While the first Breath of Fire had a quaint charm about it, that aspect was not passed on to this game. BOF2 is full of improvements to the system, but for each gameplay improvement, there is an equall step back in some other area.
I have given both BOF games the same rating, and that is because this one fixes many problems from the original one and is technically a much better game. Everything is more modern and a lot of cool new stuff has been added. At the same time, the story has gone from charming to overdone (another way this game is more modern). Many of the towns and such are also recylcled from the first one, so getting to the next town doesn't feel as exciting.
Other than the bland feeling the lack of atmosphere in this game gave me, my other major complaint is the amount of backtracking that is required in this game. I have never played another game that required me to walk back to the first area so many times. And it is a long walk, filled with random encounters of the weakest sort. The main reason for this tedious jouney is the township system, which itself is very cool. Basically, you get you own town that you build up and choose residents for throughout the game, as well as a sort of elemental aspect switching machine. The problem is that you have to walk to this town everytime you want to use the machine, check out your new residents, or shop in your special shops... and on top of this, many of the fetch style quests you will be sent on involve walking all the way to the farthest towns as well. This traveling was my main gripe with the game and it also contributed to the less than steller atmosphere of the whole product, you rarely felt like you were moving forward in the game, in a hurry, or about an important task.
Play this game for the cool ideas and the better gameplay than the original BOF, but don't expect to be charmed by the experience. This game is good and it is fun, I was just let down that, while the gameplay evolved, the spirit devolved.
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