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Butz: Final Fantasy V Coming To Steam This Month

Out September 24th

As if it weren't enough that he looks like he's fallen out of a crappy Newgrounds Flash game in the late nineties, the chap above is called Butz. He's the star of Final Fantasy V [official site], which will be coming to Steam on September 24th. The "classic 2-D graphics" weren't classic enough apparently because they've been "refined and remodelled", and the controls have apparently been optimised as well. Based on the 2013 mobile release, the port will also contain an extra area from the 2006 re-release and "the Tetsuya Nomura-designed optional boss Enuo".

No word on why that guy is called Butz though. The YouTube description refers to him as Bartz.

A quick Wiki search suggests Bartz was "known as Butz Klauser in the RPGe fan translation of the Super Famicom version and the Japanese version of Dissidia Final Fantasy". And on Steam, apparently. Let's hope he's a well-rounded character, eh?

Final Fantasy V is new to me. I spend as much time trying to fill in what I think of as my pop culture blindspots as I do playing games, reading books or watching films that I know I'll enjoy. It's why you might find me sitting in front of Man of Steel even though I don't care about comic book adaptations and have violent reactions to almost everything Zack Snyder has directed. It's why I'm currently making my way through Star Trek: The Original Series, and it's why I plan to play through every Final Fantasy game one day.

I don't care about completing them in release order and I've only managed Final Fantasy VII so far (that was way back in 1997) but maybe V will be next? Is it a good Final Fantasy? I tried VIII and hated the characters, the graphics and the magic system. VI seemed fine but didn't grab me. Will V be the one to spark my interest? The job system certainly sounds more enjoyable than whatever the heck was going on with the junction system in VIII. From what I can gather the jobs allow characters to multi-class, and for each party member to develop as I choose rather than sticking to a specific role, stamped on them by the story.

Is this prime Final Fantasy? Does such a thing even exist? Am I being far too harsh if I say that the character sprites look horrible?

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