Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

[Leb]

[Ranadiel]

[Himuro]

I'm LOVING this game. It's by far the best strategy rpg I've played this generation, and ONE of the best rpgs I've played in recent memory as well.

This game is a behemoth. It has a really great concept that brings new concepts to the very stale strategy rpg genre. It's a really great mix and there's a lot of variety in the gameplay. You can string attacks together in a style similar to Xenogears but there's more strategy in it. Let's say for example, Nina is your party's mage, she has an attack that casts a magic glyph on the floor. It's fire based so enemies weak against fire will be ass raped if they run into it. There's more to it than that though, you have to take advantage of terrain and enviroment to actually combo these these skills together. Nina casts the fire wall ability, and Ryu uses a skill that kicks the enemy, backing up further away. You just kicked him into the fire and it literally doubles your rewards in terms of xp. Then there's the whole trap/bait system. This is really useful if you don't feel like thinking in a fight or you're going to have to battle lots of foes at once. Throw a bomb at the group before heading into battle, and once you're in the fight, use the bomb to explode each and every one of them to get mass amounts of xp. There's also a dash that consumes dragon power. You can use it to push enemies to the side if you want to avoid them. There's a lot of skills to be mixed and baits to be experimented with so the gameplay never gets stale.

And then there's the whole survival rpg bit. The Resident Evil influence Capcom used in this is high: cash is limited, item space is limited and you have to manage how you're going to deal with your items, enemies pop out of NOWHERE a lot of the times, the atmosphere is moody, dark, and foggy a lot, and then there's the big thing: the dragon counter. You have a counter that constantly counts to 100, every few steps it increases .01%, and if you use dragon powers it increases at a much much faster rate, especially in battle. Basically, as the game progresses you're losing your humanity. The flip side is that when you use dragon powers, you're going to be getting serious damage in so it has it's ups and downs, you just have to know when to use it. The thing is, once the countdown hits 100 the game ends. Tongue So yeah, if you use your dragon dash alot and dragon form in battle for small fry enemies you could easily beat with one combo in your NORMAL form, then yeah, you're going to suck and have a game over. All of this goes back to the strategy and survival aspects of this game (aside from the battle system and other mechanics I mentioned above).

THere's also the SOL system. When you die, you get sent to your last save or you can restart from the beginning. Thing is, you keep all of your items, skills, party xp, equipment, and so forth when you continue (the only thing you lose when starting a new game are levels but then you have party xp to deal out so it's no problem). This is a really neat system because it's totally nonlinear and exploitable. Like in FFX-2, you can make the game as hard or as easy as you want it to be. A good example of being able to do this would be to do boss battle runs with SOL Restore. Basically you'd use a Save Token right before a boss battle (or multiple battles), and then just decimate the boss(es) with your dragon powers in a single turn, gaining lots of Party XP in the process. Now, when you "SOL Restore" to a Save Token save, you keep all of your Party XP, your D-Counter is reset to where it was when you saved, and you're given yet another Save Token to repeat the process. You can repeat this as often as you feel is necessary, building up a reserve of Party XP to pump into your party when you're ready to continue on. It's really effective, unique, and just cool but I can understand why some people wouldn't like it, and most seem to not have taken the time to really learn how to use the system. I mean, I'm almost half way through the game and I haven't had the need to use Dragon powers and my percent is at about 12%. I don't see how it's possible to get 100% unless you misuse your dragon powers.

There's also a very very good story. Totally noncliche, engaging, and very interesting/moody/dark all around.

This is a very very solid strategy rpg. Possibly the most non traditional one I've ever played. Before I thought it was just a traditional rpg with some action elements, but now I see it's definitely a full fledged sprg with elements of traditional rpgs. I've wanted a strategy rpg that has exploration for a long while so this fits the bill very nicely. As I said though, it's not for everyone, and if you lack experience in the genre I would not suggest it. It's pretty hardened. It's difficult, and in order to appreciate the game you're going to have to know this genre inside out. I would say it's the cyber punk version of Shin Megami Tensei 3 but without Heaven's fallen angels thing to deal with or demons in general..but damn is it just as dark, stylish, unique, and has just an original premise that (apparently) few understand or not willing to invest time into to do so.

