Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is Worth Playing
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- **UPDATE** RUclips RUINED THE QUALITY.
The original file doesn't have the weird pixelation, and RUclips has made it 100x worse. It wasn't like this when I uploaded it nearly 2 years ago. Forgiveness please!
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Sources:
The Interview: www.rpgfan.com/...
Archived link: web.archive.or... (Added 27/02/2021)
Read this shish. Seriously. It's enlightening. If everyone in the world read this, we'd achieve world peace.
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Games featured in this video in order of appearance:
Breath of Fire IV (PS1, PC, PSN)
Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (PS2)
Breath of Fire II (SNES, GBA, Virtual Console)
Breath of Fire III (PS1, PSP, PSN)
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Music used in this video in order of appearance:
Endings and Beginnings - Breath of Fire IV OST
Low Layer Area - Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter OST
Lowest Layer Area - Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter OST
Middle Layer Area- Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter OST
Going with a Smile - Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter OST
Endings and Beginnings - Breath of Fire IV OST
(I have no idea what the real names of the songs are, but this is what they're listed as, and they're all magical.)
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More of my videos -
Secret of Mana Critique: • Video
Alundra: Horror Through Association: • Video
All works used are for educational, review, or analytical purposes, and are protected under the FAIR USE act.
I don't want to sound dismissive, but I hear so many gamers talk about how they want narrative and gameplay to support one another. The D-Counter is that precisely, just in a very harsh flavor. The story is about a character is essentially a dead man walking. It's a story about desperation, (literally) lofty goals and an inhospitable world and the designers did everything they could to tell that story through mechanics. If anything, they might have succeeded too well. I guess not everyone wants to be feel that type of narrative, yeah? Still kudos to them for having the nerve to stick to their design intention.
That's a fantastic point. There's certainly a fine line when it comes to realism, believability and sacrificing comfortable gameplay in the name of narrative 'fluidity' for lack of a better term. It's a shame they had to do it to such a stellar series, but we have a fantastic example of what happens when companies put their money where their mouth is. It fucking KILLS THE FRANCHISE.
PLEASE BRING IT BACK
That's my point: Breath of Fire shouldn't be about desperation!
@@aarongoddard2642 Exactly, while been interesting themes in their own, its not what BoF series as been about.
@@Caspicum The series got killed because BoF 5 was a 180* turn from what the previous games was, all of BoF5 could have been interesint if it was only a side quest for max 3 hours INSIDE a real BoF game like BoF 3 or 4.
BoF games as always been about exploring and strange, vibrant and rich world.
BoF5 is cramped and claustrophobic...
BoF series is about a boy that harness the power of dragons, and where you transform into one.
BoF 5 is about a boy that has dragons powers, but he better not us it, cause its killing him...
Its like Cloud loosing Max HP/MP each time a materia levels up or Snake getting killed when he goes into stealth..., IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE in the context of a BoF game.
Dragon Quarter would have been more successful if they didn't call it a Breath of Fire title. There's a reason why many people despise FFXV and rightfully so.
I was really sad that Dragon Quarter wasn't better received. I absolutely loved it from the get go. The battle system is so fun and incredibly well done how they balanced technical strategy fighting while still maintaining a turn based battle system. I love how you start out in the ancient high-tech setting this time and after the whole survival struggle through the whole game the ending still takes my breath away every time. The Ant Farm is my favorite city building mini-game. I know the Save Recall system and group XP turned a lot of people off but I just thought it was an innovative way to approach grinding.
I definitely prefer the style to a lot of the bland, samey dungeons in Breath of Fire 3. Specifically toward the end, where everything looks the same. I'd love to see it revisited, but I think Breath of Fire is pretty much done.
It's always sad to me, even though I love the game I can admit it killed the series. I think Dragon Quarter was also to see if they could really turn it into a Final Fantasy installment style series where you recognize elements between games even though they are entirely different setting, game design, stories, etc. Like FF 12 or FF Tactics this could have been just a 'different' installment in a beloved franchise if fans hadn't shit the bed so hard about it's reception.
@@georgeclinton4524I'm 6 years late but funny enough it's only the Western fans who s*** the bed as it's quite celebrated in Japan and sold very well The only negative thing that you hear from the Japanese audience is that the game is just very hard lol
@@HollowRick That's interesting and good to hear. It's such a unique game. I didn't look at any reviews, I just bought it immediately on release and had so much fun with it and it really bummed me out seeing all the negative reviews by Western audiences who hadn't even given it a chance simply because it wasn't a clone of 3 & 4.
I loved Dragon Quarter. I bought it years ago, not because I was a fan of Breath of Fire, but because I love dark, moody dungeon crawlers like Vagrant Story. And that's exactly what I got. I've never seen an RPG so perfectly melded with survival horror, and that's true to this day. You'll actually be scared of enemy encounters, because a single fuck-up can undo tons of progress. Sure, you're always gradually improving, but the game is still absolutely rock fucking hard and it doesn't do anything to shield you from the consequences of your own actions. You have more than enough dragon gauge to make it through the game, but if you abuse the dragon form in the early going, you'll find certain fights at the end way more difficult than they could be. Likewise, save too much in the early game and you'll probably have to do the last two hours with no save point. You have to consider short term and long term consequences of every action you make. Combine that with one of the best rpg battle systems around and it's one of my favorite ps2 RPGs. And while the game is hard, it's rarely unfair. If you understand enemy strengths and weaknesses, you can usually kill them with relative ease.
If this game didn't have the Breath of Fire name and wasn't constantly compared to BoF 3 and 4 (which are good games, to be sure), it wouldn't be hated like it is.
So I've commented on this before. But I really believe Dragon Quarter is a prequel to all the other breath of fire games. Nearly every other breath of fire ends up with the characters going underground and finding lots of higher tech ruins. Where as in dragon quarter it's about finding your way to the surface.
No, it's not.
This is such good context
Except for the first one, in the first one you fly to the last dungeon I think.
Ugh in BoF4 you go high up into the sky and not underground so..
Personally I think the series chronology is more like this (sorry for spoilers)
BOF1 - BOF4 - BOF2 - BOF3 - BOFDQ
Dragon Quarter happens after BOF3 Ryu decided to let humanity stand on its own legs without Myria's interference, even if desertification would happen.
I love Breath of Fire 3, and Dragon Quarter.
I hated Dragon Quarter the first hour of playtime I gave it, then I quit playing early into the game and left it sitting on the shelf. One year later, I picked it up again and I really fell in love with Dragon Quarter. The Survival RPG aspects just clicked for me and the game opened up for me. My first true playthrough, i only made it about 50-60% through where I got to this one area with three "mini-boss" powered enemies one room after another and I ran low on healing items. I bit the dust on the third enemy having lost one character previously and ran out of healing completely.
Starting over from that gameover, I made it to the near end of the game my second run but died to the Final Boss as my counter hit 100%. In addition, I figure out how to get more spells for Nina this time around which greatly helped. Third run I beat the game and that ending was so beautiful, I felt so proud of my accomplishments in this game, the intensity of each situation as they came up, one area after another, every group of enemies, etc.
To those that find Dragon Quarter to be a "weak game", I ask you, do you think the same about Dark Souls as well? I personally feel like Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter was basically the equivalent to a Dark Souls game, long before it's time and fans of the former Breath of Fire games just not giving it a real chance before quitting it or never playing for that matter due to it's vast differences to previous games in the series. For me, it's worth it to play today, especially to hardcore crowds that like games like Dark Souls or other challenging games you learn from.
I'd say the key difference between Dark Souls and Dragon Quarter, is that Dragon Quarter asks that your patience be a lot higher. Replaying the game from the start is heart-breaking, especially when you just want to see what happens next. It's also a lot slower, whereas Dark is constantly moving. That said, it's far from an unfair comparison, and is more of a turn-based vs action comparison than anything.
I'm looking forward to NG+ with my 1/256 D-Ratio. Going to get me some Dragon Sword, explore all those locked rooms, and fuck shit up BOIIIIII. BOSCH CAN SUCK A DICK.
Remember that back then, people gave RPGs at least one clear trait: a very rich story. Who plays Dark Souls for the story and story alone when most of it is relegated to in-game item descriptions and whatever cryptic dialogue you get from NPCs?
