"Unique...But Excellent!"

(Before I begin, I want to just comment that if this review seems ''familiar'', it lies in the fact that you may have read the abridged version of it I submitted to an online videogame store).

Since the original Breath of Fire released in America under the publishing duties of Squaresoft, I've held a special fondness for the series. Breath of Fire (the original) had such wonderful music, a great cast of characters, a plot that-at the time-was hardly as clichéd as one would consider it now, and a unique battle system. Breath of Fire II was even better; everything the first one was and much more. The addition of a hidden/optional character and an increased difficulty also made for an even more exciting product. Then came Breath of Fire III...I did not care for Capcom's change in character designer, however I found the game to be a worthy entry in the series, however not quite as good as the previous game. Breath of Fire IV had even ''worse'' character designs than the previous game, and thus my initial thoughts were not good at all. After playing the game however, I truly regretted having doubts. Breath of Fire IV proved to be an extremely memorable, extremely emotional, and extremely well done tale that (in my honest opinion) easily bested the previous Playstation effort. Then came the screenshots of Breath of Fire V...

It would be a great understatement to say I became horrified with each new issue of Famitsu and Dengeki and such when it came to seeing new screens and bits about Breath of Fire V. The game looked (again; in my opinion) AWFUL with rancid character designs and ''craptacular'' cell shading. Needless to say I did NOT wait for the game's release with any kind of anticipation, and thus I stopped caring about keeping up with the details. Eventually, November came and the game released, and so I my pre-ordered copy arrived. Thus, let me assure you that the skeptic who sees Dragon Quarter as some kind of freak videogame hybrid is not alone in their initial beliefs. However, while I hated my first hour or so of playing the game, after dying and having to restart, a weird wave of excitement came over me; I couldn't put the game DOWN. Indeed the next few days can best be characterized by frantic playing of BoFV, then replaying, then replaying again. The game ended up being so fun that I simply could not put it down.

Breath of Fire V is, in truth, unlike any game I've ever played before. Capcom has managed to combine the Biohazard series, a tactical strategy game, and the Breath of Fire series into one unique game. The battle system can only be described as a ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' version of Xenogears/Xenosaga's battle format. In this game, AP is used to monitor everything in battle. Unlike most RPGs which have stationary battles, in BoF5 you move around to attack, much like in a strategy game or an action RPG (Seiken Denetsu or such). Moving costs AP however, and so does attacking. Thus you have to budget what you want to do. Once you engage in attacking a monster, the game turns into Xenosaga; your button input (using the 4 buttons on the right side of the controller) can turn into a combo attack that will increase damage 10%, 20%, 30%, etc after each successive attack while initiating combo mode (i.e. holding down the L2 or R2 buttons). Thankfully, using items does not cost any AP at all, and thus should the tide of battle turn against your party’s favor; despair is not inevitable, so long as your turn is coming quickly.

As with any strategy based system, skills can be learned. Found in treasure chests around the game (some requiring the defeat of difficult monsters to obtain the key to open them), ability skills are hidden for the player to find and then learn to allow for greater power and abilities in battle. Related to this factor is the concept of D-Ratio; a fictional ranking system employed in the world of Breath of Fire V that determines your rank in society. Many abilities (as well as hard to find items) are located in sealed off areas that require a specific D-Ratio to gain access to. How to lower ones D-Ratio? More on that later.

Battles themselves can take place with a variety of catches. For one, the game uses a system called “PETS”, or Positive Encounter Tactics System. Found and won in battle, various items (such as meat, bombs, dynamite, etc) can be placed on the field map to distract or harm enemies and this give the player an upper-hand in the fight. Say a monster is chowing down on a delicious morsel of beef; it sure isn’t going to pay attention to some scrawny little kid moving past it. Thus you can either (in this situation) move past the offending beast without being attacked, or you can use the situation to your advantage to score some extra Exp. Bonuses in battle. Additionally, to throw another trick into the game’s collective sleeve, entering some rooms cause them to lock, preventing any escape until all the monsters contained within are squashed. A daunting task that usually is met with a great surge of adrenaline and (more often than not) concern about dying; it’s all in good fun though.

