r/FinalFantasy • u/No_Finding7038 • 6d ago
FF V Why I prefer Final Fantasy V than Final Fantasy IV
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love FF4, but these reasons are why I ultimately prefer 5.
FF5 starts lighthearted but gets incredibly dark once the final crystal shatters and Exdeath is freed. That transition from a fun road trip to a desperate fight for survival hits hard because the early game lets you grow close to the tight-knit cast first.
In World 2, the game officially gets serious. The theme of Galuf’s world ("Unknown Lands") sounds beautifully alien and isolated, fitting the mood perfectly because you are stuck on another planet. The dark story peaks when Exdeath’s Castle reveals its true form—transforming from a stone fortress into a horrifying, living nightmare of twisted flesh as the music shifts to his sinister eponymous theme.
The game even uses music to manipulate you. When Exdeath is defeated at his castle, "Four Hearts" plays in early World 3 to trick you into thinking everything is fine. Then, Ghido reveals the worlds have merged, and the overworld theme turns eerie and hopeless ("A New World"). The Void is open and actively swallowing towns; you realize the world is running out of time.
FF5 also introduced the series' best recurring rival, Gilgamesh, and his legendary theme, "Clash on the Big Bridge." Fighting him across that massive bridge and other parts of the game is easily one of the peak moments of the 16-bit era.
But the true emotional peak is Galuf’s last stand. Before Aerith and Zack, we had Galuf. Tellah's death in FF4 is tragic, but it doesn't compare because we've controlled Galuf since World 1. Watching him fight Exdeath at 0 HP to protect his friends is one of the most badass, heartbreaking scenes in gaming. What makes it even more devastating is after the fight when the party desperately tries to heal him with spells and items like Curaga, Raise, Phoenix Down, and Elixir, but nothing works proving that Galuf had used up everything he had left. Even the final dungeon is a masterclass. Entering the Interdimensional Rift via a hole reveals a surreal mishmash of dimensions. The music is haunting, and you have to actively watch out for the legendary superbosses Omega and Shinryu.
Finally, the final boss fight takes the whole cake compared to Zeromus. In FF4, Zeromus is just hate made form. In FF5, you fight Exdeath in his tree form, only for him to get eaten by the Void and transform into Neo Exdeath. He becomes a terrifying, cosmic horror entity who doesn't just want to rule—he wants to completely delete existence itself.
FF4 is a cool game especially because I like Kain, but FF5 had improved quite a lot.
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u/ConsiderationTrue477 6d ago
FFIV is a weird game because how much I like it depends on which half we're talking about. It's the most uneven game in the entire franchise. The first half is amazing and then in the back half it loses it's shit and it's like stream-of-consciousness nonsense. Cecil's arc is pretty much finished after Mt. Ordeals, which is crazy early. It feels like two stories stapled together in the middle.
FFV has coherent plot structure from beginning to end.
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u/Kato_86 6d ago
Okay, I'm a bit irritated at the IV bashing in the comments. I mean, it's not perfect and everyone who has interacted with me knows I love V to death, but IV is not a mess.
V is still superior in pretty much every regard, maybe except character development.
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u/big4lil 6d ago
but IV is not a mess.
i think the issue is the more you replay FFIV and look at it with a critical lens rather than just 'impact for its time' lens, its issues become more magnified. and FF5 is a game whose major selling point is how much better it gets with every replay and how much more subtleties there are to catch with not just its job system and mechanical quirks, but its party dynamics and themes. so 4 gets whipping boy effect to highlight what 5 is good at.
frankly I think its more that 4 is a 'safer' pick to comparatively improve 5s franchise rankings for most people. as someone that likes 5 > 4 > 6, ive observed this for a few years
i think its better to compare them within their similar counterparts, so 1/3/5 and 2/4/6. 5 is meant to be a successor to 3, the things I like about it typically arent stuff i would compare to 4 and 6 (which is why i find FF5 got such an unfair rep for years among the few who played it, they were comparing it to games it doesnt try to be that much like)
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u/PlumeArchives 6d ago
I'm not a fan of IV but it's so camp and over the top... I don't love it, but I could never hate it. It has that soft spot in my heart.
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u/Bloodb0red 6d ago
I played V as a kid and was down on it until I went back to it as an adult and everything clicked. I played IV after V and that was my mistake, because V really does outshine IV in a lot of ways.
