Since I reviewed both Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI I will only focus on the major differences between the PSX and Super Nintendo versions.

As the name implies, Final Fantasy VII wasn't the first of the series. It started over 10 years before that game, in a desperate attempt by Squaresoft to save its business on the verge of bankruptcy. It proved to be a good gamble since the series is now up to over 15 games and spinoffs.

Final Fantasy Anthology copied and pasted the two games that preceded FF VII: Final Fantasy VI (know as Final Fantasy III on the SNES) and Final Fantasy V, which had never been released in North America beforehand. Both were enhanced... but also "dehanced" in a way.

Graphics: 9/10

The game graphics are exactly the same as their SNES counterpart. While they look rather pale next to FF VII - the characters look like blobs of pixels - they were pretty good for their time with abundant use of 3D.

On the PSX both have been enhanced with introductory movies that were very nicely done. I say introductory because they are set right before the action in the game starts. For FF VI, you see Terra being put in her Magitek suite while Kefka - who looks even crazier with his clown makeup - overlooks. You also see some key scenes like Celes throwing her bouquet off the balcony and Edgar tossing his piped coin. They were much better-drawn than in Final Fantasy Chronicles - they actually moved fluidly rather than taking pauses as Cecil does before the Red Wings takes off.

The FF V one was much shorter and wasn't done as well. Butz almost looks like a woman and . However the dragon was well-animated and moved fluidly

Music: 7/10

That low score doesn't come from FF VI, don't worry. The music is exactly the same, in all its epicness.

The problem comes from FF V. For some reasons the PSX games had many tracks sounding different from the soundtrack, i.e. from the SNES game. It did improve tracks like the first overworld theme; the core of the track now has realistic trumpets rather than that, er, muffled sound. However, tracks like Search the Light (the last part of the last dungeon) sounded much less epic because the trumpet track got lost and the two last battle themes just didn't sound the same.

Addictiveness: 8/10

FF V pulls down the addictiveness score. Sure it has a lot to offer (finding summon monsters, getting the ultimate weapons), but it doesn't have the enhanced elements from FF VI.

That game lets you track how well you develop your character. Each time you finish you will see the progress of all of them - mostly which spells they acquired, but also skills like Rage and Blue Magic. You will see ALL characters, including the bonus ones you might not have found on the first try.

Story: 8/10

Once again, FF V pulls down the score.

This game is the typical "curse of the odd Final Fantasy" I discovered. Indeed, all odd FF game up to Final Fantasy IX (except FF VII) had very weak, if not inexistent, plots. In FF V, the character development is weak and the links between them isn't very subtle compared to Final Fantasy IV with Cecil. You only find out about Butz in sidequests. And Faris' pirate speak, while more realistic than the FF V translation of the SNES game, is downright annoying to read. It might have been another story if the game had been voiced.

FF VI, on the other hand, has a very rich cast of characters and all main ones play an important role in the story. The plot develops slowly and is very coherent. It kept me at the edge of my seat a few times.

Depth: 9/10

This time both games have good depth. The main storyline has plenty to keep you busy while the sidequests - what you don't strictly need to do in order to defeat the final boss - are numerous in proportion with the game's year of production. In other words FF V has less to offer than FF VI, but more than FF IV.

Difficulty: 7/10

Once again the score is skewed because of FF V.

When I first played the game I was just incapable of defeating that boss that concludes the first third of the game. It was the soundtrack that kept me motivated - the Decisive Battle is one of the best themes of its kind - and I finally overcame the game.

On its side, FF VI is moderately difficult. Like many RPGs, the key is grinding, grinding and some more grinding. You also need to read carefully what villagers have to say as they give you crucial clues to further your quest.

In short, Final Fantasy Anthology is only really worth it for Final Fantasy VI because of the "index of progression" you get. Even if you use a walkthrough, keeping note of the skills you acquired can be hard. For Final Fantasy V, you are better off with the hacked English translation for the SNES. The music is generally better and Faris speaks normal English.

I knew there was something strange about the soundtrack in the PSX version. I mostly disagree with what you said about the story section though. While I do agree that 5 didn't have a great story, it wasn't bad, and the other odd numbered Final Fantasy games had good storylines. Then again, I suppose we won't agree on everything. After all, everyone's got their own opinion. Overall though, I think you did a great job with this review.

gamerforlifeforever2 : The story line in itself was OK, but it was rather pale compared to the even Final Fantasys. The characters didn't get as much development and the story was just going left and right without the coherence of even Final Fantasy II (the real one).