Also, the game actively punishes the player for even exploring the environment. And am I wrong in reading a bit more about the game that there's limited SAVE TOKENS?!?
There is a temp save function in the NTSC version, and the PAL version starts with 9 Save Tokens vs the 1 you start with in NTSC.
Still a bit odd, but the PAL version is far easier in that regard.
Casp O'saurus
Personally, I think the NTSC version is superior even though the PAL version gives 9 save tokens from the beginning.
I was searching for differences in both version and came upon a Question & Answer on gamefaqs stating the following:
"The SoL restore and restart options were removed from the EU release. To "compensate" there are twice as many save tokens. In the US and Japanese versions you can at any time jump back to your previous save point while keeping all party XP you acquired since saving, or return to the start of the game with all items, skills, and party XP. In the EU version you have to complete the entire game before getting the option of returning to the start. This makes the game MUCH harder, and it is very easy to get into situations where it is impossible to win and you'll have to start a new game and lose everything.
If the option is open to you I suggest importing an American copy of the game." - Gamefaqs Answers
I'm pretty sure that's incorrect. The PAL Version still has SOL restore and restart as far as I can remember. The only differences between PAL and NTSC that I know of, is that PAL doesn't have temporary saves, and to compensate for this, they give you 9 tokens at the start.
what if... the series had split like the shin megami and persona series... one can only dream sometimes...
That would also be nice. Ideally, that'd be the case.
Yes! That is what SHOULD have happened.
!!!!!
Didn't they kinda try to do just that? That's why it's called BoF: Dragon Quarter and not BoF V.
@@derrickcrowe3888 In Japan it's called BOF5: Dragon Quarter.
I actually loved dragon quarter. It was so different from any other rpg i had played up to that point
The game was incredible, amazingly innovative, with brand new systems, it was bold and remarkable, with such an outstanding atmosphere, mixing survival and strategy. The soundtrack couldn't add more intensity and depth to this stupendous game.
And Don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of the first games of the Breath of Fire franchise, 2 was my first one and I loved it as hell when I was younger (still love it), and I like all the games of the series (never played 6 and I don't really want to...). I just thought that Dragon Quarter was brilliant and daring, with a melancholic ambience, excellent soundtrack, interesting scenario system and addictive gameplay. People didn't like it just because it shared the name of Breath of Fire… I personnally find it really cool that the game bears the name, it adds a lot of interesting things to the identity of the series.
It's definitely an acquired taste. Fucker took me 15-odd years to appreciate it and not loathe it for the name it carried. I've actually got a video on Breath of Fire 6, and I say at the end of it "I'd rather a series of Dragon Quarters than a single Breath of Fire 6" or something to that effect.
It does suck for hardcore fans of the series who wanted more of the same, and I get that, but it's like you said, I can't help loving Dragon Quarter, despite its name. It took a risk, and while it didn't pay off financially, I think it paid off by being a survival-focused RPG about 10 years before that style became mainstream fashionable.
It's a shame to cause I think if Capcom took the time to re-release this on Steam, maybe touch it up a bit if they had the means to, it could be a big seller.
Seeing how successful the Soul series and Elder Ring nowadays me think that BoFDQ released way ahead of its time. I hated the game when I first played it but I tried it again almost a decade later and finally finish playing through it and I really like the game .
I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the aesthetic similarities between Nocturne and Dragon Quarter~
Can I just say that the production value you put into your videos is fantastic. Seeing your videos in my sub box (even if they are about a series I am not even interested in like Digimon) I get more excited than I do with any other channel on RUclips. I just want to say that thank you for the amazing content, and that I hope you continue to do a great job.
NO YOU CAN'T SAY THAT. IT'S INAPPROPRIATE!
The reason I still make stuff, is because of the people who stick around and watch it. Without you, and people like you, I would've given up a long time ago.
I appreciate the kind message.
Also, the Digimon series is almost over for good. I try to do 3 videos between each Digimon one, but at this point, I just want to finish up with it, and move on. It'll be over soon, mate. Then back to weeb RPGs. :^)
Turner Wood ORIGONAL CHARACTER, DO NOT STEAL!
it was this line, from a digimon review. that had me smashing the Subscribe button. :3
Dragon quarter is not only worth playing, but one of the most underrated games of all time. The game is quite near a masterpiece frozen in time.
I played this game back when it first came out. Hated it then, but as I've gotten older and played more RPGs, I've realized now how unique it was and the good qualities it did have. It's definitely not meant to be a beginner's RPG, and anyone who has grown up weened and spoon fed on standard RPGs when they play a game that asks them to eat Fruit Loops with a steak knife.
I would also argue that the people who grew up on old school tough RPGs like Final Fantasy I and Dragon Quest I were also not prepared for Dragon Quarter. Level grinding was really the only challenging hurdle those old games asked you to overcome, but it never asked the player to use their brain. Save often, save your most powerful attacks for the boss, buy a ton of healing items and grind levels was typical RPG strategy back then. Dragon Quarter pretty much says "NO!" to all of that. You can't grind your way through because encounters are limited. Limited encounters mean limited money. Limited money mean all supplies are limited.
Not only that, but the Ant Colony was actually made to be an integral part of playing this game. Normally, side quest stuff like the Ant Colony in most RPGs are for just getting the best gear in the game and the best skills, but they can be ignored with minimal impact. Like if you ignored Chocobo Breeding in FF7, you just wouldn't get Knights of the Round, but the game is still totally beatable. The Ant Colony actually allows the player to make more money by investing their Zenny into the Ant Stock Market, running the Ant Cafeteria and raising Nuggets in the Ant Stockhouse, which is the solution to the game's money deprivation. You don't lose Zenny deposited into the Ant Bank on a New Game+, and the Zenny in the bank can earn interest over time in the Savings account or you can gamble with Forex for quick returns. The Ant Cafeteria provides cash to the player, and as it gets more popular, it really pays out. The Stockhouse is the same, but requires more work and up front cash for a bigger payout.
That's what I like about Dragon Quarter so much now. It didn't just introduce mechanics for fluff. It actually forced you to use them or get your ass kicked. You weren't allowed to ignore the mechanics in the game and still win easily, which is how RPGs were before it and still are to this day. Don't use traps? You get wrecked. Don't learn to abuse Nina's trap magic with Ryu's Kick attack? You get wrecked. Don't want to take the time to learn the Ant Colony? Enjoy your death. Think you can crutch your way through the game with an overpowered ability? Nah, fuck you, perma-Game Over. Go back to Start. I didn't realize how many RPGs really don't require the player to use their brain until I played years worth of RPGs starting from the SNES up to the PS3 era. I think Breath of Fire fans and RPG fans in general were just too used to brainless romps, and Dragon Quarter just hit them like a semi truck they didn't see coming. This was likely the first RPG where playing bad could actually make the game unwinnable. I did this to myself when I first played within 2 hours by using up Med Kits. Then I screwed myself for the whole game by getting my D Counter up to about 33% by the time I first fought Bosch because I abused the Dragon Breath.
Yeah, the plot has issues, but I bet most of its haters didn't even get far enough to see what the plot even was because I never hear that mentioned in criticisms.
And granted, there are ways to grind in this game. It involves the boss battle with Violet Zeno and the giant robot, but the player has to have a good understanding of how Party EXP, Temp Saves and the New Game+ mechanic works to figure out how to exploit this. As a 15/16 year old playing this game, I didn't figure it out until nearly a decade later, and I don't think many other players knew about it either.
I could never get my ant cafe to take off, and made shit-all from it. I did collect everything I could find, and fought pretty much every enemy, and money wasn't a huge issue. It was enough to buy healing items, and that's really all you need to do a bare-minimum playthrough. A few traps here and there, but only if I had the excess. Still tense as fuck, and I love it.
On a first play, I can see money boosts from the ant colonies helping you grab some slightly better equipment, but healing is pretty cheap overall.
Must say, you're spot-on about the traps though. Getting Bosch and Ryu through that first tunnel bit without traps is a fucking nightmare, and Nina is at her best when she's controlling the field with Lightning/Ice traps.
