Job systems in Final Fantasy have been a central part of the gameplay experience since the original game came out. Players could choose between a variety of classes like a Monk or Red Mage, but these choices were permanent. Final Fantasy 3 was the first one to include Jobs that could be changed at the player’s leisure but fans in the West wouldn’t get ahold of that until 2006 via the DS remake.
Their first mainline experience with the Job system then was through Final Fantasy 5, which also took a while to release. It was a 1992 SNES game in Japan and the West got Final Fantasy Anthology on PS1 in 1999 along with Final Fantasy 6. In celebration of Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster re-releasing on consoles, here's a rundown of some of Final Fantasy 5's best early Jobs.
7 White Mage
Classic RPG adventures like Final Fantasy 5 need a healer in the group. Healing items like Potions can only go so far and it takes a while to get better items. That’s why it is important to give someone in the party the White Mage Job right away.
Put that character in the back row right away and have them focus on healing magic like Cure or Poisona. Their choices of weapons are weak, which is why the back row is a good choice. Plus it protects them more from enemy damage. Players will learn six levels of White Magic as the Job evolves but the final ability is cool as it can increase MP by 10%.
6 Black Mage
The same reason an RPG needs healers is the same reason a party of travelers needs a Black Mage. Swords and Axes can only do so much damage. Sometimes a well-placed Fire or Blizzard spell can do more than a sharpened weapon.
Put the Black Mage character in the back row as well because their weapon choices are equally bad. They will learn six levels of Black Magic spells before gaining an MP 30% boost ability at the end which is even better than what White Mages get.
5 Red Mage
Red Mages, unlike Final Fantasy 1, are not Jobs that can be unlocked right away. The Job instead can be gained after getting access to the Water Crystal. It has a more balanced set of skills as characters can equip good gear and gain decent access into Black and White Magic.
After gaining this Job, it’s a good idea to switch character Jobs around as this will be good enough for the next several hours of the game. White and Black Mages, in other words, should step aside. Being able to be both offensive and defensive magically is a great strategy for this game. Plus the final ability will allow players to cast two spells at once.
4 Knight
A Knight is a very basic Job in an RPG. They have high offensive and defensive stats and it is one of the better fighters to begin with in Final Fantasy 5. A great early ability they can unlock is called Cover. Characters equipped with this ability will take damage for other characters if they are about to die.
As Black and White Mages are weak decisively, this is a good combo to use. Another great ability is called Two-Handed which changes one-handed weapons, like Long Swords, to two-handed weapons. Players have to give up shields for their Knight if this skill is equipped but they will gain greater attack power in exchange.
3 Monk
Monks have often been overpowered Jobs in the Final Fantasy series. It’s even more obvious in this game because it has an exclusive ability that cannot be removed from the Job aka Kick. This attack will hit all enemies on the battlefield.
It does not cost anything like HP or MP and it does a good amount of damage too. Putting a Monk in the party is great for leveling up fast as players can rock through battles even quicker than if they cast Fire magic on everything. Fighting Barehanded can often do more damage than the greatest weapons in Final Fantasy 5 too.
2 Thief
Players can take or leave Thieves in their party. In the first game, they were great because they could steal rare items from enemies and eventually evolve into ninja-like warriors later. Thieves are still useful in Final Fantasy 5 too but there are a lot of downsides to mention first.
Their attack power and defense are not the greatest as their range of gear is almost as limited as the White and Black Mages. The abilities are the reason to put some time into this Job though. There’s the aforementioned Steal ability along with Mug which both steals items and damages monsters. Scram is a great way to get away from bad battle situations and Sprint can speed up travel in dungeons.
1 Freelancer
Freelancer is the starting Job for every character in the game. It does not level up and there are no abilities to gain from it. However, it is still a good Job because it is versatile. If players use the Thief Job they can Steal automatically and then equip another ability as well.
Let’s say Bartz is a Thief with Red Mage abilities. That’s an interesting combo to make but Freelancers give players two free slots to equip anything from Job commands like Black Magic to stat boosters like HP 30%. Plus Freelancer characters have a good range of gear to equip. Keep this Job in mind for brutal boss fights.
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster is available on PS4 and Switch.