Final Fantasy V: Great Gameplay, Stupid Story | Stiles' Series Synopsis
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 เม.ย. 2021
- Final Fantasy V has some of the best gameplay in the series, but one of the worst stories. Does that balance out to being a good Final Fantasy game? Stiles seems to think so, but you will have to watch the video to find out why!
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Okay, at first, I strongly disagree with the argument of how the GBA soundfonts would be simply worse quality, I personally always have preferred that version with zero exceptions in FFV, however I admit how music is probably the most subjective thing when it comes to critique. Aaand speaking about subjectivity, two things: Final Fantasy V Advance is my favourite game ever, and also I agree with like every single point you brought up about it. I actually quite disagree with people constantly saying "ignore the story and play for the gameplay", since it's a completely unsatisfying way to look at it, and it also sort of disrespects the game as a whole, that these one or two things about it totally just let us forget and ignore how bad the rest is, being told to just "ignore" specific parts is the equivalent of the "keep watching and it gets better" argument with some series, and that usually gets people to drop said series than to take the advice because, as I said, it's unsatisfying as heck. So no, don't ignore the story, trash the living shit out of it like I always do, and then after we both agree on this let me now tell you about my perspective, and why these flaws don't deter me from loving the game as much as I do, since to me, this is basically what the game's about. Not being able to be taken seriously, being dumb as heck, it just feels right to me, it's atmospheric, it's charming, I could say it's a relief. It's filled with all of these pointless parts where Lenna sacrifices herself, or you get separated, stuff happens, and then what you will expect is "OK now how would this game come back from this?" "What would it pull out of it's ass this time?" And that's what sort of keeps you calm when Lenna is out of your party for a longer time, you know that she's gonna return and you take on the game's unique restriction to earn her back... Idk if this even makes sense but while I agree that these are flaws in the game, I emphasize on the fact how this doesn't ruin my personal experience, but rather adds to it in a unique way. Also not being able to be taken seriously is something I also just need at times, serious shit's happening in my life constantly, and when I play I use that as sort of escapism, and while I could totally escape into other fictional characters' issues, a world like FFV where almost everything ends up as an inconsequential and sorta unsatisfying sketch is a lot more appealing to me personally, like look, the turtle and the tree are having a DBZ fight, Gilgamesh just randomly drops in and starts monologueing in the middle of a random bossfight, heck even the friggin bad ending of the game ends happily with zero real consequences in the end, and it's just that thing which completely completes my escapism sorta in a way. So yeah, I love FFV, I'll never stop criticising it for it's flaws, but I'll never stop appreciating what it does and what it does so badly it's good, like you mentioned at the end.
(I talked this much about loving FFV and didn't even mention how yea the job system is amazing and this is easily my favourite gameplay in all FF)
Thanks for taking the time to watch and leave such a thorough comment! Really glad to hear that such a big fan of the game doesnt feel like i totally missed the mark, especially regarding the story. I had more planned, like discussing how the 'Exdeath being a metaphor for Nature striking back against humans abusing the planet'doesn't work at all... but it really ruined the flow of the video.
@@StilesReviews I'd also like to similarly thank you for this video, it's actually been my most anticipated video for a while and you actually uploaded it at probably the best and worst time sort of at the same time (reason sorta personal, anyways), I totally enjoyed watching it and I must say I like this feeling of disagreeing but then not really, it can start interesting conversations and lead to interesting revelations. Also yeah, I was a bit curious about how you didn't necessarily mention too much about Exdeath but being honest I totally agree with you there, Exdeath actually works a lot less as a villain if we consider him as an angry spirit whose hatred for humans would be a metaphor for what actual trees would feel about humans after eradicating forests, because he isn't a vengeful forest guardian, he's just an asshole who wants to rule the world because it's fun, and he also happens to be a tree. I'd say the more simple and less deep explanation totally fits into the game's atmosphere which I explained how much I adore, since the nature strikes back plotpoint is what you would normally expect from a game with the concept of humans overusing natural resources and killing the earth, so the game sorta subverts your expectations, it just gives yo Exdeath and then tells you that fuck you but don't fuck you because of what you do to the earth but simply just fuck you because I said so, listen to this epic final boss music
I agree with this, i also dont think all of ffivs songs were butchered in that gba port either.
@Tom Ffrench as I noticed, the PS1 port of FFV already had an entirely different OST for some reason, where a lot of the songs were sort of given a new direction, like that's where the main instrument came from in Hurry Hurry, that was where Sealed Away became faster, and similar stuff, and the thing about the PS1 ost is that almost all of it sounded pretty bad, and the GBA version is a lot like a straight upgrade from that version, which it totally works as.
I agree with your criticisms, the humor don't always land, the story lacks urgency and the characters are underdeveloped. But at least to me, their main intention with the several wacky moments was to show the development of the friendship between the 4 main characters during the adventure (in a similar way to the banter between Noctis and his bros during FF XV), since you are with them during most of the game (with one exception). In that sense, I have to say that it was effective for me, since I really felt it when that death happened and I became very emotional after losing someone that was so important.
