Breath of Fire III

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Breath of Fire III
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Designer(s)	Makoto Ikehara (scenario writer) Tatsuya Yoshikawa (character) Akari Kaida (composer) Yoshino Aoki (composer)
Platform(s)	PlayStation, PlayStation Portable
Release date	PlayStation JPN September 11, 1997 NA April 30, 1998 PAL October 8, 1998 PlayStation Portable JPN August 25, 2005 EU February 10, 2006
Genre(s)	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	PlayStation ESRB: T (Teen) ELSPA: 3+ OFLC (AU): G8+ PlayStation Portable CERO: A (All ages) PEGI: 7+ OFLC: PG
Media	PlayStaton 1 × CD-ROM PlayStation Portable 1 × UMD
Input methods	PlayStation PlayStation controller

Breath of Fire III (Japanese: ブレスオブファイアIII, "Buresu obu Faia Surī"^?) is a console role-playing game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation game console. Originally released in Japan in 1997, the game was later released for North America and the PAL region in 1998.^[1] It is the third video game in the Breath of Fire series, and the first to feature three-dimensional environments and effects, as well as several new gameplay elements including an expanded combat system, the ability to learn enemy skills, and environment interaction.^[2] In 2005, Breath of Fire III was ported to the PlayStation Portable handheld system in Japan, with an English version released exclusively in Europe in 2006.^[3]

Set in a fantasy world, the story concerns Ryu, a young boy with the mysterious ability to transform into powerful dragons who must discover the truth behind his origins, as well as locate his lost friends and surrogate family, Rei and Teepo. The game's plot is presented in two parts: half concerning Ryu as a child, and the other as an adult. He is accompanied by a number of supporting characters who aid him on a journey that leads them across the world and eventually confront a mad goddess.^[4] Though modestly successful, the game is described as a "thoroughly traditional"^[5] yet "classic"^[6] role-playing game with a unique Jazz-inspired soundtrack.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Battle system 2 Plot 2.1 Setting 2.2 Characters 2.3 Story 3 Development 3.1 PlayStation Portable version 4 Audio 4.1 Soundtrack 4.2 Voice 5 Reception 5.1 Critical response 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Breath of Fire III is a traditional console role-playing game that requires the player to accomplish story-based objectives while battling enemy creatures in a number of fantasy environments. Presented from an overhead isometric viewpoint, the player may rotate the game's camera in any direction around the central character, as well as tilt it up or down to see over or under impending objects. When traveling through the game's environment, each character can perform a unique special ability that allows the player to solve puzzles or destroy objects, as well as gain access to otherwise hidden areas. As the first PlayStation Breath of Fire title, the game uses three-dimensional graphics for scenery, buildings, and other objects, while still retaining two-dimensional sprites for characters.^[7]

The game introduces a number of new features to the series, including the Master System, which allows any of the game's playable characters to apprentice under specific non-player characters known as masters, which allows them to learn new skills and influence their statistics. An additional feature, the Fairy Village, gives the player the ability to influence the growth of a small town of faeries, which in turn gives them access to special items or in-game features such as mini-games and a sound test. While journeying on the world map, players may set up camp, which can replenish a character's health by resting, as well as allowing them to speak directly to any member of their party. Other series mainstays such as fishing return with a new, expanded interface and point allocation system that keeps track of what fish a player has caught and their size.^[4]

[edit] Battle system

Battles in Breath of Fire III occur randomly when a player travels through hostile areas or dungeons during the course of the story. Using a turn-based strategy approach, the game allows a player inputs commands at the start of each combat round, which are then carried out in accordance with each character's "agility" rating. A player may choose to attack, defend, cast magic spells, use items, or flee from battle entirely. While previous Breath of Fire titles allowed groups of four characters to participate in combat, Breath of Fire III restricts the party limit to only three, yet offers a new "formation" system that allows for characters to be arranged in certain patterns for tactical benefits. Battles are won when all enemies are defeated, yielding experience points that go towards gaining characters' levels, which in turn leads to higher statistics and new skills.^[4]

