Breath of Fire II
Encyclopedia
Breath of Fire II, originally released in Japan as , is a console role-playing game developed and published by Capcom
. First released in 1994
, the game was licensed to Laguna for Europe
an release in 1996
. It is the second entry in the Breath of Fire series. It was later ported to Game Boy Advance
and re-released worldwide. The game has been rated by the ESRB
for release on Wii
's Virtual Console
. Nintendo of Europe's website mistakenly announced it for release on July 27, 2007, but it was in fact released two weeks later, on August 10, 2007. The game was released on the Virtual Console in North America on August 27, 2007.
Unlike later installments in the series, Breath of Fire II is a direct sequel to Breath of Fire
. Set 500 years after the original game, the story centers on an orphan
named Ryu Bateson, whose family vanished mysteriously long ago. After his friend is falsely accused of a crime, Ryu embarks on a journey to clear his name.
featuring two-dimensional character sprites
and environments. Players view the game from a top-down perspective and move their characters in four directions across various environments including towns and dungeons while interacting with non-player characters and battling enemies to advance the story.
The game features a redesigned, text-based game menu as opposed to the icon-based design of the original Breath of Fire
, as well as a new "Monster Meter" that indicates the probability of encountering enemy monsters in a given area. Players are required to venture into dangerous areas throughout the game world as dictated by the story, and randomly encounter enemies every few steps which must be defeated to advance. As the game progresses, new characters, each with their own specific abilities, join the player's party. Like the previous game, only four characters may be in a party at a given time, but now may not be freely switched outside of certain areas. Each character has a unique Personal Action that may be performed outside of combat that allows the player to access certain areas, destroy objects, avoid traps, or move about the game more easily. Breath of Fire II includes a new town-building feature that allows the player to populate their own village with special characters found throughout the game. Each character has their own distinct job, and may be invited to live in houses that the player adds by donating currency to one of three carpenters, each with their own building style. Six special inhabitants known as Shamans may also join the town, each with their own elemental alignment
, and up to two at a time may be fused with party members to grant them new forms and abilities. While joined with a shaman, characters become stronger and may gain access to additional abilities while in battle.
Combat in Breath of Fire II is presented using a turn-based
approach, where the player inputs commands for each character at the start of each round with the actions taking place by order of each character's and enemy's "agility" rating. A new Formation feature allows the player to organize their party into different positions, allowing certain members an increase in speed, defense, or attack power. Players win battles by defeating every enemy present, dealing damage by using normal attacks along with magic spells and items. When all enemies are defeated, they yield experience points that go toward leveling up characters, making them stronger and giving them access to new spells. Each Characters' health is represented by numerical hit points that indicate their remaining vitality, and are knocked out if the value reaches zero, with the battle ending if each member of a player's party is knocked out. Progress is recorded using the game cartridge
's internal battery back-up memory, which can be accessed at dragon
statues throughout gameplay.
The principle protagonist is a 16-year-old boy named Ryu Bateson, who shares his name with the main character from the original Breath of Fire, who mysteriously finds himself alone in the world one day after his father and sister disappear and all townspeople in his village forget who he is. As a member of the elusive Dragon Clan, Ryu possess the ability to transform into powerful draconic
beings with destructive abilities, and makes his way as a "Ranger", a sword-for-hire. He is joined by his friend and fellow Ranger, Bow ("Boche Doggy" in the Japanese version), a thief and member of a race of dog-people who uses a crossbow
. Throughout the game, players recruit additional characters at different points in the story, including Katt ("Rinpu Chuan" in the Japanese version), a member of the Woren clan of cat-people who fights at a coliseum; Rand Marks, muscular armadillo
-person who fights with his bare hands; Nina Windia, descendant of the original Nina from Breath of Fire and princess of a clan of winged humans who was exiled due to her black wings, an omen in her country; Sten Legacy, a former soldier from a kingdom of monkey-people who makes his way as a trickster and performer; Ekkal Hoppa de Pe Jean, or simply Jean ("Tapeta" in the Japanese version), a love-struck prince of a race of frog-people who struggles to regain his kingdom after his throne is usurped; and Spar ("Aspara Gus" in the Japanese version), an emotionless plant man who can commune with nature and his held captive by a traveling sideshow. An optional character in the form of the immortal sorceress
Bleu ("Deis" in the Japanese version) from the original Breath of Fire may also be recruited.
