What do you think was the best game in the Breath of Fire series was, and why? Do you have any nostalgic stories from playing the Breath of Fire games? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through UA-cam membership by clicking the JOIN button above!
I am one of those people that are supper disappointed by how the series turned out. Capcom is only focusing on remaking RE series right now and maybe DMC, but DMC maybe left in the dust pan as well, since 5 was such a big thing. They just have no idea where to take the series for whatever reason, but SF and RE they seem to have some ideas... it's f'd up.
I remember when Capcom first announced that they were making an RPG with a main character named "Ryu", and all the gaming magazines thought that Capcom was making an RPG based on Street Fighter II. Oh, those were the days of the Street Fighter craze...
FF6 was my first RPG and I adored it, so growing up it along with Chrono Trigger were the standard by which all other RPGs were measured. 2 was my first BOF, but BOF3 was my favorite. I first played 2 back in the 90s when I was 10, or 11. While I enjoyed FF6 a hell of lot a more than BOF2, BOF2's colorful world and less serious tone was a needed break from the romantic steampunk of FF6. I remember the opening scenes and music of BOF2 having a big emotional impact on me as a child, but unfortunately that emotional impact was not sustained for the rest of the game. I always felt lost in BOF2, not knowing where to go or what the point was And frustrated by the grinding, random encounter rate and repetitive dungeon music. By contrast in FF6, I always knew where to go and what my characters motivations were, and I cared about them and their quest. Nonetheless I still enjoyed BOF2, even tho it was frustrating as hell and I never beat it (I'm actually playing through it right now so I can finally beat it). BOF1 was similar to 2, and I never beat it either. BOF3 for me was by far the apex of the series and the only one I completed, it fixed all 1 and 2's problems. It finally felt like the BOF series found itself, its niche, became mature and fully realized. BOF4 seemed like a bit of a step down from 3, like FF8 was a step down from FF6, 7 and Tactics, so I didn't have the motivation to make it very far. As for BOF5 and 6, they look like total crap and I'm sure I'll never play them, but I'd like to replay BOF1-4.
Breath of Fire III was my first in the series, and frankly, it became and will always remain one of my favorite games of all times. The story, the music, the animations and characters...all of it just blew me away at the time! I absolutely love this series, and really enjoyed this video. Honestly, just the best time in RPG history back in the PS1 era. 🙏🏼
Yes yes yes and YES lol it was my first too and my first true JRPG. Hands down my favorite out the series but you really can't go wrong with any of the first 3. 4 was awesome but the shift in theme and tone makes it feel like an oddball
The high point of the entire series. I remember 12 year old me becoming adult Ryu for the first time. How badass he looked. Or uow child Ryu would become more comfortable with his sword as the story progressed and seeing the animations reflect that.v
BOF deserves a remake. After commercial successes like FFVII Remake and Tales of Arise, Capcom could very well try their best and show us they still got it with Ryu and Nina.
When I think back at Dragon Quarter, it feels like like a proto roguelite game. The game added that hard time limit to beat get to the end and encouraged you to bank items for a future runs. All it was missing was a system to randomize the dungeon rooms.
That would had benefited a whole lot, and maybe an extra party member (maybe a glass runner clan member) to make it similar to the 4 characters during playthrough, like in 1 and 2.
Yeah it was actually a really cool gameplay flow. It was pretty brutal in certain spots with a bit of a learning curve so there was a very good chance you were going to restart but you'd get additional cutscenes and things like that.
I'll have to replay it some day. I dropped it because I was discouraged from using the Dragon transformation which was a major letdown. But i dont really remember the details. The battle system i did like.
I think most are sleeping with how the story was presented in BoF4. It tackled more mature themes and has a darker tone when compared to other installments of the game. I fell in love with it the first time I played it when I was in grade school. And after a replay on the recent years, it is my favorite now.
It's harder to get Capcom to bring this IP back. It's always behind FF (when Squaresoft) was there to rule almost all the front knowledge of rpg king. Kinomi, Atlus, Sega, Nintendo and others tried so hard on RPG but most didn't meet expectation. The only one that come out of this genre is Square Enix and Atlus. Most are in the shadows and forgotten through time.
Why didn't you talk about the Township in BoF2? It was what made it such an amazing game for me. The first game just had so many amazing secrets to find, like becoming a vendor in Gobi's hometown. Plus you could actually clear most of the dungeons of all enemies and stop getting random encounters in BoF2. I loved the first 3 games so much!
@@Xygor yes! And seeing my little girl get so excited about parts of the story is awesome! I use it as part of homeschooling too, she has to read all the dialogue out to me while we play. 😁
YES YES YES , Love Breath of Fire series , I still remember buying breath of Fire 1 from a video game store and getting my mom to order number 2 from some video game catalog for Christmas
I like Dragon Quarter because it's Logistical. There is the Plot, the Management of various Resources such as Zenny, Save Tokens, Experience Points, and Backpack Space. Most players would simply play through to beat the game, which is understandable for most games. In this game, it takes several playthroughs to achieve the games main goal, the Dragon Quarter Rating. Normal players beat Chetyre and it's over. Those who play for the Dragon Quarter several times, taking advantage of the Scenario Overlay Feature, to get to the point where they beat Dover, the Ultimate Boss to rack up the points needed for the Dragon Quarter.
I got into this series from the very beginning!! 1 and 2 are what got me into turn based RPGs!! I will always remember being 7 years old and the excitement I got when I defeated the final boss of the first game!! I have great love and respect for this series!!
BoF2 I loved the concept of building a little town, choosing different layouts and inviting different people, each of which gives you useful bonuses like a secret fishing spot or weapon shop. Of course the cooking was OP cause you could literally boost stats but was just so time consuming. Basically that was a theme of BoF2 as well, that last dungeon wasn't called Infinite for nothing xD
@@Xygor Oh I nearly forgot the circumstance that makes the place become a town from just a lonely house. The shaman system was another interesting layer of character customization that I quite enjoyed, Spar's mushroom girl form was my favorite.
The in-game graphics of BoF4 were great! But the actual character designs and illustration definitely took many steps back. Characters were less details, and most characters have less animal features like in BoF1 and BoF2.
I think a big issue that a lot of people had with Dragon Quarter (myself included, to a degree) is that it was an entry in a series that was all about turning into cool dragons where your goal was to get to the end of the game WITHOUT turning into a dragon. That and a lot of other elements of the plot and setting just made it feel so disconnected from the rest of the franchise, those who played it while hoping to feel connected to the series again ended up feeling alienated instead, to the detriment of what the game actually did well.
@@flaminyawn It was very different. But in dragon quarter I liked that the dragon form was ridiculously overpowered and only should be used when needed. Little details like the more ryu uses it his transformation becomes less stressful ( the animation itself). I agree the themes are drastically different. I agree I think it’s a great game but not quite what breath of fire is.
Dragon Quarter still had one of the coolest endings of any JRPG I’ve played. I don’t want to spoil it, but the way you beat the final boss gave me chills, and was such a huge payoff after what you have to be careful of so much throughout the game.
BoF3 was my first PS1 game. It'll always hold a special place in my heart. I spent HOUSE grinding to try and beat the horse brothers early on. I was CONVINCED there was a secret if you beat them
I even tried with cheats lol because how rumors spread back then everyone misunderstood that it's the 2nd encounter in wyndia prison that you can technically win the battle by making them flee, doesn't change anything though which is unfortunate, I really wanted Teepo back
The main mechanic of Dragon Quarter wasn't even mentioned. The game encourages the player to restart the game if they die as Ryu can restart with increased stats every time it is done. It is also the only way to achieve the 1/4 status by game's end.
For real, funny thing is, you can beat the game in your first playthrough, but requires extreme micro management and exploitation /understanding of the game mechanics.
Just stumbled across this video and, seriously, good job! I was born in the 90's so for me my first Breath of Fire was BOF3, but the first one I completed and replayed a hundred times was BOF4. I've played the other games and, personally, BOF4 will always be number one because of that, but also I think it is the best as, sadly, the last good modern BOF. Never going to forget being stuck on Won-Qu for days and days, then having my friend over who gave it a try. The whole part was dead and Ryu had like 80 HP or something. My friend goes "well, all or nothing" and does a single melee attack which... Was the last hit needed to beat the boss! I have tons of stories about this game and consider it my favorite of all time, mostly because of the story and the in depth perspective on duality that it has and Fou Lu as a character. Absolutely amazing.
BOF 4 will forever be one of my favorite BOF Games (I loved the Plot and even read the Manga years later) along with 3, I kinda liked Dragon Quarter too.
I actually don't remember whether I started with III or IV. Back in 2008 when I was about 7, my father dusted off the PlayStation he bought whilst in Australia along with Breath of Fire IV. Before letting us play the games, he went out to buy the third game which he did not have then. We were ecstatic with my siblings. After all, back then, we hadn't really played any video game at all. I distinctly remember falling in love with both games. III was colourful, filled with easy-to-understand dialogue, whilst the other was written in a language I knew nothing about, but whose graphics transcended the language barrier. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get to enjoy the latter fully until over ten years later as the disk was scratched... I played III at a slow pace, it almost felt like I only managed to progress bit by bit. As I grew up, I kept returning to that game regularly. When I finished it back in 2018, it almost felt surreal! A game I started over 10 years ago was finally behind me. I loved the characters, the story progression, the worldbuilding, the graphics, the music, everything! It forever holds a special place in my heart and, even though I've replayed it since, nothing has ever come close to the experience of beating it over a long period of time, growing up with Ryu. I restarted a BoFIV save file in late 2019/early 2020 through the magic of emulation. By that time, I was pretty good at English meaning that the moonrunes that were once in this game made sense at long last to me. It's a great game, with a nigh perfect atmosphere. Then, after finishing it up, I picked up BoFII and 1 almost simultaneously. I feel like a lot of their appeal comes from people who played them at the time. Whilst good games relatively for the time, they don't really feel either unique or really polished anymore, especially the second one. It's really a shame, as for SNES games they were very likely high quality when they were released! Still, I love the series!
