Final Fantasy V was the third game in the series I owned and played. I grew up playing the PSX version that came in the PAL Anthology, which I got for my 10th birthday, and for various reasons I've never, ever beaten it. I've beaten Final Fantasy V a bunch, because it's one of my favourite games, but never the PSX version. There are numerous reasons for this, but the biggest one is my playstyle. When I first played the game nearly 10 years ago, I played the game badly. By the time I reached the first major "brickwall" area I was about level 12 and my classes were a mess. I bruteforced my way through to the 25% mark and I was still barely level 17 and I couldn't advance beyond there for ages. Tried again a long while later, and I got kind of near the end but due to various reasons I never reached the final dungeon. It didn't help that that version was absolutely fucking brutal either. During these constant attempts, of which there were far more than I've detailed above, I learned a ton about the game even to the point of discovering a few exploits on my own. There's some things I didn't know until very recently, one of which I only learned the very day I started this, but that doesn't bother me too much. Sure, the game is breakable to high hell and back but that's not what I intend to do here. I can, and will in places, do that no problem but it isn't my main purpose with this. Besides, it's been done a few times before anyway and I wouldn't really detail anything wholly new.

I'm sure you have an idea why I chose to LP this game in a non-game breaking fashion. Nostalgia. I grew to love this game despite how badly I played it and I still enjoyed it. Even the parts where I was utterly infuriated, I still remember fondly because of how I've grown since then. I'll be trying to recreate how I played this game when I was a child as best as I can. It might not be the most interesting way to play it, technically, but it will provide an interesting contrast when I do make parts of the game my bitch. There's some things that I've gotten into the habit of doing purely do the way I've adapted to the game but these things will be fairly obvious. Additionally, much like the other magic based RPG I did relatively recently the plot will be taking a backseat. Not because it sucks though, but because some parts just drag. There are moments where I'll let it shine through because of how downright goofy it gets at times but for the most part, it will be condensed. And, no, just because I'll be trying to replicate how I played as a child, it doesn't mean I'll be acting as I did. I have very fond memories of this game, and I cannot think of a better way to share them with anyone else.

There's one major reason why I chose this version over the one I grew up with. It's not the difficulty, I could likely ream the PSX version within a day at this point. It's not the hilariously screwed up translation, heck that in particular is one reason why I was tempted to do that version. Fortunately, I remember some of the better goofs flawlessly so I'll be pointing those out too. My copy of that version still works perfectly fine so it's not that either. It's the absolutely abyssmal loading times. Sure, they wouldn't factor into the LP at all, but they would just wear me down and make me stop caring.

Contents

01 - Bare Beginning [below]

^^^Watch this (for plot)^^^

Right off the bat, we're vaguely given plot info. There's also one of the better known translation goofs right within that scene too. The correct translation of Lenna's name, is indeed Lenna however that's not what the Anthology version translated it as. Oh no, there it was translated as "Reina". Whilst this isn't the worst error, by a long shot, it's the most prevalent throughout the entire game for obvious reasons.



With the introduction scene out of the way, we can already move around the world map. Unfortunately, you can only go to one place and you can't get off the chocobo. Not that you'd want to, since it prevents random encounters.



This is the only place you can go and it's not that far from where your started. Another translation hiccough here; the PSX version referred to this as a Meteor rather than a Meteorite. Presumably for character limit reasons but it changes the meaning entirely.



Portraits are exclusively to this version of the game, and even then very, very few characters have one. Yes, that's traditional for most sprite RPGs but there's seriously only like 8 characters with a portrait. Boko, the chocobo, is one of them.



Partway in, the main character notices something that gets his attention. What is it?



Goblins trying to kidnap Reina, of course. What they want with her, how they find her and why they didn't pass out from a goddamn meteorite falling nearby is a mystery that no one really cares about.



Oh and its the first fight. I guess that's a thing. As you'd expect, this is not hard in the slightest. Hold down A X for about 10 seconds and you've won. One hit takes both of them out, and whilst you could probably miss it's not likely. The guy's default weapon is a Broadsword and it's the most powerful weapon for the next few dungeons.



Reina: Yes, I do belive so. Thank you; I'm Reina. What's your name?
???: Me? I'm...



6 character maximum, default is Bartz. Will be using that for the remainder of this update, but democracy is a powerful thing so by all means choose a different name if you so wish. I do retain the right to veto but I probably won't use it.



