Pretty sure I saw some breath of fire character cards in ultimate marvel vs capcom 3. Problem is, bof4 showed that capcom is legally prohibited from portraying dragons anymore judging by those designs. Went downhill from there.
I’m almost positive 4 is the best game in the series but I, like many others, have so much nostalgia attached to 2 and 3 that they feel like my favourites. 2 for the magical experience of renting it from blockbuster and loading up someone else’s file and wondering if I’ll ever get that far myself, 3 for the awesome transformation system.
BoF2 was my best friend's favorite game growing up. She was raised Mormon and had some very nuanced and interesting thoughts towards the church. Such an amazing game
I'm surprised BoF2 even got an English release what with Nintendo's notorious censorship back in the 1990s. The way the church is presented as being evil and corrupt could very well have been too controversial for conservative Nintendo. Final Fantasy 4 from that same time period had several names censored like the spell "Holy" being renamed "White" or the Tower of Prayers being renamed the Tower of Wishes. Just mentioning a name that could be associated with religion was taboo for Nintendo back then.
@@acidwizard6528Bof2 was far more nuanced in its presentation of the church as a metaphysical entity and not so overtly tied to Christianity. Its deeper insight into the human relationship with religion was unique for its time and either went by unnoticed or Nintendo felt it was a story worth telling.
Breath of fire 1-4 are all just so fantastic. I really love them. When it comes down to it 3 is my favourite just because that version of ryu is just so powerful. You really do feel like you can combat a god late game with him. As well as his growth through the game. How the animation of his attack changes as you progress through the child part of the story, protecting Nina when you fall down the mountain side. It’s just so great
3 is my favorite game of all time, but i can admit that it was my first ever JRPG. i do disagree about it not holding up nowadays. i played it last year and loved it just as much as i did originally playing it. loved the customization of the master system, the story , and fishing!
I played the PSP version on Emulator and it was much better than I thought it would be. Cuts out a lot of the random jank some mini games have and makes it easier to get drop items
Everything 5 did that got it panned by critics when it came out and is praised now. Difficulty, resource management, tactical planning. I'll always go to bat for that game. It is a hidden gem, and I'd put it below 3 and 2 for my favorite BoF games.
I thought that V was praised by critics and hated by the fanbase. For me, it is my favourite in the franchise which is a hard one because I do love II, but the gameplay for V is just so satisfying for me and I love the characters and story where as with II, my reasons for loving it come down to its characters and story; however I didn't get as much enjoyment from a gameplay perspective.
Dragon Quarter is a good game, maybe a questionable yet innovative Breath of Fire game. And its probably the one that made me build many theories in my head.
Breath of Fire is one of those 90s JRPGs that formed my love for the genre. The first two on the Snes were among the best on the console that weren't made by Squaresoft. The second 2 games on the PS1 were both excellent as well. BoF3 had a cool dragon gene splicing system while BoF4 had a cool dual protagonist mechanic where both main characters were each other's antagonist. The sprite work in 3+4 is incredible as well.
My favorite series of all time. My ranking from best to worst is 2, 1, 3, 4, 5 but I love all of them. Breath of fire 2 has always been really special to me.
breath of fire 4 not only is one of ps1's most beautiful games(which is saying alot), but also one of the most beautiful games of all time. if Capcom refuses to make another BOF, i at least hope they remaster this game in our life time.
I'm gonna say, it's rare to not see the automatic "BoF5 as last" type of deal. I mean, it's experimental to a fault and if that game just get refined with a mod or patch, you can look at a solid game in the series.
I will die on the hill that Dragon Quarter is one of the most underrated RPGs of all time. Aesthetically it reminds me of Baroque, another obscure RPG, and both games are built around the expectation that you will die and restart several times.
I dont know about Baroque, but you can technically beat Dragon Quarter without dying once, but it takes so much planning and prayer that essentially becomes a horror game.
Used to have a love hate relationship with BoFII due to high encounter rate but not until I learn to like it after awhile when beating it once (The Retranslation Mod is the best way to play and no I didn't use the run button cuz I like to play it in a way it was intentioned) As for BoF3 and 4 it's hard for me to decide who to top but I think I enjoyed 3 a lot more cuz of the master doesn't aquire some task since you only level up to advance a new move I still think BoF4 is an amazing game on its own rights from its design
You mean the fan translation,right? I remember the translator putting a lot of effort into it. Too bad he patched over the original SNES version and not the GBA port with the higher walking speed.
I found that the biggest complaint about dragon quarter was the limit to the dragon transformation. You had to budget it cause otherwise it would kill you if you hit a 100% on the meter, forcing you to play smart. Not a bad mechanic when you think about it, but for those that liked the transformation because it made you feel powerful, it was a sore point.
Thank you for this! Nice to find a channel that talks about Breath of Fire. This game brought back good memories from when my brother and I used to try finding all the dragons for Ryu on BoF 4. It's a bit sad that most people don't recognize or know this game though. It's been a wonderful experience.
I loved the Breath of Fire series. I have finished each of them anywhere from 5-10 times(dragon quarter probably closer to 20 times). I remember Dragon Quarter throwing me for a loop when I first played it. But once I figured out its mechanics I fell in love with it too. I loved ranking up and unlocking more and more story and items. Such a underrated game.
The graphics for V are ugly? I don't see them being ugly, just nowhere near as good as the visuals for IV which is one of the most beautiful looking games ever made. I think that for all of the Breath of Fire games, it comes down to perspective. Any of the five games could be seen as the best one based on what you like. The original would be loved by people who love simple stories with a focus on a colourful world, II is for fans of deep characters and story, III is for those who love a massive scope and the dragon gene system is an amazing feature, IV I haven't played yet, but I do have it and I have heard great things about it, but obviously its visual quality is on another level as I mentioned earlier and V to me has fantastic gameplay.