I also didn't know about the grinding methods! I'm going to do a proper NG+ run soon, because I'm pretty sure my D-Ratio was 1/256, and I want all those hidden goodies. Also, the dragon sword will be nice. :^)
Cheers for the comment, lad.
I love breeding the ants. It really makes you actually give a shit about each member of the colony. Definitely my favorite city building mini-game of the series.
Same experience here. I got interested in the game from the trailer and picked it up but wasn't expecting to have to work so hard to get the fun out of it. But it's such a rewarding experience when you understand what kind of game it is.
my first breath of fire game. i bought this game 6 years ago and i still play it the more you replay the more secret cutscenes appear
This is one of my favorite games of all time, every time i play through it i cry at so many places.
Oh damn, I've never heard of anyone digging it that much
I don't know i just find the whole story very sad and moving. Through a lot of it it feels hopeless. Even the ending is good but sad
I always thought this game was too far ahead of its time, it uses the medium to its advantage and it was sad to see people dismissing it.
Definitely ahead of its time. Only in the past few years have we seen games attempt what Dragon Quarter so valiantly died for. If this was released a decade later, it would've been appreciated a lot more.
I don't even remember / didn't even know you can chose to go "game over" but restart with an equip / exp advantage. But then again, that's nothing I would have enjoyed as a kid and even today I'd say " restarting the whole adventure? well that's not very RPG-ish, is it? " ^^; The save points were so useless... When I was 3/4 through the game, I saved but my dragon counter was at 94 or so XD so I was pretty much screwed...
So yeah...
You call crappy design "ahead of its time"?
If they just released it on ps3 ... i like this game from the start .
fumomo fumosarum The only way to realistically beat it is to exploit 2 major battles in the game. Once you know how to do this...it becomes a very easy experience. I made it to the Centre with about...8% on the D-Counter. I only transformed once and that was the one time you are forced to dive. I also did the secret dungeon. All 50 floors and killed the secret dragon at the bottom floor.
Imo, the most disappointing thing about dragon quarter is the fact that a sequel with the mechanics and attacks of the it were not further fleshed out. It is one of many games that feels like it wants to be bigger.
Definitely. Dragon Quarter had so many sick ideas, and so much lore bubbling beneath the surface and we saw very little of either of those things.
It's a shame, I feel both Dragon Quarter and Unlimited Saga came out before their time. When you look at the era of Steam Games in the last decade, Dragon Quarter would of fit perfectly into the "Roguelite" category, it has the makings of it but because people were expecting 3/4 type of story, it wasn't well recieved.
I also bring up Unlimited Saga because at it's core, the game is designed around the ability to tell a grander story through simplified visuals and using a "battle system" akin to rolling a roulette that you do have slight control over but when you consider those two game designs, a lot of indie games that came out in the last decade did sacrifice graphics to tell more compelling stories or offer more gameplay options and even now there are so many games that limit your actions whether through drawing cards in a deck or using slots to give you a limitation as to your options per round.
BoF V was such a welcome surprise when I finally played it. Easily one of the best RPGs on the PS2, like in the top 10.
Anyways, here's how I'd rank them
19. Odin Sphere
18. Disgaea 2
17. Disgaea
16. Dragon Quest V
15. Suikoden V
14. Final Fantasy X-2
13. Star Ocean Till the End of Time
12. Ar tonelico II
11. Tales of Legendia
10. Xenosaga Episode III
9. Tales of Destiny
8. Breath of Fire V
7. Tales of the Abyss
6. Dragon Quest VIII
5. Persona 3
4. Persona 4
3. Final Fantasy X
2. Final Fantasy XII
1. Kingdom Hearts II
And I've played almost every PS2 RPG
Honestly Dragon Quarter is my favorite Breath of Fire game. The others are great too but I love how intentionally different it is from most other JRPGs. I think it could arguably be called a horror RPG too, and I wish there were more games like that
How did I never see this video? BoF5 has been my favorite game ever since I first played it as a kid. Seeing this video makes me really, really happy.
I always, always though the battle system was unique as heck and I loved it. I accepted its shortcomings and I think that what it did well, it did damn well. I loved that for once a game actually means it when it says using more of a power would drain the character's humanity. You can totally see it in Ryu's animations as he transforms. It goes from him getting exhausted and falling on his knees to him just standing there ans transforming like it's no big deal at 70% and above. I loved the character and enemy designs (Tatsuya Yoshikawa is a god, his works are stunning even now for DMC5) and the whole game got the atmosphere juuust right. And, oh lord, Hitoshi Sakimoto's music is just the best, it fits the game so damn well.
There has been so much care and detail put into the game that many have not noticed since most just rush through the game. (I still have my save file where I beat the game 14 times, lol) The very area you meet Odjn there are tons of skeletons and even a pair where one has the same wings Nina has, showing that after the 1st chosen there have been a ton more. The SOL cutscenes, especially the ones you get after getting Ryu to 1/256 and above (or lower?) that get you in certain areas reveal so much background story. Even Kokon Horay which is 100% optional reveals that there were 4 dragons; Odjn, Dvah (falsely translated to Dover), Tri (Not in the game) and Chetyre which are the Russian numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. The areas have so many details and even reading the signs is fun (If you can, that is... I sadly have to admit I fully learned how to read BOF5 letters like the nerd that I am. I can even share a file to install the font on Windows if you want, lol)
I do believe the game was really ahead of its time. If it had gotten more funding and was released maybe at the time where Dark Souls peaked, this game's reception would have probably been a ton better.
I don't think I've ever seen someone be so passionate for Dragon Quarter before. It's kinda refreshing. A lot of the sentiments were either "Seems legit, but I still hate." or "Yeah, it was okay. I miss OG Breath of Fire tho." If Dragon Quarter dropped a few years ago instead of 2002(?) it definitely would've been received a lot better. I think around 2012-2013~ saw a big rise of games that followed in the "Difficulty and permadeath are cool concepts again", which seemed to be kicked off by games like Demon's Souls, and roguelites like Binding of Isaac and whatnot.
It clearly has faults, a lot of things need fine-tuning, and I would love to see a fully-realised version of their original design and vision, but as it stands, it's still pretty solid.
Thanks for the comment!
The battle system was the thing that kept me coming back. I didn't appreciate the D-Counter until the first I had to go back to a save and realized what happened. After that I understood what the game was going for.
I'm curious to know whether you had played the other games or not before 5? BoF 3 is my favorite but I loved 5 after I settled into it. Most people I know who didn't like it had an expectation that it would be like the old ones.
For me reflecting, it was cool that there was finally a tangible downside to the dragon power. Previously, the worst case was that you go berserk and kill teammates, but even then, you could undo that.
The first time I realized I couldn't lower my corruption and Ryu died, I couldn't help but think, "Woah, what just happened?" So much of better game because of it. It made every fight and every ability matter.
You can read the signs? In the game?? How did you learned that o.O?
do you still have the font pack👀? ive been working on some fanart for the game and itd be very neat to add a sign or two in the background!
It is one of the best tactical jrpg out there and one of the best ps2 games. Great underrated video game.
Replayed this recently after like a decade. Had an absolute blast. I think their mistake was making this a mainline/numbered entry instead of making it a spinoff, it would at least lower series fans' expectation a little bit.
I'd honestly like a sequel to Dragon Quarter more than the core series at this point. The core series was so good it doesn't need any new games, but DQ got shafted by a clearly rushed development schedule.
Honestly, Dragon Quarter is one of my my favourite RPGs, i hated it when i first played it and i constantly ran out of time on the D counter, but after several years i went back and played it again and i realized how unique it was and it was inspiring to see a development team take on such a different perspective on RPGs. Additionally it felt amazing to finally finish this game after giving it another try.
Definitely. After years of quitting at the big tank armoured vehicle guy, it was extremely rewarding to push past that and clear the fucker. I'd love to go back through again with my higher D-Ratio and unlock some of that optional shit too. Those SOL scenes were fantastic.
I grew up with this game as a kid never having played the older games (Besides the 2nd on GBA) and loved it. Nowadays though I love it even more now that I have an appreciation for how well it's unconventional mechanics & systems come together.
Attempting multiple runs to get the highest D-Ratio possible is really fun too. Basically turns it into a speedrunning RPG.
It may not be the best Breath of Fire, but its a great game in its own right!
