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Final Fantasy Anthology for PlayStation 1
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Final Fantasy Anthology for PlayStation 1
52 reviews   4.42 of 5

Product Description

Sound

FF6: Beautiful sound track, like always. Oh, ghost train, I have missed thee. Atma weapon, tweaky. Opera, moving! Because of hardware compatibily issues, the sound is a LITTLE tinny, yeah. But overall, I don't think this hurts my overall rating.

FF5: Well... it's not the best. (Did somebody say "Pokemon-ish"? I don't think it's THAT bad). But I can always find WORSE for you! Don't make me proove myself and find worse. Please.

Gameplay

Okay, so we have FF10 #2 now, what with its awesome 3d graphics, and actual voices, so on. It is completely unfair to judge a game re-released from the early 90s to a game made about 10 years later. So, when I talk about what's good about the Super Nintendo FF games, I compare this game to games from the same generation of consoles.

FF5: It's short. Hoo boy, that 100 hours I posted was meant only for FF6. If you're good, you can dash through this in about 20 hours. And that's finding most everything along the way. But short can be good: it gives it excellent replayability. It's entirely my opinion, but I wasn't a fan of the job system.

FF6: You don't HAVE to take very long on this one, but it's more fun that way. Finding all the characters (twice, sometimes), and the espers, and learning all the spells (ultima, anyone?) makes the game more entertaining than rushing. Storyline keeps things moving, and also adds entertainment; when you first meet Gau, what can be better? "Mr. Thou..."

Overall, for its time, FF6 had to be the best game ever. FF5 wasn't that great, but since it never was released before...
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Sound

Well, Let's see. The Music is flat out awesome. (You should hear some of the OST's of these games!)
And yes, the sound has lost a Tad of Quality coming to the PSX, however, there's a good reason for it. Mainly, the SNES uses an SPU (Sound Processing Unit) to ouput audio, and the format of the music is pretty much like playing back MIDI with a soundfont. Well, since the PSX's SPU Can't do that without a specially coded engine, It can read the audio much easier If It's in a waveform format (like CD-Audio). So, the music (to my knowledge) was basically recoded from the SPU of the SNES, and encoded into waveform audio for use on the PSX. Thus, they had to slightly deplete the quality because the music had to be loaded into upper memory all at once, and might've been to large in waveform format.
Anyway, a bit of technical insight.
But, the difference is not really noticeable, and the sound continues to bring the game to life!
Sound: 9/10

Gameplay

For gameplay I will say this:

FF5:
Ok. First off, yes It may not have the hugest storyline ever. I know that It seems quick and typical, HOWEVER, It's really not that bad. (BTW, to se the record straight, FF5 has NEVER been called the best of the FF series.)
The fact that the storyline is (I will admit) a bit typical, actually can improve Gameplay.
WHAT! Wait a minute, I didn't say improve did I?
YES I DID!
Beleive it or not, since the storyline is fairly quickish, it actually makes the game very desireable to replay! I'm not sure why, but It's one of those "You have to see to understand" sorta things.
Overall, I would say the gameplay in FF5 is very smooth and keeps the player amused for quite a while.
Gameplay : 9/10
Now moving on...
FF6:
Well, I'm not sure what everyone else is talking about saying that this is the worst RPG ever. They apparently don't even know what RPG means. This is perhaps (one of) the best RPG's in existence. The FMV's first off, can match (if not surpass) FF9. The gameplay still retains the classic RPG style Graphics, but have nice detail for this type on game engine (Just a breif vut in here, I'm a programmer myself, and I've done lot's of work making games such as RPG's and let me tell you, the GFX for this game are really nice considering the trouble it takes to make them)
Anyway, I beleive that this could possibly be one of the smoothes gameplay engines out there. I will agree that the 14 characters was a bit out there, but It can actually be a really cool twist when you play it
Gameplay: 10/10
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Sound