Breath of fire 4 was my entry into the series. Because of the massive difference in graphics I didn't want to backtrack and play the older ones so kept my eyes open for new installments. Young me was ever the optimist. The storyline all but sucker punched you, such a good game.
I wish that Capcom could give this game another chance, however I feel like they should lend the IP to someone else, as they do not seem very interested on bringing it back.
Also, let's collectively agree that BoF6 never happened. Frankly, Capcom should have done something with the post-BoF1 mangas that were made (WInged Princess and Little Adventurers, both good reads and plausible within the lore). They'd have made for a good in-between 1 and 2 game if combined.
I think BOF IV is such a game that as a child, a lot of it went over your head which is why I believe people have more fond memories of the characters and classic adventure moments of BOF III because the story was more whimscal and easy to digest and understand for that demographic but as an adult if you carefully analyze BOF IV’s more deeper political story and phycological and philosophical character moments it definitely succeeds over BOF III. Its more akin to something like Suikoden where BOF III is more of the Final Fantasy camp. Still even today, they are both amazing games and i deffinitly do prefer the 3d isometric world map in III then i do the world map design in IV.
This is definitely different from my opinion but I respect that! I am one of the those who would probably put III at number 1 or 2 along with II but I also like 4 and 1. I was turned off by Dragon Quarter since, as you mentioned, my expectations weren't met being a long time fan of the series
There was a kickstarter game called *Tears of Magic* which in my opinion has the closest approach to Breath of Fire. Unfortunately the kickstarter failed last year but I sincerely hope the dev team continues to create this game.
The game may have failed its kickstarter, but it's still in active development. The devs have a Twitter account where they post regular updates, and their Steam page lists an admittedly optimistic January 2025 as their target release date.
I wasn't expecting Breath of Fire III to fail to clinch the #1 spot. I -definitely- wasn't expecting BOF2 to get number 1. This is how I can tell David is an OG JRPG lover because BOF2 is very much a true blue 16 bit era JRPG.
I was pleasantly surprised you didn't put Dragon Quarter as the worst. I really liked the gameplay and having to be smart and not waste resources hence why I liked "Enchanted Arms" which has similar gameplay.
I'm playing through breath of fire 3 for the very first time right now. I've been playing it for 5 days, with any and all free time I've had. It has been a true masterpiece, to say the least! This is the kind of game that reminds me why I love video games.
My favorite is BOF3, because I’ve always been an RPG fan, and I rented that game the same day that the first Futurama came on, so many decades ago. That fact wouldn’t matter, but I was like 11, and even though I had played the Sega Saturn before, and knew about external memory… Yet, in my silly little kid brain I was pretty sure I didn’t need one of them fancy, what do you call them, memory cards? I rented BOF3, got wumped by the 3D Wyndia crypt, and missed Space Pilot 3000. I didn’t realize what I was missing, kind of a watershed moment in animation I would come to love more than the Simpsons, kid memories, but important to the story, for absolutely no reason, other than it made a memory special. That puzzle has me running around the crypt, and falling down, getting in fights, climbing back up, screwing up the puzzle again, and failing to stay alive. That’s how I learned how important memory cards are. You see though, I kept playing, but at the time, after a full weekend with the game, never got past MoMo’s tower, and begged my mom and dad to let me rent it again, but didn’t think to enquire about getting one of them memory cards. It was not my first game for the PS1, that would be Crash, and I was so used to Nintendo passwords in longer action games, that starting that game, playing, losing, and doing it all over didn’t feel too bad, that’s how games are. I had already beaten BOF1, playing that dangerous game of saving your game on the rental cart, and hoping that next time I get my allowance and I rent the game, that my save will still be there, and it was to the point I was able to beat a rented battery backed game, after renting it more than 3 or 4 times. No spoilers for a game for the SNES, but I was absolutely blown away by the ending, so cinematic! But why would I bring up the end of BOF1, when I’m talking about 3? Kick sand, dragon boy, that’s why, I REALLY didn’t like how after all the work you put into that, you’re going to kick sand… Too deep 4 me! Kidding, but damn was it of its time. If you are here, thank you for reading my text wall of a childhood memory, this is why BOF3 is my favorite, because of the memories the first night I played it.
Breath of Fire 1 has one of the most untouchable vibes. The music and tone is so dark and heroic. Playing BoF1 on a gloomy, rainy Sunday evening just hits different.
One thing I'll say about BoF series wise is man you think they couldn't top something like the Carronade but me thinks that Yuna would be taking notes from these people in DQ and what they do. Gotta love how the end of BoF4 is just gods leaving the world as well. "God is not here" is the good ending.
I have a personal top: Lore - BoF 1 (also like the interaction with the enviroment and also that you can explore the underwater layer); Characters - BoF 2 (also the fusion system); Dragon Magic Gameplay - BoF 3; Story - BoF 4 (specially because you can play with the antagonist and I don't consider him a villain); I don't know any of the gameplay of BoF Dragon Quarter; And for BoF 6 I just know the characters designs and are pretty fine.
Breath of Fire II is my favorite BoF as well, but I loved it even more when I played the Retranslated game rom. The translators gave the script so much life, giving depth to the cast and fleshing out the world. I’d advise anyone who is looking to play BoFII to play the retranslated rom first. You won’t regret it
I fell in love with 3 and felt like 4 was too short. it kind of ended just as things were getting good. Probably won't replay them till i retire lol, unless they get remastered.
Breath of fire was my first RPG I bought it solely on Gobi on the screen. Thought that picture was so bad ass. I could had been max 6 back in 1993. Breath of fire is a guilty pleasure. And I'm extremely happy to see so many here feeling much like me. This series is so underrated. Also BRING BACK DRAGON GENE SPLIT!!! As far of the best. BoF4 is my number one because of the combo system. With the 2nd one at the rare.