world 500 years after the events of the original game. The story opens on Ryu, age 6, who lives in a village with his sister Yua and father Ganer, a priest for the Church of St. Eva. Years earlier, Ryu's mother was killed by demon
s who attacked the village from a hole in a mountain on the outskirts of town, which was eventually blocked by a large dragon who sacrificed its life to stop the invasion. One day after visiting the lifeless dragon
near the mountainside, Ryu returns to find his family missing and no one in the village remembers who he is, thinking him an orphan and sending him to live at the church with Father Hulk, who has apparently been acting pastor for years. It is there that he meets Bow, a fellow orphan who convinces Ryu to run away with him to a big city and live as thieves. Upon leaving the village, the two seek shelter in a cave during a storm, where they encounter an enormous demon named Barubary who claims that Ryu is the "Destined Child", knocks the two unconscious, and disappears.
Ten years later, Ryu and Bow live together in a small town as persons for hire, who are charged with finding the lost pet of Mina, princess of the Kingdom of Windia. The two reluctantly complete the task and upon return Bow is charged with thieving from a local rich man, which Bow claims he was framed by a mysterious "winged thief". Both escape the town the following night, with Bow hiding out while Ryu leaves to find the real thief and clear his name. Making his way to a town with a large coliseum to gather information, he manages to get himself into the arena and battle the star fighter, Katt, defeating her and gaining her trust when he reveals the organizer is possessed by a demon. Ryu and Katt are accompanied by Rand, who works at the Coliseum, to help clear Bow's name, with Rand staying behind with Bow to rebuild his hideout. Ryu and Katt travel back to the scene of the crime where they meet Nina, a young girl studying magic, whom they rescue from a gang leader who is also possessed. When the trio make their way to Windia following the thief's path, they meet Sten, who accompanies them further after Ryu spares him for trying to con them. Upon arrival at a port to another continent, Ryu meets a Shaman, who taps into his latent ability to transform into a dragon, revealing him to be a part of the Dragon Clan thought missing for hundreds of years.
Arriving at the new continent, the group meets Jean, a frog-prince who they help recover his kingdom by defeating his imposter who is revealed to be a demon in disguise. The group finally catches the real thief, a bat-winged girl named Patty, who they turn over to the man she robbed. Bow re-joins the group, but is worried about Patty despite her actions, and frees her from the man who accused her, who is also possessed by a demon and defeated before he can harm her. Realizing the demon outbreak must be part of a larger problem, the complete team search the world for the Grassman Spar, who is said to be able to communicate with plants and ask the Great Wise Tree what can be done about it. Retrieving Spar from the clutches of a traveling sideshow, the group learn that the demon outbreak is linked to Gate, Ryu's boyhood town where the trouble all started, and that the Church of St. Eva may not be all that it seems. Investigating further, the team joins with a group of rebels who plan to storm the religion's main church located on an inaccessible island. Realizing only a flying method will work, Nina returns to Windia and reveals herself as the long-lost princess of the kingdom who was exiled due to her black wings. After consorting with the spirit of the original Nina from Breath of Fire, Nina plans to undergo a ceremony that will transform her into a bird permanently, but is stopped by her sister Mina who takes her place, sacrificing her humanity.