Awesome review. I enjoyed Breath of Fire 4 a lot. It brought me to my childhood all again. Just a small gripe... Ree-You please. It makes me jump everytime you read it the "american way".
Thank you for the awesome video about one of my all time favorite video game series! I love this series! You get to transform into dragons! I Love dragons! My favorite game of the series is BOF2! It was the game that introduced me to the series and has a very special place in my heart. The battle against the first demon in the game Barubary, the demon with the big tail, is ingrained into my memories! He looked SO COOL! And his Boss battle music is one of my all time favorites! BOF3 is a close second with Garr being my favorite BOF character! I've only played the first 4 games and only beat the first one. I love this series so much I bought the Breath of Fire Official Complete Works book! I would love for a BOF collection. That would be so cool. I'm so glad you mentioned Tears of Magic! So excited for that game!
BoF 3 was actually my first and then I played 1 and 2 over on the GBA. Played BoF IV way later and never played anything other than that. I've got to say that 3 is still my favorite to this day, a combination of nostalgia, awe inspiring graphics and music as well as a serviceable story where you just grow alongside Ryu (Rei is also super likeable). I don't think BoF can come back to this era in a satisfying way that seems financially feasible tbh, but I will always cherish the memories I have with BoF3 and 2.
BoF2 has always been my favorite in the series, too! It's the next game I'm going to replay for a review on my channel, so I'm curious to see if I still liked it as much as I did when I was younger.
Great video! I only played the first 4 entries, but didn't finish BoF 4 because my PC died at that time and couldn't back up the save file :'c. I tried BoF 6 and uninstalled it pretty soon after seeing how BAD it was. BoF 2 is my favorite entry in the series, and one of the videogames I love the most. I got it as a Christmas present in 1997 or 1998, and it took me 2 years to finish the game and I got the sad ending. It was heartbreaking. I'm a native Spanish speaker, so as a 7, 8-year-old kid I had no knowledge of English at the time and had to play the game along with an ENG-SPA dictionary. This motivated me to learn English and other languages in the future. Personal anecdote: I remember believing that when the Dragon Tear started to blink in all colors (on the stats screen of a companion), it was time for that character to say goodbye and it made me sad because I didn't want them to leave the party. This game was and is a rollercoaster of emotions, the only game in my life that made me tear up a good number of times or straight up cry like a baby. Especially the story revolving Rand. Regarding the OST of the game: A few weeks ago, as I was enjoying it here on YT, I saw a comment saying that the composer had less than a month to work on it, and if that is true, then that would explain how short they are and why some tracks feel underwhelming. Despite this, "Thank you, everyone", is a banger. If only all tracks were this long....
Great retrospective. I personally love Dragon Quarter. My fave in the series and one of my favorite rpgs overall for the PS2. It's very distinct in both it's gameplay and art style, and I applaude the daring move to make a very short game where you are expected to replay it to get the whole experience. But I will absolutely agree that it misses everything expected of a BoF title and is probably (at least in part) to blame for killing the series.
@@Chernobog2 I did buy the Wii or PS2 version many years ago on a whim because it seemed interesting. Didn't have the time to give it a proper chance back then but I heard it's the lesser version compared to the original in many ways. Would love to give it a new shot tho.
Always been interested in this series. Thanks so much for making the video! It was very well done. And you’re not wrong about never saying never. Capcom has been knocking it out of the park with remakes and remasters.
howd i miss this? love this series edit: 100% agree on your opinion of 2 being the best. with translation and 2x exp patches it really is a great experience.
Absolutely loved the BPF 3 ost. The mostly jazz influenced music made the grinding and traversing the game much more easy! The city pop influenced tracks, some of the more essier going muzak/lounge style songs and even the thematic jazzy ones too! Definitely a main trope of capcom music of that era, which was excellent in almost all their titles on the ps1.
BoF3 is my favorite RPG in terms of experience. It really feels like you went on an adventure with friends. It also has loads of secrets and equipment has neat little extra effects which gives extra depth. The first BoF is my second favorite. It is more traditional, but the atmosphere is great and it feels a bit more cohesive then BoF2.
My memory's of breath of fire are mostly 2 fold. 1 loving three, but never being able to get past that stinking desert. And 2, my brother raving how good 2 ways lol I would LOVE a remaster of the first 4 at least I adore BoF3s jazzy soundtrack. The song you played, from the town, has got to be one of the most iconic songs ever
I've played IV and Dragon Quarter, and I liked them both, especially IV. The art style and music really appeal to me. I don't remember the story that well though
Breath of Fire IV is the game that got me into the franchise. Both my younger brother and I loved the game so much, that we replayed it as much as possible together and by ourselfs. An incredible game indeed.
Dragon Quarter was amazing as a game. I love challenging games, and that one had it! I went through from the beginning to the end without resetting once. It was absolutely nail biting not knowing what was coming around the corner, and I had a few times I almost died and would have lost an hour or more of progress.
I only ever played the first two Breath of Fire games, but man did I love them, flaws and all. I was already a huge RPG fan by the time the SNES came around (thanks largely to Ultima: Exodus, Dragon Warrior, and FF1), so I gobbled up every RPG I could. BoF1 was my first introduction to JRPGs having more heroes than you can actively bring with you (I was also a huge fan of Shining Force), and I liked that characters had specialty abilities when leading the party. As mentioned in the video, the combat felt fluid (and something of a spiritual ancestor to Suikoden's combat system, which feels very familiar because of it), the music was spot-on, and exploration was usually pretty profitable, earning you items/gear a little ahead of your current level. The Dragon transformations were always fun to use, though I only really used them when necessary since I tried to rush through normal fights. For the record: Nina, Bo, Karn, Bleu, and Katt will always be among my favorite characters in JRPGs. I wanted to like Sten and the aquatic characters Gobi and Jean, but the former showed up a bit too late for me to really appreciate back in the day (aside from shaman transformations), and while Jean is a definite upgrade to Gobi, both felt lacking and pretty much were just underwater transportation and Shaman Transformation bait.
Breath of Fire 3 and 4 were some of my favorite games on the PS1, actually got them both on a Vita awhile back and they're still as great as I remembered them. The spritework still holds up, would love to see games in that style still coming out but alas everything is 3d sprites now. At least there's still all those old great games to play. lol
I played this game around the same time Super Metroid came out, around 1993. I was like 7-8 and it was introduced to me through an older friend who I'd watch play. Eventually I'd go on to play it myself and also Breath of Fire 2. Those two games were my first RPGs ever.
Not sure how this came up in recommended but glad it did. Love this series growing up and played through all of them tons of times. BOF3 was definitely my favorite and I still go back to play it every so often. Quarter I couldn't stand since it actively put a clock on how much you could use the dragon system, if you use to much you literally die with IIRC no way to reduce it. My only gripe about your critique is that most games of BOF1/2 era had the same poor text translation or limitations due to being 16 bit and only have 5-8 letters to work with. Only in re-releases or ports were a lot of those updated for games like FF, the originals had a lot of abbreviations. Translations weren't really given a good team until gaming started to become main stream and more affordable in the late 90s and early 2000s. Best example I can think of is SOTN was translated by one dude in a handful of months timeframe, with little to no direct access to the team that worked on it to bounce ideas off of. But bad translations are what make gaming iconic and stand out more. As we wouldn't have things like "All your base belong to us" or "what is a man but a miserable pile of secrets"
I would say my favourite was 2. I still remember someone writing the wrong way to get Bleu in the manual and wasting way too much time trying to get her.
While I can’t take credit for this theory, someone said that Ryu got weaker in every incarnation. In 1 he could transform, maintain and use his ultimate dragon form endlessly. In 2 he took penalties and in 3 it was severely temporary after powering up. 4 he was completely unable to achieve it without (no spoiler,) and in 5 he can’t control it at all only suppress. Even the artwork on this thumbnail shows a more mythical Ryu as the original and he slowly becomes more mortal looking as the games advance.
I always understood it as purity of the bloodline. 1 your a full blood brood so only cost magic, in 2 it's clearly stated that you're only half blood so he can only maintain it for a single attack, in 3 you're back to being a full blood Brood but you have no training an use your powers on instinct so he has trouble maintaining it for a longtime, in 4 you're again a full blood but you're only half of yourself so you can only manifest for short periods but can do it as often as you want. Then there's 5 where you're not Brood at all but just a human using the powers of the Brood which over time your human body can't handle.
BoF 1 and 2 are so nostalgic for me. I wish they would remake them with quality of life improvements. Those soundtracks bring me back to childhood. 3 was great but the rest I couldn't get into...
Imagine any of the first 3 BOF games made in Dragon Quest XI's art style. Simply amazing!!! Or BoF 4 in an enhanced Okami style, or like Scarlet Nexus or Astral Chain.
