Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire is a role-playing video game series made by Capcom. First released in 1993, the series encompasses six main entries plus various ports and re-releases. Although the games' stories are only loosely connected chronologically, the series features a recurring character named Ryu who can transform into a dragon.

Breath of Fire follows the pattern set by other mainstream Japanese role-playing games in the 1980s and 1990s. The series combines medieval fantasy, anime-style art, random enemy encounters, and an intricate storyline involving a small band of characters that develop their abilities throughout the game. The random enemy encounters take place on a separate screen from the world map. The battles are turn-based, meaning that the enemies and the player take turns attacking each other until one side is completely defeated. Up to four player-controlled characters can fight in an enemy encounter at one time. The characters have the ability to attack, perform magic, or use items. The main character, Ryu, can also gain the ability to transform into increasingly powerful dragon forms throughout the game. Outside of battles, the game is presented through a top-down or isometric perspective. Players explore a gigantic world map, encounter random enemies, defeat bosses, and use characters' unique abilities to solve puzzles. The series has also introduced unique features. For instance, the second title introduced the ability to build towns and fuse characters together with powerful elemental shamans.

The first two Breath of Fire titles were released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. "Breath of Fire 3" and 4 were released for the original PlayStation, but they can be played on the PlayStation 2 through its backward-compatibility feature. "Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter" came out on the PlayStation 2, but the physical disc can also be played on the PlayStation 3. "Breath of Fire 6" was released for Microsoft Windows and Android and iOS devices. It did not receive a physical console release. In addition to their initial releases, the series has also been re-released on various systems so a new generation of gamers can experience these titles. For example, the first two games were both ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001 and the Nintendo 3DS virtual console in 2016. The PlayStation Portable received a port of "Breath of Fire 3" in 2005, and "Breath of Fire 4" was made available for Microsoft Windows in 2003.

The first four Breath of Fire games fit into the vein of traditional Japanese role-playing games. "Breath of Fire 3" introduced a 3-D world and a few sci-fi elements for the first time, but otherwise, it maintained the same gameplay as the previous titles. However, the fifth game, "Dragon Quarter," was a radical departure from the rest of the series. Set in a post-apocalyptic underground science fiction world, "Dragon Quarter" incorporates some real-time elements into its battle system. The game also lets the player complete the game multiple times to experience the entire story.