Final Fantasy: Every Numbered Game Ranked

6. Final Fantasy V

Final Fantasy ranked
Square-Enix

There's a reason Square-Enix slept on a North American release of Final Fantasy V. It isn't because they thought the story, which at one point sees the main baddy Exdeath (actually his name) disguise himself as a twig to fool the protagonists, was too sophisticated for the Western audience. Rather patronisingly, it was because the studio - who'd previously watered-down Final Fantasy IV for the USA - deemed the title too complex, too difficult for a demographic more used to action games.

That apparently alienating difficulty is down to Final Fantasy V's brilliant, versatile distillation of the series' traditional job system. Roles are no longer fixed, but instead their defining abilities can be mixed and matched to create unlimited tactical configurations. And to be fair to Square, some of the game's bosses actually are excruciatingly tough; you'll need to really master the métiers to tame them.

Whilst combat is intricate, Final Fantasy V's narrative is bizarrely juvenile, particularly following Final Fantasy IV's melodramatic tale of soul-searching and renouncement. It's not plain insulting like Mystic Quest however, and the game's depth elsewhere more than covers this unexplainable crack. This is also where Gilgamesh - and his bad-ass theme tune - debuted, so big points for that.

Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.