Reina: Bartz... This rock fell from the sky... The impact must have knocked me out.
Bartz: Guess it's a meteorite.
Reina: I wonder if it has any connection to the wind stopping. Again, I give you my thanks, but now I really must go...
Bartz: Hey, hold on.
Reina: Did you hear something?



?: H-help me...

Reina kind of joins the party here. She's viewable in the menu but it's more just for show.



We could go find the source of the noise, but there's something in these trees. I consistently missed this as a kid, up until the point where I learned of its existence. From then on, I never missed it again.



It might just be a mere Phoenix Down but it's still something I don't forget about. Partially due to wanting to be prepared and partially due to the fact that Phoenix Downs are pretty damn expensive and hard to get when you don't buy them.



At any rate, there's an old guy lying on the floor. Next to the meteorite. There's something about this that still baffles me, but it's something that you can only really think of in hindsight.



Old Man: Where am I? What happened? I can't remember anything.
Bartz: You've got amnesia.



Reina: Great! Anything else?
Galuf: ...Nope. Aside from that, nothing.
Reina: Well, if you will excuse me I must go now.
Bartz: Where you heading?
Reina: The Wind Shrine.



Galuf: I'm coming with, no matter what.
Reina: But...
Galuf: I could never let such a sweet girl go all by her lonesome. Plus, I know I've gotta get to that shrine...I feel it in my bones. You've gotta take me with!
Reina: Bartz, what about you?
Bartz: I'll bow out on this one. Good luck though.
Reina: Bartz, thank you again and farewell.
Galuf: Godspeed and whatnot.

And with that, they leave and Bartz is on his own in front of a meteor(ite). There's one path that's accessible, that actually does things now:



In fact, it does more prologue/introduction things and so I'll save it for next time.

This was the first FF game where I learnt what a chocobo really sounds like...

...so majestic.

No.
Stop this now and get back to CoS :(

I'm surprised you didn't call him Butz...

02: Making The Impossible Possible



Remember this place? Thought so.



That hole wasn't there earlier, and it was just caused by an earthquake. The screen is shaking right now, which is how you can tell.



Reina Lenna and Galuf are in some kind of danger apparently. Can't head back, so...



There's two more 2 Goblin fights. They're just as uneventful as the first. Well, the first of these two isn't;



This is the first level up you basically have to get. The lowest level Bartz can be upon finishing the game is 3. Levels mean fuck all beyond how much HP and MP you have, for the most part, though. A low level "challenge" in this game is only as challenging as you make it. If you know the game well, you can breeze through to the end with minimal problems. You'll miss out on a few things that would make it even less of a "challenge" than it already is, but the repercussions of that are virtually meaningless.



Saving Galuf and Lenna leads to the first of many, many scenes during the remainder of the prologue. It's mercifully short, comparatively, but it gets in the way of reaching the important stuff and the introduction is kind of boring anyway.



Bartz: G'morning.
Lenna: Bartz! Looks like I cannot escape being in your debt.
Bartz: Eh, don't worry 'bout it. The meteorite caused a landslide, blocking the road so you weren't gonna get far anyway.
Lenna: But if I can't make it to the Wind Shrine...
Galuf: Gotta hurry... Wind Shrine...
Bartz: Looks like the old guy's determined to get there too. All right, looks like I'm coming too, to make sure you get there safe. Dad's dying wish that I see the world.



Bartz: You can tell?!

Honestly, here I prefer the PSX version. In the Advanced translation, Bartz is merely surprised that Galuf's awake. In the PSX version he seriously just blurts out the above line. It doesn't come up ever again beyond this point, though.

Galuf: Still... if the path's blocked, reaching the Wind Shrine's gonna be difficult.
Lenna: There must be a way to reach the Wind Shrine!
Galuf: Right! And we'll find it.

And just north of where the game spits us out, is a mini-dungeon. It's a whole two screens large, but it's the first place with things to fight that aren't Goblins.




Bartz: Let's go. Boko, stay here it could be dangerous.



This sure is a cave all right. It also has random battles, so let's see what our characters are like!



Bartz is the only one above level 1. He's also the only one with a decent weapon. Lenna has a Knife. It's the only Knife in the entire game. There's no place to buy one, no enemies drop one, you can't steal one either. Galuf has no weapon at all.