Definitely glad that you enjoyed it. I hope it came through that i still love the game despite not liknjg the characters haha
@@StilesReviews Definitely. I love your videos. Stay safe and keep them coming my friend. Cheers from Brazil
You two disagree with something in the Internet, discuss your differences and remain friendly the entire time? What?
18:36 "Card stock stands out from construction paper" that is a hard burn and i love it!
Thanks xD I'd forgotten I'd written that line until this comment, every once in a while I come up with something that makes me proud and this was one of them haha. Thank you for watching and commenting, I hope you enjoy the channel!
I still stick with the original snes fan translation. The gba ver has some great additions and I liked the wider display area, but I like that original snes look. I feel like a lot of the visual additions sort of clash with the simpler snes era sprites and stuff. While I do hate the look of the sprites in the mobile ver, that wouldn't keep me away on its own. More than anything, i just can't stand the ui. It may have been really convenient for touch, but it just looks terrible and in a game where I'll be spending 80% of of the play time in a menu, that's no good.
I could really take either the SNES or GBA version, it really was a tough call for me. A big part od me preferring the GBA is likely that it is the first version i played.
The problem with these characters is that they have too much personality to be a true Blank Slate but not enough to be considered well rounded. I honestly hate the fact that the true blank slate approach of the first Final Fantasy is basically dead because of the increasingly obsession with making games more cinematic.
I think that is a good point. I've been gravitating more and more towards games with character creation options which tend to not have as much story or character focus.
Now I've got offspring singing rent free in my head. Haha good to see ya back brother!
Both Final Fantasy V and VIII have stories that make me laugh at them rather than actually laughing because of the developer's crafting of comedy. While I enjoy the stories in that way, the stories are pretty bad if I am laughing at their ridiculousness. I lost it at the part where you showed Ex Death fighting Ghido. My favorite story scene from the game. It is similar to watching Birdemic or Food Fight. Lol
Also, I thought about this while watching it (but I have thought about it before), but I think a lot of the older FF games would benefit from New Game Plus. FFXII has one that allows you access to everything from the start. FFIV had post game weapons that modified the capabilities of the characters (like chance of Holy hitting with Cecil's sword and Kain having double jump) and I think it would have been awesome to actually be able to use them for more than just post game. I think the same about the post game jobs in FFV. Really just a side note there.
And fantastic video! Loved hearing so much about Final Fantasy V and the different versions. Once again, well researched and nice analysis! One of my favorite games in the franchise~
Yeaaaah, not to spoil things but that is basically gonna be my thesis when i get to FFVIII as well. Thanks for watching and commenting as always!
Yeah I also noticed several similarities between the comedy of FF V and FF VIII, and their flawed characters. Maybe that's just Yoshinori Kitase humor.
@@caturiges FFX, FFVI, and FFVII are Kitase's tragedies while VIII and V are his comedies. Lol
It was my preferred mobile experience, because I don't want a complicated story in a phone game. I just enjoyed the gameplay.
Fantastic video. I'm currently on my 2nd playthrough of the game (pixel remaster), and I'm enjoying it a lot more this time around than when I played the PS1 version ages ago. The gameplay is just really fun and engaging. I do agree that the story is a little dumb, but I'm still enjoying it quite a bit simply due to how it is presented through endearing character moments and some really creative sprite-based cutscenes. After reconsideration, this may actually be one of my favorites in the series.
Thank you so much, i am glad you enjoyed the video! I still need to sit down with the Pixel Remaster version myself,
As someone who has mostly played this game on Steam, over 100 hours worth actually, this is one of my favorites to see the character abilities increase in usefulness as time goes, having Double AP or Zeninage all the time. I never had that much of a problem with the version, except the cut off character sprites and the main character appearances at times. I'd still prefer Final Fantasy IV, as it's my favorite game ever with the story, gameplay, and different versions, but this is still a great game to play, and very good video to describe it all.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting. Also love FFIV, though im sure my video on that one has made it obvious
How are your videos getting less than 1000 views??? They are very high quality!
This is the question i get more than any other, and i wish i had an answer lol. Thanks for watching and commenting!
The comedy of this game is so bad that I hadn't realized it was a comedy until now.
Congrats on the amazing video! As a suggestion, you could make a video just about the pixel remasters, so you won't have to remake you FF videos
Thank you very much for the compliment. The pixel remaster video is something i was already considering, but thats gonna be a ways down the line
27:05 Oh wow. Them's fightin' words, yargh! lol
Lol Thanks for watching and commenting!
