Breath of Fire II

Breath of Fire II is a handheld port of the second game in Capcom's Japanese RPG series, which on the Game Boy Advance followed the port of the first game released a year earlier and, like it, came out in Japan only. The player again takes on the role of a dragon-kin descendant named Ryu, who, in a story different from the first game, sets out to find his lost father and gradually uncovers a conspiracy involving a mysterious church, while gathering a colorful group of companions along the way.

The combat system remains turn-based, with the option for the main hero to transform into a dragon for powerful but costly attacks, and the game expands on its predecessor's structure with a village-building system, into which various characters can be brought over the course of the game, affecting available services and side content. Among the popular extra activities was also a fishing minigame, offering a break from the main story and the chance to collect rare catches. The graphics and music follow the first handheld port, with minor improvements reflecting the developers' more advanced experience with the GBA platform.

Just like the first game, Breath of Fire II on the Game Boy Advance remained an exclusively Japanese affair, and so outside Japan it long remained known only through imports and the interest of fans of classic nineties JRPGs. Today it is valued mainly for its village-building system and more elaborate story compared to the first game, as well as evidence of how far Capcom's commitment to bringing classic series to handhelds reached. Fans who got hold of both ports via import still cite them today as proof that even a studio famous for action series could give its older RPG entries careful, if regionally limited, attention. Just like with the first game, fan translations allow players outside Japan to look into the story and systems of the game, which keeps interest in this port alive long after its original release.

Why play: Thanks to its elaborate village-building system and deeper story, it will please fans of classic nineties JRPGs willing to use a fan translation, since the game was only released in Japan.