GO FORTH, LIGHT WARRIORS! SAVE THE CRYSTALS! Aside from long being the "lost" Final Fantasy in NA and PAL territories and its job system shennanigans, Final Fantasy V's most significant claim to fame is its being the last installment directed by series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. (He's still credited in later installments as a producer, but this is a much less direct role in the development process from what I understand.) This makes V the last of the old school Final Fantasy games. (VI and VII comprise sort of a liminal phase, and everything from VIII onwards is new school.) So. Let's step back for a second and put ourselves in Sakaguchi's shoes for a moment. It's Saturday morning, and Friday night was spent engaging in no fewer than three nomihodai sessions with other Square employees. (A rough English translation of nomihodai would be something like "depraved orgy of binge drinking.") Now Sakaguchi rolls out of bed, throws water in his face, and squints in the mirror as his reflection gradually comes into focus. Shadows of fact begin to surface through the haze. Today he's supposed to think over a few early proposals for the next Final Fantasy game. Wait, he thinks, what's Final Fantasy? Oh, right, he remembers. That Famicom RPG me and some other guys threw together back when we thought SquareSoft was doomed. That was a damn long time ago. Which one are we on now? Five? Six? How many copies are these things selling? How many guys we got working on them now? Holy hell. He pops open a bottle of asprin and pours himself a glass of water. Then he takes a sip of the water and pours all the asprin down his throat. Final Fantasy, he thinks, watching his pupils expand. What does it all mean? The "video games: high art, low art, art at all?" argument can wait a little while, as can the "what would Marshall McLuhan have to say about video games?" question. Let's not go there (yet). For now, let's just reiterate -- though it might not be entirely necessary -- that video games are a medium for expression. I'm personally of the opinion that the video games we have now are the precursor to what will eventually become the "eighth medium," but that can also wait. For the time being, we'll just say that video games (as we know them now) are the first new artistic medium since the invention of the motion picture and leave it at that. A medium, by definition, is a conduit for a message -- whether implicit, explicit, or both; whether one or several. By the early 1990s, video games were no exception. The experience of interacting with a video game was no longer simple as guiding a monochromatic stick figure across a black blackground and shooting dots at pixellated blobs. As games became more complicated, as they came to incorporate more text, and as improvements in technology enabled more expressive graphics, the content beyond their rules and mechanics as games likewise increased. The early Final Fantasy games, as a series of texts (one of the first things they teach you in lit theory and media studies is that everything is a text) that combine elements of animation and the printed page, makes points and conveys messages whether it wants to or not. (Again: do you suppose Sakaguchi -- or Kojima, Nakamura, or even Romero for that matter -- ever expected that this content beyond the gameplay would eventually become one of the main selling points for the popular video games of the future?) So when our imaginary Sakaguchi asks himself what this thing he created means, maybe we can come up with an answer. (Or, if you want to be an academic nerd/Marxist cynic about it, we can instead ask: what are the marks of the Final Fantasy brand in terms of meta-gameplay content, as established by the first five titles?) Fifteen themes, concepts, and motifs represented and established by old school Final Fantasy: 1.) The mythology of elemental crystals. Final Fantasy's world is composed of and governed by the elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Each element is represented by corresponding crystal. When bad things happen to the crystals, bad things happen to the world. 2.) Beyond this, there are the opposing forces of Light and Darkness. Final Fantasy III makes the case that while they are opposite forces, neither is inherently good or bad -- that it's a matter of perception. The Crystals and the elements have Light and Dark sides, as well. Final Fantasy III and IV have dual sets of Light and Dark crystals. It's not uncommon for each element to be represented by both a Light Warrior and a Fiend. 3.) Instead of Light (Good) vs. Dark (Evil), Final Fantasy's struggles often come down to existence against non-existence. Most Final Fantasy villains are grumpy bastards who just aren't cool with the fact that things are alive and stuff exists. When confronted with the threat of Void, Light and Dark forces will often work together to defend creation. 4.) More Final Fantasy mythology: Bahamut first appeared in Final Fantasy, Leviathan was introduced in Final Fantasy II, and Odin followed in Final Fantasy III. These three round off the top pillar of mainstay deities in the Final Fantasy universe. The lesser elemental deities, of course, are Ramuh, Shiva, Ifrit, and Titan. (Though Ramuh gets phased out every now and then and Titan regularly gets the shaft in later installments.) 