New to Breath of Fire III are "enemy skills", special abilities which can be learned by any character by "examining" an enemy in battle. If the enemy uses a particular skill while the character is examining it, that ability is permanently added to the character's spell list, allowing them to use it at any time. Also, Breath of Fire III is the only Breath of Fire game which does not use a battle screen per se, but uses the existing environment to create a battle screen (Dragon Quarter's battle screen on the other hand, is set on a battle field with obstacles and pathways similar to the environment). Special items called Dragon Genes can be found throughout the game which give Ryu the ability to transform into powerful draconic beings by "splicing" them together, up to three at a time, for hundreds of possible results.^[2]

[edit] Plot

[edit] Setting

Breath of Fire III is set in a fantasy environment resembling Medieval Europe with several storytelling liberties such as advanced technology.^[8] Populated by both humans and anthopomorphized animals, the world is experiencing several scientific advancements thanks to the discovery of chrysm, a rare mineral with magical properties found on the fossilized remains of dragons. While higher forms of technology such as robots and complex machines do exist, their origin is largely unknown, with most of the objects in question washing ashore on various beaches around the world. Much of the game's plot involves finding the truth about this mysterious technology, as well as solving the mystery of the disappearance of the dragons centuries ago.^[9]

[edit] Characters

Main article: Characters of Breath of Fire III

The main characters of Breath of Fire III are Ryu and his companions, a group of adventurers with their own distinct personalities and skills that help move the story forward. Ryu's story is presented in two parts, which involve him as both a child and adult, and his struggles to find his place in the world, as well as his lost friends. As a member of the ancient Brood race, he is a human with the ability to transform into powerful dragons, a power he doesn't fully understand at the beginning of the game, but begins to piece together as time goes on. He is accompanied on his quest by several other playable characters, including Nina, a winged princess from the Kingdom of Wyndia and powerful magician; Rei, member of the cat-like Woren tribe and skilled thief; Teepo, an orphaned rogue and longtime friend of Rei's with no memory of his past; Momo, daughter of a famous engineer and inventor who wields a telescopic bazooka; Garr, an experienced warrior and member of a group known as the Guardians who serve the goddess Myria; and Peco, a genetically engineered sprout-like plant with limited speech and a connection with nature.^[10]

The cast is rounded out by several supporting characters including Balio and Sunder, brothers and horse-men who act as mercenaries to a powerful crime lord and frequent adversaries of Ryu. Their boss, Mikba, is the head of a criminal organization with the ability to transform into a demon. Deis, known as "Bleu" in the original English versions of Breath of Fire and Breath of Fire II returns as a powerful sorceress who knows the secrets of the past. Myria, the ancient Goddess of Destruction from the previous two games, serves as a the central antagonist once more, with her motives set on preserving the lives of humanity, whom she protects with an over-zealous matron complex, by ordering the death of the dragons centuries ago.^[4] Each character from Breath of Fire III was designed by Tatsuya Yoshikawa, with assistance by the same Capcom art team who contributed to the character art of Breath of Fire and Breath of Fire II.^[10] While Yoshikawa's final designs appear in all Breath of Fire III promotional material, some character's in-game sprites are instead based on earlier designs, and contain features not seen in official artwork, including Nina, Rei, Teepo, and young Ryu.^[8] Several characters from Breath of Fire III would make appearances in other Capcom games, including its successor Breath of Fire IV, and as background characters in the home version of Pocket Fighter.

