#breath of fire II

[prokopetz]

One of my fondest childhood gaming memories is playing Breath of Fire II and discovering there's no actual limit on counterattacks, so if a character with a high counter rate attacked a monster with a high counter rate, sometimes they'd just counter each other's counters until one of them died. Was this good game design? Absolutely not. Was it hilarious every single time it happened? Yes, yes it was.

[veronicatriumphant]

A comic from several years ago (before I was trans even (just look at that disgusting facial hair)) about a 90s JRPG called Breath of Fire II.

[demonfox38]

Completed: Breath of Fire II (GBA)

Whaddya mean I last played a "Breath of Fire" game ten years ago?!

I've been having another year where I try to beat one game a month to continue working through my backlog. (Considering I've got at least 20 years of games to beat without touching my Steam list…At some point, it is just collecting for the vibes.) A friend of mine from college recently got in contact with me, and we started going through our game lists. He mentioned wanting to go through "Breath of Fire II," and I was like, "Hey, I haven't done that! December's game, here we go!"

"Breath of Fire II" is the second title of the "Breath of Fire" series, naturally falling into place as the distant sequel to the first game. In it, a young man is cut off from his family, raised alongside a literal thieving dog. After said dog is accused of thievery that he didn't actually commit, the hero is thrust out into the world, righting not only his personal wrongs, but the grievances of the world around him. Naturally, with friends. Some, echoing that Zelda and Link same appearance/name/role but not the same person motif that "Legend of Zelda" games have going.

You know that Church Bad / Dragons Good / Church Bad Because They Won't Let You Fuck Dragons post? That's basically this game in a nutshell.

While similar in composition to its predecessor, there's something distinctly more anime about "Breath of Fire II." It feels a bit like a television series, giving time to each party member to build on their backstory and motivations. Granted, it's usually along the line of "sister needs help" or "princess needs help" or "princess sister needs help", but ya know. It is an effort, and that effort was noted and appreciated.

Because of the time devoted to each character, I feel like I've got a better chance of remembering these party members 10 years on than my current memory stands with "Breath of Fire." In particular, I found Katt to be hilarious from a game design point of view. Gal's all attack, speed, critical hits, and getting the most damaging magic spells, but seems to be paper-frail when it comes to HP, defense, or AP (used for magic.) She's also got a literal pussy out look going on. It's weird. I do not understand this sense of attire. But, I do appreciate the damage output.

Also, it's kind of weird to have the one long-haired Nina design actually have short hair in her sprites. And purple wings that everyone else calls black. I mean, I get the latter more in terms of palette balancing, but why doesn't the translation just call her wings dark instead?

I've got a lot of questions about this translation.

Anyone who has ever played this game should have questions about this translation.

In a way, I'm fascinated with just how this strange English translation came about. The pronoun issues and dropping words from sentences? I get that. Japanese to English is not an easy way to go, so some grammatical whoopsy-doos will happen. I don't get the lack of periods, though. Why? Was it an attempt to free up space in the cartridge by cutting out the most used punctuation? Why did the GBA port repair so little? Capcom couldn't have been that strapped for cash.

The ending credits of this game lists character casts, not game development staff. That only further confuses me. Like, I looked on both MobyGames and The Cutting Room Floor to see if there was any development staff for the SNES version on either site, and the best I got was just for the GBA port. (At least, I assume Masayuki Fukumoto is not responsible for the original translation, given their earliest work was credited in 1998.) The Breath of Fire II Production Staff entry on a fan wiki lists a Justin Berenbaum and Chris Kramer as responsible for the translation, but I don't know what that was sourced from, and it doesn't seem to match a pattern of jobs on MobyGames for either listing I found there. This translation just doesn't seem like something a native English speaker would end up making. Not unless cartridge space issues were really that bad.

Someone's going to have an interesting YouTube essay on this subject, one day. Also, we really ought to send flowers to Ted Woosley as an apology.

