Breath of Fire (video Game) - Reception

Reception

Breath of Fire met with "considerable success" during its original release in Japan, and was mostly well received by critics during its release in North America in 1994. Critics such as Nintendo Power praised its level of exploration and found it to be "not as linear as other RPGs such as Final Fantasy II", but that its plot was relatively standard and contained "more fighting than adventure fans might like." GamePro similarly felt that the game's story was "nondescript and average" and that Capcom "should have tried for more interesting enemies, different battle screens, or butt-kicking graphics", finding the overall experience to be "bland". Others, such as Game Informer, found the game to be highly above-average, awarding it a 9 out of 10 score, while Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the title's "excellent graphics and sound", ultimately stating that "Even if you're not a fan of these kind of more deliberately-paced games, you'll still get hooked on this one!" While the title was only "modestly successful" in North America, Nintendo Power noted a spike in sales following the release of the game's sequel in December 1995, calling it "a rare second wind." The Super Nintendo version maintains a 78% average score on aggregate review website GameRankings. In 1997, Breath of Fire was ranked 82nd in Nintendo Power's list of the top 100 games released on Nintendo consoles, and in 2006, it placed 161st in the magazine's top 200.

The game's re-release on the Game Boy Advance met with a similar overall response to the first, with a 76% review average on Game Rankings and a 79% on Metacritic. It debuted on the Japanese software charts as the third highest-selling game of its first week, selling 22,236 copies, and would go on to sell a total of 63,407 copies in the region by the end of 2001.

Play Magazine called the game's port job from the Super Nintendo console "flawed in execution", commenting on handheld version's high color saturation and lower sound quality. GameSpot felt that the game was overall a faithful translation of the original, but that the music sounded "tinny" when compared to its predecessor, also stating that "While it's not the best-looking or most technically impressive RPG out for the system, Breath of Fire is still a rock-solid game." IGN would also comment on the game's presentation, declaring that it was "not much more than your typical Japanese-style RPG" and that its graphics were outdone by titles developed specifically for the system, additionally lauding its high random encounter rate and simplistic puzzles, ultimately calling Breath of Fire "a decent diversion". Electronic Gaming Monthly took note of the conversion's shortcomings, but praised its new save feature that allowed players to stop the game at any time, declaring that "Overall, BoF exemplifies hand-held role-playing done right." Other publications such as Game Informer recommended the game to anyone who "likes RPGs", along with Nintendo Power who referred to it as an "excellent epic that still holds up". GamePro found the title to be "an enjoyable RPG that easily kills spare time" but that it was overall less involving than later games in the series, calling its narrative "lifeless". In 2002, Breath of Fire became runner-up for "Best Game Boy Advance Role-Playing Game" in IGN's Best of 2001 awards.