[edit] Story

The game begins in a chrysm mine in a far corner of the world, where a rare and powerful mineral is being harvested from the fossilized remains of dragons. When a large deposit is cracked open by dynamite, a preserved baby dragon emerges and quickly attacks the panicked miners before being knocked unconscious and placed aboard a train to be taken away for study. On the way out of the mine, the dragon jostles his cage off the train and falls down a hill on the outskirts of a large forest, where he transforms into a young boy before again losing consciousness. He is found by a wandering thief named Rei, member of the cat-like Woren clan and fellow orphan who believes him to be just another abandoned child.^[11] Taking him to his home in the woods, they meet Teepo, Rei's longtime friend and partner-in-crime, who agrees to let the boy into their thieving operation, and find out that his name is Ryu, the only thing he can remember. The team commits several crimes, and come into favor with local village when they steal from their corrupt mayor, McNeil, and re-distribute the funds across town. Secretly a member of a large crime syndicate, the mayor contacts two hitmen, the horse brothers Balio and Sunder, to seek revenge, who proceed to burn down the trio's home and violently attack them.^[12] Awakening a short while later, Ryu finds himself in the care of a woodsman named Bunyan who had found no trace of his friends. Believing them to be alive, Ryu travels to the city of Wyndia where he meets Nina, child daughter of the King, who helps him escape Balio and Sunder, who are now on his trail.

Ryu and Nina eventually come across a large tower and meet Momo, an inventor and engineer who is researching the properties of chrysm when the two of them arrive. Together with her diminutive robotic assistance Honey, the three escape the tower by rocket when a group of bounty hunters arrive looking for them. Momo leads them to a nearby chrysm research facility conducting experiments on plants when they are approached by the institute's chairman and colleague of Momo's father, Dr. Platt, who tells them that there is a mutant creature causing trouble at the dump area where their biological waste is stored. After defeating the mutant plant creature, it gives up its offspring, whom Nina names Peco, to be cared for in its absence.^[13] As the four continue their journey east, where they are captured by Balio and Sunder in a double-cross and taken to a nearby colosseum. It is there that the team meets Garr, a seasoned warrior who aids them in defeating the horse brothers for good.

Garr agrees to help the group in finding Ryu's friends on the condition that he also accompany him to a sacred temple far to the east.^[14] After crossing a large bridge and traveling straight through a volcano, the group arrives at the temple, where Garr and Ryu journey inward alone. It is there that Garr reveals the true fate of the Brood, having been slaughtered by him and his fellow guardians by the hundreds at the behest of Myria, an ancient goddess who promised an age of peace in return for their services. With Ryu as the last living dragon, Garr attempts to slay him,^[15] only to have Ryu assume his most powerful form, Kaiser, and escape.

The story then cuts to several years later, where reports of a rampaging dragon have led Garr to the same mines where Ryu was originally found, and finds an adult Ryu within its depths. Convincing Ryu that he will not harm him, Garr instead asks forgiveness for his actions against his people centuries ago and asks that Ryu help him discover the truth behind Myria's genocide of the Brood.^[16] The two re-group with Nina, now a young adult, and Momo, who has been performing experiments at the plant institute with Peco, who himself has been frequently visiting the great tree Yggdrasil, overseer of the world's forests. They continue their journey once they receive information about Myria's whereabout from Deis, sister of myria. The team finds Rei alive, now battling the leader of the crime organization responsible for the attack on his friends, and have him join their group, learning that he also has not seen Teepo since the incident. Crossing the ocean to the forgotten northern continent, the group finds a town littered with advanced technology from a forgotten age, and then proceed to the last known village of the Brood, Dragnier, where they learn of the battle between the heroes from the first Breath of Fire and the Goddess centuries ago, and how she has returned to seek her revenge against the Brood.^[17] Crossing a large desert, the team arrives at the ruined city of Caer Xhan, a former haven of technology, with a lift leading to Myria's fortress.

Making their way up the large escalator to the floating Myria Station, the group fights their way into the facility's inner sanctum where they meet a lavender-haired young man who reveals himself to be Teepo. Having survived the attack by Balio and Sunder due to his latent dragon powers, he was later contacted by the Goddess, who convinced him to live in peaceful seclusion in her fortress to spare the world his destructive power. Unable to convince Ryu or his friends to do the same, he transforms into the gigantic Dragon Lord and attacks them, only to be defeated, his dying words revealing that he just wanted to be with his "family", Ryu and Rei.^[18] The determined groups makes their way to Myria herself within the station's control center, where she reveals that she exterminated the dragons centuries ago for the same reason she removed the world's high technology: to keep humanity from inadvertently destroying themselves. She presents Ryu the same choice she gave Teepo, to live the rest of his life in peace within her station or be destroyed. The spirit of the great tree Yggdrasil then channels himself through Peco and tells her she is taking her power too far, and like any parent, she must allow her children to make their own way. With that, Ryu and his friends attack and defeat her, fleeing the station as it crumbles around them. Garr opts to stay behind to atone for his past mistakes, and Deis, now revealed to be Myria's sister,^[19] appears to her just as the station falls apart, saying they will now leave the world in humanity's hands.^[20] Ryu and his friends make their way from the rubble and back into the desert on their journey home.

