Breath of Fire series plot analysis By Lawrence E. Cowden !!!!DISCLAIMER!!!! This is merely a plot summary of the games in the Breath of Fire series by Capcom. This is not a walkthrough! If you need step-by-step ins and outs of the games check out one of the many walkthroughs found on sites such as Gamefaqs.com. For simplicity I'm just gonna say Ryu and his party unless there are specific points in the game where you either aren't using Ryu or are forced for whatever reason to carry a certain character. I'm not going to break each and every dungeon down. I'm not gonna say "Ryu took a left down a corridor then a right", I'm gonna say "Ryu made his way through the dungeon and fought the boss". Also just another heads up I'm not going to go in great detail about boss fights. We all have our own ways of dealing with these bosses and I don't feel like saying "Ryu spammed Shadowwalk while Rei assisted with War Shout" on all my BOF3 boss fights. "Ryu and his allies overcame their difficult challenge" is about as in-depth as I'll go unless you have to use a certain move to win. Also I want everyone to understand something: the "Observations" remarks are just that, observations. They could be wrong, its entirely possible. They are just things I noticed while playing. The "What We Know Now" section is facts about the games' universe that we know for certain based on events over the course of the game. If I'm wrong about something by all means let me know and back up your claim with evidence. -------------------------------- Table of Contents -------------------------------- -Introduction -Version History -Before I -Breath of Fire I -Plot -What We Know Now -Observations -Frequently Asked Questions BOF1 -Inbetween I and POW -Breath of Fire Princess of Wings -Inbetween POW and II -Breath of Fire II -Plot -What We Know Now -Observations -Frequently Asked Questions BOF2 -Inbetween II and III -Breath of Fire III -Plot -What We Know Now -Observations -The War In-Depth -Frequently Asked Questions BOF3 -Breath of Fire IV -Plot -What We Know Now -Observations -Prequel or Alternate Reality? -Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter -Plot -What We Know Now -Observations -Frequently Asked Questions BOF5 -Special Thanks -Credits -------------------------------- Introduction -------------------------------- Hello all. My name is Lawrence E. Cowden and welcome to my Breath of Fire plotline analysis. This has been a pet project of mine to keep me occupied while out at sea (thank god for emulators). It was a lot of fun to make though I'm sure there's small parts here and there I overlooked on accident. I ended up doing three playthroughs of BOF1, two of BOF2 (not a big fan of this one to be honest), three for BOF4, and over the course of my life I think I've done BOF3 over twenty times. Seriously folks that game is on point. While I've played through BOF5 a couple times I wasn't playing it while writing this and as such they only have a light touch on them in the "Observations" and "What We Know Now" bullets. Without further ado welcome to my plot analysis of the Breath of Fire series and I hope you enjoy. -------------------------------- Version History -------------------------------- -v0.8 11/27/2011: Analysis for BOF1-3, first submission to GameFAQs, rejected...:( -v1.0 12/16/2011: Analysis for BOF1-4, touched up some grammar errors I caught, redid margins, second submission to GameFAQs. -v2.0 07/23/2012: Analysis for BOF5, analysis for BOF:POW up to chapter 6, added some FAQs I've seen popping up in various forums -------------------------------- Before I -------------------------------- "When the Dragon family was at the peak of it's power the Goddess of Desire appeared. The Goddess, Tyr [whom we would all come to know as Myria] granted wishes. The Dragons fought each other for her power. Tyr encouraged the fighting and watched the war between the Dragons escalate. When the world was at the brink of destruction a warrior stepped forward. The warrior battled Tyr with his seven companions and locked her up using six keys. These "Goddess Keys" were scattered throughout the world and hidden away. The Light Dragons balanced the power of the clans and peace reigned again." -Taken from the intro of Breath of Fire I. According to BOF:POW (covered elsewhere in this analysis), there was an Ice Dragon Clan that Myria feared. Whether these were part of the Brood's civil war or not remains unknown. But if we look at the timeline I'd argue that the Ice Dragon Clan was not part of that civil war and they were dealt with beforehand. From the above text we get the impression that as soon as the Brood civil war happened the Light Dragon hero emerged and defeated Myria. There wouldn't have been any time for Myria to go into a lengthy confrontation with another Dragon Clan. Some time after the first defeat of Myria but before BOF1 the Light Dragons sealed off their powers. Zog rises to become Emperor of the Dark Dragon clan and uses his army to collect the six Goddess Keys that the Dragon Warrior used to seal Myria/Tyr. Unaware that the Light Dragons had voluntarily sealed their powers he makes his move...thus begins Breath of Fire I. -------------------------------- Breath of Fire I -------------------------------- PLOT: ----- Wake up warrior! Disaster has struck! We need the power of the dragon! These are the words our hero Ryu hears as he wakes up to find his village set ablaze. Ryu and the other villagers take refuge in a room protected by magic. Sara rushes in to tell that the Dark Dragon clan is behind this attack. The village Chief, Esma, says that Zog, King of the Dark Dragons vowed to conquer the world and his first target is the Light Dragon clan. The villagers decide to fight back instead of waiting to die but Sara stops them as they are too weak to contend with the Dark Dragons. One by one Sara turns the villagers to stone so that they will be protected from the flames. Sara is taken by Dark Dragon soldiers to their commander Jade who justifies his actions by saying he's just following orders. Sara's power easily overwhelms the weaker soldiers but Jade proves a challenge. Jade informs Sara that his side has the "Goddess Keys". Sara finally manages to land an attack on Jade but he is unharmed. Jade defeats Sara and leaves her to an unknown fate. Back in the safe house, after some time has passed the petrification wears off and the villagers are safe. The villagers want to go fight for Sara and their pride while the Old Woman begs against it saying the Light Dragons have renounced their powers. Ryu takes it upon himself to go fight for his sister and the world. Ryu gets some supplies and leaves Drogen. Ryu makes it to a city called Camlon which has also been destroyed by the Dark Dragons. The Dark Dragons have taken another city called Nanai and flooded Camlon castle with monsters. Ryu takes out the monsters and the demon Frog in the castle to help with the people's liberation. The King of Camlon tells Ryu that the Dark Dragons have what is called "Quake Control" and that it's hidden in the Nanai dungeon. Ryu sets off on his next attack. Nanai stands but is occupied by the Dark Dragons. Ryu sneaks in at night and gets into the dungeons to search for the Quake Control. The hidden labyrinth housing Quake Control is now easy feat to trek. The underground caverns are plagued with monsters and hangs above a lake of lava. Ryu finds the Quake Control and a Knight plotting to use it for world domination. Ryu kills the Knight and takes a key from the Quake Control which inadvertedly reduces Nanai to rubble. The King's servant arrives to bring Ryu back to Camlon. The King accepts the loss of Nanai and tells Ryu to travel to Winlan where he can find a way to a new part of the world. Ryu arrives in Winlan and tries to meet with the King. Nina, the young princess of Winlan, tells the handmaiden to take Ryu to a guest room as the King has been poisoned. Nina is trying to keep this a secret from the townspeople in order to prevent a mass panic. Nina leaves the castle to search for the remedy by herself and makes her way to the Aura Cave in the west. There she gets accompanied by two Fae Soldiers who don't dare let her go on this dangerous quest alone. After trekking through the cave Nina and her bodyguards come to the town of Romero. The townspeople speak of missing girls and zombies roaming at night. After aquiring a map Nina heads for Karma Forest to reach Karma Tower. Inside Karma Tower waits Morte guarding a staircase. Nina and her bodyguards easily dispatch the wraith and proceed higher into the tower. On another floor Nina finds another wraith, this one called Mortea, blocking her path. She eliminates the nuisance and contiues forth. On the next floor Nina finds three women begging for help as they've been used as lab rats for the wizard's poisons. Nina and her bodyguards eventually come to a large eerie room with an enormous pot of a boiling red substance. The evil Wizard confronts the intruders and releases Xeon Gas, a poison to the Fae clan, and subdues them. One of the Fae soldiers acoompanying Nina manages to escape back to the castle for help. The soldier transforms into a large bird to flee but is shot down by three black dragons. Luckily he made it back to Winlan to inform the guards of Nina's plight before he died. Ryu learns of what has transpired and offers his assistance. The Fae fly him to Karma Tower and he begins his mission. Because Ryu is not of the Fae he is unaffected by the gas and can walk around comfortably in it. Ryu battles the Wizard one on one and prevails. Ryu grabs the Remedy and helps Nina back to the castle. At Winlan Nina gives her father the remedy and he is miraculously healed. With the King healed Nina joins Ryu on his quest to defeat Zog and the Dark Dragons. Ryu and Nina make their way past Winlan further east to a town called Tantar. The village of Tantar has a dried up river due to the Dark Dragons blocking the source. A saw recieved from the local blacksmith allows Ryu and Nina to chop down a tree blocking the entrance to the Forest of Despair, where the Dark Dragons are said to have a base. The ugly forest is shrouded with thick fog and infested with undead fiends. Still though, this is not enough to stop Ryu and Nina from reaching the Dark Dragon fortress located within. The Forest Fortress is well guarded and wrought with trap doors but this is no significant hinderance to the heroes. Ryu and Nina find the Chief of Tuntar under heavy guard, but not heavy enough. The Chief is easily freed and he leads them to a weapons vault. In an unexpected turn of events the Chief traps the heroes in a cell instead. A twin headed beast named Pog is unleashed upon the two. Pog is defeated and a wolf-man archer named Bo releases the two from their trap. Bo had rescued the real Chief during the distraction caused by Ryu and Nina and the fake reveals himself as a Dark Dragon General. The General isn't even a challenge for the three warriors and retreats. The trio make way for Tuntar to deal with the rock blocking the river. The Chief of Tuntar recommends using the Stone Robot to move the rock, whose secret can be found in Agua. In order to get to Agua the party must first go to Romero, the town plagued by zombies at night. The Chief of Romero will onlyhelp the team if they can rid their town of zombies. The trio learn that they need "cleansing water" to purify the soil and prevent the zombie's reanimation. After aquiring a water jar the trio leave for the Cleansing Water Cave in the west. After a short trip to Cleansing Water Cave the trio get the necessary water to purify Romero's soil. With the zombie problem solved the Chief gives Ryu, Nina, and Bo the Tablet, an item needed to get into Agua Tower. Ryu uses the Tablet to gain entrance to Agua Tower by causing the floating land to descend. The large metal doors granting easy passage through the tower are conveniently locked so Ryu and his team must travel through the maze like obstacles to reach the top. At the top of Agua Tower Ryu finds a mysterious glowing orb. Ryu discovers the orb houses one of the goddess keys and the creature Wisp guarding it. Wisp lives up to it's role as a protecter of a goddess key providing Ryu with one of his first challenges. Though mighty Ryu and his party beat Wisp and he rewards their efforts with the second goddess key. With the KngKey in hand and the ability to activate the Stone Robot Ryu and his party head back to the Tuntar area. In a quarry beyond Tuntar the Stone Robot rests. Ryu and his friends eagerly explore the mechanical wonder and to their surprise find the General from Forest Fortress. The General and his henchmen are easily brushed aside. Ryu activates the Stone Robot and the mechanical beings heart pumps "blood" throughout it's systems. Nina commands the robot to take them to the lake and destroy the makeshift dam and release the river. With a brilliant laser the Stone Robot reduces the large rock to dust. The trio return to Tantar as heroes and on the Chief's urging they go to the Lake Cave to search for a mysterious ring. In the damp depths of Lake Cave Ryu, Nina, and Bo find the ring and return it to Tantar. When the trio return to Tantar they learn the secret of the ring: a wedding band to unite the two villages. Terry and Amelia's wedding goes off without a hitch and the two villages are as one. Ryu and his party must leave the newlyweds and plan to use the Stone Robot to get to a port town but the evil General has commandered it. The General orders the Stone Robot to level Tuntar and in a flash of light the village is decimated. The Robot mysteriously stopps responding to all commands after Tuntar is destroyed and Ryu uses the oppurtunity to sneak inside. The Robot is now infested with monsters and is pulsating an evil reddish glow. When the group reaches the control room the General reveals his true form as Gremlin, a green demon of great power. In his transformed state General Gremlin is significantly more powerful than he previously was but his atrocity could not go unpunished. Ryu, Nina, and Bo once and for all killed the evil General Gremlin and took back the Stone Robot. Stone Robot begins to move again and walks into a nearby volcano. To the heroes shock the robot commits suicide by diving into the lava, it's final words to the group being "good-bye"... After the lava cooled the group traveled south and sought refuge for the night at a temple to Ladon, the Dragon God. In the temple the priest tells Ryu that he needs to undergo training to break his seal. Ryu tackles the challenge alone: defeat the dragonic being Talon. Talon is defeated in the duel and congratulates Ryu by awakening his latent dragon powers. With the first step towards his ultimate power taken Ryu leaves with Bo and Nina for the south. After passing through the North Cave, Ryu and his party arrive at a magnificent city of gold called Auria. To their shock they are immediately arrested and imprisoned as intruders! In the cell with them is another vagrant lying in bed. The thief wakes up and helps the team out by picking the lock allowing them freedom from the iron bars of the cell. The party leaves the cell and explores the city. In a large mansion a man named Ross paces back and forth. Ryu needs a boat to Scande and Ross needs someone to save his daughter, the two naturally come to a mutually beneficial agreement. Ross's daughter is trapped in a safe and in order to find a reliable safe cracker the party heads for Bleak. Past Bleak Cave lies the city of Bleak, a wretched hive of scum and villainy. Bleak proves resourceful though as the party learns of an ace thief named Karn that could break into Ross's safe and leberate his daughter. Problem is Karn is supposedly in Krypt, even worse the only way to get there is with an Icicle that an old man in Bleak won't part with for free. Ryu gives the old man a Gold Bar for the Icicle and the party happily leaves Bleak. Thanks to the Icicle received in Bleak the party can disperse the immense heat of the dessert and travel safely. The group crosses through Arad Cave to the town of Arad, a settlement just before the ruins Krypt. Arad is populated by several short individuals clad in yellow cloaks. The leader of the Arads knows how to get into Krypt but won't give the necessary item, the Fife, to Ryu unless Ryu destroys the Sand Worm. Ryu, Nina, and Bo make short work of the Sand Worm and get the Fife needed to enter Krypt and retrieve Karn. Navigating through a dungeon wrought with traps and false floors the party finally comes to EyeSpy, guardian of the treasure room. EyeSpy, however strong he might have thought he was, paled in comparison to the might of the Dragon Clan and was swiftly destroyed. Inside the treasure room Ryu triggers a trap which floods the room with water. Luckily for the team Karn arrives just in time to save the day, as well as insult the team's intelligence. Karn says that in order to crack the safe and rescue Ross's daughter he requires a certain book. Karn joins the team so that they might find the book together. In a large room with several caskets Karn disarms the traps one by one and discovers that one of the caskets is the book, a book that congratulates the thief on their ability to bypass traps. Karn is elated at his mastery of the craft of thievery but Nina cuts it short reminding him about Auria and Ross's daughter. Back in Auria Karn works his magic and picks the locks to Ross's safe to free his daughter. Ross's daughter reveals that she was trying to keep the Light Key safe from the Dark Dragons whom Ross had promised it to. For whatever reason Ross's daughter won't release the Light Key until Ryu has the Dark Key, found in Dark Tower near Bleak. The team makes it to Dark Tower where Karn's abilities immidiately prove useful. On the second level the party runs into an old man who will only give his treasure to the "legendary hero" if the group's worth can be proven by climbing to the top and defeating the ghost. At the top of Dark Tower rest Cloud, a ghost with powerful magical ability. Cloud is defeated, the party receives the Dark Key, and they also get the Mirror from the old man as a reward for their feats. With the Dark Key in hand the land surrounding Bleak is touched by daylight and the party returns to Auria. Back in Auria Ross still plans to give the LightKey to the Dark Dragons for fear of his daughter's safety. Ryu raises the mirror and an image of Alena, Ross's wife, appears to talk some sense into him. Ryu goes to the top of Ross's tower and retrieves the Light Key, promising Ross's daughter to defeat the Dark Dragons. At the port in Auria a Knight and Archer of the Dark Dragons block access to Ross's boat. The duo manages to escape death from Ryu but not before sinking Ross's ship. Ryu and his team think it best to go around a penninsula to get to the Dark Dragon's camp for a surprise assault but in order to do so they require gunpowder to blast a boulder in the way. Gundpowder that a passerby Manillo named Gobi just happens to have for the price of another gold bar. Ryu parts with a second bar to obtain the needed gunpowder. Past the North Cave lies the Dark Dragon's camp. Ryu and his party invade annihalating all who oppose them. On the ship Ryu encounters a high ranking Dark Dragon Squid. Squid is killed vowing that his brother will take