Breath of Fire II Review
Breath of Fire II
Intro
This is the sequel to the popular SNES RPG, ''Breath of Fire''. Fans of the original will be
happy to find that this game is just as good, if not better. There have been plenty of changes
and improvements, but the game still has many of the features that made the original a great
RPG. Since the stories are not directly related, even people new to the series can enjoy this
game on it's own. Interested? Read on...
Graphics
Breath Of Fire 2 really
has very nice graphics, but they are pretty much standard from the RPG's released during this
time. Compared to many other Super Nintendo RPG's, you may not notice anything that different
or exciting from what you've seen before. But just because the graphics aren't innovative
doesn't make them bad. If you usually like 2D graphics, you will probably like these as well.
In every area of the game, except for the battles, there is a standard overhead view. This
includes all of the towns, caves, and other areas. They did put a pretty good amount of detail
into things though, and the game does seem to look a bit better than the original. It does
have many similarities to the style of the original though, including character designs and
the types of colors often used.
The graphics during the battles are better than in
any of the other areas of the game. These have definitely been improved since the last game.
Spell effects look very nice, especially considering that this is an older game. Both your
enemies and your characters are detailed, and look good. You will see a lot of large and
interesting bosses as the game goes on, and they really do look amazing at times. Having
great looking boss fights seems to be one thing that's really consistent in the Breath of
Fire series.
So basically, if you generally like the graphics of most other
Super Nintendo RPG's you should like these very much as well. And as with any older
game, some people may not like the style very much. For example, if you've played nothing
but newer PlayStation RPG's, than these graphics may take some getting used to. I urge
you not to give up on the game because of it's looks, though. Even if you don't like the
graphics, there are enough of excellent aspects to the gameplay for the game to still be
worth playing.
Game Play
There isn't anything too unusual here for fans of the genre. Still, this is a very fun game to play. As in most other RPG's, enemy encounters happen at random while you are walking on the overworld, or through an area such as a tower or cave. In many games, this can be very frustrating, but there is one aspect that makes it slightly more bearable in this one. By looking at your menu, you can find out whether there will be many or few random encounters in a particular place. When you know what to expect, it's easier to put up with it.
During these encounters, your characters appear on the right area of the screen, with the enemies on the left. But it's not as flat looking as some RPG's. You can see a bit of depth in this one, since characters are on more of an angle, unlike games such as FF6. If you've played the original, you know what I'm talking about. The style is very similar to that game, with only a few minor differences.
One of the aspects of this game which I found most interesting is that most of the characters have abilities unique to them. These abilities can be especially useful during battles. For example, some characters can use magic to attack the enemy, or to cure the party. Ryu, the game's main character, can transform himself into a Dragon to use powerful attacks. Spar can call on the powers of Nature for help during battles. Each of the other characters has similar skills that only they can use. Eventually, you will also gain the ability to merge certain characters with elements to enhance their power.
There is a large overworld in Breath of Fire 2 that you must travel on to get to different areas of the game. It is very large, and cannot be crossed entirely on foot. During the course of the game, you will be able to travel both by air and by sea, as well as on foot. The absence of this overworld map is what really made the future games in the series much less enjoyable. This is the last Breath of Fire game to feature such a map. Sometimes, while walking on this overworld, you will come to a place where you can hunt animals or fish. Some members of your party have the ability to attack the animals. Depending on the animal that you kill, you will receive various items. Fishing is a little bit more complicated, and more fun than hunting. You will find various Rods throughout the game, and you can buy different kinds of bait. It's not very difficult, and it can be quite rewarding if you do it often enough.
Story
The story, in my opinion, is one of the best things about this game. It gets pretty interesting and complicated later on, and I enjoyed almost all of it. I did find it to be a lot better than the original Breath of Fire in this area. However, there were some fairly serious translation problems, which causes some of the dialogue to not make much sense or to sound overly simplistic. It becomes slightly annoying, but only after playing the game for the second or third time. The overall theme of the story is still rather excellent though, even if it seems a little lacking at times. There are plenty of people to talk to in the various towns, and more interesting events seem to happen in this game than in the original.
Music
I really liked almost all of the music in this game. The battle music is very good, one of my favorite pieces of music in the game. It really doesn't get too annoying, even after hearing it through virtually the entire game. I also like the overworld and dungeon music quite a lot. There isn't any that I really hated, and some songs are truly excellent. If you would like to find out what it's like, you can probably find some sites where you can listen to some of the game's music.
Conclusion
This is a really good game, but I did find that each time I replayed it, I noticed more and more flaws with the story. That's the only real flaw worth mentioning. If you've played the original, or just have an interest in RPG's, I recommend a purchase. It's not as easy as some of the games out there, so if you're looking for something a bit more challenging to play, this might be what you've been waiting for.
Back