Now that I think about it, I think I've been wrong these past few years. Quality in rpgs haven't dropped at all if BOF: DQ, SMTN, DDS, Suikoden III, and FFX-2 are any indication. All of these titles have expanded the genre into something that's truly something gameplay wise. All of them have unique premises, are totally non traditional, require skill to be involved, and they all beat out anything presented in the 16 and 32 bit days in terms of gameplay. I guess it depends on what you're looking for. Honestly I prefer a mix between gameplay and story, and I also have tradition and that tradition has been practically non existent this whole generation aside from Dragon Quest VIII (which is why I loved it so much). I guess my eyes have been more narrow than I've thought. The really great rpgs the past few years are just completely different types of rpgs I'm accustomed to, not that that's bad. I want more original rpg experiences like this but alas, the truly great and innovative games don't get true sequels. I'm excited even more about 2006's rpgs now.
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She knows stuff.

[Arcana]

I bought this game for $20 on a random whim.

Best $20 on a game I've ever spent. Capcom needs to take this engine and release more games using it, because it's an excellent system. Breath of Fire game or not, there's a lot of good things that are going on with it.

It took me about 40 hours to beat it the first time, but it was great. You actually have to pay a lot of attention to the game mechanics to play it well, but even if you do, for some reason, the game remains fun. If you know how to take advantage of the Save and Quit feature, you can do things like level-up cheats and item cheats and the like.

As for 2006 games? Sorry. :( I don't see any 2006 game that's going to match the gutsyness of this one. MAYBE Grandia III, but apparently it's only okay. Suikoden V is definitely not there. MAYBE Shadow Hearts III, if only because it's like the first two. MAYBE Valkyrie Profile, if only because it's like Valkyrie Profile.
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Woo, 2000 posts as of Tuesday, 2007 August 28.

[Himuro]

I didn't say I'm excited about 2006 because of the guts this game had to do something new, I'm talking about overall.

Anyways, the game really reminds me of Valkyrie Profile. :)

[Leb]

I believe the count is anywhere between 12 and 20 steps equals .01%. As for the D-Dive, you're usually guaranteed to eat up at least 5% of the D-Counter. The trade-off, however, is that every enemy in the game can and will go down in less than four attacks (especially if you charge before then). Of course, it's recommended that you only use it during certain tough fights-- like that long fight against Zeno or you-know-who.

For 12 bucks, you'd think people would get off their duffs and try it.

[Himuro]

They won't. They're too scared a game will actually have depth and difficulty.

"If it's not completely story based it's no sale!"

Heaven forbid a game that makes you think and play beyond the usual mold. This game is bad because I don't know how to conserve items, or manage them, or exploit the SOL system, or use skills creatively to trap and inflict much damage on my opponents, and the characters that I saw for maybe 5 minutes because I didn't take the initiative to continue playing for lack of competetence!

I hate you Capcom!

[Arcana]

[Himuro]

Once again, I didn't say that this year will mean new things. I said that overall I think that I have been giving ps2 rpgs too much flack and I'm anticipating this year even more.

[Leb]

[Arcana]

I think. what I did, was use the D-Breath for a while, got to like 99.7%, and then I started again and the initial 2% killed me. :( I don't remember the last save point location but you have to fight that guy on that thing again.
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Woo, 2000 posts as of Tuesday, 2007 August 28.

[Something Edible]

This game is, by far and so far, the best RPG I've played on the PS2. It's a brilliant game that is often misunderstood. I know many people who hate it only because it's hard, or because they were forced to restart once or twice. I also know people who hate it for not being 'BoF'ish.

As for being hard, it's one of the things I like in the game! It's quite a challenge, try beating it in less than 8 hours without hard saving to get the highest ratio! The first time you play you'd probably have to restart because you don't know how long the game is, and thus can't make assumptions about usage of dragon power. When I played it, my ratio was at 70% by the time you fight the rangers and Xeno (that's her name, right?). I asked a friend and he said it's too high to continue, so I just used SOL restart. I enjoyed the second play through much more than the first, because you keep all your party experience and locker items! This way I started much stronger and was able to reach that same point in less time. I know a person who beat the game the first time without ever using the dragon form (unless you're forced to), it's doable. And even if it isn't, you don't have to restart more than once. If you make sure not to turn into a dragon unless you HAVE to, then the game is not that hard... and even if it was hard, it's not a valid argument to hate a game. It's not insanely hard, and the battle system is fun!