I only ever played 1 and 2 due to not having access to a PSX or PS2 for years when the big RPG rush happened there. Nice to see 2 getting recognition! The others go on my long, long backlog of 'maybe one day' which is growing longer.
played the brt2 when i was 9, was sad because ryu turned into a dragon and blocked the cave and sleep forever turns out there are multiple endings so had to play it 5 more times, i like the town building and fusion mechanics but i hate the high encounter in the final dungeon.
Love the video, but you forgot my favorite part of this series, overworld interaction. It blew me away in the 1st game when I could “hunt” animals and have a major effect on the landscape. Also, there’s something good to be said about a game where the 1st one isn’t the best in the series….it’s like they constantly worked to improve it with each release
My first and only was Bof 4 back in the day on Ps1. I got stuck at a certain point and never finished it. I almost gave up on the part where you have to find the children hiding in the village.
Still have to get fight and beat the super enemies of BOF 3 and 4. But I managed to get the Goo King Sword in BOF3 and the Dragon Tallons for Peco. Now to get the Goo King Sword in BOF4.
This is a series I really need to check out. My only experience so far was renting dragon quarter when I was a kid and not having any idea what to do lol
Gameplay-wise, BoFV was not a BoF game, but the story was every bit as good as any of them. I think it had great writing and emotional scenes. The combat was unique and something I always thought combat should be like (balancing movement with combat as a single resource, to simulate a real-time battle but turn-based). My main grievance is that I tend to not like games that if you play it slightly wrong, oops, gotta start over from the beginning. Luckily it is short, but that is still frustrating for people like me who like to be thorough and explore a lot. I'm penalized by just walking around!
I think Capcom should do HD/2D remakes to these games, especially for 3 & 4. The third one was my jam, even though I never got a chance to beat it (I got stuck in an area and couldn't figure out what to do). And I can't find the game anywhere unless I want to pay a huge amount of money for it, or buy a PSP to play that release.
Breath of Fire II was my CHILDHOOD. 100% agree on it being number 1. That OST slaps hard. The town management system was so unique at the time. The artwork is beautiful. Every party member goes on their on character arc that made the whole journey just an amazing experience. One of my all time favorite JRPG of all time.
3 is the best! Awesome dragon configurations and best ally’s. Also really cool world map and the master system was clutch. Hoping Capcom hears its fans when we say we want remasters/remakes!
I'm that one weirdo whose favorite game in the series is 1. I replayed it just a few months ago. I did a challenge run in which I intentionally completely avoid Ryu's dragon transformations and Karn's fusions, and I had a blast. I don't personally agree that the game drags. It's easily the shortest in the series. (Well, I don't know about 5, I didn't play it.) BoF1 is shorter than the likes of Chrono Trigger or FF6. Or to take another game closer to its time of release, it's shorter than FF4 (or similar length). Not to say that total game length is the only metric to measure whether a game drags, of course. It's about the pacing, but I never had an issue with it. Especially once the Prima arc ends, I feel that's when the game gets a more intense shift in storyline. The bad guys are more aggressively trying to take over, with the majority of the rest of the game directly tying to their schemes. I adore 2 and 3, mind you. I just like 1 more. 4 was cool too.
I agree with this list 100%! The fact that this series got dropped is a crime! (Also, to put BoF2 in the top and not give a shout out to Rand, the most kind and sexiest dude in the world, is unforgivable!)
Man I want a BOF 3 refresh, or hell, even just a port at this point. I don't think I've ever seen that game post PS1 era outside of emulation and it is one of my all time favorite games.
Bof2 was my first title and It has been my biggest inspiration in my art when I started drawing Manga back in 2002. My cousin had bought the GBA remake and eventually gave it to me. Still one of my life long favorites next to Paper Mario 64 and dragon quest 7. Nina, Katt and Bleu are always on my team at the end. GIRL POWER
Bof 4 was my first game and i like loved it. Then went on to play 3 on psp which was fantastic as well. Remember being so hyped for 5 and it was such a let down. To this day i wish for a new game in the series or remaster the earlier titles. I still need to get round to playing 1 and 2 someday.
My Catholic upbringing and Sunday School attendance stood no match against a 5th grade playthrough of Breath of Fire 2 and taking on the Church of St Eva.
Breath of Fire deserves a remake more as it's a game that's so close to being an all time classic but fails due to poor QoL. Aka the awful translation, painfully slow walking speed, high encounter rate, annoying dungeon music, grindy earlygame, etc.
I started the series with BoF 2, and I love it so much. after replaying I can see its flaws (like pointless backtrack and mandatory filler quests) so its kinda in third place for me. but hey still worth it.
Ranking by how interested I am in playing them: 5. Breath of Fire 4. Breath of Fire III 3. Breath of Fire II 2. Breath of Fire IV 1. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Like you David, my first experience was BoF 1. Holds a special place in my heart + BoF 1 and 2 are connected, as the 2nd entry is a sequel. 3 is a solid game, 4 was even better. 5 was trash... so if I had to rank them it would be 2, 1, 4, 3 with 5 not even existing. Like Suikoden I'd love to see a 6th entry!
I believe 3 is the best game and for me (even despite the desert) is a 10/10 JRPG for me and that is not from nostalgia. I completed that game about 3 years ago for the first time and I adored it. My BOF list is worst to Best: 5,1,2,4,3. I cant say i was expecting 2 to be your pinnacle but it is a great entry. My main problem with it (as well as games like Beyond the Beyond) is its encounter rate. Its malicious if played as the game was originally intended. I know there are ways around this on PC and such but it is brutal otherwise. Its always a win talking about these games, thanks David!
Personally, my choice was 51432, I did replay 3 recently and did so with increased speed, made the game much more manageable. 3 will always hold a spot for me though, what with dragon genes.