Traveling on Mina, the group make their way to the main church and sneak inside. It is revealed that the religion is a front for a demon lord who uses the prayers of the people to empower itself, and that Ryu's father Ganer is being held prisoner inside. Ryu and his friends escape the church as they destroy it, making their way back to Gate to stop the demons' plot once and for all. In Gate, they meet and do battle with Father Hulk, the pastor who took over the Gate church years ago after Ganer was imprisoned. In order for Father Hulk to open the seal in the mountain, he needs a member of the dragon clan. Ryu and friends are tricked into bringing him the thief Patty, whose membership in the dragon clan reveals her to be Yua, Ryu's sister. Father Hulk reveals himself as a demon and Ryu does battle with him. The dragon at the mountain springs to life, and transforms into the spirit of a woman, revealing herself to be Ryu's mother Valerie, a member of the Dragon Clan who traveled from their hiding place in the mountain years ago and married Ryu's father, later sacrificing herself to save the town. Ryu and his team travel into the cave going deep underground to the demon stronghold, where they meet the last remaining members of the Dragon Clan. After gaining the ultimate dragon power, Ryu battles Barubary, the demon from his past, and his master, Deathevn, leader of the St. Eva religion revealed to be a remnant of Myria, the mad goddess
from the previous game. After unleashing his full strength, Ryu defeats Deathevn and returns home with two possible endings based on whether the player rescued his father from the St. Eva Church - either sacrificing himself like his mother by transforming into a dragon to prevent further demon encroachment, or by having Ganer pilot a floating landmass on top of the mountain and seal it off for good.
employees who worked on the previous game
, including producer Tokuro Fujiwara
and lead designer Yoshinori Kawano. While the character designs for the original Breath of Fire were conceived by company head of development Keiji Inafune
, the cast of Breath of Fire II was created entirely by artist Taksuya Yoshikawa, who had previously only provided promotional art for the game's predecessor. Unlike the original Breath of Fire, which was licensed to Square Soft for its North American release, the English version of Breath of Fire II was localized and published entirely by Capcom USA. The game was released in North America one year after the Japanese version in December 1995, and would later become the first Breath of Fire title to become available in Europe in April 1996.
Three days before the release of the original Breath of Fire on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance
in July 2001, Capcom announced that they would similarly port Breath of Fire II to the handheld, with an initial release date some time in 2002. Like the re-release of its predecessor, the handheld version features re-drawn character portraits in menu screens, new still images used in cutscenes throughout the game, and a re-designed battle interface similar to Breath of Fire IV
. New features include a dash button that allows players to move through the game faster, as well as an item-sharing system where two players may link together using the Game Boy Advance link cable to exchange items between game cartridges. To celebrate of the game's release in December 2001, Capcom of Japan held an art contest for fan to submit artwork featuring characters from the first two Breath of Fire games, with the winner chosen by the Game Boy Advance versions staff. In January 2002, Capcom USA announced that an English version of Breath of Fire II would be heading to North America the following April. A European version would also be released in July 2002, published by Ubisoft
.
, the score for Breath of Fire II was written entirely by series newcomer Yuko Takehara. In January 1995, the Breath of Fire II: Shimei no Ko Original Soundtrack was released in Japan by Sony Records, and featured 28 selected themes from the game on a single disc. A complete musical selection from the title would not be made commercially available until 2006, with the release of the Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box, which contained all music from the first five games of the series. In order to promote the game, Capcom hired J-pop
singer Mio Watanabe to record a theme song that played during the game's television commercial in Japan called "Owaranai Ai" (終わらない愛, lit. Unending Love), which was released as a single in December 1994 by Alfa Records.
flash RAM peripheral in September 1997 at a reduced price.
The game's reception in North America was generally positive. In 2006, Nintendo Power
would rank the game 171st in its list of the top 200 games released across all Nintendo consoles, exactly ten places behind the original Breath of Fire
. Breath of Fire II maintains a 79% average score on aggregate review website GameRankings.
