Written by Oli Unwin

Final Fantasy V, a Super Famicom (Super Nintendo) classic in Japan never saw original release in the US, unlike Final Fantasy IV and VI (as Final Fantasy II and III), and thus hadn't until recently had the support behind it outside Japan, that many gamers believe it deserves. The US audience was only introduced to the game as it was released as part of the Final Fantasy Anthology for the PlayStation. Therefore the music has been relatively unheard in America until Anthology, when a Music CD included with the Anthology pack was available.

This is a shame, as Final Fantasy V's music, although dated (it was 1992 when released in Japan) still has its own charm about it, and its melodies draw you in, and it is quite easy to see how good this soundtrack would be if recorded on today's sophisticated synthesizers and possibly orchestrated (for some such tracks look for the Final Fantasy V: Dear Friends Album).

Final Fantasy V comes on 2 CDs and contains all the traditional tunes associated with Final Fantasy: The Battle (Possibly 4th Best behind IV's, IX's and X's), Victory Fanfare, Mambo De Chocobo, and World Map (Fair but not amazing). However, the really great tunes of the series have serious competition from some of Final Fantasy V's excellent tunes, Pirates Ahoy!, Sealed Away, Walking the Snowy Mountains, Musica Machina, The Decisive Battle and Final Fantasy.

Disc 1 is in my view the better of the two CDs, mainly as the most recognizable tunes are on this disc, and it is not the repetitive. Disc 2 is weaker as it is comprised of the piano piece that the main character learns throughout the game, and is not that interesting to listen to.

Those of you who are fortunate enough to know the game and/or its soundtrack may be surprised at the exclusion of one particular song from the soundtrack. However, as the famous phrase says, "always save the best 'til last", and that is what I intend to do. This tune is probably my second or third favorite Final Fantasy tune of all time, behind Final Fantasy VII's Aeris' Theme, and possibly Final Fantasy IX's You Are Not Alone! This tune is Battle With Gilgamesh, otherwise known as 'The Battle with Gilgamesh'! It is my favorite battle theme, and sums up all things Final Fantasy; it is catchy and reasonably simple, if a little too fast to recreate yourself!

Overall Final Fantasy V may lack the mainstream appeal that other Final Fantasy games and their soundtracks enjoy, but it simply doesn't get the attention it deserves, this soundtrack will cost you a little less than most other Final Fantasy soundtracks, and is well worth buying. It lacks the repetitiveness of some of the other Final Fantasy soundtracks (Don't even mention Final Fantasy X's endless Song of Prayer!), and contains some superb tunes. Final Fantasy V's music is also less used on Square's Compilations due to lack in popularity, thus even more reason to buy this. I would only miss buying this soundtrack if you could find Final Fantasy IX's or Final Fantasy VI's soundtracks otherwise nothing beats this. I strongly urge you to buy this soundtrack, you will not be sorry!