revenge for him. With Squid dead Ryu and his party grab Ross and his ship's Captain and commandere the Dark Dragon's Ship. Before the ship can set sail for Scande Gobi runs up requesting to hitcha a ride as far as Prima. En route to Scande the ship is boarded by the Dark Dragons squad led by Octo, Squid's brother he mentioned. Gobi leads the team to the store room filled with gunpowder. Octo corners the team but is defeated, setting off the gunpowder with his dying breath. The team jumps into the sea and washes up on a small island. Gobi goes to retrieve Gills for his four non aquatic aquaintances by taking all the money they have and "loaning" one million gold. In Prima Gobi is scolded for losing his license and is informed that the only Gills around are in Gant. In Gant a large ox-like man asks Gobi to transport goods to Prima as the Dark Dragons have kidnapped several of their males. Gobi delivers the goods to the Guild Owner in Prima and is rewarded with Gills. Suddenly explosions are heard and a member of the ox-like people from Gant is lying in a bed unconscious being stalked by a demon trying to take him to the Nether World. Gobi "negotiates" payment for going to retrieve Ryu to handle the threatening ghost. Now able to breathe underwater thanks to the gills Ryu and his team make for Prima and dispatch the ghost Morteo. Ox wakes up and tells of his village's plight, the Dark Dragons capturing their metal smiths and forcing them to build a terrible weapon. Before going to invade the Dark Dragon fortress the team takes a minute to go and aquire powerful items and abilities to aid them in their upcoming battle, namely unlocking Karn's ability to fuse and a Boomerrang sealed in Krypt. Once ready the group storms Nabal Dungeon. Ox makes the trip significantly faster by using his raw strength to crash through walls and obstacles. In the prison room the party runs into the officer leading the Dungeon, Toad. Unfortunately, after killing Toad, Ryu, Ox and the party learn that several prisoners including Ox's wife were taken to Nabal Fortress with the secret weapon that was constructed. Taking some advice from one of the prisoners Ryu and his team head for a small hut in the south to consult a man regarding entrance into Nabal Fortress. The team finds the old man tending his goat and trades the Boomerrang for info regarding how to send Grimfowls into a rage, a rage that could be used as a distraction to infiltrate Nabal. Following the old man's advice the team causes a distraction using Grimfowls and their eggs to get into Nabal. Once inside the team runs into the General of the castle and his SlimeX henchmen. SlimeX is killed and the General leaves with the weapon to destroy Prima. Fortunately the Iron Ogre women have been freed including Ox's pregnant wife. The group leaves for Prima and the Guild Owner tells them to go to Wisdon for the sorceress's help. The group enters Wisdon, the moving village above Arad, and delves into it's catacombs in search of the sorceress. When the team comes upon a large temple they find the sleeping sorceress guarded by Wisp, Cloud, and Myst. The guardians challenge Ryu to test him and once he passes they awaken Bleu the sorceress. Bleu gives Ryu an Old Egg and tells him to place it in a volcano. Undersea north of Prima the party comes across the Sea Volcano and throws the Old Egg in. After the egg is in the Volcano Bleu joins the party and everyone goes to Prima to wait for the Dark Dragons. The Dark Dragons attack and theTyphoon Bug hatches from the Old Egg to annihalate the Dark Dragon navy. The fighting resumes underwater and the General of Nabal Pincher tries to kill Ryu's team and fails. Pincher claims to be able to take everyone to the grave with him and the area begins to shake. Meanwhile at Zog's throne room he discusses current matters with Jade, his second in command that attacked Ryu's home. Jade swears to defeat the Light Dragon interfering with their plans and leaves. Jade's four lackeys Cerl, Goda, Cort, and Mote are sent to find the remaining Goddess Keys before the Light Dragon does. Back in Prima the Guild Owner thanks Ryu and his party for their help and Gobi, who has retrieved his license and sphere that allows him to become a large fish, officially joins the entourage. The group leaves Prima and makes way for the city Tunlan, a city where the local language is music. Unable to communicate the group explores and is unwittingly thrown in the castle dungeon. They manage to find a way out and leave the city. After spending some time exploring and gathering information and stronger powers (namely new dragon powers for Ryu) the team finds the town of Gust. After Karn learns a new fusion technique the party heads north and gets introduced to the poisonous flowers. In a laboratory behind the flowers the group finds Cort, one of Jade's men, who shrinks them all with a spell. After being shrunk the team flees to a mousehole where they help the local populace get their food back from roaches in exchange for a cure. The group advances and confronts Cort again who sics his servant RugaX. Once defeated RugaX becomes the missing villager from Gust Nicholie. The party leaves the Lab and finds Frog Oil to make a remedy for Nicholie. Afterwards the party goes to destroy the FlowerX. After destroying the plant Cort leaves and the party goes to check on Nicholie. Nicholie has become Ruga again but Bleu manages to fix him. To repay his debt Nicholie fixes the bridge so that Ryu's party can move forward. Unfortunately at the bridge Cort arrives to make one last attempt to defeat Ryu and fails. With Cort dead the party can finally make it across the bridge to Scande. On the way the party notices a Dirt-Eater poking her head out of the ground. Ryu and his team follow and find Gramor and learn about Mogu who was imprisoned inside his own mind after being beaten by Mote. The party heads for Tunlan to retrieve an item that will allow them to enter Mogu's mind. Fortunately before leaving Gust the party received the Maestro from a villager that allows them to communicate with the Tunlans. In Tunlan the party learns the Princess is in love with Zog and wants to give him the Time Key. In exchange for Ryu's help changing her mind the Princess's caretaker will give up the Bolster needed to enter Mogu's mind. The Princess won't listen to reason and in order to grab the Time Key before she can give it away Ryu spies on her to learn the combination to the safe. Chaos ensues as Ryu tries to get the Time Key and Cerl arrives unseen to steal it for Jade. The Princess is left to her own folly and the party receives the Bolster needed to rescue Mogu. Once returned to Gramor the party enters Mogu's mind and learns that his courage is missing. The group comes to the North Tower in Mogu's mind in search of his courage. The party comes across Mothro, a being that is completely indestructable even for a dragon. In order to fell this foe Mogu's senses need to be rejoined and the search begins anew for courage. The group returns to the town in Mogu's mind where they learn a bridge has been constructed leading to the area courage should be located. In a cave to the south a depressed courage is found. After a pep talk one by one Mogu's other emotions arrive and merge to one Mogu. With Mogu on the team the group returns to the North Tower and confronts Mothro. After killing Mothro Ryu and his party leave Mogu's mind as he awakens. With the problem in Gramor solved the party continues it's journey to Scande. Past the Spring Cave lies the snowed over city of Spring. Spring is in a predicament as the tower Spyre to the south manipulates the weather and has left Spring in a freezing cold. Ryu and his party head for Spyre and thanks to Mogu they are able to enter. The higher levels of Spyre are an amalgam of seperate types of environments stacked one on top of the other. Atop the tower the team tries to grab the key only to have Mote arrive and banish them to an alternate dimension inhabited by several of Mote's victims. In Mote's dimension Ryu finds Mote deep within a tower. Mote is practically untouchable until his conscience arrives to even the odds. Mote is killed, his prisoners released, and Ryu receives the Sky Key. Using the Sky Key Ryu is able to put a stop to the unnatural winter plaguing Spring and release the town from it's hold. Also now Ryu and his party can access the Waterfall Cave as the waterfall is no longer frozen over. The team arrives in Carmen, a city where all but one of it's inhabitants remain motionless, frozen in time. The one unfrozen resident points Ryu and his party to their next destination, Tock in the east. Tock Tower is a maze of movement panels that Ryu and his party navigate to reach the top. The party learns that Cerl is the one who stopped time in Carmen when they reach the top of Tock. When Cerl and Ryu's party peer into the current state of Carmen Cerl sees Alan, the lone non-frozen inhabitant. Cerl hesitates but eventually traps the heroes in a time/space distortion, separating them. When Ryu makes his way to Carmen he learns that Cerl and Alan were once childhood friends. Alan and the party leave for Tock to try and reason with Cerl. Ryu and his party climb Tock once more and find Alan pleading with Cerl. Cerl rejects Alan and attacks Ryu's party. Cerl begins to lose the battle and creates another distortion to age the Carmen townspeople. Ryu's team is separated again and Cerl locks herself in the South Castle. Ryu and Nina return to Carmen to regroup and get an insight into Cerl's past of being ostracized by the townspeople of Carmen. Alan says that in order to bring Cerl to her senses the heroes should get the fruit from the Holiday Tree. At the castle the scent of the fruit makes Cerl lower her guard and Ryu's team is able to enter. Cerl gives up without a fight and the heroes retrieve the Time Key. Goda arrives and brands Cerl a traitor. Cerl attempts to hold off Goda while the heroes leave. Alan arrives at the castle to help his friend but when he enters the castle vanishes. The team returns to Tock with the Time Key to restore time to Carmen. Nina goes to the pedestal to use the key which getsw stuck. Though Carmen is restored Nina gets pulled into a time/space distortion and dissapears. The group chases after Nina and find themselves materialized outside of Tunlan. In Tunlan the heroes find something most disturbing, Nina is alive and well but aged into adulthood and amnesiac! A cloaked figure appears before the party and tells them of a famous doctor that lives in Carmen. The party retrieves the necessary ingredients for the doctor's tonic and brings the medicine to Nina to restore her memory. Nina memory is restored and she rejoins the group, now capable of becoming a large, majestic, white bird. With Nina's newfound powers the heroes are at long last able to get access to the Dark Dragon city of Scande. The Dark Dragons have filled the town with slave laborers and rule with an iron fist. Ryu's team fixes an elevator and makes their way for the top of the main tower in the heart of the city. Inside the party runs into a mysterious cloaked figure again, similar to the one from Tunlan. The group is told to retrieve the D.Hrt weapon needed to slay any dragon from Tunlan. The party makes a quick detour to Tunlan to retrieve the D.Hrt which ends up being a peculiar song that Ryu, being a dragon, is disturbed by. The Tunlan musician somehow puts the D.Hrt song in a bottle and Ryu's team races back to Scande. At the highest peak of the tower the party comes face to face with Emperor Zog. Zog praises Ryu and says the he makes the dragons proud. Zog continues to say how he feels the world should be united under one ruler, him. Without wasting anymore words Zog transforms into a massive dragon and Ryu's most difficult challenge begins. After an intense battle Zog is killed and he leaves Ryu the dying of wish of building a new world for the Dragons. The floor collapses beneath Ryu and the party falls to the depths below. After some time Ryu is awoken by a familiar voice, his sister Sara is alive! Sara thanks Ryu's companions for aiding him and requests the Goddess Keys so that they may be destroyed. But it was a trick! Sara gloats that it was all too easy and reveals herself to be a servant of Jade who also happened to be the man in the cloak aiding Ryu on his quest. Jade informs Ryu of his mind control spell over Sara and teleports to Agua to release the Goddess Tyr. Ryu and his friends are left to die in the dungeon but are luckily saved by the enslaved Dirteater tribesmen. Scande is now deserted of Dark Dragons and the party makes way for Agua. Once again the heroes scale the heights of Agua only to arrive too late, Jade has released the Goddess Tyr from her imprisonment. Ryu and his allies give chase but come to an invisible barrier. Sara, who tells that the mind control spell slips in and out of control, destroys the shield and lets Ryu pass before her mind isn't hers again. Unfortunately Ryu and his party don't leave fast enough and are forced to fight Sara in her dragon form. Sadly, Sara's strength left Ryu and his team no choice but to kill her in order to survive. Sara draws her last breath and tells Ryu not to fret over her loss thanking him for releasing her from Jade's control. Climbing higher into the treacherous tower the group comes once again face to face with Jade. Jade claims to be all powerful now and banishes Ryu and his team from Agua. When Ryu wakes up he finds himself in his hometown of Drogden being cared for by the elders. Nina explains that Ryu has been out for three days and that Sara somehow managed to save them all from beyond the dead. Karn comes rushing in telling how Jade has risen the Obelisk and the party makes haste. Ryu takes time before the final battle to master one last dragon form: Agni. With Agni in tow the party makes way to their final confrontation at the Obelisk. The first enemy Ryu and his team face in the Obelisk is Goda, the one remaining from Jade's personal henchmen. Goda's stone form proves no match for Ryu and the team advances further into the Obelisk. Evntually Ryu and his team arrive at Jade's throne room. An impressed Jade offers Ryu a position in his empire promising his own town or two. Ryu flat out refuses and a dissapointed Jade attacks after transforming into a horrible monster. Ryu unleashes the full power of Agni on his most hated foe and the battle begins. Jade falls before the awesome might of Agni but is undaunted. He dies saying he knew it was his destiny to lose the moment he revived the Goddess. He bids Ryu farewell and leaves them to face Tyr. Below Jade's throne room lies a large open space. In this space a dainty little girl sits waiting. When approached she asks Ryu's team if they want a wish granted and restores their health and weariness from the previous battle with Jade. When the heroes decline a wish and draw their weapons Tyr knows the time has come to defend herself. Strangely she does not fight back against her attackers. She simply erects a barrier and weeps. The fighting stops as Tyr pleads for her safety. Tyr denies doing anything wrong and asks Ryu to be her friend. Ryu cautiously begins to accept when Sara's spirit appears and tells Ryu that the power of Agni will force Tyr to reveal her true self. Ryu transforms into Agni and Tyr reveals her true self as a horrifying and grotesque monster. The ultimate battle between the Light Dragon and the Goddess of Destruction commences. Ryu's teammates are all but powerless in this battle of behemoths. After an intense battle Tyr is destroyed vowing to return one day. The battle zone ground collapses underneath the heroes and they begin to fall from the heights of the floating Obelisk. When it looked like it was the end for Ryu and his friends the Fae, transformed into giant birds, came just in the knick of time to the rescue. At Winlan Sara appears one last time before Ryu congratulating his victory and saying her goodbyes. The Dragon Lord also appears before Ryu to congratulate him and rejoice in the birth of a new legend. Ryu's companions cheer and celebrate as they return to the world ravaged by war to repair it. One by one Ryu leaves his companions to their old lives and journeys off into the sunset alone. WHAT WE KNOW NOW: ----------------- -Tyr/Myria has been defeated a second time by the Light Dragons. -The Dark Dragons have been defeated and their campaign ended. -Everytime a crisis threatens peace a hero emerges from the Dragon Clan to save the day. OBSERVATIONS: ------------- -First and foremost you'll notice I left out that bit of going to get the I.Claw towards the end of the game. I was already exhausted with this game by that time and having to go do a side quest just to get into the final dungeon pissed me off. In fact you'll notice I left out a lot of side quest crap mostly because no one in the game tells you where to go, you're just expected to know which bugged the hell out of me when writing this. -This is probably the most ridiculously easy game in existance. Once you start picking up your dragon forms you can run over everything in the game with no challenge whatsoever. Myria/Tyr's "true form" is only fightable once you get the Agni dragon form and should you choose to use it you'll be doing max damage possible while taking very little yourself. I only had to heal once during that entire fight. And as for regular random battles Karn's fusions are the equivalent of Ryu's dragons in boss fights. -Here's something to think about. Nina2 learns from Nina1's ghost that because of her love for Ryu1 the Fae were weakened. At the end of BOF1 Ryu pulls a lone hero act and walks off into the sunset like a badass. I question whether or not Ryu1 and Nina1 got married like a lot of fans like to say. I personally don't think anything happened between the two. You don't get to know Ryu1 that well because of his limited script so it's impossible to say for sure whether Nina1's feelings were reciprocated. -The zombie infested town Romero is named after George Romero, mastermind behind the "Dawn of the Dead" movies. -Just something to note here, the majority of the Dark Dragons you fight don't actually transform into dragons. Zog is the only Dark Dragon you fight that becomes a legit dragon every other General or soldier becomes like a goblin or fish or something. There's obviously more dragons than just Zog, you see about six of them during your first dungeon with Nina. Just wonder why the other Dark Dragon soldiers you fight don't transform into a dragon. -So why exactly did Gobi think it's be a good idea to have a fight in a room filled with gunpowder? -......How exactly do you put a song in a bottle? That's what the chic at Tunlan did with the D.Hrt...I'm perplexed... Speaking of the D.Hrt I just wanna point out how you never HAVE to use it...ever. It will sit in your item slot for all eternity if left alone. Really pisses me off I had to take that detour in Scande for a useless item. -There isn't a whole lot to say about the story in BOF1. Everything that happens over the course of the game is pretty straightforward without a whole lot of room for questions. I do appreciate how the farther you get the more time was taken in some of the characters, specifically Cerl and Mote. Those two got more attention than some of your main