I played the pixel remaster of this version and it was the first FF game ive ever played
the first playthrough I really enjoyed the job system as well as the story because it was dumb fun
then i played the other PRs and the difference in story was stark. for example in FF6 each character that isnt called setzer is enjoyable to watch as they all grow, change or we see the reasons why they act the way they do, throughout the game. but in the FF5 story it all slow in places, childish as well as downright repetitive. The PR for ff5 litreally has a cutscene removal mod. You cant make this hate up 😭😭
The only good things to come out of FF5 was its job system and Gilgamesh I guess
Im not sure why FFV was your first choice, but I am glad you ended up liking it lol
Playing the patched up GBA version, and it's great
Last time I played ff v I used a mod that changed how the job system worked, including making the four new job available before endgame, adding them to the crystals and giving every class three ability slots plus one fixed slot that isn't necessarily "fight" like white males only having "white magic"
Interesting, sounds like it could have been fun.
@@StilesReviews it was, i can't remember what it was called though
Another banger. Good work man~
Yo forget Final Fantasy. Where's the Gundam Wing Endless Duel video? Don't think I didn't see that 3:17 lol. Also great video FF5 will always be my favorite 2D FF game.
Lol it is a fun game! Dont really feel im qualified to critique fighting games though
I think the "humor" in ff5 is a direct influence of yoshinori kitase. Much like his influence on ff8, his idea of funny just comes off as stupid and childish
Im American so i also don't know lol
I've been playing through this one 'bout 3 and a half hours so far, having a lot a fun. Red mage with twohanded is so good!
I don't feel like repeating my usual compliments to your work, so here's a completely original poem instead:
When I wake up, well I know I'm gonna be
I'm gonna be the man who watches this review
When I'm watching, when I'm watching this review
Almost every point you make will be brand new (for me)
And I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more
Just to see a video from Stiles, he's always fun, never a bore
#greatanalysisasalways
For some reason this was marked as spam, sorry it took me so long to get back to it lol. Thanks so much for watching and commenting as usual, im glad you enjoyed it.
@@StilesReviews Spam? Haha. That's funny :D It is kinda spammy, I guess.
I realized why, it is because you had a hashtag, someone elses comment was marked as spam for the same reason haha
my second game i ever played on an emulator back in ... i guess 2002 or so. Downloaded it after FF4 with a 56k Modem :D and had to play it with a dictonary next to me (since my english wasn't that good at that time)
Sounds like a tough way to play it lol
@@StilesReviews well it did help me with my english xD
Great video! and while I like the story more then most people, I can agree that it's kinda stupid, and not even the enjoyable kind of stupid like in VIII
Thanks for watching im really glad you enjoyed it! Im honestly surprised i havent gotten more backlash when it comes to my thoughts on the story lol
Awesome review!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it
i dunno i kinda liked how simple ff5'ss story was. it felt like sqaure's attempt to make their own take on a draogn quest story. and as you pretty much have the same party through out the entire game you get attached to them even if their arcs are fairly simple and alot of character scenes are optional.
I feel personally attacked... FINAL FANTASY V IS PERFECT AND I WILL HEAR NOTHING TO THE CONTRARY!!! :P
It is pretty damn good, would be better if i couldnt read though. I should have stuck to the japanese version.
@@StilesReviews I wonder if there's a hack that JUST translates menus? Lol.
Nice! I clicked pretty fast
Means a lot! Thanks for watching and commenting! Gotta give it that good 'ol Algorithim boost.
Yeah, the story is nonsense. I just ignored it
A lot of the shitty dialogue is probably due to pretty much all subtext being lost in translation. Old school ff translations were very hamstrung by text box limitations. Watch Tim rogers' series on ff7. The original Japanese had leagues better dialogue than the translation...Japanese is so much more terse and you can do so much more with less characters. The snes era games were even more hamstrung by character limits. I also personally hate the gba translation compared to the anthology translation. I'm sure things lost in translation were just completely run over by trying to "clean it up". Just like I hate the PC version of the ff7 translation. Sometimes you write and it's just so raw and closer to the spirit of the idea the first time...editing it over and over just makes it lose the original spirit. Thats how I feel about the gba translation of ff5. I'm sure stupid scenes like when Galuf falls in the hole was much more significant in the original Japanese script. The only area where the anthology translation dropped the ball was faris' real name being translated to salsa...but I prefer reina to lenna.
I get what you are trying to say, but i highly doubt that it is the case for FFV. I played through 3 translations (GBA, Anthology, and original Fan Translation) and they all had the same problems with the writing and scene structure (outside of the GBAs pop culture references). The Galuf falling down the hole only had like three lines of dialogue, and i doubt they were changed enough to give it a significantly different meaning.
A lot can be and often is lost in translation, but for me the problem with ffv had very little to do with the text itself and far more to do with the story beats. If id been watching the scenes happen with no dialogue at all they would have been just as painful to me because the way they are so often structured makes each individual scene pointless.
Hell yes
I played this game in the early 2000s, and it's hard for me to express how disappointed I was and still am with the title. Compared to FF4 and FF6 (2 and 3 in the US, respectively) it seems like a downgrade in the series. While gameplay is possibly the best in the series, the music and story just didn't compare to the other SNES entries.
#justacommentofappreciation
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed it!
This channel is literally 100 times too small for it's quality.
Thanks lol Im glad you enjoy my stuff
the scanlines makes this video hard to watch....