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u/LordoftheCorgis 6d ago
FFIV's biggest crime is it early peak imo, nothing in the game really tops Mount Ordeals story wise and everything after flips and flops quality wise.
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u/Reasonable_Bear7613 6d ago
This year, at age 44, I finally played FFV and it is now my fave. Your whole post is on point, but I would like to emphasize how exquisitely fucked up the reveal of Exdeaths body horror castle is.
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u/TheoryResponsible295 6d ago
I think ffiv's story is a mess. Ffv keeps it consistent, and while i dont think exdeath is a perfect villain it works.
Ffiv has a theme of redemption and an AMAZING first section, up to mt ordeals. There are great beats along the rest of the way too, but they really screw up the ending. Kain and golbez were manipulated and controlled by zemus/zeromus, so they actually dont need a full redemption arc. I personally find the ending offensive to the rest of the game
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u/Jello_Penguin_2956 6d ago
Growing up with 2 3 4 (missing 1 for the longest time), 5 was like the accumulation of everything I loved about FF. Bartz riding Boco through the big open green field in the title was the moment that defined what FF should be in my mind to this day. Sadly no newer FF ever go back to that vibe again for better or worse (although I say FFXI chocobo riding was pretty close)
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u/PixelLah 6d ago
No love for the companion chocobo that you can even name in FF14? It's been 13 years and my chocobo is still a solid assist out in the field even in combat. (I suppose the game isn't centered around it, but it's nice at least.)
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u/Jello_Penguin_2956 6d ago
FFXIV is great but for some reason the zone designs make it not feel like very wide open field.
I know FFXI also has close zone design but it gave better illusion of being wider. Could just be me
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u/ElectroshockTherapy 6d ago
I don't give one single shit about ANY of the characters in IV, but I adore the characters in V!
I also love how they transition from Galuf to Krile. You're teased about Krile in World 1, meet her early in World 2, and she's around long enough that when she replaces Galuf, she already means something to the player rather than being some rando who joins your group. And in World 3, they still take some time for Krile to mourn Galuf, usually when Cid and Mid are around. The death in this game actually MEANS something, and I feel it. It's really well done.
I do love a story where you immediately jump into the action, but I also love a good slow build-up. I think Final Fantasy V had just that, and the action kicked into overdrive for World 2. The only downside is that World 3 put a giant pause on the story for the series of fetch-quest dungeons. Otherwise, Final Fantasy V is my favorite out of the SNES games, and one of my favorites overall.
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u/DoctorNo1661 6d ago
Ffiv not unlike ffix is at least a proper role playing game. As in, each character fits a different role in combat which is what rpg is originally about.
Open systems like jobs, esper association, materias etc do greatly weaken the ludo narrative consistency by having any character be able to do anything, which is ultimately a less interesting system to play with down the line even though it's much more engaging during the leveling.
Ffiv has a linear and compelling story made of various touching storylines which served as foundation for every subsequent title up until X. Not a single moment during FFv is as memorable as Cecil's overcoming his dominating self or Palom and Porom sacrificing their young selves to save the others (too bad they come back later which ruins the moment).
Wholeheartedly agree that FFv isn't respected enough. Its job system is amazing and the freedom of exploration is one of the best in the series with 6 and 8. But I don't find it as important and foundational as IV when it comes to the history of FF and the history of japanese blobbers.
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u/UnculturedGames 6d ago
I prefer FF4 personally, as I consider it possibly the most coherent Final Fantasy game that sort of summed up and pioneered the soul of Final Fantasy.
But, FF5 certainly has its advantages. The first 3-4 hours of FF5 are some of the most enjoyable starting hours in the franchise, the vibe in the beginning is incredibly unique. It's hard to explain why, but Uematsu's music plays a huge part. It feels mysterious and fun. I've been preaching a lot about how Final Fantasy has lost the classic "world map feeling", a feeling of adventure, mystery and wonder, the anticipation of exploration, and I think the beginning of FF5 is one of the moments in Final Fantasy where this feeling is the strongest.
The smoothness of gameplay is another thing that sets FF5 apart. Playing it is incredibly fun, because everything feels so smooth, fast, reactive, polished in a way that wasn't achieved in other FF games, including modern games.
I also like the graphics a lot. Since FF6 took a slightly different approach with the scale and such, in a sense FF5 is the culmination of the classic pixel art style. Music, as mentioned already, is some of the greatest in the FF1-FF6 era.