You have convinced me to play this old game. Good on you. I will try to find and play this game! After I'm done with the Xenosaga (ps2) series that is.
XenoSaga..Another Great Game...Good Times .
I think if the Breath of Fire name hadn't been attached to it, it would have been a more successful game. The survival horror elements that made this game unique, did hurt it in a way - you wanted to engage with the world, have fun with the battle system and turn into a (hopefully customizable) dragon on a regular basis, just like you did with the other BOFs. But you couldn't do any of these things in BOF5 since the game's top priority was having you resource-wrangle. And the save token system just made things less fun. I can see why this game would have fans, but a lot of the Japanese RPG lovers who were fans of this series weren't the hardcore rogue-like game fans who would have naturally gravitated towards this title.
Yeah, I have to applaud the fact that they took what the Breath of Fire series did for JRPGs to extremes, but as you said, it didn't work too well for a Breath of Fire title. I personally find that the series was more about subverting expectations, and breaking the mould in subtle, but important ways. It was still a typical JRPG from the outside, but the deeper you got, the more you saw it for what it actually was.
Dragon Quarter did it in the least subtle way possible, and was at least a decade before its time. If it were released in 2013, a year when roguelikes were huge, people would've jerked it off to no end. Unfortunately, 2002 was not so kind, nor the core Breath of Fire fan base.
Casp O'Saurus late but to feel worse? The reason they had to take those risks was more marketing issues... can’t just Devil May Cry those issues this time... so it was a bold yet unfortunate experiment...
Want to feel worse: Dragon Quarter was a favorite of the original team and to find out it has no ports in the Stars sucks... give us a new Dragon Quarter style game, make it the standard going forward
BOFV and Vagrant Story, the 2 most hardcore hidden gems of the golden age
Love me some Vagrant Story, yo.
Never played that one. Maybe time to give it a try..
Funny how Hitoshi Sakamoto composed both games.
This was the first Breath of Fire game I've played, so I was able to play with no bias. I for one enjoyed it and beat it so many damn times. I think the highest D-Ratio I've hit was 1/126.
I love that you see how this game is in fact a really solid game!
I know it was a bait a switch and a poor one at that, but it's so hard and fun to replay and aaaa I love it.
It's like a rouge like, which are never super fun, but I love it.
I love the Breath of Fire series, and while I'll generally agree the third game is the best in the series, my favorite IS Dragon Quarter mainly how dark and dystopian it is. Not to mention it has the amazing Ivalice composer: Sakimoto, on top of being localized by Alexander Smith, also of Ivalice fame.
Liked and subbed. Awesome job man. I almost feel like I might retry it someday and even complete it. I quit halfway through after I lost half of my items in the side dungeon right before I saved.
Oh man, that sucks. Game's fuckin tough, but rewarding enough to not snap the disc. Definitely worth giving it another go, and checking out version differences. I've heard the EU version got destroyed.
i like to say that the biggest problem with DQ is that it is not really a breath of fire game
if they had called the game just Dragon quarter and dropped the breath of fire title, or said it was a spin off, it would probably not receive as much hate as it did
Being able to change into different dragon forms is the cornerstone of the Breath of Fire series. Penalizing you for doing that (not to mention only giving you one vaguely dragon looking form) was the stupidest thing the developers of this series ever did. Also the air ducts. The brown and grey wasteland of air ducts. This game triggered my claustrophobia. That never happened with other games, and I've played tunnel runner on Atari 2600.
It was more of a response to how OP and accessible the dragon powers were in the previous games. Breath of Fire 4 was stupidly easy, and the dragon powers made it even easier. in Dragon Quarter, you've gotta be smart about how you use this power which can kill almost every boss in two hits. It's as strong as a dragon should be, and you're penalized for relying on it, which I love. The dragon form makes sense in this one, since you're not actually a dragon, you just inherited their will or some shit, you're like a percentage of a dragon and you get their powers. Breath of Fire 4 only featured a single dragon-esque guy, and Ryu was supposedly a full dragon, if incomplete.
You're right about the brown and grey though. That was the 2000s for you. No colour, all hardcore gamer realism. The final cutscene in Dragon Quarter is a breath of fresh air, but I did miss the beautiful terrain the series is known for.
My only real 3 criticisms for Dragon Quarter are: 1 - they could have made the "do crazy shit, get gear and party exp, give up, repeat" model a bit clearer. I remember being confused and feeling dumb because I couldn't beat the cow monster near one of the first chests in the game. 2 - They could have locked less plot and world important information behind the SOL/D Ratio system so that a first time player would get more. 3 - And they needed to add some levity and humor like what BoF 4 had at times. If every plot moment is poignant and touching, or gut-wrenching and serious, then the player/consumer gets tired real fast. It had some moments, but not enough. It was a dark and gritty reboot before those were even a thing.
Recently did a playthrough of an old save file with an overleveled party, all the best equipment and skills, and I remembered thinking, "What the hell? I remember this being really hard! Where'd the challenge go?" The combat up to Life Line was a joke, and the only enemies that gave me trouble were the Centre enemies. Didn't use any D-Attacks until Elyon, and I handily beat Bosch outside his dragon form without using the D form. Even with not abusing the saved experience feature, the first areas were a slaughter playing a bit from the start again thanks to all the gear.
Maybe in a few months I'll try a new save file.
Yeah, the game was a vague mess. I quite like vague shit in games, but the descriptions served to confuse, and failed to actually describe anything.
I think if they added more plot in general, it would've been better. Give you something to strive toward, instead of a handful of SOL Scenes which really didn't add anything.
Humour is definitely a lacking feature. I just finished up with Breath of Fire 2, and that was where the series' sense of humour started to shine. To see a complete absence of that in DQ sucked a dick. IT TOTALLY WAS THE DARK/GRITTY REBOOT! DQ is so fucking hipster, lad.
Hmm, I thought they outlined the 'get gear and party XP then restart' model and how further things would unlock with your D-Ratio pretty clearly in the instruction manual but I forget sometimes I'm the only person I've ever met who actually reads instruction manuals lol
Like many games, they gave it a brand title in hopes that would carry sales, but the methods of 5 are essentially inverted to prior games. The problem with this series in general is the desire to take out what works and try new things. sure try new things but keep what works. Dragon Quarter does away with so much that made the series great, it's hard to swallow it being a breath of fire title, despite it being a decent game. Each new game tends to drop something we liked and add something new. Dragon Quarter essentially drops everything for a narrative. The nice shiny characters are gone. Unique and large parties consisting of anthropomorphic characters. Dragons had been taking a dip since 4, 3 being the best iteration of that. No on map animal hunting. No fishing. No shamans. restrictive use of dragon form. this is also the games first approach to 3D, leaving behind the incredible artwork the series was known for. the list of things this game takes out that is breath of fire leaves the game not breath of fire. 5 deters so heavily from the original formula that it basically had no business being called a BOF game. It makes complete sense fans were displeased with this entry, and maybe if it had a different title altogether, would be more fondly remembered.
Alienating to the original fan base hit the problem dead on. I can only play this title dismissing the fact it has the breath of fire brand on it, and simply accepting it as it is. As a breath of fire game, only 6 is worse in the series, and that's not putting Dragon Quarter in the same realm as the other games, 6 was just that horrible. 5 just kind of free floats as something worth playing, but not something to sate your breath of fire urges.
My first and only BoF game. I loved this shit to death. Still love it.
It has a strong challenge, interesting gameplay decisions and just an amazing unnerving atmosphere.
This is one of those games that desperately need a remake to polish the rough edges and introduce to a more accepting audience. It was sadly just too far ahead of its time.
It was way ahead of its time, like hot damn. The visual design is amazing too, I always think about it when I'm navigating the hellscape of modern reality :^)
I absolutely love dragon quarter id say its in my.top ten favorite games list i really enjoyed the restart mechanic and the ant colony was such a boon to the later restarts it took me many restarts to be able to beat the game my first time and honestly it never got stale from the unlockable cutscenes and areas to the increase in power each playthrough that allows you to get closer to your goal in my opinion has masterful pacing
Me and my dad loved Dragon Quarter back in the day and I think it has to do with the fact that neither of us had played a Breath of Fire game before it. On its own, it's quite good; the big problem with it is that it just doesn't feel like a Breath of Fire game.
