Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: Capcom
  • Release Date: Feb 18, 2003
User Score
6.6

Mixed or average reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 51
  3. Negative: 12 out of 51
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  1. Alexis
    Sep 21, 2005
    6
    Innovative, perhaps, but also tedious, poorly balanced, and slow to get off its feet. If you have a lot of time to spend dungeon crawling and retracing your steps, this game may be for you. Otherwise, skip it.
  2. RPGROB
    May 18, 2011
    0
    This game is nothing like its predecessors. It's monotonous, and guarantees that you will have to restart the game. If you die, you are given the option to restart the game, which you must to in order to keep getting strong enough to tackle the next obstacle. This is fine, however you are limited on how many times you can save! Your saves are as limited as the amount of save coins. TheThis game is nothing like its predecessors. It's monotonous, and guarantees that you will have to restart the game. If you die, you are given the option to restart the game, which you must to in order to keep getting strong enough to tackle the next obstacle. This is fine, however you are limited on how many times you can save! Your saves are as limited as the amount of save coins. The battle system is interesting. You move your characters around like a SRPG, but it doesn't have much function. You will find yourself running over a lot of traps and just dying.I had no desire to continue this game after getting the game over screen 5 separate times. This game is an insult to the Breath of Fire series. It feels incomplete. Worst RPG game I've played.… Expand
  3. VendonJura
    Sep 27, 2018
    2
    I do love Breath of Fire games but Dragon Quarter had an totally annoying mechanic. There was a counter when it reached 100 you died and there was no way going back. If you did not reach the end boss then you could never finish the game. If this death clock would not be in the game it would be one of the best Breath of Fire games ever. But this mechanic made me sell the game. Wish thereI do love Breath of Fire games but Dragon Quarter had an totally annoying mechanic. There was a counter when it reached 100 you died and there was no way going back. If you did not reach the end boss then you could never finish the game. If this death clock would not be in the game it would be one of the best Breath of Fire games ever. But this mechanic made me sell the game. Wish there would be an HD Remaster of this game but WITHOUT that death counter nonesense.… Expand
  4. PsychoG
    Dec 29, 2014
    8
    One of my personal favorite RPG's of all time, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter has an engaging story and extremely fun combat. It was a bold decision to have the game step away from the formula of it's predecessors and take the series in a different direction and while many loyal fans of the series were disappointed by the changes, it'd be fair to say that had the game not been labelled aOne of my personal favorite RPG's of all time, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter has an engaging story and extremely fun combat. It was a bold decision to have the game step away from the formula of it's predecessors and take the series in a different direction and while many loyal fans of the series were disappointed by the changes, it'd be fair to say that had the game not been labelled a Breath of Fire game most of them wouldn't have had an issue.

    This is most definitely a game intended to be played over and over again. Partly because unless you are extremely skilled, you aren't going to be able to get through the story on your first attempt due to certain boss battles being extremely difficult on the first play through and starting from the beginning or from your last save with some extra party exp to spread around can make all the difference and secondly in order to unlock all of the cut scenes to learn the entire story behind the events of the game.

    The limiting of Ryu to a single dragon form when traditionally he had access to many different forms was a risky one but in my opinion it worked. Instead of having 50 or more forms of which you'd possibly use 5 or 6 throughout the entire game. DQ gives you a single extremely powerful, almost invulnerable form with the catch being that you can only use it so much until you die from it and have to start over from the beginning. It forces you to be strategic about using the form only for tough fights you wouldn't be able to beat otherwise rather than being cheap and using your dragon form for every fight.

    Overall Dragon Quarter is a unique experience that changes up an old formula and adds an engaging story and likable characters to a new combat system like nothing any game had offered before it.