heroes. -------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions BOF1 -------------------------------- Q: The Breath of Fire manga contradicts you on certain points. So what's right? A: For those of you who don't know there were four BOF comics (yeah, I call them COMICS, got a problem with that?). A BOF1 retelling, a post-BOF1 side story involving Ryu1 and Nina1, a post-BOF1 story involving Bo and Ryu's sons, and a BOF4 retelling. Obviously in said comics Ryu talks which lets us get to know him a ton better. Also a romantic relationship between Ryu1 and Nina1 is confirmed. However, the BOF1 retelling goes against the game at several points. For starters Jade and Sara are lovers. Not only that but Jade was under hypnosis by Myria to be evil. Ryu's final dragon form isn't Agni either, it's a beastly suit of armor that lets him do super saiyan stuff. And Myria never feigns innocence, she comes off as an evil little twirp from the get-go. It's for these reasons and a few others found in the comic that I choose to ignore it. When two sources of information differ from each other like that I choose to go with the original material, the game. Q: Is Agni supposed to be the Kaiser? A: BOF establishes in later games that the pinacle of the Light Dragon power is the Kaiser/Infinity. It's unknown whether or not the name Agni was intentional and Kaiser/Infinity hadn't been thought up yet or if this is just a translation issue (keeping in mind the name Rudra for Ryu's other form. The two are Hindu deities). I think it's kind of obvious that Agni is supposed to be the equivalent of Kaiser/Infinity and this can be chalked up to it being the first game in the series and a lot of the norms you see later on hadn't been quite established. -------------------------------- Breath of Fire Princess of Wings -------------------------------- -------------------------------- Inbetween I & POW -------------------------------- It's been two years since the defeat of Myria. The world has once again found tranquility. The heroes have left for their homelands and returned to normal life once again... Plot: ----- Chapter 1 - Nina reflects on the battle against the Dark Dragon Emperor Zog. She recalls the heartpounding fear, the strife, the pain, bost most of all she recalls the strength of herself and her companions. She remembers his defeat only to realize it wasn't really the end! The children wait with open ears for the next part of the tale but Nina teases that it's a secret. She makes a deal with the children for chores and homework in exchange for the next part of the story. A little girl comments that her papa says Nina and Ryu looke perfect together causing the Wyndian princess to blush. She responds with an earnest, "We'll just have to wait and see". Two Wyndian knights, Sieg and Rafiel, arrive and catch their princess goofing off instead of attending her own lessons. The children ask why someone who helped save the world still needs lessons on swordsmanship but Nina let's the jeers go. One of the children asks about Ryu. Apparently Ryu has not been around to see the Princess lately, almost as if he'd been ignoring her. The children tease that maybe Nina isn't "busty" enough. Nina hits the child on the head and begins to fly off earning the hearty laughs of the Wyndian knights. Far off, in the open ocean, a lone ship drifts along on their path. Suddenly the seas become chaotic. Once the seas calm the captain of the boat sees a large iceberg. From the iceberg two beings erupt from the ice and attack the boat. In the industrial city Gantz the Iron Ogres are in a stir as several of their kin encased in ice drift onto shore. Suddenly a large being clad in armor confronts Ox. The warrior calls himself Zazan of Ice Dragon Clan. Zazan quickly freezes Ox with no problem. As Princess Nina sleeps at night she has a dream. She remembers a time after their adventure ended. She finally has a moment with Ryu. Unsure of when she'd see him again she tries to tell him something. Ryu interupts saying he as something to say, that girls should be more busty... Nina wakes up with a startle (next to her Ryu embroidered pillow) only to notice unseasonable snow outside her window. Outside in the Imperial Capital Ryu is in battle against another warrior hailing from the Ice Dragon clan named Kruce. Kruce is surprisingly overpowering Ryu and encases the Light Dragon in a large ice structure. Meanwhile all over the world Gobi, Karn, Mogu, and the others are fighting the power of the global ice age being ushered in by these new foes. Back in Wyndia the King and his men are assessing the situation when Nina breaks in. Nina's plan is to gather the team together once again to solve this mystery however the King informs his daughter that Ryu has fallen to the cold wave. Nina decides to leave for the Imperial Capital herself. The King is not okay with this and orders his men to apprehend his wayward daughter. Sieg places Nina under house arrest and locks her in her room only for her to escape through a window. Rafiel is one step ahead of Nina and stops her outside her room. The two battle and after a heartfelt speech from Nina Rafiel allows her to pass to go save Ryu if she can with her healing magic on the condition Rafiel accompanies her. Below the excitement Kruce has arrived and makes short work of the Wyndian Knights. Kruce reveals their goal of world domination through a new ice age and gloats that he left the Light Dragon hero Ryu in a pillar of ice in the Imperial Capital. Nina swears to kill Kruce while Kruce promises to stain her white wings crimson red. Chapter 2 - Sieg, Rafiel, and Nina hold their ground against Kruce. Several other Wyndian Knights are involved in the battle as well but fall quickly before the Ice Dragon sorceror's might. The trio hack and slash their way through Kruce's icy hordes. Kruce stands impressed and says he looks forward to meeting them in person and vanishes, being just an illusion the entire time. Nina offers to heal the wounded but they tell her to save her energy for Ryu and make for the Capital. With the soldier's in good hands Nina, Sieg, and Rafiel make way for the Imperial Capital. Through a magic mirror Kruce spies on the "insects" while waiting for the Ice Dragon King to awaken. Nina and her companions are weary of the lack of opposition on their current trek and Sieg explains his fears that the Ice Dragon Clan is a far greater enemy than they believe. The King's men had found scriptures telling about the Ice Dragon Clan being the greatest thing Myria feared. The scriptures go on to say that in order to seal the Ice Dragons deep in the southern seas she halved her own powers. Nina comes to the conclusion that by destroying Myria, her and her companions must have broken the seal on the Ice Dragons. Rafiel chooses to look at things in a more positive light while Sieg is afraid of an enemy that Myria couldn't kill twice as strong as she was when she fought Ryu. Between the fear and confidence of their coming trial all three agree on one thing: they must get to Ryu. Below the Fae trio a postal serviceman is pinned down by Kruce's ice aborations. Nina, Sieg, and Rafiel easily best the beasts and the Postman says he has a letter for Wyndia's Princess. Nina accepts her letter and opens it learning it's from Ryu. In the letter Ryu tells how he's not going back to Wyndia for a while as he's working on restoring the Capital wrecked by Zog's Dark Dragon army. Nina blushes as she reads, "The best medicine for me is your smile!". After having some fun with their embarrassed member of royalty Rafiel theorizes that Ryu may have been defeated because he was exhausted from all the hard work. With newfound invigoration Nina soars into the sky faster than Sieg or Rafiel can keep up. Rafiel muses to himself that the world's strongest may not be an Ice Dragon King or Ryu but instead a woman in love. The party rests and Rafiel flies off for recon duty. Sieg remembers Nina's mother and her illness. Upon learning of her mother's illness a young Nina ran away from home to learn healing magic. When she returned she tried to use her newfound power to heal her mother but couldn't. Even at this failure Sieg still stood impressed that the young princess could learn such magic in a short period of time. Suddenly Sieg feels an incredible pressure moving towards their position. Kruce arrives and launches an assault on Nina and Sieg. Sieg fends off his adversary but eventually falls victim to Kruce's spell of freezing half of Sieg's blood. Sieg tells Nina to run but she refuses and tries to fight off Kruce's demons on her own. All seems grim, Sieg is down and Nina is at the mercy of Kruce's demons when from no where a fire arrow destroys the creatures. Bo has arrived! Kruce looks at this new opponent as Bo smirks. Chapter 3 - Kruce wonders how Bo escaped the frozen wasteland the Ice Dragons left Tuntar as. Sieg makes a new stand overpowering the spell of Kruce's and the battle becomes three versus one. Bo pressures Kruce and manages to land a critical blow with his fire magic. Through their teamwork our heroes finally manage to wound Kruce. In retalliation Kruce erects an large frozen pyre to take refuge in. Zazan arrives on the battleground and jeers his brother for being injured by such beings. Bo tries to shoot Zazan but Zazan deflects the arrow. Kruce prepares an attack to kill Nina, Bo, and Sieg but Zazan stops him. Zazan tells Kruce of the impending ceremony to revive the Ice Dragon King and says he shouldn't dirty himself with the blood of Nina and her companions. Kruce leaves with joy and Zazan takes over the battle. Bo opts to tackle this opponent himself so that Nina and Sieg can get to Ryu and the Capital. Bo's flame has less effect on the heavily armored Zazan than his previous enemy. Bo and Zazan battle furiously with neither able to topple the other. With his cunning Bo exposes an opening on Zazan and blasts the Ice Dragon with a powerful fire spell. Nina and Sieg come across a large crater in the ground and find Rafiel's sword lying in the middle. Immediately overcome with worry Nina lifts it. Rafiel appears shortly after unscathed looking for wherever he "lost" his sword. Sieg berates Rafiel for not being around during the fight with Kruce and Zazan but Rafiel tells of his own battle against an army of Ice Dragon minions until he was saved by the "boss lady". The three run into Rafiel's "boss lady" Deis and explain the current situation. Deis says not to worry about Bo, as he's the type of guy who wouldn't die even if he was killed. Deis teases Nina about Ryu and joins the entourage bound for the Capital. Nina senses danger looming and Deis applaudes her keen senses. Another army of Ice Dragon soldiers are charging the four heroes. Deis simply laughs and casts another unbelievable spell to turn the army into a crater in the Earth. Chapter 4 - Deis marvels at her handiwork while the others are stunned. Nina lectures Deis on the danger explosive magic has on the environment but Dies laughs it off saying it's her favorite kind. Rafiel and Sieg decide to focus their energy on protecting the princess from this point forward rather than battling Ice Dragons directly as they have a powerful mage on their side now. Kruce sees the show from his faraway position and deduces that Deis must have joined the group heading for the Capital. Kruce begins making plans for the security of the ceremony to ressurect their king, as Kruce will be defenseless during this process. First on his agenda is to eliminate Deis. The road to the Capital is wrought with Ice Dragon soldiers that only end up falling prey to Deis' incredible power. However the great sorceress is growing tired of these constant nuisances. Nina and Deis talk about teleportaion magic and how it for some reason can't take them to the Capital, Kruce must have done something they theorize. Kruce arrives to break up the calm and try his hand at killing Deis. The two great mages engage in a magical battle. Deis targets not Kruce, but his pride by using the same spells as him. Deis enjoys herself but decides to end her opponent with a powerful explosion spell. Deis'and Kruce's spells lock on each other and struggle for dominance. The two cannot move from their position during this struggle so Nina, Sieg, and Rafiel protect Deis from Ice Dragon minions in the meantime. Suddenly an arrow destroys an Ice Dragon creature and Nina smiles believing Bo has arrived. Unfortunately, while that arrow was shot from Bo's bow it was Zazan pulling the string. Zazan claims that he's killed Bo and has the bloodstains on the bow to prove it. Deis is momentarily distracted by this shocking news and gets overwhelmed by Kruce's magic. With Deis defeated and now unnaccounted for Kruce and Zazan turn their attention to Nina and her Wyndian knights. Nina calms herself and begins to pray. Kruce mocks the girl but as he's about to deliver his final blow the three Fae vanish. Nina had managed to teleport herself, Sieg, and Rafiel inside the Capital. The two question how Nina was able to perform this feat and Nina says she didn't think about the Capital, she only thought of Ryu. When the three look behind them they see a large ice structure with none other than Ryu imprisoned inside. Chapter 5 - Nina tries in vain to free Ryu from his prison. Sieg and Rafiel attempt to help their princess but none of them can free Ryu and Rafiel breaks his sword. Nina attempts to use her strongest healing spell but is again unsucessful. Sieg tries again to break the ice but is caught by an icy javelin that pierces his abdomen. Kruce and Zazan stand at the entryway. Kruce gloats that the two don't even need to kill the trio to revive their King, but as they happen to be around they consider it an added bonus. Kruce casts another spell to attack Nina with and Rafiel takes the hit. In doing so though, Rafiel got close enough to grab a hold of Kruce's hand. Kruce is undetered and impales the Wyndian on a large ice blade. Sieg and Rafiel fight the two Ice Dragons in vain to buy Nina the time needed to rescue Ryu. Nina tries desperately to free Ryu. She looks back to see her two knights fall dead at the hands of the Ice Dragons. Kruce launches four of his frost javelins and skewers Nina's wings, pinning her to the large ice prison. Zazan steps forward to finish of the princess when the ice suddenly shatters. Ryu has freed himself! Ryu apologizes to Nina for the horrible journey she had to undergo and Kruce stands awestruck. Chapter 6 - Ryu draws his blade and bears his aura at his foes. Kruce stares in awe at the person before him. Kruce knows this isn't the same warrior he fought before. Zazan steps forward with confidence. He jeers Ryu saying the young man should be shaking in his boots after his previous loss. Zazan charges to make his attack. With one slash Ryu cuts deep into Zazan, killing him. Kruce casts a barrage of icy spears at Ryu. Ryu's sword charges and with another slash Ryu launches a large, fiery dragon at his enemy. The dragon spell tears through Kruce's spell and submits the Ice Dragon. Ryu and Nina have a moment to themselves. She tries to greet Ryu with a smile but it hurts to do so. Ryu says it's alright and carries the princess in his arms. Nina looks over and sees Kruce move. Kruce raises a hand into the air and shoots a beam of light into the sky and dies. Ryu and Nina see no affect the light may have had and proceed outside. Gobi rides up with a portable hospital and Deis and Bo in tow. Nina is relieved to see Bo alive as he scoffs at the gesture of himself being killed. Gobi gets out the medicine to fix Nina's wounds and the princess regretably informs Deis and Bo of the death of their comrades. The moment of peace is soon shattered along with the ground as a tall tower shoots up from the depths below. Nina realizes what is happening as the Ice Dragon King steps out into the light for the first time in many centuries. Chapter 7 and 8 - As soon as the translations are finished this will be updated! WHAT WE KNOW NOW: ----------------- -There is an Ice Dragon Clan. -Myria was only at half power when Ryu and his party defeated her as she exhausted herself sealing away the Ice Dragon's years ago. (So what, this means I'd have had to heal twice as Agni?) OBSERVATIONS: ------------- -BOF:POW doesn't do a whole lot for the universe. In terms of anything that affects the other games there really isn't anything. POW is it's own self contained story that only borrows from BOF1. The only real revelation that would apply to the other games is that there is a confirmed third Ice Dragon Clan beyond just the Light and Dark. But they get picked off in this so it really isn't a big deal. It pairs Ryu1/Nina1 together so 'shippers are pleased with that. Otherwise, it's just the next adventure Ryu and his friends had. -Ryu1 gets personality and a little bit of depth in this. He's playful, hardworking, jovial, adventurous, and somewhat flirty. Also the author almost blatantly tells the audience Nina1 is madly in love with Ryu1. Granted the majority of this story is about Nina1, as Ryu1 doesn't really do anything until about 3/4 of the way through it, but the author gave us a little bit of insight into him. Was this the character Capcom was trying to portray? I dunno, but it's all we got. -Nina1 kinda has an unhealthy obsession with Ryu1. She has pillows with his face embroidered on them...kinda creepy. But then again I'm sure all you 'shippers and nerds out there will argue "But that's just love!". Well...it was written by the Japanese and they kinda go into unhealthy veunes with young love. Inuyasha anyone? C'mon you know I'm right. -So, according to BOF:POW, when you beat Myria/Tyr in BOF1 you beat her at half strength. So what does that mean for Myria as of BOF3? -This kinda screws with Myria's motives in a way. Until reading this comic I was lead to believe that Myria thought little of the Brood until the Light Dragon Clansmen kicked her keister. According to BOF:POW the Ice Dragons terrified Myria to the point she took immediate action and sacrificed half of her overall strength just to seal them away. -I keep going to this in parts of the analysis, but IF BOF4 is a prequel then the existence of the Ice Dragon Clan might mean that each of the former Dragon Gods could have had their own Dragon Clan possibly. Well maybe not all, because someone had to have started the Dark Dragons as Fou-Lu is no more. -------------------------------- Inbetween POW & II -------------------------------- This time gap is the only one we have a definite time frame for. Nina 1 says that she's Nina 2's great, great, great, great grandma. BOF2 takes place six generations after BOF1 so roughly 150 years. Some time between the two games (probably about 60 years or so prior to BOF2) the Church of St. Eva has risen to world wide power and the Dragon God Ladon has started to slip. There are still a few tribes that praise Ladon such as the Highlanders of Highfort. You'll still find some statues of Ladon's image here and there but gone are the temples replaced by Churches praising St. Eva. The Fae clan has begun to lose much of their power, specifically the ability to turn into a giant bird, due to the romance between Ryu 1 and Nina 1. The Brood/Dragon Clan have fallen off the radar of the world as well. Though not endangered in the world as much as they are in BOF3 they