Though for what it's worth, my dad ended up shelving it when he reached the top floor and had to start the final boss with 97% in his gauge... and couldn't come close to winning without activating it.
The same thing happened to me for this playthrough, hey. I got to the final boss with slightly too much and he kicked the shit out of me. Running back through wasn't that bad, but the very first time I had to do it all those years ago, I shelved it as well. I totally get why people put it down.
"I will be vague and try not to spoil" -> His friend stabs him in the knee and later become part android-ish
Thank you ¬¬
I was at least 3 vague. Defo could've been closer to 10.
I loved that story technique of expanding the story on multiple playthroughs, honestly, tis wahat attracts me to thi game, I only wish it was more than a handful of character driven moments, though as good as they are, I would have loved to see this expanded on massively.
It's like I said in my Breath of Fire 6 video; I'd rather a series of Dragon Quarters over this garbage.
I concur
Memories I miss that 2002
2002 was a hell of a year. I don't remember it very well, but I'm sure it was great, right?
Upon first time playing through it, I guess you could say that I too was one that really hated the system that was put in place for this game. Looking into it more and finding out how things actually worked I can see what they were going for in this game. That said, sorry to say I still couldn't and still can't to this day get behind it even after giving it another go later on.
Capcom wanted to try something new with this and I can understand why after the first 4 titles. It just didn't seem to work with this one. It probably could have worked better if they worked the mechanics a little better to where it doesn't force you to replay the entire game again so much. Sure, repeat playthroughs may reveal new places you couldn't access before, but you gotta also consider when forcing a player to replay through the entire game only so many times before the player's patience will run out and just put the game down completely.
So yeah, it's good you found something worth giving it another chance and actually enjoying it, more power to you. I however will never go near this game ever again. It's just a shame that because of this train wreck of a game and how bad or a rep it got that we never saw another BoF game for the longest time, least until the 6th title finally came along but that's another can a worms to deal with.
Alright, I've rambled enough. Take care!
I love this game. But like most BoF fans that grew up with the series I really didn't my first time. It wasn't until I decided to give this game a fair shot maybe half a decade-plus later that I saw the light. Recently I've been trying to move away from the usual "It's a good game, but not a good (series) game" criticism because while I do feel it is applicable in certain situations, especially this one, I also think it's a sort of cop out answer for people that like the black sheep of a series. Although admittedly, a lot of my favorite things about this game are pretty clearly "not" Breath of Fire: the post apocalyptic sci fi setting (Arguably BoF3 is this but not blatantly), the roguelike elements, the combat system, and severely limiting your use of the "I win" button.
It would be really difficult to convince somebody that this is a good Breath of Fire game, so I won't because I don't even know if I believe that. But I think I would not like this game as much if it were its own thing because; realistically speaking there is no telling if I would have even found this gem by now, and also I find some of the ways this game subverts your expectations of a BoF game effective.
I think it's cool that instead of finding the bad in the good, whether that's witnessing injustices in an otherwise vibrant and whimsical fantasy world or finding out that this church is a goddamn demon cult, the player finds the good in the shitty world and the shitty people. The challenge of making it through long stretches of hostile areas with limited resources was refreshing. I like that this is Ryu and he can use the dragon form, but it'll really fuck him up if you use it too much. I like that Nina is a silent, subservient, clingy air-filter that... actually nevermind. So yeah it's not all perfect, but I still think this is more hit than miss. And it's a real shame that it took us all so long to catch on because, yeah, this series is proper fucked now.
I Do remember playing this game...😃😃😃
He's right...the Tension was always There..Good Times😁😁😁
You gotta FEEL that tension, baby.
In my opinion, Breath of Fire was like every other rpg out there until Dragon Quarter came along which is by far the best game in the series. Definitely in my top ten favorite games. In fact, while watching this vid, I took out a Gar Sniper, a Gar Pike, and a Jack-Box.
I love when I find videos like this, especially as a 1/4 player, I still have the memory card with that save on it, though it hasn't been touched in many a year after the death of my PS2.
Your PS2 will be remembered as the thing which got you a 1/4 rating. RIP
I am also one of the rare persons who loved that game very much. I beat it a lot. Like a lot. To get 1/4. It's different from the other bofs games in many ways, but if you give it a chance it's so good. I really liked the atmospheres and the music, the story and the quarter system. It's so sad what happend to the series after Dragon Quarter.
You know..... there is one door in the game I was never able to open. I think my rank was 1/8 or 1/4 but it always said "your rank is to low to open that door." If I remember correct it's after you meet Lin somewhere. I am not sure, haven't touch that game in years.
Love the story, music, and gameplay even after playing the previous titles.
Me too. There's something magical about it.
Been playing this game since it came out in '03, I was 6, just beat it today for the first time at 24. Quite the journey to say the least. Time to get that 1/4 D-ratio...
You missed the cool combos like how slice, side slice and vert slash done in order will become a new move x slash
How often do you feel an exhilarating thrill playing an RPG. This is really one of the most innovative and interesting game I’ve played. It’s almost like a rogue lite.
I've said it before, but it genuinely was an attempt at the roguelite phase of the early/mid-2010s about a decade prior. that sentence is hard to read but I'm too lazy to change it. you get what I'm saying!
Lol you forgot to mention the sick ass music best Hitoshi sakimoto since fft.
My god, you're right.
I failed you all.
The music is so fucking nice, I would nut to this OST.
you should put some of that dank humor in your new videos, i like it
I'm the dankest hombre around. Nothing bad about me.
Not sure why this video was in my recommended feed . I don’t even like breath of fire dragon quarter.
05:15 ...
.. you have a new subscriber
Ladies and gentleman
we got 'im
Dragon Quarter in my opinion is a lot more INTERESTING than most of the other BoF games, which are very conservative JRPG's. That is not to say that the other games are bad by any means - the amazing spritework of BoF4 IMO makes it a worthwhile game all by itself. But DQ is definitely a very unique experience.
I don't know that I could say the plot is good per se, but I do think it has some very interesting ideas and I like the setting a lot. Moreover, it's something that works to serve the game, as opposed to the game serving the story, like in most JRPG's which is something I appreciate. You can connect with the story and characters because the challenging gameplay makes you empathize with their struggles and makes getting to the end of the game a very rewarding experience.
In fact that's the biggest compliment I can give the game and why I love it, I feel every aspect of it is working in unison to achieve the game's goals, which is the feeling of struggling, just barely scraping by from one encounter to the next with no idea if you will be able to survive the next one. It's very tense and not for everyone but it was one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had. Nothing about the game feels superflous or bloated, it's like a lean steak that had all the fat trimmed out.
I love the D-Counter mechanic in particular because I feel it gives the game a very powerful choice: you have an "I WIN" button for any battle. But will it be worth it to use it? Do you use it now, or later? The player is going to have to commit to a choice with permanent consequences. It really makes the player connect with Ryu, in spite of his flat characterization, by doing something that directly impacts the player in a gameplay sense.
It's completely understandable that BoF fans would be turned off by this new direction though, which is really sad because it really is a masterfully crafted game for those who it clicks with, like myself.
That's more or less the message I wanted to convey with this video. As someone who would use it as a prime example of a 'good series going bad' for the past 15~ years, I felt personally responsible for its redemption.
It's not for everyone, but it came about as a result of people wanting to keep shit interesting, and it certainly shows. This video actually got a lot more general agreement than I thought, and it was interesting to see that plenty of people felt the same about it.
That's not to say it isn't rife with poor design choices, but as a complete package, it achieved what it set out to.
DW inc. Thats why Capcom was better to name it "Dragon Quarter" without the BoF name to make people appreciate it for what is.
I was a day one buyer at the release date here in Spain and as a BoF lover since childhood i wad dissapointed, i liked the game but not as much as the other ones.
Recently i'm in a bof marathon and i'm thinking on grabbing a copy just to replay it and see if now i can judge it better for what it is because is really a nice game.
I still can't believe I actually finish this after several tries and do overs it was definitely a tough one.