The original Breath of Fire game will always stand out to me in my memory because of when I played it. My best friend and his family had moved to another state, so when I went to visit for 2 weeks we mostly played RPGs like the old days. We bought a copy for the SNES and started playing for 2 days straight, passing the controller back and forth. As we finished the game and finally turned it off, the news was on and the Oklahoma City bombing had just occurred.
I thought dragon quarter was a masterpiece in replayability and I wish more games had a replay mechanic like it. The mechanics mixed the best of jrpgs and a diablo' ish crawlers into a cohesive addictive game.
BoF IV was the first game I played in the series and I’d say it’s definitely one of my favorite games of all time. The best part for me was definitely the way the narrative was told through 2 different POVs.
I grew up playing Breath of fire, having played each game 4-5 times. I immediately fell in love with turning into a dragon and the core theme. It's hard to rate them against eachother especially with 5 being so different from the rest. When I first popped in 5 I was immediately taken aback by how different it was; oh and hard! But after figuring out its mechanics I fell in love with it too. Because of how 5 is setup and how it rewards you for playing through it multiple times it is my most played Breath of Fire game. I think 5 was a little too different and unfairly judged. I wish Capcom would revive the series (6 doesn't exist). I used to anticipate Breath of Fire releases right up there with Final Fantasy. Both of my favorite series are so full of disappointments now, sad times.
Not sure what was more nostalgic, the walk down memory lane w/this series, or listening to you mispronounce "Ryu" in the same way I (and many others) used to for the entire video. It's actually pronounced "Ree-You"; りゅ - Ri-Yu- instead of らいゆ -Ra-i-Yu-). Disregarding the spelling though the two names have different meanings that make it pretty clear which is the proper pronunciation: "Ryu" means "dragon" in Japanese while Raiyu means "thunder". Grammar lesson aside, very nice video. BoF 3 is my personal favorite of the entire series w/5 being my least...and we don't talk about 6 :D One of my favorite mechanics from BoF3 was the multiple ways to get awesome equipment for your characters. Too often in modern RPGs you just buy equipment upgrades but I particularly remember being able to get awesome gear from fishing, stealing, dungeon crawling, defeating monsters and sending your faeries out exploring. It made doing all of these things actually worthwhile as opposed to either just checking of a list of things to do or being simple ribbon abilities. That aside, didn't "Tears of Magic" not get funded through Kickstarter?
I literally grew up w this series. Loved every one... until 5 happened, I then moved on. I always really, REALLY liked 2, but if I'm being honest with myself, I'd say 3 and 4 were the best ones. Especially 4, for me that's probably the best imo. Sad what eventually happened to the series. 🤷
I am honest and say 2 was easily and by far the best one, its was also the most difficult one and had the better story overall, i like the synergy of it, if a game is hard as nails, it better have something to motivate you for the work to finish it. IV was too easy and never properly finished, the main villain just got skipped and you had just a philosophical ending with yourself, without real proper finish as Yuna battle was cut out. The game definately needs a remaster. But i wouldn't change anything in BoF II, its a masterpiece and timeless, especially regarding when it was released and on a mere 16 bit console, only chrono, FFIV and FFVI were bigger JRPGs on the SNES, but also easier what made them more boring to replay them.
Capcom would make a huge mistake in shelving this franchise indefinitely but it does feel like that’s the case. Such great games and I hope that they’ll at least be remastered and released on virtual consoles. Fingers crossed.
BoF 3 still my favorite. I really love the Rei/Teepo Arc at the beggining, the soundtrack, the transformations, the plot, the design of adult Ryu... this game is really good!.
Man, I wish I liked that game. After beating 1 and 2 and playing and loving 3 and 4, I was so excited to get Dragon Quarter, only to be disappointed by the game loop and limitations of the Dragon System. Maybe someday Ill returb to it with Fresh Eyes, because there definitely was some good stuff in that game that I was maybe too upset back then to see.
@@an3582 i was the same. At first i didn't like it and even rage quit😅. But when i can back months later with a better understanding it literally became my favorite bof! It's more like a rogue like imo. So each time you die you start with stats that you had before and you also open different paths in the world and therefore learn more about the characters. The game isn't long so it's not bad and there's also an in game way around this by abusing the games coin resurrection system if i remember correctly, causing you to restart each play through with godlike stats. I really wish people would have at least gave it a second chance like some of us did. This was truly a gem and i think hating it has become the popular choice.
I was a big fan of “X-Men” at the time “BoF 1 & 2” was released. So Jim Lee’s art for the cartridges of the “BoF 1 & 2” always caught my eye when I’d see the ads in “Electronic Gaming Monthly” magazine, which I read EVERY month back then.
Played bof4 a few years ago and loved it. Now playing bof3 and quite liking it. It's a really good franchise with some awesome qualities, sad that it hasn't seen better titles after bof4
I still vividly remember being in awe of all the small details during BoF3's combat. I hadn't played any RPG at that point that made a distinction between whether the character was getting ready to attack or use an ability. I flipped out when Adult Ryu dropped his sword and went into that charging magic stance! haha
BoF3 was my first expedition into JRPGs that were not Final Fantasy. I agree with you on the dialogue, but it's still holds a special place of reverence in my heart.
Never played Breath of Fire growing up, but like 3ish years ago now I found out about em and gave em a try. BoF 1 had a real pretty style to it and interested me, but story didnt grab me enough to finish it. 2 on the other hand instantly became one of my favorite games ever and I still think about it a bunch. and this was with the offical translation, it was just so good I didnt mind that at all. Loved everything, the party is one of my favorites ever, the art is gorgeous and the battle themes ill never forget. 3 i also enjoyed, but it hasnt stuck with me as much as 2 has. 4 is also cool but i definitely enjoyed 3 and 2 more. One day i gotta give Dragon Quarter a shot and maybe I'll have a better time going in knowing how drastically different it is. Safe to say Breath of Fire is like my favorite RPG series ever, and this is as someone who only discovered them fairly recently. They're so good!!!! Its like my ideal RPG series, from the world to character design. I've liked rpgs, but always kinda struggled to find ones that clicked with me, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest never did, but I instantly fell in love with Breath of Fire, which in turn lead me to try out Wild Arms and Suikoden, also games i've really enjoyed. Happy to see these rpgs ive really enjoyed get revivals by way of indie successors. I'm definitely lookin forward to Tears of Magic and love what I've seen so far. Excited to see what the devs have planned not only as a BoF fan, but also just to see what they have in mind for their game!
I just completed BOF3 and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, I’ve started to get into the series a few years ago. Even going through the hardest bosses and enemies and leveling up to get through Myria Was worth it, too Breath of Fire III had a great story and Character and enemy designs. This will hold a very special place in my heart. Thanks for making a video about a retrospective, I’ll now check out the other games since I’ve beat the 3rd game.❤😊
Thank you for this video! I absolutely loved this series as a kid and I still do. The very first game I ever played was breath of fire 2 on super Nintendo. I would love a remaster on current gen systems.
BoFV is my favorite. A no frills Dragon form that can kill any boss, three party members that are all very useful if used right, and my first introduction to what is now basically a rougelite, a genre I love very much and the only example I have played of one in RPG form (this might be me being ignorant). Also, such a beautiful soundtrack. 3 is my second favorite, leaning into that old 90s anime vibe I still dig.
BoF4 was the first Jrpg I ever completed as a kid, and it's still one of my favorites today, I would love to see it ported to the latest consoles, especially the Switch.
I love Bof 3. I still remember if you get Peco trained under Fahl from level 1 and put him on position 1 and use defensive formation it literally breaks the game.
I always felt BoF was very underappreciated. The franchise easily stands against Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana and Dragon Quest. Even Dragon Quarter I thought was an incredibly solid competitor to its contemporizes of the time, but to be honest that's mostly me speaking as more of a sci fi fan then a fantasy fan. I know it's a small thing, but I was absolutely fell in love from the township mechanic in BoF2. I had just finished Terranigma for the first time (Still one of my favourite JRPGs of all time) and loved the town development in that, even if it was very basic, so seeing a similar system appear in another JRPG I was enjoying right was the best icing. I really hope Capcom end up remastering 3 and 4 at least. I mean, SE is pumping out ports and remasters like Chrono Cross, the Mana franchise and the SaGa franchise, Even Capcom themselves have the Megaman Battle Network franchise coming out as a complete compilation... it's not a huge stretch to think they wouldn't do the same for BoF.... right.... RIGHT?
All I want is a classic turn based RPG where I turn into a dragon. No multiplayer, no microtransactions, just a good story... and Bleu. We needs more Bleu.
Breath of Fire 2 was my first entry into the series (emulation though), and even if BoF3 has the more intricate dragon system, there's something about 2 that I just keep coming back to and like more. Especially with the polished script. Also I personally quite like Dragon Quarter and it's rogue-like gameplay, but I get that it's such a drastic departure from what fans wanted, expected and liked that it is doomed to be the black sheep (mostly because I'm not counting 6 and I don't know any who really do). Still, I hope one day we'll get a remake or collection of the series with improved scripts. Capcom's gone back to give Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ace Attourney and Ghost Trick new and polished remakes, maybe one day good fortune will shine upon Breath of Fire as well...