In terms of gameplay, "Breath of Fire II" is fairly straight forward. Walk across the map, use character-specific actions to engage with the world, talk to people, enter random battles, grind. You know the RPG drill.

A significant battle modification comes in the way of shaman fusing. By recruiting multiple shamans, a majority of the cast (minus Ryu and a special hidden character) can combine powers with elemental master, gaining stat boosts and potentially changes in character appearance. So, basically, almost everybody gets to be Karn this time. Granted, the greatest of these powers isn't really given to you until the last dungeon of the game, and you'll likely have to consult a guide to get half of the shamans, but when it hits, it really hits. Frankly, it's a shame that they locked the physical transformations until so late in the game. The artwork provided for all of them is pretty neat!

Additionally, a new town building subquest has been added. Depending on the player's actions, they can recruit six distinct residents to their town, most of which provide unique services (like armories, aesthetic changes, stat buffs, etc.) This location (TownShip) can be used for free healing, and under the right circumstances, can even be used as transportation. Granted, if you're expecting something as complex or flexible as "Animal Crossing" games, this is going to be an underwhelming feature. Once you get a resident, they are hard locked in, which can really suck if you don't like the services that the resident in question provides.

Look, this is me giving you permission to hit up a guide. Multiple guides. All of the guides. Maybe I'd feel guiltier about pushing that if the game was sensible, but we're dealing with a decently sized RPG that has multiple endings and hidden features. You should be able to know how to meet those objectives. Like, the ending thing is half obvious, but God help you should you not find a single character hidden in the back of an optional town.

If Capcom put in the effort that Enix did with its "Dragon Quest/Warrior" games, I think it would be much more reasonable to stick to just the maps and manuals provided with the original game. But, hell. Look at this map.

Almost completely useless. (Source: eBay Auction "Breath of Fire 2 II SNES Super Nintendo Complete In Box CIB Authentic Map Poster" by ashtons_shop)

In a related topic, I appreciate how the dungeons in game attempted to shake things up with different objectives. Like, it's one thing to march straight through a cave, and another to root around an obese woman, purging demons from within her. (Yeah, this game could be known as the Anime Furry Vore RPG. It could also stand to be nicer to said demon-possessed woman.) The bit inside SimaFort was madcap as well, even with the aggravating music. It's not every day a person has to punch giant insects into submission and use their remains as food ingredients. (Honestly, I'm sad that we didn't take the frog knight Jean's sister with us instead. She definitely seems like she would have been more useful than he was. Probably had a higher attack stat, at any rate.)

Even with online help, I'm not certain that I understood everything with this game. Like, there's a status called Zombie that never really did anything to me. Probably because I killed enemies reasonably fast, and it seems like a status that takes a couple of turns to kick in. Ditto the flashing dragon gemstone bit. Was there a prototypical affection rating going on with that? That's what the story seems to imply, anyway. Also, I didn't seem to have any luck casting the Angel spell on the few targets that I tried. Had luck with the Death spell, though! That was unexpected.

Also, I'm pretty sure the initial shaman fusing dialogue message is bugged. Feels like it should have its initial Yes/No option mapped opposite the way it actually is. No clue on why the menu takes a few seconds to load in, though.

Like a person who has had two spiritual entities stapled onto them, I feel a bit mixed up about this game. The artistic direction is fun, and there are a lot of plot beats that I found enjoyable. "I don't really care for Sten in combat, but this war drama with him is fascinating." "Man, Rand's mom was cool." "So that's what happened to Ryu's sister! That makes total sense!" Things like that. Some of the side systems have not aged as well as the core, though. Or, at least, I can see the potential beyond what's there, and that bums me out. There's also a fair amount of side content reading that a person would have to do to optimize their playthrough, which I'm finding to be more of a bummer as time goes on. Like, I'd like to pretend I'm smart enough to figure out some of these conditions for a better ending or greater rewards. It's just hard to manifest them when critical characters can literally be hidden behind invisible/background tiles.

