A challenging, classic RPG. A gauntlet of quirky and creative bosses and obstacles. Four randomly assigned character classes. And you.

These are the elements of the annual Final Fantasy V Four Job Fiesta. The rules are simple: players are randomly issued four of the game’s jobs and must use these jobs (and their abilities) exclusively to complete the game. Whether you will be Gil-tossing your way to an easy victory with a Samurai or cursing as your Dancer once again harmlessly drains a few MP from the final boss is completely up to chance.

Every summer, an enthusiastic and ever-growing community gathers around this classic, versatile game to test their mettle and support a worthwhile charity with the Four Job Fiesta. Here’s why you should join them.

FFV is a game worth revisiting.



Final Fantasy V is often see as the troubled middle child of the 16-bit Final Fantasy era. It missed a North American release on the SNES, and was given a horrible translation and a sloppy port job in its first release as Final Fantasy Anthology on PSX. Its bland story and comparatively high complexity and difficulty made many fans give it a pass, but the game is incredibly well balanced and bursting with forward-thinking ideas that aren’t always apparent. With a great soundtrack and an array of spells, abilities, equipment, dungeons, and boss battles, Final Fantasy V has something to offer casual and hardcore fans alike — no matter what party setup you happen to use.

It’s fun to learn new tricks.



We’re all nerds here, and we all know that game design is really cool, right? Variant and challenge runs of wildly complex games like FFV give us the opportunity to look behind the curtain of 16-bit game design. Stuck with a beastmaster and having trouble with ArcheoAevis? How can you beat Liquid Flame without access to ice spells?

The elegant beauty of FFV is that there are always multiple solutions to every problem; some might simply be less than apparent. Maybe a particular boss is vulnerable to a status effect that can only be applied with an item obtainable through a random drop or a rare steal. Maybe it requires the Float status.

Without even getting into the addicting and fascinating study of boss AI scripts and the calculations of damage and hit percent, Fiesta players find themselves exploring corners of the game that have always been available, but largely ignored by fans seeking to simply get through the game. These new challenges and the rush of accomplishment that comes with solving them keep dedicated Fiesta players coming back again and again.

The Four Job Fiesta supports an awesome charity.

The most important purpose of the Four Job Fiesta is to raise money for Child’s Play, a charitable organization that provides toys, games, and video games to sick kids in children’s hospitals around the world. That there is such a group bringing joy and happiness into the lives of these kids is inspiring; that they are supported by gaming communities — including the thousands of us hoping to avoid another berserker — should make us proud to call ourselves “gamers.” Note that donations are not required to participate in the Fiesta, but every player is strongly encouraged to make a pledge.

The Fiesta crew is a great community.

Fans of the Fiesta are passionate, enthusiastic, and overwhelmingly welcoming and supportive. Every year, this lively community shares strategies, accomplishments, and encouragement on social media platforms and streaming services like Twitch. They are always looking for new players, and are more than happy to help newbies through the game’s tougher challenges. Pop into the chat of a Fiesta streamer or stop by the discussion page on Reddit if you have questions — you’ll be welcomed and cheered on to victory.

Pre-Fiesta festivities are great.



The Fiesta always kicks off in grand style, and this year will be no exception. On June 21 (the day before the Fiesta begins), two FFV speedrunners (Puwexil and Dragondarch) will go head-to-head in an all-day Fiesta marathon race with jobs chosen by pre-registered players. Voting on these jobs is open until June 8, so get your picks for Geomancers and Dancers in now.

The Berserker is the unofficial mascot job of the Fiesta, as its hilarious always-in-berserk status makes for some interesting and difficult situations at various points in the game. Experienced players looking for a challenge can nominate themselves for #BERSERKERRISK. One Berserker will be assigned to these brave souls for every $10 raised before the Fiesta begins, so if you want to see more axe-swinging anarchy, get yourself pre-registered and get your donations in early!

Ready to get started?

Pre-registration for the Fiesta is already open. The kickoff race begins on June 21, and the Fiesta officially begins on June 22. Registration remains open for the rest of the summer. To participate, all you need is a public Twitter account and any version of Final Fantasy V. Visit the Fiesta website, check out the different variations, choose the run restriction that is right for you, and tweet the appropriate command to Gilgabot — the Twitter bot that assigns jobs and records victories. Gilgabot will create a profile for you on the Fiesta website and tweet back your first job. As you progress through the game, tweet the appropriate commands at Gilgabot to be issued your next three jobs. When you complete the game, take a screenshot of the final boss fading away and tweet it to Gilgabot for victory processing.

Happy Fiesta!

Cory Hanson goes by Active_ate on Twitch and Twitter. In 2014, he completed 12 Four Job Fiesta runs, and hopes to finish at least 20 in 2015. He currently lives in Ireland.