Dragon Quarter, the next in the Breath of Fire RPG lineage, is very much a different beast from its predecessors. Whether or not this is a good thing, depends largely on your ability to accept massive changes in a long-loved series. Think of Final Fantasy changing from RPG to action/adventure. It's these sorts of massive changes from standard RPG gameplay that will most likely limit the title's appeal.
In most games, when you die, you can either continue on the spot, or from the last save point. In Dragon Quarter, you die, you die for good, and have to restart -.from the beginning. Granted, you do retain all your goodies and XP, but Dragon Quarter is often a be-quick-or-be-dead ballbuster, in the grand tradition of Way of the Samurai and Steel Batallion. I suppose Capcom wasn't content to leave the whole "no continue" thing to only those who shelled out 200 clams for their mech simulator: now they're making RPGers feel the pain, as well.
If you can look past the boot camp style save feature, Dragon Quarter is quite a bit of fun. The only thing I can compare it to is the lesser-known Squaresoft classic, Vagrant Story. Your combat takes place in real time, but is still turn based. Each attack will cost you a certain amount of points, and you only have a limited amount of said points in any given turn. When going up against a group of enemies, or perhaps when looking to evade them, you can use traps/diversions before combat even starts, in order to sneak by – or get the drop on your foes. Also, like Vagrant Story, Dragon Quarter has oodles of customization options and depth, which should make any hardcore RPG fan worth his/her salt giddy with joy.
Dragon Quarter's presentation is also a thing to behold, and the cel-shaded style of the characters set against the many apocalyptic backdrops of the game works better than you may think. It's not on scale with FF7's Midgar, but what is? In addition, the music of battle is top notch, though a little more spoken dialogue would have been appreciated.
If you can look past its horribly cheap tactics to extend the already short gameplay duration, chances are you'll have quite a bit of fun with Dragon Quarter.
-George
Company Line
CAPCOM'S PERENIAL RPG FRANCHISE, BREATH OF FIRE ARRIVES IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT
E3, LOS ANGELES - May 22, 2002 - Capcom today announced plans to release Breath of Fire series (working title) to the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system this winter. The game is the latest installment in the highly acclaimed RPG series that originally debuted in 1993 and has since then sold millions of units worldwide. Renowned for its innovative gameplay mechanics, this latest incarnation redefines the Breath of Fire role-playing game. Breath of Fire for the PlayStation 2 sports a whole new 3D-world look, an engrossing storyline, brand new stylized visuals and innovative gameplay features. Breath of Fire series now introduces a "Survival" style of game play as the game's main focus. ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) rating is pending.
Breath of Fire series boasts the following features:
PETS (Positive Encounter and Tactics System) - A revolutionary feature to RPGs in which players can set up traps and decoys in the environment prior to going into battle against monsters.
"Survival" Game Play - Players are challenged with an abundance of enemies and a large variety of strategic elements such as deciding whether to fight or avoid enemies, or timing when to attack.
Ability Point System - All actions, including spells and attacks, will cost Ability Points (AP's). The accumulation of AP's can be used to deliver more powerful attacks or combos.
SOL (Scenario Overlay System) - What the player has accomplished up to that point carries over to the newly restarted game. Not only do Experience Points and items carry over but, in-game events and dungeons will change based on the player's previous accomplishments.
Set in an underground world that time has forgotten, this newest Breath of Fire game takes players on a journey to the surface of the earth. An ecological catastrophe has devastated the planet, forcing a civilization to settle and live in the ancient underground city, "Shelter." Generations have passed since man has seen the sky and no one has any recollection of how life once was. Ryu, a Ranger for the underground civilization, is on his routine patrol assignment when he has a sudden "awakening" and is determined to discover what lurks above. Follow Ryu, and other members of the underground society, as they fight their way to the surface against monsters and adversaries.
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