I think another thing that bugs me is that this is the one "Breath of Fire" game that I had heard the most praise for over the years. Not to say it wasn't entertaining! But, maybe I'm mourning potential again. Like, I haven't heard anything really bad said about "Breath of Fire III", so I look forward to getting to that one at some point. "IV"'s got continuity arguments up the wazoo, "V" is treated like a mutant, and "VI"…did you even know there was a "Breath of Fire VI"? No? Probably didn't help that it was episodic (not in the fun TV way), Japanese-only, online-focused, and shit-canned in an incomplete state.

Maybe I've got to stop fantasying about what could be and appreciate what is. That, or buy more weird little RPGs on Steam. In an era of AAA graphics, time, and budget bloating, I can't expect Capcom to do more with this series. Especially, not if they need a guaranteed seller. But, I can always throw money at developers who enjoy experimenting with kooky things like this.

[devileaterjaek]

[kahran042]

Breath of Fire headcanon

Winlan is the country; Windia/Wyndia is the capital city.

[fancypantsrecords]

Yuko Takehara - Breath Of Fire II | Ship To Shore PhonoCo. | 2022 | "Breath Of Fire" Orange Translucent with Red & Black Swirl

[adibkhorram]

[id: a tweet from Jake Regal (username: jakeregal). Tweet reads: What were the five most important video games to you throughout your youth/teen years/ No curating to look cool/interesting please. end id.]

[carlocarrasco]

Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature all set this Sunday (Monday in Asia)

It is that time again for Xbox fans and gamers to get excited as the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature will happen this Sunday June 11 (Monday June 12 in Asia) and viewers will get to watch it on multiple channels. To begin with, Team Xbox announced that the two showcases will be streamed live via the online channels…

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder's Heart: Alluring Temptations, Denial, and the Slow Burn

In the novelization of Darin Morgan's episode War of the Coprophages (post here), Dr. Bambi Berenbaum is described as "the most beautiful woman that Mulder has ever seen" (loosely quoted, thank you @wonderxphile~.) The thought struck me that, perhaps, it's not an invention or interpretation of the novelist's so much as an offshoot of the root of Mulder's romantic inclinations-- specifically, ones that relate to his self-imposed celibacy.

During the early years of the show, David Duchovny described Mulder's choice to remain single in a particularly singular way: that Mulder was so dedicated to his work that any relationship or life outside of it would feel like cheating. As intriguing as that thought is, another crops up: if that be the case, why was he almost drawn off-course by various women on the show?

THE DESIRE OF THE EYE

All but one of Mulder's short love interests are narratively sexual characters. Phoebe Green and Diana Fowley were exes, both intending to seduce, distract, and control his focus away from the mission. Kristen Kilar and Bambi Berenbaum were two beautiful women that drew and attached his eye immediately. Lastly, Melissa Rydell was a bit of an outlier who still exuded the same pull as the other four: a commonality with Mulder-- one who "understood" him in ways other women hadn't (or wouldn't.)

If his work is his wife, then they are his (potential) mistresses.

Mulder fell hard and fast; but snapped out of his rose-colored fog just as quickly. Each woman didn't withstand the test of his work, always turning their back on him for someone else, someone "greater."

Except for Dana Scully.

SLOW BURN AND DENIAL

The difference between Scully and the other women was that she didn't knock Mulder's socks off at first sight: baggy suit, green haircut, cutting science, and fire-breathing accountability challenged and won his trust before it won his heart.

Be that as it may, within two episodes Mulder had very, very quickly shifted his estimation of Scully from spy to maneuverable hindrance to partner.

By Squeeze he was undeniably, irrevocably territorial. While he respected her decision to leave, he would most certainly have continued tracking her down wherever she was working to discuss details of his case, her case, or any tidbits in-between (as depicted by him interrupting her stakeout.)

