Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

"Contrary to the rumors, BoFV is perhaps the greatest, albeit most different, game in the series."

A few weeks ago, I found myself in the local Gamestop, splurging on a few new titles. However, as a big fan of the previous installments in the Breath of Fire series, the main treasure I was in search for was a copy of Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter.

I had quite a few mixed feelings towards the game. Many of my buddies had praised it unconditionally, but elsewhere I had heard vindictive rumors about the game, namely that it was a horrible title and a disgrace to the entire BoF series. Nevertheless, I remained undeterred and promptly threw it on top of the pile of games I was purchasing.

Soon after arriving back home, I popped open the PS2 disc tray and shoved in the BoFV game disc. I watched the introduction movies prior to the start-up screen (very cool-looking too): Due to a disaster a thousand years ago, mankind had been forced underground, and is now no longer even familiar with the concept of the sky! But now one boy (our hero) would break free from this subterranean world all for her (presumably, the heroine's) sake.

My interest piqued, I proceeded to make my own file and to start playing and was greeted by a foreboding opening (two friends pitted against each other *rolls eyes*) followed by a rather generic first mission briefing and was sent out. I arrived at the first save point. But alas, a consumable item was required to save my file, although I could soft save, if that was any consolation. Perturbed by this revelation, I embarked on my first adventure.

I entered my first dungeon (a fairly vague term, considering the entire game is a dungeon crawler) and noted that all my enemies were in plain sight (meaning no random encounters). Per the in-game tutorial's request, I swiped my sword at the first creature I saw and entered my first battle in accordance with the PETS (Positive Encounter and Tactical System) to seize the initiative. Great! Both my fighters were close-range, sword-wielding fighters and, to top it off, the protagonist was a weakling. The system had the feel of a typical Role-Playing Game with some strong Tactical RPG elements (despite the non-grid battle field) but nevertheless left a foreign and confusing impression on me.

Apparently, AP was consumed for all actions in battle, from movement based off of distance from the center of a circle to the various attacks, and a full gauge's worth was restored every turn, maxing at two gauges. Attacks were divided into 3 different levels of power and could be chained together so long as my AP held out, and the said skills seemed to be drawn either innately from a weapon or from some giant pool that grew from what enemies and treasure chests gave me, although how many and what type I could attach varied on whatever weapon and shield I had equipped. In addition, experience earned from victory was divided into experience given to my party members and Party Experience, which I could distribute to my characters at a later time.

I carried on and met with a few cut scenes, but I felt more compelled now, more interested, and before I knew it, soon after, I had received the first of the hero's dragon powers, a field action, and moments after, more party members (with their own field actions), joined my group. I finally had a varied group, seeing that I also had a gunner and a magician now.

The gunner was obviously a long-range fighter but had the plus of having extra effects added onto her combos, whether they be status effects, extra damage, or literal commands (e.g. Steal). As for the magician, her skills differed quite a bit. Magic in DQ seemed to vary from area attacks of numerous shapes and sizes to traps lain on the battlefield, intended to damage and generally obstruct the enemy. However, these magical traps were not to be confused with the actual trapping system in the game. By using certain items on the field or in battle, I could inflict damage or status or distract the enemy.

I kept pushing on and finally received the full brunt of the hero's dragon powers: an overwhelming strong beast that made any task at hand a cake-walk, a sharp contrast to the high level of difficulty hitherto that had mandated deep strategic and tactical preparation. However, with that power came a price. Now, a “D-Counter” had appeared, which put this immeasurable power in check. Whether this incredible force was utilized or not, the 0.00% reading on the D-Counter would always increase… but would never go down (although, obviously, using the power led to a greater boost to the counter than not).

As soon as Dragon Quarter revealed the game's true objective, the game became a race against the D-Counter and time. However, at this point, I had noticed a distinct change in my attitude. The few skills I started out with turned into many, whether it be through literal combinations or strategic ones, and the rising difficulty of the enemies mandated better and better usage of all the available resources (especially the little money you get), and, as a result, this initially rather awkward-seeming battle system had become second nature and familiar, and, even more amazingly, I had grown to love it.

But it wasn't only the battle system. The initially rather cliche-ish beginning had grown into a touching story, the saving system had become acceptable, and the cel-shading animation had worked well in producing character designs adept at expressing emotions well and aesthetic environments, including upper and lower class cities, a power plant, industrial zones, a garbage heap, a world of ice, and a regal palace, all supplemented by an equally gorgeous and ever-appropriate musical track.

Furthermore, Breath of Fire V features a mini-game similar to and as engrossing as its predecessors, an Antz Colony (Faerie Village in the past two installments), in which you can build up a civilization with hired workers by digging through the earth to find rooms, battle anteaters, and even find a subsidiary dungeon and by creating and working numerous occupations.

The game is designed to be replayed too, so replay value isn't a question. The game is integrated with an innovative new system called SOL (Scenario Overlay), which enables you to restart from the beginning of the game or from your last hard save while retaining some of your old stats and Party Experience (SOLing is especially useful if you've allowed your D-Counter to raise too high). Furthermore, throughout the game, you'll encounter several doors that are locked and can only be opened if you have a high enough D-Ratio, a ranking which can only be improved when you complete the game. Finally, several important, intriguing plot points are only revealed by passing through such locked doors and through SOL cut scenes (scenes displayed only once you've SOL Restarted/Restored).

The only conceivable flaws in Dragon Quarter lay in its unlimited item usage per turn (although that is partly balanced out by the lack of healing items and heavy damage the opposition inflicts), limited development of certain characters, and somewhat steep learning curve and subsequent adjustment period. But in general most objections towards DQ rarely and barely detract from the quality of this great game.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/05, Updated 09/07/05