are still significantly fewer in number as they were forced underground to protect the world from Myria's "son", Deathevan. As far as the world was concerned the Dragon Clan was long gone by this time. On the plus side the Light and Dark Dragon Clans put aside their differences and formed one unified tribe in Dologany. A few years before the start of the game's course of events Valerie leaves Dologany to seal the passage to Deathevan. She's given the "Tear of the Dragon" to aid her up above. In Gate Valerie met Ganer in the church and they fell in love at first sight. Valerie continues to search for what is giving Deathevan power but takes some time out to get married and inpregnated, twice, by Ganer. When the seal cracked open and demons started emerging Valerie left behind her family and transformed into a dragon to strengthen the seal. -------------------------------- Breath of Fire II -------------------------------- PLOT: ----- The story begins with a young blue haired boy being called downstairs by his father Ganer to go and find his sister Yua. When Ryu finds Yua she's playing near a giant dragon. The two get attacked by a monster which Ganer saves them from. Ganer walks away with Yua who tells Ryu to take a nap near the dragon so that he might be able to see thier mother in a dream. When Ryu awakens and returns to the town no one recognizes him or knows of him. He goes to the church which takes him in for the night and meets a young Grassrunner, an anthropomorphic beagle, named Bow. Bow steals some candles and leaves with Ryu following. They enter a cave and discover a large purple tail. The two children decide to follow it and come face to face with a large demon. The children are easily swatted away and the scene fades. When we next see Ryu and Bow ten years have passed and they've gotten jobs as rangers in Home Town. A job comes in calling for assistance in getting a lost pet back for a woman named Mina. At first Bow is uninterested in the job but after seeing the attractive young girl that needs help Bow quickly changes his tune. Ryu and Bow travel to the mountain south of Home Town and run into a trio of harpies named Palo, Peach, and Puti. The duo defeat the harpies and make their way to a run down hut beyond the mountains. Inside the hut Ryu and Bow save a homeless old man's life and retrieve the pet pig Suzy. With the pet pig returned to Mina she returns to her home in Wyndia. That night Bow gets a visit from a man named Kilgore and goes to Trout's residence to steal a Magic Hood. Ryu wakes up to find Bow in need of his help as he's now a wanted man. Bow explains that in the middle of his attempted theft a blue haired woman with bat wings had already stolen the Magic Hood. Men come to take Bow but Ryu manages to sneak him to the run down hut by hiding Bow in a garbage can. Bow stays with the old man, Niro, to both hide and help fix up the hut while Ryu goes to find the real thief and clear Bow's name. Ryu travels to Colisseum following word of a strange female fighter. In order to meet this woman he must first get into the fights, which he does by defeating Baba and presenting his ax. In the arena Ryu meets Augus, the owner, who plans on poisoning the female fighter for a more "entertaining" show. Ryu informs a Shellback he met in Colisseum named Rand of this plan and Rand gets some antidotes. Ryu takes one and Rand tries, and fails, to get the female fighter to take hers. The fight commences and Ryu defeats the female fighter, a Woren named Katt. The poisonous darts start flying and Katt is struck. Ryu and Rand confront Augus after taking Katt to the inn to rest. Ryu and Rand defeat the transformed Augus and Katt joins the party. The party returns to Niro's house so that Rand can help with the carpentry. Ryu and Katt go to the magic school in Home Town on rumors of a girl with wings there. When they investigate they meet a Fae woman with black wings named Nina. Members of the Joker gang arrive and tell Nina they've kidnapped Mina and demand Nina's presence at their hideout. Ryu and Katt make their way to the Joker's hideout and save Mina. Joker transforms into a demon and is soundly defeated by the combined strength of Ryu, Katt, and Nina. The trio escort Mina back to Wyndia where Nina gets a cold reception. The queen dismisses Nina, Ryu, and Katt from the castle. In the city the group meets a Highlander named Sten. After a failed attempt at picking up Nina and Katt Sten joins the party. The party heads for the town Capitan where several children and adults have dissapeared in the well. With the help of an emissary of the Church of St. Eva called Ray the group saves the town and defeats the monster in the well. The party takes a carpenter from Capitan to Niro's house to take care of things. On their way back to Capitan the party finds a hut north of town where an old lady and a young woman reside. The old woman tries to unite the girl in red, Sana, with Ryu in shamanic magic but ends up unlocking his latent dragon powers. Back in Capitan the party takes a boat to cross the ocean. In the new land they traverse a forest and find a large frog under a spell by a witch. The party goes to the Witch's Tower and battles Nimufu. Upon their victory Nimufu tells the party how to break the spell, a kiss from a beautiful woman. Nina reluctantly kisses the frog who becomes...a human sized frog...named Jean. Jean takes the party to Sima Fort, his home. In Sima Fort he announces his glorious return but is instead arrested as an imposter. Jean's sister Petape asks the group for help in exposing the imposter Jean and clearing her brother's name. The party goes to the Wild Cat Restaurant where they get the royal ring from an inconsolable Nimufu. Back at Sima Fort the imposter Jean has his own fake royal ring and a cooking contest is started to determine who is the real Prince Jean. When the cooking contest ends with the imposter's victory Petape gets angry and goes to the lower levels of the castle, the imposter following. In a special room of the lower levels Jean and Petape are knocked out but not before a switch is activated causing the room to shake violently. The imposter Jean transforms into the demon Kuwadora and is defeated by Ryu and his party. The switch, as it turns out, merely opened a door to a treasure of the royal family. Jean's true identity is clarified and he decides to follow Ryu and his party as thanks for the assistance. Ryu and his team find the woman with bat wings locked up in Sima Fort and take her back to Home Town to clear Bow's name. Bow is given dinner as an apology from Kilgore for getting him into the predicament. Kilgore tells Ryu and Bow that something is still not right with Trout and asks again for Bow to assist him by getting evidence of Trout's crimes. Ryu and Bow sneak into Trout's home and find that he has several people locked up in his basement, including Patty, the girl with bat wings. Trout finds them and becomes a demon which is killed by Ryu and Bow. The two free all of Trout's prisoners and Patty leaves for places unknown. The group discusses the chain of events since Bow's hiding and they talk about the ominous feeling they have of things to come. The forest around Gate is destroyed and Bow and Ryu investigate as no other ranger has the courage to. They are advised to get the "Grass Man" to talk to the trees for information who is being held in a carnival near Tunlan. The team gets help from a whale named Grandpa to reach Tunlan. The carnival director, M.C. Tusk, refuses to let the "Grass Man" go and transforms into a demon. after beating M.C. Tusk they free Spar, the "Grass Man", and talk to the tree Ganadroof to get guidance on the coming darkness. Ganadroof unfortunately, is inhabited by a demon attacking his memory. In order to help the tree they need a Therapy Pillow from Tunlan. To add more to the problem the people of Tunlan only speak a language of music and a flute from Sten's home of Highfort is needed. The group travels to Highfort where it's residents are surprised to see Sten alive as he was supposedly killed in a battle in Goonheim. Sten leaves the group to be alone and Ryu's team explores the castle. Ryu's team comes in on a war meeting led by a Genreal Shupukay where they are discussing an ultimate weapon. Ryu's team is dropped into a prison area through a trap door and Sten encounters an old comrade of his named Trubo. Sten and Trubo fight with Sten as the victor. The fight destroyed the bridge though and Sten and Trubo are left at the bottom of the castle. Sten and Trubo split up. Sten reunites with Ryu and the team and confront Shupukay who is planning to sacrifice the princess to activate a terrible weapon. Ryu and Sten defeat the demonic Shupukay and save Herfarann. The castle begins to crumble and again Sten leaves everyone thinking he's died. The princess and Trubo are less convinced this time around and ask Ryu to keep Sten safe. Ryu takes the needed flute from Highfort and run into Sten as they're leaving. Sten rejoins and they head for Tunlan. In Tunlan they find that the Queen is severly overweight and needs a doctor's help. The team retrieves the doctor who shrinks them down to fight the monsters in her system. Once the monsters are taken care of the Queen regains her weight and as a show of thanks Ryu is given the much needed Therapy Pillow. With the Therapy Pillow the team is able to enter Ganadroof's mind and get at the demon, Aruhamel, attacking his mind. After restoring bits of Ganadroof's memory he tells them to go to Farm Town where they meet Daisy, Rand's mom. Daisy is taken by the Church of St. Eva and in order to get to her they need to fly. In Wyndia Nina passes a test to get the mark of the wing and has a conversation with Nina from BOF1 where she reveals that her love for the Ryu from BOF1 caused a weakening in the Fae race. The groups rests for the night and Mina sneaks into the room at night to steal the Mark of the Wing. Mina ends up becoming the Great Bird instead of Nina after a tearful goodbye and a promise to call the bird she'd become "Mina". The group flies to Evrai. After speaking with a woman named Claris in Evrai the group tries to leave but are caught in the town by an unknown force that won't allow them to leave. The once lively and joyous citizens are depressing, zombie-like individuals. Claris helps Ryu and his team escape the city and tells them to go to Cot Land. In Cot Land the group meets Tiga who becomes immediately infatuated with Katt and proposes. Katt leaves the group and Ryu takes the rest to get the treasure from Thieves Fort needed to fund the attack on Bando, a treasure which they find Patty already looking for. Once in Bando Ryu and his team fight Father Manson who transforms into Necroman. Once the group leaves the dungeon Katt and Tiga have disguised themselves as a nun and Father Manson and plan their attack on the Grand Church at Evrai. Ryu and Tiga's resistance sneak past the guards of the church and listen to Habaruku's sermon. Habaruku discovered Claris in the town and has brought her forth as an example to the rest. Habaruku is able to read Claris' thoughts and outs Tiga and their hideout. Claris' love for Tiga is unveiled and Tiga realizes his own feelings. Attempting to save her he is killed alongside Claris by Habaruku. Katt reunites with Ryu's group and they go to confront Habaruku. Ray appears and battles the group. Ray transforms into a dragon revealing that he too is of Ryu's clan. Ryu's party is powerless against the dragon Ray until Ryu awakens a new dragon form: Grand Dragon. With one mighty strike Ryu defeats Ray. After his defeat Ray says that in order to awaken the Grand Dragon in Ryu matching his strength through combat was necessary. With his last words he reveals where Rand's mother is and wishes Ryu luck in defeating St. Eva. The party finds Daisy and Habaruku. Habaruku leaves and causes the floor to cave in behind him, luckily though Rand was able to break the wall in Daisy's cell so the party could follow. As the party climbs the tower Rand's strength is again needed to break a wall down. Unexpectedly a section of the wall slams into Rand. Rand's strength is enough to save himself but he can't let go of the wall without being crushed to death. Rand tells Ryu and the party to go on without him so they don't have to watch him die. As they leave Daisy arrives and saves her son at the cost of her own life. Rand regroups and the party goes farther into the church. The party manages to catch up with Habaruku who has his lizardmen archers fight Ryu in his place. Ryu and his party defeat the archers and chase Habaruku farther into the church. In the final room of the church Ryu and his party find an old man strapped to a large machine. The old man demands to be killed so that "he" will not awaken. Ryu and his party free the old man from the machine but cause the foundations to crumble as a result. The old man teleports them to Town Ship where he is revealed to be Ryu's father Ganer. Ganer tells the story of what happened after Ryu was saved in front of the dragon. Aruhamel erased the memories of all the villagers intending to force them into the service of his God. Ganer was defeated by Aruhamel and was placed in the machine Ryu found him in. Ryu and his party leave Town Ship for Gate where they discover the villagers setting a bomb so that they can kill the dragon and get into the cave. The charges open up the cave and demons come swarming from the entrances. Father Hulk pleas with Ryu to bring Patty to Gate, who is supposed to be knowledgable about the dragon. The party travels across the world to end up finding Patty attempting to steal from Town Ship. Ryu tells her of the seal being broken and she leaves with urgency. Back in Gate the dragon warns everyone to leave as it is weakened. Father Hulk reveals himself to be Habaruku and tells that his God is what is being sealed by the dragon. Habaruku plans to kill Patty as only the life of a Dragon Clansman can break the seal. The dragon saves Patty's life and Ryu and his party fight the transformed Habaruku. Habaruku is defeated and the dragon says that the demon will remain sealed for now. However, the demon could come to life at any time. The dragon leaves it to Ryu to either fight the demon now or wait for it to emerge on it's own. Ryu chooses to confront the demon now and the dragon reverts to a blue haired, human woman. The woman gives up her life to open the seal to allow Ryu and his party in. Ryu and his party delve deep into the dungeon and discover a town deep within. An old man greets Ryu and refers to him as the "Destined Child" and tells him he is in Dologany, home to the Dragon Clan. Ryu and his team are taken to see the Elder of the town who are given the story of the defeat of Myria. Apparently after Ryu from six generations ago defeated the Goddess she left behind something referred to as "it". "It" was like a scar on the world and swallowed people's fears, desperation, hatred, jealousy and other negativity and grew. The Dragon Clan knew that "It" would grow powerful one day and become the world's enemy. "It"'s name was Deathevan and it spread throughout the world bearing no true shape. Deathevan was sealed until the day it could take ashape and be destroyed. The Elder concludes by telling Ryu that even though the Church of St. Eva is no more Deathevan must still be stopped. Before Ryu leaves the old man that met them first reveals that his daughter, Ryu's mother, Valerie still believes in him. Ryu enters the tower holding back Deathevan and finds a room dedicated to the power of the greatest strength of the Dragon Clan: Anfini. Ryu is told that he must sacrifice a friend to attain this power but refuses. His heart proves strong enough and he gets the power of Anfini anyway. Ryu and his party travesrse the final dungeon and find themselves in a pitch black room. A voice taunts Ryu in the unknown. The party discovers the source of the voice as none other than Barubary, the demon that Ryu and Bow encountered as children. Ryu finally defeats the monster from his childhood and as Barubary dies he warns that strength alone isn't enough to beat Deathevan. Ryu and his party pass through the final trials of the labyrinth and meet face to face with the man called Evan. Evan refers to Ryu as Nikanoru, a word for dead beings, and states his intention to rise to the world above and "bless" it. One by one Evan shatters Ryu's friends before his eyes. Ryu's rage ignites and he uses the power of Anfini to combat Deathevan. Mid-fight Ryu's friends are restored and rejoin him to face the final menace of their long journey. After an arduous battle Ryu and his comrades vanquish Deathevan. Deathevan dies without understanding why humanity wants to survive. Ryu and his friends happily return topside to Gate but something still weighs on Ryu's mind. Evil has not dissapeared it's just weakened and Ryu knows this. Ryu was prepared to seal the road to Dologany with his dragon form just as his mother had when from above the flying city Town Ship crashed down, sealing the cave. Ganer praises Ryu for his willingness to do his duty in sealing the cave but also berates his son that he did not raise to hurt his friends. With the depths sealed off Ganer tells Ryu that in order to keep Deathevan from returning Ryu and his allies should spread their will of justice throughout the world. With those words in mind Ryu sets off. WHAT WE KNOW NOW: ----------------- -The Dragon families joined together in Dologany. -Tyr/Myria is MIA. It is unspecified whether she is in a state of hibernation or deceased waiting to ressurect. -The Fae/Winged Clan are weakening. -The Dragon Lord/Ladon's religion is failing. -Deathevan is defeated, possibly still alive, and the Church of St. Eva disbanded. OBSERVATIONS: ------------- -BOF2 is wrought with mistranslations and spelling errors. The above analysis is the general flow of events but it's entirely possible that due to a mistranslation here and there some names/places are screwed up. I know Baba is supposed to be Bunyan, but Baba is the name I got from playing through the US release of the game so that's the name I'll use. The ending credit roll has almost completely different names and spelling for many of the characters, so again I've gone with what I got in the playthrough. It's infuriating. -The Fae at least had their wings during the time of BOF2. By BOF3 I only counted MAYBE 2 that still had wings. -I like this Nina the most out of the other four. She so different than the others. Nina1 was your stereotypical strong heroine fighting for the future. Nina3 and Nina4 were more or less the same, both had personal issues regarding living lives according to someone else's wishes and broke out on their own with the help of Ryu. Nina5 is just a damsel in distress. Nina2 on the other hand shares the strong female persona like Nina1 but gets brought back down to Earth by the tragedy of her "curse". She was ostracized by her people and exiled. I felt that much better for her towards the end of the game when she made up with her family because she was in such a sad state. I even like her different relationship with Ryu. Nina1 obviously had feelings for Ryu1 even if it's debatable that anything happened between the two. Though it's never blatantly stated there's some handwaving in that direction for Nina4/Ryu4 and Nina3 