Season 2 beat Mulder over the head until he realized how closely he tied Scully to the work. In Little Green Men, he needed her encouragement to combat self-doubt; but more importantly, he needed her there with him, by his side. After her abduction in Ascension, he became listless, self-destructive (@cecilysass's excellent meta here), and dispassionate for the work: there was no curiosity or joy of discovery in 3's case-- in fact, there was no joy at all. In One Breath, he tried to barter his life's work for Cancer Man's location, resigning anyway out of sheer guilt. (Later, he tried to sell his soul again, more directly, to save Scully's life in Memento Mori.) By Firewalker, Scully had already eclipsed the work-- which Mulder didn't acknowledge, to her or himself, until Fight the Future-- and he frequently abandoned leads or "the truth" if he thought her life were in danger. Although she had become indispensable, Mulder didn't realize he loved her until later in the narrative.

Still.

Scully acknowledged her feelings, indirectly, at various times through the series; but he only initiated when afraid she'd leave, forever. While genuinely blinded by his quest, Mulder wasn't stupid. Scully fishing for his genetics in Home led him to banter away the conversation, later fixing a chair firmly under the broken lock separating their rooms. Scully bringing a cheese platter to celebrate in Detour didn't grab his attention from the mystery, but it underscored his efforts to deflect her serious topic later in the forest.

Because, at the heart of the matter (the very place he tried to avoid), Mulder lived in bone-deep denial.

In E.B.E., he quips, "I think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot"; in Irresistible, he fumes over no one noticing where "a pretty woman" went; even in A Ghost That Stole Christmas he huffs, "We're not lovers." Maggie Scully ascertained his feelings immediately in Ascension, and Melissa Scully pushed him to acknowledge them in One Breath: "At least she'll know. And so will you." During the cancer arc, he embraces Scully for never giving up, doesn't discuss her cancer unless absolutely necessary, freely offers affection on her deathbed; then after, tries to deflect a personal talk in the woods while in shock. Even thoughts of harm coming to his partner-- be it not wanting to consider Scully possibly dying in Piper Maru or the split second of doubt despite evidence when she did "die" in Kitsunegari-- throws up an instant wall of denial.

Mulder knew something was "there" after Melissa Scully made him confront himself-- in fact, he likely already sensed something during his conversation with Scully in Tooms-- but he didn't want to poke around to find out exactly "what" it was. He wasn't ready.

Yet.

"FOX " OR "MULDER"

The women closest to Mulder ended up calling him "Fox" (or "Sullivan")... all except Scully, his abandoned lunch colleague in Little Green Men, and the phone sex operator in Small Potatoes.

Scully herself is an even more isolated case, of course.

When she began to make a personal confession in Tooms, Mulder uncomfortably laughed off her "Fox...": "I even made my parents call me 'Mulder'. So. 'Mulder'." Perhaps that's true (or perhaps not, since his father and mother also called him "Fox.") Regardless, he sensed Scully was letting her guard down; and, fearing she was opening her heart in another direction, tried to fend off any loving regard. Scully surprised him, however: "Mulder, I wouldn't put myself on the line for anyone but you" incorporated his preference, expressed her loyalty, and was a far cry from a lovesick oath. He teased the moment away, pleased; then was, by turns, caught, unsettled, and relieved by her teasing repartee.

From that point, his name began to change from professional shield to personal endearment.

But what does this have to do with Mulder's mistresses?

SCULLY, HIS LIFE

Scully was inextricably linked with the work after her return; and, whether Mulder had fully accepted his love for her yet or not (and I'm beginning to think he hadn't fully until her cancer diagnosis), she was now his life. Drawing her away from a "normal life" and dragging her dog along on a lake monster excursion became an expected, routine part of his weekend.

Bambi-- the "most beautiful woman"-- appeared during this chummy, Season 3 phase. When larger questions and greater fears shook stability from under his feet, Melissa Rydell-- the alleged soulmate-- made her (apparently) destined entrance.

Both women fell into a pattern Phoebe and Kristen set: bold, shiny new possibilities; then solace-seeking and grasping insecurity. That pattern, however, was broken during the cancer arc, as exemplified by the exception to this general rule: Diana Fowley.

