"He will die again and again for a chance to the skies...for her..."

Blue haired boy. Winged Princess. To the skies They go.
Through dark corners and narrow tunnels.
Through lifts that take you to the next level.
Through death will he succeed.
Salvation lies within...

That kind of describes what Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter (aka BoF5) is like (I hope). The next series to the cult hit Breath of Fire. Like every other BoF the game, it reinvents itself. The game always brings us a enjoyable experience. Memorable characters, with Memorable experiences. Well, maybe not every BoF is as memorable as the last (or the next). But you can always expect a refreshing time. The latest installment to the series brings us just that...and then Some.

Though the combat, the story and their companions might change. In every BoF you can expect a blued haired buy, and a winged princess. Just like the previous and the one before that, the blued haired boy is named Ryu and the princess is named Nina. These two characters (and their companions) had grew on us over the years. They've become a trade mark to Capcom almost. The duel had been through quite a lot together and...to be together. Through their journeys we have learned about their past. But every time we meet them in the next universe They changed...just enough to feel like a new character all over again. Yet, their trade mark appearances had never changed. This series bears the same familiarities yet bring us a whole new epic to their journeys. Like the game says from the very beginning its not an epic about saving the world, But a struggle among friends. In This new BoF, in every aspect, you will learn about these two...yet again.

Graphics - 8/10
The opening to the game is just gorgeous. It is a much polished version of the in game graphics. The whole game uses cel-shading, from the characters to the background. The whole game takes place inside Some tunnels and Some rooms. The varieties of the rooms aren't much. You can see a few variations of the tunnels, Such as brick made,dirt cave, or white building corridors. It's not that detailed really. They do look smooth and pleasing to the eye. It would be great if There were more variations. In rooms, There are more detail, Such as utensils on a desk, a broken chair on the floor, and in other room There are piles and piles of junk. The junk is pretty well made though, you can clearly see things in it. Although its not much of a use though since most items are found on the ground in boxes. Basically all the backgrounds stuff are just their to look like backgrounds. I suppose the details makes up for the variations. One great thing about this is that you can rotate the camera 360 around. This function would have been better if There were more things to look at. But still, This is quite important during combat and explorations.

The character models are very well made. They are detailed, they move accordingly. Their weapons appear different when changed and equipped. You can see the characters' expression very clearly. The characters are made more anime like this time. They have huge eyes. The facial expressions are pretty expressive when needed to be. They do a pretty damn good job at that. It really makes most scenes more inviting. The story is told via in game graphics (Such as MGS). They are very well done, the cell shading actually adds a certain effect to the scene. You can almost feel what is going much thanks to their facial expression. The colors and the backgrounds they actually add a certain gritty element to the whole atmosphere. The whole atmosphere is very...Vagrant Story like. Its dark, and characters are kind of bizarre. The story certainly makes it more so. At the end, the graphics and the cel-shading accomplishes what it sets out to do. That is to be pleasing and visually interesting , it certain makes you want to see more.

Music/Sound - 8/10
This is what video game music is all about. The tension or the tear jerking moment is brought out with these effects. I was pretty surprised by how familiar the music sounded. They are composed by no other than Hitoshi Sakamoto (FFTactics, Vagrant Story) and Yasunori Mitsuda (Xenogears, Creid, Chrono Trigger). I don't think i have to say more about this (but for the sake of the review...i will). There is no way to describe music in words. For those of your who played Xenogears, or FFTactics, you can expect a certain quality to its music. They are just pleasing to the ears. They add tension when in battle, they most certainly might make your eyes water. Although this particular soundtrack aren't as memorable as their composer's previous work. The sound effects they are pretty typical stuff. But i do notice that in a lot of rooms There are specific sound effects, like a steam pipe going off, or certain metal making a certain sound.

Gameplay - 9/10
This is where BoF5 shines the most. This is unlike any other game out There. There might a be a few familiar aspects. But the whole experience is just...different and enjoyably different. Damn enjoyable that is. First of all this, game is pretty challenging throughout the game. You only have three playable characters through out the whole game. They are pretty well balanced. Most of the time you are out numbered by enemies. Fortunately you have quite a few tricks to turn the tides of battle in your favor. Second of all, this game uses Action Points (AP). Using magic will only deplete your AP. This battle system is a bit similar to the one Xenogears uses. You can link in attack combos as long as you have enough AP for their respective actions. Moving around while in battle also consumes you AP. So don't be barging into your enemies and expect to deal massive damage. Because you won't be able to deal as much damage since you won't have enough AP for Such actions. Third of all, you will only able to carry a certain amount of items since your backpack's space is limited. However you can store your weapons somewhere to make room. This item system actually has a VERY significant use. Even though it is a bit inconvenient.

