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Not for everyone

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 28
Date: June 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I've always loved the BoF series, and this is a rather drastic departure from it. About the only thing in commmon w/ the other BoF games is Ryu and Nina. Also this game is pretty hard and seems like it's always out to get you, as items are expensive and you need items to save. When i first played this game I hated it. I got 3 hrs into it and quit. Out of boredom i gave it another go and found it a very enjoyable game.

The battle system is one of the funnest I've played in an RPG in a long time. The story is great, and the ending is one of the best I've seen in a long time. And a New Game+ system doesn't hurt either. You can spend a hundred hours trying to get and do everything. (i've gone through it twice and still missing a lot)

Everyone says that you need to restart over and over again, when actually you don't. If your not very good (no offense) and use the dragon powers a lot, then yeah, you will. The dragon form is 'sposed to be a last resort, and should be used as little as possible. It's not that difficult to make it through in one run w/o restarting (although it does help).

Although this game has a steep learning curve, I'd recommend it to the hardcore RPG fans. People who are used to having their hands held through out a game should stay clear. Give it a try and try to learn it's systems and you should find a very enjoyable and rewarding game.

Why does it have to be this difficult!!??

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 19 / 21
Date: December 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Breath Of Fire Dragons Quarter has to be the most complex and difficult RPG I have ever played. It's the only game in the series I have tried, and I decided to play it as I am a fan of RPG's in general, but I wasn't prepared for such a steep learning curve. Maybe if you know the series you will find it easier, but I spent the whole first section of the game having no idea of what I was doing. It doesn't help that the game manual is very hard to understand, I was referring to it all the time, but seldom found answers to the questions that were confusing me.
Basically, the game plays like a standard RPG, with strings of dungeons, interpspaced with "towns". You only have three playable characters (except for the first mission) so you can concentrate your level building quite easily. The battle system itself is quite cool, as it requires that you take into account positioning and distance in all your strategies. Players can run around on the battlefield at will within a specified range, but it consumes points that would otherwise be put towards combat, so you will be playing very tactically a lot of the time, which I found a lot of fun. You have to learn different skills as the game progresses, and then attach them to your weapons and armour to use in battle (a bit like "Materia" in Final Fantasy 7). But the attacks that you dish out only prove really effective if you use the games "combo" system, and it was this that I really struggled with. In addition to this, the many different types of weapons and armour on offer have a bewildering range of benefits and drawbacks that make assembling a selection of "best" equipment impossible. Again, it's all really poorly explained in the manual, and highly confusing to understand. However, there is an even bigger drawback to the game, in my opinion, which is the Dragon Counter. Once you reach a certain point in the game, the lead character takes on the ability to assume a hugely powerful dragon form, which potentially makes every battle a pushover. The drawback? Once you get this ability, a timer appears in the corner of the screen for the rest of the game, counting towards 100. Any use of the dragon form speeds up the counter drastically, and the penalty for reaching 100 is Game Over-permanently. Yes thats right, if you use the power too freely or take too long to play, your characters will die and you have no choice but to restart the whole game from the beginning. There is no way to stop or reverse the counter, and once you get towards the last stage of the game where the final bosses can only be beaten with dragon form attacks, if you don't have a pretty large chunk of counter left over, you simply can't finish the game. Its a hugely unfair and crippling mechanism to have, and one that almost made me give up even after I had worked really hard to get a long way into the game. Think you can just do lots of levelling up to become invincible even without resorting to the dragon? Sorry, this is a linear game...there are no random encounters and no way of revisiting dungeons that have been cleared. Plus, saving is done by means of consumable save tokens, which are far too scarce, as are the save points themselves, so just making it through a lot of the stages is hard enough. To make the game so difficult and then make you scared to save because you are getting low on tokens is just plain mean.
I'm being very negative here, but let me add that I did enjoy some aspects of the game. The graphics look great, and the plot is intriguing, with characters that are very believable. Hmm...I've not left the game with many plus points there!
In conclusion then, a fine looking game with dynamic battles and a good storyline, crippled by a massive penalty for using the best skill in the game. I suppose in accordance with the plot, in which the dragon form is literally eating the players life away from within, it makes sense that there should be a steep price for using its power, but this is too much. There is a restart system to soften the blow in which you retain certain attributes and gain access to new areas when you restart (the instructions say you will get more out of the game by playing it over several times), but that's not good enough for me. I worked hard and replayed many sections to be able to make it to the end credits just once, and I don't feel much like going through it again. Be warned.