One simple key to this game...and when it clicks for you, you will beat it. The game forces you to D-Dive only once. If you power up Lin And Nina ahead of this battle, you can do nothing and let them beat the battle. If done correctly, you will be at around...4% afterwards. It goes up for every step you take outside of dragon form. Once you can reach the top of frozen road when bosch and crew ambush you, you are golden. The game is beat at that point. Store all valuables in the lockers outside of the entry point to the battle. D-Dive and decimate all 3 battles. Restart and marvel at the massive EXP. The D-Counter will return to whatever it was prior to the battles. Doing this method, i have reached Elyon at 8% on the D-Counter. Did not dive at all until end game stages. It can be done and it is rather easy.
Having beaten it only once with about 70% D-Dive, that sounds insane.
Casp Yes it is rather crazy...but it's absolutely true. I probably went a little overboard with this game. I hated it at first until i discovered how to exploit that one battle for massive EXP. You can also exploit a battle at the end game stages, but if your counter is that high it won't help you much. The counter resets to the previous # when you SOL(Shit out of luck) restart.
I loved BoF DQ : In fact, if a player has not bothered to get a game save with a DR better than Bosch 1/64 then they have not seen enough to really judge it
This game has something, is still in my head today :)
Dude, thanks for making this video. Seriously, DQ is one of my favorite JRPG's I've ever played and I personally think it's the best of the 5 (though 4 is really good as well).
I just played it on a whim after going through 3 and 4, thinking "I have to see if it's really as bad as I've heard". It's not, not at all.
The music, the environments, the atmosphere, the idea of climbing to the top (physically and metaphorically). We don't have many games in general that do this, but for a JRPG to do this is still very much unheard of.
One thing you should have went over was how each of the three party members is final, there are no more to get or choose. How each character is unique and individual in their skills. Ryu being the qsuedo-tank that wields a sword, Nina being the magic caster with traps and how here spells can hit AoE or in lines (which you did go over a bit), and Lin being the ranged gunner who can kill flying enemies (especially ones where you're on a bridge and can't hit) and enemies from afar (and she can scan enemies too if I'm not mistaken).
Each brings something to the table, and is incredibly necessary for survival. You have to figure out how all of them work together. Until Lin gets that absurd skill where the closer she is to an enemy, the more damage she does. That was the best.
Also, one last note is the idea that healing doesn't take anything to do. You can heal everyone in the party to full without any penalty or AP use (as long as you got medkits). This was really weird to me, I still don't know how I feel towards it but without there'd be no way of beating this game.
Thanks again for the video man, hope you have a great holiday!
Mate, that ability of Lin's made her such a power-house. She still has nothing on Ryu, but goooooooooood does that hit hard.
You have a great holiday too, mate. Thanks for checking it out and chiming in.
hey Casp O'saurus, I would like to ask, have you ever played the playstation game Azure Dreams, also I have recently foubd your channel and i really enjoy your videos, keep up the great work.
I haven't played that! My PS1 RPG game isn't as strong as it should be, but I'm going to use 2017 to fix that!
It looks pretty good though.
I didn't know BoF4 looks that good, the whole series kinda flew under radar for a long time for me
Breath of Fire 4 is easily the most visually-appealing of the lot. You gotta get on that shit, lad.
Alright senpai atleast I have something to do over the holidays now. It better be good or I'll downvote your video :^)
Bof 5 is probably my favourite Bof in the series and is probably my favourite right system and second favourite jrpg period dragon quest 8 or 5 is my favourite
in a perfect world, this game will be remastered and given to the current gamers who live to play hard games like dark souls, i didn't enjoy this game in my days, but it stuck with me, the story and the art were amazing, so i am planning to play it again one day.
Dragon Quarter looks great on Steamdeck
Steamdeck got that PS2 emulator? Very nice
This is actually my favorite game of all time. I have 200+ hours on it, and a 1/4 D-Ratio.
Damn, son. I've been considering attempting a 1/4 run, but I don't know if I could stand the stress. Worth it?
So worth it. Awesome perks you get for 1/4 D-Ratio. Message me and I can give you a guide on how to get 1/4.
I know that 1/4 is only for bragging rights, and I think 1/8 is the last Dragon Blade upgrade, but 1/4 would be tough.
Also, I appreciate it, but I don't need a guide :^)
There's actually very specific directions you need to follow for 1/16, 1/8, and 1/4. You have to complete Kokon Horay, be level 50 by the end of the game, get every chest, explore the entire map, and never save, all in under 8 hours.
Fuck.
That'd all be doable, but Kokon Horay. fuck that.
Just liked the video because of the title. Gonna watch later. I like this game because I`m over saving the fucking world from some super mighty dumbass villain. DQ was like "Yeah fuck that. Here save a girl you like from a couple asshole military types". Love the game.
I mean, honestly the aesthetics and style of this game look RIGHT up my alley
Legit, it's worth a try. I probably painted it a bit too favourably, but that's why we never trust RUclipsrs :^)
@@Caspicum Will probably give it a whirl if PCSX2 doesn't fucking DESPISE it
I needed this video. I tried to play BoF:DQ awhile ago and it just... was not at all what I was expecting. This gave me some much needed perspective.
It's definitely still not a gem, the cheeky bugger's got huge flaws. I think when you look at it in terms of what 4 was, there's definitely more ot appreciate though.
I for one always loved this game mostly for its combat and difficulty, it was almost rogue like
I knew nothing about Dragon quarter. I was looking at a list of playstation 2 rpgs and saw it by random. Decided to look it up and your video has convinced me to give it a go.
That's fantastic! This video's a bit old, and a little rough but that makes me genuinely happy. When you get around to it, if you can find this channel again, let me know how it went!
I never thought of it until now but this game feels like an unofficial vagrant story spiritual sequel
Dagon quarter is the best bof game the challenge is genuinely rewarding very refreshing especially in today's market of games where you never die
I don't think it's the best, but it's certainly an overlooked gem.
That's not even going into the ant colony and new areas that unlock based on the rank you achieve in subsequent playthroughs. It's got brilliant replay value. Finish the story, save up a ton of resources so you can tackle the hidden areas and eventually challenge Kokon Horay, the grueling 100-floor gauntlet hidden within the ant colony. It's far from a perfect game but it's got some really creative ideas that truly work beautifully together. Maybe a bit more fleshed-out combat systems (really just more abilities for the whole cast) and an option to put New Game+ in hard mode would have been nice additions.
It's really a shame they didn't explore this formula further.
This game was peak, it probably gave me the most lasting impression out of any classic jrpg.
I still think about it, and talk highly of it whenever it comes up. It's legit.
@@Caspicum Being a candle is not easy, to light up the darkness around you, you first have to burn.
The game was so far ahead of it's time, this game had an excellent antagonist and it really set me among the path of only being able to enjoy stories filled with pain and suffering.
dang I remember everyone shitting on this game when I was smoll
I thought it looked rad, just weird & eerie I love it's aesthetic minus the character proportions..the timer thing is bullshit though no joke, it's to penalizing SMT's much easier like wow
frankly for me the game was just WAY ahead of its time..
people started appreciating again hard and punishing game with souls game...
pity that bof:dq was doing it for everything:
limited inventory
limited saving possibility
a pending doom-like counter (dragon counter)
and yeah hard combat.. because if you abuse the d.sol system it becomes easy, but a "pure" run through the game without sol.. it's an hell of a ride :P
the antagonist, bosch, while being an asshole, is an asshole that actually keeps thing going..
nina while mute, serve the role of the princess in danger MUCH more than previous ninas in other entries of the game..
my only gripe is that the game per se is too short and the fixed party//available party members was a questionable choice..
nevertheless, great game, with all its defect i would recommend this in the blink of an eye to anyone who likes jrpg!
That's a great summary. I completely agree.
Favorite game of all time for me. Close follow up is Wild Arms 2.
Ohh, nice. Wild Arms 2 is an amazing ride. I've sunk a lot of hours into BoF: DQ because of how much I love it.
Ah fuck was so excited about you new vid, but I'm still playing 1
No rush, friend. It'll be here when you eventually get to it!
How you finding 1 thus far?
Casp O'saurus Didnt find the water jar with out a guide, feeling pissed off about game not telling what spells and combat items do, spells have different names during slecting and using, bosse's health meter lies and Im stuck on the gremlin. Otherwise pretty great. Wanna see the deagon forms.