magazine. GameSpot
compared the game to the previous version, calling it a "faithful translation of the SNES game" and praised the title's new save feature allowing players to record their progress at any time, but found that its music "leans toward the bland side of things" and "lack[s] personality". IGN
found the game to be a step up from the first game's Game Boy Advance port, stating that "The storyline and characters make Breath of Fire II a much better game than the first adventure in the series...even though the game hasn't changed a whole lot." The website additionally felt that the game's lack of spaces in text fields and shoddy translation hurt the overall presentation, and the graphics were not up to par with games designed initially for the handheld such as Camelot
's Golden Sun
. GamePro Magazine
awarded the Game Boy version a perfect score as well as an Editor's Choice Award, stating that the only flaw was the game's low difficulty, declaring that "In the realm of today’s high-powered next-gen role-players, BOFII is an excellent time-killer". The game would later be nominated for "Best Port of a 16-bit Classic" and "Best Role-Playing Game on Game Boy Advance" in GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002 Awards. The Game Boy Advance version holds a 75% review average on GameRankins, as well as an 81% average on Metacritic
.
Breath of Fire IIs Virtual Console release in 2007 met with mixed response. GameSpot called attention to the title's "pleasing visual presentation" and breadth of content, but found the game's localization to be "terrible" along with unpolished gameplay mechanics that made it appear to be a "hasty, careless effort". The game's pacing was also said to be poor, with too many "mundane tasks" laden throughout the story, recommending it to players who could look past its "rough edges". IGN called the game's translation "average at best" with the lack of adequate spacing in text fields still present, yet ultimately calling it a "sold, enjoyable RPG experience...though not a role-playing masterpiece on the level of Final Fantasy VI
or Chrono Trigger
". Eurogamer
called attention to the game's high rate of random battles, but nonetheless called the game "a beautifully crafted and impeccably produced adventure".
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
. First released in 1994
1994 in video gaming
-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
, the game was licensed to Laguna for Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an release in 1996
1996 in video gaming
-Notable releases:*January 29 — Duke Nukem 3D, successor to the simple side-scrolling originals, and a genre-redefining title for first person shooters....
. It is the second entry in the Breath of Fire series. It was later ported to Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
and re-released worldwide. The game has been rated by the ESRB
Entertainment Software Rating Board
The Entertainment Software Rating Board is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games as well as entertainment software in Canada, Mexico and...
for release on Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
. Nintendo of Europe's website mistakenly announced it for release on July 27, 2007, but it was in fact released two weeks later, on August 10, 2007. The game was released on the Virtual Console in North America on August 27, 2007.
Unlike later installments in the series, Breath of Fire II is a direct sequel to Breath of Fire
Breath of Fire (video game)
Breath of Fire, originally released in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom originally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Initially released in Japan in April 1993, the game was later made available in North America in August 1994 by Square Soft, who handled the...
. Set 500 years after the original game, the story centers on an orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
named Ryu Bateson, whose family vanished mysteriously long ago. After his friend is falsely accused of a crime, Ryu embarks on a journey to clear his name.
Gameplay
Breath of Fire II is a traditional console role-playing gameRole-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
featuring two-dimensional character sprites
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
and environments. Players view the game from a top-down perspective and move their characters in four directions across various environments including towns and dungeons while interacting with non-player characters and battling enemies to advance the story.
Breath of Fire
-Mobile games:Beginning in November 2003, Capcom began releasing Breath of Fire titles specifically for mobile phone devices in Japan. Each game was developed for use on NTT DoCoMo, au, and SoftBank brand cellphones that use the i-mode, EZWEB, or BREW services...
, as well as a new "Monster Meter" that indicates the probability of encountering enemy monsters in a given area. Players are required to venture into dangerous areas throughout the game world as dictated by the story, and randomly encounter enemies every few steps which must be defeated to advance. As the game progresses, new characters, each with their own specific abilities, join the player's party. Like the previous game, only four characters may be in a party at a given time, but now may not be freely switched outside of certain areas. Each character has a unique Personal Action that may be performed outside of combat that allows the player to access certain areas, destroy objects, avoid traps, or move about the game more easily. Breath of Fire II includes a new town-building feature that allows the player to populate their own village with special characters found throughout the game. Each character has their own distinct job, and may be invited to live in houses that the player adds by donating currency to one of three carpenters, each with their own building style. Six special inhabitants known as Shamans may also join the town, each with their own elemental alignment
Classical element
Many philosophies and worldviews have a set of classical elements believed to reflect the simplest essential parts and principles of which anything consists or upon which the constitution and fundamental powers of anything are based. Most frequently, classical elements refer to ancient beliefs...
