the Final Fantasy series, most of the games what use such a system are either obscure

or removed a bit from the more familiar entries in the series. We didn�t get III for ages

after it pioneered the mechanics, the PS1 release of V suffered from a ridiculous translation

and load times, XI�s banished to the Pit of MMORPG Ignorage, X-2 puts off too many

with its cut-rate Charlie�s Angels affectation... really, all we got was Tactics. And even that

had a laughable English version. But let�s go back and take a good look at V. It�s

got a sound story, it takes the often-tedious �compile your party members� slog and

compresses all of it into the first ten minutes of the game (In other words, shorter than

the opening MOVIE of FFXII), and isn�t afraid to poke fun at itself on occasion. And I love

fun.

Stop me if you�ve heard this one: Four crystals what keep the balance of the world, suddenly

they�re in trouble and they designate four heroes to go make things right. And then they

explode, throwing the world into chaos, stagnating the wind and poisoning the water and so forth,

but leaving the fortunate side-effect of bestowing new classes upon the hapless adventurer, diligent

princess, decrepit amnesiac geezer, and androgynous pirate captain what comprise this game�s

cast of characters. These classes can be switched at any time, and level up to learn new abilities

in a fixed sequence as opposed to the pick-and-choose method of a Tactics or a X-2. It�s a bit

constraining, but I�ll allow it in light of V�s single most important contribution

to the series as a whole: The invention of the Blue Mage. Sure, they might look weird...

but compared to Quina and Kimahri, it�s nothing new. The quest takes place over three

separate worlds, and is host to about a bajillion gimmicks and tricks, especially when it comes

to boss fights. Some might think it�s a bit unfair, but the flexibility of the job

system allows for a solution to pretty much any situation.

This GBA remake features a number of enhancements over the PS1 version included in Final Fantasy

Chronicles, most notably a retooled translation that feels like less of a right embarrassment

to read. Y Burn, my left fork. A new menu system allows for shortcutting your battle

commands by assigning each to a D-pad direction, for the happiest of hardcore gamers. Also,

this version features four brand-new jobs available from a massive bonus dungeon, including

the Blue Mage�s ticked-off emo brother the Necromancer and the Mythbuster-wannabe Cannoneers.

The quick-save feature popular amongst GBA RPGs also makes an appearance, in case battery

life becomes an issue or the doctor�s ready to see you now or whatever. So saddle up your

chocobro, prepare to groan horribly at a couple jokes (including that last one), and buckle

up for the definitive FFV experience. Now if only they�d add Puppetmasters and Corsairs...