Breath of Fire, dating back to the SNES era of 1994, is a well-known Capcom RPG series to genre enthusiasts. The games delivered a long-lasting adventure, an interesting story, nice visuals and a good play mechanic. The first two games were released on SNES, while BOFs 3 and 4 appeared on PlayStation. It’s taken the Japanese giant a while to get the fifth instalment across to PAL territories, but it’s here, just in time for Christmas 2003, on PlayStation 2.

Aptly named Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, Capcom’s latest contribution to the RPG genre has players assume the role of dragon-man Ryu and his two friends, before setting out on a unique adventure to stop another deadly organisation from eliminating your own. And with regards to story, that’s about as complicated as it gets. It’s hardly groundbreaking, but it’s cleverly simple and appealing to potential BOF newbies.

With regards to fantasy warfare, BOF5 is more intuitive and creative than some of the series’ previous versions. In this instance, there are no random encounters, and formations are pre-determined, allowing players to equip themselves appropriately before diving headfirst into battle. And armed with several offensive items, players can throw explosives and the like at the enemy to deal damage before engaging in combat. Once in battle, avid RPG players will notice BOF5’s similarity to Square’s Xenogears, whereby players must live their battles through accumulated ability points (AP). With the exception of items, every move you make requires a specific number of AP. Use them wisely.

BOF5 has been criticised by some for being too short, and it’s said that it can be finished in a day. But like Square’s Chrono games, after completion, gamers are given the option to play through again, retaining all of their acquired skills and abilities. But more importantly, playing through a second, third and even fourth time round can unlock new areas and sub-quests that players were previously denied.

From a visual standpoint, BOF5 is impressive. A style becoming more popular by the day, even with the common RPG, Capcom’s latest is cel-shaded, and gives off a vibrant fantasy feel. It helps to immerse the player in the game and it suits Capcom’s style well.

BOF5 is purely a single-player adventure that, although short, is brim-full with additional extras. It’ll keep you coming back for sure