BoF II and shortly after, BoF 1 were my first rpgs. My uncle got me into them and subsequently, into rpgs in general. I remember getting his bad habits as well. Whats that? Its 5 am on a Saturday morning? Have a been asleep? uhh... yeah, I just woke up early. I used to tell my grandma that often. I remember each of them to such fine detail. I got a free copy of III from Hollywood Video some years later after renting it once. I went to hand it in and the lady scanned it. It beeped and she looked confused. I asked what happened and she just replied "You have already returned your rental." I was like, oh. Ok. Have a nice day :D and biggity bounced. This was around the time I bought a copy of Tactics Ogre. I was so happy I played BoF III the near completion. I got stuck in the damn mindscape. I should really replay it. Damn I love this franchise. FF6 is my favorite rpg ever but BoF 1-3 hold a place near and dear to me. Good video.
Great video - and it made me subscribe to your channel! Breath of Fire definitely needs to make a strong comeback. Back in the 90's this series was among the best. I think most people have a fondness for Breath of Fire 3 (its jazzy music is great, by the way), but I, too, prefer the second game. Breath of Fire 2' s story is remarkable! It's among the darkest and deepest of any RPG of the era and focused on some really heavy things... I was totally blown away by its story when I was a kid! I think one of the reasons I grew up loving RPGs was games with stories like Breath of Fire 2!
Beautiful video! BoF has always been a favorite of mine next to FF. And BoF IV is by far one of the most beautiful games available for the PS1. I for one do not desire any modern update of any sort for any of the titles. They are perfect the way they are, otherwise they would not be classics. Take a well deserved like and my Sub!
great video. From one BOF to another, I started with 4 and it's the best game and a well-balanced one. I went back and played 3 and TBH, it felt weird, my biggest problem with 3 was the difficulty, the boss fights are so merciless. And again I went back to 1 on the GBA and it was good enjoyable and straightforward. Finally 2 on the GBA which is my personal favorite when coming to character designs, it has a better-designed Ryu and Nina (she is so lovely with dark wings, long blond hair, and shy personality).
BOF2 is considered a furry paradise since none of its characters are actually human, though despite that along with town building, collections, and a bunch of side quests to explore its still one of my favorite rpgs. BOF3 was very close to overtaking 2, but yeah between the length of time as kids (honestly thought that i would be a kid throughout the entire game and would have been ok with it, it was more the sudden shift that threw me off), the too quick pacing of the story after you become an adult, only to get thrown into a very slow crawl through the desert at the end of the game. The character customizations was definitely its strong point to play the game how you wanted but it wasnt enough to make me want to go back and play it again. BOF4 i need to go back to, i made the mistake to binge all the games back to back and by the time i got through some of 4 i got burnt out and never went back to it, but the few hours i did play felt solid. BOF6 isnt real.... it cant hurt you. But seriously i dont know what they expected to happen to release a long awaited ip and release it as a microtransaction mmo using the name, and then come out and say that there is no more interest in the series when it eventually flopped. 😤
The fifth installment is my favorite. I don’t care about the opinions of long time fans because I wasn’t even alive when the first 4 came out. I realized I was a sentient being who enjoyed things through this game. The fifth one was about a boy with a goal to save a girl. Given the circumstances of my childhood, I often wished for a boy of his nature to save me from my monsters. I like that you can’t use the D-meter too much. It challenged me in ways I didn’t think I could handle. Even today, I still love that game with my soul. The music is gorgeous, the graphics are amazing, and I loved the battle compositions and the storyline. Everything tied this together for me to make it amazing, and it’s sad that others can’t appreciate it for what it is without comparing it to other previous installments. I guess what that guy from the fourth game who parallels ryus journey said was right, it’s not human nature to change.
Every time I play Dragon Quarter, my rating for it gets higher and higher. I too have beaten it three times and I am on my fourth playthrough. I went from trashing it in my younger years to it becoming one of my favourite games.
BoF3 was my favorite, 100%. The music is iconic, I was definitely one of the ones who loved it, it's one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. And the fishing minigame was freakin' awesome. I think it has my most favorite fishing out of any game out there. Including actual fishing games haha
2 is still my favorite in terms of plot and tone, I just wish the Dragon system wasn't as gutted. Every dragon spell uses all AP and once you get G.Dragon, it's basically all Ryu needed to spam. Also felt like raising his AP was a bad idea XD Another cool thing about 2 was the home base mechanic of inviting NPCs back, felt like the precursor to the faerie village in 3.
Man I played the hell out of Dragon Quarter. Even though I loved that game, I really do get where all of the criticisms come from. Perhaps if it has been released as a stand alone game rather than part of the BoF franchise, it might have fared better.
Bof3 was my favourite, 4 was well done great visuals for the time. Dragon Quarter when it first dropped was terrible, bur i went to revisit it years later and realised I just wasnt in the rigth frame of mind to enjoy it the first time round and really enjoyed ot years later. All in all, the series is a great comfort food for jrpg lovers, shame it hasn't seen any remakes or new entires.
What do you think was the best game in the Breath of Fire series was, and why? Do you have any nostalgic stories from playing the Breath of Fire games?
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3 by far, biased through childhood. Has some of the best music
I am one of those people that are supper disappointed by how the series turned out. Capcom is only focusing on remaking RE series right now and maybe DMC, but DMC maybe left in the dust pan as well, since 5 was such a big thing. They just have no idea where to take the series for whatever reason, but SF and RE they seem to have some ideas... it's f'd up.
BoF4 is actually my favorite. I loved the battle system and setting. The music fit the theme really well, and gave it that little extra.
I remember when Capcom first announced that they were making an RPG with a main character named "Ryu", and all the gaming magazines thought that Capcom was making an RPG based on Street Fighter II. Oh, those were the days of the Street Fighter craze...
FF6 was my first RPG and I adored it, so growing up it along with Chrono Trigger were the standard by which all other RPGs were measured.
2 was my first BOF, but BOF3 was my favorite.
I first played 2 back in the 90s when I was 10, or 11.
While I enjoyed FF6 a hell of lot a more than BOF2, BOF2's colorful world and less serious tone was a needed break from the romantic steampunk of FF6.
I remember the opening scenes and music of BOF2 having a big emotional impact on me as a child, but unfortunately that emotional impact was not sustained for the rest of the game.
I always felt lost in BOF2, not knowing where to go or what the point was
And frustrated by the grinding, random encounter rate and repetitive dungeon music.
By contrast in FF6, I always knew where to go and what my characters motivations were, and I cared about them and their quest.
Nonetheless I still enjoyed BOF2, even tho it was frustrating as hell and I never beat it (I'm actually playing through it right now so I can finally beat it).
BOF1 was similar to 2, and I never beat it either.
BOF3 for me was by far the apex of the series and the only one I completed, it fixed all 1 and 2's problems.
It finally felt like the BOF series found itself, its niche, became mature and fully realized.
BOF4 seemed like a bit of a step down from 3, like FF8 was a step down from FF6, 7 and Tactics, so I didn't have the motivation to make it very far.
As for BOF5 and 6, they look like total crap and I'm sure I'll never play them, but I'd like to replay BOF1-4.
Breath of Fire III was my first in the series, and frankly, it became and will always remain one of my favorite games of all times.
The story, the music, the animations and characters...all of it just blew me away at the time! I absolutely love this series, and really enjoyed this video. Honestly, just the best time in RPG history back in the PS1 era. 🙏🏼
Yep, it’s a great classic! Such a great era too like you say.
I got to BoF3 after playing 1 and 2 first (as a kid) and WOW was BoF3 an S tier in nearly every way
Yes yes yes and YES lol it was my first too and my first true JRPG. Hands down my favorite out the series but you really can't go wrong with any of the first 3. 4 was awesome but the shift in theme and tone makes it feel like an oddball
Nothing can be the jazzy goodness of BoF3's sound track.
True!
Persona 5 is jazzy goodness too.
The high point of the entire series. I remember 12 year old me becoming adult Ryu for the first time. How badass he looked. Or uow child Ryu would become more comfortable with his sword as the story progressed and seeing the animations reflect that.v
@@gotd4m Yeah, the age changes were so cool!
One of my absolute favorites
BoF3 and Star Ocean 2nd Story are what basically started my love for JRPGs. Theyre not perfect but they will always hold a special place in my heart.
This was such a great era for RPGs, glad you remember it too!
Yeah I consider the ps1 as the golden age of RPGs.
@@rikib3652 probably true!
Similar for me.
Though alas the atrocities of Dragon Quarter and Till the End of Time made me severely question that love for a while.
@@zephyr8072 count yourself lucky. I still haven't recovered from those 2 departures
BOF4 is still one of my favourite games of all time. I would love to see it updated with some modern tweaks.
Me too, would be great to get a rerelease!
BOF deserves a remake. After commercial successes like FFVII Remake and Tales of Arise, Capcom could very well try their best and show us they still got it with Ryu and Nina.
Bof4 was a great game. I only like 3 slightly more, but what i liked about 4 was its dark atmosphere. The story was great.
My favorite is BoF 2 but I did love playing through 4 too. Seeing the entire series updated would be a beautiful thing.
the same for me that story and gameplay !!! so sad that other parts are shityshit
When I think back at Dragon Quarter, it feels like like a proto roguelite game. The game added that hard time limit to beat get to the end and encouraged you to bank items for a future runs. All it was missing was a system to randomize the dungeon rooms.
Thanks for these memories!
A Dragon Quarter randomiser would be awesome!
That would had benefited a whole lot, and maybe an extra party member (maybe a glass runner clan member) to make it similar to the 4 characters during playthrough, like in 1 and 2.