Freelancers/Bares are the generic class. They don't even count as a class, per se, since they don't level up, grant new things nor can it do amazing shit until the very, very end of the game... if you grind enough. On the upside, Bares can equip everything. Every weapon, shields, every piece of armour, every helmet... There's no restrictions whatsoever.



If the enemies here didn't give crap experience, and if levels were important, this could be a good place for early grinding. There's a better place mere minutes away from here, though.



Variety at last! Devil Crabs/Diablos just have high defence and aren't interesting at all aside from being named after the fucking Devil in the PSX version. Steel Bats, though, have an interesting trait...



They have 10,000 MP. There is no reason for a Steel Bat to have 10,000 MP. There is nothing else in the entire first half of the game, and then some, that has anywhere near that much MP.



This scene adds nothing but show you how to get through the door at the top. It's pretty obvious how to do so, in the first place though.



Giving this to Bartz. By the end of the prologue, Bartz, Lenna and Galuf will all be fully equipped. In the next room, another semi-pointless scene;



I say semi-pointless because the very next room has another scene that explains it:



Pirates. Yup. Boats can't sail due to no wind, but there's still pirates. Using boats to travel. The captain of the boat must have stolen wind from the pastfuture of an alternative universe or something because otherwise it's impossible.

Lenna: I wonder if they would give us a ride?
Galuf: You can't ask a favor from a pirate! That's why we'll just sneak on and steal their ship!

Stealing a ship that docked not two minutes ago, is undoubtedly a great plan. The crew won't be able to st-



...Oh. Well, they can defy physics but at least they're just as incompetent as they need to be.

Next time:

Taking a break from lurking to say that FFV is probably my favorite out of the entire series.

"Intention of the Earth" is a fantastic track; it makes me want to go explore a cave full of traps





Keep it up! (I don't care what QC says)

I'm pretty sure that this is what you're thinking of:

So, yeah, we're actually going to steal a fucking pirate ship. Looks like we can go anywhere we want already~!



Or not. Dammit all, I thought for sure we'd manage to steal from professional looters.

Captain: Tryin' to steal my ship, are ye? You've a lot of brass... or mayhap you're lacking in brains. I'd wager the latter.

The Captain actually has a portrait, a unique sprite and a name. His name is Faris. The game never tells you this. Hell, the first time he's referred to by name, by a character, is when Lenna says it.



Speaking of Lenna, she's a Princess. Obviously this isn't a plot twist since we've known that since the very beginning but Bartz and Galuf didn't know.

Bartz: Wha? Princess...
Galuf: ...of Tycoon!?
Lenna: Sir, this is a formal request from the kingdom of Tycoon. Please, allow
us the use of your vessel. I must get to the Wind Shrine - my father is in danger!
Faris: Oho, the princess of Tycoon, here on my ship? I'm sure we could fetch a good price for this one.
Bartz: Hey! Leave her alone, you degenerate, lecherous, piratey...pirate!
Faris: ...Toss the lot of 'em into the brig!
Pirates: Aye-aye, Cap'n!



Galuf: Who's idea was it to steal a pirate ship anyway?
Bartz: Look in a mirror, pops.
Galuf: ...Ohh, my aching head! I can't remember a thing!
Bartz: ...And your amnesia oh-so-conveniently returns. Still...I can't believe you're really the princess of Tycoon, Lenna!
Lenna: I'm sorry... I didn't intend to keep it a secret.
Bartz: Eh, it's not really that big a deal. Just, er, why were you going to the Wind Shrine alone?
Lenna: My father is there. It feels like something terrible is happening...

Meanwhile, next door!



That thing around Faris' neck is a pendant. Lenna has one just like it that is shown for about a half a second on deck. Heavy handed foreshadowing! It gets even more gratuitous and obvious later, honest.



Faris: Oh, an' release the prisoners.
Lenna: But...why?
Faris: I reconsidered your request. We sail for the Wind Shrine!
Pirates: Aye...aye-aye, Cap'n!
Lenna: But the wind stopped... How can the ship move?



Oh, instead of having access to a pocket dimension, Faris has a motherfucking Plesiosaur for a pet. In the PSX translation, it was called Hydra. Hydra is a much better name than Syldra.