ESCAPING THE SNARE OF THE FOWLER

Phoebe, Kristen, Bambi, and Melissa effortlessly lured Mulder's focus from his own aims. Not permanently; just enough to create a foil for the work-- a.k.a. Scully. Mulder suffered a few burns from his false romances (post here): passing out from smoke inhalation, watching three buildings go up in flames, and being dismissed from the life of each romantic interest. Diana, too, betrayed him; and Diana, too, was tied to the blaze in his office.

However, Agent Fowley was not sought after like her predecessors. She was also the first to notice a change in Mulder.

When she arrived on the scene, boldly hitching her wagon to his theories and his work, she expected him to readily accept, nay beg, her back on the files. Instead, Mulder laughed off her concerns about Scully, gushing over his new partner's innate ability to make him "work for it." Further, he stuck by Scully's side when his ex was hospitalized, only straying in The Beginning when Diana created an elaborate ruse to separate the two. He didn't initiate or reciprocate her kiss in One Son; and he was more baffled than beaming when "she" wanted to play domesticly-ever-after in Amor Fati. In short, Mulder was not drawn romantically to Diana, at all: in fact, he was wary. Friendly, but distant.

She'd missed her chance.

If Diana had swooped in sometime before Memento Mori's unification, she could have exploited the gnarly feeling that had been building since early Season 4, or widened its distance post Never Again-- a distance that had been building since Mulder's sloughed-off remark in Home and unwitting partner replacement in The Field Where I Died. (More accurately, if CSM had bothered to pay close attention to his lab rats, he'd have noticed a weakness in their partnership and sent in his super rat to exploit it.) As it happens, she did not.

MULDER'S HEART

What does this mean for Mulder and Scully?

At the outset, I believed Mulder learned the depth of his love for Scully during the events of One Breath-- now, however, I'm convinced that's only half true.

Scully had already replaced the work's importance in his life, but neither understood the depths of his reliance on and devotion to her. Mulder was still gut-reacting, not wanting to delve too deeply into his heart to find the truth there. Never Again gave him a great and terrible shakeup because he'd taken Scully's place at his side for granted-- he'd thought "This work is my life" also extended to her; and that she'd glanced at his offer and was preparing to reject it. Mulder was living in full-blown denial: denial so deep that only the incurable, inescapable possibility of her death could tear his blinders off.

After her diagnosis, that denial was blown to pieces; and, afraid to face the ramifications of his realization, and her remission, he kept fleeing. As Scully says in Dreamland I, "We, we just keep driving."

That brings us back to Phoebe Green-- dangerous allure-- and Kristen Kilar-- mutual mourning partner-- and Dr. Berenbaum-- the "most beautiful woman"-- and Melissa Rydell-- tortured twin soul-- and Diana Fowley-- ancient history. His heart was free in Fire, unconsciously grieving in 3, charmingly in denial in War of the Coprophages, seeking Scully in other lives in The Field Where I Died, and beating only for her in The End.

CONCLUSION

A very interesting, complicated man, indeed.

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[oldschoolfrp]

Chimera by David Sutherland (from Dungeons & Dragons, Supplement II: Blackmoor by Dave Arneson, TSR, 1975-79). For the 1977 AD&D Monster Manual Sutherland redrew a similar chimera, adding wings and changing the back paw to a hoof, within a flammable frame.

[kahran042]

There's a Breath of Fire II fanfic which brings this up, believe it or not! https://www.fanfiction.net/s/6615342/19/Breath-Of-Fire-II-War-Of-The-Demons

can we please be fucking nice to it/its users

[firehcart]

do you ever think about the fact rowan tossed aelin goldryn, knowing what it was, trusting her - even then - to recognise what he was giving her, what potential she could do with it, long before he ever fell in love with her or became sworn to her?

[julie-su]

Another quick doodle.. Hybrid kids - half echidna, half crocodile... Oh, Lara-Su, Argyle --you two have your work cut out for you XD

[demonfox38]

I guess this is one way to say that I have been playing and beat "Breath of Fire 2."