Yeah it was actually a really cool gameplay flow. It was pretty brutal in certain spots with a bit of a learning curve so there was a very good chance you were going to restart but you'd get additional cutscenes and things like that.
I'll have to replay it some day. I dropped it because I was discouraged from using the Dragon transformation which was a major letdown. But i dont really remember the details. The battle system i did like.
I think most are sleeping with how the story was presented in BoF4. It tackled more mature themes and has a darker tone when compared to other installments of the game. I fell in love with it the first time I played it when I was in grade school. And after a replay on the recent years, it is my favorite now.
I agree, I liked the story approach of 4 as well!
I still like three better, but I won’t deny how good 4 is. It’s earned it’s fans.
I’m torn between 2 and 3 as my favorite, but I completely agree that we need the series to return!
Right on! I’m in the same boat as you.
2 was my favorite but definitely 1 and 3 was hooked af too during my teen years. Missed being a kid for that particular reason.
@@eyang7 right on, me too!
It's harder to get Capcom to bring this IP back. It's always behind FF (when Squaresoft) was there to rule almost all the front knowledge of rpg king. Kinomi, Atlus, Sega, Nintendo and others tried so hard on RPG but most didn't meet expectation. The only one that come out of this genre is Square Enix and Atlus. Most are in the shadows and forgotten through time.
@@tr1bes true, hopefully the success of recent old school RPG convinces them though!
Why didn't you talk about the Township in BoF2? It was what made it such an amazing game for me. The first game just had so many amazing secrets to find, like becoming a vendor in Gobi's hometown. Plus you could actually clear most of the dungeons of all enemies and stop getting random encounters in BoF2. I loved the first 3 games so much!
Bof3 was and is my favorite and now playing back through it with my children has given me even greater appreciation for it.
Wasn't it great?
@@Xygor yes! And seeing my little girl get so excited about parts of the story is awesome! I use it as part of homeschooling too, she has to read all the dialogue out to me while we play. 😁
YES YES YES , Love Breath of Fire series , I still remember buying breath of Fire 1 from a video game store and getting my mom to order number 2 from some video game catalog for Christmas
Such great memories from those days!
I still remember preordering both 1 and 2 back then.
@@tallikx that goes back a long way!
I like Dragon Quarter because it's Logistical. There is the Plot, the Management of various Resources such as Zenny, Save Tokens, Experience Points, and Backpack Space. Most players would simply play through to beat the game, which is understandable for most games. In this game, it takes several playthroughs to achieve the games main goal, the Dragon Quarter Rating. Normal players beat Chetyre and it's over. Those who play for the Dragon Quarter several times, taking advantage of the Scenario Overlay Feature, to get to the point where they beat Dover, the Ultimate Boss to rack up the points needed for the Dragon Quarter.
I got into this series from the very beginning!! 1 and 2 are what got me into turn based RPGs!! I will always remember being 7 years old and the excitement I got when I defeated the final boss of the first game!! I have great love and respect for this series!!
Glad you enjoy it!
What are your thoughts on BoF 3? When it came out?
BoF2 I loved the concept of building a little town, choosing different layouts and inviting different people, each of which gives you useful bonuses like a secret fishing spot or weapon shop. Of course the cooking was OP cause you could literally boost stats but was just so time consuming. Basically that was a theme of BoF2 as well, that last dungeon wasn't called Infinite for nothing xD
Yeah, the town building part was great!
@@Xygor Oh I nearly forgot the circumstance that makes the place become a town from just a lonely house. The shaman system was another interesting layer of character customization that I quite enjoyed, Spar's mushroom girl form was my favorite.
BoF IV sprites and animation are one of the best in that era and I love the pastel palette they used -- I get this distinct, otherworld vibe from it.
Yes, the animations in 4 really are great!
The in-game graphics of BoF4 were great! But the actual character designs and illustration definitely took many steps back. Characters were less details, and most characters have less animal features like in BoF1 and BoF2.
I’m one of the few that absolutely loves dragon quarter. The story was amazing to me and it’s ending is fantastic
Glad you liked it more than me!
@@Xygor I think your point of it having the breath of fire name was spot on. It possibly did more harm than good. It is radically different.
I think a big issue that a lot of people had with Dragon Quarter (myself included, to a degree) is that it was an entry in a series that was all about turning into cool dragons where your goal was to get to the end of the game WITHOUT turning into a dragon. That and a lot of other elements of the plot and setting just made it feel so disconnected from the rest of the franchise, those who played it while hoping to feel connected to the series again ended up feeling alienated instead, to the detriment of what the game actually did well.
@@flaminyawn It was very different. But in dragon quarter I liked that the dragon form was ridiculously overpowered and only should be used when needed. Little details like the more ryu uses it his transformation becomes less stressful ( the animation itself). I agree the themes are drastically different. I agree I think it’s a great game but not quite what breath of fire is.
I loved the look of 4, but 2 and (especially GBA 2) was my favorite. The Shaman system just blew my mind.
2 is my favorite as well!
I love 2 but the translation is rough
@@Kurotaisa It really is. It's only true fault in my eyes! Maybe it will be redone someday.
@@Kurotaisathe european version too?
Dragon Quarter still had one of the coolest endings of any JRPG I’ve played. I don’t want to spoil it, but the way you beat the final boss gave me chills, and was such a huge payoff after what you have to be careful of so much throughout the game.
BoF3 was my first PS1 game. It'll always hold a special place in my heart. I spent HOUSE grinding to try and beat the horse brothers early on. I was CONVINCED there was a secret if you beat them
Right on, thanks for your memory from if!
I even tried with cheats lol because how rumors spread back then everyone misunderstood that it's the 2nd encounter in wyndia prison that you can technically win the battle by making them flee, doesn't change anything though which is unfortunate, I really wanted Teepo back
The main mechanic of Dragon Quarter wasn't even mentioned. The game encourages the player to restart the game if they die as Ryu can restart with increased stats every time it is done. It is also the only way to achieve the 1/4 status by game's end.
True!
For real, funny thing is, you can beat the game in your first playthrough, but requires extreme micro management and exploitation /understanding of the game mechanics.
Just stumbled across this video and, seriously, good job! I was born in the 90's so for me my first Breath of Fire was BOF3, but the first one I completed and replayed a hundred times was BOF4. I've played the other games and, personally, BOF4 will always be number one because of that, but also I think it is the best as, sadly, the last good modern BOF.
Never going to forget being stuck on Won-Qu for days and days, then having my friend over who gave it a try. The whole part was dead and Ryu had like 80 HP or something. My friend goes "well, all or nothing" and does a single melee attack which... Was the last hit needed to beat the boss! I have tons of stories about this game and consider it my favorite of all time, mostly because of the story and the in depth perspective on duality that it has and Fou Lu as a character. Absolutely amazing.
Thanks for the praise and your memories of this awesome franchise!
BOF 4 will forever be one of my favorite BOF Games (I loved the Plot and even read the Manga years later) along with 3, I kinda liked Dragon Quarter too.
Great, it is a solid one!
I actually don't remember whether I started with III or IV. Back in 2008 when I was about 7, my father dusted off the PlayStation he bought whilst in Australia along with Breath of Fire IV. Before letting us play the games, he went out to buy the third game which he did not have then. We were ecstatic with my siblings. After all, back then, we hadn't really played any video game at all. I distinctly remember falling in love with both games. III was colourful, filled with easy-to-understand dialogue, whilst the other was written in a language I knew nothing about, but whose graphics transcended the language barrier. Unfortunately, I wouldn't get to enjoy the latter fully until over ten years later as the disk was scratched...
I played III at a slow pace, it almost felt like I only managed to progress bit by bit. As I grew up, I kept returning to that game regularly. When I finished it back in 2018, it almost felt surreal! A game I started over 10 years ago was finally behind me. I loved the characters, the story progression, the worldbuilding, the graphics, the music, everything! It forever holds a special place in my heart and, even though I've replayed it since, nothing has ever come close to the experience of beating it over a long period of time, growing up with Ryu.
I restarted a BoFIV save file in late 2019/early 2020 through the magic of emulation. By that time, I was pretty good at English meaning that the moonrunes that were once in this game made sense at long last to me. It's a great game, with a nigh perfect atmosphere. Then, after finishing it up, I picked up BoFII and 1 almost simultaneously. I feel like a lot of their appeal comes from people who played them at the time. Whilst good games relatively for the time, they don't really feel either unique or really polished anymore, especially the second one. It's really a shame, as for SNES games they were very likely high quality when they were released!
Still, I love the series!
Thank you for these awesome memories!
3 and 4 were amazing! I seriously hope the series returns soon.
Great retrospective, loved it! This series needs to make a return and I really wish Capcom would take note. Bring Back Breath of Fire!
Thank you. And yes please!
I think they would however with monster Hunter being a success as it is would it reach it though?
They could prpeare this return with some remasters of the old games and tweaking of BoFIV as it was a bit unfinished in the end.
@@jethropalillo1746 monster hunter, Street fighter, resident evil...they've got quite a bit going on.
Awesome review. I enjoyed Breath of Fire 4 a lot. It brought me to my childhood all again.
Just a small gripe... Ree-You please. It makes me jump everytime you read it the "american way".