    + Great combat system
    + Engaging story
    + Excellent replay value
    + A bold step in a new direction for the series, it's different but by no means bad

    - The holding back of certain story elements can leave the player confused as to why certain things happen until later runs through the game
    - Environments are very repetitive, especially through the middle part of the game    … Expand
  5. theNILE
    Jun 13, 2013
    1
    One of the most disappointing RPGs I've ever played... You don't really feel anything for the characters, there is a reason to like or hate them but they are so lackluster in their detail and personality that you just don't want to get attached to a character from the start. The dialogue is almost as bad, nearly every conversation is irrelevant, terribly short or doesn't contribute to theOne of the most disappointing RPGs I've ever played... You don't really feel anything for the characters, there is a reason to like or hate them but they are so lackluster in their detail and personality that you just don't want to get attached to a character from the start. The dialogue is almost as bad, nearly every conversation is irrelevant, terribly short or doesn't contribute to the story. The music is also very mediocre. Pivotal emotional moments fail terribly due to all I've stated so far. The pacing of the game is very irritating, some parts are drawn out way too far and having a turn-based battle system with tedious encounters you cannot avoid doesn't help, you just want to rush to the end of the game. Events occur and you just get thrown into action, the way the events occur are clearly not thought out well. There is little sense of direction in the game underground, it's just "we have to reach the surface".… Expand
  6. Friday
    Jul 26, 2003
    10
    Great game, fun, and interesting too!
  7. ScottH.
    Jun 26, 2003
    10
    It is the best rpg ever.
  8. SeanG.
    Aug 16, 2004
    10
    The game itself is absolutely excellent the storyline of the game grips the player and brings them to the front line of the game i hope with all my heart that they will bring out a number 6 installment of the breath of fire series.
  9. RyanT.
    Mar 21, 2004
    9
    No, this game didn't scare me away from the Breath of Fire franchise; it drew me in closer.
  10. R.D.
    Dec 8, 2007
    0
    An appauling game which does the BOF series no justice at all. The main character, Ryu, speaks, and looks and sounds like a completely idiot, Nina looks like a stick-thin frog and the battle system is just awful, I took it back after 10 minutes of gameplay because it was just that tedious and appauling.
  11. JeffK.
    Feb 14, 2007
    10
    This is honestly the greatest game of all time. I have beaten it twice and the plot and storyline are unbelievable it is like an awesome movie the only flaw is when it ended the ending video is almost touching I hope they make another one no I pray they do!
  12. iKen
    Apr 13, 2020
    7
    Played on PlayStation 2.
    Gameplay: GOOD.
    Story: GOOD.
    Graphic: GOOD.
    Music/Sound: GOOD.
    Dialogue: GOOD.
  13. FloofMoth
    Mar 2, 2020
    0
    To describe this game as a disappointment would be quite the understatement. It's a game that attempts to be different for what feels like the sake of it at times, and offers not much from prior Breath of Fire games that I enjoyed. Combat is extremely sluggish and uninteresting and makes a lot of things aspects extremely simple almost too a fault. It doesn't feel like you can plan ahead orTo describe this game as a disappointment would be quite the understatement. It's a game that attempts to be different for what feels like the sake of it at times, and offers not much from prior Breath of Fire games that I enjoyed. Combat is extremely sluggish and uninteresting and makes a lot of things aspects extremely simple almost too a fault. It doesn't feel like you can plan ahead or do much in the way of creative team building in the game due to how rigid the games mechanics are. Even when not looking at the game as a breath of fire game it struggles to provide any bit of enjoyment or intrigue. With half baked mechanics that struggle to capture any desire to continue playing.… Expand
  14. ChadR.
    Apr 16, 2003
    10
    I keeps me on my toes to the last I'm still intrested for the 40th. time it got to me.
  15. JoeP.
    Jun 28, 2003
    9
    This is one of the best rpgs i ever played!!!i love the battle system.i just think the grafics are what they could have been.

Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best PS2 Game of 2003
97
#97 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2003
35
#35 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2003

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 28
  3. Negative: 1 out of 28
  1. Yahoo!
    70
    It's designed to be played through multiple times, and won't show anywhere near the whole of its plot or locations first time out.
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  2. Gaming Age
    67
    But to start an RPG from the beginning just to save your experience is overly tedious. And starting from a save points at a loss of your stats is equally lame.
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  3. PSX Nation
    70
    Good-looking stuff even if what most gamers will recall from their time with Dragon Quarter is being blinded by the darkness and a PSOne-sponsored shade of the color brown.
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