Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire is a port of the first game in Capcom's classic Japanese RPG series, which originally came out on the Super Nintendo in the nineties; Capcom released it for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, in Japan only. Playing as Ryu, a boy from a community of dragon-kin capable of transforming into a dragon, the player sets out on a journey to save his sister, gradually joined by a group of companions with different abilities essential for overcoming obstacles in the game world.

The game builds on a traditional turn-based JRPG combat system with random encounters while traveling between locations, complemented by the main hero's notable ability to transform into a dragon during battles, offering powerful but costly attacks. The game's structure combines exploration of a more open world with enclosed dungeons and towns, where the player buys gear and completes side quests, while some sections require the cooperation of specific companions with unique abilities, such as flight or underwater movement. The graphics and music on the GBA carry over and gently improve upon the look of the Super Nintendo original, adapted to the handheld's smaller screen.

Because the port never made it to the West, the game long remained known outside Japan only among import collectors and series fans following the goings-on around Japanese RPGs. Because of that, it's also seen today as an interesting curiosity for those interested in the history of the Breath of Fire series and in how Capcom approached bringing its 16-bit classics to handhelds in the early 2000s. Series fans still seek it out for the first game's distinctive atmosphere and the chance to compare how the series' founding title differed from later, more elaborate sequels. Even without knowing Japanese, the game's content is now accessible through fan translations, which have made it more accessible to collectors outside Japan interested in the series' history.

Why play: Mainly for collectors and series fans willing to use a fan translation, since the game was only released in Japan — otherwise an interesting curiosity from the history of Capcom's handheld ports.