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Unlike previous games, you cannot move freely on worldmap!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 6 / 22
Date: December 02, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This was recommended to me by one of the regulars at a video game store I frequent... he knows I like RPGs (like Final Fantasy). He said it's like the old type RPGs, but you can move freely and do what you want. UNTRUE! I bought it last night, and played it for an hour... all I did was hit my arrow buttons! (Okay, a few times I hit my action button to slay a monster!) I kept waiting for an area to "save"... it never came. So I guess I'll have to start it all over if I want to play this game again! BOOOOORING!

You get a small movie at the beginning of the game -- graphics were awesome, but they spoke in Japanese! I'm sorry, but I don't speak Japanese, so that was disappointing! I had to go to the strategy guide so see if it would tell me anything about what was said.

Well, that's when I read that "unlike previous games, you cannot move freely on worldmap!" Soon enough, I found that out when I started the game. The feel of this game is a lot like the Mario Bros. RPG game for the SNES. (Sorry, I haven't played a whole lot of games to compare it with.)

So I guess the guy didn't play this game before he recommended it, even though he acted like he did. It also says "special controller" on the back, and he didn't know what that meant either.

I know I'm going to start the game over this weekend (since I just spent ~ ... on it + strategy guide), but I usually feel much better about it! It's not what I expected.

A winner in its own way...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: December 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

First off, it's not right to compare this game to games like Final Fantasy IX. They have different priorities. If you actually would play the game for more than seven minutes, you could learn a few things.

Graphics: Who said the graphics were bland? Graphics are designed to match the mood of the game. If all you're worried about is how fancy the graphics are, you aren't doing what you're supposed to be doing: having fun.

Sound: I don't mind about voice overs or the Japanese, the music is stellar and I don't mind that it repeats.

Control: It IS a little skittish, but I mastered it after a few minutes. No game is perfect. Plus there are lots of save points 1. In an inn 2. In camp (press triangle on the world map), 3. At a diary and 4. On the world map by pressing square.

Characters: THE most important part of an RPG. No characters, no roles to play. All of them, except poor Scias (shame, he's my favorite character, too! Shame on you, Capcom!), go through major character development, and that's what really makes me want to play again and again.

The dragons are okay (I like them all), and the combo system is great. Anyone besides me know how to make Supernova, Earthbreaker, and Catostrophe?

What the best part is, the game keeps you wondering what's going to happen next. (Do they ever find Elina? Is Scias really a traitor? Is Ursula afraid of ANYTHING?!)

Overall, if you want some fun for the next few months, Breath of Fire IV is a good bet, although you might want to rent it first.

Best of the series; one of the top ten RPGs of all time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Before I go into my review, I'd like to point out that some people reviewing the game seem to have done so without PLAYING the game. The [...] review, for instance, talks about "stragglers, some of which can transform." No one in this game except Ryu can transform. That reviewer also states that the game is a continuation of the ongoing BOF storyline, which it isn't at all, as the Goddess Myria has nothing to do with this game. Another reviewer mentions that the game has only 8 directional control, unlike the Final Fantasy games. Well, that'd be because the game uses 2D sprites, not 3D models, and for every angle there has to be a different sprite. Unlimited directions simply are not possible in a 2D game - even if it's on a 3D background. Moving on...

What Breath of Fire IV has that so many RPGs lack, is a solid, coherent story that doesn't rely on the Japanese convention of pseudo-philosophical and over-convoluted mish-mash. The characters are fleshed out pretty well, some better than others, but all with some measure of substance.

The battle system is brilliant - following the standard formula enough to make it simple for newcomers to the series or genre to jump right in, but adding enough complexity to reward the long-time RPGers who crave a little something extra. The combo system and all of the variations on the standard attacks that it creates make combat much more interesting.

The character animations for combat and cut scenes are incredible. Capcom used 3,000 frames of animation for every major character, which is simply unheard of in 2D games, and the pastel art style makes them well-integrated into the 3D backgrounds. And speaking of those backgrounds, there is a lot more attention to detail in every location, from small meaningless objects in random rooms to the splendor of the Emperor's Palace. This game is - for its generation - simply gorgeous.

The music is of collectible quality - Yoshino Aoki delivers a performance that makes the rather odd jazzy tracks of Breath of Fire III a distant memory, and puts her on the same tier as some of the bigger name composers. The eastern-influenced themes go well with the overall Asian aesthetic, making the games various elements gel together seamlessly to provide complete immersion.