and Ryu3 go out of each other's way several times to support each other. Not Nina2 though. She never really comes on to Ryu2 or relies on him for anything. She's her own woman and doesn't need to be saddled down with a guy and I gotta respect her for it. Now obviously she did get with SOMEONE to continue the family line for Nina3 but I'm not convinced it was Ryu2 like a lot of fans like to believe. -In case you're losing sleep over it here's the deal with Ray: as a child he was orphaned and taken in by Habaruku. He was raised in the teachings of the Church of St. Eva though was never fully convinced by it. Somewhere along the road he discovered his dragon powers and fought for St. Eva. In Dologany you find out Ray is a decendant of the Dark Dragons led by Zog in BOF1. Personally I get kind of a Golbez vibe from him, like his whole plan was to piss off the hero to make him strong enough to tackle the real evil out there. -If you're curious why Valerie and Patty/Yua are the only Brood with wings it's because the underground Brood in Dologany had been near Deathevan for so long it started to alter their appearance, namely the wings. -In Ganadroof the old men will reference the BOF1 team. -Just me or was Deathevan a rather easy final boss fight? I took the guy down at level 38 with little problem. I had more of a challenge just making it to him than he himself. -For those of you who couldn't figure it out Yua is Patty (why the name change it never says), the dragon in Gate, Valerie, is Ryu and Patty's mom, so the family is Ganer and Valerie as parents with Ryu and Patty as the kids. Bateson is their family name according to the ending credits. -I'm under the impression that BOF2 is an attempt at trying to fix the ease of BOF1 by doing everything in the exact opposite. BOF1 was incredibly easy with a ridiculously overpowered Dragon form system. BOF2 will make you waste all your AP and medicines before you get halfway to the boss of the dungeon and had a Dragon system that worked more like the summons in old school Final Fantasy games. BOF2 did a lot of things better than BOF1 in terms of plot and characters but its on the complete other side of the difficulty spectrum when it comes to gameplay. -I can't help but wonder if humans are a blank slate of sorts in the BOF world. Valerie was a Brood and had children with the human Ganer but the kids ended up being Brood. Also makes me wonder if Nina2 and Nina3 have any latent Brood powers due to the lineage if in fact Nina1 and Ryu1 did marry and procreate. -You never even get to SEE the Anfini dragon form, biggest blue-balls in the whole BOF series. Thanks for nothing Capcom. -------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions BOF2 -------------------------------- Q: How can you say Nina2 and Ryu2 don't get together!? A: Easy. And you'd be surprised how many people feel like I've skinned a kitten alive because of this. The counter-argument to my observation always goes something like this: "Well if you get a bad ending and Nina is in your endgame party she says how she can't lose someone she cares about." Okay, what if you go for the good ending and don't have Nina in your endgame party like me? There's none of that to be found. And which is the canon ending? I'd imagine the good ending is canon, so does Nina say anything when Ryu decides not to hibernate at the cave? And even if one could prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Nina2 loves Ryu2 the biggest problem is Ryu2 himself. Ryu2 is a silent protagonist. He doesn't even get much in the way of physical expression like Ryu3 and Ryu4 get. He's a blank slate and it's completely impossible to tell his feelings. Thus leaving the best outcome of a completely one-sided emotional investment on Nina2's part. Capcom is the only one that knows for sure and I doubt they'd go back and drop this in an interview some time soon. And bear in mind folks, I'm stating this as an opinion, not as cold hard fact. Q: But its so obvious... A: No it's not, stop reading your vampire books. Q: You keep calling them Brood, but the game calls them the Dragon Clan, why? A: If you never played BOF3, "Brood" is another name for "Dragon Clan". It's easier to say, easier to type, and sounds way more BAMF. Q: So what IS Spar's gender? A: I like to think Spar is genderless, he's just a plant. But his shaman fusion will turn it into a girl. Because of this most players lean on it being female. -------------------------------- Inbetween II & III -------------------------------- BOF3 takes place quite a long time after the second game. We don't have a definite number of years but I'd place it anywhere in the span of a millenium give or take a couple hundred years. Enough time has passed that all land across the ocean from the continent housing Wyndia has become a harsh desert. The two major religions throughout the BOF series, the followers of Myria and followers of Ladon, have almost completely ceased. Only two of the familiar statues of Ladon's image can be found and Myria's religion is merely one village in the Urkan region. Technology had advanced to an era of super science before Myria had her way with it. Even in the flourishing continent robotics and fossil fuels in the form of "chrysm" are in study. Easily the biggest event in this time frame was the genocide of the Brood about 400 years prior to the games course of events. At some point the Brood came to the surface from Dologany and Myria revived herself. Myria's first order of business was to create the four Guardians to wage her war on the Brood. In said war the Brood don't even put up a fight, they just sit there and take it. The Guardians are considered great heroes to the worshippers of Myria. Not all of the Brood were slain though. A handful of them elected to take Myria's mercy and give up their powers and live off scraps on the edge of the desert, and an even smaller amount choose to hide deep underground the town of Dragnier keeping their powers. At least one Brood female manages to remain in the present day Dauna Mines and births her child, Ryu, there. Another major change in the world is the condition of the Fae clan, the winged race of humans from Wyndia. The once winged race has been grounded with the loss of their wings. Only members of the royal family still possess traces of their lineage. -------------------------------- Breath of Fire III -------------------------------- PLOT: ----- Our story begins in the Dauna Mines where two miners have discovered a young dragon whelp "dead" inside a giant slab of chrysm. When they use dynamite to break apart the chrysm the whelp wakes up and attacks, charring both miners. The whelp wreaks havoc in the mine before being knocked unconscious by the teamwork of a few miners. The whelp is on his way to be transported somewhere when it escapes the confines of the train. In Cedar Woods a Woren named Rei is trying to catch his next meal when a loud crash scares off his catch. Upon investigation Rei finds a naked child being hounded by a couple of currs. Rei easily dispatches them and takes the boy to his home. Rei lets the boy rest in his young partner Teepo's bed and the two leave to find food. In his dream a man with long purple hair spouts a message of hate to Ryu, calling everyone else weak and pathetic while another angelic woman comes to comfort him. Ryu wakes up and makes his way to McNeil village where Rei and Teepo are...aquiring...food. Rei and Teepo decide to make Ryu the third member of their gang and scrounge up some armor for him to wear. Rei and Teepo take Ryu to Yraall Road to "work". They send him to mug a big and burly man named Bunyan who is not amused by this attempted robbery. Rei and Teepo decide to go rob Bunyan's house while he's out but end up getting caught. Bunyan sends Rei to Mt. Glaus to take care of something while he has Ryu and Teepo help him around his house. When Ryu and Teepo finish their chores they go to Mt. Glaus to catch up with Rei, whom they find in a cabin. Rei understands why Bunyan sent him alone and says that he can't use "that" now that the boys are there. The following morning the trio is attacked by the Nue, a monster destroying crops and livestock in McNeil. The trio drive it off and pursue it to a cave. The Nue is killed and a sad truth is discovered: the Nue was gathering food for it's dead cubs. The trio return to their home and are welcomed as heroes in McNeil. A man named Loki approaches the boys and convinces them to steal the taxes collected by Mayor McNeil and disperse them to the town. At first the job proves simple, the guards are lazy and actually help the trio break in. Once inside though Ryu and Teepo find that the manor is haunted by the ghosts of all the McNeils. One by one Ryu and Teepo defeat the ghosts of the McNeils and meet back with Rei to steal the tax money. When the gang confronts the living McNeil the ghosts of the defeated ancestors appear and merge to form Amalgam. Amalgam is beaten, the money is taken, and McNeil is left cursing the group. The following day the trio is treated like villains again and the town is in an uproar about the money. Bunyan informs the group to watch the backs and lay low for a while. When the trio return to their home in Cedar Woods they find it in flames with two anthropomorphic unicorns responsible. Balio and Sunder lay waste to Ryu, Rei, and Teepo and leave them for dead. Ryu awakens in Bunyan's house who tells Ryu that his friends are most likely dead. Ryu decides to search for his friends and begins his search by traveling to Wyndia, the big city Teepo dreamed of. In order to get to Wyndia Ryu must cross Mt. Myrneg. On the mountain he runs into Balio and Sunder again who try to kill him once more. Ryu's dragon powers save him but he is still captured by Balio and Sunder who plan to collect a reward for bringing in a dragon to Wyndia. When presented to the King of Wyndia Ryu is back in his human form and all three are thrown in prison for trying to con the King. The young princess of Wyndia, Nina, comes down to the dungeon saying she feels sorry for Ryu and lets him go, along with Balio and Sunder. The twins kidnap Nina only for Ryu to rescue her. The two escape the castle through the underground catacombs and head for the city. Ryu and Nina get a possible lead on Teepo that takes them through Eygnock road, where they are again captured by Balio and Sunder. The kids are taken to the Arena and put under the guard of Fahl. Ryu and Nina easily escape the inebriated Fahl and head up Mt. Boumore. Balio and Sunder catch up to the children on the mountain but they escape yet again and find themselves at a Tower used for scientific study. Inside the Tower the group meets Momo and her mechanical partner Honey. Momo joins the party and helps them escape from Balio and Sunder's men. The group takes a rest at a Coffee Shop en route to Wyndia where they find out the road is blocked and meet up with a man named Palet. Palet is the manager of the Plant that Momo's father helped build and they are in need of Momo's genius. The Plant has recently been finding mutant plants in their crops, one in particular that doesn't want to be disposed of. In the Dump the trio discover the mutant plant is intelligent and hostile. The trio reluctantly dispose of the mutant but in return get it's child. An onion that they name "Peco". With the problem at the Plant solved the trio plan to be smuggled back into Wyndia to avoid Balio and Sunder's guards on the roadsides. However Palet betrays them and they are trapped in Arena again. The nefarious twins devise a plan to allow Ryu and two of his friends to participate in the fights in an effort to win big betting on him. Ryu and his team battle past hardened warriors, a scheming mystic, and finally a one on one with the champion Garr. Garr easily defeats Ryu and as his prize for the tournament demands Ryu and his allies be left in his care. The twins make one final attack on Ryu and his friends by fusing together to create Stallion. Stallion is defeated and the entire team goes back to Wyndia. In Wyndia a banquet is held to honor Nina's safe return and the king grants Ryu's team passage through the checkpoint. With Honey's "assistance" Nina runs away from home to join Ryu in his journey. Across the bridge Ryu and his companions come to the port city of Rhapala. The malfunctioning lighthouse is causing problems getting the ship back to port so they can cross the sea to get to Angel Tower. Ryu and his team want to the problem solved but theres a competition for the heart of the guildmaster's daughter Shadis. Beyd must defeat Zig to prove his strength and fix the lighthouse to prove himself worthy. With Ryu and Nina's training Beyd beats Zig. Unfortunately Beyd was badly injured and cannot go to the lighthouse. Ryu and his team opt to go in his place and discover the sabotage done by the Faeries. A monster has been plaguing the Faeries and demanded the lighthouse turned off so it could sleep. The monster at first appears as a friendly dolphin but quickly reveals itself as a vicious creature. Ryu, Nina, and Momo defeat the monster dolphin and save the village. Unfortunately though the ship still hasn't returned. Instead of taking the ship or the impassable road blocked by magma the group instead decides to go THROUGH the volcano to get to the other side. The volcano proves a treacherous trial filled with magma pits, poisonous gases, monsters, and the psychotic Gisshan capable of summoning two gigantic monsters aptly named Scylla and Charybdis. After a difficult fight Gisshan and his pets are defeated and the group takes refuge at Urkan Tappa, Garr's home. Garr visits with Sudama the Patriarch of their city. Sudama assumes that Garr has returned with his intuition of evil left in the world proven wrong and allows him to enter the tower to make his final amends. Angel Tower is infested with various demons and spectres and riddled with puzzles. Amidst all the danger Garr manages to lead the party to a large underground chamber. Garr requests privacy and the rest of the party leave he and Ryu all alone in the gigantic room. Garr informs Ryu that he was once involved in a war against the ultimate evil in the world: the Brood. He goes on to say that this underground room is a tomb filled with the remains of all the dead Brood. Garr attacks Ryu in an attempt to finally complete his lifelong mission of eradicating the Brood presence from the world. Ryu's mighty dragon powers prove too much for Garr to contend with and he is defeated. Garr questions how the Brood were butchered in the war if a child was capable of beating him and the spirits of the dead Brood in the room begin to have an affect on Ryu as he erupts with power and becomes a new dragon: the Kaiser. Ryu's power causes the inner sanctums of the tower to crumble at their feet. Ryu finds himself surrounded by darkness, taunted by various forms and voices. And then....it all fades to black... Seven years have passed and once again the Dauna Mines are plagued by a dragon. Garr attacks the dragon and manages to subdue it, causing the dragon to revert once again to Ryu. Garr begs forgiveness from Ryu and admits doubts of his actions during his holy war against the Brood. The mine is wrought with darkness and evil spirits trying to kill the duo. One spirit in particular is that a very angry Brood. The spirit tries to convince Ryu to murder Garr but, of course, Ryu refuses. Ryu and Garr defeat the Dragon Zombie and are visited by the spirit of a blue haired woman with wings. She says that the aparition they just vanquished was not a dragon, calling Ryu a "true" dragon. The duo leave the mines with a warning of a monster on Ogre Road and make their way back towards Angel Tower. On Ogre Road Ryu and Garr are attacked by the vicious Weretiger, the monster terrorizing the area. After a beating by Ryu and Garr the Weretiger flees and the two continue on their path. When they get to Yraall Road they find it blocked off by Wyndian soldiers saying until an investigation into McNeil Village is over no one can pass. A chat with the innkeeper of McNeil Village leads to Ryu and Garr hunting the tiger, chasing it to Cedar Woods. In Cedar Woods Ryu and Garr find the place Ryu called home with Rei and Teepo. Ryu gets a hunch and approaches the house alone. There he finds a face he thought he'd never see again, Rei! The two are overjoyed to see one another though neither can mention any sighting of Teepo. Rei says how he traced Balio and Sunder back to the black market in Sin City and has since been relentlessly attacking them. Rei departs telling Ryu that he can't let them get away with attacking his family all those years ago. Ryu and Garr frantically return to the village and find Loki maimed by Rei. At the manor Mayor McNeil has been arrested by none other than Nina, princess of Wyndia. Garr explains everything Nina's missed and the three go to Sin City to wrap up Nina's case. The trio find Sin City wrecked, dead and near dead bodies are strewn about. A survivor tells how "the tiger" was looking for their boss who had travelled north to the checkpoint. With haste the trio make for the northern checkpoint and find Rei attacking Mikba, the don of the organization. Mikba transforms into a demon and fights Ryu's team. Mikba's powers are great, capable of rivaling the stregnth of a Guardian, the Weretiger, and even a dragon. But even that grand strength wasn't enough to overcome Ryu and his team and Mikba was killed. Rei decides to go with Ryu to ask his own questions to God and joins the team once more. The team makes way for Wyndia but takes a detour to the Plant Momo works at. Ryu and Garr are blamed for Nina's dissapearance seven years ago and Nina wants them to solve the problem at the Plant to earn prestige in Wyndia. The team finds Momo working to solve the crop problem at the Plant. Momo is extatic to see everyone again and rejoins the party. At the nearby Yggdrasil tree the final member of the team, Peco, is located and they go into the compund under the Plant. The lower levels are like something out of a sci fi movie. Equipped with conveyer belts, computers, and automated doors this place seems far to sophisticated for the rest of the world. Four passwords are needed to enter the final room and through irradiated rooms, mutated slugs, and electronic puzzles four passwords are found. Ryu, Momo, and the team find Director Palet conducting an experiment to bring his mother back to life, an experiment started by Repsol, Momo's father's, attempt to bring his dead wife back to life. Repsol stopped the experiments for moral reasons but Palet continued. Palet uses a serum and turns himself into a giant mushroom. Though formidable Ryu, Momo, and their team emerge victorious and stop Palet's experiments, returning the Plant to normal. With the black market broken up and the mystery at the Plant solved Nina decides to take the group back to Wyndia for the passport. Still unsure of showing Ryu's face around though she brings in Rei to be the hero that helped her. At a celebratory dinner a guard comes in and exposes Rei as an ally of Ryu. Nina and Rei escape from the castle by using a teleportation device in the castle basement with Honey's aid. Fortunately Rei recieved the passport in time allowing the team to travel to the Rhapala region. With the roadway on Mt. Zublo