5.) Youth-centrism. The younger and less experienced you are, the better you perform. This especially rings true with preteen characters, as all of them are child geniuses. Conversely, if you are old, battle-hardened and hirsute, there is a much greater chance of bad things happening to you. 6.) Expansionism and war are inherently evil. Rebellions and insurrections against a domineering power are usually okay, though. 7.) A concept which has as good a chance of having been borrowed from Star Wars as resulting from the psychic side effects of industrialization on the Japanese cultural psyche: the ideal society lives in harmony with nature. Ones that rely too heavily upon technology or abuse the natural word are doomed to collapse. 8.) On a similar note: the hubris of a civilization always leads to its downfall. When someone in a Final Fantasy game makes a statement like the one to the right, you can be assured they're screwed. 9.) On the subject of the Japanese cultural psyche, Final Fantasy is preoccupied with fallen civilizations and bygone golden ages. The greatest orders of warriors and mages are always on their last legs. The Hiryuu is always on the verge of extinction. The best weapons in the game are usually ancient relics wielded by some legendary heroes thousands of years before. Either this is a subconscious expression of Japanese nostalgia for the time before industrialization, westernization, and 9/2/1945, or Little Boy has taught me nothing. 10.) It'd be easy to make a massive stretch about how all the Final Fantasy heroes who are either orphans or whose parents get killed signifies contemporary Japan's severance from its past and a perceived weakening of the national and cultural indentity, but I don't even think I believe this one. 11.) Acting as a group is of tremendous importance. Party members who go off on their own will suffer terrible consequences. Also, there is nothing more noble than sacrificing oneself for the good of one's friends/people. (The kamikaze ideal lives on.) 12.) Let's talk about Final Fantasy gender roles. Men are virile and capable warriors, sages, and airship-building geniuses. Women are dainty magic users whose purpose is to back up the men and try their best to avoid getting kidnapped or poisoned so as not to inconvenience the males, whose responsibility it will be to rescue them. This changes if the woman in question is a tomboy or a crossdresser. In such a case, they will be outshone by the stronger male heroes and the better-looking female heroes, and doomed to the slow, lonely death of a spinster. 13.) Mankind's greatest breakthroughs always occur before mankind is ready for them. Am I talking about the products of Cid's engineering genius being used to destroy the Fire Crystal or Einstein's Theory of Relativity and the atomic bomb? ARE THEY REALLY THAT FAR APART, I ASK YOU? 14.) The ultimate goal of the Final Fantasy series, as I have demonstrated above, is to turn you into as gigantic a fecking nerd as possible. 15.) Every ending is also a beginning. (Unless everything gets devoured by the Void or whichever force of non-existence the villain is serving -- so I guess that should be amended to "every ending is also a beginning...except for when all creation gets erased. Then it really is just an ending.") Other Versions Until Final Fantasy Anthology for the PSOne hit America in 1999, Final Fantasy V was Japan-only. Unfortunately, its first official American release was marred by cumbersome load times, awkward music, and a translation so lousy that not even the most ardent Woolsey apologists could endorse it. ("Yessss!") The only "enhancements" include a CG-rendered intro movie (better than the one in the PSOne FFIV port, but still not great) and a "quicksave" function that temporarily saves the game without accessing the memory card. In 2006, Final Fantasy V Advance offered a better English translation (in spite of some trendy geek humor injected into the dialogue), four new Job classes (Gladiator, Cannoneer, Oracle, and Necromancer), enhanced background graphics, portraits in the text boxes for the major characters (both similar to the touches put on FFIV Advance) and a few new bosses. The most significant and surprising of these additional challengers is the dark wizard Enuo, whom the original game only mentions in passing as the ancient mage who tried to seize the power of the Void before Exdeath. The music still isn't quite perfect, but holds up pretty well. Between the two official North American versions, it's a no-brainer: the GBA port is the better choice. VERDICT Sakaguchi took his directorial leave from Final Fantasy on a fine note. Final Fantasy V's Job System alone is so versatile and entertaining that it compensates for any shortcomings in the game's presentation or story. If the plot comes across as insipid, consider it evidence that Square had finally taken their tried-and-true "save the crystals!" approach as far as it would go. Besides: when a game is fun to play as Final Fantasy V, does it really matter that its story content doesn't break any molds? Well, so much for the old school. Farewell Light Warriors and crystals; hello steampunk, evil empires, and the end of the world. Hey, is that cyberpunk and metaphysical angst I perceive on the horizon...? MP3s Download here (Includes SFC, PSOne and GBA) Ahead on Our Way Battle 1 Fate in the Haze The Fierce Battle Nostalgia Spreading the Great Wings Clash on the Big Bridge