I feel like 3 had the best story and characters. I loved the Ryu/Rei miscreant combo growing up. It was unfortunately very slow and having smooth jazz music made it kinda sleepy. I enjoyed the game but it had some serious shortcomings such as the trainer and dragon systems which were more of a hassle than a help. I have to agree with this list although i never got to play 5.
BoF3 holds up incredibly well today IMO I just recently played through it again and it still remains a top 3 JRPG of all time for me, Next to Chrono Trigger and Persona 5 Royal. Graphically I love the sprite work, Actually prefer it to IV's, I still absolutely love the characters, And the Gene system is still so damn fun to experiment with. Overall it was the most epic BoF game for me, So many memorable parts, Even the Desert was actually one of my favorite segments in the game, I've only played 2, 3 & 4 but out of those 3, I find myself going back to 3 the most, Just love it's overall aesthetic the most.
I never played 5 because of it's weird system, so I think I would have to switch that with one's placement. I can't remember 4 as well as 3, so I would probably switch those two as well (Though you're right about it needing some QoL) 2 is by far my favorite though. Honestly if they remade any of them, I'd rather it be two just because I think it can be explored more and that translation could be fixed some..
Breath of Fire 2 is the game we need a remake from Capcom the most. Fix the walking speed, fix the translation, fix the encounter rate, fix the music reset issue, add more dungeon music, add voice acting, improve the graphics with HD2D, have Yoko Shiamora remake the OST, (it was her dream to do the Breath of Fire 2 OST but capcom didn't let her do any more than two songs so she quit Capcom to work at Square instead) and maybe a few other things. It would easily be the best HD2D Remake so far. Way better than the Dragon Quest 3 HD2D Remake, which no matter how much Japan loves that game it has not aged well AT ALL. It was revolutionary for its lengthy story and being the first RPG with a class system after DQ2 introduced multiple party members, but it still hasn't aged well with poor UI, flat battles, and incredibly slow gameplay.
Explains why I could never get myself to complete part 1. The last dungeon was always so dragging that I get bored. I replay it on the switch again trying to complete it. Here I am again doing the exact same thing. Stop playing once I get to the last dungeon.
BoFII is a tragedy. The Fusion system and town-building were awesome to play around with, but the game becomes a chore once you save Bow. Pretty much just fetch quests until the final dungeon (which is WAY too long, with WAY too many enemy encounters).
'All FIVE of them'. Yes. Five, no more than that. 3 will always be my favorite for some astonishingly heartfelt story beats. 2 is similar but plagued by bad translation, limited battle system and an obnoxious encounter rate (and the fact that the first 3rd of your journey is a prolonged fetch quest). Would love to see this forgotten series given the love it deserves with a proper new console entry. Perhaps one set in the time mentioned in the first game where the Dragon Clan first encountered Myria, splitting into two factions based on who agreed to follow the goddess into world conquest and who didn't
I totally agree with your order for once! Usually I'm less partial to the 16 bit games, since I grew up on the PS1 era, but BoF 2 is just great. Easily as good as Phantasy Star IV. It's also good to see some acknowledgement of Dragon Quarter. It has flaws, but there is fun to be had there.
![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Why has capcom forgotten this franchise id buy a collection remaster or new entry in a heartbeat breath of fire 2 always gives me the feels
It was relatively low tier and priority, and shows in raw sales numbers
Pretty sure I saw some breath of fire character cards in ultimate marvel vs capcom 3. Problem is, bof4 showed that capcom is legally prohibited from portraying dragons anymore judging by those designs. Went downhill from there.
@@courve yea relative, not that it is
There is a set for BoF3 in Teppen but yea Dragon Quarter needs some love somehow
dam three was my all time favorite
@@mike1989libra did you play it at your all-time youngest?
I’m almost positive 4 is the best game in the series but I, like many others, have so much nostalgia attached to 2 and 3 that they feel like my favourites. 2 for the magical experience of renting it from blockbuster and loading up someone else’s file and wondering if I’ll ever get that far myself, 3 for the awesome transformation system.
BoF2 was my best friend's favorite game growing up. She was raised Mormon and had some very nuanced and interesting thoughts towards the church. Such an amazing game
Lol I was raised Jehovahs witness and same 😂
I'm surprised BoF2 even got an English release what with Nintendo's notorious censorship back in the 1990s. The way the church is presented as being evil and corrupt could very well have been too controversial for conservative Nintendo. Final Fantasy 4 from that same time period had several names censored like the spell "Holy" being renamed "White" or the Tower of Prayers being renamed the Tower of Wishes. Just mentioning a name that could be associated with religion was taboo for Nintendo back then.
@@acidwizard6528Bof2 was far more nuanced in its presentation of the church as a metaphysical entity and not so overtly tied to Christianity. Its deeper insight into the human relationship with religion was unique for its time and either went by unnoticed or Nintendo felt it was a story worth telling.
That one random frame of the sages at 7:59 spooked me
Breath of fire 1-4 are all just so fantastic. I really love them. When it comes down to it 3 is my favourite just because that version of ryu is just so powerful. You really do feel like you can combat a god late game with him.
As well as his growth through the game. How the animation of his attack changes as you progress through the child part of the story, protecting Nina when you fall down the mountain side. It’s just so great
3 is my favorite game of all time, but i can admit that it was my first ever JRPG. i do disagree about it not holding up nowadays. i played it last year and loved it just as much as i did originally playing it. loved the customization of the master system, the story , and fishing!
I played the PSP version on Emulator and it was much better than I thought it would be. Cuts out a lot of the random jank some mini games have and makes it easier to get drop items
3 is the best. Story, art, and style is the best by far
Everything 5 did that got it panned by critics when it came out and is praised now. Difficulty, resource management, tactical planning. I'll always go to bat for that game. It is a hidden gem, and I'd put it below 3 and 2 for my favorite BoF games.