Great but Complex RPG

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 22 / 26
Date: September 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Breath of Fire - Dragon Quarter is a challenging RPG that features gorgeous graphics, especially in the cut scenes. You also learn a lesson about power and consequences.

The game is very Final Fantasy-like with a character running around a map, solving quests and learning things as he builds up skills. Your party here contains up to three characters. This is a futuristic world where humanity is living underground. As in every story from Metropolis on forward, it's the dregs of humans which are living down at the lowest levels. They are so far from the surface that they don't believe there is a real "sky" up there.

Like many other RPGs, when you clear a dungeon, the enemies stay dead. That makes sense to me :) It does mean, though, that you can't "bulk up infinitely". You are given a certain number of potential XP and have to best develop your character based on that.

When you become advanced enough, you gain the ability to turn into an uber-dragon. You might think this would make the rest of the game easy. But with great power comes great responsibility, or so says Spiderman. The balance here is that using that power hastens the end of the game. If you wimp out and just use your dragon powers too much, the timer counts down and the game ends.

Some people complain because they get their hands on that dragon power and want to just use it to blast through the harder levels. But the whole point of the dragon power is that it is an ultimate power that should only be used for the final bosses. If you can't resist using that power all the time, then you pay the penalty. I think it's a brilliant lesson and find it fascinating that a number of gamers aren't understanding it.

The characters and plot are very well done, and really get you to understand how trapped and doomed the "lower classes" are. The cut scene graphics are great anime style, and the in-game graphics are quite nice too. The music varies from area to area and really gives a sense of the atmosphere in the game. I enjoyed both the roaming-around gameplay and the battle gameplay as easy to understand but full of strategy. Battle especially gives you a lot of customization so you can tweak your characters to best match your gameplay style.

Yes, this is NOT an easy RPG. People who try to take the 'easy way out' (i.e. dragon blasting everything) will not be able to finish the game. Players who try to race from start to finish will simply not finish. But players who put in the time to customize the characters, and who work on developing their skills, will find an amazingly fun RPG that is quite replayable. Each time you finish the game, you can restart with even more ability to explore the world.

Well recommended for serious RPGers!

Great fun...but frustrating

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 14
Date: March 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This installment in the series plays very differently. Everyone complains about the new SOL system in the game. To put it bluntly it works something like this:
1) Make your way through a dungeon.
2) Either die or quit the game
3) Choose to either restart the dungeon with roughly 10% of you r
experience (i.e. "party xp") and all your earned cash,
or,
Restart the entire game with 10% experience and all your cash.
4) Repeat until strong enough to get to the next save point.
P.S. every time you transform into a dragon (Ryu) you consume energy that cannot be replenished unless you start the game over entirely!

The motivating factor compelling one to finish this game is the frustration of it being so darn difficult. On the plus side, the battle system is really fun and some of the attacks look super-cool. Plus, there's a mini-game where you build a fairy village (like in other bof games) which is totally fun as well.

This is the last time - I promise!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 41 / 69
Date: February 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have written and rewritten this review, and this is my final offer. Any would-be buyers of this game, PLEASE take this as a caveat; I really want to convey just how lousy this game is. Any comparison of this game to the rest of the series is ludicrous, but anyway...

