A few months ago, I made a startling discovery. There were only fifteenish RPGs released on the SNES. What's odder is I've only beaten four of them. FF"II," FF" III," Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound. I've played a few more, but I'm pretty sure that means I've actually completed more Japan only RPGs than translated ones. But I consider myself a retro connoisseur, and this glaring omission makes me look like a poseur. And there's only one way to fix that.
The order I'll be playing them in is probably gonna be random. Maybe alphabetical... I probably should do it by release date, but I'm starting with a doozy.
Breath of Fire!
BoFIII was a game I dropped. BoFIV was an amazing experience. BoFI felt like one more than the other...
Let's start at the start. The game begins with a young boy named Ryu. He's asleep but shouldn't be because his house is on fire! Old Man wakes him up and escorts him to the first floor of the burning building. Apparently, this is safe? We're quickly filled in on what's going on by our sister, Sara. We're under attack by the Dark Dragon Empire, descends of the Dark Dragon. Sara and Ryu are from the White Dragon tribe, but most of the town has given up their powers. Sara is the only one who hasn't. She sacrifices herself, getting captured, which was what Zog and Jade wanted. The citizens of Drogan are now safe to live in their ruined town. Ryu, though, wants his sister back. The Old Man tasks him with saving Sara, and the plot begins!
Ryu now travels the world (the long way) searching for Sara. Along the way, he meets other party members dealing with Zog and his minions, saving their towns as well. The plot isn't revolutionary, even by the time, but it's yeoman and isn't offensive. It can get a lot fetch questy, though, which made me hate BoFIII. There are a few neat twists towards the end, but getting there can be a slog if you're not into the regional/Dragon Quest style of plot advancement. I nearly dropped it...
The interesting thing is every character has a map skill that makes them unique. Ryu can fish, and Nina can fly. Hunt, wall smash, dig, and unlock are also eventually options to help bland characters feel more real and aid in exploration. Unfortunately, those characters are still boring, and I often questioned why they're on the team. Are they also from the dragon clans?
The music is also fine. I'm a little bummed saying that since the game was developed by CAPCOM. Like the plot, it's not bad. It's just not great. Nothing stuck out with me, and it was all a tad repetitive.
What didn't help matters was how every dungeon was the same. They all fell into three categories: cave, tower, or ruins. And there's a lot of dungeons in this game. So you'll be traveling what feels like the same three areas time and time again, hearing the same three songs, performing the same battle actions.
That's another thing that bothered me about BoF. The combat was another boring bit. For the most part, use basic attacks. Magic is rare until the mid game, and I'd rather save the AP for bosses. Fortunately, there's an auto battle option, so even CAPCON knew they made a basic experience.
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Plot: basic. The main characters feel like cardboard personalities. The enemies are on par with them. 5/10
Gameplay: repetitive. Just press auto battle until you reach the boss. Then buff up and press it. 5/10
Sound: fine, I guess. None of the songs were bad, but I got sick of hearing them. On their own, they're not terrible. 8/10.
Art: bleh. While dungeons suck, villages all look unique. It all looks nice, too. 7/10
Charm: ehh.... The world is rad. The day/night cycle, with NPCs to follow it, is a neat addition for 1993. I also like how it moved a few times. There's only one NPC to care about, and exploration is the game's coolest draw. Considering I almost dropped it, it went on too long with all the fetch quests. 5/10
Maybe the worst issue with the game is the writing. There's a lot of questionable choices from certain people. Ted Woosley and Squaresoft handled the translation for some reason, so maybe I see why Woosley isn't well liked in the community? But it's the getting lost part I hated. Quest givers didn't give good directions to their target, and I found the need to get a guide popped up far too frequently. -2
Add that together, and Breath of Fire gets a 28/50. And it felt it. I don't know why I stuck with the game. Maybe I didn't want to start a New Year's resolution on a fail? But BoF was CAPCOM's first attempt at an RPG. And it shows. BoFII is gonna have a short rope when I get around to it.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Sunday, March 2, 2025
The Moave Avenger
You're actually a grape, but hey! 'Hey Arnold!' references are always welcome.
Garden Story was free on the Epic Games Store last week. I understood it to be an action RPG where you build communities, which piqued my interest. I had just finished Soul Blazer and was having a tough time sinking my teeth into what I was actively playing, so I wanted it! I want to be a part of a local community, but I hate people, so I'll play as a sentient grape and save the world instead! It just makes sense.
In Garden Story, you play as Concord, the newest member of the Glade, a world inhabited by other plants and frogs. Concord, a grape, was the last fella to sprout off the Kindergarten vine, the source of all new friends. Ever since his "birth," the vine has not grown. The local hero, Plum, a plum, believes the Rot has infected it. Plum, the last guardian in the Glade, tells his young ally it's time to move closer to town. Everyone's afraid of him being far away. Plum and the village leader, Elderberry, a clump of elderberries, show Concord his new house and give him a new job. He, too, shall become a guardian. Something tells Plum his grape pal will do great things. Everything thinks it's weird, though, so Concord will have to prove himself. Plum leaves to visit another village, and we get to work on the gameplay loop.