Wow. The sound in these games is absolutely remarkable. Final Fantasy 6 has one of the most diverse, interesting, and most importantly, great sounding soundtracks ever! Every song in the game fits the mood perfectly, and the sound quality is also top notch (although compared to the Snes versions the sound is more "tinny" and lacks the punch that the Snes versions had, especially the Final Fantasy 6 battle theme) An added bonus to the already great sound is the bonus cd that comes along with the package. It doesn't have all the songs I would pick to go on the cd, but it's still a nice bonus.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Final Fantasy 6 is phenomenal. The battle system allows deep customization of characters. Using the innovative "Esper System" you can choose which magic you want your character to learn. There is no limit to how many characters can learn a spell or how many spells a character can learn. Once your character learns a magic spell (which takes time because it requires a certain amount of experience points) he will know it for the rest of the game. Also, characters stats can be permanetly altered depending on which esper you have equipped when you level up. Reach lvl 99 and discover you have forgotten to equip an esper to your character? Another lvl 70 character will be able to destroy the lvl 99 character. Another great thing is that each character has a special ability only he/she can do, making each one very different (though it also makes some much more powerful) There are also many secrets to be found. It will take at least 80 hours to get all the characters and secrets in the game (probably longer). Final Fantasy 5 also has great gameplay, as it introduces the job system, which allows you to turn your character into a certain class (warrior, mage, ninja, etc.) However, the games do have loading times that were non-existant in the Snes games, which is very unfortunate. If you didn't play the old games you won't notice mind it, though.
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Summary

On with the new and gone with the old is what we would say when it comes to video game consoles, but what about the games we have come to bond with? There are numerous games that will forever be missed and never to be seen again because of this coercive change, and the Final Fantasy titles were a few of them. Square definitely listened to our prayers and took a step through time to deliver us the most anticipated RPG mix ever, called Final Fantasy Anthology.

For those that do not know, Final Fantasy Anthology is an archive of two popular and admired games: Final Fantasy 5 and Final Fantasy 6. As a veteran Final Fantasy player, I was shocked beyond belief to here that Square was actually going to initiate an action such as this. Fortunately they did so with pride, so we can all finally enjoy the sweet rewards that these two games have to offer. Both titles delivered the best and most entertaining RPG gameplay since Zelda 64. Although they are considered "old school", they sure do exceed beyond other games, entertainment wise, of the same genre like Quest 64 for example. I apprciate the fact that older RPG's still compete very well against other competetors such as the Breath of Fire or Dragon Warrior series. This just shows that games with simple standards have potential in leaping towards the number one slot in the realm of RPG's.

Talk about caliber and most sophisticated stories ever, well for Final Fantasy 6 anyway. There is enough interest in the plot of FF6 that will convince even Steven Spielberg to suggest creating a movie out of it. There is enough adventure related plots that will have Mario, or Sonic for that matter, jealous. Ahh, and the drama found in FF6 is precisely something to look forward to. With all my experience with video games, the concept of drama were solemnly used in the past. It used to be "I kick your butt" in Street Fighter 2 and "I'll burn your soul" in Castlevania, but now stories have taken itself to different levels. I consider FF6 to be a large leap towards what more games have today which is taking the concept of drama to a more in-depth out look. I found most of the drama related themes to be very touching while some were just plain hilarious. For example, twin brothers Sabin and Edgar must choose to see who claims to be king while the other must abandon the castle. This is all determined by the flip of a mere coin. Become a king because of a 50/50 decision? Whoa, this is something to look forward to alright. Then it gets very emotional and the extra little unknown events start to manifest to complicate the story even more. You think the plot twist in Silent Hill 2 was surprising, wait until you experience this little beauty and see what happens. Although, Final Fantasy 5 is another story. I found FF5's plot to be satisfactory work in my book. The story was blunt and everything was predictable. The way the characters interacted were so plain and had minimum style in attitude. I mean, "Ah, look, let us ask that guy who I believe will be a great asset to our team to join us for no good reason." and guess what, yes, the guy joins because he felt like the team needed him. He just felt like it? Even the plot in Mario Party 3 had more meaning than this, and the story found there was poor! Anyway, the story adds to the fun in gaming so if you do not like listening to plots, then the gameplay will very well keep you entertained.