, and up to two at a time may be fused with party members to grant them new forms and abilities. While joined with a shaman, characters become stronger and may gain access to additional abilities while in battle.
Combat in Breath of Fire II is presented using a turn-based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
approach, where the player inputs commands for each character at the start of each round with the actions taking place by order of each character's and enemy's "agility" rating. A new Formation feature allows the player to organize their party into different positions, allowing certain members an increase in speed, defense, or attack power. Players win battles by defeating every enemy present, dealing damage by using normal attacks along with magic spells and items. When all enemies are defeated, they yield experience points that go toward leveling up characters, making them stronger and giving them access to new spells. Each Characters' health is represented by numerical hit points that indicate their remaining vitality, and are knocked out if the value reaches zero, with the battle ending if each member of a player's party is knocked out. Progress is recorded using the game cartridge
ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, sometimes referred to as a cart, is a removable enclosure containing read-only memory devices designed to be connected to a computer or games console....
's internal battery back-up memory, which can be accessed at dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
statues throughout gameplay.
Characters
The characters of Breath of Fire II were designed by Capcom artist Taksuya Yoshikawa, who also provided artwork for the cast of the previous game. Breath of Fire II features nine playable characters who join the player's party at set points throughout the story, each with their own selection of attacks, magic spells, and personal actions which can be used to pass certain obstacles and solve puzzles.Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
beings with destructive abilities, and makes his way as a "Ranger", a sword-for-hire. He is joined by his friend and fellow Ranger, Bow ("Boche Doggy" in the Japanese version), a thief and member of a race of dog-people who uses a crossbow
Crossbow
A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...
. Throughout the game, players recruit additional characters at different points in the story, including Katt ("Rinpu Chuan" in the Japanese version), a member of the Woren clan of cat-people who fights at a coliseum; Rand Marks, muscular armadillo
Armadillo
Armadillos are New World placental mammals, known for having a leathery armor shell. Dasypodidae is the only surviving family in the order Cingulata, part of the superorder Xenarthra along with the anteaters and sloths. The word armadillo is Spanish for "little armored one"...
-person who fights with his bare hands; Nina Windia, descendant of the original Nina from Breath of Fire and princess of a clan of winged humans who was exiled due to her black wings, an omen in her country; Sten Legacy, a former soldier from a kingdom of monkey-people who makes his way as a trickster and performer; Ekkal Hoppa de Pe Jean, or simply Jean ("Tapeta" in the Japanese version), a love-struck prince of a race of frog-people who struggles to regain his kingdom after his throne is usurped; and Spar ("Aspara Gus" in the Japanese version), an emotionless plant man who can commune with nature and his held captive by a traveling sideshow. An optional character in the form of the immortal sorceress
Magician (fantasy)
A magician, mage, sorcerer, sorceress, wizard, enchanter, enchantress, thaumaturge or a person known under one of many other possible terms is someone who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources...
Bleu ("Deis" in the Japanese version) from the original Breath of Fire may also be recruited.
Story
Breath of Fire II is set in a fantasyFantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
world 500 years after the events of the original game. The story opens on Ryu, age 6, who lives in a village with his sister Yua and father Ganer, a priest for the Church of St. Eva. Years earlier, Ryu's mother was killed by demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
s who attacked the village from a hole in a mountain on the outskirts of town, which was eventually blocked by a large dragon who sacrificed its life to stop the invasion. One day after visiting the lifeless dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
near the mountainside, Ryu returns to find his family missing and no one in the village remembers who he is, thinking him an orphan and sending him to live at the church with Father Hulk, who has apparently been acting pastor for years. It is there that he meets Bow, a fellow orphan who convinces Ryu to run away with him to a big city and live as thieves. Upon leaving the village, the two seek shelter in a cave during a storm, where they encounter an enormous demon named Barubary who claims that Ryu is the "Destined Child", knocks the two unconscious, and disappears.