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Comparison Screenshots

Playstation	Gameboy Advance

Anime
Final Fantasy: Legends of the Crystals

The four-episode Final Fantasy: Legends of the Crystals OAV series, developed by Madhouse Studios (the same outfit responsible for Trigun and Ninja Scroll, not to mention other video game adaptations such as Devil May Cry, Killer 7, and Square Enix's more well-known Last Order) and released in Japan by NTT Publishing in 1994. It is an unofficial sequel/spin-off to Final Fantasy V, taking place two centuries after the game's end. Once again, some dark force has its sights on the Crystals and it's up to four chosen warriors to save the day. Characters Linaly A descendent of Butz, this perky magic-user follows her grandfather to the Temple of Wind to protect the last Crystal from being taken by Ra-Devil's forces. When the old man gets put out of commission during a random encounter with a monster, Linaly continues his quest for him. She succeeds in locating the Wind Crystal, but things get complicated when it enters her body and lodges itself behind her buttocks. (Seriously.) She gets the most screen time of any of the heroes, and most of it consists of gratuitous pantyshots. Pritz / Prettz Naturally, there's some JP/NA name confusion with the kid filling Butz's role as the plucky male protagonist. The Japanese audio clearly calls him "Pritz," but the English dub and subtitles refer to him as "Prettz" for some reason. The impulsive and incredulous Pritz's aresenal includes a motorcycle, a pocketful of smiling bombs, a sword bigger than Sephiroth's, and a tremendous crush on Linaly. Rouge Captain of the all-female Flying Beat Pirate brigade, the lovely Rouge is a clear nod to Faris. Obsessed with collecting treasure, Rouge attempts to rob Pritz of his only valuable -- his motorcycle -- and suddenly finds herself in the crossfire between the forces of Tycoon and Ra-Devil. The fact that there are so many lecherous shots of middle-school age Linaly and maybe three of Rouge makes the series' fixation with Linaly's undergarments even creepier. Valkus The head-honcho of Tycoon's air force may well be an inspiration for Final Fantasy IX's Steiner. Massive, fiercely loyal to Queen Lenna, and easily riled, the bumblesome but well-intentioned Valkus is the strangest of the show's cast. Whenever he gets excited, the pitch of his voice shoots up several octaves. That mustache? Nose hairs. He also falls wildly in love at his first glimpse of Rouge and eventually resigns from the military to become a leather-clad member of her crew. Ew. Mid The only character from Final Fantasy V to fully cross over to Legend of the Crystals. Not long after Exdeath's defeat, Cid fell ill and passed away. While mourning over his grandpa's tombstone, Mid is murdered by the graverobbing Ra-Devil. Two-hundred years later, he returns as a ghost to help Linaly and Pritz protect the Wind Crystal and to free his grandpa's living brain from Ra-Devil's clutches. Mid is a lot smaller in Legend of the Crystals than he seemed to be in Final Fantasy V and is a bit more mischeivous, but always polite and cute as a moogle. Chocobos Legend of the Crystals takes a few creative liberties in its depiction of Final Fantasy's most beloved critter. Fans were not pleased. Ra-Devil The ruler of the Black Moon, commander of a vast robotic army, and the one who violated Cid's grave and killed Mid, Ra-Devil is Legend of the Crystals's boss of the game main villain. He's hatched some evil plan to transform himself into the godlike Deathgynos, and requires five things to succeed: the four crystals and Cid's massive brain. The only one he hasn't gotten his hands on yet is the Wind Crystal. Like all Final Fantasy endbosses, Ra-Devil turns into a hulking abomination before his last stand against the heroes -- but unlike most others, his transformation is stolen straight from Akira. Legend of the Crystals is a strange show. It's by no means the most cracked-out anime the world has ever seen, but hardly what you'd expect from an anime bearing the Final Fantasy name. The only real resemblance it bears to Final Fantasy V aside from a couple of borrowed names and plot points is its sense of humor. In fact, Legend of the Crystals isn't just lighthearted -- it's a straight-up comedy. It has more in common than the Disgaea OAV series than with Advent Children or Last Order. With the exception of Mid's death, Legends of the Crystals contains zero of the melodrama that has lately defined JRPGs and anime. None of the four main characters have repressed memories, dreadful secrets, deep-seated trauma, or any neuroses more complicated than "I am drawn to shiny things." The only viewers who will be wowed by the show's sparse action sequences are people who haven't seen any anime that's been made after Speed Racer. Most of these disparities with what most of us recognize as Final Fantasy are obviously the result of Legend of the Crystals's being produced by a third party, but I also wonder how much of it has to do with how much Final Fantasy itself has changed since V's release in 1992. Legend of the Crystals finally made it to North America in 1998, following the Final Fantasy VII splash. Urban Vision got it in their heads that since Final Fantasy was such a hot property, they could make a quick buck by localizing a four-year-old anime based on a seven-year-old video game. American viewers checked out Legends of the Crystals because of those two magic F-words on the box, but its reception in the English-speaking world was lukewarm -- at best. The fans who had been converted by the cyberpunk epic of Final Fantasy VII and realized they'd just shelled out fifty bucks for four half-hour episodes of a dated-looking cartoon about the slapstick adventures of magical little girl and her bumpkin Romeo weren't laughing. Even older fans who'd played the other titles that had come out in North America at that point (I, IV, and VI) were probably hoping for something with a little more gravitas -- and far fewer loli pantyshots. A good gauge of Legend of the Crystals's popularity in the States would be the fact that Urban Vision lost the licensing rights a few years back and no one has bothered snatching them up. The entire series is viewable on YouTube (both dubbed and subbed, even!), and they're in no danger of being removed by the copyright police any time soon. Depending one's tastes, Legend of the Crystals might be worth checking out. It's not going to encourage a major perspective change or even give you much to think about -- but then again, it never makes that pretense (unlike a few recent Square Enix efforts I could name). Nobody's saying it's perfect (or even really that great), but its endearingly bizarre cast, its vintage, CG-free animation, and its sheer weirdness carry an undeniable charm. If nothing else, Legend of the Crystals is a fun two-hour romp for a rainy, hung-over Sunday afternoon. Plus, with the advent of YouTube, its price certainly can't be beat.

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