.

[Forsaken Lover]

From what I understand, the Advance translation is akin to Woolsey's works. The PSX localization is much truer to the original while the GBA translation inserted a lot of whackiness and humor that wasn't there before.

This is just what I've heard, mind.

Anyway, I got a question. How many playable characters are there in this game? 'cuz it just struck me that I have never heard of a single FFV character not named Bartz, Faris, Galuf or that other one. Lenna or Leena. No, it's probably Lenna. Leena is in that other JRPG.

But yeah, four characters is pretty paltry. I hope there's a lot more than that.