Breath of Fire III

Two years after Breath of Fire 2, Capcom has released yet another sequel for this great RPG series, this time for the PSX. This is by far my favorite of the three Breath of Fires, however, I will be stating a few flaws (hey all RPG's have 'em!) the game has as well.

Storyline

The story revolves around Ryu, the last member of the Brood (dragon clan) left alive since the slaughter of the clan many years ago. During the adventure, Ryu slowly uncovers the mystery of the Brood, and thus learns more about himself, the powers he possess, and why the Brood was so mercilessly killed off. Ryu will be joined by 5 (6 including Teepo) other companions that all have their purpose for tagging along. Soon the party realizes that there is some force controlling the world and it is up to Ryu to decide his own destiny to either save the world, or.....?

Characters/Development

Character development is on par with Breath of Fire 2. Each character is unique in both skills/combat, in personality and philosophies for their existence. Teepo is brash and a bit hot-headed but reassuring. Rei is carefree and irresponsible, but kind, while Nina is curious and a smart talker. Momo is happy-go-lucky, helpful and independent. Garr is serious, yet has a dry sense of humor at times, and philosophical. Peco, while cute on the outside, is able to commicate with plants and gain their telepathic powers. But unlike Breath of Fire 2, you learn more about many of the characters through dialogue and cut scenes rather than going out and completing a quest. Exceptions may include Garr and Rei. Special skills are important in this game as each character not only has a special skill, but has expertise at certain things. Some expertise are essential to completing a dungeon, so choose your party wisely (here's a small hint: be prepared to take Momo in your party a lot)

Battle/Combat

Combat, in Breath of Fire 3, has taken a turn for the better, at least in my opinion. The number of people you can have in your party has been reduced to three, but that seems to be the normal number of allies in most RPG these days. ^_^ Battles are somewhat simular to Chrono Trigger in which you fight/meet enemies without having to go into a 'battle mode screen'. Encounters are still random, but they aren't so frequent as in Breath of Fire 2. Some enemies have a knack for being very numerious and annoying. Again, bring plenty of healing items with you. Magic spells are numerous and enhanced from the second Breath of Fire game. Dragon spells have returned (in the form of 'Genes') and they've made an improvement over the second of the series. You can remain in dragon form so long as you have AP. Every round or two drains you of a certain amount of AP depending on the dragon form you took. You can combine 2 to 3 genes for more powerful dragon forms but drains more AP from you.

Skills can be learned from enemies by 'examining' the targeted monster. It's kinda like Strago's Lore skill, but chances of you learning the skill, it seems, depends on your intelligence score. The bosses look fantasic, but they are not too hard to beat if you are prepared.

Graphics/Animation

The graphics are absolutely gorgeous! While the world itself is 3-D, all the characters are detailed and colorful sprites. Animation is enhanced with voice acting when casting spells or fighting hand to hand. Capcom has also added some neat little touches to the game such as little animations when characters are just standing around for a while and cameo appearances by characters from previous Breath of Fire Series. As for the music, I know many people find the music sounding like elevator music, but that only seems to hold true only for the overworld theme. The music, yet again fell short of the previous BOF series, providing for only a few catchy tunes. C'mon, Capcom! You can do better than this! ^_^

Gameplay

Very much improved over #2. Leveling is actually fun and it doesn't take very long for your characters to advance levels. Spell casting and turning into dragons will quicken your battles while making it enjoyable at the same time. Hunting is gone from #3, but fishing is still in the game. This time, it takes more skill and a little luck to catch the fish you want. You can also enhance some of your stats and learn skills from 'Masters'. Some of these skills cannot be learned anywhere else, so make sure you apprentice with as many masters as possible! The only flaw I saw in the gameplay was that some of the puzzles/tasks that you had to complete in order to advance very tedious and fustrating.

Replay value

Mmm...I dunno. I found this game way too linear, but there is replay value simply because there are some secrets in the game to uncover, and to apprentice different characters to different Masters.

Length

This game is not as long as #2 but still a good length. It is 40+ hours which is long enough for me anyways! ^_^

Middletails' Reviews
Breath of Fire 3 Reviews


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