I really can't say enough about this game, but my final words are simply this: Buy it.

breath of fire 4

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 12
Date: August 05, 2001
Author: Amazon User

to start, let me say that this game was a much needed title. i'll give everyone the satisfaction of the graphics aren't "ff" and the camera angles aren't either, but if you are lost in the graphics of a game and are only in it for "eye candy" then go see ff:tsw, because you've already lost the most important feature of the game, the story, go watch a movie. ugh like the bouncer what a horrible game, that was only about an hour and a half of garbage though andthank god i rented it first! rpg, not ggaaeg, gimme graphics and an easy game, come on man, it's such a cool title! the camera angles make you actually bend your head and try to look around those corners and behind the walls, and that adds into the game play, it makes me laugh when i find myself doing it. and the story that the bof series has mantained IS so original. that's what's so unique about it. all sequals to previous titles are completely differnet. all final fanstasy games are way different, at different times and everything. i love the final fantasy series don't get me wrong but the way you can actually feel for the characters is so cool [the core characters nina ryu and cray in his various forms]. i think the only true like "aww man that was so sad" type of closeness toa character was to that of aeris in ff7, but see i love ff7 so blah. ryu never says anything, do you know why? because he is thinking exactly what you are thinking, and what he "says" is what you want to say to the other characters, you can tell by what the other characters respond with. and its cool how the characters faces are in the text box. every game that has had actaul voices are SOO horrible, mega man legends is a perfect example of how annoying they are, mml2 is even more horrible, mega man sounds like a chick! the camping option is so great cause if you haven't played the game for like a week or whatever, you can talk to the characters at the camp site so you remember where you were, and what you were doing. i was terribly disappointed with chrono cross, ff8 and 9 and am sceptical about buying 10 and 11. i bought ff9 and chrono cross before i bought or even rented bof4 because of all the hype and "eye candy", but the games were so vague, i never finished ff8 or 9 because they were just too boring. chrono cross is terribly vague, i mean whats the point of having so many characters, to have to play the same exact game 3 times before you actaully can use all the characters is just stupid and they weren't even all too much different anyway, just looked different, and all the hot chicks were bad in that game, cause they were white innate and all. i really disliked serge! the weaker elements that you could allocate were so horrible, couldn't wait to get those forever zero and such to have them taken away because serge wants to be reborn and all that hoopla, give me lynx anyday over serge! bof4 has the core group of characters, who were there the last time the dragon boy needed help and they are here again, the characters are fun, the mini games are fun. i played the game for 15 straight hours one day! believe me, if you loved the rest of the games so far, you will love this one also.

Breath of Fire IV is one great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: January 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Breath of Fire IV is one of the best RPG's ever. The idea of the battle scene is kinda Final Fantasy type but it is a great game. I would recomend it to any RPG fanactic such as myself. The characters are cool. The moves and the weapons are great too.
Well if you have played previous Breath of Fire RPG's and you liked it, I wolud recommend this great game too
Your everyday RPG fanatic
Linkzelda63

Mediocre at best.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 4
Date: December 21, 2001
Author: Amazon User

From the first BOF down to this one, the quality has gradually declined. Sure, it looks prettier than it used to, but with few weapons, fewer spells and less variety with each passing episode, the series is looking more than a little thread-bare.

The combat system is good, though it hasn't changed hardly at all since the last time. The spells and skills are copied more or less directly from number III, including such goodies as Flare, Jump and other low-cost, useful abilities. The multi-elemental spell thing was cool but made less useful by the inclusion of a variety of useless or near-useless combinations. Some of the high-power spells require the combination of elements boss-level monsters are immune to and do an overwhelming amount of damage to regular monsters; they simply aren't necessary.

The monsters are just slighter higher resolutions of old beasties from the last three games and the dragon spells, while nice to look at, just aren't all that useful or interesting. I used them once and then stopped using them alltogether.

The fairies are about the only thing that's improved over the last installation, with multiple uses for fairies and the opportunity to build a significant and powerful attack force with the fairy spells.

The movie clips were a nice touch, but they aren't as good as some other RPG movie clips. Check out the new Chrono Trigger/FFIII disc and you'll see what I mean.

On the whole, it just wasn't all that great. Still, I've now defeated all four games several times over. When BOF V comes out, I'll check it out before buying it, though.

S'up kick *ss game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 6
Date: September 04, 2001
Author: Amazon User

S'up, this game was one of the greatest games ever made. The only problems with this game is that during the whole period of the game I never once had to try to level up to beat the boss. Which means that there was no challenge, and the game was beat without the work of a challenge. And during the game at one point or another I had no idea were to go or what to do so I had to find a site on the internet. The site is gamefaqs.com, (greatest site in the world for walkthroughs and secrets). But either than that they had mini games like a fairy village and if you do well in the fairie village you get to rename any character and this game period kicks a**.

A VERY BAD GAME

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 19
Date: February 23, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game really makes me mad. I cant believe i paid 40.00 for this peace of junk. If you want a really good RPG get Chrono Chross or ff9.

a cool game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: February 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

this game is almost like Suikodin in this game you is two different kind of people one of the side are good the other side is evil that's becuase both of them saperate form each other and they both are dragons.

A Grave Disapointment

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: October 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When I bought this game I expected something as good as BOF III or better. Sadly it turns out this game is the Mystic Quest (for those familiar with the Final Fantasy series) of the BOF RPG's. Since I only paid 16 dollars including shipping I don't feel too bad, but I can recomend this game only for completist collectors unless you can get it for what I paid or less. If you have an old Super Nintendo game box and don't have BOF and BOF II, get them first, they're better.

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