I FORGOT ABOUT THAT BOSS HEALTH BULLSHIT.
OH MY GOD I FUCKING HATE THAT
Casp O'saurus Yea got over it though. Had spam heals and acorns. I just got scammed by thr fortuneteller. Also hunting sucks.
Casp O'saurus just finished. 65 out of hundred. 3 chatacters ended up being food for the thief. Dragon forms were surpisingly biring to use. Didn't explain what spells and items did. It was really cryptic with no helpfull tips towards the end. Also - 5 points because gobi sucks. But doesnt matter because it also gets + 5 because for not giving you game overs.
I played 2 3 4 and 5 (didn't complete 2 and don't remember much of 3 as it was long ago). My fave is 4 because I loved the bright environment and the amazing storyline. Getting to play as the OP last boss from the start was amazing. When we got to Nina's sister it was insane. Beating the game was still difficult for me at that time. 5 though got me nauseated so many times with the camera movements and also with the dark murky environment. The story was ok but all i remember is that the goal was to reach the surface which tells me I didn't enjoy it too much. I really want a proper sequel man!!
That's fair, Dragon Quarter's rough but I think that's what gives it that gritty edge. It was clearly rushed, which is why it wasn't well-balanced and the back half of the game is basically a string of boss fights, but the cold, hard edge made it a complete 'experience' so to speak. Would've worked better as a spin-off, and not being #5 in a very firmly established series, btu I still love it. 4 is my favourite, always has and will be, even though it's stupidly easy and some of the mini games are horrible. The whelk on the plains? Gets me every time.
@@Caspicum I can definitely see what you're saying about 5. Which is why I kind of forced myself to get back into the game and beat it after getting nauseated and dropping it the first time.
It's weird that Devil May Cry (also made by Capcom) originally started as a Resident Evil game that was "getting too weird" when someone stepped down and decided to name it something else... Why they couldn't do the same for BoF5?
The team had a great task on hands, I think that they made THE game that THEY wanted to play, which in one side is a great thing, if you're passionate about something, you will put more effort to bring it to life, but this specific franchise wasn't the correct place for these ideas.
I think Breath of Fire did need a bit of a spice up, but yeah, they might've gone a bit too far. I guess the difference here was that Breath of Fire wasn't printing money quite like Resident Evil consistently does, so the risks they were willing to take were much higher.
Breath Of Fire Dragon Quarter was actually my favorite title in the series. I wish I could play it on PC.
You can! But don't tell anyone, it's a secret.
I get what you're saying though, I'd love a GoG/Steam re-release.
Good video!
I personally love this game because of the atmosphere, difficulty and replay value (Having OP gear in later playthroughs plus watching secret cutscenes is always fun).
I can really understand why people hate this game though, because as a kid I thought this game was impossible and that the overall gimmicks were flawed.
Take your time with this game and give it a chance to shine people.
Oh and the soundtrack of this game is ridiculously(!) good. ~
The lad behind the soundtrack was the same guy behind Ogre Battle, Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and a whole selection of fantastic games. What a lad.
Casp O'saurus Hitoshi Sakimoto! That one good thing that BF5 have.
A shame they had to use the Breath of Fire franchise to make it more known. Many BoF fans felt betrayed by this game. Even i felt a bit like "okay it uses some names and things from the franchise but other than that... its a bit of a far cry from the other titles. Yet i still enjoyed it, for the most part because of its higher difficulty.
For sure. Even a spin-off would've been nice. Breath of Fire: Revengeance. Tell me that's not the best name ever.
Also, I love that buff cactuar picture.
danbooru.donmai.us/data/sample/__sabotender_final_fantasy_and_hokuto_no_ken_drawn_by_drawfag__sample-55ab8d576c6f6227c6d39a10a0c5fa79.jpg
If you want to see the full image, its more like a Hokuto no Ken parody :D
I watched this a couple of times on my phone, but I hate trying to comment on that. :P I have only scratched the surface on this game personally. I definitely appreciate you giving the game a positive look, where most people are quick to trash it. I think that a game like Dragon Quarter would be a lot easier to gain acceptance with games like Dark Souls making people more accustom to games where they are almost certainly going to lose. I will have to make time to sit down and play this game to the end soon. I love the first four Breath of Fire games. And when I initially played this game, the stark contrast compared to the previous titles threw me off to the point that I didn't want to continue at the time. But I will give it another go with a fresh pair of eyes and see what I think. Great video!
It is a bit strange that the rise of 'difficult' games hasn't seen a bunch of Dragon Quarter love. That said, I've seen people mostly say they enjoy it for what it is, and only a few say that it's irredeemable. When you give it another crack, let me know what you think!
Breath of Fire Dragon Quarter was the first RPG that catered to my tastes as a child, with semi-real time combat mechanics and survival aspects.
it's p fuckin good
Loved this game.. !
I need to play this game. I haven't really have any time to play this. I really loves Breath of Fire series and I would like to play every entry in the series, 6 included, hahaha.
I think what people feels really disappointed is the changes of direction for this game. Is like you buy chocolate bread and when you come home and eat it, it actually filled with strawberry jam even though there is some chocolate in there. It feels like the TITLE itself is false advertising.
That's fair. I don't think series should be constrained to their name, if we look at shit like Digimon World, where it can really be anything, or Pokemon, which constantly gets berated for not changing enough, putting arbitrary limitations on series seems like a poor idea. You are right though, I rented Dragon Quarter once and was devastated, as a kid who loved 3 and 4 at the time.
Also, 6 had the servers taken down only a few months after I made a video on it. You can't play it anymore, it's gone forever. I'm not sure if that makes me happy or sad.
Yeah, I think the situation here is that they were trying to do what Dark Souls does properly: Make a game where you're constantly challenged until you learn a large amount of the mechanics of the game, so that it feels rewarding.
The problem is that, while it IS rewarding to beat Dragon Quarter, and the ending is satisfying, there's almost nothing left after that. The lore, as you said, could have been great, but even with the SOL system, it's paper-thin and relatively uninteresting.
I like the game, and I wish the developers and Capcom higher-ups would've looked at the strengths and weaknesses objectively instead of just "Well, it didn't sell well; guess people don't like Breath of Fire," but I guess we got what we got. Or rather, didn't get what we didn't get.
True that. I'd say my issue is that Breath of Fire was never a lore-heavy series, and every challenge you face is urgent. You're constantly looking ahead, instead of all around in every direction, and most questions worth answering are answered within either the game, or implied in certain actions characters take.
Dragon Quarter seemed like it tried to do that, but simply introduced too many elements in too short a time, and then bosses became nothing more than a monologue, and a few scenes where they conspire on a crescent table.
I was considering doing a follow-up video, talking about all the shit that went wrong, but I don't doubt that'd be 99% of Dragon Quarter videos.
True enough. The stories, though sometimes tangentially related, are usually pretty self-contained. The short runtime of Dragon Quarter just cut down on that significantly, so it seems like the developers thought that overcoming the challenges would be reward enough in itself. And in some ways, it is. Just not enough to launch it from "Worth playing" to "Really good."
You can use the dragon ability to kill strong enemies you normally couldn't. Great way to get party exp if you don't mind restarting. There are a lot of tactics you can use like this if you think outside the box.
My first playthrough was a genuine attempt to clear it in a single push, and I got to... I think the final Bosch, then hit 100%. Restarting gave me 50,000~ odd EXP, so I don't even think there's a reason to exploit unless you're *really* struggling.
The fact that these strats exist at all are sick though, shows the ingenuity of gamers.
@@Caspicum hell yea. I'm so used to people bashing this game. If you think about it, it was a "rogue like" before they where popular. Painted in that light would probably make it more accessible to some.
Also restarting with a lower d-ratio gives you access to the d-ratio doors that are sealed. They contain awesome gear. Lowest I got my ratio was 1/4, 1/2 is the Lowest but you have to finish the game in under 10 hours and open every treasure in the game, amongst slew of other requirements, tough as hell. All the equipment and weapons like the dragon sword at the beginning get plus multipliers on every restart, so there is incentive to collect everything again. So "dragon sword" and "dragon sword +1" next restart and so on with all the treasure finds, then +2 on the third restart and plus each time. Pretty cool.
