Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

"One of the best RPGs I've played in a while..."

I can start by saying that I absolutely love the BoF series. I've played all of them, and have 4 of the 5 games in the series. I can honestly say that they're some of the best RPG's I've played. After playing BoFIV, I was wondering if Capcom could, in any way, out do themselves were they to make another sequel. So, needless to say, when Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter was first announced, I couldn't wait to see what it would be about. I then began to find out things like, it wasn't going to be like the 'traditional' BoF game...Well, I'll get to that as we go. So, let's start.

Graphics - 9/10: I can find very little wrong with the graphics, here. One thing that may turn some people off is that the characters are---Cell shaded. I honestly think this was the wisest decision Capcom could have made. The characters have a look and feel to them that just 'fits' right. I'm actually glad Capcom didn't go on a 'we have to have the most realistic graphics humanly possible' blowout, like the way most RPGs are designed today. The backgrounds themselves are actually 3-D, and the characters fit right in there. Unfortunately...there are a couple drawbacks. First off, the entire game takes place 'underground,' so, virtually every room, and hallway in a certain area can look the same for awhile, until you get to a new area, where 4 or 5 more floors will look exactly the same...still, the areas are well designed, things like fog, and gas, and things make the areas look eerie and give them a real underground feel. It's just kinda weird how the whole game feels like it's taking place in one dungeon. (because, in reality, it pretty much is) The other thing that kind of got to me was the way the characters faces looked...not bad or anything...something about them just maybe could have looked a little better. Skills, and spells look really great though. But, everything just seems to come together and fit pretty well, graphically.

Story - 9/10: You, the main character are......*Get ready for it*.........RYU! That's right, same main character from the previous BoF games. Well, turns out you're a 'Ranger' which, I suppose is like the game's equivilant of a 'police force.' I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say you're sent out on a mission with a fellow Ranger to protect and secure 'cargo' on a train. The train is attacked and the you crash...the game flies from there, as you realize the cargo is actually something of importance.....hm...well, to make a long story short, you start far underground, and you're trying to make your way to the surface of the planet, a place nobody really knows anything about.

Now, there are several things that are connected in this game. Let me explain. First of all, as with the other BoF games, Ryu can transform into a dragon. However, doing so isn't necessarily a good idea...because of the D-Counter. Ok, I'm getting slightly ahead of myself. FIRST of all, at pretty much any time, you can either restart the game, with a semi 'New game+' feature. You can also do this off of an existing save file. Certain things will carry over, like some items, experience, etc. Now, back to what I was saying, the D-Counter is a percent that will appear after a certain event. It starts at 0% and maxes out at 100%. What is it? I'm glad you asked. EVERY action you take in the game ups your percent. Oh, and that isn't a GOOD thing. Once the D-Counter reaches 100%....that's it. Game over. And you have to start from the beginning. Don't worry though. You only have to be fairly careful to keep the D-Counter low. But take note that everything counts toward it. Every step you take, every turn you take in battle, every time you transform into a dragon...all counts toward your D-Counter. Things like battle turns, and steps count for very low numbers, though. We're talking 0.01% for every few steps, or every turn in battle. Transforming into a dragon, however is probably a bad idea, even though you'd probably like to every chance you get, just to kick some major enemy butt. But dragon transformations can cost up to 1% or 2%! Doesn't seem like a lot, until you consider you only have 100% for the entire game...

Also, every time you actually COMPLETE the game and start over you're D-Ratio will go up. It starts extradinarly low, and takes a few times to beat the game to get it up to the maximum---1/4---or the Dragon Quarter.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of things that some people won't find very 'attractive' about this game. Mainly, the fact that Ryu only has one dragon transformation in the game, whereas in the others he had several. Not to mention the fact that, like I said earlier, transforming into the dragon too often isn't always a good idea...Another thing some people might not like is the fact that there are only 3 playable characters in this game. In a world where some games have dozens of playable or secret or unlockable characters, 3 may not be very appealing to some people. I like it. It just works great for this game. It allows you to understand each character, and learn how each one works, without over-whelming you with countless characters, some of which you'll never fully understand or even care to use...