There are no random encounters. You can see every enemy on the screen. You can avoid most of them pretty easily by using traps. This trap system is very helpful in many situations. There are a total of eight different kinds of trap items. Some causes HP damage Such as bombs, or dynamites. Others cause status abnormalities, for example mushrooms which makes your enemies fall into sleep or confusion. So you can use this chance to avoid them. Even if you bump into it accidentally they'll still be asleep in battle. While some other trap items work as bait. ''Fresh Meat'' that is. When put on the ground, you can lure your enemies towards...or away from you. While they're munching on the meat you can strike them using your character's special action. For those who don't know, this ''special action'' can only be performed outside of battle. Ryu, he always draws his sword to strike upon something. While in BoF5, you can strike on enemies to gain an extra turn right when battle starts. While this action won't cause any damage, the advantage of having an extra turn could mean winning or losing the battle. Vice versa, if the enemies somehow manage to bump on to you, they will also gain an extra turn. This could been the end of you...no kidding. By using this trap system and the extra turn you can really make a difference. Especially when you want to take out a huge groups of monsters one by one. Its possible because of this trap/action system.

The combo system in this game is very much like the one used in Xenogears. You have three levels of attacks, 10AP, 20AP and 30AP. Of course the more AP consumed the more damage it deals. However, you'll need to assign various skills to their respective AP slots. You can assign three different skills to each level of attack. Which makes a total of 9 attacks possible, 9 combos possible. Each skill is also assigned to a different button on your control pad; Circle 10AP, X 20AP and Square 30AP, respectively. Certain skills can also be assign to you shields. For instance, the skill ''Steal'' once you assign this to your shield, every time you're attacked by an enemy there is a chance that you might steal something from it. It can be items, money, or another skill. Each character has their own sets of skills. Nina is the only character that can use elemental attacks. But the way these ''magic'' is used the same way as using any other attacks. Which means you can pull some pretty crazy magic combos.

Every Breath of Fire has dragons. This is probably the most ''discouraging'' dragon system of all. From the past BoF games, you are pretty much encouraged to use the dragon forms during battle. This time it is different. You're being discouraged in every step of the way. There is a counter on the screen. This counter is shown in percentage. If this counter reaches 100.00%...you will die. Game Over buddy, Yep. Why is this discouraging? Because the counter increases everytime you turn into a dragon. When you're in dragon form every attack will cause you a certain percent on the counter. It also increases with every 20 so steps you take outside of battle, that means while exploring. Now this counter could have ruined this game. But...there is actually a use for this system. This is actually crucial to the gameplay and the whole level up system. You're encouraged to start the game over. In fact in your inventory screen, there is an option to give up; to restart from the beginning or to continue from the last save. You're only allowed to have one single hard save file and one temporary one. You can save anywhere in the game using this temporary save. The hard save has a very important job. Everytime you chose to give up, you're given the choice either to restart from the beginning or from the hard save. If you go back to the hard save (or restart) you're only allowed to keep a some items. Now this is where the item system comes in. You're allowed to keep the items in your locker, the ones that you're equipped with, most experience points and the skills you've learned. Everything in your pack will be gone.

Why restart from the beginning then?? Because everytime you play you get a new ID...or D-Ratio, aka your rank, how good you are in this game. With higher ratios, you can unlock doors which are previously unavailable the first time you play. New areas and items to explore. Which in turn adds more challenge to the game. You have to accomplish a certain requirements in order to raise your ratio. Such as beating the game in under a certain amount of time. Exploring a certain percent of the map. With every play through new scenes are shown. A new part of the story is shown. It's like a puzzle which will slowly unravel itself as you go through the game again and again. Everytime you go back you're allowed to keep certain things, and most importantly your party experience points (party XP). Unlike other RPGs, you have two kinds of XP, ones that everyone gains after a battle and ones that you keep to use later on. You can apply this party XP to any of your members. Which means you if had a lot of party XP from the previous game you can bring them over and use it from the beginning of your second try. Which in turn makes having a level 30 character right from the start of your second try possible. This is why the counter is necessary, you're pretty much asked to restart. This is actually very clever. It adds tremendous amounts of replayability. Everytime you start again, you're rewarded with new stuff.

As if that is still not enough for you. You still have a minigame. This is no ordinary minigame. This game will aid in your retries and help you make money. You don't make much off the enemies themselves. Equipment are expensive. Unfortunately this is no fishing. But this minigame has its own greatness. It is an Antz Colony run by cute Fairies. Yep, you can hire antz and setup different shops, such as weapon shops, a bank, or a cafe to help you make money. Different antz have different skills. You have to assign them accordingly so they can do their job effectively. They will grow and they will age. When its their time to go to ant heaven (according to the game) you'll have to hire new ones and train them again. By digging through the colony you can find certain things. It is pretty fun. One of biggest purpose of this ant colony is to find a hidden room. This room consists of 50 floors. When you get in you'll start at level 1, its like a survival game in a way. When you start this room, you can either keep going until you finish all the floors, or stop and go out. The next you play you'll be back at level 1 and floor one. But every floor has its rewards.

Buy or Rent
This game actually has a pretty deep learning curve. Mainly due to the restart system. As great as this game is. I suggest that you actually rent this first. I can assure you five rental days is not enough to find everything on this game though. But this is a very strange and different game. It might not appeal to everyone.

Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it. Probably the longest review i have ever written. The gameplay really is the gem of this game. Although the story is really cool. They're both refreshing and enjoyable. For once you don't have to save the world, or the planet. You have your own struggles. This time your mission is to save your friends and yourself. Like i said salvation lies within...you and the place you're trying to get out. Although you might be your own damnation. Enjoy!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/03, Updated 04/10/03