Ten years later, Ryu and Bow live together in a small town as persons for hire, who are charged with finding the lost pet of Mina, princess of the Kingdom of Windia. The two reluctantly complete the task and upon return Bow is charged with thieving from a local rich man, which Bow claims he was framed by a mysterious "winged thief". Both escape the town the following night, with Bow hiding out while Ryu leaves to find the real thief and clear his name. Making his way to a town with a large coliseum to gather information, he manages to get himself into the arena and battle the star fighter, Katt, defeating her and gaining her trust when he reveals the organizer is possessed by a demon. Ryu and Katt are accompanied by Rand, who works at the Coliseum, to help clear Bow's name, with Rand staying behind with Bow to rebuild his hideout. Ryu and Katt travel back to the scene of the crime where they meet Nina, a young girl studying magic, whom they rescue from a gang leader who is also possessed. When the trio make their way to Windia following the thief's path, they meet Sten, who accompanies them further after Ryu spares him for trying to con them. Upon arrival at a port to another continent, Ryu meets a Shaman, who taps into his latent ability to transform into a dragon, revealing him to be a part of the Dragon Clan thought missing for hundreds of years.
Arriving at the new continent, the group meets Jean, a frog-prince who they help recover his kingdom by defeating his imposter who is revealed to be a demon in disguise. The group finally catches the real thief, a bat-winged girl named Patty, who they turn over to the man she robbed. Bow re-joins the group, but is worried about Patty despite her actions, and frees her from the man who accused her, who is also possessed by a demon and defeated before he can harm her. Realizing the demon outbreak must be part of a larger problem, the complete team search the world for the Grassman Spar, who is said to be able to communicate with plants and ask the Great Wise Tree what can be done about it. Retrieving Spar from the clutches of a traveling sideshow, the group learn that the demon outbreak is linked to Gate, Ryu's boyhood town where the trouble all started, and that the Church of St. Eva may not be all that it seems. Investigating further, the team joins with a group of rebels who plan to storm the religion's main church located on an inaccessible island. Realizing only a flying method will work, Nina returns to Windia and reveals herself as the long-lost princess of the kingdom who was exiled due to her black wings. After consorting with the spirit of the original Nina from Breath of Fire, Nina plans to undergo a ceremony that will transform her into a bird permanently, but is stopped by her sister Mina who takes her place, sacrificing her humanity.
Traveling on Mina, the group make their way to the main church and sneak inside. It is revealed that the religion is a front for a demon lord who uses the prayers of the people to empower itself, and that Ryu's father Ganer is being held prisoner inside. Ryu and his friends escape the church as they destroy it, making their way back to Gate to stop the demons' plot once and for all. In Gate, they meet and do battle with Father Hulk, the pastor who took over the Gate church years ago after Ganer was imprisoned. In order for Father Hulk to open the seal in the mountain, he needs a member of the dragon clan. Ryu and friends are tricked into bringing him the thief Patty, whose membership in the dragon clan reveals her to be Yua, Ryu's sister. Father Hulk reveals himself as a demon and Ryu does battle with him. The dragon at the mountain springs to life, and transforms into the spirit of a woman, revealing herself to be Ryu's mother Valerie, a member of the Dragon Clan who traveled from their hiding place in the mountain years ago and married Ryu's father, later sacrificing herself to save the town. Ryu and his team travel into the cave going deep underground to the demon stronghold, where they meet the last remaining members of the Dragon Clan. After gaining the ultimate dragon power, Ryu battles Barubary, the demon from his past, and his master, Deathevn, leader of the St. Eva religion revealed to be a remnant of Myria, the mad goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
from the previous game. After unleashing his full strength, Ryu defeats Deathevn and returns home with two possible endings based on whether the player rescued his father from the St. Eva Church - either sacrificing himself like his mother by transforming into a dragon to prevent further demon encroachment, or by having Ganer pilot a floating landmass on top of the mountain and seal it off for good.