I thought that V was praised by critics and hated by the fanbase. For me, it is my favourite in the franchise which is a hard one because I do love II, but the gameplay for V is just so satisfying for me and I love the characters and story where as with II, my reasons for loving it come down to its characters and story; however I didn't get as much enjoyment from a gameplay perspective.
I recall this as well, I think PSM gave it a 8.5 at the time.@@PS1Fan1991
Dragon Quarter is a good game, maybe a questionable yet innovative Breath of Fire game. And its probably the one that made me build many theories in my head.
Breath of Fire is one of those 90s JRPGs that formed my love for the genre. The first two on the Snes were among the best on the console that weren't made by Squaresoft. The second 2 games on the PS1 were both excellent as well. BoF3 had a cool dragon gene splicing system while BoF4 had a cool dual protagonist mechanic where both main characters were each other's antagonist. The sprite work in 3+4 is incredible as well.
My favorite series of all time. My ranking from best to worst is 2, 1, 3, 4, 5 but I love all of them. Breath of fire 2 has always been really special to me.
breath of fire 4 not only is one of ps1's most beautiful games(which is saying alot), but also one of the most beautiful games of all time. if Capcom refuses to make another BOF, i at least hope they remaster this game in our life time.
i looooove breath of fire and 3 and 4. i still replay them every couple of years and fall in love with them all over again.
What a great video. You break down each entry so well. Thank you!
I'm gonna say, it's rare to not see the automatic "BoF5 as last" type of deal.
I mean, it's experimental to a fault and if that game just get refined with a mod or patch, you can look at a solid game in the series.
I wish Dragon Quarter could be modded, it has a lot of potential for modding.
I will die on the hill that Dragon Quarter is one of the most underrated RPGs of all time. Aesthetically it reminds me of Baroque, another obscure RPG, and both games are built around the expectation that you will die and restart several times.
I dont know about Baroque, but you can technically beat Dragon Quarter without dying once, but it takes so much planning and prayer that essentially becomes a horror game.
Used to have a love hate relationship with BoFII due to high encounter rate but not until I learn to like it after awhile when beating it once (The Retranslation Mod is the best way to play and no I didn't use the run button cuz I like to play it in a way it was intentioned)
As for BoF3 and 4 it's hard for me to decide who to top but I think I enjoyed 3 a lot more cuz of the master doesn't aquire some task since you only level up to advance a new move I still think BoF4 is an amazing game on its own rights from its design
You mean the fan translation,right? I remember the translator putting a lot of effort into it. Too bad he patched over the original SNES version and not the GBA port with the higher walking speed.
I found that the biggest complaint about dragon quarter was the limit to the dragon transformation. You had to budget it cause otherwise it would kill you if you hit a 100% on the meter, forcing you to play smart. Not a bad mechanic when you think about it, but for those that liked the transformation because it made you feel powerful, it was a sore point.
Thank you for this! Nice to find a channel that talks about Breath of Fire. This game brought back good memories from when my brother and I used to try finding all the dragons for Ryu on BoF 4.
It's a bit sad that most people don't recognize or know this game though. It's been a wonderful experience.
DUDE this is gonna be a fire video. So ready for this.
I definitely don't see what you did there
I loved the Breath of Fire series. I have finished each of them anywhere from 5-10 times(dragon quarter probably closer to 20 times). I remember Dragon Quarter throwing me for a loop when I first played it. But once I figured out its mechanics I fell in love with it too. I loved ranking up and unlocking more and more story and items. Such a underrated game.
Dude love this
@@rpgrankedwhat up bro
The graphics for V are ugly? I don't see them being ugly, just nowhere near as good as the visuals for IV which is one of the most beautiful looking games ever made. I think that for all of the Breath of Fire games, it comes down to perspective. Any of the five games could be seen as the best one based on what you like. The original would be loved by people who love simple stories with a focus on a colourful world, II is for fans of deep characters and story, III is for those who love a massive scope and the dragon gene system is an amazing feature, IV I haven't played yet, but I do have it and I have heard great things about it, but obviously its visual quality is on another level as I mentioned earlier and V to me has fantastic gameplay.
4 is one of my favourite games of all time. I love the depth of its story and world.
Breath of fire 4 was my entry into the series. Because of the massive difference in graphics I didn't want to backtrack and play the older ones so kept my eyes open for new installments.
Young me was ever the optimist.
The storyline all but sucker punched you, such a good game.
All 5 of them. We never speak of "the other one" ^^
It is such a great Series. I wish they would make more. Or even just release a Collection.
do you mean Dragon Quarter for the other? if so, give it another look. massively underrated
@@joncliffmckinley5868Pretty sure they are referring to the terrible mobile effort that came and went like a wet fart a few years back... 😂
@@RwnEsper OH, lol. Im okay with not knowing that ever existed 🤣
I wish that Capcom could give this game another chance, however I feel like they should lend the IP to someone else, as they do not seem very interested on bringing it back.
Such a good franchise. I miss it.
My list is
1) BoF3
2) BoF2
3) BoF4
4) BoF1
All are worth playing, tho
Also, let's collectively agree that BoF6 never happened.
Frankly, Capcom should have done something with the post-BoF1 mangas that were made (WInged Princess and Little Adventurers, both good reads and plausible within the lore). They'd have made for a good in-between 1 and 2 game if combined.
Still love this series to this date, got all the games including original snes releases for 1 and 2 and the gba re-releases for them as well
I think BOF IV is such a game that as a child, a lot of it went over your head which is why I believe people have more fond memories of the characters and classic adventure moments of BOF III because the story was more whimscal and easy to digest and understand for that demographic but as an adult if you carefully analyze BOF IV’s more deeper political story and phycological and philosophical character moments it definitely succeeds over BOF III. Its more akin to something like Suikoden where BOF III is more of the Final Fantasy camp. Still even today, they are both amazing games and i deffinitly do prefer the 3d isometric world map in III then i do the world map design in IV.
