Tyranthraxus posted...
It doesn't give you the mime job until damn near the end of the game.
Forgot about Mime. Sure, that one is locked to act 3, but you get the other 20 jobs before the end of act 1. This is double the amount you'd have by that point in FF3 (as you'd only have 10 jobs by the time you reach the Fire Crystal). Just because Mime isn't until later doesn't hinder the experimentation aspect of the game at all.
The biggest issue with FF3's job system is more like there's no reason to use anything other than Ninja / Sage as soon as you get them.
Those are among the final jobs you get, you'd get Mime in FFV before them lol. That leaves another 70% of the game or so where you have to use other jobs, and the game has more issues than simply Ninja/Sage, as posted here:
MarcyWarcy posted...
I think it's more than just the fine tuning of the jobs in FF5 that makes its jobs so much better than 3, it's also that just about every other aspect of the game is fine tuned to it. FF3 is incredibly brutal in a lot of parts, probably moreso than any other game in the series, and the job system is weirdly antithetical to that. There are times where it basically wants you to do a certain thing with your party as a certain class makeup, and if you don't do that, it's grueling and unfun to play.
To provide further context, FF3 forces you to use White/Black magic for Toad/Mini on a few occasions. If you don't have one of those in your group, you're PUNISHED for swapping to one for the spells, and you're punished further upon changing back. FF3 is full of dumb design decisions like this that don't sync with the job system. None of this type of design is present in FF5.
FF5 has a similar issue with Traveler and Mime but at least that's gated behind asstons of grinding so you're forced to use the other jobs and they're more like rewards for mastering them all instead of just straight up superior replacements.
I don't think these are "similar issues" at all, as the OP jobs in FF3 are provided just for doing the story, while FF5 Freelancer requires going significantly out of your way to make it that strong.
Also, since you mentioned "straight up superior replacements", I want to note that's more of an issue with FF3 since it provides you with things like Black Belt, Devout, and Magus, basically doubling up on jobs that you already had. FFV doesn't do this and doesn't have to since anything you learn from one job you can take to another (unlike 3). As a result, FFV has significantly more job options and variance than FF3.