For those who have followed the series since its earliest days were led to believe that up until the shift to Sony there were only three Final Fantasy titles. In the years after that things came to light to many gaming fans of the series that three titles fell through the cracks which were Final Fantasy II and III for Famicom, and then a lone Super Famicom (SNES) title which was Final Fantasy V. In the dying years of the PSX Square brought over to the system Final Fantasy IV (II USA), Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy VI (III USA) and Chrono Trigger on two 2-CD sets. Sadly little effort went into them and they ran questionably bad, but by and far Final Fantasy V got the worst of it with a pile of various issues and a moderately sloppy translation. Fast-forwarding to present times and back in the hands of Nintendo, Final Fantasy V is finally returning home and with all the issues fixed up of its initial release outside Japan right down to a very well done new re-translation.

Final Fantasy V Advance for the Gameboy Advance brings home the lost SNES era title from the line-up, the only in the 16bit era we missed out on. Unlike last years title Final Fantasy V starts out quite differently placing you in the role of a loner named Bartz with his pet Chocobo. A chain of events begins which will bring this loner into the company of others and drag you into an ongoing epic adventure. Slowly ever so closing onto the world is a large rock from space that in the introduction slams into the area near by and our loner companion goes to investigate. Little did he know it would end up leading into a string of fights with goblins, making two long term companions, and into raiding a pirate base to try and steal some transportation. Chains of events like these will lead into trying to save the crystals around the world, and into a greater cause to save the very world itself from destruction. Soon though it will become apparent that saving the crystals in their current form will not be possible, but in itself these shattered crystals form the very backbone of the intuitive combat system this game will have based on jobs. Each crystal shard stands for a particular job and as you master the job learned abilities will become mastered and then can be used to crossbreed abilities from multiple professions for each character. Combinations like a fighter white mage with summoning abilities, or a chemist who can sing like a bard and be stealthy and deadly like a ninja are all possible and more.

Final Fantasy V Advance was the missing chronicle from the series in the 16bit days we are finally able to play in all its glory on the Gameboy Advance. Like last years Final Fantasy IV Advance this title will feature similar small visual upgrades, an added vast dungeon for masters, four new job abilities, and a well done proper translation too. This game is a classic RPG in every way through and through with its static menu system and turn based combat. The typical move set one is accustomed to in this eras Final Fantasy games will be there with fight, items, special skills (customized by jobs you equip/abilities earned,) and run in place. Like its predecessor the game as well uses Square’s well known and appreciated ATB ‘Active Time Battle’ system to keep things interesting as you’ll have to take your move or die standing there. While you start on foot your world will expand with the abilities of using ships, dragons, and more to get around.


Final Fantasy V: Advance

In just a couple weeks from now Final Fantasy V Advance will be hitting the stores for Gameboy Advance. For those who can’t read Japanese or didn’t get the dodgy copy released for the PSX it will be a first chance for many to enjoy this amazing adventure. Those who have played it before on PSX may want to definitely check this out with the added job classes, great translation, new areas, lack of minor bugs with lag, and more. From my personal experiences with this game going back quite a few years having even played the Japanese original I can tell you this is one of the best in the series and should not be missed.

-- Jeff Kennedy