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Playstation | RPG | Breath of Fire IV | Review

Boxart for Breath of Fire IV
Breath of Fire IV 87 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.50
  • SOUND: 4.50
  • CONTROL: 4.00
  • FUN FACTOR 5.00
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.5
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.3
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

Review: Breath Of Fire IV

Review by MAJORMIKE | 07/18/2006 | 07:25:18 AM PST

If you believe Final Fantasy IX is the last word in RPGs this year, think again...

The PlayStation gets its second wind, er, breath, of Capcom's long-running adventure series that started-courtesy of SquareSoft-on the Super NES. If you believe Final Fantasy IX is the last word in RPGs this year, think again: Breath of Fire IV's fantastic voyage and cool play techniques will keep fans of the series and newbies alike riveted for days. In the series overall, BOFIV falls just short of II's remarkable scope, but is solidly on par with III. RPG gamers looking to add some meat to their playing diet should get wind of this Breath.

GRAPHICS
The visuals deliver a healthy dose of effects-in peace and war. The sprite-based characters and polygonal surroundings are well illustrated, but occasional big-pixel distortion is distracting during combat.

SOUND
BOFIV delivers a beautiful musical score and impressive audio effects. Overall, though, the music lacks variety as symphonies repeat throughout the game.

CONTROL
The Dual Shock effects are a welcome addition, but the analog controls are too squirrelly-especially during tight sequences that require precise movements. Lack of a custom-controller configuration also hurts the score.

FUN FACTOR
Breath of Fire IV delivers enough fresh and familiar elements to provide a memorable RPG experience. There is life after Final Fantasy, and BOFIV is the next big quest.