Overall, this game is must for anybody out there looking for great quality RPG, old-school style of course. Not as fast paced as Devil May Cry and not as sophisticated as Metal Gear Solid, but it is still worth playing. Besides, Final Fantasy 5 never was shipped to America so this is your chance to take a small piece of unexperienced innovative RPG history. I enjoyed this game very much and took pride in every single minute I place within it. Get Final Fantasy Anthology, it is a definite winner and it comes with two games for the price of one plus a bonus music track! Great job Square.

Sound

What can I say, it is another Final Fantasy game. What I mean is that Final Fantasy titles have never failed amaze me with their melodic scores. Remember "Melodies of Life" in Final Fantasy 9, and "Eyes on Me" in Final Fantasy 8? Wow, those songs were awesome and for once, songs with quality. There is something about RPG music that I like, something that I cannot truly explain with precise detail. Final Fantasy Anthology has its own fair share of my music favorites, and are most likely not going to leave my mind for quite some time. I enjoy and remember them so much with intricate detail that I am actually able to play a few songs on my tenor sax. I play around sometime and people would comment on how great my songs were. I do not give myself credit, I pour out all my thanks to Square and their masterful skills in the area of music. Man, what else are they good at.

In conclusion, Final Fantasy Anthology is a great addition to the growing world of RPG's, do not miss out on this one.

Gameplay

Ahh, everything is so basic it is hard to get used to this type of gaming after many hours with newer games like Resident Evil Code: Veronica. I am so used to more rescent games that it would take quite a while to get used to its simplistic ways. Eventually I did and this is what I had to comment on.

I acually played Final Fantasy 6 for the SNES,(A.K.A Final Fantasy 3 for the U.S.) and nothing changed, gameplay wise. Everything felt the same as if I played the original yesterday. The original characters were there and also the popular chocobos and mogs are back to show once more how awesome they are. This also goes for Final Fantasy 5 except that I was not able to play this particular title until I got this game. Nothing beats the original and this takes back the original at its best.

Despite the return of the crystal concept in Final Fantasy 9, this game, particularly Final Fantasy 5, has once again reminded us that the past do influence the future. Magic, swords, dragons, airships, boats, land exploring, knights, black mages, summoners, and numerous more aspects have returned for yet another encore. Battles are pretty much the same, you encounter enemies randomly and engage in a temporary skirmish. With the active time battle system, you cannot help but reminisce about the past. What this is basically is a battle where each group, the good guys and bad, had their own turn to attack without interruptions from the other group. I find this concept very easy to comprehend because it is after all in its most simple form. Although, it could get repetive sometimes and very annoying when you are relentlessly attacked once every second outside of battle. The most I could do was escape and avoid another five minutes of havoc.

When it comes to control schemes, this title beauty should be real easy to comprehend. I was used to playing with the SNES controller but did not find anything significantly different from the Playstation. The most basic button is "X". This solely represents the main key to all your traveling. Talking, initiating commands, and any other important aspects are done by a press of this little button. Forget about walking diagonally because the characters have no other concept but walking in vertical and horizontal patterns. But, who really cares as long as you are able to get to your designated spot right? I did not have any problem getting used to the controls and I do not see why anybody else would so either. Basic knowledge is key and everybody should posses them.

Everything was difficult all over again. Finally, a challenge that I desired for in such a long time in any RPG title. What I mean by difficult is the way the whole battle system is commenced. The monsters actually have stronger powers for once, enough to threaten me in failure. Compared to most Final Fantasy games, these two titles would have to be the most difficult. Square has gotten too easy with later titles like Final Fantasy 8. I mean, beating FF8 was a as simple as snapping a finger and not a single sweat to be seen on my forehead. I was sure glad that they brought back these two for me to experience what difficulty felt like once again. And they say playing horror genres like Resident Evil are nerve wrecking, hah!, try playing Final Fantasy 6 with the minimum amount of arsenals you get sometimes will make you wish that a save spot was nearby, but until then sweaty hands and controllers collide. Hard times are ahead most definitely. I always play any Final Fantasy game twice: once for the purpose of beating it and the story, and the second to accumalate as much as I could what the game has to offer item wise and all the extra things. My many failed attempts to beat this one secret boss in Final Fantasy 5 left me with nothing else but to give up. I do not usually give up easily, but the sprite confronted here was ridiculously difficult beyond belief. As much as I despise not passing a certain event, I still admired the difficult road it provided. I love a good challenge, and my desire for one was surely quenched. Score one for Square on most difficult boss.

