Breath of Fire II

"The fire of an old game rekindled"

Breath of Fire 2 first came out for the Super Nintendo back in the day. Now it is newly made and it is out for Gameboy Advanced. It is basically the same thing, except now the characters can run. There is no difference between the Snes and GBA version for the plot or gameplay. Both games are really good in their own way. Breath of Fire is a underrated rpg game that I feel is pretty good.

Gameplay-9/10
The gameplay for this game is unique. The monsters have HP bars so you can tell how much hp they have left. The characters actually move when they attack and the animation is done nicely. The gameplay is not at all too hard to understand and it even tells when monsters are sleeping or awake. This information is useful, because if monsters are asleep the chance of you fighting one is low. If you are expecting this game’s gameplay to be like the Final Fantasy series then you should go buy another game. Breath of Fire 2 is a unique game and very different from most rpg games I have seen. The GBA version added a cool addition where you can link your games and trade items. This new feature is really cool and only enhances the gameplay. The reason I gave the gameplay nine is because it doesn’t tell you when you are going to level up. It only tells how much experience you have so far. This can get really annoying at times and they should have changed this part. Other then that the gameplay is fun and unique.

Plot-8/10
The plot is nothing special. It is like the old one. Ryu gets “dragon” powers and has to save the world from an evil tyrant. It isn’t that unique and if you compare the plot from Final Fantasy or Chrono Trigger then you can tell that Capcom should have spent more time in this section. There are a few plot twists so don’t expect this story to be all linear. Overall I’ve seen games with worse plot then this game and I don’t mind so much.

Graphics-9/10
The graphics for this game is pretty good. The animation is done nicely as characters move when they attack. The spells are done pretty nice and it’s a huge improvement from the first game of the series. Capcom tried to make this game have really nice graphics and it payed off. The visuals, background, the battle itself is nicely done. Good job Capcom.

Audio-5/10
The sound for this game is not all too good. The music is nothing special and I just turned on my stereo to listen to the music. Capcom should have done a much better job in this section. The music was just horrid… no way else to put this.

Replayability- This game is pretty hard so I highly doubt you will play it a several times. Most people will play the game twice then consider themselves masters of the game and never look at it again. This game is worth to play twice I guess. Nothing too special about it.

Overall- I felt that this game was a very good rpg game and if you are an rpg fan then this is a must buy. The graphics are good and the plot is decent. This game is definitely one of the better rpg games out there.

Overall Score-9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/24/02, Updated 09/24/02