I don't normally count Leo (even though he is an awesome character) as a party party member. Maybe I should have said main party member (one that you play for one than one battle. lol).
And, yeah, I know there are a number of things alike in FFVI and FFVII, but FFV does give some of it's stuff to both FFVI and FFVII. But of course it did come before those two so it's to be expected.
And haha, I got to play FFV since I got the PlayStation release of it, before it got 15 more re-releases.
To me it's quite a fun game, not as story heavy as FFIV or FFVI. But I never thought it needed to be, it was just a fun game. But a lot of people hate on it and dislike it because of that, kind of sad.
Maybe it would have done better as a gaiden release in the FF line instead of in the main numbered line. Though FFT being a gaiden and being one of the more awesome FF titles out there never became as popular as the main numbered releases.