Breath of Fire III
PlayStation * Capcom

Review by Chuck Bednar
8.8

In this third installment of the Breath of Fire series, the Dragon Clan has vanished into the ancient tomes of lore. No one knows how or why they disappeared from the land, as tales detailing the clan's history only lead to the point where their power had grown so great that they had the power to destroy the world. What could have cause their demise? The answer would remain buries with the clan, as all that remained of the dragons was a powerful source of energy know as chrysm ore. Or so it was thought.

Then suddenly one day, a group of miners stumbled across the frozen body of a dragon youth buried deep inside a chrysm ore mine. As the miners attempt to free the youngster, the dragon suddenly awakes and, perhaps instinctively, begins a ruthless spree of destruction and bloodshed until he is at last subdued.

The dragon child is caged, but as the miners attempt to transport him away from the cave, the boy's cage is thrown from their train. He finds himself stranded --- and face to face with hungry wolves. To his aid comes a pair of mischievous youths called Rei and Teepo, and together the three orphaned youths set off in search of fame and fortune.

Ryu, as the dragon child is known, joins Rei and Teepo in their life of thrill-seeking an thievery. And they are rarely caught until one day a mysterious villager leads them into a trap. The trio is tricked into raiding the mansion of a local tyrant and robbing the tax money he took from the people of McNeil Village. But instead of being happy, the villagers scold the boys for their childish prank fearing that they had placed the town in danger. Worse, though, they raise the ire of a massive crime syndicate. The events that follow are a true coming-of-age experience for Ryu, who departs on an epic quest in search of knowledge about his people and his past.

Breath of Fire III is an epic tale that follows Ryu's journey. At first, the dragon child sets out to reunite with his two friends. Along the way, he discovers many things about himself. But before to long, the child's quest for knowledge soon progresses into an adolescent's quest to save the world. Along the way, Ryu will face many tests and will meet a cast of characters whose intentions are rarely clear. Breath of Fire III is a massive RPG which tons of subplots and side games that add up to hours upon hours of thrilling gameplay. The many plot twists and spiritual themes make this one of the truly great adventure stories.

There's a lot of traditional elements to this game, including the standard turn-based combat engine and multiple-character party format. But Breath of Fire III does bring a few fresh offerings to the table, including the examine command. Examine is an option used in battle that instructs your characters to watch their enemies as they perform specialized attacks. If they're lucky, the character will learn how to use the attack. The finishing mini-game also returns with a noticeable facelift, and the game introduces a new apprentice system that enables you to study under masters and pick up new spells.

And yes, as in the original Breath of Fire, the hero can transform into a dragon. But the old series of tests have been replaced by a dragon gene system, which enables Ryu to combine different genes to form bigger and more powerful dragon forms. The more powerful the form he takes on, the more magic points get sucked up each round of battle and the more quickly he reverts back to his human form. The key is to find the right balance of strength, breath attacks, and stamina, and experimenting to find the right gene combo is a ton of fun. The 18 genes are contained in stones which can be found in different spots throughout the game.

Graphically, Breath of Fire III is an interesting mix of 2D and 3D, using sprites in an isometric 3D environment. While interesting to see, the visuals won't redefine the genre. But they're not exactly hard on the eyes either. The soundtrack is decent, but it just isn't the CD-quality tunes we've all come to expect from games like Final Fantasy VII and Xenogears. All too often, the music is too mellow and doesn't effectively convey the game's situation. Other than that, the only legitimate knock of Breath of Fire III is the frequency of random encounters. True, they are a bit heavy, but it's no bother once you get the feel for it.

Critics may dismiss Breath of Fire III as too traditional and not innovative enough. But if you enjoy a good story, then this is a game you will definitely want to play.



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