Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

"Breath of Fire? More like a breath of fresh air."

Since the Breath of Fire series started roughly a decade ago the games, in this reviewer's observations, have always been overshadowed by other RPG series. Sure, they were enjoyable games, but there was little that made them stand out from other RPGs. That, I believe, was why the series has been looked over so much. To get out of a jumble like that, you need to evolve the series. Make it stand out from the norm. Do something that pulls the player away from the newest Final Fantasy.

Then why the hell did it take five games for Capcom to realize that?

Perhaps they were too busy making ‘Hyper Turbo Super Street Fighter 2 Snazzy Shiny Edition' to pay mind to the future of the BoF series, but I am very happy that someone got the idea jammed in their head. Why am I glad? Because, as stated in my tagline, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter feels like a breath of new life into the series. A new life which is very, very welcome. Several major changes mark the departure for this series.

The first is the setting and basic story. BoF:DQ is set in a future world, where the planet's population has dwindled to live in underground hideouts hundreds of meters below the surface. You play as Ryu, a low-ranking ranger who slowly realizes the scope of humanity's underground struggle. Together with Nina, a small and silent girl, and Lin, a hardy rebel woman, they set out to solve the mysteries of the underworld, realize the power of the dragons, and ultimately see the sky. It's a tale that is nothing incredible, but still epic and appealing. The characters are ones that you feel engaged with as the plot turns closer and closer to the surface. The story of BoF:DQ is a very well-presented struggle between higher powers, internal conflict, friendships, and mystery.

The second change is the overhaul and unique presentation of the gameplay. Mark my words. First time through, this game is hard. There will be points where you slip up once and pay for it in twofold. Points where you will die very quickly and have to replay the entire dungeon, or worse (I had to play through the final dungeon four times, five bosses each time, before I finally beat it). However, BoF:DQ isn't cheap. Sure, there are some moments where the game takes a sudden turn for the worse, but nine out of ten times your death is one of those little mistakes you could have prevented. That doesn't mean that I bet there will be some point in your first playthrough where it will be physically impossible to continue without restarting with your beefed up stats and weapons.

Still, that doesn't mean BoF:DQ isn't forgiving when you are stuck. If you're at a hard, non-boss battle, you can retreat whenever you have a turn. At the cost of a small percentage of your zenny(money). If you're at a hard boss and have no health left, you can always transform Ryu into his invincible dragon form and make short work of it. At the cost of your D-Counter rising closer to that dreaded 100%, in which the game ends. And if you're completely stuck, you can always restart the game with all your party XP, stored items and weapons, and see some extra story scenes while you're playing through a second time. This system of restarting is called the ‘SOL overlay system', and works very well once you figure out how to get the best out of it. This also invites you to replay the game over and over again to get every little bit of story and hidden items.

BoF:DQ is hard, yes, but that's just part of how engaging the game is. Battles are anything but lazy. Let's think of a situation that's commonplace in the game. You are on the end of a bridge you need to cross, but a Goo monster is blocking your way. You can A: rush up while he's not looking, slash with Ryu's sword to get an extra turn, and start hitting. Or you can B: toss a piece of meat and lure him away from the bridge, running past him while he's distracted. Or C: Toss a few bombs, slash with Ryu's sword, and get rid of his last bit of health. Or even D: use Ryu's dragon form to run through him, knocking him aside, and safely across the bridge. Every enemy in the game in strictly on-map (meaning: no random battles) and each battle can be varied immensely. Have Nina cast freeze to solidify the Goo, then have Ryu wail away? Knock the monster back with Lin, then run towards the nearest door as it catches up? Or have Nina cast circles of flame on the ground between your party and the Goo, blocking the line of attack? It's all how you approach the battle that can break or make the outcome.

The battle system itself, once you get into it, is performed very well for the outcomes it can produce. At the start of each battle, you or the enemy has an extra turn, depending on who made the first attack on the map. Then you divulge into the game of managing your AP. Everything but using items uses up AP. Weak attacks use up 10, while stronger ones use up to 30. The further away from your starting point you walk, the more the AP decreases. If you use a weak attack, then slowly combo up into more powerful ones in a seamless multitude of button presses, your attacks do a certain percentage more damage. Do nothing for one turn and the AP carries over to the next, giving you twice as many attacks (Perfect for when the enemy runs up to meet you, rather than you wasting AP to run over to it). Not only does this system give you precision control over how much damage you wish to deal at what time, but it also helps seem together the various strategies and attacks of your members, offering you to have them work together at many times. Like, say, having Nina freeze a Goo and Ryu rush to attack it. Or Lin sucking in an enemy towards her as a diversion so Ryu can attack behind its back when his turn comes. It's all a very engaging system that allows little time for your mind to slip.

Within the engaging battles, appealing storyline, and unique gameplay system, BoF:DQ holds an original edge over the standard RPG. All it needs it an epic score and superb graphics and it's set, right? While the OST isn't quite as epic as the, say, Final Fantasy Tactics or Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata OST, it's still a damn good selection of tunes on its own. Composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto (Radiant Silvergun, Final Fantasy Tactics/Advance, Gradius V) with a little help from Yashiro Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger/Cross, Xenogears, Xenosaga I), BoF:DQ is pretty. Even though there are only a handful of memorable tracks, none of them are really grating, and the whole series fits the game very well. And in the end, that's all that matters. Graphics, though I don't factor this category very heavily, are enough.

In the end, BoF:DQ was a welcome RPG for me. To do away with much of the standard RPG staple and throw in a challenging difficulty level where I was forced to keep my head occupied with ways to play was quite enjoyable. I was very pleased to see an RPG where it strived to be original and succeed. Still, it has its flaws. One is that this game will frustrate you. Especially when you die at the final boss thrice and have to replay the 2 hours of the final dungeon and set of bosses again (Like I did). Part of the challenge, yes, but it's still annoying. Second is no matter how you look at it, this game is still largely a dungeon crawl. There is little branching paths, little side-quests, and little to entertain you from the main quest. Still, with the SOL system, playing it over multiple times isn't nearly a chore as a standard new game+ feature.

Overall, I recommend BoF:DQ if you're looking for a RPG to take a break from the standard RPG queue. It will entertain you for at least a good 30 hours, though it may cost a few broken controllers if you're prone to anger. Still, it's an enjoyable experience that leaves you to ponder why other stale franchises or genres aren't evolving for the better. Not to mention the game is only about a dozen dollars nowadays.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/14/05