Breath of Fire IV

"The better of the two Playstation sequels"

I've long admired Capcom's Breath of Fire series, and when I heard that the series was continuing on the Playstation, I was pretty happy. The first 32 Bit installment was Breath of Fire III, and while I enjoyed it, it failed to live up to the previous two SNES games. When Breath of Fire IV was announced, I met it with a bit less enthusiasm, preparing to be disappointed once more. But then, I started to see the screen shots, and was quite impressed by what I saw. I was still trying to keep my expectations low, but at the same time, I began to wonder if Capcom had it right this time. My fears of another disappointment were put to rest almost as soon as the game started, as Breath of Fire IV is not only everything part III should have been, but it's also one of the hidden treasures of the vast Playstation RPG library.

As the game opens, a large vehicle makes it way across the desert. On board the vehicle is Nina, the princess of Wyndia. Accompanied by her loyal Woren (cat person) guardian, Cray, Nina is on a quest for her sister, Elena, who mysterious disappeared a while ago. As the two travelers make their way across the vast desert, they suddenly spot a large sand dragon coming toward them. Cray tries to pilot them out of the dragon's path, but he is unsuccessful, and the vehicle becomes wrecked, stranding them. Nina decides to venture out on her own to a nearby desert village to find new parts for the damaged vehicle, despite Cray's initial objections.

As Nina makes her way to the town, she comes across a large crater in the middle of the desert. After accidentally falling inside, she is confronted by a giant dragon-like monster, which mysteriously does not even attack, and only flies away. After the monster is gone, she finds a young boy lying unconscious nearby. When he comes to, he explains that his name is Ryu, but that seems to be all he remembers. He doesn't remember anything about himself or where he's going. Nina decides to let him come with her, since maybe there will be someone in the town who recognizes him. Little does Nina realize that this mysterious boy is actually a dragon, and might be the key to her tracking down her missing sister.

At that same moment, in another part of the world, another mysterious dragon in human form is being resurrected after being dead for hundreds of years. He is Fou-Lu, the first emperor of the great empire that rules the land. Unfortunately, his former empire does not seem pleased to see his return, and they seem bent on killing him before he can return to his full power, as the current emperor does not want Fou-Lu to return to the throne. Fou-Lu begins his own quest, as Ryu begins his quest of discovery.

Breath of Fire IV brings one new gameplay element never seen before in the series, or in most RPGs, for that matter - The game has two storylines running at the same time. The game constantly switches back and forth between Ryu and Fou-Lu, so you control the two characters at different times of the game. In the wrong hands, this could have made the game confusing, but Capcom expertly switches back and forth between the two storylines. In fact, Ryu and Fou-Lu are connected, and eventually, their two stories merge together by the end.

The gameplay remains unchanged for the most part compared to past games in the series. You control your party of characters, of which you can only have three fighting at one time. However, you can switch characters at any time during battle. Fortunately, even if characters are not used in battle, they still get their share of experience points, so characters who aren't used often don't fall behind in terms of building levels, in case you suddenly need to use them in an emergency. Battles are random, and are displayed in the traditional isometric view, just as in the past games. However, this time, there is no world map. Well, there is, but you only move a small sprite representing your character between spots on a map, and then you are instantly sent to that area. As you make your way across the map, sometimes your character will stop halfway, with a question mark appearing over his head. That means you can enter an optional hidden area, which can hold items, and battles to help raise your party's levels. The game also contains a series of side quests and mini games, including helping a village of fairies grow and prosper, and as always, the fishing mini game that's appeared in just about every Breath of Fire game.

One area where this game shines is in the graphics. This is a beautiful game. Capcom uses the same engine as in Breath of Fire III (2D sprites on 3D rotatable backgrounds), but this game looks much better than the last installment. The best way I can describe the look of this game is that it looks like it was drawn in watercolors. The colors are soft and beautiful. This is indeed one of the most beautiful fantasy worlds I've seen created for a video game RPG. Some of the areas in this game are just stunningly beautiful. From the enchanted forest where the fairies make their home, to the dark, foreboding caverns, this game has been drawn to the finest detail. The game even has some very cool special effects. At one point, your party encounters a dragon whose body seems to be made out of some kind of transparent water-like substance. Since the dragon's flesh is transparent, you can see its skeleton inside. It's a stunning effect, and Capcom's graphic artists should be commended for their efforts.

However, the real highlight of the graphics is the character animation. These are by far the most animated character sprites to ever appear in an RPG. There are hundreds of animations that these characters go through while they are talking. (Nina cocking her head to the side, as she puts her finger on her chin as she thinks, Cray pounding his fist into his other open palm in anger, Ryu scratching the back of his head nervously...) These characters have hundreds of little animations that they do while they're talking, which brings a lot of life into them. The animation is also extremely smooth, as well. It feels like you're playing with cartoon characters. Even the battle animation of Ryu slicing an enemy with his sword is animated beyond belief. How Capcom was able to fit in so many frames of animation is beyond me. Watching these characters move is a joy, and I always seem to notice something new every time I play the game. This game is simply unmatched in terms of animation.

One more brief note about the graphics - The game opens with a beautiful anime movie intro. It's mysterious, and gets you interested right from the start. What's really amazing is that this intro is full screen, and the animation is fluid, so it feels like you're watching a video. My only wish with the anime intro is that Capcom had subtitled the dialogue. The dialogue in the intro is in Japanese, and there's no English translation. I wish I knew what Ryu was saying to Fou-Lu at the end of the opening movie.

The game's music is also high quality. I was disappointed by the soundtrack in Breath of Fire III, with its jazzy, heavily modern sound that did not fit the mood of the game. Fortunately, Capcom has gone with a much fitting soundtrack this time around. The game's score is at times symphonic and epic sounding, and at others, light-hearted. The music never seems out of place, and the composition is great. My personal favorite track in the game is the music played during the anime intro. Another thing that impressed me about the game is that the game has two different battle themes - One theme for when you are fighting with Ryu's party, and the other for when you are playing as Fou-Lu. Overall, the game's soundtrack helps you get even more involved with the story.

The sound effects are great, as well. The quotes your characters shout in Japanese during battle are cute, and the sounds of your characters hitting the enemies are strong and forceful. The game also includes some very good atmospheric effects, such as the wind blowing through the desert, owls and crickets when your characters camp at night, etc. Capcom outdid themselves in just about every area of the game's presentation.

Even though this is the best Breath of Fire game on the Playstation, there are two main complaints that keep it from scoring a perfect 10 with me. For one, the areas you explore are often too cramped. It cam sometimes be hard to see where you're going, because either the camera does not rotate far enough, or there is too much clutter in your surroundings. In some towns (like the desert town you visit early in the game), the streets seem so narrow, and filled with people, it's hard to navigate. The other major fault I can find is that the game is sometimes a bit slow-paced. However, I never lost my interest, so it's not a huge deal.

In the end, Breath of Fire IV is probably one of my favorite in the series, next to Part II. The beautiful watercolor-look of the graphics, flawless animation, great soundtrack, and intertwining story makes this game an RPG experience you should see for yourself. I'm hoping Capcom continues this series on the Playstation 2, and if they do, they continue the level of quality displayed here.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/01/02, Updated 06/09/03