Summary
Leveling up is a staple of every JRPG, with players reaching ridiculous numbers when it comes to a party member’s health, MP, stats, damage, and everything else along the same lines. For the most part,most games get away with simple leveling systemswhere players acquire enough experience and get a base stat increase that adheres to the strengths and weaknesses of a certain party member.
Most fans of theFinal Fantasyseries feature this static leveling system, but the series has always been known to innovate with each entry, and leveling systems are no exception here. Some of these games play around with the concept of leveling up to ensure that people play an active role in the growth of every character, which makes for a vastly interesting way to help each party member become stronger instead of passively witnessing this growth.
The Sphere Grid was a breath of fresh air when it appeared inFinal Fantasy 10, removing the concept of traditional leveling and letting players gain Sphere Levels that help them make progress on the grid. What makes this leveling system so unique is that everyone in the party shares a single Sphere Grid, starting at different corners that adhere to their class.
This can make leveling a fun process as players either follow the ordained path or use special spheres to jump around and acquire the abilities of other characters. It’s a great way to level up characters and show the strengths of the Sphere Grid, even if the post-game can be a bit of a painbecause of the grinding involved. However, if players want to finish the game and defeat Yu Yevon, then the Sphere Grid will be more than enough to satisfy their need for a unique leveling system.
Initially,Final Fantasy 6’s leveling system may not seem all that unique. Players need to make some progress before unlocking their first set of magicite, which is where players can carefully allocate these summons to manipulate the stat gain of certain characters. This can potentially turn a magic-reliant user into a heavy physical hitter with high HP as long as players are willing to place their magicite carefully on their party members.
Along with this, party members who don’t have any magic to rely on can learn these abilities to make them more effective in combat. It cannot be stressed enough just how important magicite is to alter the leveling system, and it helps that players cancall on some powerful summonsto turn the tide of battle if they have the MP to spare. One thing to keep in mind here is that players should level up sparingly until they get their hands on magicite since they’ll fail to make the most of the stat boosts if they want every party member to reach the highest level possible.
The Zodiac Age version ofFinal Fantasy 12is undoubtedlythe best way to enjoy this beloved title. It enhances the title across the board, with the title’s gameplay being enhanced considerably courtesy of unique License Boards for each job as opposed to a single shared one that made leveling up and progression rather static. Along with experience, players obtain License Points for the monsters they kill, allowing them to make progress on the board for each character.
Given how each character can use whatever job they want and acquire a second one after a point, it’s easy to see why progression inFinal Fantasy 12can be as unique as it comes. Completing hunts and making progress in the story feels great, and players can easily clock in multiple playthroughs to try numerous job combinations and see how they can customize their party as they see fit.
Final Fantasy 5is a game known more for its diverse gameplay than its story, and this is perfectly okay giventhe immense depth of the job system. The main party can take on whatever roles players wish, allowing them to mix and match jobs in whatever manner they see fit. This allows for immense customization that helps the moment-to-moment gameplay ofFinal Fantasy 5stand out in the eyes of many. Leveling up may be static, but players also garner Ability Points in battle to master jobs.
This is a game-changer, turning the weak Freelancer job into the most overpowered role in the game by the time players reach the final dungeon. Mastered jobs allow for their stat bonuses and abilities to transfer over to the Freelancer and Mime role, letting players create an overpowered party that serves as a reward for all the time players sunk into leveling up their character and mastering jobs in the process.
MostFinal Fantasygames let players level up as much as they want, butFinal Fantasy Tacticsis the only game in the series where players can Level Down because of enemy abilities and traps. This may seem frustrating, but there’s a way to manipulate the game into inflicting Level Downs when a player wants to maximize their stat growth, turning a decent leveling system into a fun way to min-max their characters.
Players can use Jobs with high stat gains to increase the effectiveness of a character with each Level Up, then equip another Job with low stat gains to trick the game into reducing a lesser number of said stat.It can take a while to continue this chain of Level Ups and Downs, but the result is a character with incredible stats that can mow down most enemies without breaking a sweat, which is a godsend in a challenging game likeFinal Fantasy Tactics.