Concord can now begin rebuilding the world. To do this, he'll have to perform the tasks given to him by the villagers. These come in three types, but they're only kinda important. You're gonna want to do all of them anyway! These rajas range from rebuilding fences, foraging for items, killing mobs, and various miscellaneous stuff like reactivating bridges or delivering stuff. There are also side quests where you personally aid citizens with a favor and restock a library.
Most of those are self explanatory, so let's get to the killing! Combat involves swinging your garden tool at purple blobs. Every town has one or two new weapons, all functioning differently, which is cool. I was prone to the umbrella and hook. You mash the attack button to harm mobs but watch your stamina meter. It depletes when running, dodging, guarding, or attacking. The hit detection feels sketchy, but I used the parasol most of the game, and it's a long, straight, and fast attack, so maybe I should blame myself? Eventually, the town needs you to beat up a boss in a dungeon to really kick off the repairs.
Each village expands something. Spring Hamlet teaches you the basics, Summer Bar lets "you" repair buildings and bridges, Autumn Town has farming, and Winter Glade is a plot dump. It helps to expand the basic loop, but they're not giant, game changing things. It's still just foraging and item collecting. Along the way, you can upgrade weapons and jars (healing items), with the ultimate task of finding out why the Rot exists and how to stop it. There's also a lot of mysterious backstory here, which is almost fun.
The whole game feels like it's about to burst open into a fantastical adventure, but it never does. It remains a basic game, but there's nothing wrong with that. The music and unique look, in addition to the simple but fun gameplay, are all I need. As much as I'd like to have rebuilding the four villages be a deeper mechanic, I have no reason to expect that from an indie game. The devs set out for a cute adventure (that gets a little indie deep at the end), and there's a place for that in my heart. Garden Story checked all the important boxes I wanted, and I'm glad I played it. 38/50.
Garden Story was free on the Epic Games Store last week. I understood it to be an action RPG where you build communities, which piqued my interest. I had just finished Soul Blazer and was having a tough time sinking my teeth into what I was actively playing, so I wanted it! I want to be a part of a local community, but I hate people, so I'll play as a sentient grape and save the world instead! It just makes sense.
In Garden Story, you play as Concord, the newest member of the Glade, a world inhabited by other plants and frogs. Concord, a grape, was the last fella to sprout off the Kindergarten vine, the source of all new friends. Ever since his "birth," the vine has not grown. The local hero, Plum, a plum, believes the Rot has infected it. Plum, the last guardian in the Glade, tells his young ally it's time to move closer to town. Everyone's afraid of him being far away. Plum and the village leader, Elderberry, a clump of elderberries, show Concord his new house and give him a new job. He, too, shall become a guardian. Something tells Plum his grape pal will do great things. Everything thinks it's weird, though, so Concord will have to prove himself. Plum leaves to visit another village, and we get to work on the gameplay loop.
Concord can now begin rebuilding the world. To do this, he'll have to perform the tasks given to him by the villagers. These come in three types, but they're only kinda important. You're gonna want to do all of them anyway! These rajas range from rebuilding fences, foraging for items, killing mobs, and various miscellaneous stuff like reactivating bridges or delivering stuff. There are also side quests where you personally aid citizens with a favor and restock a library.
Most of those are self explanatory, so let's get to the killing! Combat involves swinging your garden tool at purple blobs. Every town has one or two new weapons, all functioning differently, which is cool. I was prone to the umbrella and hook. You mash the attack button to harm mobs but watch your stamina meter. It depletes when running, dodging, guarding, or attacking. The hit detection feels sketchy, but I used the parasol most of the game, and it's a long, straight, and fast attack, so maybe I should blame myself? Eventually, the town needs you to beat up a boss in a dungeon to really kick off the repairs.
Each village expands something. Spring Hamlet teaches you the basics, Summer Bar lets "you" repair buildings and bridges, Autumn Town has farming, and Winter Glade is a plot dump. It helps to expand the basic loop, but they're not giant, game changing things. It's still just foraging and item collecting. Along the way, you can upgrade weapons and jars (healing items), with the ultimate task of finding out why the Rot exists and how to stop it. There's also a lot of mysterious backstory here, which is almost fun.
The whole game feels like it's about to burst open into a fantastical adventure, but it never does. It remains a basic game, but there's nothing wrong with that. The music and unique look, in addition to the simple but fun gameplay, are all I need. As much as I'd like to have rebuilding the four villages be a deeper mechanic, I have no reason to expect that from an indie game. The devs set out for a cute adventure (that gets a little indie deep at the end), and there's a place for that in my heart. Garden Story checked all the important boxes I wanted, and I'm glad I played it. 38/50.
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