As for the departure from the typical BoF style... did anyone play Resident Evil 4? That game is totally different than any other Resident Evil game, and it's also one of the best (if not the best) games in the series. Forcing the company to stay with the tried and true ideas limits their creativity and is one of the reasons we see the same game with different graphics in many game series. BoF5 is original in many ways, not only to BoF games but also to Japanese RPGs in general. Sure, BoF1-4 were cool, but I'm not sure how you'd define a BoF game; like, what makes them different from other RPGs? Let's see... I'd say the ability to transform to dragon, Ryu, Nina, good music, hunting, fishing, world map, and story about religion. BoF5 lacks the last 4. I once read that they were planning to add fishing but they didn't have the time, as for world maps, they already moved from open world maps to point and click ones, so it doesn't really make any difference. The story is quite different from other games, but if you just want to play the same game with different graphics and some extras, maybe you should play Pokemon...

I really like the story in Dragon Quarter. It's simple, and yet complex... the premise is simple, go to the surface to save a girl. But there's much more, there's the complex relationship between two friends, the cruelty of a word where people are judged by a number, a guy sacrificing his humanity to save someone, and there's also the extra SOL scenes that sheds more light on the other dragons and generals. It's quite amazing really, hiding so many deep themes under the shell of a simple story.

The gameplay is also great. The battle system blends traditional turn based battle system with strategic ones. Each character has certain roles in battle, and they all have the same importance. The ability to 'cheat' by saving, using your power, and restarting also adds to the gameplay, and I think that the designers knew about it while making the game. The game also has a high reply value, when you beat the game you gate a rating that allows you to see more cutscenes and access locked doors the next time you play, and there are also different paths you could take while playing, and lots of treasure chests to find! The ant colony minigame is fun, I like to go their when I'm in the middle of a dungeon and I got bored from fighting.

Visually, this game still looks good 3 years after its release. The cell shading is nice, and the maps are all interesting. The audio in DQ is good too; the music adds fits the atmosphere and never gets boring.

This game is so underrated. I have to agree with Himuro, it's games like this that show that the quality of RPGs haven't dropped in the last few years. It's just that the quality of the mainstream ones did (hello FFX-2!). Everyone should give it a try if they could. What are you waiting for? Go find it!

Now for some ending SPOILERS! Don't read if you haven't played the game...








The ending was a bit disappointing; he should've died! But I once read that the designers wanted to extend it so that you get to play in the world 'above the ground', and you find out its a wasteland that's no better than underground! Too bad it was rushed...

[Scrooge McDuck]

Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter is my most favorite game out of all the BoF series, with BoF III coming at second.

The one thing that is most memorable to me is the script; the way the story is executed. The main story is simple, yet the script makes the story seems much greater. It is adequately dark and intriguingly myterious. Any cliche moments it may have are covered with very powerful lines. There is no unnecessary conversation, no overzealous or out-of-place lines, and there is even no monolog-ing villains.

... And the most important of all: Ryu speaks! (well, he did speak in the first BoF, but that single train of non-stop words do not counts.)
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[Sydnee]

I hate to stay this but, I don't like this game.
I bought it for $20 last year, I was excited to play it because it is BoF. Then after several hours of playing, I started to get bored because of the battle system. I'd a hard time keeping myself alive throughout the game and shush I gave up. I exchanged it for another game the next day. This game is too much for me, believe me, I'm not that good at playing RPG's. I'm not good at hunting all items, boosting my level to the max and playing 100% of the game. I only love to reveal the story and to finish it. I'm also not good at playing tactical RPG's (but I've finished Rhapsody and FF Tactics (PS1)) but after that I started to avoid tactical games. Anyway, BoF DQ characters aren't that bad, though I miss Ryu. I've played BoF 3 & 4 and heck it was awesome! I didn't expect that DQ would be ugly (at least for me).

I salute those who have finished the game! .......coz I'm not a great gamer like you XD
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~ Securing the safety of mone---I mean uhh...people of Island Nations ~

[Caesar Silverberg]

This game was okay, but being a fan of the previous Breath of Fire games, I was severely disappointed. I overlooked the ethopian Nina design, but the fact that you had to race through the whole game without using your Dragon Powers too much, pissed me off. The Dragon Powers are what make the Breath of Fire games so fun. What's the point if you can't use them as often as you'd like?

It's reptitive, and tiring.

Yet, I still own it, so...