Breath of Fire

"A classic from the SNES era."

Breath of Fire came out in a age where RPGs were finally starting to become the complex games they are today. Published by Squaresoft in the US, Breath of Fire was remarkable game in many ways. With a simplistic, yet intriguing, story and characters with distinct personalities Breath of Fire became a classic amongst RPGs on the Super Nintendo. Taking a look back at this game, one can see how unique it truly was.

Story: The Light Dragon Clan and the Dark Dragon Clan are at odds. The Dark Dragon Clan are your typical Empire style villains. Making the common folk suffer, and destroying anyone that opposes them, they make everywhere they reign their own personal playground. The Dark Dragons are commanded by Emperor Zog and his right hand man Jade. Obviously Emperor Zog and Jade have some nefarious plans in mind that bode not so well for the rest of the world.

One day the Light Dragon Clan village is raided and burned to the ground. Out of the confusion our hero's sister Sarah gives herself up to the Dark Dragons in the hopes that she can save her Clan members. Our hero, let's call him Ryu for simplicity, decides to go on a quest to find his sister and to save the world from Emperor Zog's dark ambitions. Along the way he is joined by several comrades, including the Breath of Fire regular Nina, as they journey across the world fighting the Dark Dragons along the way. Each character has a unique personality and often adds to whatever scene they are in.

Gameplay: The gameplay is your typical Turn-based RPG fare. In a method more similar to Dragon Quest, you input each character's actions before the turn begins. Each character has their own distinct weaknesses and advantages. Most notably is Ryu's. Ryu will eventually obtain the ability to transform into Dragons during the game. These transformations are often powerful and can easily swing the tide of battle in your favor. During the game you will come across various temples sometimes in seemingly unreachable areas. These temples are home to challenges you must face to gain more dragon powers. Each temple after the first requires certain requirements to be met. Eventually Ryu can gain the ability to transform into a type of Mega Dragon of sorts that fills up all of the character slots causing the other three characters to disappear from the screen for the duration of the transformation.

Each character has their own speciality such as Ox with smashing things. Ryu has the talent of fishing which is a mainstay in the series. He can fish in certain areas and the chance of catching something varies probably on which rod or bait you use. Most of these specialities are pivotal to the game and will most likely be used at least once. Karn has the ability to open locks while Bo has the ability to walk through forests and so on.

The thief Karn also has a very special ability. He can fuse with your other characters to create a super character. This is a very useful ability later on as certain characters outlive their usefulness allowing you to get more out of them. Karn has several different fusions as well. Each one can only be obtained in specific locations similar in many respects to Ryu's Dragon Trials. These fusions, however, do not require you to overcome any trial. Although finding the places may be considered a trial in itself.

Graphics/Sound: The graphics are pretty good for a game that came out such a long time ago. The sprites are detailed and the battle animations are well done as well. The sound is also well done. Each dungeon and town's melody fits in perfectly with it.

Playtime/Replayability: The game should take you about 20-30 hours. Perhaps more if you do everything in the game. As for replayability, while there is not much, there are a few tricky secrets and whatnot that may not be seeable until a second playthrough. Some people may find themself replaying the game anyway, despite the lack of replay goodies that some of the more modern RPGs may have.

Final Recommendation: If you own a SNES, I'd recommend you add this game to your collection. It is a wonderful RPG that any fan of the genre would enjoy. If you don't have a SNES then the GBA version would be the next best thing. The game is a classic which every RPG fan should try once.

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