If there is any series that is an absolute must for a HD 2D remaster, this would be it in my opinion
This is definitely different from my opinion but I respect that! I am one of the those who would probably put III at number 1 or 2 along with II but I also like 4 and 1. I was turned off by Dragon Quarter since, as you mentioned, my expectations weren't met being a long time fan of the series
My favorite has to be 3 but I still prefer Dragon Quarter over 4, it grew on me because it is such a rewarding game when you get the hang of things.
There was a kickstarter game called *Tears of Magic* which in my opinion has the closest approach to Breath of Fire.
Unfortunately the kickstarter failed last year but I sincerely hope the dev team continues to create this game.
The game may have failed its kickstarter, but it's still in active development. The devs have a Twitter account where they post regular updates, and their Steam page lists an admittedly optimistic January 2025 as their target release date.
I wasn't expecting Breath of Fire III to fail to clinch the #1 spot. I -definitely- wasn't expecting BOF2 to get number 1. This is how I can tell David is an OG JRPG lover because BOF2 is very much a true blue 16 bit era JRPG.
I was pleasantly surprised you didn't put Dragon Quarter as the worst. I really liked the gameplay and having to be smart and not waste resources hence why I liked "Enchanted Arms" which has similar gameplay.
I'm playing through breath of fire 3 for the very first time right now. I've been playing it for 5 days, with any and all free time I've had. It has been a true masterpiece, to say the least! This is the kind of game that reminds me why I love video games.
My favorite is BOF3, because I’ve always been an RPG fan, and I rented that game the same day that the first Futurama came on, so many decades ago.
That fact wouldn’t matter, but I was like 11, and even though I had played the Sega Saturn before, and knew about external memory… Yet, in my silly little kid brain I was pretty sure I didn’t need one of them fancy, what do you call them, memory cards?
I rented BOF3, got wumped by the 3D Wyndia crypt, and missed Space Pilot 3000. I didn’t realize what I was missing, kind of a watershed moment in animation I would come to love more than the Simpsons, kid memories, but important to the story, for absolutely no reason, other than it made a memory special.
That puzzle has me running around the crypt, and falling down, getting in fights, climbing back up, screwing up the puzzle again, and failing to stay alive.
That’s how I learned how important memory cards are. You see though, I kept playing, but at the time, after a full weekend with the game, never got past MoMo’s tower, and begged my mom and dad to let me rent it again, but didn’t think to enquire about getting one of them memory cards.
It was not my first game for the PS1, that would be Crash, and I was so used to Nintendo passwords in longer action games, that starting that game, playing, losing, and doing it all over didn’t feel too bad, that’s how games are.
I had already beaten BOF1, playing that dangerous game of saving your game on the rental cart, and hoping that next time I get my allowance and I rent the game, that my save will still be there, and it was to the point I was able to beat a rented battery backed game, after renting it more than 3 or 4 times.
No spoilers for a game for the SNES, but I was absolutely blown away by the ending, so cinematic! But why would I bring up the end of BOF1, when I’m talking about 3?
Kick sand, dragon boy, that’s why, I REALLY didn’t like how after all the work you put into that, you’re going to kick sand… Too deep 4 me! Kidding, but damn was it of its time.
If you are here, thank you for reading my text wall of a childhood memory, this is why BOF3 is my favorite, because of the memories the first night I played it.
Breath of Fire 1 has one of the most untouchable vibes. The music and tone is so dark and heroic. Playing BoF1 on a gloomy, rainy Sunday evening just hits different.
One thing I'll say about BoF series wise is man you think they couldn't top something like the Carronade but me thinks that Yuna would be taking notes from these people in DQ and what they do. Gotta love how the end of BoF4 is just gods leaving the world as well. "God is not here" is the good ending.
ma boi, ye i knew it, no game could be better than 2
I have a personal top:
Lore - BoF 1 (also like the interaction with the enviroment and also that you can explore the underwater layer);
Characters - BoF 2 (also the fusion system);
Dragon Magic Gameplay - BoF 3;
Story - BoF 4 (specially because you can play with the antagonist and I don't consider him a villain);
I don't know any of the gameplay of BoF Dragon Quarter;
And for BoF 6 I just know the characters designs and are pretty fine.
Bof 3 is first jrpg genre that i've ever played . From that day i still enjoy to play this genre . Wish capcom bring back this serie one day.
The first two are on the SNES VC on Switch for those who cant play otherwise
There is also Capcom Town’s Browser of 1, but hey, some choices
Nothing can beat the Dragon gene combination in 3, that's just insanely fun even today
Breath of Fire II is my favorite BoF as well, but I loved it even more when I played the Retranslated game rom. The translators gave the script so much life, giving depth to the cast and fleshing out the world. I’d advise anyone who is looking to play BoFII to play the retranslated rom first. You won’t regret it
I fell in love with 3 and felt like 4 was too short. it kind of ended just as things were getting good. Probably won't replay them till i retire lol, unless they get remastered.
Breath of fire was my first RPG
I bought it solely on Gobi on the screen. Thought that picture was so bad ass.
I could had been max 6 back in 1993.
Breath of fire is a guilty pleasure. And I'm extremely happy to see so many here feeling much like me.
This series is so underrated.
Also BRING BACK DRAGON GENE SPLIT!!!
As far of the best.
BoF4 is my number one because of the combo system. With the 2nd one at the rare.
I only ever played 1 and 2 due to not having access to a PSX or PS2 for years when the big RPG rush happened there. Nice to see 2 getting recognition!