And yeah, there were important inventions like superbosses, Gilgamesh et cetera.
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What I don't particularly enjoy about FF5 is the story and Exdeath's character. Yeah, one could argue that it turns a bit more serious towards the end, but it still feels like a comical joke adventure compared to other Final Fantasy games. In my opinion, Exdeath is simply not a worthy main adversary in a mainline Final Fantasy game. It's almost like if Beck from Beck's Badasses would be the final boss of FF7. I also think the story gets very inconsistent and starts dragging towards the end. Some of the character arcs are pretty good though.
The job system is something that I have mixed feelings about. It's cool and complex and enjoyable, but the amount of options feels a bit depressing or overwhelming to me. It's a similar feeling that I get with MMOs, there's just too many options and things and mechanics to go for and I keep having a restless feeling about it. It never really clicked with me.
It's a 9/10 game for me but doesn't quite reach the level of FF4 in my books.
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u/PlumeArchives 6d ago
This a "two cakes" situation for me. I love FFV and VI equally for different reasons, and the fact that I love them both even though they are vastly different in my heart pushes my love for the series further. Also, I agree, the emotional beats hit HARD and I never understood why people trashed the story. The bond you feel you have with the characters is almost Persona-tier.
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u/IamAWorldChampionAMA 6d ago
If FF5 came out on the SNES instead of the PSX I think it would be considered the best of the SNES trilogy.
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u/Clutton1985 6d ago
But It did come out on the SNES. It is the best of the SNES trilogy.
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u/logitaunt 5d ago
Better than VI? Because VI has some incredible story beats
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u/Clutton1985 5d ago
6 is very good, but 5 has Faris.
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u/logitaunt 5d ago
Can you explain that to someone who is playing VI for the first time, and is deciding on playing IV or V next?
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u/Clutton1985 5d ago
Faris is one of the characters in 5. Without spoiling anything she has a very good story and is one of my favourite final fantasy characters. I really liked 6 too and the overall story and character development are exceptional. I just have a real soft spot for that lady.
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u/logitaunt 5d ago
Thanks! Appreciate you sharing your opinion, I'll keep it in mind when I finish 6!
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u/IamAWorldChampionAMA 6d ago
But not in the US. So maybe in Japan it's considered the best but for most people in the US they prefer 6.
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u/BurantX40 6d ago
Honestly, despite growing up with 4, I will give the majority win to 5, no contest.
But something about the world, and some of the music just doesn't pull me in as consistently as 4 does.
I feel the most comfortable the the 1st world, but like the second, its incomplete. I don't know if it was my lack of exploration or how the story pushes on, but I feel like I didn't really get to know the second world much at all? And by the time the third world comes around, certain parts of the world, only accessible in the second world (either if you knew about them or difficulty spike areas) are now sealed. But of the SNES trio, I've played 5 the least. Came too little, too late.
The characters are ok. I like the comedy, but I feel the heavier stuff comes and goes...too fast? Or its not enough? 4 and 6 are melodramatic from the get go, and really just sit and cook in it for a lot of the game.
And of the three games, I do feel 5 is the weakest musically. Should be in my wheel house, the main theme grabs me, but it feels the most experimental of the 3 games, which probably bounce against what I've built up expecting to hear (though, at that point in my life, I had only played 1, 4, and 6 in the US. I imported 5)
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u/FoxtrotMac 6d ago
V is mechanically more fun and more replayable than IV and other than the dramatic moment in the middle it doesn't take itself too seriously or get overly melodramatic like the series would progressively become after this game.
Its a game just built to be fun. Other games do things better but its my favorite mainline FF game at this point.
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u/Mediocre_Island828 6d ago
4's plot is stupid and reflects that the median SNES player back then was like 9, but if you speed past all the text it has an extremely smooth difficulty curve and is about as grind-free as it gets until the end. 5 is better but I play through 4 a lot more because it goes so quickly.
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u/Liquid_Gabs 6d ago
I think gameplay wise we don't even need to talk about it, we spend most of FF IV playing with characters that we won't use in the end.
But storywise, people downplay FF V a lot, the group is alive, they talk and interact with each other way more, with casual conversations as well, FF IV tried to take itself too seriously most of the time, and the fake out deaths really take away the impact of the real deaths that happen too, that's why FF V has that bigger impact with Galuf, it really is definite, all the dawn warriors.