Development
Breath of Fire II was developed by many of the same CapcomCapcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
employees who worked on the previous game
Breath of Fire
-Mobile games:Beginning in November 2003, Capcom began releasing Breath of Fire titles specifically for mobile phone devices in Japan. Each game was developed for use on NTT DoCoMo, au, and SoftBank brand cellphones that use the i-mode, EZWEB, or BREW services...
, including producer Tokuro Fujiwara
Tokuro Fujiwara
Tokuro Fujiwara , sometime credited as Professor F or Arthur King, is a Japanese video game designer, best known for creating Ghosts 'n Goblins and producing the Mega Man series. He worked as the general manager of the Capcom Console Games Division from 1988 to 1996...
and lead designer Yoshinori Kawano. While the character designs for the original Breath of Fire were conceived by company head of development Keiji Inafune
Keiji Inafune
is a video game producer and illustrator. He was the former head of Research & Development and Online Business and Global Head of Production at Capcom, best known as the illustrator and co-designer of the character Mega Man, as well as the producer of the Onimusha and Dead Rising video game series...
, the cast of Breath of Fire II was created entirely by artist Taksuya Yoshikawa, who had previously only provided promotional art for the game's predecessor. Unlike the original Breath of Fire, which was licensed to Square Soft for its North American release, the English version of Breath of Fire II was localized and published entirely by Capcom USA. The game was released in North America one year after the Japanese version in December 1995, and would later become the first Breath of Fire title to become available in Europe in April 1996.
Three days before the release of the original Breath of Fire on Nintendo's Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
in July 2001, Capcom announced that they would similarly port Breath of Fire II to the handheld, with an initial release date some time in 2002. Like the re-release of its predecessor, the handheld version features re-drawn character portraits in menu screens, new still images used in cutscenes throughout the game, and a re-designed battle interface similar to Breath of Fire IV
Breath of Fire IV
Breath of Fire IV, originally released in Japan as is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom, and is the fourth game in the Breath of Fire series. It was originally released for the Sony PlayStation home console in Japan and North America in 2000, and the PAL region in 2001...
. New features include a dash button that allows players to move through the game faster, as well as an item-sharing system where two players may link together using the Game Boy Advance link cable to exchange items between game cartridges. To celebrate of the game's release in December 2001, Capcom of Japan held an art contest for fan to submit artwork featuring characters from the first two Breath of Fire games, with the winner chosen by the Game Boy Advance versions staff. In January 2002, Capcom USA announced that an English version of Breath of Fire II would be heading to North America the following April. A European version would also be released in July 2002, published by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
.
Audio
While the background music for the original Breath of Fire was composed by four members of Capcom's sound team Alph LylaAlph Lyla
Alph Lyla , also known as Alfh Lyra or Alpha Lyla, is Capcom's "house band" composed of Capcom developers. Their best known work is most likely the soundtrack of the popular fighting-game Street Fighter II....
, the score for Breath of Fire II was written entirely by series newcomer Yuko Takehara. In January 1995, the Breath of Fire II: Shimei no Ko Original Soundtrack was released in Japan by Sony Records, and featured 28 selected themes from the game on a single disc. A complete musical selection from the title would not be made commercially available until 2006, with the release of the Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box, which contained all music from the first five games of the series. In order to promote the game, Capcom hired J-pop
J-pop
, an abbreviation for Japanese pop, is a musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in 1960s music, such as The Beatles, and replaced kayōkyoku in the Japanese music scene...
singer Mio Watanabe to record a theme song that played during the game's television commercial in Japan called "Owaranai Ai" (終わらない愛, lit. Unending Love), which was released as a single in December 1994 by Alfa Records.
