Something that I've always loved about Final Fantasy V, which you really get at in this piece, is how much it kind of feels like a Saturday morning cartoon. Yes, there are the "plot-heavy episodes," the serious moments like the one you mentioned involving Lenna's willingness to sacrifice herself for her drake, but its main tone is tongue-in-cheek charm. I know there was that OVA quasi-sequel series in the 90's, but if a Final Fantasy title was going to be adapted into an anime series there would be worse choices than V!
Also had no idea that there was a Final Fantasy XIV tabletop game coming out! I'm not really an MMO guy, so my knowledge of XIV is kind of sparse, but that could be a fun way for me to dip my toes into those waters!
Totally agreed! It kind of stuns me when FF fans talk about how the story of V isn't as good as IV or VI -- it's like, not really trying to do the same thing. And I love that!
I really enjoy FF XIV, but it was my first/only MMO, and my ability to sink about 200 hours into it was a product of pandemic unemployment. I'm not sure I could pick it back up now. In some ways I think it represents a culmination of what both Final Fantasy and D&D always wanted to be (there are some early Gary Gygax writings where he's basically talking about instanced dungeons), and I really dig it for that, but MMOs take real time, man.
Something that I've always loved about Final Fantasy V, which you really get at in this piece, is how much it kind of feels like a Saturday morning cartoon. Yes, there are the "plot-heavy episodes," the serious moments like the one you mentioned involving Lenna's willingness to sacrifice herself for her drake, but its main tone is tongue-in-cheek charm. I know there was that OVA quasi-sequel series in the 90's, but if a Final Fantasy title was going to be adapted into an anime series there would be worse choices than V!
Also had no idea that there was a Final Fantasy XIV tabletop game coming out! I'm not really an MMO guy, so my knowledge of XIV is kind of sparse, but that could be a fun way for me to dip my toes into those waters!
Totally agreed! It kind of stuns me when FF fans talk about how the story of V isn't as good as IV or VI -- it's like, not really trying to do the same thing. And I love that!
I really enjoy FF XIV, but it was my first/only MMO, and my ability to sink about 200 hours into it was a product of pandemic unemployment. I'm not sure I could pick it back up now. In some ways I think it represents a culmination of what both Final Fantasy and D&D always wanted to be (there are some early Gary Gygax writings where he's basically talking about instanced dungeons), and I really dig it for that, but MMOs take real time, man.
Secret best Final Fantasy!
What's that extra "f" for?
You have done a great service today