Thank you for the awesome video about one of my all time favorite video game series! I love this series! You get to transform into dragons! I Love dragons! My favorite game of the series is BOF2! It was the game that introduced me to the series and has a very special place in my heart. The battle against the first demon in the game Barubary, the demon with the big tail, is ingrained into my memories! He looked SO COOL! And his Boss battle music is one of my all time favorites! BOF3 is a close second with Garr being my favorite BOF character! I've only played the first 4 games and only beat the first one. I love this series so much I bought the Breath of Fire Official Complete Works book! I would love for a BOF collection. That would be so cool. I'm so glad you mentioned Tears of Magic! So excited for that game!
Thanks for watching, and also for leaving these memories!
BoF 3 was actually my first and then I played 1 and 2 over on the GBA. Played BoF IV way later and never played anything other than that. I've got to say that 3 is still my favorite to this day, a combination of nostalgia, awe inspiring graphics and music as well as a serviceable story where you just grow alongside Ryu (Rei is also super likeable). I don't think BoF can come back to this era in a satisfying way that seems financially feasible tbh, but I will always cherish the memories I have with BoF3 and 2.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your favorite and memories from these games!
BoF2 has always been my favorite in the series, too! It's the next game I'm going to replay for a review on my channel, so I'm curious to see if I still liked it as much as I did when I was younger.
Mine too! Hope you enjoy playing through it again!
Great video! I only played the first 4 entries, but didn't finish BoF 4 because my PC died at that time and couldn't back up the save file :'c. I tried BoF 6 and uninstalled it pretty soon after seeing how BAD it was.
BoF 2 is my favorite entry in the series, and one of the videogames I love the most.
I got it as a Christmas present in 1997 or 1998, and it took me 2 years to finish the game and I got the sad ending. It was heartbreaking.
I'm a native Spanish speaker, so as a 7, 8-year-old kid I had no knowledge of English at the time and had to play the game along with an ENG-SPA dictionary. This motivated me to learn English and other languages in the future.
Personal anecdote: I remember believing that when the Dragon Tear started to blink in all colors (on the stats screen of a companion), it was time for that character to say goodbye and it made me sad because I didn't want them to leave the party.
This game was and is a rollercoaster of emotions, the only game in my life that made me tear up a good number of times or straight up cry like a baby. Especially the story revolving Rand.
Regarding the OST of the game: A few weeks ago, as I was enjoying it here on YT, I saw a comment saying that the composer had less than a month to work on it, and if that is true, then that would explain how short they are and why some tracks feel underwhelming.
Despite this, "Thank you, everyone", is a banger. If only all tracks were this long....
Glad you liked the video! Thanks for leaving all your memories from these games!
Great retrospective. I personally love Dragon Quarter. My fave in the series and one of my favorite rpgs overall for the PS2. It's very distinct in both it's gameplay and art style, and I applaude the daring move to make a very short game where you are expected to replay it to get the whole experience. But I will absolutely agree that it misses everything expected of a BoF title and is probably (at least in part) to blame for killing the series.
Thank you for the compliments and appreciate your thoughts on Dragon Quarter!
Have you played Baroque? I feel like that game and Dragon Quarter have a lot of stylistic similarities
@@Chernobog2 I did buy the Wii or PS2 version many years ago on a whim because it seemed interesting. Didn't have the time to give it a proper chance back then but I heard it's the lesser version compared to the original in many ways. Would love to give it a new shot tho.
Always been interested in this series. Thanks so much for making the video! It was very well done.
And you’re not wrong about never saying never. Capcom has been knocking it out of the park with remakes and remasters.
Thank you very much!
howd i miss this? love this series
edit: 100% agree on your opinion of 2 being the best. with translation and 2x exp patches it really is a great experience.
True, a better translation makes 2 a lot better!
Absolutely loved the BPF 3 ost.
The mostly jazz influenced music made the grinding and traversing the game much more easy!
The city pop influenced tracks, some of the more essier going muzak/lounge style songs and even the thematic jazzy ones too! Definitely a main trope of capcom music of that era, which was excellent in almost all their titles on the ps1.
BoF3 is my favorite RPG in terms of experience. It really feels like you went on an adventure with friends. It also has loads of secrets and equipment has neat little extra effects which gives extra depth. The first BoF is my second favorite. It is more traditional, but the atmosphere is great and it feels a bit more cohesive then BoF2.
Three was definitely a good one, especially with its bright colors and dragon transformations!
But its easier than BoF II and has not nearly the same great story that BoF II had. Have you ever finished both games?
My memory's of breath of fire are mostly 2 fold.
1 loving three, but never being able to get past that stinking desert. And 2, my brother raving how good 2 ways lol
I would LOVE a remaster of the first 4 at least
I adore BoF3s jazzy soundtrack. The song you played, from the town, has got to be one of the most iconic songs ever
Right on, thanks for all these memories!
I've played IV and Dragon Quarter, and I liked them both, especially IV. The art style and music really appeal to me. I don't remember the story that well though
The art style in four is great! I just didn’t like Dragon Quarter’s.
Breath of Fire IV is the game that got me into the franchise. Both my younger brother and I loved the game so much, that we replayed it as much as possible together and by ourselfs. An incredible game indeed.
Dragon Quarter was amazing as a game. I love challenging games, and that one had it! I went through from the beginning to the end without resetting once. It was absolutely nail biting not knowing what was coming around the corner, and I had a few times I almost died and would have lost an hour or more of progress.
Glad you liked it more than me!
I only ever played the first two Breath of Fire games, but man did I love them, flaws and all. I was already a huge RPG fan by the time the SNES came around (thanks largely to Ultima: Exodus, Dragon Warrior, and FF1), so I gobbled up every RPG I could. BoF1 was my first introduction to JRPGs having more heroes than you can actively bring with you (I was also a huge fan of Shining Force), and I liked that characters had specialty abilities when leading the party. As mentioned in the video, the combat felt fluid (and something of a spiritual ancestor to Suikoden's combat system, which feels very familiar because of it), the music was spot-on, and exploration was usually pretty profitable, earning you items/gear a little ahead of your current level. The Dragon transformations were always fun to use, though I only really used them when necessary since I tried to rush through normal fights.
For the record: Nina, Bo, Karn, Bleu, and Katt will always be among my favorite characters in JRPGs. I wanted to like Sten and the aquatic characters Gobi and Jean, but the former showed up a bit too late for me to really appreciate back in the day (aside from shaman transformations), and while Jean is a definite upgrade to Gobi, both felt lacking and pretty much were just underwater transportation and Shaman Transformation bait.
You're right that they were lovable games with flaws! Thanks for leaving your memories here.
Breath of Fire 3 and 4 were some of my favorite games on the PS1, actually got them both on a Vita awhile back and they're still as great as I remembered them. The spritework still holds up, would love to see games in that style still coming out but alas everything is 3d sprites now. At least there's still all those old great games to play. lol
Right on, glad you were able to revisit then recently!
@@Xygor I'm probably the only one person who really liked Vita, and I mostly just used it to play Disgaea games and PS1 games haha
I can feel the story of the game through the music. So much adventure, emotion, intrigue, and excitement. Utterly brilliant soundtrack.
For all of the 4 games.
So true!!
I played this game around the same time Super Metroid came out, around 1993. I was like 7-8 and it was introduced to me through an older friend who I'd watch play. Eventually I'd go on to play it myself and also Breath of Fire 2. Those two games were my first RPGs ever.
A great place to get your start with RPGs!
Not sure how this came up in recommended but glad it did. Love this series growing up and played through all of them tons of times. BOF3 was definitely my favorite and I still go back to play it every so often. Quarter I couldn't stand since it actively put a clock on how much you could use the dragon system, if you use to much you literally die with IIRC no way to reduce it.
My only gripe about your critique is that most games of BOF1/2 era had the same poor text translation or limitations due to being 16 bit and only have 5-8 letters to work with. Only in re-releases or ports were a lot of those updated for games like FF, the originals had a lot of abbreviations. Translations weren't really given a good team until gaming started to become main stream and more affordable in the late 90s and early 2000s. Best example I can think of is SOTN was translated by one dude in a handful of months timeframe, with little to no direct access to the team that worked on it to bounce ideas off of. But bad translations are what make gaming iconic and stand out more. As we wouldn't have things like "All your base belong to us" or "what is a man but a miserable pile of secrets"
Glad you liked, and your critiques are fair! There really were a lot of limitations back then.
I would say my favourite was 2. I still remember someone writing the wrong way to get Bleu in the manual and wasting way too much time trying to get her.
Mine too, good choice! I remember getting Bleu as a secret character and thought it was so cool.
While I can’t take credit for this theory, someone said that Ryu got weaker in every incarnation. In 1 he could transform, maintain and use his ultimate dragon form endlessly. In 2 he took penalties and in 3 it was severely temporary after powering up. 4 he was completely unable to achieve it without (no spoiler,) and in 5 he can’t control it at all only suppress. Even the artwork on this thumbnail shows a more mythical Ryu as the original and he slowly becomes more mortal looking as the games advance.
This is a dope theory
I always understood it as purity of the bloodline. 1 your a full blood brood so only cost magic, in 2 it's clearly stated that you're only half blood so he can only maintain it for a single attack, in 3 you're back to being a full blood Brood but you have no training an use your powers on instinct so he has trouble maintaining it for a longtime, in 4 you're again a full blood but you're only half of yourself so you can only manifest for short periods but can do it as often as you want. Then there's 5 where you're not Brood at all but just a human using the powers of the Brood which over time your human body can't handle.
