Breath of Fire

"A legend comes to the small screen, Breath of Fire"

The Re-release of Breath of Fire for Game Boy Advance, a sweet new game for a sweet new system. Breath of Fire is an RPG originally made for the Super Nintendo(or Super Famicom) in the early 90’s. Made by big names such as CAPCOM and SQUARE, this game was heading for success.

Game play-
The new features- A run button, something I would have died for in the original makes the traveling a whole lot quicker. The new menus make eqiping and using items quicker than the original also. And the coup de grace, a save anywhere funtion, this baby’ll save you when your in the middle of a dungeon and the teachers about to spy your Role-playing.
Fun-ness-The games turn-based battles, that include Transforming into dragons, Magic, stealing, and the occasional ‘slam’ critical attack, what Role-player could ask for more. Plus, mini-games that include hunting, fishing, and digging for items, this RPG is a must for anyone who needs some good-old fashioned RPG goodness.
Difficulty-Easy/Moderate
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I played the SNES version first, and this version seems a whole lot easier than the original. I suspect it might have been toned-down for young Role-players.
Story-
You are Ryu, the last of the Light Dragons, capable of gaining the ability of becoming a dragon. Upon the the destruction of Drogen, your village and home, you set out to put an end to Zog, an evil force that’s responsible for the kidnapping of Sara. Gathering fellow warriors, you’ll see to it that Zog gets a ride to the land of hades.
Graphics and Music-
Graphics-
The world map is laid out nicely, and the time of day is displayed in and out of battle. The characters are also modeled nicely, with up-graded character portraits, a new status and battle menus; the game has got a nice face-lift in my opinion
Standard of the SNES, the graphics are all 16-bit, but they do look nice. Magic effects are mediocre, but of course you must understand, back in the day, graphical effects didn’t make the game.
Music-
Not quite up to par with the Final Fantasy series, the music was above average, and was able to convey the emotion and moods of the game.
Replay value-
How many times would I play through it again?
Ahh, the only downward fall to most RPGs, the replayability. Sadly, the value is low, with no new options available for your efforts; the replay value is hardly anything. In fact, you may not want to play it for along time after you’ve completed your quest. After a long break from this game, you may decide to play it again, just as a lot of people who’ve already bought it for Gameboy Advance, just to enjoy this quest once again.
A thing to own, or a rental return?
Breath of Fire is easily a buy in my opinion, its deep RPG roots will submerse you in it vast world and rich characters will make you wish you had found this game along time ago. The new battle menu will make battles quicker and easier, and the new status menu will be helpful to young and old alike.
The worth?
Still, I didn’t want to did out 40$ for this game when I bought the original for 19, but buy the time I loaded the cartridge on found the game’s new run feature and menus, I knew I’d invested wisely.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/25/02, Updated 02/25/02