Control - 9/10: I won't go into battle control, because that will come in the next section. But, out of battle, everything is easy to control. You run around, finding treasure chests, avoiding (or battling) enemies, etc. Everything is very simple to control. However, equipment in this game is pretty unique. Each character learns abilities (usually by using an expendible item on them) and once the character learns that ability, you actually EQUIP it onto a weapon. You can actually equip up to 10 (I believe) abilities to one character....Er, I'll get to that in the battle section...which is where we're headed next.

Battles - 9/10: Wow. Probably the most innovative battle system in quite some time...if not ever. Well, let's actually start at the initiation of a battle. First off, you can actully begin to inflict damage/etc., before the battle even BEGINS. You can actually set traps for enemies. These traps include anything from throwing bombs and dynamite at your enemies, to luring them out with food. While you distract them with a trap, you can run up and slash them or 'attack' them, thereby effectively giving you an extra turn in battle. Of course, if the enemy hits YOU before you hit them, they get the extra turn. You'd be surprised what one extra turn can do to turn the tide of a battle. Ok, this is all PRE-battle stuff. So, once the battle begins, you can do various things, like, use combos which are comprised of stringing several attacks together, eventually building up to your more powerful attacks. You can also transform into the dragon, (as mentioned earlier) use items, etc. Sounds like an overall pretty basic, normal game, battle-wise, right? Well, let's just say that it's actually pretty innovative. If you remember previous BoF games, you'll remember AP points (similar to MP in most RPGs) Well, AP is back, though not exactly the same as before. First of all, you can use up all of your AP until that character falls to 0 AP or you decide to skip the rest of that characters turn. Basically, you can attack until you run out of AP. So for example, there are abilities that cost 10 AP, and say you have 100 AP. This means you can use ten 10 AP abilities in one turn! That's like attacking 10 times! Of course, the better skills cost more AP, and when a battle initiates, if your characters are a good distance aways from the enemies, you will have to get near them to attack. Even THAT costs some AP points. But, this game has some of the most unique battle features I've ever seen in a game.

Music - 7/10: Now, I just want to say that there was really nothing groundbreaking about the music in this game. However, the BGMs definately did make you feel like you were in a dreary dungeon, or a old, crumbling corridor. The music definitely fit, but it was nothing you'll still be talking about when you're discussing this game a year from now to your friend, or something.

Replay - 9/10: Yup. An RPG that's probably just as fun to play the second...or third....or FOURTH time, than the first. Playing through the entire game to the end, and then saving will unlock certain things, like new cut-scenes, new items, (not to mention getting the most powerful sword in the game!) and each time you beat the game, depending on how well you do, your 'D-Ratio' will go up. A higher D-Ratio will allow you accecss to new cutscenes, too, as well as areas that you may not have been able to get to the first time through. It's definitely one you'll probably play through a couple times before you get tired of it.

Overall - 9/10: As I said, this game is the best RPG I've played in a LONG time. Everything about this game just seems so new, and innovative, and fun. I'm a person who likes the BoF series anyways, so I immediately got this one. It just introduces you to so many new concepts on what makes RPGs good, that you'll literally want to play through it a few times right away. One other thing is that this game is actually fairly difficult. Some of the bosses will get the better of you fairly quickly, making you want to turn into a dragon just to get the better of them. But, this in itself is like a double-edged sword. On one hand, the game is made EASY by simply transforming into a dragon and tearing anything apart, but on the other hand, you must remember that the dragon will eat up your D-Counter, and you only have up to 100%, leaving you to make some critical decisions when it comes to battles. This is a great game and you should definitely get it if you're a BoF fan, even though it takes a slight step away from the series norm. (which is good) Also, if you're an RPG vet. looking for a good, fun, RPG with a fair difficulty, this is your game to get. However, new comers to the RPG genre, or younger gamers may find this game fairly frustrating and may want to stay away until they get some more gaming experience. Either way, you really can't go wrong if you get this game. It's a great one that will stand out for quite some time...

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/27/03, Updated 02/27/03