Overall, superb gameplay with many elements that can only be discovered in any other Final Fantasy title. If you prefer fast action, this game is not for you. I suggest The Bouncer or Devil May Cry to satisfy your needs, but then again you might want to give it a try.
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Summary

Final Fantasy V:
When I heard that Squaresoft was releasing Final Fantasy Anthologies, I was ecstatic to know that part V, which had never been released in the United States before, was going to be in the package. I honestly could not care that part VI would be in there, because I had already decided back when it was out on the SNES as part 3, that it was the Worst. RPG. Ever. (And yes, that includes Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest and the dreadfully horrible Saga Frontier.) For such a long time, I had heard how Final Fantasy V was considered the best in the series and that included even the newer releases, 7, 8, and 9. So with that in mind, I anxiously slipped into another Squaresoft fantasy world with building hopes and anticipation. Approximately 25 hours later and "The End" staring back at me, I was disappointed in "the greatest Final Fantasy game in the whole series". While the game had the classic "fantasy" overture, it seemed lacking, perhaps because by now, I had been spoiled on CG graphics of the newer Final Fantasies. I do realize that going back in time to play these classics, that you can't expect multi-million dollar productions ala Final Fantasy 7, you can't expect soul-stirring CD quality music from a game that was originally cart-based. You can't expect eye-popping graphics and stunning visuals from a game that was on a system that will soon to be two console generations old. However, when you read from various videogame publications and internet websites about how a game is considering the "best" of an entire series, then there should be a WOW! factor, or as one person said about Metal Gear Solid in a magazine review, "Holy Crap!! That's Cool!!" Unfortunately, neither happened to me while I was playing part V. In fact, during the game, it made me wish that there were character trading stations located throughout the game, so that you can trade in your shallow boring characters for newer, more interesting ones.

**SPOILER ALERT** Even when Galuf passes away, I felt like saying, "Hurry up and die old man, so I can get on with the game, sheesh!!!" **SPOILER OVER**

In closing, I suppose I was just looking for more when I'm playing what's supposed to be the best game of all the Final Fantasies. But alas, in my opinion, Final Fantasy V was above average mediocrity at best.

Final Fantasy VI:
I pretty much think Worst. RPG. Ever. sums it up best, but I will elaborate. When I say that Final Fantasy VI is the worst RPG ever, that means out of all the RPG's I have ever played no matter who made it, it is the all time worst RPG that I have ever experienced. I haven't played every single RPG that is out there, but I have played quite a few, from the current releases, all the way back to the original Dragon Warrior and Zelda. And along the way, I have played some bad RPG's. Legend of Dragoon, Saga Frontier, Dragon Warrior IV, Drahken, Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest come to mind, and yet Final Fantasy VI, to me, is worse than them all. Why? Well, for starters, there are too many characters. 14 characters, 1 final boss. Sounds fair right? By the time I had gotten to Setzer and heard his sob story, I was thinking, if all of these characters' lives are so freaking sad and pathetic, why don't they all blow their brains out...? Nearly every review that I have read about this game gushes about the character development. Character development entails building upon your characters strenghts and weaknesses. The ability to have almost every single character to learn the most powerful black and white magic spell cheapens the experience. I have read and heard many complaints that Final Fantasy 7,8, and 9 were way too easy. Final Fantasy VI should also be on that list. Where is the challenge when you have 14 characters who are as powerful as the next person? And then you have the Final Boss Kefka. How ridiculous was he? He never evokes fear in the hearts of the player. Who is afraid of someone who laughs like a hyena every few seconds? And to top it off, he has at or around 70,000 hit points. C'mon!! Zeromus from Final Fantasy 2 had 110,000+ hit points!! And even with all your characters maxed out, he was still a force to deal with. Not Kefka though. He could be defeated in less than a minute. Oh sure, he had the Fallen One spell that reduces everyone's hit points to 1, but gee whiz, all my characters know Cure 3, so that was a wasted spell. If one of you dies during the final battle, don't worry, another equally powerful warrior will step up to the plate, but hey, everyone knows Life 3, so dying should be impossible right? So much for a challenging finish. For those who like their RPG's with many characters, it would appear that they are afraid of a challenge, and don't want to have to think the battles out in order to be successful.
Final Fantasy V:
Overall: 2/5
Final Fantasy VI:
Overall 1/5... (and giving it a one seems too generous...)

