Final Fantasy V Advance

The Good
Full disclosure: I abandoned the game after ca. 22 in-game hours and, according to a walkthrough I consulted afterwards, only a few dungeons away from the end.

The only thing I really liked about Final Fantasy V is the character system. It uses the job system of Final Fantasy III but adds a few layers of complexity. The result is a very open system which makes it very satisfying to think about possible ability combinations. The only downside is the missing in-game documentation of abilities which means one either needs to consult external resources for character planning or blindly level up jobs through endless grinding.

The Bad
I find it baffling that many reviews praise the open world gameplay. In reality, FFV is exactly as linear as FFIII and Final Fantasy IV. In all three games, there are some moments in which optional areas can be visited to collect items or fight bosses. The only difference is that the endgame dungeon can be visited relatively early with a low-level party, but during a normal playthrough this is completely pointless. In my opinion the exploration is just window dressing for a very linear game - I don't see any benefit when there is almost nothing interesting to find.

The plot is a lame rehash of the predecessors' already mediocre crystal storyline. The main characters are uninteresting and, especially during the first world, the bland dialogue is unbearable. Later it gets a bit more interesting, but the emotional moments fall flat because I don't care about the world and its characters. I also need to mention the horrific character portraits which don't match the sprites in the slightest.

The game introduces many new elements in its dungeon and enemy design. Unfortunately, most of them make the game more annoying instead of interesting. This is because the encounter rate is way too high, many enemies have abilities which make killing them a chore (it is not hard, but it takes long) and the rewards often don't match the effort. I also don't appreciate gimmick bosses which suddenly pull out new tricks from their sleeve towards the end of the battle which inevitably lead to a full party death during the first try.

The Bottom Line
The fact that I stopped playing instead of powering through the last few hours says a lot about how little fun I had. It is a shame that the fantastic character system is held down by everything else. However, I admit that some of my dissatisfaction might come from me playing its two predecessors shortly before tackling FFV. I can only recommend it for people who are tired of the usual JRPG progression formula and want to experience with the character system, but those can probably find better games scratching the same itch on later console generations.