The use of "she" here kind of irks me. In the PSX version, Faris says that he and Syldra Hydra were raised like brothers. I'm sure it's more accurate to call Hydra a "she", since it does look kinda girly, but my nostalgia!

We now have a ship that can take us to a whole four places! One of which is the cave we just left so fuck that. The other is a canal we can't actually enter, so that's out. The third is the Wind Shrine. Nah, let's head to the nearby town to get some equipment.




Faris technically leaves the party whilst you're in Tule. His equipment can't be altered whilst you're here, but when you're buying new things it can be compared to his default stuff anyway. Speaking of which, his default equipment is pretty nice. He has a Dagger, which can't be bought until after the next two dungeons and is almost as strong as the Broadsword. He also has a Leather Shield. This means he can actually dodge things. Without a Shield, or some other special equipment, a character will have a 0% chance of evasion. You can work around this later, but that involves wasting MP on a minor buff. MP is better used in killing things, and sometimes healing.

No matter, we're in a town in an RPG. There's only one thing to do: loot the shit out of this place.




There's one more item available outside, but we're off somewhere else first.



If you say "no" she hits you so hard you go flying out of the building and into the wall of trees nearby. Yes, really. You want to say "yes" anyway because there's free things here. Free things are always nice.



Also: Phoenix Down and Potion.

...Speaking of Potions, another translation error in the PSX version. What is referred to here as a Potion was called a Tonic. An item named Potion existed in the PSX version. It was actually a Hi-Potion.



The first of many, many hidden paths. This one you're told about, the others? They're actually pretty obvious for the most part.



Fuck yes. Free Ethers are hard to come by, especially this early. The other chest just had 100 gil in it.

Whilst I remember, more translation errors! Ethers were called Tinctures (...for some reason) and Gil was called GP. No, not GP as in Gold Points in Final Fantasy VII's Gold Saucer. That's different. Bizarrely, the instruction manual lists Ethers as an item, but it also doesn't. It's kind of confusing. When it's not-so-spoilery for some things I'll probably include some scans maybe.



Free items are always nice. Yessirree.



Oh fuck you dude. This is not a cool present. I hate your soul. Last monster-in-a-chest I fought was powerful enough to kick my arse three times over in less than a minute... or, rather it would be if I didn't break it so hard it died in one hit. This thing?



Just a Goblin. Kind of irritating that I have to fight this thing to get...



These. You can get a free pair without fighting elsewhere. They aren't even that good. +1 to both Defence and Magic Defence. Giving them to Bartz though, so now all he's missing is a shield.



Only thing worth buying here is two Broadswords. Yes, two. Faris doesn't really need one right now.



Shields don't actually increase your defence (for the most part), hence why it's not listing any stat gains for anyone. The evasion bonus alone makes it worth it, so buying three of them as well as two hats (Goblins sometimes drop them if you really want to spend as little as possible). Now Bartz has a full set of equipment, and everyone else is just missing an accessory!



See, Bartz is fully decked out in leather. As for the stats?

Strength determines how much damage you deal.
Agility is how fast your turns come. The higher, the better. Not because you're disadvantaged if its low or anything. It just helps you kill things even faster.
Stamina determines HP gains upon level up. It might do something else, but it's fairly negligible.
Magic is how strong your spells are. Since I have none right now, and can't use any, it's kind of meaningless.
Attack is a more important version of Strength. It's how strong your equipped weapons are.
Defence affects how much damage you deal.
Evasion is the chance to dodge attacks. Bartz (et al.) will dodge roughly 1 out of every 10 physical attacks with a Leather Shield equipped. Conversely, without it they will actively dodge approximately 0.
Magic Defence affects how much damage you take from spells. Spellcaster enemies usually aren't a threat, and the ones that are usually throw instant death spells around. Or end up killing themselves because of Reflect.
Equip Weight is how heavy your equipment is. It's supposed to slow you down slightly, but it barely affects you at all. The only thing more negligible than Stamina.



Remember this place. It's important later, but for now we want what's hidden next to it on the same island.



Giving these to Lenna. Only need two more and everyone has something in every slot!



Try and leave, and Faris forces his way back into the party. There's an optional scene I missed here because I'm an idiot. It's nothing more than even more hamfisted foreshadowing for something you probably already worked out though.



Let's finally clear out this place!