WOAH. I actually got breath of fire dragon quarter as a gift when I was young, and I had no clue it was a series or that I'd ever see anyone else mention it. I personally thought it was a really fun game. Thanks for the vid.
I absolutely adored this game as a kid
I rarely hear of people who loved it as a kid. Most people grow to adore it over time.
@@Caspicum it is still to this day my favourite breathe of fire game, I had no prior experience with the breath of fire games before I played it, so I didn't go into it with any preconceptions as to what it should be, so to me it was (forgive the bad pun) a breath of fresh air, so when I went back and played the other ones afterwards I was actually a little disappointed that they were actually just pretty standard JRPGS, whereas dragon quarter had a lot of cool features, from the way the combat worked and the D-counter, to the little fairy village you could create and even the fact that unless you were good at the game you probably wouldn't be able to complete the game in a single fresh run, IDK dragon quarter's design philosophy always just spoke to me even as a child, I never understood why it wasn't an instant classic
THANK YOU! Someone else finally sees this game for what it is. A flawed but hugely creative JRPG! I tell everybody that this game came out WAY ahead of it's time. it was panned in the past but would be praised today. On your comment on the story being weak and not exploring the greater conflict of the world. I've always been okay with that because the story is told from Ryu's perspective (ironically the only game i know in which he talks... like alot). Ryu's goal is really simple. get nina to the surface. Ryu doesn't really give two shits about the greater conflicts of the world or why mankind is underground to start with. It's like navigating a war zone. for many you don't care what started the war you just want to get out of it to the other side. Ryu is a low ranked grunt soldier who never really knew much to start with, Nina is a street rat, Lin is the only one that has a greater goal and even she starts to question if she should care about it. Sorry to be long winded but basically as the dragon says at the start of the game 'this is a tiny tale in time' meaning it only really cares about theis small micro conflict in a greater world that they have no power to change.
I do love that it's a humble narrative that doesn't end with the protagonists saving the world and killing god, but there are so many unexplored elements that were clearly cut for time. The leader of the rebellion is a Dragon Quarter, and that's never explored. He tries to take Nina once, and then says sorry and is never seen again. It's also odd that Ryu would see so little resistance from such a large body. There is an entire hierarchy of troops, commanders, captains, etc. and yet we only ever see one or two and the rest is ignored.
I think it has a big issue with world-building to say the least, but the story feels too narrow. It definitely needed something a bit more, which may not necessarily be *big bad is god, kill god, everyone is happy* like 99% of JRPGs, but it needed *something* else.
Don't worry about the overly-long comment. I love that shit. Thanks for posting it!
Yeah, i can see your point there. I had the same problem with the Regents. There kinda there as the final big bads but they seem oddly ambivalent to your progress until the end of the game. Trinity I can see leaving you alone because your goals somewhat line up with theirs but you are right it's handled weakly. For me it's not a deal breaker though. in a time when people seem so focused on lore I kinda like not knowing things or at least keeping some things a mystery. thankfully none of the stuff they left out directly affects the main plot.
The big bads definitely needed a bit of work, but there's the one chick with her butt cheeks showing, so that makes up for the complete lack of Deis.
Lol, Well that's good for you heteros but I'm gay so... yeah i actually do like me some Cray ;-)
It's okay! Gay people can still appreciate a smooth cheek of a Japanese anime waifu.
It's like looking at a pair of shoes you'd never wear, but which colours stood out to you.
What bothered me about DQ was the small number of characters to get to know and play with, the short story and the dragon use penalty. Using the dragon was much like using summons in FF only more central, relegating it to never used from fear of game over really irked me. I enjoyed much of everything else, if only the ending wasn't a big troll to the explorers of us.
If you learn the metagame, which the game does a good enough job forcing you to do, exploration is simple and easily handled.
The percentage system really hurt the game. Turn dragon and you add to the death counter. Take to long for your turns and your death counter goes up. Use some of your dragon skills and your death counter rises. By the middle of the game I was trying to race my own death counter than trying to fight my opponents.
That's a sign that you over-used your dragon powers or the D-dash. The D-Counter only goes up by 0.01% every 10-20 steps, and 0.01% every turn in combat. I said this in the video, but it's pretty much impossible to cap it without over-using the dragon. So it'd take 10,000 turns (with Ryu, I think) in combat to hit 100% by itself, or 100,000-200,000 steps.
Given that the game is really only 5-6 hours long, that'd be incredibly tough to hit in a casual playthrough. The thing with the dragon is, it's not like Breath of Fire 3 or 4. You can easily one-shot every single boss in the game with it. If there were no limiting factors like the D-Counter, or the percentage at the top, then you'd glide through the game with absolutely no problem at all.
It's the game's way of telling you "Only use this if you absolutely need to."
especially when you have to re-see the same cutscene the X amount of time just because you needed to reset your death counter
You can skip all cutscenes, my dude.
kinda funny how the comments are mostly people claiming to have hated it first then appreciated it
Surprisingly, a lot more people than I thought!
That ending, with the "determination" talk and text shaking... reminded of something...
Reminded you of this SICK FUCKIN' VIDEO YOU JUST WATCHED! RIGHT?
Of course!
I must say, you make a really good point. Still, I find that while the mechanics, environment, and story mesh together pretty well, I'm still not a big fan of the game giving me a power I can't go wild with. And this is after multiple playthroughs to get a 1/4 D-Ratio (which makes some of the dialogue incredibly weird) because I'm a completionist.
At the end of it, I settled with liking the story and environment for what they were while disliking the gameplay (mostly the dragon transformation rules).
That's fair, I'm a pretty big 'gameplay first' kind of guy, but I think certain things make it the weakest part of Dragon Quarter. I don't necessarily disagree with the dragon restriction being bad, but it's very reminiscent of the AP system of old, just that your usage is permanent, and it puts a significant weight on to when and how to use this amazing power.
One of my gripes with 4, was that the dragon power was pretty worthless in general until you either leveled it up fully, or got Kaiser form. It didn't do much more damage than Ryu's base power, and you took it for granted. DQ flipped that on its head, and I love it. That said, I definitely agree that people wanting to play Breath of Fire aren't looking to have a restricted dragon power.
@@Caspicum Ah, there's our difference, then. I'm the type who's okay with mechanics as long as they work properly, no matter how simple or easy it might be.
I didn't like that Ryu's dragon forms' base power got very little boost, too. That is, until I discovered skill chains and the special skills that came from those. Ryu's dragon forms come with unique spells that can be used in said chains. They were pretty strong (from what I remember, anyway). Of course, they cost AP unlike breaths, so using them wasn't quite optimal. But I still have a really soft spot for 4's dragons and their very eastern design.
Credit where credit is due, though, but in DQ's case, the restriction on dragon transformation also played into its ending. It certainly was neat to see the difference between the game over screen you get when you reach 100% at any point in the game and the one time the game forces you to reach 100%. I found it to be a constant nice touch throughout my quest for 1/4 D-Ratio.
I love the skill chains, but with the way the skill learning system works, I think the dragon was kinda trivialised in a way. I wnat to eventually doa video on 3 and 4, because 4 is my favourite but I think 3 is objectively better in many areas.
I should do that soon hey
@@Caspicum Please do! Both are really good games. And while I may prefer 4 overall, I really love 3's dragon system better.
Have a sub, and I'll look forward to your future reviews (and binge the ones you have up)!
Appreciate it, friend! I've been meaning to talk about 3 and 4 properly for years now, but other shit keeps coming up.
I'm glad you gave it another chance. I enjoyed DQ but never seemingly ran into another game quite like it.
It was sitting in my PS2 collection, taunting me. I'd always open it up to grab a MegaTen game, or a DBZ game for footage, and it'd be sitting there, mocking me. Turns out it was for good reason. An adamant refusal to accept something can be a good thing sometimes.
As for experiences like it... I can't think of any in a gameplay sense. There are certain games that share elements of gameplay, such as Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits, and some that share the 'dark', bleak feel, such as SMT: Nocturne, but there really is nothing else like it.
I'd say Aidyn Chronicles has a bit in common with it, and I have a video on that, but I wouldn't recommend it at all.