As I said before, you play the game as the character Ryu, a government grunt. Mankind has been forced to live under the earth due to reasons lost in antiquity, and the citizens are placed into their positions via a rating system (a ratio - the closer the ratio is to 1, the more potential a person has, and thus the greater station this person is allowed to have). Surprisingly, the higher your ratio, the closer to the surface you are allowed to live, despite the conviction that the outside world is poisonous. Anyway, the purpose of the game is to climb out from the bowels of the earth in an attempt to reach the sky. This is the story. If you find it excellent, well, to each his own, but personally,I don't think this tale stands up to the likes of Xenosaga, .hack:infection, Suikoden III, FFX, etc.

However, complicating matters is the D-Hunger gauge, against which I have railed in the past. As you progress through the game, this gauge constantly rises (increasing about 1/100 of a percent every 2-3 seconds on its own). SHould your character transform into a dragon (or use other special abilities), the rate of increase rises dramatically. Assuming you never use ANY of these abilities, however, you essentially have 20000-30000 seconds to finish your game (or about 6-8 hours). Failing at this, it is game over. In fact, you have to restart your game from the beginning. There is NO carrying over of statistics; what CAN be carried over are the weapons and armor you have equipped, any items you have stored away, the skills you have learned and "party experience", which can be used to boost your characters upon the replay. Furthermore, if you are considering beating the game on your first go around, don't. It is physically impossible (I know, I tried it out). I have a lot of words to describe this atrocious system, but "realistic" isn't the first to come to mind.

I believe in innovation, when it makes a game more fun. However, this is absurd. You want the trick to beat the game? Simply play through as far as you go twice, remembering to store all of your acquired items and NEVER use party experience. That way, on your third time through, you can buff up your characters so much that they will destroy any enemy they come across (yes, I decided to go back and finish the game). Hence, an 8 hour game becomes a 24 hour game, since every scene is seen three times. The fact that you can't save often is a blessing in disguise - saving doesn't really help you anyway (the D-Hunger gauge isn't going anywhere). Oh, and for a more "realistic" gaming experience, notice that you have a "quit" command. This command essentially allows you to save at a certain spot, and then use you dragon abilities to try to acquire certain skills and items you might not otherwise be able to acquire. Oh sure, you'll die, but you can start over at the save spot, with all of the abililities now in your repertoire. In fact, the guide (which may be the most useless instruction guide in all of gaming, oftem times confusing me more than instructing me) tells you to use this strategically. The realism is overwhelming. The moral is: if you try to beat the game on one walkthrough, forget it! Instead, the system rewards ineptitude over ingenuity.

If you are one of those (sad to say many) people who simply cannot stand the mainstream, and would sooner gouge out their eyes than play a game everyone else is playing, this might be for you. To be sure, the system is innovative, and I am sure it will never rear its ugly head again. However, if you enjoy fun game, or if you simply don't want to waste fifty bucks on a stinker, stay the hell away from this abomination. Play Xenosaga (another innovative game), or .hack, or even Final Fantasy X for the nth time. This game reeks...

A soon-to-be classic that snuck under the radar...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a fantastic game. It is one of the best games Capcom has made in the last five years. Now before I start telling you why I think it is good, you need to know that this is not like the other Breath of Fire Games. Although technically this is still a turn based RPG, there are some real interesting innovations that make this game unique.

First of all, the game is the most challenging Breath of Fire. I have played 1, 2, and 3, and this is definitely the most challenging. That is, until you figure out the system, and learn how to work the game in your favor. It is still the most challenging, but the challenge can eventually be managed.

The enemies appear on-screen and you lay traps to weaken them before battle! It is a new and creative system. Depending upon how well you fight, you get bonus experience, which is called Party XP. So if you fight cleverly, you can level up more quickly.

The Dragon Form has changed. There is no MP. Now you have a Dragon Counter. Every time you turn into the Dragon, 2% is added to the counter, that goes to 100%. If the counter reaches 100%, then it is automatically Game Over. You must figure a way to win without bringing him out too often. This in itself is a challenge. At first I resented it, but now I realize that it is a great additional challenge to the game as it is set up.