Some dudes from the Castle are chillin' on the first floor. They're kind of worried about the kind, and rightfully so.



Free healing here too! This is a sort of decent place to grind (at this stage I mean), but there's more important things here right now.



Free items are always nice.

Now with all that out of the way, might as well head into the dungeon proper.



Not pictured: The fourth enemy which doesn't appear until the end of the dungeon anyway.

Black Goblins are our first palette swap and are kind of shitty. They sometimes use Goblin Punch which can one shot you depending on your level. They also drop Leather Shoes sometimes. White Serpents are completely boring aside from sometimes trying to Paralyse someone. Moldwynds, though, are where all the fun shit is at. They can cast Aero which really fucking hurts, but they also drop motherfucking Elixirs. A sort-of common enemy in the first dungeon drops the best single target healing item in the entire game. As a rule, there is one enemy in every dungeon that can drop Elixirs. You can easily have more Elixirs than you know what to do with.

Aside from the Elixirs, there's nothing really fancy item wise in this dungeon.



There is a save point though. There's usually only one save point in a dungeon, and it's frequently just before a boss. Longer dungeons have more than one save point, I can think of a few of dungeons that have none. The ones that don't have any, don't really need them though. Because the bosses are complete jokes (if applicable).



Free hat (for Faris). If you didn't get one via dropfarming, or didn't have enough Gil or whatever the game hands you another for free here.



You see that statue? It's blocking the doorway. More importantly, secret passage allowing you to skip the entire floor. I first found this by accident. I went the "normal" way around and accidentally ran into the wall. I kind of wasn't paying attention at the time.



Free broadsword (for Faris). You could use this as an opportunity to heal with some of the many free Potions, you've undoubtedly acquired at this point. It might help since the next thing we're going to fight could be a threat if you're got less than 60 HP. I say "could" but it really isn't.



Boss 1 - Wing Raptor!



I say "boss" but this guy is more of a mini-boss. He still gets awesome boss music though;



Alternatively;



In any rate, this guy is a complete joke. He could pose a challenge, and he's the second first boss to follow the pattern of "dont attack the alternative form!" but he shouldn't ever live long enough to reach it. Hold down A for about 20 seconds and you should've won already. He can hit the entire party for 30+ damage with a single attack but he should only last two of his turns. He also uses it when coming out of his second form. During that, he takes 0 damage and counters with a weakish physical.

Amusingly, he isn't immune to Death. Shame you can't use it yet, and by the time you can it won't matter if the enemy is immune or not.

On the next floor, there's more dungeon. A new enemy can appear here, but it's nothing fancy.



There's also this Staff. It's unremarkable aside from being retardedly easy to miss for no good reason.



Do you like long cutscenes? The next one is supposed to be long, so let's only cover the important things!



The Crystal is broken. Oh shit.



The other three crystals are shown, along with giving characters their own unique elemental affinity. This affects nothing other than like one thing.

Faris - Fire (Courage)
Lenna - Water (Devotion)
Galuf - Earth (Hope)
Bartz - Wind (Passion)



King Tycoon isn't dead!



King Tycoon: the four crystal essences. This one is broken, but the other three aren't so go protect them, since they're in danger. An evil presence is awakening...



King Tycoon warps off here. He still isn't actually dead though.



Ohey, crystal shards. These are important and awesome. Why?




Job Classes are available! The first few aren't particularly fancy, other than a few tricks which are pretty basic and unimpressive. By the time you'll likely be performing some interesting shit with these, better classes will be available. Still, these new classes aren't all bad since there's one true way to use them...

In IV and VI, it determined how much damage Poison dealt per turn and how much Regen heals for. Unless you really love Regen, it's probably a good idea to keep this stat low. I don't know much about V, but I'm guessing it does the same...

If you're taking enough damage, over the course of a fight, to need Regen you're doing something wrong. If you're not using Curaga if said damage is done to only one person you're doing everything wrong, since ST Curaga fully heals the target (MT Curaga is pretty much worthless). There's also no real reason to get poisoned beyond the first few dungeons, and even then it's only likely to happen when it's guaranteed. Poison is the easiest ailment to resist, since it's also an element.

Poison just takes away 1/16 of the target's Max HP per turn.

Vitality/Stamina is probably more useless than you let on...

oh God why did you break my forum tables you asshole.