[edit] Development

Breath of Fire III was developed by Capcom Production Studio 3 in 1997, and was the first game in the series to feature three-dimensional environments along with traditional hand-drawn two-dimensional characters.^[7] Series writer and director Makoto Ikehara returned as head of the project, and was joined by a brand new art and sound team that would help expand the ongoing story of the Breath of Fire franchise. The project went through a lengthy development phase with numerous delays, mostly due to several writing and design changes mid-progress.^[8] Character artist Tatsuya Yoshikawa went through numerous preliminary designs for each character, only settling on a finalized set of drawings after many character sprites and portraits were already completed. As a result, some character's in-game appearances differ from official promotional material, such as child Ryu having a different hairstyle and wardrobe than his final design.^[8]

The English version arrived in North America on April 30, 1998. Due to design limitations, character names were limited to no more than five letters, with Garland and Pecoros' names shortened to Garr and Peco accordingly.^[10] Because of an increased character limit for all in-game terms, many spell, item, and monster names were able to be rendered correctly for the first time in an English Breath of Fire game. Breath of Fire III was later released in multiple languages for the PAL region on October 8, 1998.

[edit] PlayStation Portable version

On August 25, 2005, Breath of Fire III was ported to the PlayStation Portable handheld system in Japan. This version, though largely similar to its original release, contained a new title logo graphic, as well as support for the PSP's native 16:9 widescreen display. An expanded version of the fishing minigame found in the original release was included as a bonus game accessible from the title screen, which could be freely given to a friend using the PlayStation Portable's GameShare feature.^[2] The Japanese version was bundled with a special full-color fishing guidebook featuring new artwork by Tatsuya Yoshikawa. A limited English version was released in certain European areas on February 10, 2006 which used the original translation.^[3] The United States version was not released due to a rejection by SCEA. ^[21]

[edit] Audio

[edit] Soundtrack

The official soundtrack to Breath of Fire III was composed by Akari Kaida and Yoshino Aoki, who had previously worked on the music to Mega Man X3.^[22] Taking influence from jazz and lounge music, the background themes, Aoki and Kaida relied heavily on synthesized sounds using piano, xylophone, drum, and electric guitar instrumentation.^[23] Though many publications found the music Breath of Fire III to be decidedly different from most role-playing game themes, it was met with a largely lukewarm response, with GamePro magazine remarking that music "seems more appropriate for a corporate infomercial than a heroic fantasy RPG".^[5]

On September 19, 1997, a selection of tracks from the game were commercially released on the Breath of Fire III Original Soundtrack exclusively for Japan by First Smile Entertainment.^[24] The game features the vocal track "Pure Again" as the ending theme, which was performed as a duet by Aoki and Kaida themselves.^[25] A commercial for Breath of Fire III which aired only in Japan featured the song "Machi" (街, lit. "City") from the rock group Sophia set against a short animated sequence featuring characters from the game, which was not included in any soundtrack release. Along with all other Breath of Fire series background audio, the music of Breath of Fire III was later re-issued for the first time in its entirety as part of the eleven-disc Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box in March 2006.^[26]

Breath of Fire III Original Soundtrack listing

Disc 1 (70:32) "Opening" "Prologue" "These Little Things" "Casually ~Overworld Theme #1~" "Fight!" "Country Living" "Even the Sun's Happy" "Take it and Run" "Huh?" "Eden" "My Favorite Trick" "Island" "Flight" "The Champion" "Fighting Man" "Life's a Beach" "Never-Ending Game" "Donden" "Guild" "Steam Locomotion" "Atomic Power" "For the Dragons ~Main Theme~" "Questionable Century" "Castle in the Sky" "Everyday Battle (SE Collection)" "Ending" "Flight (Arranged Version)" "Never-Ending Game (Kotomonashi Real Jazz Style)" "Sigh of the Fairy (Acid Jazz Style)" "Fighting Man (Arranged Version)" "Pure Again"

