Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Squaresoft
Release Date: 8-10-94
The old adage about Breath of Fire is that it’s only famous because at the time it came out there weren’t very many RPGs to choose from. Most RPG fans in 1994 had already played the American released Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior, and Phantasy Star games so Breath of Fire was automatically appealing. It’s a turn-based jrpg about dragons. How could it not be good? Well there are some caveats about this fondly remembered game that honestly do hurt its ranking. It actually is a case where the nostalgia hurts the experience. If I had lower expectations it might not have been so disappointing. I can see why some people are big fans though.
Some people just need a good story and pleasant visuals to consider a game a success. If that’s what you are looking for than Breath of Fire is probably for you. It has a very deep quest for its time. It has an oddly engaging cast of characters including a fishman and a moleman. It’s always fun when the characters aren’t all spikey haired teenagers. And of course it is a jrpg on Super Nintendo so it looks nice. The earth tones of the backgrounds contrast beautifully with the colorful sprites making for a look that has never went out of style. I know it’s not the first rpg to look like this, but it’s one of the ones to popularize it. It’s the perfect medium between the more muted Dragon Quest games and brightly saturated Final Fantasy games. So far it sounds like a home run. Sadly it falls apart in the actual gameplay.
Breath of Fire has some of the dullest fighting I have ever experienced in a turn-based game. It’s the type of combat that gives turn-based games a bad name. Especially in the first half it is mind-numbingly boring. It’s just attacking with an occasional heal. There’s even an auto-battle option right from the start, so it becomes a push one button and check your phone kind of game. It takes a while before any of the characters even have spells to use, so you really have to trudge a while before things get interesting. Luckily there are more interesting techniques later on like a character fusion mechanic and the protagonist’s ability to transform into a dragon. However, these skills are well hidden. I am not sure if the original manual talks about any of them, but I wouldn’t have even known they existed without consulting a guide. What kind of game hides all of its best features?
It’s also one of those games that’s easy to get lost in, and I don’t mean that in immersive way. I mean that there isn’t enough in game information to know what your next move is. Getting lost in an RPG can be a good thing if done right, but in this game it just means more boring battles. It’s not one of those where going anywhere is going to lead you to something interesting. It does have secrets, but there’s still one main path to take. It’s just not as well-constructed as a Final Fantasy game. Just think of the map for Final Fantasy IV. It’s designed so well that you can always tell when you are going toward the story and when you are off the beaten path. Final Fantasy VI has something to find no matter where you go and is still excellent in construction even in the more intentionally confusing World of Ruin. In Breath of Fire the map just seems random by comparison. Most of the time when I was lost it was because I missed some random thing that was easy to walk right past.
I suppose I shouldn’t say too many bad things about it though because I am looking at my list and am still going to put it in the green section. I guess I am just enough of a sucker for JRPGs to slightly recommend this one especially now that it is on Switch. Still it’s one of the worst good rpgs I have ever played. Since I like most of the RPGs on Super Nintendo it’s probably going to rank fairly low on the SNES curve. I wouldn’t quite call it a classic, but I will rank it at #31 right between Adventure and Ice Climber. Hey if you don’t like it than just let me know in the comments. Seriously, I’d love to get some comments.
SNES Quality Percentage: 4/6 or 66.66%
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