Choosing a profession is hard enough as it is, or at least that’s true for most people in the real world. Maybe that’s why these JRPGs decided to spare us the pain of having to choose only one and allow us to choose multiple. Thankfully, unlike real life, switching careers in-game doesn’t involve attending interviews, and it’s actually part of a greater strategy that lets players to create more versatile characters.

Of course, like with everything else, some video games have better job systems than others, but there are a few titles that manage to find the perfect balance between giving players freedom to experiment and making every job meaningful.

Final Fantasy 5 has an incredibly flexible job system, and this is without a doubt one of the game's biggest strengths. Players can assign different professions to their characters, including Monk, Knight, White Mage, and Chemist. Then they start earning ability points (ABP) by participating in battles, which in turn allows them to learn new skills. Interestingly enough, these skills can also be used by other jobs. For example, if a Knight learns White Magic, they can start healing allies.

As turn-based RPGs often live and die on their class systems, these games lived their absolute best lives.

Moreover, mastering different jobs makes the Freelancer profession stronger, since it inherits some stat bonuses from mastered professions, and it can also equip additional learned abilities. Overall, players have the constant freedom to experiment with different combinations, and at the same time, they do not have to restrict their character to a particular role, which is one of the most impressive features of the entire game.

Source link