Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

"A few decent ideas, but still fundamentally flawed."

Ever since the first two Breath of Fire games came out for the SNES, the series has been known for its unusual characters, combat-heavy gameplay, and dragon transformations. What Dragon Quarter attempts to do, however, is shift those focuses, and in so doing they miss out on what kept many gamers loyal to the series – the fun. The series has always had more than its share of predictable stories, and it might have been heavy on random encounters, but it still managed to survive based on the fun factor. That trend stops here. Dragon Quarter abandons so much of the beloved BoF formula that it loses all but the most die-hard of fans.

A bright transition into the depths of darkness.

Perhaps the most enthralling aspect of Dragon Quarter is its impressive shift in visual style. Gone are the sprites and animated characters of old. Now, they are replaced by cel-shaded characters with far more realistic proportions. Dragon Quarter is also darker than any of the others in the series dreamed of being, but on the whole this works out rather well. It’s just ugly. At best, the game could be considered a dungeon crawler, and thus the expectations for environments and surroundings are decreased, but seeing the same architecture and random metallic ruins from the beginning until the end of the game gets old quickly. Yes, this can be written off due to the post-apocalyptic-world cliché, but… I was hoping for much, much more.

The entire story takes place underground in a society where the sky is nothing more than a myth. It is, in fact, the dream of the main characters to see the vast blue sky, and thus they begin their epic quest upward, away from the safety of their subterranean haven. Of course, since this is just the beginning of the story it still shows promise. That’s about all it has. The characters – all three of them – become predictable rather quickly. As always, there are Ryu and Nina, both in their typical roles of hero and mysterious princess. Gone, however, are the other unique races of characters that gave the series so much flavor (unless you count the third character who resembles a neko). The villains are flat, and though enemies are interesting in design, they too become boring. There used to be diversity in the worlds of the Breath of Fire games. Moving underground must have cut that out entirely.

Becoming a dragon has never been less fun.

One of the main traditions in the BoF series has been the ability of the hero, Ryu, to transform into a dragon of massive destructive capabilities. In fact, one of the main incentives to play the series was to see how each game might handle the dragon modes. Unlike the previous four, however, Dragon Quarter decides to penalize you for this change. Every time you summon your incredible strength (normally for a boss or otherwise difficult situation), a counter will increase. When that counter reaches 100%, it’s game over. Sorry.

A renovation that fared far better than the dragon counter, however, was the battle system. Being a series that always encouraged lots of fighting (usually through high encounter rates), it only made sense that there be some sort of change to the battles themselves. Enter the trap system.

In a brilliant move, all enemies are now displayed on screen, a la Chrono Trigger, completely eliminating the random battles of the past. This also allows the player to prepare for each battle, whether that be tossing a bomb at the foe to weaken them, tossing meat to lure them a certain direction, or just swinging your sword to ensure you have the initiative. The trap system is truly impressive in its ability to add strategy to even the most mundane of battles. However, it soon becomes a burden, as you will grow to rely on – and even need – these small advantages to survive. I’m not saying that the increased difficulty is bad, but it quickly becomes a bore.

Another, less successful change in the battle system was to convert to a Grandia-esque system of 3D combat. While this sounds good, a crippling reliance upon Action Points (AP) to do anything from moving to attacking trounces any fun that might be had. There is nothing worse than having to End Turn because the enemies are too far away to approach and then attack… especially when this happens several turns on end.

Wait, you want to save? HAH! You might as well ask for a healing spell!

Perhaps the most aggravating flaws in Dragon Quarter lie in the saving and healing realms of the game. The saving system has been completely overhauled, and I have yet to meet someone that hasn’t been inconvenienced by it at least once. You are issued coins (or find them if you’re lucky), which act like tokens that allow you to save at the save points scattered haphazardly throughout the game. So, not only do you have to journey around forever to find a save point, but then you also have to have a token stocked up to save. This is more inconvenient than waiting in line for the bathroom. This essentially limits the times when you can play to those with several hours free to invest (unless you have a stockpile of save coins somehow, cheater).

Another problem that stems from the saving system itself, or perhaps compliments it to create the ‘difficulty’ level some people have praised, is the lack of healing abilities. Simply put, there are none, and curative items are both rarely found and expensive. So when you get to a boss or other difficult battle, you had better hope you have enough HP to survive. If not, you will die. Mercilessly. What’s worse is that the game’s designers seemed to have intended that.

In a flash of creative genius, Dragon Quarter has a variation on the New Game+ formula that allows for an “enhanced” experience on repeated playings. However these extra cinemas and unlocked rooms do so little to actually enhance the game that their triviality is, in itself, annoying. Yes, one out of three extras are worth seeing, but it’s getting back to those points to see the extras that is a pain. In a game where even the most mundane encounter can quickly spell your doom, such miniscule rewards are hardly worthwhile. For those of you looking for a competitive edge, you can abuse this system (as items and equipment stored a certain way will carry over to the next game), but this removes even more of the fun and challenge from a game already lacking in both respects.

To call Dragon Quarter a disappointment would be like calling Shakespeare a decent writer. There was just too much potential in the new ideas, especially the trap system, to let it waste into miserable mediocrity like this. However, with each fundamental flaw, the game became less and less playable, and flaws like that popped up far too frequently to be classified as minor annoyances. Saving should not be so limited. It doesn’t add difficulty; it’s stupid. Healing has never been a problem before, but again, in the name of difficulty, it is almost nonexistent. AP should be consumed by moving, but not to the extent that I can’t even use my weakest attack on a foe I only had to move a few feet to reach.

There were just too many flaws in this gem to make it a favorable installment in the otherwise enjoyable Breath of Fire series. If you think you can live with it, then more power to you. There is a very enjoyable experience here for the truly devoted (or so I’ve heard). To the rest of us, however, save yourself the frustration now. Just say “no” to Dragon Quarter.

Gameplay: 5/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
Story: 5/10
Replay: 4/10

Overall: 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/04