Why the lack of interest in FF5?

[Thilly 0]

I'm a longtime lurker-but-never-poster of InsaneDifficulty. I've always been a big fan of the site and the concept in general, as it's given me a way to stay connected with and continue to enjoy games I grew up loving.

But I've never understood the lack of modding for FF5. I assume it's because it wasn't released in the west during that era so it doesn't have the nostalgia effect that FF4 or FF6 have for most people. I know it's harder to get into older games when you don't have the binding effect of nostalgia. And of course the story and characters are kinda meh. But IMO it has some of the best game play and replay value of any of the older FFs. I've played through so many different types of playthroughs, with random jobs, crappy jobs, all mages, all melee, etc. I love it when a game has interesting equipment that makes a difference too.

I believe there is only 1 FF5 mod and it was only half completed and I don't think it's being worked on. I'd love to see an abrasive difficulty patch. Perhaps even a patch that changes the order you get the jobs.

Lastly, would it be easier to mod the PC version? 

[praetarius5018 111]

Hello Lurker with similar interests!

Lately I've been following the development of a FF5 mod, though god knows what'll come of it.

I'd guess PC would be the hardest to mod as we've nothing on that one (plus I find the art way worse than the original)
I'd say the SNES one is the easiest to mod with the GBA port behind.
The former has a huge collection of info here plus their wiki. They also have a bit info on the GBA game, but not nearly as much.
Plus I find SNES asm way easier, but that is just personal opinion.

[Thilly 0]

The updated art grew on me, although some stuff looks really bad like when you're standing on a stool for example. Overall I like it though. 

As for the project you linked, I will of course be following it and maybe even get involved, but I honestly just wanted a difficulty patch. Your project sounds like it will greatly change the gameplay, which while interesting, isn't exactly what I was looking for. Although I do like some of the balancing you're discussing. I really hope your project works out.

I'd love to make a difficulty patch myself but when it comes to programming and stuff like that my brain just doesn't get it.  

[praetarius5018 111]

If you want to just make a difficulty patch based on "numbers", FF5SNES has the aptly named "FFV editor" for that which can edit stats of items, spells, jobs (base stats and learned abilities), shops, monster and their formations, HP/MP curve. The GBA port has some editors too, though afaik not that extensive.

If you want to go further than just those numbers, only THEN do you have to get dirty with the code.

[Thilly 0]

I definitely think the "numbers" are important. All too often RPGs are too easy in that regard especially in the first half of a game. But of course what we really want is mechanics. Games tend to start off way too easy so that people new to video games/RPGs/Final Fantasy etc can get into the game more easily. At this point I'm pretty sick of that. I want things to be difficult from the get go. You should have to deal with status effects and high damage and mechanics the moment you start the game. Mobs should do more than just attack, they should heal themselves and their allies, counter attack, cast buffs, etc. Enemy weaknesses should also be more important. If we can do all of that, then we don't need to raise the "numbers" so much.