In a somewhat more surprising move, there are only three main characters in this game and ONE dragon transformation. But it's all for the best really for there is a new system implemented in the game, the D-Level system. Once Ryu awakens his dragon powers, a pulsating cube appears on the upper right hand side of the screen and will SLOWLY increase over time...slowly that is, unless you change into a dragon during battles. For you see, in this game Capcom has decided it will SEVERELY limit dragon transformations to SUCH a degree, that each time you transform is essentially a 10% strike against your being able to finish the game. Once the D-Level reaches 100%, the cube will burst out of the box and the game ends. The end result is a system that makes perfect use of the game’s format: should the player die (or just feel like giving up and restarting), they have the option of doing such at any point in the game. Thus, the game allows the player to go Dragon for each battle if they want, but with consequences. Should the given player not care (or in fact wish to restart), this presents little problem whatsoever. Indeed restarting will actually allow more of the story to appear-more on that later-. For those who spend their videogame existence relying on heavy artillery however, this new catch in the dragon formula will result in some drastic changes to playing the game. The two other characters, Nina (an enigma whose identity I will not reveal in this review) and Lin (a member of an anti-government terrorist organization named Trinity) prove to round out the cast with their magic and sharpshooting skills, respectively. While this limited roster will obviously not appease those who seek parties of Chrono Cross magnitude, what is given is more than enough to suffice. Also, because of the small band of adventurers, the player gets to know each of the three for the entire game as opposed to a variety of characters who all have their own issues and agendas.

The plot...to discuss the plot in detail would be a crime for all those reading this as the plot is (in my opinion) one of the best aspects of the game. To give an overview however, a cataclysmic disaster occured on the world's surface many years ago which forced civilization to move underground. You begin the game at -1000meters below the surface and your main goal is to try and make it up to the surface. Rest assured, the game is far, FAR more interesting than this little overview may or may not be for you. Genetic experiments, terrorism, and corruption all reign supreme in the world of Breath of Fire V. Life in this subterranean existence comes with a serial ranking that specifies ones level of worth. Referred to as a “D-Ratio”, Ryu is seen as an common place drone who will never amount to anything big. Nonetheless, he lives out his life as a ranger, hunting monsters in the underground. His partner is Bosch, a young adult with high goals to become the next Regent of his area. Bosch naturally can accomplish his lofty goals however, for his D-Ratio is much, MUCH higher than that of Ryu. The game begins when the two are assigned to guard a mysterious shipment, during the transportation of which, disaster strikes and the two are separated; the cargo missing. This is essentially the start of the game most proper and about the same time when things really start to get interesting. (Additionally, this is essentially the point that hooked me on the game and changed my frown upside down.)

Because of the game’s rather short length (it can be completed in less than 8 hours if you know what to do), the developers implemented a multiple play story system called ''Scenario OverLay' (SOL)'. The first time through the game, you won't see all parts of the story. Only through successive plays will you in face be able to understand everything that goes on via new cut scenes being added. This truly, TRULY adds a monumental new layer of gameplay to the series, as Capcom actually forces you to replay the game in order to gain a full understanding of the amazing world it created. And because of the ability to carry over items, weapons, and learned skills to your new game, replaying Dragon Quarter is hardly a chore. Replay also has an effect on other aspects of the game, namely the aforementioned D-Ratio: each time you complete the game, your D-Ratio will be cut in half. Thus, the key to obtaining all the skills and accessing all the hidden areas in the game also lies with replay. (Sorry to the hardcore gamers however; it appears Capcom has prohibited Ryu's D-Ratio level from ever reaching 1/1). While some may complain about Dragon Quarter's ''short length'' (the game can be completed in about 20 hours or less), the replay value easily pushes the game's length to that of a ''normal'' game, if not even longer.

As can be expected with the Breath of Fire series, the music is excellent. A great deal of time and effort went into creating the tracks found in the game and it truly shows. Directed by Yasonori Mitsuda (of Chrono Cross and Xenogears fame), the music fits the various moods perfectly, from sadness and remorse to excitement and rejoice. You get the grandure of a blockbuster movie with the catchy and infectious melodies of a videogame; indeed you may find yourself humming some of the tunes long after playing the game...I know I did. The soundtrack is a must purchase, coming in a “metal box” 2 Disc set.

While the game is certainly unlike any of the other BoF games (or any game at all really), it is still a worthy purchase. Please don't be turned off by the bad looking graphics or the challenge of the game. Dragon Quarter really is a lot of fun. As I learned with both The Legend of Zelda: Wand of the Wind/Wind Waker, and Metroid Prime however, one should never let art style, gameplay changes, or appearances influence their decision to purchase something. It is not a coincidence that Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quater reigned supreme for a short period of time at number 1 in Japan's software sales; the game truly is an excellent piece of work, assuming you give it a chance.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/02, Updated 02/23/03