The Video Game Critic

Here are two RPG reviews submitted by resident RPG Critic Jonathan Hawk.  Let him know what you think!

I've always felt these two games were fairly overrated. They have an annoying tendency to plod along for way too long without doing much interesting, and like Jonathan, I found myself thinking "isn't it over soon" a couple times, which is not a good thing for a game.
The bosses in the first game have the annoying "Breath of Fire disease", where they deal too little damage to be dangerous, and take way too much before they die to be entertaining. Towards the end, when all characters fuse, you simply sit there hammering the A button, dealing maximum damage for turn after turn while yelling at the boss to die already. It gets better by the second game, but it's still a problem.

As for the shaman system in the second game, for a feature played up by the manual so much, you've almost beaten the game before you get the chance to do something halfway interesting with it. Bleh.

I agree with the score of BoF1, though I'd probably bump BoF2 up to a B+.

Anyway, in the BoF2 review, Hawk says that in order to change your party, you need to return to TownShip. This is incorrect, as your party can be changed at any Dragon Statue (unless it was added into the GBA version, but I doubt it).

[QUOTE=Conn]This is incorrect, as your party can be changed at any Dragon Statue (unless it was added into the GBA version, but I doubt it).[/QUOTE]

You know, you're right, but it only matters slightly more than if you had to go all the way back to base.

The important point is that unlike the first game, you can't just switch your party at will, and not every town has a Dragon Statue.

The first Breath of Fire is perhaps quite weak, though I would give it more than C-. I made the mistake of playing it after the second which meant I couldn't enjoy it as much.

For the second though, I suppose I am going to be a little outside mainstream opinion here, but it is A territory in my view, simply fantastic, one of my favourite RPGs (and I have played a ridiculous number).

I would like to see the fourth game torn apart though. THAT was a dissapointment.

Okay, maybe this will get people off your back for always giving out A's (-:

Seriously though, very nice work, and I'm happy to see more RPG reviews. Keep it up! Maybe a review of KOTOR can be forthcoming? (-;

-Rob

[QUOTE=The RPG Critic][QUOTE=Conn]This is incorrect, as your party can be changed at any Dragon Statue (unless it was added into the GBA version, but I doubt it).[/QUOTE] You know, you're right, but it only matters slightly more than if you had to go all the way back to base. The important point is that unlike the first game, you can't just switch your party at will, and not every town has a Dragon Statue. [/QUOTE]'

True that, but I thought it added a bit of strategy to organising your party. Though it was annoying to plod back to a town to change your party...

[QUOTE=Iain]I would like to see the fourth game torn apart though. THAT was a dissapointment.[/QUOTE]

I haven't played it yet, but I don't think I will. It appears to throw out everything people LIKED about the series to appeal to the mainstream crowd. The characters seem horrible too, except Ershin and the samurai dog.