[edit] Voice

Breath of Fire III is the first game in the series to feature voice acting, which is present only in battle sequences when the characters attack, cast spells, use items, etc.^[9] All voices were left in their original Japanese in the English version, and feature several anime and video game personalities, such as Tomoko Takai and Kappei Yamaguchi as both child and adult Ryu respectfully, Kyoko Hikami as Nina, Shuusuke Sada as Rei, Kaori Saitou as Momo, Yukihiro Fujimoto as Garr, Ai Kamimura as Peco, and Youko Matsui as Teepo.^[27]

In December 1997, Capcom's in-house record label SulePuter produced a radio drama album which featured several returning and new voice actors from Breath of Fire III, the Breath of Fire III Drama Album. Released exclusively in Japan, the album features full Japanese-language skits and full scenes performed from the game with brand new content in some instances. While Kyoko Hikami returns as the voice of Nina, Kappei Yamaguchi now performs as both child and adult Ryu, and several other cast members are replaced with more veteran voice actors such as Kotono Mitsuishi as Momo, Akio Ohtsuka as Garr, and Yukiko Matsuura (though she isn't a veteran voice actor) as Peco.^[28] Background music from the game accompanies each track, as well as a special song titled "Harmonica" performed by Kyoko Hikami.

Breath of Fire III Drama Album listing

Disc 1 (1:05:03) "Opening - Enter Nina" "Chapter One - The Boy with Kind Eyes" "Chapter Two - Searching for Memories of the Past" "Chapter Three - Moon Shining in the Dark" "Chapter Four - Like Their Hands on One Another's" "Chapter Five - Enter Momo" "Momo's Rest Time" "Chapter Six - Sins and Truth" "Chapter Seven - Whereabouts of Battle" "Chapter Eight - Prayer That Can't Be Answered" "Chapter Nine - Spread the Wings of Your Heart" "Ending - We'll Meet Again" "Breath of Fire III Image Song ~Harmonica~"

[edit] Reception

Breath of Fire III sold moderately well since its original release in 1997, with the original PlayStation version selling over 230,000 copies to date in North America.^[29] An additional 425,000 copies were sold in Japan, making it the 24th most-bought game that year.^[30] It qualified for Sony's "PlayStation the Best" sales distinction in Japan, and was subsequently re-released on December 20, 2000 at a budget price.^[1]

[edit] Critical response

Breath of Fire III was given a mostly positive reception from critics, with Game Rankings putting the average review score at 73%.^[31] In IGN's review of the game, the detail and depth of the game were praised, with respect to both the graphics and gameplay.^[7] GameSpot gave it a 69% or "fair" overall score, weighing the "needless, time-wasting sequences" and "all-too frequent" random encounters against the relatively few novelties in the game.^[9] GamePro Magazine declared it to be a "very enjoyable RPG in which sure craftsmanshift is easily evident," giving praise to the game's responsive controls and colorful graphics, but criticizing its soundtrack, remarking that it "veers widely from unmemorable electronica to hopeless schmaltz."^[5]

The game's rerelease for the PlayStation Portable was met with similar enthusiasm; Eurogamer, although describing it as a "solid traditional RPG", primarily criticized the game for its formulaic setup, pegging it as a strictly by-the-numbers role-playing game that offers little for the genre, particularly so many years after its original release.^[3] The game's frequent and long load times were criticised for slowing the pace of the game's story^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Capcom Japan's Official Breath of Fire III website (PlayStation) (Japanese)
• Capcom Japan's Official Breath of Fire III website (PSP) (Japanese)
• Capcom Europe's Breath of Fire III for PSP information page.
• Dragon-tear.net Breath of Fire III fansite

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