BoF 1 and 2 are so nostalgic for me. I wish they would remake them with quality of life improvements. Those soundtracks bring me back to childhood. 3 was great but the rest I couldn't get into...
Hopefully they will be remastered and rereleased someday!
Imagine any of the first 3 BOF games made in Dragon Quest XI's art style. Simply amazing!!!
Or BoF 4 in an enhanced Okami style, or like Scarlet Nexus or Astral Chain.
@@BigCowProductions Oh yeah that would be awesome. Or even the HD2D style like the DQ3 remake is going to be.
The original Breath of Fire game will always stand out to me in my memory because of when I played it. My best friend and his family had moved to another state, so when I went to visit for 2 weeks we mostly played RPGs like the old days. We bought a copy for the SNES and started playing for 2 days straight, passing the controller back and forth. As we finished the game and finally turned it off, the news was on and the Oklahoma City bombing had just occurred.
I thought dragon quarter was a masterpiece in replayability and I wish more games had a replay mechanic like it. The mechanics mixed the best of jrpgs and a diablo' ish crawlers into a cohesive addictive game.
Glad you liked it!
BoF IV was the first game I played in the series and I’d say it’s definitely one of my favorite games of all time. The best part for me was definitely the way the narrative was told through 2 different POVs.
Right on, it was a unique one and great for that fact!
I grew up playing Breath of fire, having played each game 4-5 times. I immediately fell in love with turning into a dragon and the core theme. It's hard to rate them against eachother especially with 5 being so different from the rest. When I first popped in 5 I was immediately taken aback by how different it was; oh and hard! But after figuring out its mechanics I fell in love with it too. Because of how 5 is setup and how it rewards you for playing through it multiple times it is my most played Breath of Fire game. I think 5 was a little too different and unfairly judged.
I wish Capcom would revive the series (6 doesn't exist). I used to anticipate Breath of Fire releases right up there with Final Fantasy. Both of my favorite series are so full of disappointments now, sad times.
Thank you for all these memories. I hope they revive it too!
Not sure what was more nostalgic, the walk down memory lane w/this series, or listening to you mispronounce "Ryu" in the same way I (and many others) used to for the entire video. It's actually pronounced "Ree-You"; りゅ - Ri-Yu- instead of らいゆ -Ra-i-Yu-). Disregarding the spelling though the two names have different meanings that make it pretty clear which is the proper pronunciation: "Ryu" means "dragon" in Japanese while Raiyu means "thunder".
Grammar lesson aside, very nice video. BoF 3 is my personal favorite of the entire series w/5 being my least...and we don't talk about 6 :D
One of my favorite mechanics from BoF3 was the multiple ways to get awesome equipment for your characters. Too often in modern RPGs you just buy equipment upgrades but I particularly remember being able to get awesome gear from fishing, stealing, dungeon crawling, defeating monsters and sending your faeries out exploring. It made doing all of these things actually worthwhile as opposed to either just checking of a list of things to do or being simple ribbon abilities.
That aside, didn't "Tears of Magic" not get funded through Kickstarter?
I literally grew up w this series. Loved every one... until 5 happened, I then moved on. I always really, REALLY liked 2, but if I'm being honest with myself, I'd say 3 and 4 were the best ones. Especially 4, for me that's probably the best imo. Sad what eventually happened to the series. 🤷
I'm with you on 5, I just didn't like it. 4 is underrated.
I am honest and say 2 was easily and by far the best one, its was also the most difficult one and had the better story overall, i like the synergy of it, if a game is hard as nails, it better have something to motivate you for the work to finish it.
IV was too easy and never properly finished, the main villain just got skipped and you had just a philosophical ending with yourself, without real proper finish as Yuna battle was cut out. The game definately needs a remaster.
But i wouldn't change anything in BoF II, its a masterpiece and timeless, especially regarding when it was released and on a mere 16 bit console, only chrono, FFIV and FFVI were bigger JRPGs on the SNES, but also easier what made them more boring to replay them.
@@zeusapollo6504 I agree on 2!
BoF3 was the first ever JRPG I'd played and has a very special place in my heart. Thanks for the nostalgia trip
Capcom would make a huge mistake in shelving this franchise indefinitely but it does feel like that’s the case. Such great games and I hope that they’ll at least be remastered and released on virtual consoles. Fingers crossed.
Agreed!
BoF 3 still my favorite. I really love the Rei/Teepo Arc at the beggining, the soundtrack, the transformations, the plot, the design of adult Ryu... this game is really good!.
Yes it was!
I actually love Dragon Quarter. I play it all the time. The game has one of the better New Game pluses as well.
Glad someone likes it more than me!
Man, I wish I liked that game. After beating 1 and 2 and playing and loving 3 and 4, I was so excited to get Dragon Quarter, only to be disappointed by the game loop and limitations of the Dragon System. Maybe someday Ill returb to it with Fresh Eyes, because there definitely was some good stuff in that game that I was maybe too upset back then to see.
@@an3582 i was the same. At first i didn't like it and even rage quit😅. But when i can back months later with a better understanding it literally became my favorite bof! It's more like a rogue like imo. So each time you die you start with stats that you had before and you also open different paths in the world and therefore learn more about the characters. The game isn't long so it's not bad and there's also an in game way around this by abusing the games coin resurrection system if i remember correctly, causing you to restart each play through with godlike stats. I really wish people would have at least gave it a second chance like some of us did. This was truly a gem and i think hating it has become the popular choice.
BOF 3 will always be my favorite in the series
It's a classic!
BOF 3 and 4 were the high point of the series.
I was a big fan of “X-Men” at the time “BoF 1 & 2” was released. So Jim Lee’s art for the cartridges of the “BoF 1 & 2” always caught my eye when I’d see the ads in “Electronic Gaming Monthly” magazine, which I read EVERY month back then.
Awesome, I didn't realize that connection! EGM was great.
BoF 2 is my favorite snes game next to Earthbound
I don't blame you for liking it so much!
Played bof4 a few years ago and loved it. Now playing bof3 and quite liking it. It's a really good franchise with some awesome qualities, sad that it hasn't seen better titles after bof4
Right on! This series is due for a comeback.
this is gonna be a must watch from me DAWG 😎👍🏼👍🏼
Glad to hear that!
I still vividly remember being in awe of all the small details during BoF3's combat. I hadn't played any RPG at that point that made a distinction between whether the character was getting ready to attack or use an ability. I flipped out when Adult Ryu dropped his sword and went into that charging magic stance! haha
Right on, thanks for sharing your memories from it!
Did you purposely mispronounce Ryu’s name for comments?
BoF3 was my first expedition into JRPGs that were not Final Fantasy. I agree with you on the dialogue, but it's still holds a special place of reverence in my heart.
Right on, glad you enjoyed it so much!
If Konami was able to resurrect Bomberman and Suikoden, I'm sure Breath of Fire will come in some form in the future.
I sure hope so!
Never played Breath of Fire growing up, but like 3ish years ago now I found out about em and gave em a try.
BoF 1 had a real pretty style to it and interested me, but story didnt grab me enough to finish it.
2 on the other hand instantly became one of my favorite games ever and I still think about it a bunch. and this was with the offical translation, it was just so good I didnt mind that at all. Loved everything, the party is one of my favorites ever, the art is gorgeous and the battle themes ill never forget.
3 i also enjoyed, but it hasnt stuck with me as much as 2 has. 4 is also cool but i definitely enjoyed 3 and 2 more.
One day i gotta give Dragon Quarter a shot and maybe I'll have a better time going in knowing how drastically different it is.
Safe to say Breath of Fire is like my favorite RPG series ever, and this is as someone who only discovered them fairly recently. They're so good!!!! Its like my ideal RPG series, from the world to character design. I've liked rpgs, but always kinda struggled to find ones that clicked with me, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest never did, but I instantly fell in love with Breath of Fire, which in turn lead me to try out Wild Arms and Suikoden, also games i've really enjoyed.
Happy to see these rpgs ive really enjoyed get revivals by way of indie successors. I'm definitely lookin forward to Tears of Magic and love what I've seen so far. Excited to see what the devs have planned not only as a BoF fan, but also just to see what they have in mind for their game!
Thanks for your feedback and memories from the series!
I enjoyed this so much, this was a whole walk in a memory lane, I never played Dragon's Quarter, but hearing the reviews, I'm glad I didn't lol
Glad you enjoyed it!
The fishing mini game in BoF4 is worth a mention. I think I remember that more than the story.
Great. Lots of fishing in this series!
I really loved BF2's soundtrack
Wasn’t it great?
@@Xygor It was Nobuo Uematsu levels of epic
@@Durahan82 It was really great indeed!
I just completed BOF3 and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it, I’ve started to get into the series a few years ago. Even going through the hardest bosses and enemies and leveling up to get through Myria Was worth it, too Breath of Fire III had a great story and Character and enemy designs. This will hold a very special place in my heart. Thanks for making a video about a retrospective, I’ll now check out the other games since I’ve beat the 3rd game.❤😊
1:01 flashing lights, epileptics beware
Apologies!
Thank you for this video! I absolutely loved this series as a kid and I still do. The very first game I ever played was breath of fire 2 on super Nintendo. I would love a remaster on current gen systems.
BoFV is my favorite.
A no frills Dragon form that can kill any boss, three party members that are all very useful if used right, and my first introduction to what is now basically a rougelite, a genre I love very much and the only example I have played of one in RPG form (this might be me being ignorant). Also, such a beautiful soundtrack.
