Final Fantasy Anthology

Infobox VG| title = Final Fantasy Anthology


caption = "Final Fantasy Anthology"'s North American box art
developer = Square TOSE
publisher = vgrelease|NA=Square Electronic Arts|EU=SCE Europe
designer =
engine =
released = vgrelease|NA=October 5, 1999 [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_1999_Oct_5/ai_55993112 FINAL FANTASY Anthology Ships for the Playstation Game Console; Collector's Package of Two Classic Titles from Award-Winning FINAL FANTASY Series Hits U.S. Stores | Business Wire | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ] |EU=May 17, 2002
genre = Console role-playing game
modes = Single player, multiplayer
ratings = vgratings|ESRB=Teen|USK=Free For All|ELSPA=11+|OFLCA=G8+
platforms = PlayStation
media = 2 CD-ROMs
requirements =
input =
series = "Final Fantasy"

"Final Fantasy Anthology" is a compilation of two "Final Fantasy" console role-playing games by Square for the Sony PlayStation. "Final Fantasy V" and "Final Fantasy VI" are featured in the North American edition, while "Final Fantasy IV" and "Final Fantasy V" are in the PAL region edition. The games were ported by TOSE from the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System versions. "Final Fantasy Anthology" was published in North America on October 5, 1999 by Square Electronic Arts and in the PAL region on May 17, 2002 by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

In Japan, all three games were released for the PlayStation both individually and packaged together as part of a limited edition box set called "Final Fantasy Collection". Although all three games differ little from the original Japanese versions in terms of gameplay, graphics, and sound, a number of extras were added, including art galleries, bestiaries, and two full motion video opening and ending sequences not present in the original releases.

Gameplay

The gameplay in both Final Fantasy V and VI use many standard role-playing elements; characters grow in strength by gaining experience points from random encounters with monsters on the overworld or in a dungeon. Experience culminates in a "level up" in which party members' attributes, such as hit points or magic power, increase. Like previous "Final Fantasy" installments, the games consist of four basic modes of gameplay: an overworld map, town and dungeon field maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The overworld map is a scaled-down version of the game's fictional world, which the player uses to direct characters to various locations.

Active Time Battle (ATB) system, in which time flows continuously for both the player and enemies during combat. [cite book | year=1999 | editor=Square Enix staff | title=Final Fantasy Anthology instruction manual | pages=17, 18, 14, 5, 58, 59 | publisher=Square Enix | id=SLUS-00879GH]

Final Fantasy V uses the Job system while keeping a predetermined amount of characters in the party at all times, whereas Final Fantasy VI has a large number of selectable playable characters which often leave and reenter the party, or the large party splits up and you must play through the segment as that party, then switch to another, then the other, etc.

Development

The original Super NES version of "Final Fantasy V" wasn't previously released outside of Japan (although an English language software localization was produced for an abortive Microsoft Windows port). "Final Fantasy VI" had previously been released in North America as "Final Fantasy III"; Ted Woolsey's translated and localized script from the Super NES was used for "Final Fantasy Anthology", with minor changes (e.g. the item "Fenix Down" was renamed "Phoenix Down" to match later games in the series), though his name was omitted from the credits in this release. Some images had been censored or modified for the original North American release, and in "Anthology", all of the original Japanese graphics have been restored.

Neither "Final Fantasy IV", "Final Fantasy V", nor "Final Fantasy VI" had previously been released in Europe in any form. Fan translations of "Final Fantasy IV" and "Final Fantasy V" had been made by the J2e Translations and RPGe teams, respectively; they differ from their "Final Fantasy Anthology" releases only in terms of the script. Alternatively, this compilation was released in Europe also, titled "Final Fantasy Anthology: European Edition".