Sound

Final Fantasy V:
The music in FFV had that "fantasy-esque" sound to it. From the towns, to the caves, and all points in between, Nobuo Uematsu did an above average job considering the technology he had to work with at the time. The sound effects in the game aren't anything to write home about.
Final Fantasy VI:
Worst. Music. Ever. Pretty. Sucky. Sound. Effects. Too. What amazes me in reading other reviews about FF6 is that people claim that the music in the game is the best soundtrack ever, and then proceed to bash the selections that were put on the music compilation. If the soundtrack of the game is the best ever, then you shouldn't have any problems with the selections on the CD. A few reviewers went so far as to say something along the lines of: "Best Music of any FF game," and then a few lines later say, "Why did they put these songs on the CD? They were horrible!!" How can the best soundtrack of all time be horrible? Maybe I just missed something here... How can Mr. Uematsu create something so wonderful as the music to Final Fantasy 2, and then turn around and create something so horrible as FF VI? Yes, it seems everyone just gushes over the Opera House music, but one song does not a great soundtrack make, and for those who claimed to like the Opera House music and the music when Celes jumps off the cliff in her "botched suicide"... that's the same music. The first has operatic overtones, the second one has classical overtones. The music on the Phantom Train was o.k. I liked the Opera House music. I hated the overworld music, especially on the Veldt. The music on the floating continent was horrendous at best. The music it plays once the world is ripped apart nearly lulled me to sleep. I seriously wonder if Mr. Uematsu drank too much Sake when he created this music. He must have been sober when he did the Opera House Music, because the rest is just terrible.
In closing, Final Fantasy Anthologies was a disappointment even for old standards. The fact that the game ran faster and had less load times on the SNES than on the Playstation was disappointing. The Playstation is supposed to be leaps and bounds ahead technologically of the SNES, but it doesn't show here. And despite when Mneah thinks, disliking this game does not make one an idiot. The fact that Ticktock does not like the game is just him/her voicing their opinion. The Final Fantasy Series is, in my opinion the greatest RPG series out there, however there are those who find fault with everyone of them. Final Fantasy Anthologies just has more faults, in my opinion for games that are considered the best of the series, and the greatest soundtracks of the series.
P.S. Videogamereview.com... Hurry up and allow us to post reviews on Final Fantasy Chronicles.... two of the Best. RPG's. Ever.

Gameplay

Final Fantasy V:
Gameplay is pretty basic. You wander around the gaming world trying to prevent the elemental crystals from being stolen. As in any RPG, you will be confronted by monsters of all shapes and sizes hellbent on preventing your progress. During a fight, you either choose a standard attack, defend, run, use magic (if possible), or use an item. The object is to deplete the monster(s) hit points before he/she/it/they deplete yours. Simple.
Final Fantasy VI:
I will admit Squaresoft did change up the way you fight in Final Fantasy VI. No longer do characters fight with just the basic weapons, swords, staffs, and the like. Now you can use drills, chainsaws, blitzes and other techniques. However, a lot of the fighting techniques were just plain stupid. The worst that I can think of was the little girl who drew the monster's pictures. And Gogo the mimic... he/she is a character best left undiscovered. And Gau... I would have him to jump in the monsters just so I could leave him behind. Out of all 14 characters, Shadow was the only one who I remotely liked.
Final Fantasy V:
Gameplay 2/5
Final Fantasy VI:
Gameplay 2/5
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Summary