Reception
Breath of Fire II was released the same week as Sony's PlayStation console in Japan, and debuted on Japanese software charts as the seventh highest-selling game of its first week with 89,700 copies. It would go on to sell a total of 350,000 copies in the region by the end of 1995. The game became popular enough to be re-released in the region for the Nintendo PowerNintendo Power (cartridge)
The flash RAM cartridge was a Japan-only peripheral produced by Nintendo for the Super Famicom and the Game Boy, which allowed owners to download Super Famicom/Game Boy games onto a special flash memory cartridge for less than what the full cartridge would have cost.During the days of the Family...
flash RAM peripheral in September 1997 at a reduced price.
The game's reception in North America was generally positive. In 2006, Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
would rank the game 171st in its list of the top 200 games released across all Nintendo consoles, exactly ten places behind the original Breath of Fire
Breath of Fire (video game)
Breath of Fire, originally released in Japan as , is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom originally for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Initially released in Japan in April 1993, the game was later made available in North America in August 1994 by Square Soft, who handled the...
. Breath of Fire II maintains a 79% average score on aggregate review website GameRankings.
Re-releases
Similar to the original Super Nintendo Entertainment System release, the Game Boy Advance version met with mostly positive reception from critics, with the Japanese version receiving a 29 out of 40 score from Weekly FamitsuFamitsu
is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Enterbrain, Inc. and Tokuma. Currently, there are five Famitsū magazines: Shūkan Famitsū, Famitsū PS3 + PSP, Famitsū Xbox 360, Famitsū Wii+DS, and Famitsū Wave DVD...
magazine. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
compared the game to the previous version, calling it a "faithful translation of the SNES game" and praised the title's new save feature allowing players to record their progress at any time, but found that its music "leans toward the bland side of things" and "lack[s] personality". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
found the game to be a step up from the first game's Game Boy Advance port, stating that "The storyline and characters make Breath of Fire II a much better game than the first adventure in the series...even though the game hasn't changed a whole lot." The website additionally felt that the game's lack of spaces in text fields and shoddy translation hurt the overall presentation, and the graphics were not up to par with games designed initially for the handheld such as Camelot
Camelot Software Planning
is a Japanese video game developer established in 1990 under the name Sonic! Software Planning and to date is best known for partnering with Nintendo on many of Nintendo's spin-off franchise games such as Mario Tennis and Mario Golf, as well as the role-playing game series Golden Sun...
's Golden Sun
Golden Sun
Golden Sun, released in Japan as , is the first installment in a series of fantasy role-playing video games developed by Camelot Software Planning and published by Nintendo. It was released in November 2001 for Nintendo's Game Boy Advance and was followed by a sequel, Golden Sun: The Lost Age, in...
. GamePro Magazine
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
awarded the Game Boy version a perfect score as well as an Editor's Choice Award, stating that the only flaw was the game's low difficulty, declaring that "In the realm of today’s high-powered next-gen role-players, BOFII is an excellent time-killer". The game would later be nominated for "Best Port of a 16-bit Classic" and "Best Role-Playing Game on Game Boy Advance" in GameSpot's Best and Worst of 2002 Awards. The Game Boy Advance version holds a 75% review average on GameRankins, as well as an 81% average on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Breath of Fire IIs Virtual Console release in 2007 met with mixed response. GameSpot called attention to the title's "pleasing visual presentation" and breadth of content, but found the game's localization to be "terrible" along with unpolished gameplay mechanics that made it appear to be a "hasty, careless effort". The game's pacing was also said to be poor, with too many "mundane tasks" laden throughout the story, recommending it to players who could look past its "rough edges". IGN called the game's translation "average at best" with the lack of adequate spacing in text fields still present, yet ultimately calling it a "sold, enjoyable RPG experience...though not a role-playing masterpiece on the level of Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VI
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square , released in 1994 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as a part of the Final Fantasy series. Set in a fantasy world with a technology level equivalent to that of the Second Industrial Revolution, the game's story focuses on a...
or Chrono Trigger
Chrono Trigger
is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995. Chrono Triggers development team included three designers that Square dubbed the "Dream Team": Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Square's Final Fantasy series; Yuji Horii, a...
". Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
called attention to the game's high rate of random battles, but nonetheless called the game "a beautifully crafted and impeccably produced adventure".