REVIEW: Breath of Fire 2 1993/94 SNES
	By: Square (Capcom) Type: RPG Players: 1 Difficulty: Medium

Since hardly any RPGs were ever released here (warning, incoming Euro-tragedy monologue), one sometimes forgets how crowded the SNES RPG scene is, and that it's really quite an achievement to stand out in this department. Coming from Capcom, who're mostly famous for things such as Street Fighter 2 and the Megaman saga, an RPG of such a high degree is one pleasant surprise. On the face of it, this looks pretty much like any other 16-bit RPG, be it with some extra sheen, and mostly, it -is- pretty much like any other 16-bit RPG but it does it's thing considerably better than most others. In fact, Breath of Fire 2 fully deserves to be classed in the ranks of Zelda 3, Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu for insiders) and Mario PRG (another one Europe never saw, dammit) as one of the greats of the SNES RPG era.
 
For great it is. Huge, enormous and massive. This game is sure to keep you busy for a long time. The story takes you all around a truly massive world, indulging in a wide range of subplots and mini-quests while the main plot thread gradually unfolds in the background. The story is beefed up with a colourful scale of playable characters who gradually join your team and unfold facets of their distinct personalities and pasts.
 
The characters are another one of the game's major strong points. On your journey, you'll come accross such exotic characters as an angel princess, exiled from her city because of her black wings, an androgynous plant-man thingy, a sassy catgirl, a beefy horse-man or even a fat and jolly French frog (I appreciate the in-joke; the "frenchie" of the group is a big frog. Sympa dites donc, Capcom). Seems like an uncoordinate bestiaire at first, but they all have their story to tell and begin to grow on you once you get to find out more about them (while some are also genuinely likeable from the start). Each character has it's distinct abilities and uses, and setting up your own balances and battle strategies is an important thing to consider.
 
Presentation is a good job all-round. While the graphics are beginning to show their age in some parts, it's overall detailed and colourful, with the battle scenes being rendered very well. Music is adequate and accompanies the action well, although it never really struck a chord in me. Big, colourful sprites populate the battle scenes (just too bad that they don't move around very well), and the interiors of some towns and buildings are pleasingly detailed, which makes up for some of the more bland-looking bits. But overall, it's still a very presentable game.

She never forgave him for taping over her Sailor Moon videos... ¨_^

As for gameplay, it's good and solid for the most part, but there are a few niggles. Your blokeys drag themselves around the map screens rather slowly, and sometimes battle occurs far too frequently, until it makes you want to scream. One or two other rusty points, such as the rather clumsy translation and a slight confusion as to what you should do next get in your way as well from time to time. But overall, one can forgive these faults, as it never really makes things impossible for you, and there's plenty of good stuff to make a few niggles (mostly due to this game's age) seem like hardly anything at all. A few nifty innovations deserve special mention as well, such as the mystic shamen that can be tracked down during the game and who will serve to enhance your characters' powers, sometimes even transforming them into a groovy new look. Other nice touches include the subplot of building your own town and finding residents for it's houses, the impressive dragon attacks that the hero learns and many secrets to dig around for. Note that the meat of the game is pretty much standard RPG stuff, but very good standard RPG stuff, and lots of it as well. Whoever said that you can't have both quality and quantity?
 
So it's definitely recommended. It's one of the better "proper" RPGs, with menu-based battles, level-ups to train for, 100% Japanese characters and all those other things that make such RPGs enjoyable, in massive doses. Just make sure you have some spare time, as this is really one to sink your teeth into. - Toasty 91%

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