Breath of Fire

 Game Boy Advance
  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Release Date: Dec 13, 2001
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
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  1. Gamestyle
    90
    One of the finest RPGs to appear on any format. Though bettered by latter incarnations of the series, the original remains both innovative and a pure joy to play.
  2. Hot Games
    90
    Breath of Fire will take you back to a time when fighting and believing in the story was all you needed.
  3. Game Over Online
    85
    It's a well-polished RPG that plays out well on the GBA and is none too frustrating.
  5. Nintendojo
    82
    A mediocre RPG experience including great side quests such as fishing, hunting, and collecting non-mandatory playable characters and items that make this a truly deep and enjoyable package.
  6. Game Informer
    80
    You got GBA? You dig RPGs? Breath of Fire is your hook-up. [Nov 2001, p.130]
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  7. Nintendo Power
    80
    The excellent epic still holds up. [Dec 2001, p.170]
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  8. GamePro
    80
    Despite the re-appearance of the game’s fresh visuals and unique play aspects, the lifeless narrative doesn’t provide the immersive experience that you’d expect.
  9. Play Magazine
    80
    Its transition from SNES to the comfort of the handheld is flawed in execution. [March 2002, p.62]
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  10. GameSpot
    77
    While it's not the best-looking or most technically impressive RPG out for the system, Breath of Fire is still a rock-solid game.
  11. IGN
    76
    I really, really hate random battles... I've never played an RPG that had as many random battles as this one.
  12. GamerWeb Nintendo
    75
    I've been playing for over ten hours and the end doesn't seem to be anywhere in sight yet, so there also seems to be a good amount of depth to the title.
  13. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    75
    Overall, BoF exemplifies hand-held role-playing done right. [Dec 2001, p.264]
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  14. GameSpy
    75
    A solidly entertaining and charmingly classic role-playing game sure to delight anyone looking for hours of adventure.
  15. Pocket Games
    75
    The formula is as old as the hills but it still works, thankfully, in this game. Good, solid stuff. [Winter 2001, p.50]
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  16. netjak
    72
    Fun for a while, losing some steam when the boredom and insipidness of fetch questing kicks in. It's decent for an RPG, but nothing spectacular.
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  17. Yahoo!
    70
    Unfortunately, the frequency of the random encounters means the relative simplicity of combat can make it tiresome and repetitive at times.
  18. Gaming Age
    67
    The title feels a bit dated and offers standard RPG fare that’s as basic as it gets.

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best Game Boy Advance Game of 2001
10
#10 Most Discussed Game Boy Advance Game of 2001
5
#5 Most Shared Game Boy Advance Game of 2001

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 30
  3. Negative: 6 out of 30
  1. Cloud73
    Aug 16, 2013
    6
    Summary: The game is massive, and the sprites are actually pretty to look at, but the gameplay itself can get extremely tedious. I enjoyed theSummary: The game is massive, and the sprites are actually pretty to look at, but the gameplay itself can get extremely tedious. I enjoyed the world, and tried imagining the character interactions because they were all well drawn out, but the dialogue itself is laughably bad. Use extreme discretion before deciding to play this game, because the nostalgia of it can be better than the experience.
    ------

    I should say that I recently beat this game, but not on the GBA. I remembered playing it when I was a child of around 7 or 8, so I came back to the game on an emulator for the SNES. Let me tell you right now: do not play this game on the GBA.

    The game is far too slow, and far too bad at conveyance, for you to waste your hours trying to figure out what to do and to slog through the innumerable random encounters that the game tosses out in your way. I love the artwork, the feeling of empowerment in transforming characters into beasts and dragons, but this game takes some hard, pressing work to really beat. If you're going to try to get through this whole monstrosity, then I sincerely suggest using an emulator, because at least with an emulator you can fast forward on the gameplay.

    I should mention, though, that the music is some of my favorite in any game. Perhaps that's just nostalgia speaking again, though. Take from it what you want.

    I dock one point for the game being very poor at the conveyance of directions and objectives, and one more point for the bad dialogue. I dock a third point for the slog made from the random encounters, and the last point is for the rather contrived storyline. Use your discretion.    … Full Review »
  2. SuperSourSauce
    Nov 1, 2017
    4
    People you meet in towns offer zero dialogue to the adventure. "How's the weather?" There's just nothing interesting that ever happens.People you meet in towns offer zero dialogue to the adventure. "How's the weather?" There's just nothing interesting that ever happens. Writing in this game is seriously poor, and the pacing and balance is also whacked.

    A rocky start for my favorite RPG series.    … Full Review »
  3. Jonnyblond77
    Dec 16, 2019
    9
    I can only imagine the joy this brought to people who played this game back in the day. This is one of the older type of JRPGs that have theI can only imagine the joy this brought to people who played this game back in the day. This is one of the older type of JRPGs that have the random encounter enemies every 10 to 15 seconds of moving on the map or in a dungeon but it’s all good because they do that not to slow down progression. It’s to level your characters up to the point where they try attacking you and you dodge their attempts then you hit them with one hit and they are dust in the wind. I like that sort of style because it’s just cool to see how your character is getting more and more powerful to the point where your unstoppable. I never got a chance back in the day to play the breath of fire series because I don’t think my local movie and game rental shop had this in their selection even though they had other square soft games. Most times these games age very badly because all the old school ways of playing these games refined them and took the tedium out of them. So even if this was easy to download the rom and play it...I would have just said screw it. But when I bought my Nintendo switch and did their online service..I was just trying games out that I never played before. So I finally fired up breath of fire and wow..talk about missing out on such a fun game. Like I said..it’s old school but done so well. All in all, in the end you should give it a try if your just sitting around with nothing else going on. This isn’t the type of game where you only want to do it in short bursts or expect the story or gameplay to be fast and hook you immediately..I’m telling you..I have the attention span of a woman and this game captured me into its world...I loved it.… Full Review »
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