Final Fantasy V has sold 2.45 million units worldwide on the Super Famicom, while the North American Anthology version has sold 364,000 copies as of 2004.^[4][5] As Final Fantasy V was not released outside of Japan until 1999 in Final Fantasy Anthology, many English-language reviews were for the Anthology version, both Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI together. GameSpot issued a score of 8.1/10, stating, "mediocre packaging and emulation quirks aside, it's hard not to like Final Fantasy Anthology."^[9] IGN gave the collection a 9/10 rating, noting Final Fantasy V's dated graphics but "incredibly engrossing" job system.^[46] RPGFan's stand-alone import review observed a somewhat cliché storyline, a lack of character development, and unevolved sound quality from Final Fantasy IV, presenting it an overall 75%.^[47] RPGamer found that the game improved upon the visual presentation, menu system, and overall field navigation of Final Fantasy IV, but that the "maddeningly high encounter rate," "average sound selection," and "washed out" color palette warrant it an average 5/10.^[48] In March 2006, Final Fantasy V ranked #15 on Japanese magazine Famitsu's reader list of top 100 video games of all time.^[49]

GameSpot called the GBA re-release Final Fantasy V Advance "better than ever," citing its strong localization of the script and extensive special features.^[50] Nintendo Power has said that "while playing Final Fantasy V is a chore on the PlayStation, it's good fun on the GBA because of the vastly improved translation and new features."^[51] The GBA version also achieved an average review score of 83% on Metacritic.^[52]