Also, the Dragon Form is obscenely strong in this game. You can kill even the end boss in Dragon Form with only 15-20% of the counter.

The music is good. The plot of the story is really good. You must escape from an underground nightmare, challenging every authority figure in an oppressive, subterranean world. You can restart the game over with your Party XP and acquired skills and beat the game more easily. You also have a great challenge ahead of you: earn the Dragon Quarter, the ultimate D-ratio.

Yes, this Breath of Fire is different from the others. However, in almost every instance that is a good thing. This is one of the best video games on PS2, period. Not only that, but in terms of price it's slipped under the radar and is selling at a low price. If you have the cash to spare, this is the one you want.

A great game if you know what you're in for.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: February 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I believe a lot of the negativity surrounding this game could have been avoided if the title had not carried with it the legacy of the Breath of Fire series. Honestly, other than the names and faerie mini-game, there is really nothing about this game that has anything to do with Breat of Fire and players should be made aware of that. To stress this, the dragon system, gone. Yes, Ryu transforms, but not into a creature that resembles Warlok from Marvel's New Mutants more than any dragon I can think of. Free-roaming exploration, gone. You're underground the whole time and there IS a time limit of sorts. You win by advancing not wandering back and forth between towns and dungeons. Fishing, gone. Yes even fishing has been cut entirely from this game. Even the magic and basic fighting systems which remained relatively consistent throughout all 4 games have been reworked to the point of an entirely new gaming experience. That having been said, this game is a blast. The graphics are amazing, the environment is eerie and the story is oddly compelling for a Breath of Fire game (other than 2 I never found the BoF story lines to be terribly interesting or motivating). Is it as difficult as everyone says? It can be, if you're careless and at the same time, if you're careful and remain aware of your situation it can be a breeze! The key is NEVER and I mean NEVER use your dragon form unless you are forced to because at the end you'll want your meter to be as high as possible. Thats it. If you can manage to play the game without the godlike power of the dragon form, it will be no problem at the end.

It doesn't deserve the bad rap it gets!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 9
Date: August 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am soooooooooo tired of seeing this game bashed. The game is set in the future when humanity has been forced underground. The setting is bleak and barren. To the lower classes that live the deepest underground, the air is the most polluted. Human potentials are measured by "D-ratios". The larger the fractional number is the more potential a person is supposed to have. Ryu, the hero of the story, is a "low-D". The upper classes are in disbelief that he has linked with an ancient dragon and is able to harness its power.

In the lowest sections underground, the concept of the sky is considered by some to be just a rumor. You and two others must follow the dream that the sky really does exist. It is a odd trio that consists of Ryu with his unique ability to link with a dragon and is a member of the Rangers. (The Rangers are protecters of the status quo.) He is joined by Nina who has unique magical skills. Finally, they are joined by Rin who is a member of the rebel underground.

At times Rin even doubts your sanity. She doubts that the sky even exists, but she continues to support you. (It is hard to write a review about this game without including spoilers! I am doing my best.)

The battle system is based on a characters speed, a measurement. They higher your speed rating the quicker that players turn comes around. The higher your movement number is; the larger the radius of the area that you can move. The higher your active points (AP): the more you can move and attack. It is imperative that you learn how to string attacks together in order to deal greater damage. (This is called a combo.) I have seen all the individual ideas in other games and yet the way they are pieced together in this game seems quite original.

The music consists of close to 50 differrent compositions. The music all fits well with the situation in the game. It's first class all the way.

The graphics are quite good, although there are games that surpass it.

Anyway, to the point of this review...All the so called difficult parts of the game are meant to enhance the feeling of helplessness the people feel in this bleak future. Yes, it can be frustrating, but when you have beaten it you feel like you have accomplished something. Also, it in NOT CORRECT that if you max out your dragon meter; you have to go completely back to the start of the game. There is an option to just go back to the start screen and continue from your last save.