3 is my second favorite, leaning into that old 90s anime vibe I still dig.
Fair enough, thanks for your thoughts on it!
BoF4 was the first Jrpg I ever completed as a kid, and it's still one of my favorites today, I would love to see it ported to the latest consoles, especially the Switch.
It’s a classic! Maybe it will get ported someday.
I love Bof 3. I still remember if you get Peco trained under Fahl from level 1 and put him on position 1 and use defensive formation it literally breaks the game.
3 was great, and Peco was a good character.
It’s a crime against humanity that 3 and 4 have not been updated or released for modern consoles.
I always felt BoF was very underappreciated. The franchise easily stands against Final Fantasy, Secret of Mana and Dragon Quest. Even Dragon Quarter I thought was an incredibly solid competitor to its contemporizes of the time, but to be honest that's mostly me speaking as more of a sci fi fan then a fantasy fan.
I know it's a small thing, but I was absolutely fell in love from the township mechanic in BoF2. I had just finished Terranigma for the first time (Still one of my favourite JRPGs of all time) and loved the town development in that, even if it was very basic, so seeing a similar system appear in another JRPG I was enjoying right was the best icing.
I really hope Capcom end up remastering 3 and 4 at least. I mean, SE is pumping out ports and remasters like Chrono Cross, the Mana franchise and the SaGa franchise, Even Capcom themselves have the Megaman Battle Network franchise coming out as a complete compilation... it's not a huge stretch to think they wouldn't do the same for BoF.... right.... RIGHT?
It’s definitely under appreciated! Hopefully Capcom kickstarts it someday.
I would love for the uncensored, improved localization versions to be released. Even better would be for 1 to get a graphical overhaul.
All I want is a classic turn based RPG where I turn into a dragon. No multiplayer, no microtransactions, just a good story... and Bleu. We needs more Bleu.
That shouldn't be too much to ask!
Breath of Fire 2 was my first entry into the series (emulation though), and even if BoF3 has the more intricate dragon system, there's something about 2 that I just keep coming back to and like more. Especially with the polished script.
Also I personally quite like Dragon Quarter and it's rogue-like gameplay, but I get that it's such a drastic departure from what fans wanted, expected and liked that it is doomed to be the black sheep (mostly because I'm not counting 6 and I don't know any who really do). Still, I hope one day we'll get a remake or collection of the series with improved scripts. Capcom's gone back to give Ghosts 'n Goblins and Ace Attourney and Ghost Trick new and polished remakes, maybe one day good fortune will shine upon Breath of Fire as well...
Agreed about 2, I love it!
BoF II and shortly after, BoF 1 were my first rpgs. My uncle got me into them and subsequently, into rpgs in general. I remember getting his bad habits as well. Whats that? Its 5 am on a Saturday morning? Have a been asleep? uhh... yeah, I just woke up early. I used to tell my grandma that often. I remember each of them to such fine detail. I got a free copy of III from Hollywood Video some years later after renting it once. I went to hand it in and the lady scanned it. It beeped and she looked confused. I asked what happened and she just replied "You have already returned your rental." I was like, oh. Ok. Have a nice day :D and biggity bounced. This was around the time I bought a copy of Tactics Ogre. I was so happy I played BoF III the near completion. I got stuck in the damn mindscape. I should really replay it. Damn I love this franchise. FF6 is my favorite rpg ever but BoF 1-3 hold a place near and dear to me. Good video.
Thanks for all these classic memories!
BOF2 for me by far
It’s my favorite too!
Great video - and it made me subscribe to your channel! Breath of Fire definitely needs to make a strong comeback. Back in the 90's this series was among the best. I think most people have a fondness for Breath of Fire 3 (its jazzy music is great, by the way), but I, too, prefer the second game. Breath of Fire 2' s story is remarkable! It's among the darkest and deepest of any RPG of the era and focused on some really heavy things... I was totally blown away by its story when I was a kid! I think one of the reasons I grew up loving RPGs was games with stories like Breath of Fire 2!
Thanks for the compliment, and for your memories from this great series!
@@Xygor Keep up the good work!
@@theLethalRabbit will do my best!
Complains about translation issues. Mispronounces 'Ryu' about 10,000 times. :D
I love intro music to this channel. What is the rpg you got the intro music from? There is nothing like JRPGS.
Magus’ Theme from Chrono Trigger
I appreciate this video, but come on man. At least say Ryu's name correctly. "Righ-yoo" is typical 90s English mispronunciation of his name.
Really? That triggered you?
Poor baby
Weird that you chose to spell it “Righ” instead of “Rye”
@@RazorbackDevil Weird that you can't tell it's pronounced the same.
@@Constellasian Weird that you took offense to that. Just never seen it spelled like that
Had to stop by and say BOF is one of my top series
Great, glad to hear that!
Ryu is pronounced “ree-you”… strange that you’re making a video about the series yet don’t know that.
Beautiful video! BoF has always been a favorite of mine next to FF. And BoF IV is by far one of the most beautiful games available for the PS1. I for one do not desire any modern update of any sort for any of the titles. They are perfect the way they are, otherwise they would not be classics. Take a well deserved like and my Sub!
Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for your thoughts on the series too.
The sound of BOF3 has stuck with me for the rest of my life. Some of the most zen tracks I've ever heard in a game before, can't beat it!
great video.
From one BOF to another, I started with 4 and it's the best game and a well-balanced one.
I went back and played 3 and TBH, it felt weird, my biggest problem with 3 was the difficulty, the boss fights are so merciless.
And again I went back to 1 on the GBA and it was good enjoyable and straightforward.
Finally 2 on the GBA which is my personal favorite when coming to character designs, it has a better-designed Ryu and Nina (she is so lovely with dark wings, long blond hair, and shy personality).
Glad you liked the video, and thanks for your analysis of the games!
BOF2 is considered a furry paradise since none of its characters are actually human, though despite that along with town building, collections, and a bunch of side quests to explore its still one of my favorite rpgs.
BOF3 was very close to overtaking 2, but yeah between the length of time as kids (honestly thought that i would be a kid throughout the entire game and would have been ok with it, it was more the sudden shift that threw me off), the too quick pacing of the story after you become an adult, only to get thrown into a very slow crawl through the desert at the end of the game. The character customizations was definitely its strong point to play the game how you wanted but it wasnt enough to make me want to go back and play it again.
BOF4 i need to go back to, i made the mistake to binge all the games back to back and by the time i got through some of 4 i got burnt out and never went back to it, but the few hours i did play felt solid.
BOF6 isnt real.... it cant hurt you. But seriously i dont know what they expected to happen to release a long awaited ip and release it as a microtransaction mmo using the name, and then come out and say that there is no more interest in the series when it eventually flopped. 😤
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these games!
The fifth installment is my favorite. I don’t care about the opinions of long time fans because I wasn’t even alive when the first 4 came out. I realized I was a sentient being who enjoyed things through this game. The fifth one was about a boy with a goal to save a girl. Given the circumstances of my childhood, I often wished for a boy of his nature to save me from my monsters. I like that you can’t use the D-meter too much. It challenged me in ways I didn’t think I could handle. Even today, I still love that game with my soul. The music is gorgeous, the graphics are amazing, and I loved the battle compositions and the storyline. Everything tied this together for me to make it amazing, and it’s sad that others can’t appreciate it for what it is without comparing it to other previous installments. I guess what that guy from the fourth game who parallels ryus journey said was right, it’s not human nature to change.
Every time I play Dragon Quarter, my rating for it gets higher and higher. I too have beaten it three times and I am on my fourth playthrough. I went from trashing it in my younger years to it becoming one of my favourite games.
BoF3 was my favorite, 100%. The music is iconic, I was definitely one of the ones who loved it, it's one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. And the fishing minigame was freakin' awesome. I think it has my most favorite fishing out of any game out there. Including actual fishing games haha
Right on, appreciate you leaving your memories of it here!
2 is still my favorite in terms of plot and tone, I just wish the Dragon system wasn't as gutted. Every dragon spell uses all AP and once you get G.Dragon, it's basically all Ryu needed to spam. Also felt like raising his AP was a bad idea XD
Another cool thing about 2 was the home base mechanic of inviting NPCs back, felt like the precursor to the faerie village in 3.
True, II is my favorite also!
Having Ryu always low leveled to spam G.Dragon is mad idea. I replayed it like 3 times and i cant handle it without Ryu on team
The first game was the best. The dragon forms and how Karn could morph. Just bigger and better than the others.
Man I played the hell out of Dragon Quarter. Even though I loved that game, I really do get where all of the criticisms come from. Perhaps if it has been released as a stand alone game rather than part of the BoF franchise, it might have fared better.
Glad to you can see both sides of that one! I can to to an extent, it just wasn't my favorite.
Finally, someone who doesn't sleep on BoF2. I also believe it was the best in the series.
Such a great game!
It is not only my favorite of the series but is also one of my favorite JRPGs of all time.
it was most painful game in series
ahh yes I play original version
Bof3 was my favourite, 4 was well done great visuals for the time. Dragon Quarter when it first dropped was terrible, bur i went to revisit it years later and realised I just wasnt in the rigth frame of mind to enjoy it the first time round and really enjoyed ot years later.
All in all, the series is a great comfort food for jrpg lovers, shame it hasn't seen any remakes or new entires.