The others go on my long, long backlog of 'maybe one day' which is growing longer.
BoF3 will always be my favorite. There’s something about the art that I just love.
played the brt2 when i was 9, was sad because ryu turned into a dragon and blocked the cave and sleep forever turns out there are multiple endings so had to play it 5 more times, i like the town building and fusion mechanics but i hate the high encounter in the final dungeon.
Love the video, but you forgot my favorite part of this series, overworld interaction. It blew me away in the 1st game when I could “hunt” animals and have a major effect on the landscape.
Also, there’s something good to be said about a game where the 1st one isn’t the best in the series….it’s like they constantly worked to improve it with each release
He's covered this in alot more detail in prior video's this was kind of just a general overview tier list of ranked BOF games.
My first and only was Bof 4 back in the day on Ps1. I got stuck at a certain point and never finished it. I almost gave up on the part where you have to find the children hiding in the village.
"All 5 of them". This is why youre my favorite twink. There are only 5. No more. Love the channel, lookin swoll as ever.
Man I really hope we get a Breath of fire remastered collection soon
Breath of Fire 4 has taken a shine over the years for me. The amount of mini games can be a slog, but I did like Masters needing tasks completed
My list:
5: BOF5:DQ
4: BOF
3-1: essentially tied for 1st - BOF 2,3,&4
Still have to get fight and beat the super enemies of BOF 3 and 4. But I managed to get the Goo King Sword in BOF3 and the Dragon Tallons for Peco. Now to get the Goo King Sword in BOF4.
This is a series I really need to check out. My only experience so far was renting dragon quarter when I was a kid and not having any idea what to do lol
So, if I was going to play the first two games in this series only once, should I play the SNES or GBA versions?
Capcom is rolling in the dough they need to bring this series back 😊😊😊
Gameplay-wise, BoFV was not a BoF game, but the story was every bit as good as any of them. I think it had great writing and emotional scenes. The combat was unique and something I always thought combat should be like (balancing movement with combat as a single resource, to simulate a real-time battle but turn-based). My main grievance is that I tend to not like games that if you play it slightly wrong, oops, gotta start over from the beginning. Luckily it is short, but that is still frustrating for people like me who like to be thorough and explore a lot. I'm penalized by just walking around!
I think Capcom should do HD/2D remakes to these games, especially for 3 & 4. The third one was my jam, even though I never got a chance to beat it (I got stuck in an area and couldn't figure out what to do). And I can't find the game anywhere unless I want to pay a huge amount of money for it, or buy a PSP to play that release.
With Nintendo Switch Online, could argue a rebuild of all 5 can be there
Breath of Fire II was my CHILDHOOD. 100% agree on it being number 1. That OST slaps hard. The town management system was so unique at the time. The artwork is beautiful. Every party member goes on their on character arc that made the whole journey just an amazing experience. One of my all time favorite JRPG of all time.
There was a lot of things I liked about 4, but that cramped town where you had to constantly spin the camera angle haunted me.
3 is the best! Awesome dragon configurations and best ally’s. Also really cool world map and the master system was clutch. Hoping Capcom hears its fans when we say we want remasters/remakes!
I'm that one weirdo whose favorite game in the series is 1. I replayed it just a few months ago. I did a challenge run in which I intentionally completely avoid Ryu's dragon transformations and Karn's fusions, and I had a blast. I don't personally agree that the game drags. It's easily the shortest in the series. (Well, I don't know about 5, I didn't play it.) BoF1 is shorter than the likes of Chrono Trigger or FF6. Or to take another game closer to its time of release, it's shorter than FF4 (or similar length). Not to say that total game length is the only metric to measure whether a game drags, of course. It's about the pacing, but I never had an issue with it. Especially once the Prima arc ends, I feel that's when the game gets a more intense shift in storyline. The bad guys are more aggressively trying to take over, with the majority of the rest of the game directly tying to their schemes.
I adore 2 and 3, mind you. I just like 1 more. 4 was cool too.
It's so weird he uploaded this today. I was just listening to the OST for 3 in the first time in like 5 years
I agree with this list. Breath of Fire 2 is an absolute masterpiece.
Still need to play these games!!!
I agree with this list 100%! The fact that this series got dropped is a crime!
(Also, to put BoF2 in the top and not give a shout out to Rand, the most kind and sexiest dude in the world, is unforgivable!)
Currently replaying the first one and yeah, the grind is real. Still having a great time though. Very comforting.
Man I want a BOF 3 refresh, or hell, even just a port at this point. I don't think I've ever seen that game post PS1 era outside of emulation and it is one of my all time favorite games.
I see Nina II thumbnail and I’m happy. My preference is similar to yours, except swap 3 and 4.
For me, 3 seems to do everything 4 did but better.
Bof2 was my first title and It has been my biggest inspiration in my art when I started drawing Manga back in 2002. My cousin had bought the GBA remake and eventually gave it to me. Still one of my life long favorites next to Paper Mario 64 and dragon quest 7. Nina, Katt and Bleu are always on my team at the end. GIRL POWER
Bof 4 was my first game and i like loved it. Then went on to play 3 on psp which was fantastic as well. Remember being so hyped for 5 and it was such a let down. To this day i wish for a new game in the series or remaster the earlier titles. I still need to get round to playing 1 and 2 someday.
I was expecting 4 to win top spot....but to see 2 win....WHAT A TWIST!
The Maeson patch for 2 absolutely streamlines and improves the game in every aspect.
My Catholic upbringing and Sunday School attendance stood no match against a 5th grade playthrough of Breath of Fire 2 and taking on the Church of St Eva.
Played bof3 earlier this year.
Loved the atmosphere up until the desert across the ocean. The characters were all memorable too.
