※This article was written in Japanese without using AI. AI was used only for the English translation.
I’m slightly unsure whether this should really be the very first note article from Phydrosamir.
However, Final Fantasy V is one of my all-time favorite games, so I decided to dedicate my first article to it.
FF5 was a game that was popular when I was a kid.
For some reason, one of my friends used a piece of music from FF5 and sang a parody song using my name, “Ryu.”
To this day, I have no idea why.
Did you like me that much?
It’s still a mystery.
But looking back on it now, people don’t usually make parody songs about someone they dislike, so I guess he must have liked me.
(By the way, he was a boy.)
When I played the game again recently, I remembered that parody song and felt strangely warm and happy about it.
Anyway, I’m currently playing FF5 again.
I’ve honestly lost count of how many times I’ve played it.
The last time was probably about five years ago.
And I’ve forgotten an astonishing amount of the game.
I still remember the rough story and how to clear it, but so many details are gone that it actually feels fresh again.
Sometimes I’ve forgotten so much that I have to check walkthrough sites just to progress.
But when it comes to Blue Magic with a strong impact, there’s one spell that stands out:
Level 5 Death.
The phrase burned into my memory:
“Learn Level 5 Death from Page 64 in the Ancient Library.”
That one line never left my brain.
If your whole party is level 20 (or 15), you get wiped out instantly.
So I made Galuf and Faris fall in battle and leveled up only with Lenna and Bartz (Ryu).
Eventually, I successfully learned Level 5 Death from Page 64.
Full of excitement, I went straight to the Tycoon meteor and cast Level 5 Death on Adamantoise.
Instant kill.
The boss died immediately.
And at that very moment, I collapsed to my knees.
Emotionally speaking.
Because I suddenly thought:
“What the hell am I doing?”
Adamantoise is level 20.
Which means Level 5 Death works.
Instant kill.
Easy win.
But…
It wasn’t fun.
Not fun at all.
This wasn’t a game anymore.
It was just work.
The boss fight had turned into a simple chore.
Adamantoise is a turtle-type monster (I think?).
So it’s weak to ice.
It’s not even that strong of a boss anyway.
So why not just fight it normally?
Use Blizzara or Shiva to deal damage.
Heal incoming damage with Cura.
Isn’t that perfectly fine?
(By the way, I’m currently in the middle of transforming from a Tokyo person into a Kyoto person, so my language may mix standard Japanese and Kansai dialect.)
I regretted using Level 5 Death.
Don’t use Level 5 Death.
The real charm of this game lies in pushing that razor-thin edge—
wondering whether you’ll live or die,
whether you can defeat the boss on your first attempt.
That’s the thrill.
Once I understood that, everything changed.
So when I fought Launcher, I defeated it without using Level 5 Death.
I also challenged Archeoaevis without using Level 5 Death.
But when it reached its fifth form, Archeoaevis was insanely strong.
I lost normally.
So in the end, this time I used Level 5 Death against the fifth form of Archeoaevis just to move forward.
But still…
I strongly recommend the rule:
“No Level 5 Death in boss fights.”
Boss battles are meant to be life-or-death struggles.
You can use it on regular enemies though.
It’s useful for things like farming stone statues.
There are also strategies like:
Black Shock + Level 5 Death
that can kill some bosses.
But I wouldn’t recommend that either.
You know…
It’s about atmosphere.
The feeling.
“Ugh… we’re going to die…”
“Hurry! Cast Raise!”
“Come on, Cura—make it in time!”
“The terrifying moment when your MP keeps dropping…”
Without feeling moments like that,
you can’t truly enjoy a boss fight.
So I’ll say it again.
Don’t use Level 5 Death.
2026.03.13
Ryu
All of my actions ultimately exist to get people to listen to Phydrosamir’s original music.
So please—listen to my songs.