cleared the group is easily able to get to Angel Tower. At Angel Tower Garr prays to his God hoping to see him but instead gets another visitor. A nude woman named Deis appears instead telling him to release her in order to meet God. Deis tells them that Guardian Gaist is the key to releasing her and vanishes. A quick investigation at Urkan Tapa reveals Gaist's location beyond the Tidal Caves. The town called Cliff lies beyond the Tidal Caves. Ryu and Garr meet with Gaist who agrees to free Deis on the condition he can speak with Ryu alone. Gaist tells Ryu that the Guardians started the war by hunting the Brood and goes on to say that he couldn't take it anymore and fled. Garr councels Ryu who goes back to confront Gaist's test. Gaist transforms into a large, devlish figure and engages Ryu in battle. Though strong, Gaist pales in comparison to the awesome might of Ryu's Brood powers. Gaist dies and the seal on Deis is released. The freed Deis is...firey...and lays into Garr with both verbal and physical reprimands for the slaughter of the Brood. Deis tells Ryu and his team to meet with her at the base of Mt. Zublo for further guidance. In Mt. Zublo Deis is back to her true form and opens up Ryu's "Dragon's Eye". The Eye points Ryu to the north across the ocean. Needing a ship the party tracked Beyd down to Junk Town on business. In Junk Town the ship is still under repair and the guild can't fix it quickly. Luckily for Beyd Momo is there to help and she gives Ryu a list of parts to get from Steel Beach. Garr passes a test to prove the strength of the team and they are allowed into the freighter to search for parts. Once all the parts are found the team rushes back to Junk Town to give Momo what she needs. The boat is fixed and Ryu, Beyd, and the team take it back to Rhapala. Along the way a large and mysterious, black, iron-clad ship is seen. Back at Rhapala Zig offers to pilot the boat to the other continent and the group gets underway. The small ship is incapable of crossing the ocean and the group is forced to return to Rhapala. A rumor of the Legendary Mariner is traced to a town called Parch. The Mayor is at first disgruntled due to eating so much fish in Parch but after getting some home-cooking called Shisu the Mayor tells the group where they can supposedly find the Mariner. The party finds the Mariner, Kukuys, who tells them the only way to cross is via the Black Ship. Momo tries to stop the Black Ship by firing on it but the ship quickly proves it's nautical dominance. Momo's second plan is to ram the ship and it surprisngly works. Onboard Momo manages to get the ship's computer to take it back to it's homeport on the other side of the ocean. After several days of travel and an encounter with nasty sea creatures the team makes it to Kombinant. The people of Kombinant are more like drones than people and the surrounding landscape is barren and devoid of life. The party passes through the Steel Grave, a junkyard of machines and technology, to further explore the new world they've entered. Past the Steel Grave lies the Colony. Immediately Ryu and his team notice a large satellite dish atop the compound. Inside the team finds a teleporter akin to the one found in Castle Wyndia. Momo gets the teleporter working again and the group uses it which to their surprise takes them back to their home continent. Momo aligns the antenna for the teleporter at Steel Beach and the team uses it to travel to Dragnier. Ryu and his party are graciously greeted upon entering the desolate town of Dragnier. Griol, patriarch of Dragnier, celebrates the return of the dragon prince with a large banquet. The residents of Dragnier are all Brood that gave up their power and fled to the wastelands so as not to be found by the Guardians. Later that night Griol tells Ryu that they can lead him to Myria once he's awakened his full powers. When morning rises the elder of the Brood, Jono, wishes to meet with Ryu. Deep beneath the city Ryu and his team meet with Jono. Jono explains to Ryu the history of their people's war with Myria, and about the first battle against the Goddess fought by BOF1 Ryu and his team, forever immortalized on a mural against the wall. Jono speaks to Garr about his religion, specifically about their doctrine to never speak the name of the Brood or Myria, claiming that no one will ever truly know of the struggle unless they are willing to speak up. Jono goes on to tell Garr that while some of the Brood may hate the Urkans and the Guardians he does not, calling the war fate. Jono tells Nina about the Brood and Myria saying that the Brood just may have been too dangerous to leave unchecked. He tells her that Myria feared that power and sought to eliminate it though that doesn't necessarily mean Myria was good and the Brood were evil. After getting a final kiss from a pretty lady, Nina, he tests Ryu by sealing his Brood powers in a battle to the death. Jono transforms into a mighty dragon and attacks. Even with the odds stacked against him in this insane trial Ryu manages to overcome and awaken the power of Infinity: Kaiser. Up above in Dragnier, Griol tells Ryu that the Goddess lies beyond the Desert of Death. Horis is sent with the team to aid them in their travel across the vast desert. At the edge of the Factory Horis sets up a base camp that Ryu and his team can return to if necessary. The Desert of Death lives up to it's name. Plagued by monsters and under an unforgiving sun the group struggles to make their way. At the edge of the desert one final test awaits: a monster called a Manmo confronts them. Unfortunately for Manmo it's standing somewhere it shouldn't, between Ryu and the sweet relief of the Oasis. The Manmo is destroyed by the weary travelers and they press on. At the end of their trial disaster strikes in the form of Nina falling out due to heat related injury. Ryu has no choice but to kill their Rakda to give Nina the necessary nutrients to make it through alive. The group arrives at Oasis and the leader of the town Fa'ah nurses them all to health. Fa'ah directs the team to the ruins of Caer Xhan and the team makes haste. Caer Xhan is a city unlike anything Ryu and his party had ever seen. Looking far too modern for their world the group is awestruck by their futuristic surroundings. The group manages to activate the platform to take them high in the sky to Orbital Station: Myria where they enter yet another futuristic environment. The team must first navigate through the lower levels of the station to gain access to the main interior. The team successfully treks through the maintenance level and opens the passage way to the main lobby area. The team next explores an experimentation area of sorts looking for a keycard to get further into the station. The group manages to find the key however it's in a cage with a sleeping beast called Chimera. The team shuts off the sleeping gas pacifying the beast and attempts to get the key. As one would expect the Chimera wakes up and attacks only to fall to Ryu's blade. With the Keycard in hand, along with some special ammunition for Momo's cannon, the group moves to the next section of the Station which is a wilderness-esque area. The trip is fairly uneventful through the overgrown and untended environment. Eventually Ryu and his team come to an ominous hallway with an elevator at it's end. The elevator takes the team to a place called "Eden", and true to it's name is a venerable paradise with green meadows, a quite river, peaceful trees, and chirping birds decorating the landscape. But the biggest surprise was yet to come. After a quick exploration Ryu and Rei were finally reunited with Teepo! As happy as Rei is to see Teepo his jubilation is cut short by Teepo's new superiority complex. Teepo explains that after the attack on their lives by Balio and Sunder he learned that he too was Brood. Eventually he was picked up by Myria and has since come to believe that his race is an evil race that must be destroyed. Teepo's powers allow him to trap Ryu within his own mind. One by one Ryu looks into the hearts of each of his friends and sees their truth: Nina's search for her own identity, Rei's search for an answer regarding his and other's unnatural power, Momo's insatiable curiosity regarding the Techno Age, and Garr's shaken faith. When Ryu comes across Peco, Peco shockingly speaks and comforts Ryu by telling him that all that is about to happen is his choice and that, while great, the Brood were not strong enough to save or destroy the world. Finally Ryu comes in contact with a vision of himself that tries to convince him to side with Myria. Ryu disregards the illusions and confronts Teepo who continues to chide him. Teepo again tries to talk Ryu over to his side and fails, unleashing a demon called Arwan to destroy Ryu's Brood powers and seal him within his dream world. Ryu makes short work of Arwan and returns to Eden. Teepo, in his own twisted way, believes Ryu is fighting against the good of the world for his own selfish reasons and has decided he must die. Teepo transforms into his dragon form: the Tyrant, Dragon Lord, a monstrous dark dragon of immense power. Teepo's power is massive but is ultimately defeated by Ryu's Kaiser strength and the combined might of his allies. Teepo believes he's proved his point by this latest display of violence and dies saying how all he wanted was things to go back to the way they were when he, Rei, and Ryu were a family in Cedar Woods. Ryu takes the keycard of Teepo's and leaves his body to rest. Teepo's key allows the team access to the most secure areas of the Station via the main lobby. A winding tunnel with several dead end forks leads the group to a series of containment rooms housing clones of very familiar enemies of the past. After defeating the gauntlet of old foes the team makes their way to the heart of the Station. After a long explanation of Myria's holiness by her holographic servants the team finally comes face to face with the Goddess Myria. Myria justifies her slaughter of the Brood by saying their power was too great for her fragile world to handle. Myria goes on to explain that she is "mother" in a sense to the rest of the world and all should allow her to take care of them. From the destruction of the Brood to the restriction of technology Myria justifies all this so that she can preserve all life. The team rejects this notion and state their loyalty to Ryu and their desire to be allowed to live free of Myria's interventions. Myria warps Ryu's allies away with the intention of erasing their memories of this experience but Peco, now speaking as Yggdrasil brings them back. Peco/Yggdrasil and Myria converse about the fate of the world and Ryu is left with the decision to live with Myria as Teepo did or die. Through his and every one of his friends reasons, like Nina's belief in Ryu and Rei's anger at Myria for Teepo, Ryu opts not to give up his power and fight for the future without Myria. Myria is unpleased with this turn of events and reveals her true form as a horrific demon. The final showdown ensues and Myria's powers are incredible. Her magical knowledge, her raw strength alone, and her other satanic abilities push Ryu and his team close to the edge of defeat. But, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance Ryu, Rei, Peco, Garr, Nina, and Momo overcome this insane obstacle and win. After the battle Garr bids his friends farewell and enters the stone sleep, his death, as his mission is finally at it's end. The Orbital Station begins to collapse around Ryu and the others and they make a hasty escape. Myria reflects on her defeat and the ill future she sees for the world when Deis arrives. Deis tells her sister Myria that even though she went too far in certain areas, namely the genocide of the Brood, she shouldn't worry about her "children's" future. Deis stands next to Myria as the Station explodes around them. Ryu, Nina, Momo, and Rei are left to head back to civilization and to the new world they've all helped create while Peco stays behind to begin life anew on the ravaged continent across the sea. WHAT WE KNOW NOW: ----------------- -Myria and Deis might be dead. -The majority of the Brood/Dragon Clan were wiped out in a genocidal campaign ordered by Myria. -Ryu is the last remaining Brood/Dragon Clansmen with the ability to transform. -The Fae/Winged Clan have almost completely lost their wings. -All four Guardians are dead. -At present the continent west of the main one is wrought with dessert and wastelands though Peco is seeing to it's revival. -Without Myria technology has the ability to advance. -The Black Market Mikba ran has been disbanded. -The Dragon Lord/Ladon's religion has almost completely dissapeared. -Myria's religion is limited to Urkan Tapa. OBSERVATIONS: ------------- -I want to say I'm very pleased with Ryu's character in this game. Sure he still doesn't talk which makes it incredibly difficult to really get to know his character but the addition of his physical responses to situations lets us get to know him a little better than the other two Ryus we've dealt with. -When you take a good look at it you don't explore too much of the world in BOF3. Much of the good continent is blocked off by checkpoints, impassable mountains, or vast forest. So even though you may not go to Sima Fort or Highfort or Tunlan that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't around anymore. -BOF3 marks the beginning of Ryu and his rival character being polar opposites of each other. -Take a GOOD look at the McNeil mansion. Just me or does the layout pay homage to the Spencer Mansion from Resident Evil? -So why WAS Garr with Balio and Sunder? He was a holy crusader who has been around for at least 400 years why would he associate with a gang of thugs? -Garr and all the characters central to the war will use 400 years and 500 years ago interchangeably. 400 years is the one I saw used most often so that's what I've gone with for the purposes of the analysis. -I'm really curious about the Old Man you fight in Mt. Zublo. Granted he's crazy but he says he's fighting for "those buried in the tower" which would of course be the Brood. I at first thought maybe he had some Brood heritage but at the end of the game when he's shown in the flashback of super powered beings I'm thinking he has more to do with Myria's side. The answer I'm leaning towards is that he's in the same category as the villains in BOF2, beings who for whatever reason had their hearts swallowed by the current deity's powers. -In case you're wondering this is the kill record of the Guardians: Garr 299 Gaist 234 Gatz 201 Gaw 198 -I know the Guardians all say the Brood didn't put up a fight but I can't help but think some had to have resisted. That Dragon Zombie is pretty damn pissed off and says there are other spirits crying out for vengance. The Guardians had to have encountered at least a little bit of resistance. -Boy that woman with wings Ryu and Garr run into in the mines sure reminds me Valerie! I'm under the impression that's supposed to be Ryu's mother in spirit. -So you can find teleportation devices, relics of the technology Myria limited, on the prosperous continent. I think it's safest to say that scientists like Momo were the ones who hooked them up and couldn't figure out what to do with them from there. It seems ridiculous to assume that technology flourished on the good continent as well and no one has any records of Myria's intervention. -I really want to meet the person who was able to move up the main deck of the Black Ship in the Ammonites fight. Seriously that feat is harder than beating Kingdom Hearts 1 Sephiroth... -Okay so this bugs the hell out of me, the Orbital Station is supposed to be Myria's house of sorts though there's all this living space and equipment lying around for teams of researchers or something. So did Myria commandere the station or what? And how friggin' long was Chimera asleep for anyway!? -Myria and Deis MIGHT be dead. I say "might" because even though they were at the base of an f-ing huge explosion Myria has been killed once and ressurected already. And Deis does enjoy her naps. Just saying if BOF6 is a continuation of the BOF1-3 timeline don't be surprised to see her again. She's been like Ganon to Ryu being Link. THE WAR IN-DEPTH: ----------------- So the big story in this game is the Great War between the Brood and Myria so I guess I should give that it's own section. You could say that this war began way back in the time before BOF1 when the unnamed Dragon Warrior and his seven allies (500$ says two of the names were Ryu and Nina!) fought Myria who was relishing in the carnage of the Brood's civil war. The Warrior and co. fight and defeat Myria by sealing her off using the Goddess Keys. Some years later Myria has the Dark Dragons doing her dirty work and the shit hits the fan. Cue BOF1. It picks up again between the times of BOF2 and BOF3 (note that in BOF2 you're not fighting anything Myria threw at you intentionally, during this time she's dead or in hibernation or whatever). Myria comes back and among her first decisions, based on revenge or genuine fear of the Brood power, is the mass genocide of the Brood. I may have missed something but the story doesn't specify whether this is before or after she cut off the desert continent from the rest of the world and moved some of it's inhabitants to the flourishing continent. I want to say that since Garr and the other Guardians had never been across the ocean this war was after the separation of continents. The war kicks off when Myria creates her four Guardians and sends them on their death march. [On the subject of the split continents I want to point out something that irritates me. Myria says that she came in and made the ocean to split up the two halves of the world. But in BOF1 and 2 the world is already split into two continents pretty much. Take a look at the world maps if you don't believe me. BOF1 takes place on one continent, though the placing of certain places like Tunlan isn't consistent, and BOF2 takes place on two continents split apart by a vast ocean. My point is that there's ALREADY an ocean separating them. The desert may have originated on the eastern continent but the west was already protected by "Myria's" influence. So my guess is that Myria is just taking credit for something the planet already took care of. Also this desert would have consumed Farm Town, Sima Fort, and that big forest with Ganadroof just to name a few famous spots. Truthfully though...would anyone want Jean's legacy to live?] During the war the Brood don't even put up a fight. One by one they allow themselves to be murdered by the Guardians for fear that if they had actually fought back they could cause a catastrophy to the world. Deis is a continuous nuisance to the Guardians as she constantly shows up and more or less bitches them out each time, as she tends to do. It's never said whether or not she actually gets hands on in the war at all but I'm guessing she didn't. I'd imagine the Guardians would have tried to kill her if she tried to hide them or anything and as there's no mention of any battles against Deis I can only assume they got tired of her being...well...her and sealed her in Angel Tower. After the war was over Gaw and Gatz let themselves enter the stone sleep. Gaist left before the war was over and secluded