In a time when
there are very few surprises in terms of gameplay in console RPGs, it is
always refreshing when a game comes along that tries to break the mold
and shake the genre up a bit. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is
the newest game in Capcoms Breath of Fire series, but it is unlike
anything I have ever seen before. There is no overworld map to
explore, the combat is a mix of real-time and turn based, and you have
the option of starting the game over from the beginning with all of your
items intact when you die. Dragon Quarter is a nice change from
the more traditional RPGs and is worth checking out for fans of the
genre.
The story in
Dragon Quarter follows a blue haired character named Ryu. Ryu
works as a guard in an area called Deep Earth. Ryu, who finds out
early-on he can harness the power of the dragon, teams up with his
friends as he takes on the forces of a rival organization on their way
to the surface of the planet. The story is fairly straightforward
and not very deep, but there are still quite a few plot twists and
surprises along the way.
Dragon Quarter
sets itself apart from not only most other RPGs, but the rest of the
Breath of Fire series as well, in several key ways. The battles
are a combination of real-time and turn based combat where you are
assigned Ability Points that you can "spend" in order to do various
actions each round. When an enemy engages you in battle, the
camera shifts to an overhead view that shows the members of your party
as well as any enemies. Performing attacks or moving around uses
up AP, but using items does not. This creates a situation where
you can heal your party as well as make a devastating attack all on the
same turn. There are no random battles, and it is completely up to
you when you want to fight. The enemies are all wandering the same
map you are, and if you want to fight one of them all you have to do is
touch it. The characters can all run much faster than the enemies,
and you can also set traps to soften enemies up before battle--as well
as bait the enemies away from your chosen path. The enemies do not
respawn, however, so there is no chance at level building other than
just plowing ahead into the next area.
Another aspect
of the gameplay that Dragon Quarter does differently is that when you
die you are given the choice of starting the game over from the
beginning and keeping your items and experience, or you can start over
from the last save point with your items taken away. The game is
rather difficult and you will be dying a lot, but Dragon Quarter offers
a unique twist that makes each trip through it a new experience.
In the land of Deep Earth, each person is assigned a number known as a
D-Rank. The higher the D-Rank, the higher that persons social
status is. As you progress through the game and raise your D-Rank,
characters will respond to you differently and new objectives will
become available. This makes it a much different experience to
play through each time you have to restart from the beginning. The
game isnt very long, however, and clocks in at less than twenty hours
even after you have restarted from the beginning several times.
Luckily, even after you beat the game, you can play through again with
all of your items and experience intact in order to unlock even more
storyline elements and quests.
All of these
changes are completely different from what the Breath of Fire series has
been during its last four installments. There isnt an overworld
map to explore as the entire game takes place underground. Also,
the Breath of Fire series has always stood out because of its dragon
transformation system. In Dragon Quarter, only one character can
turn into a dragon and even then there is only one form. You are
actually discouraged from using the dragon form because using it too
much will kill the character. The game shares some similar themes
with the rest of the Breath of Fire series, but it plays completely
differently. This game would have been great no matter what Capcom
wanted to call it, but it almost seems that using the Breath of Fire
name on a game that is so different might turn some old school Breath of
Fire fans away.
Graphically,
Dragon Quarter looks amazing. The pseudo cel-shaded graphics look
awesome and the character designs are remarkably detailed. Even
though the game takes place underground, the environments are good
looking and varied enough that they dont ever become repetitive.
The usual array of special effects that accompany attacks are present
and look spectacular. The graphics are very easy on the eyes, to
say the least.
The
sound in Dragon Quarter is similarly outstanding. The music was
composed by the same people responsible for the soundtrack in games like
Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, Chrono Trigger, and Xenogears.
There are a large number of tracks considering how short the game is,
and all of them sound great and add a lot to the game. There isnt
much voice acting to be heard, and what ispresent is in Japanese.
The sound effects are everything youd expect in an RPG and nothing
more. Overall, the sound gets the job done and the music is
absolutely fantastic.
Breath of Fire:
Dragon Quarter is very different from most of the games in the RPG
genre, but that doesnt stop it from being one of the best RPGs the PS2
has to offer. Even though the game is rather brief compared to
other RPGs, you can keep playing through it again and again in order to
open up new storyline elements and quests. Fans of the Breath of
Fire series might be a little upset by just how much has changed in
Dragon Quarter, but you can rest assured that it is a fantastic
experience. For RPG fans, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is
definitely worth checking out