This was a tough finish for me as it took me closer to 5 months to beat the game despite it being mere 35 hours long. It's not that the game itself is bad - the story is a bit bland but it has memorable bits to it, the characters are generally likable and the game has unique look to it with some pretty sprite work, but none of that can save it from how terribly paced it is, which ultimately leads the game to its downfall; The constant backtracking since you didn't bring the correct party member with you and the devs' obsession with maze-like dungeons with puzzles everywhere you go on a game with random encounters on it makes it near impossible to enjoy for a longer period than an hour or two at a time before you feel exhausted, which is the opposite of what makes JRPGs great - being capable of immersing yourself in the world without noticing the passage of time. The potential for the game to be good was there, but it fell short on execution.
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By some miracle, Breath of Fire III not only surpassed the quality of the previous two, but also displayed an ambition far beyond that of its predecessors in both series and genre; a fresco of gameplay/story/dungeon/thematic ideas. Firstly, the story - while ultimately formulaic overall, manages to enrapture one through various memorable story events both thrilling and sobering, running the gamut from childish but enthralling adventures to awfully poignant moments that in spite of its remarkably innocuous exterior, belie almost chilling themes. This is evident in its strong writing, that can be both humorous and pragmatic, often delving into the themes of juvenile escapades gone horribly awry. While the endgame portion is all too familiar to past entries, the moments involving characters such as Rei, Teepo, and Ryu beforehand result in some of the most impactful cutscenes of its era, that almost drowns out the shortcomings of the main plot.
The propensity for variety separates the gameplay of Breath of Fire III from the rest. Instead of simple mazes, most dungeons in this game involve entirely unique and intrepid ideas, some of which even fragment areas into virtual minigames in order to progress. Shying away from the aimless wandering that the previous two games rely on, much of the progression in this game feature ideas wildly different from one another. From arena battles to finding ingredients for a recipe, from connecting fast travel points across the map to merely rotating the game's camera to find objects of interest, no gimmick ever overstays its welcome. Even the monolithic desert section doesn't come across as a chore, but rather an engaging adventure. Altogether, a brilliantly arranged summary of over 10 years of JRPGs.
While combat virtually remained the same, and often feels a little too sluggish - the examine skill system and gene splice system (its own rendition of dragon transformation) leave a ton of room for experimentation within combat, with radically differing results. Not to mention the impressive combat animations bestowing tons of expression to a character's attacks and spells. Field skills make a return, but their impact is marginalized to optional secrets in dungeons and world map interactions in an overall welcome tweak. Even the soundtrack is a dramatic improvement, and stands as one of the best of the era. Although the dungeon gimmicks and minigames are innumerable, they each could have easily been expanded upon to encompass entire dungeons rather than a single room or two, and are naturally (given the amount of ideas) hit or miss.
More than a tribute to a lost age, Breath of Fire III accomplished what Dragon Quest strived to do since its inception - craft a pure, whimsical, endearing adventure, a work that encapsulates not only the spirit of that late 80s and early 90s JRPG era, but the roots of the human journey.
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I think the biggest flaw of BoF games as a series is that the stories are just bland and unmemorable, but this game has the most amount of memorable scenes and while it feels disjointed and cliche at times. I think the fact that I gave a shit about anything that was happening puts it above the rest. Even the annoying shit like the mini-games and the desert are things that are at least lodged in my brain and make me think of this.
story is awesome and memorable up unto the end. we all knew Teepo was not dead yet, but the encounter with him was so badly written, that I just did not feel any emotions during that whole scene. this game has so many cool locations, side stories and mechanics. and man, that jazzy soundtrack is something i keep coming back to multiple times a year.
Really like a lot about this game, great characters and atmosphere, solid combat, simple yet interesting story. It also has some cool mechanics like the Faerie Village and Master System that feel very advanced for the time it was released. Yet its pacing and overall difficulty can be very annoying at times. Still worthwhile for sure, the BOF series is extremely underrated in general.
I really like the story and the atmosphere especially of the later parts, but I never could fully wrap my head around how the combat was supposed to work and just powered through the bosses with the ("correct") dragon forms
Really fun and the soundtrack is great. Some of those minigames are complete ass though. I SCREAMED when I ran out of crysm for that crap in the lighthouse.