himself in Cliff becoming a disgraced Guardian in the eyes of the Urkans. Garr never felt that his work was completed and stayed awake for 400 more years to ease his mind that the evil Brood were all deceased. All was not lost for the Brood however. A handful of the Brood gave up their power and left for the village now known as Dragnier. An even smaller number remained underground to conceal their powers from Myria's prying eyes in two specific areas: the Dauna Mines and Dragnier. Jono held onto the power of Infinity beneath Dragnier and Ryu's mother birthed him in the Dauna Mines. Somehow Ryu was encased in chrysm and the rest is the game. -------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions BOF3 -------------------------------- Q: So what's the deal with Myria in BOF3? Is she truly evil or is she just an overprotective mother of sorts? A: I see this question pop up a lot in BOF forums. Let's start from the beginning: Way, way, way back in the day the dragon clan was in a civil war over Myria/Tyr's BS. She loved it and watched the Light and Dark Dragons kill each other. Eventually Deis, a Light Dragon, and 6 other heroes came in and whooped Myria/Tyr and sealed her with the Goddess Keys. Cue BOF1, the Dark Dragons release Myria and Ryu, a Light Dragon, has to go beat her again. This time instead of sealing her Ryu and his party are under the impression she's dead. In reality she's either in hibernation or actually is dead and is waiting to resurrect herself. I also want to note here that when you face Myria/Tyr on this occasion she heals your party and comes off at first glance a crying little girl before showing her true colors as a coniving bitch. She's been deceptive from the beginning. BOF2 happens and bears a whole lot of nothing other than Ryu beat Myria/Tyr's "son" happens. Pre-BOF3 Myria comes back. Here's where things get debated. I've always been under the impression that Myria/Tyr removed the only obstacle standing in her way from total domination, as no other race had the power to match her. As for whether or not her heart was "in the right place", you can say so. She really did want to be the God of a world and a God needs something to be God over. It's just the Brood have a history of wrecking her face. I can totally agree when people say Myria has an "overprotective mother" complex. However I think it's naive to say she eliminated the dragons ONLY because she thought they were a "danger" to the world. Q: Towards the end of Ryu's dream world, when he overcomes Teepo's illusory Ryu Teepo says "It seems you count Yggdrasil amongst your companions". What did he mean by that? A: Peco, from what I've come to understand from my playthroughs, is an extension of Yggdrasil's influence. Peco is Peco yet can be used as a spiritual medium for Yggdrasil. It's why Peco is the only one to talk to the trees and why you found him sitting around near one post-time skip. It's kinda like Peco get's possessed by the aura/energy/essence/spirit of Yggrdasil. Q: Hey I've found Mogu! Does this mean BOF3 takes place sometime close to BOF1? A: Not in the slightest. Capcom has a habit of hiding Easter Eggs in their games for dedicated players to find. You'll also notice in the Contest of Champions before you fight Garr Chun Li and Sakura in the stands. Doesn't mean anything. Q: What are the differences in the PS version and PSP version? A: Not much, here's a quick list: There is an extra fishing mode and picture gallery. The PSP version features game data sharing. The Stallion boss has changed. The Myria carries an Ivory Charm instead of Napalm. The item dupe glitch does NOT work in the PSP version. Q: Can you beat Balio and Sunder in Cedar Woods? A: No. No. A hundred times more no. Anyone who says they accomplished this feat is a dirty liar. Delete them from your Facebook. For more in depth knowledge into the matter I would like to direct you to this link: http://www.gamefaqs.com/psp/928759-breath-of-fire-iii/faqs/18685. The author, DavidK519, wrote up an outstanding walkthrough which has a section covering the subject. Q: What about the Tyrant Gene? A: It doesn't exist either. From what I understand the myth was that you could somehow take Teepo's Tyrant Gene after you kill him. I couldn't find any specifics on it but rest assured it's another false rumor. -------------------------------- Before IV -------------------------------- 600 years ago the land was divided into several nations. Nations that all wanted to murder each other. The people of the land prayed and Fou-Lu came in and settled all the conflict by uniting them all under the first Fou Empire. After this was accomplished Fou-Lu was exhausted, as he was not a complete deity. So he went into a deep hibernation until the time Ryu would emerge and he could make himself a whole God, cue the game... -------------------------------- Breath of Fire IV -------------------------------- PLOT: ----- "It all started on the third day after we left the castle. That morning, we had entered the Great Desert on our sandflier. We were heading toward the town of Synesta. It was the last known location of my sister Elina. Synesta lies on the edge of the desert. All we had to do was cross the desert...", Nina thinks to herself as Cray, her Woren companion, pilots the sandflier. In the following morning the duo look for shade to escape the desert heat when they are suddenly attacked by a dragon hidden in the sand. Cray tries to take evasive maneuvers but the sandflier is ultimately crashed and wrecked. Fortunately Nina and Cray survive unscathed. Cray tells Nina of some towns near their location. Nina leaves to look for parts while Cray reluctantly stands guard over the sandflier. With the King's Sword in hand given by Cray for protection, Nina makes her way south to the town Sarai. Not too far into her journey Nina comes across a merchant running for his life as his cart and cargo lie at the bottom of a crater. Nina trips into the small crater and comes face to face with another dragon. To Nina's surprise the dragon is docile and does not attack her. The dragon hovers in the air and vanishes, leaving behind a nude, young man. Shocked Nina immediately asks the man to search the cart for some clothing. Nina learns that the young man, known as Ryu, isn't another merchant working on the cart and has no memory of anything up until seeing her. As Ryu has no idea where he is or where he's going Nina convinces him to join up with her for the time being and allows him to use the King's Sword. In order to get to Sarai Nina and Ryu must first pass through a series of cliffs. The move along safely until Nina trips and falls from the heights. Ryu immediately springs into action hoping to sprint down the cliff fast enough to catch Ryu only to see Nina floating down gently using her wings. Nina thanks Ryu for his attempted heroism and the two camp in a cave. Elsewhere a brilliant beam of light erupts from an ornate tomb. A blue wolf-like being and a white haired young man step outside. The blue wolf refers to the man as "Majesty" and wonders where the celebration and preists are at for his lord's revival. The white haired man is unbothered by this, saying that they are merely mortals. The white haired man senses a power far off somewhere in the world. The man orders his servant wolf, Won-qu, to guard the place of their rest and leaves for the capital. Making his way through the grounds the man is confronted by two soldiers who are on lookout for a Dragon of Doom said to bring ruin to the empire appearing that night. When the soldiers say they'll slay the dragon the white haired man is amused and chides them as mere mortals. The man summons a dragon and eliminates the soldiers. The white haired man eventually makes his way through a trail and encounters a small, elderly man. The old man greets the white haired man as the God Emperor Fou-Lu. Fou-Lu berates the old man for sending soldiers to slay him knowing full well who and what he is. The old man simply says that times have changed and summons a beast called Kham to attack the God Emperor. Fou-Lu transforms into a godly dragon to combat this foe and swiftly vanquishes the beast. Though victorious Fou-Lu has not regained his full strength after his long slumber and is forced to flee telling the old man that he will come back for his empire. The old man has his troops set fire to the forest in an effort to kill Fou-Lu before he can reach his full power. Fou-Lu makes it to a suspended rope bridge and is again greeted by the old man. Fou-Lu learns that the old man is Yohm, General of the Imperial Army sent by the current Emperor to ensure that his throne is not taken from him. Yohm strikes Fou-Lu and knocks him into the depths below. Back at the cliff morning has come and Ryu and Nina make way for Sarai. At Sarai Ryu still remembers nothing and Nina is left clueless on how to help. Nina and Ryu go their seperate ways, Nina looking for sandflier parts and Ryu looking for anything to guide him. Ryu finds his way to a tavern where he buys a man a meal to get information about himself. The man at the tavern points Ryu to another fellow at the local inn. Though unable to find information about his past Ryu is able to find information on sandflier parts and reunites with Nina to share the news. The information broker's info leads Ryu and Nina to Sandflier Valley, a junkyard of sandfliers. When the two are finished digging in the sand they return to the Sarai tavern to have the parts serviced only to find the Imperial Army. The Imperials have come to Sarai seeking information on the dragon spotted earlier that day. When the soldiers' interrogation methods start to become harmful to the innocent bystanders Nina steps in to try and quell the tension. The leader of the troops, Rasso, recognizes Nina as princess of Wyndia and plans to take have his summoned monster, Joh, capture her. Once again Ryu leaps into action to save Nina but breaks the King's Sword in the process. Ryu and Nina flee and thanks to the merchant they helped learn they can go to Chamba to avoid the roving Imperial patrols. Ryu and Nina arrive in Chamba and notice a large portion of the city blocked off by a large wall. The two learn that Chamba was hit by an Imperial Hex, a horrifying weapon of mass destruction that leaves corruption and pollution in the atmosphere of where it strikes. The city is being cleaned but much of it remains uninhabitable. The Purifiers working to remove the Hex return and Nina and Ryu are introduced to Ershin, an...odd...warrior of small stature. Ershin is the only one crazy enough to guide Ryu and Nina through the Hex to get them to Cray in the desert and the trio begin their trek through the polluted sections of Chamba. Chamba's main city is in ruins thanks to the Hex. Dark spirits and ghouls haunt the city and are a constant nuisance to the trio. Towards the end of their trek a large decaying fish monster called Skulfish attacks. The trio dispatches this detestable foe and leaves the infected city. Nina thanks Ershin but regrets to inform that she has no way to pay for the assistance. Ershin says that no thanks is necessary as Ershin wishes to accompany Ryu. Still confused by Ershin's constant use of third person the two let her tag along anyway. Nina, Ryu, and Ershin finally arrive back at the crash site and reunite with Cray. Nina tells Cray about all that has happened and says she never could get proper parts for them. Cray tells her not to worry about it and Ershin comments that the sandflier was attacked by a dragon. Cray wonders how she could possibly know to which Ershin replies that Ershin can sense such things. Everyone goes to sleep and Nina has a dream... In Nina's dream herself, Ryu, and Cray have just made their way into a stronghold of some sort. Cray claims this to be the place Elina is being held. The trio make their way to a lobby area where two ornately dressed men walk in talking about a sacrifice. At that point the dream ends... The following morning Cray and Nina talk about them having the same dream. Ershin wakes up and tells that the dream was actually Ryu's. The dream was a possible future seen through a Dragon's Eye. Cray comes to the conclusion that if Ryu joins them they will be able to find Elina. Ryu and his party leave the desert and pass through Kurok Valley to make it to a Dam. The Dam has been having a problem with a dragon. As such several workers haven't shown up for work. Ryu and his party can still pass but they'll need to operate some of the machinery themselves. As they are just about to cross the Dam the Mud Dragon wreaks havoc and breaks down the Dam in a massive mud wave. Luckily the heroes make it out just in time. Past the Dam the party comes to a scenic out look of a sunset across the ocean. The mud dragon makes an appearance and stares calmly at the four adventurers. An old hermit sitting atop the rocks makes herself known and sings a song about the Endless and the dragons explaining that anything the dragons do the world will change in some way. As the group takes their leave she chuckles to herself saying that their paths are more than just tangled up in the dragons...they've got one walking with them! The party makes their way to Kyria, a short stop before Synesta. The town of Kyria is riddled with traps courtesy of the eccentric mayor, whose permission they need to use the passage to Synsta. After tangling with the mayor's dangerous pet and arguing with a nonsensical parrot the party learns the mayor is in the woods behind Kyria. The mayor, lost in the woods, has been hunting a wild animal causing problems for Kyria and Ryu sets out to find him. After tracking an animal the team finds the mayor and the Maman, the beast causing Kyria problems. Ryu and his party slay the Maman and get the mayor's permission to use their route to Synesta. Elsewhere Fou-Lu wakes up in a hut in the Zhinga Mountains. He was rescued by a large woodcutter named Bunyan after his battle against Yohm. Unable to leave due to his injuries, Fou-Lu stays with Bunyan for the time being. In the morning Ryu and his team make way for Synesta using the passageway. The passageway leads them through a well into the middle of Synesta. The party looks for info on Elina and finds an orphanage Elina donated to when she passed by. A small child named Chino is playing outside and getting himself into trouble. Chino promises information about Elina if Ryu, Nina, and the team will play hide and seek. Chino decides to hide in a monster infested section of the town and it's up to Ryu's team to go rescue him. When Chino is caught he holds up his end of the bargain and tells Nina and Cray that after Elina left she was stopped at the gate by some men, one of which being Marlok, owner of a local shop. The team decides to go have a talk with Marlok. Protecting Marlok' shouse is Kahn. Kahn refuses to allow the team inside, which unfortunately for Khan results in several injuries. Marlok saw the fight and is quite impressed. Marlok says he was hired to take her to the west on his sandflier and nothing else. Cray becomes angered but Marlok is unphazed, instead offering to help smuggle the team to the west in exchange for some work. Marlok's request is that Ryu, Cray, and Ershin go to capture a thief named Stoll. Nina is made to stay behind and work around the house. Stoll is tracked to his hideout where the trio corner him. Ryu, Cray, and Ershin learn that Stoll only stole back goods that Marlok took from him and is let go. Needless to say Marlok is not pleased when he hears the news. Marlok sends the trio on another job that should be a little more manageable. At a sandflier wharf the trio is made to do heavy labor working for the shipment team. Nina arrives at the wharf along with Marlok shortly after the work is completed. Marlok smuggles the four heroes into Imperial territory, and to Cray's dismay uses a crate to hide them in. Meanwhile in the Zhinga Mountains Fou-Lu has recovered from his wounds. Fou-Lu begins to leave as Bunyan worries that there may be another war looming ahead. Bunyan recollects to his time as a soldier and admits that neither he nor any of his comrades truly knew what they were fighting for, saying after the first war by the God Emperor it felt as if war itself became the purpose. Down the mountain Fou-Lu runs into Yohm and his squadron. Yohm was able to track Fou-Lu simply by following the power of an Endless. Yohm summons another monster, Khafu, to try to kill Fou-Lu with. Fou-Lu knocks down Khafu and tries to flee, only for the beast to get back up and give chase. Before long Fou-Lu is shot down above a forest... Ryu and his party have arrived at the Imperial checkpoint Kyoin. Without wasting time they rush their way up to the top of the building to use the gateway, a type of teleportation device. Rasso stops the heroes before they can use the gateway wanting revenge on Ryu for hurting him. Rasso summons another of his minions, Ymechaf, to fight for him. By exposing a weakness on the demon's back the team is able to easily vanquish their foe and escape through the gateway. Rasso is left in shock, knowing he just did battle with a dragon. The team ends up in Astana, a city just outside the Causeway. Asking around town leads the team to the aqueduct that supplies water to Astana. By following the water flow from the aqueduct the team is able to infiltrate the Imperial base seen in Ryu's dream. Just like in the dream the team eventually comes to a lobby where they see to well dressed men talking about a sacrifice. Cray leads the team behind a curtain so as not to be seen but the man known as Yuna was not decieved. Yuna corners the team in the following hallway. After some questions Yuna tells the team that Elina was at Astana on a trip of good-will but has since left. Yuna's men capture the team and send them back to the eastern country of Ludia where Cray is to be put on trial for his actions. Ryu and Nina are stuck in a local inn while they wait for word on Cray's fate. Growing impatient Nina and Ryu go to the castle to check on Cray. Nina introduces Ryu and Ershin to Scias, a mercenary hired by Ludia to ensure the gang doesn't run away. At the castle Nina and Ryu are immediately turned away and not allowed to see Cray. Afterwards Nina gets an idea to go to Worent, Cray's home, to see if there might be anyway to help their friend. In order to get to Worent the party must trek through Wynchwood, a supposedly haunted woodlland area. As the team travels through Wynchwood, Nina begins to notice a steadily thickening mist. Suddenly Nina is shrunken to the size of a baby bird and carried off by a sparrow. Three voices are heard plotting to prank the remaining three heroes but Ryu and Ershin are capable of seeing through their invisibility. When one of the invisible being comes too close Ershin headbutts it to reveal a Faerie. The other two Faeries show themselves and comlain about Ryu's Dragon's Eye calling it unfair. The Faeries leave assuring the team that Nina won't stay shrunk forever and tell them to start looking for trees with a bird's nest. In said bird's nest Nina tries to leave but is stopped by the sparrow that picked her up thinking Nina was one of it's chicks. Nina is forced to use her magic to scare away the sparrow but falls out of the tree in the process. Luckily her diminuative form wears off and she lands at her