Music from FFV and FFVI

Infobox Album
Name = Music from FFV and FFVI
Type = Soundtrack
Artist = Nobuo Uematsu


Cover size = 150
Length = 56:54
Producer = Nobuo Uematsu
Reviews =

The "Music from FFV and FFVI" bonus disc contains a selection of tracks, taken from the original soundtrack releases for "Final Fantasy V" (track 1–9) and "Final Fantasy VI" (10–22), respectively. The CD does not contain the background music of the game's full motion video sequences and is only available in the initial release, not the "Greatest Hits" edition.

tracklist
collapsed = yes
headline = Track listing
title1 = FFV Opening Theme
length1 = 2:37
title2 = The Dungeon
length2 = 2:29
title3 = We're Pirates!
length3 = 2:07
title4 = City Theme
length4 = 2:17
title5 = Parting Sorrow
length5 = 2:32
title6 = Mambo de Chocobo
length6 = 1:13
title7 = Distant Homeland
length7 = 2:42
title8 = Music Box Memories
length8 = 1:50
title9 = To My Beloved Friend
length9 = 3:55
title10 = The Phantom Forest
length10 = 3:17
title11 = Phantom Train
length11 = 2:49
title12 = Wild West
length12 = 2:17
title13 = Kids Run Through the City
length13 = 2:42
title14 = Terra
length14 = 3:50
title15 = Slam Shuffle
length15 = 2:20
title16 = Spinach Rag
length16 = 2:13
title17 = Johnny C. Bad
length17 = 2:54
title18 = Mog
length18 = 1:54
title19 = Dark World
length19 = 3:03
title20 = Epitaph
length20 = 2:50
title21 = The Magic House
length21 = 2:32
title22 = The Prelude
length22 = 2:21

Reception

VG Reviews
Allgame = rating|4|5cite web|first=David |last= Borowski| title= allgame ((( Final Fantasy Anthology > Review )))|url=http://www.allgame.com/cg/agg.dll?p=agg&sql=1:20320~T1|publisher=Allgame|accessdate=2008-09-22]
GamePro = 4 of 5cite web|first=E.|last=Coli| title= Review: Final Fantasy Anthology |url=http://www.gamepro.com/article/reviews/4438/final-fantasy-anthology-ffvi/|date=2000-11-24|publisher=GamePro|accessdate=2008-09-22]
GSpot = 8.1 of 10cite web|first=Andrew|last= Vestal| title= Final Fantasy Anthology Review|url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps/rpg/finalfantasyanthology/review.html|date=1999-10-04|publisher=GameSpot|accessdate=2008-09-22]
IGN = 9 of 10cite web|first=Francesca |last= Reyes| title= Final Fantasy Anthology Review|url=http://psx.ign.com/articles/161/161674p1.html|date=1999-10-07|publisher=IGN|accessdate=2008-09-22]
GR = 85%cite web| title= Final Fantasy Anthology Reviews|url=http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/197336.asp|publisher=Game Rankings|accessdate=2008-09-22]
MC = 80 of 100cite web| title= Final Fantasy Anthology (psx: 1999): Reviews|url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/psx/finalfantasyanthology?q=anthology|publisher=Metacritic|accessdate=2008-09-22] "Final Fantasy Anthology" was met with mixed reviews, especially from North American audiences, who tended to be especially critical of the loading time inherent in the CD-ROM format utilized by the PlayStation but not in the original cartridge format utilized by the SNES. Players could expect a 2-4 second load time when accessing the items menus, and the transition between fight scenes also suffered from lags.

As the North American release did not include the PlayStation port of "Final Fantasy IV", that title was subsequently packaged with "Chrono Trigger" and released two years later as "Final Fantasy Chronicles" in 2001. The PlayStation port of "Final Fantasy VI" was released separately in Europe. The "Fast" disc speed of the PlayStation driver in the PlayStation 2 can be used to decrease load times in "Final Fantasy Anthology".Fact|date=August 2007

The game went quickly out of print,Fact|date=August 2007 especially when "Final Fantasy Chronicles" was released in 2001. In 2003, Square Enix re-released "Final Fantasy Anthology" as a PlayStation "Greatest Hits" game. [cite web | author=Morris, Tyler | date=2003-11-11 | title=Square Classics Hit it Cheap | url=http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q4-2003/110503b.html | work=RPGamer.com | accessdate=2007-08-17]

ee also

* Music of Final Fantasy V
* Music of Final Fantasy VI

References

External links

* [http://na.square-enix.com/games/anthology/ Official site (North American version)]
* [http://www.us.playstation.com/PSone/Games/Final_Fantasy_Anthology PlayStation.com game page]
*moby game|id=/final-fantasy-anthology|name="Final Fantasy Anthology"
* [http://www.kuponut.com/games/ffa/differences.html Differences between FFAnthology and original versions of games]