This game is absolutely amazing. I have a few problems with it here and there, but this replay confirmed my thoughts of this being one of the best RPGs on the PS1. It has a good story, a mostly solid cast of characters, a villain you want to murder, and a battle system that allows a good amount of flexibility.
Let's start with the problems I have. The first, and probably biggest one, is that the dragon system in this game is a large step down from what was in Breath of Fire 3. The Dragon Gene system in that game had so much potential and rewarded players even more for exploring. The 6 different forms here, while still a strong tool, are not nearly as diverse.
You also get access to the strongest form before you can finish collecting the elemental forms. There's also minimal side content in this game. The closest I can think of is finding the Endless, but the story leads you to do that and there's a massive (and unsaid) reward for doing so. The last problem isn't exactly the game's fault. Some scenes have either been cut short or removed altogether. If I recall correctly, this was made at a time when real videogame censorship was a problem in the US. The only important scene that was altered featured a character getting decapitated, so it's easy to see why that was cut. There's also a party member who went from being drunk fairly frequently to having a mean stutter.
With all that said, let's get into what makes this game so good from a gameplay perspective. First, it has greatly improved quality of life features compared to BoF3. Masters don't teach you skills strictly from gaining levels while training under them, you can reassign masters from diaries, learning skills from enemies is tied to the guard command instead of a "watch" command, the list goes on. Probably the most notable change there is the ability to switch party members in and out of battle. Need Cray to push a boulder but he's not in the main party? Just open the menu and switch him in. You don't have to back all the way out of a dungeon this time to make that change. Battles also let you use everyone, with 3 of them being active/in the front row. Those in the back regain a set amount of AP per turn. All of that combined with some new mechanics let you actually use the whole team instead of just 2 non-Ryu characters. And with the master system, characters can go into whatever role you want. They may not be the most effective in those roles, but nothing is stopping you from creating physical Nina and mage Cray.
I'm not going to talk about the story since it's one of the best parts about the game. I want people to go in while knowing as little of it as possible. With that said, I feel the story doesn't overstay its welcome. My replay took about 31 hours, with about 30-60 minutes of that being AFK.
All in all, this game was a treat to go back to. It can definitely be a harder game to replay since its story means a lot more than say BoF3, but that also makes the first playthrough so much better.
Let's start with the problems I have. The first, and probably biggest one, is that the dragon system in this game is a large step down from what was in Breath of Fire 3. The Dragon Gene system in that game had so much potential and rewarded players even more for exploring. The 6 different forms here, while still a strong tool, are not nearly as diverse.
You also get access to the strongest form before you can finish collecting the elemental forms. There's also minimal side content in this game. The closest I can think of is finding the Endless, but the story leads you to do that and there's a massive (and unsaid) reward for doing so. The last problem isn't exactly the game's fault. Some scenes have either been cut short or removed altogether. If I recall correctly, this was made at a time when real videogame censorship was a problem in the US. The only important scene that was altered featured a character getting decapitated, so it's easy to see why that was cut. There's also a party member who went from being drunk fairly frequently to having a mean stutter.
With all that said, let's get into what makes this game so good from a gameplay perspective. First, it has greatly improved quality of life features compared to BoF3. Masters don't teach you skills strictly from gaining levels while training under them, you can reassign masters from diaries, learning skills from enemies is tied to the guard command instead of a "watch" command, the list goes on. Probably the most notable change there is the ability to switch party members in and out of battle. Need Cray to push a boulder but he's not in the main party? Just open the menu and switch him in. You don't have to back all the way out of a dungeon this time to make that change. Battles also let you use everyone, with 3 of them being active/in the front row. Those in the back regain a set amount of AP per turn. All of that combined with some new mechanics let you actually use the whole team instead of just 2 non-Ryu characters. And with the master system, characters can go into whatever role you want. They may not be the most effective in those roles, but nothing is stopping you from creating physical Nina and mage Cray.
I'm not going to talk about the story since it's one of the best parts about the game. I want people to go in while knowing as little of it as possible. With that said, I feel the story doesn't overstay its welcome. My replay took about 31 hours, with about 30-60 minutes of that being AFK.
All in all, this game was a treat to go back to. It can definitely be a harder game to replay since its story means a lot more than say BoF3, but that also makes the first playthrough so much better.