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The Breath of Fire series is often considered sort of second-string among RPGs; solid, but not really in the same league as front-runners Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior. Breath of Fire IV does little to distinguish itself from this pattern- a decent game that just doesn't really stand out.
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Visually, the first word that comes to mind is 'outdated'. This isn't necessarily fair, of course, since many gamers prefer the sprites on poly background look that Breath of Fire IV sports. Similarly, I find that the heavy use of pastel colors makes the game look washed out, but some might like it. Less debatable are the game's cameras. With only four positions and
excessively stiff movement, adjusting them is painful. This might be tolerable if maneuvering the camera wasn't required, but a little game of
hide and seek early in the game says otherwise.
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In the sound department, there's less to say. Breath of Fire IV's music works well enough in-game, but isn't the sort of thing that really stays with you. The sound effects include a healthy number of voice samples, but given that they're exclusively in-battle and in Japanese, they feel like a tease as much as to add flavor to battles.
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Gameplay has more to offer. Although only 3 characters may act in a given turn, all available party members appear in battle. Thus, members can easily be rotated in and out of the active party. Additionally, inactive members regenerate AP (used to cast abilities) each turn, a useful feature in numerous battles. Out of battle, characters have personal actions, such as
Nina hovering to aid in navigation. Breath of Fire IV is sprinkled with puzzles which require using these effectively, though none are particularly challenging. Combined with a liberal number of mini-games, Breath of Fire IV is highly playable.
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But is the story sufficient to make the journey worthwhile? Well, parts are. Presumably taking a page from Final Fantasy VIII's book, the primary
narrative following Ryu (the hero, which shouldn't surprise Breath of Fire veterans) occasionally gives way to the story of Fou Lu. The precise nature of the bond between the two is made clear throughout the story, but it is safe to sum the story up as the two coming to their destined meeting.
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Sounds promising. And on Fou Lu's end, the game delivers. He's fairly developed, and I spent most of my time with the game looking forward to Fou
Lu segments. However, the bulk of Breath of Fire IV, Ryu's story, felt very muddled. Ryu and company seemed to simply fumble around until something happened to them. And ultimately, this haphazard feel the game had left the story a disappointing whole.
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With a final clock time of 29 hours, Breath of Fire IV is fairly middling for length. Unfortunately, the game is nearly devoid of side-quests, so that 29 hours is pretty much all the more time you can get out of the game. And
considering that Breath of Fire IV is ultimately best suited as a time-filling game, it's particularly unfortunate.
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