Each time you beat the game, your D-ratio goes up and suddenly you can get into places that you couldn't before. The game has a high reply value for an rpg because of this. You can actually beat this game without having to use some strategy guide or faq's. To me if you don't like the game it just shows you have no patience and don't appreciate having to work out strategy components of a game.

Not for the unadventurous

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: March 15, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I would have to say that this game was definitely a relief from the other breath of fire games. I was skeptical at first but the games ingenuity and innovation won me over in a short time. The game contains many innovations for the series and in general for all rpgs. It has a scenario overlay system where the more times that you beat the game the more additions to the story you get. The first time through however the story is not lacking. If you like to read through a game and not play it however it might not be for you. Most of the game is playing time now movie time like other recent games. For the skilled gamer, the game is not so hard the first time as long as you keep yourself stocked with items and using tactics instead of brute force. What adds to this need is the use of D-Counter which slowly raises throught the game. If you are conservative, you will beat the game with a little above 80% with the understanding that the difficulty level the first time around is such that you need to save the counter for the end of the game. It was definitely fun that towards the end of the game the counter is very close to 100%( the game ends when u reach 100% ) and it adds a lot of suspense in the end. The game also does not have random enemy encounters but a set amount of enemies so you cannot train your characters until lvl 99 to beat the game like all other rpgs which I found very refreshing to play a game with a set difficulty level.

The story is simple, no plot twists and hundreds of characters to keep your mind on, but enough to keep you playing and wondering what will happen. You start the game as Ryu, a low class grunt in the government. with a ranking of 1/8192 to start with, you are of the lowest kind. However, if you do a good job on your first time throught the game, the ranking raises dramatically. Additional plays through the game are not a hassle since you keep all of your equipment and abilities and your party experience to level the second time through.

The game was difinitely enjoyable and worth playing a few times through. It is one of the better games I have played in a long time. The difficulty level is alright,not too easy but definitely not hard either. If you are in for something new in a game then this game is for you. Any rpg fan should consider giving this game a try. The music is great on its own, the game is one that you start playing and have to play all of the way through.

The Most Challenging Breath of Fire Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: December 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Breath of Fire continues to be an adventure with a dragon named Ryu and his allies. What I really like about this game is the battle system which has changed drastically compared to the other Breath of Fire series. The new battle system lets your character(s) use different variation of attacks using a certain amount of "AP" (Action Points). You only have 3 characters to choose from and there names are: RYU(A Ranger), NINA (Created by a Scientist), and LIN (from this organization called "TRINITY"). The character(s) can do combos using the attacks. The attacks could be activated by using "AP Levels". There are 3 Levels to use when you are attacking. You could use items simultaneouly without losing a turn. The graphics are good and it has a good storyline that is very interesting. Once you get Ryu as a dragon, he loses what is called "D Ratio Counter". You lose D-Ratio Counter when you let Ryu use D-Dash and I don't recommend doing this because you will be needing those D-Ratio Counters later on. I don't really like this part because the highest D Ratio Counter you could get is ONE HUNDRED. If you reach ONE HUNDRED guess what happens GAME OVER. When you lose you have three choices: 1)You could RESTART the game. 2)RESTORE the game from which you saved earlier and 3)THE END. The most annoying part of the game is you have to find what is called a "Save Token" so you could save the game. It is rare to find a Save Token somewhere in a dungeon. Sometimes you can't find one for over three hours of gameplay and once an enemy beats you, you have to start all over from which you saved earlier. This Breath of Fire game is challenging. I Have passed Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter and when I reached the final boss which is Bosch, I had my D-Counter Ratio somewhere around 15% and then you have to use the Dragon's Power to beat him. Once you defeat Bosch the credits role as an Anime scene plays when you reach the sky. It brings back some monsters from all Breath of Fire series. The game itself is very hard that soon you will want to return it to the store and get another game but as soon as you pass the game, you will be rewarded a higher D-Ratio Point to access more dungeons which you couldn't go into first. I truly recommend this game who wants to challenge themselves on a whole new adventure to "REACH THE SKY"

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