The family that slays together stays together, I guess!

[devileaterjaek]

How about no?

[kahran042]

Breath of Fire II dream soundtrack

Now for the one I really want to show off. This one actually has a bit of a story behind it. You see, as anyone who's played BoF2 knows, the dungeon music sucks, and it's used in practically every dungeon. So I figured I'd create a dream soundtrack which gives as many dungeons as possible unique music, and does the same for towns because the town music isn't much better than the dungeon music. In particular, it gives Tunlan/Melodia its own track, because why wouldn't the freakin' Country of Music have unique music? As before, if something isn't listed, you can assume that it's the same as in the actual game.

Gate, Ruins - A Place to Return To, Terranigma Normal dungeon - Heavy Echo, Breath of Fire III Barubary/Barbaroi battle - Conflict of Dragons ~ Battle, Breath of Fire III Mountain - Top of Saint Mountain, Terranigma Coursair/Colossea - Guild, Breath of Fire III Bar - A Drunk's Life, Breath of Fire Forest - Cedar Woods, Breath of Fire III Coliseum - The Champion, Breath of Fire III Augus/Argus, Joker, Trout, and M.C. Tusk/Ringmaster battles - Megalomania, Live a Live Windia/Wyndia - The City Liked by the Wind, Breath of Fire III Capitan before rescuing villagers - Impoverished Village, Brave Fencer Musashi Dry Well - Ant Heaven, Brave Fencer Musashi Township phase 1/2 - Heart-Softening Theme, Suikoden II Talking to Sana/Sanamo, confronting Nimufu/Nympho, witch school reunion - Theme of Temptation, Suikoden II* Witch Tower - Margarie Margarita, Super Mario RPG SimaFort/Fort Nageur - Loire Castle, Terranigma SimaFort/Fort Nageur basement - Underground Sewer, Chrono Trigger Petape's objection, escape from HighFort/Highland - Fuse+, Xenogears Kuwadora/Quadra, Shupkay/Spuke, Aruhamel/Alzheimer, and Necroman/Necromancer battles - Donden, Breath of Fire III Trout's mansion - Intrusion, Suikoden Township phase 3 - A Bustling Town, Suikoden II Whale Cape - Ocean Tide, Chrono Trigger Whale Cave, Queen's body - Lavos Stirs, Chrono Trigger** Guntz - Withered Earth, Suikoden II BlueRoom/Deis' home, recruiting Bleu/Deis - Island, Breath of Fire III Uparupa Cave, top of Sky/Heaven Tower - Dream a Dream, Alundra Wise Tree grove - Eden, Breath of Fire III Tunlan/Melodia - Town of Tunlan, Breath of Fire HighFort/Highland - The Empire, Breath of Fire HighFort/Highland dungeon - Technology, Breath of Fire III Memory Tower - Phantom Forest, Final Fantasy VI Sky/Heaven Tower - Underwater, Alundra Fog Valley - Ogre Road, Breath of Fire III FarmTown/Farma - Long Days of Rest, Wild ARMs 3*** Namanda/Earth Temple - Ancient Tomb of Mu, SaGa Frontier Evrai - Singing of the Gentle Wind, Xenogears Evrai after true colors revealed - Confusing Melody, Chrono Trigger JackDoor/Secret Passage - Dungeon 1, SaGa Frontier CotLand/Kotto - Bad Guys and Bad Land, Wild ARMs 3 Thieves' Tomb - Intention of the Earth, Final Fantasy V Bando/Rhode Chapel catacombs - Curse Zone, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night Demons released - Love Me Tonight, Ogre Battle Habaruku/Habalk battle - Sink Into Vise, Tales of Destiny

*- Also plays during the battle with the Witch at the reunion.

**- Also plays during battles in the Queen's body.

*** - Also plays during battles with Bushes/Weeds, Stumps, and Stones, but not the S.Golem/Marl.