Final Fantasy V - Reception

Final Fantasy V has sold 2.45 million units on the Super Famicom, (including 2 million copies during its first two months of release) while the Japanese Game Boy Advance version has sold nearly 260,000 copies as of December 2007. Final Fantasy Collection sold over 400,000 copies in 1999, making it the 31st best selling release of that year in Japan. The North American release of Final Fantasy Anthology sold 364,000 copies as of 2004.

While not initially released in North America, the game received mixed reception from import reviews. 1UP.com's staff stated that while the game's story was very weak, the gameplay was "another story", heavily praising the job system and the feature to combine abilities from different job classes, and gave it a score of B-. Allgame's review shared similar sentiments regarding the storyline and job system, adding praise for the addition of hidden events and items for players to search for, giving the game a score of 3.5 out of 5. RPGamer found that the game improved on the visual presentation, menu system, and overall field navigation of Final Fantasy IV, but the "maddeningly high encounter rate", "average sound selection", and "washed out" color palette hurt the game's presentation, giving it a score of 5/10.

Critics likewise gave mixed reviews of the Anthology version of the game. GameSpot criticized the game for having "paper-thin characters" and a cliche plot, augmented by a lack of character development during the game's fetch quests. They went further to say that the translation was terrible and overshadowed by the two previous fan efforts. IGN called Final Fantasy V's graphics "dated" but cited "incredibly engrossing" job system as the game's highlight and praised its music. Electronic Gaming Monthly repeated the sentiments towards the job system, adding that while the game suffered from long load times periodically, Final Fantasy V was the main reason to buy the collection.

In comparison, reviews of the Game Boy Advance re-release of the game were mostly positive. GameSpot's review regarded the game more favorably than its PlayStation counterpart, calling it "better than ever" and citing the strong localization of the script and extensive special features. They further stated that while the game's characters seemed unlikable and that the plot felt "predictable or trite", they felt both aspects were superior to many of today's games, giving the game a score of 8.5. Nintendo Power stated that "while playing Final Fantasy V is a chore on the PlayStation, it's good fun on the GBA because of the vastly improved translation and new features", further calling it the "definitive" version of one of the series' best titles. IGN gave the game a score of 8.5, calling it a "must-own" for the portable system and describing it further as always an "entertaining and surprisingly deep role-playing game". 1UP.com stated the port of the game from the Super Famicom to the Game Boy Advance was "rock solid", and added that while the game's story started off at a slow pace, it gradually improved. The review further praised the addition of features and removal of questionable ones that had been added to the Anthology version of the game. GameDaily gave the game a score of 7/10, noting that while enjoyable, the high encounter rate, the necessity to constantly engage in battle to gain abilities through the job system, and other aspects made the game feel repetitive at times.