Final Fantasy V/Differences between versions

Translation

It should be noted that Final Fantasy V has undergone five English versions with three attempts at transcription. First, each version was apparently translated from the Japanese independently of the others; the Super FamiCom (SNES) version by a group known as RPGe, the PlayStation version by Electronic Arts in partnership with Squaresoft USA, and all subsequent releases by the combined Square Enix. The result is that dialogue scripts, place names, item names, enemy names, and character names differ from version to version. For dialogue sequences, the wording is different but the gist is pretty much the same. In most cases, names are either identical, for example Excalibur (SNES) = Excalibur (PS1) = Excalibur (GBA), or can be chalked up to limitations in Japanese orthography and variations in English spelling, for example Gala Cat (SNES) = Ghilacat (PS1) = Gaelicat (GBA). In some cases though, the translations are very different, for example Garkimasra (SNES) = Harpy (PS1) = Jackanapes (GBA). One confusing difference is that Potion (SNES & GBA) = Tonic (PS1) while Potion (PS1) = Hi-Potion (SNES & GBA).

Gameplay

The differences between the SNES and PS1 seem to be only in translation and minor differences between controls and screen layout, so they are essentially the same game. The GBA version has several additions though, which include:

4 new Jobs.
An entirely new dungeon with new enemies and bosses
Additional Weapons and Armor.
Better graphics.

The mobile versions released for Android and iOS essentially take their cues from the GBA version, but the controls are optimized for the touchscreens of these devices. The in-game dialogue and character names appear to be faithful to the original Japanese script. These versions also add enhanced character renders in dialogue sequences, based on the original artwork of Yoshitaka Amano (e.g. Lenna's avatar has blonde hair in dialogue, though her sprite's hair remains pink). You can also save your recent data to a corresponding cloud account (Apple or Google) and transfer it to other devices on the same platform, a mobile exclusive.