Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (2002)
Genres:Role-playing (RPG), Strategy
Themes:Fantasy
Game modes:Single player
Story:Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter is a radical departure from the previous titles of the Breath of Fire series, and in some ways from standard Japanese-style role-playing games in general. The game is built like a huge dungeon crawler, with no overworld map. The combat is tactical: each character has action points (AP), which can be used to move around the screen during an enemy encounter, and perform a variety of combo attacks. There is no magic in the game, and many of the items found in dungeons are random. All the enemies are visible on screen. Depending on who first initiated a physical contact, the party or the enemies get an extra turn in battles.
The game allows (and even encourages) the player to restart it from the beginning, keeping the items and the party experience. The game also features a special counter - Ryu can use his traditional dragon transformation abilities, but the counter raises with each such transformation, and when the counter reaches 100, the game is over. Raising the D-ratio allows characters to access new areas every time the game is replayed.Show more
Vote to bring this game to GOG and help preserve it.4 139
Dragon Quarter is a misunderstood masterpiece. The game is a dramatic departure from the usual Breath of Fire conventions, but still retains the spirit of Breath of Fire in other ways. The game's setting, a dystopian underground where the less fortunate live deeper and thus have access to less clean air, was very interesting and gave the game a really oppressive atmosphere that tied well with the very challenging gameplay. This game was roguelite before roguelites were cool (and before it was even a term). The game encourages dungeon crawling, strategic turn-based combat, and restarting the game to improve your subsequent runs. Despite the restarts, you're always getting more powerful with better equipment, spells, and items/zenny you've stored away. Replaying the game rewards you with additional cutscenes that reveal more of the story and gives you access to new areas. Ryu, Nina, and Lin all handle differently and understanding their strengths and weaknesses is a critical part of succeeding in combat. Ryu's D-Dive ability in which he transforms into a half-dragon is absolutely OP, but comes with the cost of increasing your D-Counter, and if that hits 100%, it's game over. So yes, there's a "time limit" of sorts but it ties perfectly to the game's plot and Ryu's character, and so long as you're using your powers strategically you won't have to worry too much.
I first got DQ for my 14th birthday and I admittedly couldn't get into it. 3 years later, I gave it another chance and I fell in love with it. Once you take the time to understand the strategies, use field traps, and find the ways to easily make zenny and party XP (XP that carries over each playthrough), it becomes incredibly satisfying to play. To everyone who couldn't get into this game, give it another chance. In a gaming sphere that now embraces roguelites and dungeon crawlers, I think it would be more readily accepted. Oh, and it's got music composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto, so you've gotta play it. ;)
Dragon Quarter was my introduction to the Breath of Fire series. At that point, I didn't even know it was a Breath of Fire game, I JUST knew it as "Dragon Quarter". Whilst I've always loved JRPGs, this was my favourite growing up. It's shorter than other JRPGs, and is structured more like a dungeon runner, where the four "towns" are just safe rooms inbetween the sprawling dungeons, but this gave it an oppressive charm I've only appreciated more and more.
I feel like I'm writing this as a review instead of why I love the game. Oops. Anyway, if you want a unique JRPG, even amongst the already unique Breath of Fire series, you should vote for this! It's hard, it's mature, but it's also emotional and hopeful. I love this game.
When I was a kid, I couldn't understand the game and even though I wasn't a fan, it did stick out in my mind. Years went by and even though I remember not enjoying it, for some reason I had an urge to play it again. I am so happy that I did. Dragon Quarter is one of the best video games that I have ever played and more people need to play it.
Why? It has a great story that is very straight to the point with a lot of tension in it while still nailing emotional moments. The characters are loveable and their backstories give the game a lot of flavour.
The gameplay has a lot to love with a great take on the SRPG formula where instead of being on a grid, you are in a circle where you have free movement within the circle as determined by your movement range. There are combos and while there aren't many, they are useful and the combat is very strategic where every buff and other effect can dictate your fate. If you die in the NTSC version, you have to go back to the beginning, but in the PAL version you do not. The dragon form in Dragon Quarter is a trump card rather than something meant to be used often as the more that you use it, the closer you get to a game over, but if you use it only when absolutely necessary, you should have enough to beat the game. There is even more to the gameplay such as party xp that can help you in your playthrough or get you back to where you died quicker and an Ant Colony that helps you get better gear, skills and access to a dungeon essential to get the 1/4 ratio.
The music by Hitoshi Sakimoto is fantastic with it being orchestral, but industrial sounds to compliment it. He really nailed the vibe of it. The character visuals are charming and the background visuals greatly help with the immersion.
Dragon Quarter is a game that I can't really think of any game truly like it and that would help it stand out as a game to purchase. It nailed the roguelite genre in my opinion and I would love to see more people have a chance to play it!
I remember when this game came out, i litterally had no idea there was a new breath of fire until launch day which seems to be the case with most of the games in the series (not much for advertising i guess). Anyways at first i was upset, i played maybe for 1 hr or so then didnt touch it for about a month. I then kept hearing others playing through it praising the game for what it was so i decided to give it a shot. It actually is a pretty good game, mind you it doesnt have that same bof feel the others had but it was still fun for what it was even though the save sysem was annoying lol. Definitely worth a play through and can be challenging at times.
I was first introduced to this game, and by extension the wider Breath of Fire series, at a friend's house when I was around 12, and what an introduction it was.
It has a ton of replay value since multiple playthroughs are pretty much needed to get all the lore. The game makes use of a mechanic where you can restart the game retaining all of your equipped weapons, unused party XP, and any items and Zenny you have in storage. This would later come to be used in the Dead Rising series as well, and while it is more well known for being in that game, it actually originated here.
The relentless difficulty, dark tone of the story compared to previous entries, and phenomenal score by Hitoshi Sakimoto all come together to make a game that's a real treat to play. You don't need to have played the first 4 BoF games for this one to make sense as it's fairly detached from the others in terms of story.
In terms of combat, it actually has a lot more in common with computer roleplaying games like Baldur's Gate or the original isometric Fallout games than it does with most JRPGs. A lot more emphasis is put on positioning and strategy than on raw stats.
Oh, this one was well ahead of it's time. You had tactics with skills and enemy placement; a dystopian fights against elites that honestly did want to save human; a dreaded countdown that showed the end of Ryu's life slowly ebbing with each step you took; and wonderful voices that still make remember the past.
Not many like this one; but it endures as one of my favorites even today.
I saw, so many trailers of this game, that I had CDs of pure videos of the game. And being a fan of the series, I we're not disappointed by this one. I loved it. A different direction, yea.. but so effective and refreshing. Nina V is my favorite Nina, say what you want.
I never got to play Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter. Whenever kid me saw it on stores, I never had enough money to get it. While I've seen some people react fairly negative to this instalment of the series, I'm still curious and want to give it my first proper try if it gets preserved by GOG.
"a roguelike with a strong sense of metaprogression, positional combat, and additional narrative unlocked on subsequent playthroughs" - Hades? no, Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter
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