Some games practically require you to take notes to progress. Older RPGs are a great example of this. They can be vague when guiding the player and the NPCs generally aren’t any better. I’ve found it helpful to write down the directions I receive when playing them. That way, should I take a break from the game, I won’t be completely lost upon returning – forced to consult a FAQ or simply restart.
When I played through Final Fantasy V I went a step further. With my handy tablet nearb, I noted the directions and helpful suggestions, as well as the general narrative. This resulted in a lengthy set of notes that I thought I’d publish here. Enjoy.
Okay, Final Fantasy V hasn’t been released as much as its predecessor. In fact, the first time it was officially released outside of Japan was with the American release of Final Fantasy Anthology for the PlayStation. That was in late 1999 – basically seven years after it was originally released on the Super Famicom in late 1992. It took another two and a half years for the game to eventually be released in Europe. Since then, it has been released on the Game Boy Advance and on iOS and Android platforms.
Looks familiar, no?
As they did for the Super Famicom release of Final Fantasy IV, Square opted for a cutesy cover over the traditional usage of Yoshitaka Amano’s artwork. Again, he was relegated to the logo design. This cover hones in on the wanderer Bartz, and easily conveys this fact. The logo chosen for this game includes a dragon intertwined with the font. This is also apt as dragons play a significant role in the narrative.
Of the covers Final Fantasy V has been released with over the years, this is my favorite.
The game was subsequently released on the PlayStation in 1996. This is my favorite cover that’s been used for one of the game’s releases. The cutesy character design again reigns supreme and this time it’s highlighting the many job classes. With the exception of two as there were twenty-two job classes in the original.
This is the version I have. It also includes Final Fantasy VI, which I will dive into soon.
So this is the version of the game that I possess. I really dig the box art, but it pertains to Final Fantasy VI, so it’s not really comparable in this article. I will mention that I had difficulty playing the disc on the PlayStation 3. There is a save screen glitch that the game freezes at. The glitch is still a factor when playing the disc on the PlayStation 2, but on that system, it’s only a graphical glitch. The menu can still be navigated and the game doesn’t freeze.
The European version includes Final Fantasy IV instead of Final Fantasy VI.
For the European release of Final Fantasy Anthology, this game received the honor of selling the game. If it’s successor was included in this package, I’m sure that wouldn’t have been the case. Still, this is prime Amano displaying the cast on one of the many ships.
The Japanese release of the GBA version.
For the Game Boy Advance release, a slew of extra content was added including extra job classes and an extra dungeon or two. I’d like to play these versions of the NES and SNES titles (excluding 3 which never saw an Advance release). The Japanese release included a lot of negative space, yet still left room for Amano’s character designs.
This cover was used for the American and European releases.
The cover used for the American and European releases however did away with that negative space and really zoomed in on the characters. Plus the large GBA banner on the left-hand side takes up much space.
Just as the case was with Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, this game has been released on many digital platforms that don’t really have box art. As I mentioned above, I prefer the box art for the Japanese PlayStation release. It’s different enough from the rest to stand out, and the cutesy design works well when displaying the many job classes.
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