This week's comic is loosely based on a story event in Final Fantasy 5, one of my favorite RPG's of my childhood. XD FF5 was actually the first RPG I ever played; before then, I was reluctant to even try one out. When I was small, not knowing anything about the genre and seeing so many options in battle menus made me worry that I might choose the wrong option. A friend came over to my house one day bringing with him his older brother's Japanese copy of Final Fantasy 5 for the Super Nintendo. He explained to me some of the abilities of the character classes and showed me some battles which incited enough curiosity for me to want to borrow it. I felt my way through the game for hours, buying one of every item in every shop, not knowing what anything meant or was used for. I eventually got stuck on the battle against the fourth boss.

I didn't understand much of what was going on, but was really getting into it. Later that summer, I found and excitingly bought a copy of Final Fantasy 4 in a game rental store for $20! I burned through the game, loving it and obsessed. I wasn't actually able to beat the final boss until a few months later though due to never considering the idea of "level grinding." @_@ Playing through Final Fantasy 4 in English taught me the basics of the system, allowing me to play FF5. =)

Final Fantasy 5 will always hold a place in my heart. Watching the opening and title screen always takes me back to the early summer mornings of my youth when I'd enthusiastically wake up yearning to play it. I love watching the title screen as the text silently rises out from a still watery surface, then a dragon image and the squaresoft logo slowly fade in as water ripples slowly oscillate from the title. It sits there silently giving off a majestic atmosphere; very classy stuff! -something I don't think I've seen or felt in any other game. I also love how the opening credits are presented. About half a minute after the title settles, you're presented with the main hero, Bartz, riding his chocobo across a grassy plain through the title text, slowly making their way from the left to the right side of the screen as the game's music theme plays. I think the sequence sets the tone of the game really well. I was disappointed that for the gameboy advanced port, instead of doing it this way, they present you with a blaring unneeded setting summary "cinematic." You have to wait for about a minute at the new title screen before the old title screen shows up which I'm kinda betting many players will probably never see.

There are many reasons why I love this game, but due to being very tired, I'm only going to cover a few note worthy mentions. XD

1) There are many small optional things that exist in FF5's world that add a lot to the fun of the game. They number from small caves with treasures, secret weapons, optional bosses, hidden summons, secret passages, and even optional character back-story sequences. I think one particularly interesting facet of the game that I have a hard time recalling being in other console RPG's is that there are towns on the world map that are completely optional, some of which are completely off the story's beaten path. It feels great to play a game that has more of a world than what is presented before you. I think because it doesn't serve any real importance to the story, it adds so much more to the experience because not only does it represent the concept that the world doesn't revolve around your character's personal quest, but it's like a reward for being explorative and curious.

2) One of the most famous things about Final Fantasy 5 is its job change system (jobs such as knight, monk, wizard, etc.). You're able to change character jobs in the first and third games, but this is the first time your job level is completely independent to your character's "actual" level , characters can learn a variety of job specific abilities from a single job, and most importantly, you are able to equip abilities learned from one job onto a different job. It's the basis from which Final Fantasy Tactic's Job system was built on! You are free to experiment, mixing different jobs, with different abilities, different party make-ups, strategies, etc. It can get really exciting and fun thinking of all the different combinations you can play around with. One of the especially awesome things about FF5 and its job system is that every character in your party has their very own sprite/design, specific for that character for that particular job! No one person looks the same! XD I love it!

Okay, that's it for now. so tired... sorry -_-

I want to take the time now to thank those of you who have donated and helped spread the word of Life in Aggro! =D I keep forgetting to write this; I've been really meaning to. I whole heartedly wanted to show my appreciation for your support and following! Thank you; all of you! >.<