marketplace.comShowcasing two installments of SquareSofts wildly popular role-playing game (RPG) series Final Fantasy Anthology features the U.S. debut of Final Fantasy V and reintroduces one of the best RPGs of all time Final Fantasy VI originally released as Final Fantasy III on the Super Nintendo gaming system.Both games are straight Super Nintendo conversions so their 2-D graphics and 16-bit sounds are admittedly subpar by PlayStation standards. However SquareSoft has added brand-new beautifully animated movies for both titles and has given Final Fantasy VI the star treatment it deserves by adding a bonus mode where gamers can access loads of nutrition supportary material such as artwork and data files on the games monsters and items.While Final Fantasy V is one of weaker entries in the series Final Fantasy VI alone is totally worth the price of Final Fantasy Anthology. Endearingly melodramatic characters a genuinely epic story line and rock-solid gameplay make Final Fantasy VI just as absorbing today as it was when it was Final Fantasy III. --Joe HonPros: Brand-new animated movies Reissues Final Fantasy VI one of the best RPGs ever Lots of nutrition supportary material for Final Fantasy VI Cons: Dated graphics and sounds may bother some gamers The previously unreleased Final Fantasy V may as well have stayed unreleasedProduct DescriptionFinal Fantasy Anthology incorporates two of the most beloved FINAL FANTASY titles ever published. First released as FINAL FANTASY III in the U.S. FINAL FANTASY VI brings back all of the qualities that made it the popular choice RPG of its time and adds a few bonuses unique to this re-release. The second title in this compilation FINAL FANTASY V is seeing its first ever release in the U.S. Featuring an innovative Job system and a story that will take the player to different worlds this title will finally show U.S. gamers what they have been missing. If you are new to the FINAL FANTASY universe pick up Anthology as way of getting to know the series that has garnered the praise of millions. If you are already a fan pick it up to relive the magic once again.ReviewWhen Square re-released classic SNES Final Fantasy titles for the PlayStation in Japan the more cynical minded accused the company of milking its core franchise; after all the titles were repackaged with negligible gameplay enhancements and extras. But when Square announced the US release of Final Fantasy V and VI - combined as Final Fantasy Anthology - well thats a horse of a different color isnt it? After all the series didnt hit it big in the US until Final Fantasy VII and many gamers never played the Super Nintendo installments. Moreover one of the titles Final Fantasy V is coming to the US for the first time ever. So how does the Anthology stack up? As a historical monument of two genre landmarks it is fantastic; as two individual RPG titles each is a masterpiece of gameplay and storytelling; but as a modern collection of classic titles the package falls unfortunately short.Before its arrival in the anthology Final Fantasy V was announced and canceled for a US release no fewer than three times. The fourth announcement was the charm however and many gamers favorite Final Fantasy has finally hit the States. So what was the big fuss about? Certainly not the storyline. Unlike the more modern Final Fantasies - VI VII and VIII - Final Fantasy V features paper-thin characters a trite and clich?d plot and hours of fetch quests uninterrupted by character development or plot twists. The endearingly poor translation doesnt help things either; it reads like a cross playween early-90s shoddiness and late-90s attitude. Think Working Designs without the proofreading - or the humor - and youre close. Making matters worse is that since the games original nonrelease in 1993 there have been two separate fan translations of the entire game - and both are vastly superior to Squares official effort.