Deserves a remake
Breath of Fire deserves a remake more as it's a game that's so close to being an all time classic but fails due to poor QoL. Aka the awful translation, painfully slow walking speed, high encounter rate, annoying dungeon music, grindy earlygame, etc.
I started the series with BoF 2, and I love it so much. after replaying I can see its flaws (like pointless backtrack and mandatory filler quests) so its kinda in third place for me. but hey still worth it.
Breath of Fire is for sure in my top 3 rpg series, along with suikoden and dragon quest
Ranking by how interested I am in playing them:
5. Breath of Fire
4. Breath of Fire III
3. Breath of Fire II
2. Breath of Fire IV
1. Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
Like you David, my first experience was BoF 1. Holds a special place in my heart + BoF 1 and 2 are connected, as the 2nd entry is a sequel. 3 is a solid game, 4 was even better. 5 was trash... so if I had to rank them it would be 2, 1, 4, 3 with 5 not even existing. Like Suikoden I'd love to see a 6th entry!
Ty for putting 1 last. I hated this series as a kid because I only knew of 1. The rest are great.
I believe 3 is the best game and for me (even despite the desert) is a 10/10 JRPG for me and that is not from nostalgia. I completed that game about 3 years ago for the first time and I adored it. My BOF list is worst to Best: 5,1,2,4,3. I cant say i was expecting 2 to be your pinnacle but it is a great entry. My main problem with it (as well as games like Beyond the Beyond) is its encounter rate. Its malicious if played as the game was originally intended. I know there are ways around this on PC and such but it is brutal otherwise. Its always a win talking about these games, thanks David!
Breath of fire 3, the one where Ryu becomes a super Saiyan
Personally, my choice was 51432, I did replay 3 recently and did so with increased speed, made the game much more manageable. 3 will always hold a spot for me though, what with dragon genes.
I feel like 3 had the best story and characters. I loved the Ryu/Rei miscreant combo growing up. It was unfortunately very slow and having smooth jazz music made it kinda sleepy. I enjoyed the game but it had some serious shortcomings such as the trainer and dragon systems which were more of a hassle than a help. I have to agree with this list although i never got to play 5.
What about the monile BOF game? I thought it was in english.
Only played the first one but love it. Played through it many times. Definitely wish it would be remastered with a better translation.
I forgot that I did beat the second one as well. Maybe my mind wants to forget it since that last dungeon was mind-numbing.
2 is my favorite too! (Except that time I saved with a low level Sten in HighFort and had to restart the game >
4 is still my favorite, but this was a good list. Capcom needs to do something to preserve these games.
The original breath of fire was my first ever rpg. And BoF3 is my all time favorite game.
2 is the best, no debate...... especially when internet was limited at that time. Exploring fusion and secret is really immerse myself into the game
BoF3 holds up incredibly well today IMO I just recently played through it again and it still remains a top 3 JRPG of all time for me, Next to Chrono Trigger and Persona 5 Royal. Graphically I love the sprite work, Actually prefer it to IV's, I still absolutely love the characters, And the Gene system is still so damn fun to experiment with. Overall it was the most epic BoF game for me, So many memorable parts, Even the Desert was actually one of my favorite segments in the game, I've only played 2, 3 & 4 but out of those 3, I find myself going back to 3 the most, Just love it's overall aesthetic the most.
I never played 5 because of it's weird system, so I think I would have to switch that with one's placement. I can't remember 4 as well as 3, so I would probably switch those two as well (Though you're right about it needing some QoL) 2 is by far my favorite though. Honestly if they remade any of them, I'd rather it be two just because I think it can be explored more and that translation could be fixed some..
Breath of Fire 2 is the game we need a remake from Capcom the most. Fix the walking speed, fix the translation, fix the encounter rate, fix the music reset issue, add more dungeon music, add voice acting, improve the graphics with HD2D, have Yoko Shiamora remake the OST, (it was her dream to do the Breath of Fire 2 OST but capcom didn't let her do any more than two songs so she quit Capcom to work at Square instead) and maybe a few other things. It would easily be the best HD2D Remake so far. Way better than the Dragon Quest 3 HD2D Remake, which no matter how much Japan loves that game it has not aged well AT ALL. It was revolutionary for its lengthy story and being the first RPG with a class system after DQ2 introduced multiple party members, but it still hasn't aged well with poor UI, flat battles, and incredibly slow gameplay.
Explains why I could never get myself to complete part 1. The last dungeon was always so dragging that I get bored. I replay it on the switch again trying to complete it. Here I am again doing the exact same thing. Stop playing once I get to the last dungeon.
BoFII is a tragedy. The Fusion system and town-building were awesome to play around with, but the game becomes a chore once you save Bow. Pretty much just fetch quests until the final dungeon (which is WAY too long, with WAY too many enemy encounters).
I respect your rank. Mine would be the pretty close. #5 BoF1 - #4 BoF5 - #3 BoF3 - #2 BoF2 - #1 BoF4
'All FIVE of them'. Yes. Five, no more than that.
3 will always be my favorite for some astonishingly heartfelt story beats. 2 is similar but plagued by bad translation, limited battle system and an obnoxious encounter rate (and the fact that the first 3rd of your journey is a prolonged fetch quest). Would love to see this forgotten series given the love it deserves with a proper new console entry. Perhaps one set in the time mentioned in the first game where the Dragon Clan first encountered Myria, splitting into two factions based on who agreed to follow the goddess into world conquest and who didn't
I hope they bring the Breath of fire series back soon a reboot or remake will be nice
I totally agree with your order for once! Usually I'm less partial to the 16 bit games, since I grew up on the PS1 era, but BoF 2 is just great. Easily as good as Phantasy Star IV. It's also good to see some acknowledgement of Dragon Quarter. It has flaws, but there is fun to be had there.
The music in Breath of Fire 3 makes it number one for me.