This is one of the greatest RPGS of all time. FF6 was the best RPG I have ever played and easily outclasses the newer final fantasies in every way. Although FF5 was not as good as FF6 it was still an excellent game. FF6 had the best storyline I have ever seen and each character gets involved in the game except for the two secret characters. The newer final fantasies (7,8 and 9), cannot compare to FF6. They have hastily contructed storylines with shabby music. FF7 was vaguely good although Sephiroth was a blatant rip of of Kefka. Seraphim Sephiroth or whatever his name was looks surprisingly similar to the final Kefka. Obviously Tick Tock, that other person who posted a review was an idiot who doesnt appreciate great games. FF7 was just a copy of FF6 with a few changes made to the storyline, the weapons were even derived from the atmaweapons.

Sound

The sound for FF6 was the best ever. FF5 has slightly pants sound effects, but the music is still good. FF6 had the best soundtrack ever in a game. The atmaweapon music, the Kefka music, Doma castle, floating continent, all brilliant. Although the PS version of the FF's has lowered the quality of the sound it is still brilliant.

Gameplay

Gameplay in FF6 was excellent. Although the load times for battles and saves had a lot of room for improvement. Each character had his/her own unique skill which added a lot of variety to the game. The magic system was easily the best out of all final fantasies. The combat was far more interesting than in the other FF's. FF7 was the easiest game I have ever played. I completed it in 2 weeks and beat ruby and emerald weapon on the same day first try. FF6, although having an easy end boss was difficult in many places. The floating continent was the most difficult part of the entire game where the enemies decimated you easily. You needed to train for ages to be able to beat some of the bosses and training up your characters was addictive. You always wanted to train your characters, get more magic and become as strong as you good. I got hooked on this game by the time I left Figaro castle.
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Summary

Every once in a while a company will come out with a game that should have stayed on the cutting room floor. So should have been the case when Square brought out Final Fantasy 3/6. This game was unbearable from beginning to end. First off, having 14 characters was too much. Why on earth would you need an old man and a little girl that draws pictures? And even if you had to have them for a particular reason, they should have done their purpose and you dumped them like a bad habit. I found myself trying desperately to get rid of the characters. Hoping somewhere along the way they would die, having no emotional attachment to them. One good thing about that is you can lose some of the characters. Thankfully you can leave Gau in the Veldt, and GRANDPA in the loony tower. Even the story line was a farce. Find espers, learn their magic and move on. With that said, why can every character learn magic? By the time you are ready for the end, everyone knows ultima, so it isn't even a challenge. Not that Kefka was much of a boss anyway. All you need to defeat him with is to throw 7 imp halberds at him. I even timed myself. I put haste on Shadow and had him throw 7 imp halberds, while everyone else was defending. It took a mere 20 seconds. I don't know what Square was thinking when they made this game, but it was a total disgrace and doesn't deserve to have the name Final Fantasy.

Sound

And now to the worst part of the game, sound or more importantly, the music. A crying shame that the music that was so wonderfully done in Final Fantasy 2/4 was actually done by the same person in 3. To the hair pulling Pink Panther like music in ZoZo, to the nauseating music on the floating continent. And granted that the Opera music was good, one song does not make the rest sound better. Being that the game was from Square, I expected more, but was greatly disappointed.

Gameplay

There isn't much to say about gameplay. Basically nothing was a challenge. Like I mentioned in the summary, with every character learning magic, nothing stood a chance. The characters were bland, the magic was boring and the final boss was a complete joke. Then there was the ending. Nothing can beat the 15 million shots of the air ship. But when a game like Final Fantasy 3 stunk as much as it did, what can you really expect?
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