Breath of Fire 3

The Breath of Fire series is the underdog of role playing games. BOF almost disappeared after its initial release on the SNES. But affordable clearance prices revived that game nearly a year after its release. And inspired Capcom to bring forth the sequel. Now we're at the third installment, Breath of Fire 3, for the Playstation.

The graphics are better than ever. Featuring 3D maps and towns with a rotate-able, but limited camera. This was done to hide items around the map. The characters are well-animated 2D sprites with an anime touch. In fact, the graphic style will most likely remind you of PSX Xenogears. But BOF keeps its medieval, fantasy theme with stone villages and dragon caves.   

However the game has lost some of its luster over the years. This game will not leave an impact on players like it did in previous titles. There's nothing terribly wrong with this sequel. But most of the game play elements and storyline sections are very traditional. Meaning they've been done to death in other RPGs. Unfortunately this leads us through a no-frills plot and very monotonous battles. Luckily, there are some entertaining mini-games to mess around with. Such as the Fishing Ponds. In these modes you can upgrade your fishing poles and lures; and then try to catch the biggest fish you can. If you're good enough you just might break some records and uncover some hidden items. 

The verdict: an unsurprising, but sound role playing game. Breath of Fire 3 might offer a decent diversion until you find a more original RPG to play.

(pics by the pros at videogames.com)

Overall 7.4

Review written by ShinjiZ for GameyPlace.com on April 30th, 2001...