appropriate size. With Nina found the group hastily exits Wynchwood before the Faeries have time to play another prank. In Worent Nina explains the situation to the Woren elders who advise them to look for Tarhn, Cray's mother, in the Golden Plains. As they make plans to scour the Golden Plains for Tarhn Kahn, the former bodyguard of Marlok, falls from the sky demanding a rematch. Kahn is defeated just as easily this second time around. Kahn's current master Una stops the fight telling Ryu and his team to lay off Kahn as he's not as strong as he thinks he is. Una and Kahn have a heart to heart conversation that leaves Kahn questioning his status as a warrior. With the minor distraction out of the way Ryu and Nina try to get a horse but unfortunately no one on the team knows how to ride. The stablehandler instead offers Ryu a Whelk to ride, a type of snail looking beast that has taken a liking to Ryu. With the whelk Ryu heads off into the Golden Plains alone to search for Tarhn. Ryu scours the vast plains and with the help of certain landmarks manages to find Tarhn. Tarhn is informed of Cray's plight by Ryu. Tarhn needs time to think of a plan and Ryu stays over night. Back in Ludia Cray is standing trial. The presiding judge chides Cray for his actions and the loss of the King's Sword but Cray is undaunted. Cray makes a stand in honor of Elina but the judge refuses to listen. Back at in the plains Tarhn has come up with a plan. Tarhn wants the King's Sword to be repaired as that would be one less thing the courts could use against Cray. Tarhn tells of a blacksmith in Mt. Glom that can recreate the King's Sword Ryu broke. After receiving directions from the elders in Worent the team heads for Mt. Glom at the edge of the plains. Inside Mt. Glom the team finds a dwarf that can create another King's Sword, but he needs a mineral called Faerie Drop. The team heads back to Wynchwood, the last place they saw a Faerie. In exchange for Faerie Drop the Faeries want Ryu and his friends to liberate their home from a group of monster bullies. The Faeries knock the team unconscious and bring them to the Land of Dreams. Ryu and his party make quick work of the nightmares and return the Faeries their home. Holding up their end of the bargain the Faeries give the party Faerie Drop so they can make another King's Sword. The group returns to Mt. Glom and have a new King's Sword made. Quickly the party takes the new blade to Ludia to help clear Cray's charges. To the party's amazement the King's Sword is already in Ludia's possession! This other sword was given to Ludia by the Empire in exchange for several changes to the treaty between the Alliance and Empire. Ryu, Nina, and the others are escorted out of the castle. Left with no other option Nina decides the only way to help Cray is to break him out of his confinement. Elsewhere, an injured Fou-Lu rests in the home of a lowly peasant girl named Mami. At nightfall the team makes their move into castle Ludia. With relative ease the four break into Cray's holding area and free him from captivity. The team goes to see Tarhn so they can come up with a new plan. The Empire has demanded that a neutral zone consisting of several Alliance territories be created, this would allow the Empire into the Alliance. Cray believes the Empire to be searching for something. Nina theorizes that based on all the events that have happened so far the Empire is looking for Ryu. The group talks a little more and decide to take Ryu to see the Wind Dragon in Wyndia. In the plains lies a ruins that acts as a secret passage to Wyndia. The ruins exit at a swampland called Ahm Fen which is just before Wyndia itself. The day has gone and the group makes camp to rest for the night. Cray laments that he was unable to return to Wyndia without Elina and Nina does her best to console him. Suddenly a familiar little Faerie arrives at the campsite asking Ryu for more help. The Faeries had been gone from their homes for so long they need Ryu's guidance to help restore things! Ryu does his best to help and assures the Faeries he'll check in on them now and again to see how they're doing. The group arrives at Wyndia and Nina rushes into her father's arms. The Wyndian King is already up to speed on the genreal flow of events regarding Cray and Nina's capture. Nina asks her father if the group can meet the Wind Dragon and the King sends the group to see the Oracle of the Wind, a priestess in service to the Wind Dragon. In the Kasq Woods the group meets the Oracle of the Wind. Immediately the Oracle identifies Ryu's Dragon's Eye though notes it odd that he has only one. She is unable to confirm nor deny that Ryu is a Dragon, as non-Dragons can also possess a Dragon's Eye, but does mention that he has a strong aura. Long ago the Wind Dragon P'ung Ryong told the Oracle of the Yorae Dragon, a dragon that appears once every hundred years. It is said that the Yorae Dragon will have a powerful effect on the world and it's inhabitants. Cray comes to the conclusion that the Yorae Dragon is what the Empire is after. In order to meet with P'ung Ryong the heroes need to go beneath Castle Wyndia and retrieve the Wind Flute. As the group makes their plan Nina notices something...Scias is missing... Returning to Wyndia Nina get's her father's permission to enter the catacombs beneath the castle. After traversing the windy tunnels the group is able to get their hands on the Wind Flute. In Ludia Scias is informing Ilgor of the heroes' plan. With the Wind Flute in hand the heroes enter the tower Pung Tap. Climbing high to the tallest reaches of the tower Ryu and his party are confronted by Ilgor. Ilgor is willing to make a deal though, in exchange for Ryu, the Yorae Dragon, all transgressions by Cray and Nina will be forgiven and the slate wiped clean. Nina and Cray refuse resulting in a battle between the heroes and Ilgor's men. There seems to be no end to Ilgor's grunts, and when the team is pushed to their limit Scias arrives to lend his help. Breaking his contract with Ilgor Scias decides to help his new friends and makes short work of the grunts. Ilgor runs away and the group is left to greet P'ung Ryong in peace. The heroesride the gondola high into the clouds and witness a spectacle of airbourne creatures dancing in the sky. From beneath them the enourmous P'ung Ryong emerges from the clouds to greet his guests. His mighty voice welcomes the Wyndian Princess and the Yorae Dragon. In order to be less intimidating P'ung Ryong takes a human form to continue speaking with the heroes. P'ung Ryong tells the team that Ryu is one of his kind, an Endless. For now though Ryu may be a god he is not yet complete and therefore mortal. The Wind Dragon goes on to say that the Endless are neither good nor evil, they fulfill the wish of the one that summons them. Ryu, being a new summon, has no purpose yet. P'ung Ryong tells Ryu that in order to be complete he must go to his place of summoning and out of respect for their kinship the dragon will take them there. At the base of the mountain the Wind Dragon took the heroes lies Chek, a village of the summoners that call the dragons. The village is inhabited almost entirely by children save the village elder, Abbess. Abbess can immediately recognize Ryu as the Yorae Dragon. Abbess explains that even though she's blind she can see the life force in all living beings, and Ryu's is enormous. Night falls and as the team sleeps Ryu is spoken to by Abbess in his dream. Abbess asks Ryu where he came from and of course Ryu can't answer. This bothers Abbess as all the Endless in the world were summoned by their village except Ryu. From above Ershin makes her presence known. Abbess comes to the conclusion that Ershin must also be one of the Endless if she is capable of entering Ryu's dream unnoticed. Abbess begins to sense the Endless aura in Ershin but comments that it's being dampened somehow. Ershin says that Ershin wants to be released from her imprisonment inside the suit of armor and Abbess makes plans. In the morning the group huddles around Ershin and the others are informed of Ershin's godhood. The team places their hands on Ershin and are brought inside a dream world in the armor. In Ershin's mind the group discovers a beautiful woman being held captive in a force field. Ryu and his party destroy the pillar creating the force field but unfortunately the Endless, Deis, doesn't have a physical body and still can't leave the armor. Outside the armor a medium named Rhem is found and the transfer of Deis' spirit commences. Immediately Deis demands food, drink, and relaxation before she'll answer any questions about Ryu. Elsewhere Fou-Lu is recovering and treated to the best hospitality a simple peasant girl like Mami can muster. In Chek Deis has finished her "offering" and begins to talk about herself and Ryu. She explains that the Endless are summoned to this world to help change it in some way, comparing it to a ship with no wind until the Endless make the wind. Needless to say the ability to summon the Endless has been a closely guarded secret by the Chek villagers and Abbess is stumped on how Ryu and Deis could have been summoned if they didn't do it. Deis reveals that it was the Fou Empire that summoned them. Problem is, the Empire's method of summoning isn't perfect like the Chek villager's and Ryu and Deis are incomplete. While Deis was summoned without a physical body Ryu was split into two individuals when his summoning went wrong. Meanwhile in Sonne, Fou-Lu has recovered and sets foot outside Mami's domicile to see her village. He tried to take his leave and resume his trek for the capital when he is stopped by one of the villagers and pestered. Mami walks by calling Fou-Lu Ryong and claiming him to be her cousin. Mami escorts Fou-Lu back to her home and apologizes for the landlord's behavior. That night as Mami is preparing supper Fou-Lu tells her the story of the first emperor. Seeing him visibly pained to tell the tale Mami stops him. The following morning Fou-Lu tries once again to leave but is stopped by Mami, pleading with him to stay. A loud scream is heard followed by cries of pain. Fou-Lu goes to investigate and finds a beast called Papan. Upon the beast's defeat is becomes one of the small, tapir looking beasts commonly found. Fou-Lu deduces that the ravenous form of the small creature was the result of his aura infecting it by accident. Back in Chek, Deis tells of Ryu's other half, seperated not only by distance but time as well, Fou-Lu the God Emperor. As Deis sleeps once more, exhausted from the latest course of events, the team delves into her mind once more to confront her on the matters at hand. Deis is quite unpleased with this intrusion, commenting how the world can't make up their mind without bothering the Endless. Deis says the Ryu was always meant to reunite with Fou-Lu and be used by the Empire but there is a way to possibly avoid that fate. Deis' plan is to make Ryu as strong as Fou-Lu so maybe he can overpower him. The team heads for Yorae Shrine to consult the Gods. Along the way the suit of armor Deis was trapped in catches up with the party. Deis concludes that some of her aura must be left over inside the armor allowing it to move. Deis yells at the armor and storms off. Ershin asks Nina what it should do and Nina tells it to wait back in Chek. The team arrives at the Shrine and makes their way to the summoning stage. At once Ryu's power begins to flow and call forth the other Dragons. Back in Sonne Fou-Lu can sense the presence of his other half. An eruption cuts short his epiphany and he goes to investigate. Fou-Lu finds Mami near the exit of the town who says a God is rumored to reside in the mountain, a God that will cause a disaster should he be angered. Intrigued Fou-Lu goes to Mt. Yogy to see this "God" for himself. Inside he finds a only a monster named Marl drunk off the residual influence of the Endless believing itself to be one. Fou-Lu shows the sentient rock the power of a true God and destroys the nuisance. Mami and the landlord go to Mt. Yogy and find Fou-Lu coming down. The landlord speaks harshly to Fou-Lu demanding to know what he is as normal people can't go around killing gods. At the Yorae Shrine the Dragon Gods have appeared to Ryu, Deis, and the others. Deis asks the Dragons to lend Ryu their power, so he might be strong enough to overcome Fou-Lu. The Dragons say that it is fate and Ryu must join with Fou-Lu, news Deis is unpleased to hear. The Dragons are taking no side in this upcoming conflict and say that in the long run it doesn't matter whose will wins in the merger. Deis is again not happy to hear this as she wants Ryu to become a complete God so he can send her home. The dragons chide her for desiring a to use a God for her own benefit but Deis retorts saying the mortals of this world are no different. In Sonne Fou-Lu goes to rest at Mami's house and tells her he thinks it time he leaves. He goes to take a walk and spies the landlord bringing in Imperial soldiers. Instead of fighting and killing the soldiers Fou-Lu decides to make a stealthier escape and goes to hide in Mami's house. As he steps inside he begins to think to himself. What does it matter about the village? Why does he hesitate? He can simply kill the troops and make for Chedo. And yet... Mami comes rushing past the guards and barricades the door to her house. Fou-Lu questions her why she would do such a thing for him. Mami confesses her feelings for Fou-Lu and tells him to make for a shrine in the woods. Fou-Lu leaves through a small break in the wall but not before taking one last look back at the mortal woman. Mami is captured and brought before Yohm who discerns the depth of her relationship with Fou- Lu. Pleased with his find he orders that she be prepared for the Caronade. At the shrine Deis continues to argue with the Dragons saying she refuses to end up becoming an ugly beast like them watching over a stupid planet. The Dragons decide to leave but tell Ryu that he can go and seek out their "true selves" and be blessed with their power. P'ung Ryong blesses Ryu with his power and the team leaves the shrine. In Chek the Imperial Army has arrived with Rasso and Ursula leading the campaign. Fortunately Abbess had evacuated the village in time. Troopers attack Ershin and Abbess, but Ershin was more than enough to handle them. Rasso catches glimpse of Ershin and recognizes it as one of Ryu's allies. Unamused with Ershin, Rasso blasts the suit of armor into a wall leaving it a wreck. By the time Ryu and the party arrive it's too late. Deis says that Ershin can be saved if she went back inside him but doesn't want to. Nina scolds Deis for being so cold to one of their friends, even if that friend was just a suit of armor. In the morning Cray wants to check on the villagers in their hiding spot. Along the way Nina mourns the loss of Ershin. Cray tries his best to cheer her up but nothing works. In Chek Deis is talking to Abbess about how humans can hate and murder each other but the loss of an animated armor brings such pain to Nina. Just outside the abandoned village the Chek villagers went to the party is captured by Ursula, a captain in the Imperial Army. Nina pleads with Ursula and the group is escorted to the abandoned village to ensure the villagers safety. There they find Rasso, who has just finished killing the young villagers. Even Ursula is appauled by Rasso's violence. Wanting a little payback for the past indescretions, Rasso summons his ultimate minion Ight. The heroes fight valiantly but are unable to harm this latest monster. Pushed to the limit of death Ryu transforms into the Kaiser. Ryu's power now overwhelming Ight the fell monster is annihalated along with it's master Rasso and a sizeable chunk of the surroundings. Ryu is out of control, completely unable to manage himself with this sudden outburst of power. Nina rushes to Ryu's side and calms him down with her words. In Sonne Fou-Lu has stuck around to check the status of Mami. A villager tells him that Mami let herself be arrested so that he can get away. Fou-Lu finally takes his leave of Sonne and travels to the shrine. At the shrine a sacrifice is required to open it's entrance. Fou-Lu laughs at this. The beast Fou-Lu fought days ago had followed him and commits suicide through bashing it's head into the wall's text. Fou-Lu is surprised that the beast would give itself up for his benefit and proceeds. Beyond the shrine lies Soma Forest. Immideately Fou-Lu begins to notice the odd quiet in the area calling it unnatural. Fou-Lu falls clutching his head as he has a sense of great danger coming his way. The sky darkens, a brilliant violet flash rains down on top of Fou-Lu. The hex makes a direct hit. Fou-Lu still stands though, in a sea of hatred and agony. From the sky drops a small bell, a small bell to which he knows the owner. Mami had been sacrificed to use this horrific weapon. With psychotic laughter Fou-Lu falls into unconsciousness. In the abandoned village Ryu is normal again, resting. Ursula and Cray bicker between one another about the war. Nina wonders if the reason Ryu went berserk is if it's because he isn't whole. Nina comes to the decision that the group needs to go to the Empire and meet with Ryu's other half. She feels that if it's fate that Ryu and Fou-Lu meet they should take a proactive stance instead of just waiting. With Ursula in tow the party heads back to Chek to consult Abbess. Abbess is informed of the plan and Ursula is let in on her first Emperor's godhood. Ursula agrees to help the party get into the Empire saying it makes her job easier with cooperation. Ryu and Nina go to get Deis for the journey and find she's taken residency in Ershin again bringing their friend back to life. Deis makes sure to tell the group that it's not because she enjoys the suit of armor its simply easier for her to travel with them this way. Now six strong the party leaves Chek to begin their journey to the Empire. Beyond Mt. Ryft the team comes to Shyde, the city on the edge of the dessert. Unfortunately the gang has no money to buy a sandflier. A merchant's sandflier begins to leave and Ursula and Scias board to forcibly stop it. As fate would have it the sandflier belonged to none other than Marlok, the sleezy businessman from Synesta. In an act unfitting his character Marlok loans the money to Cray to buy a sandflier. Marlok leaves telling his employees that the reason he loaned the money is because he sees the heroes doing great things...and plans to be there to cash in on it! With a sandflier the party can make their way to the causeway at Kyoin. Unfortunately for Ryu and his team the trouble they caused a while back has left the causeway inoperable and different way to the Empire must be found. At the port a fellow traveler is looking to get to the Empire and has heard of a passageway in the north, all he wants is a ride to Shikk. The journey to Shikk is uneventful, save for the Alliance blockade of the road entering the city. Cray tries to talk to the guards and get the team through, in contrast to Ursula's plan of a sneak attack at nightfall. The guards recognize Cray as wanted by the Ludians and make a failed attempt to arrest him. With Nina's clever and cunning the group manages to literally bounce over the checkpoint and reach Shikk farther down the road. In Shikk the team asks around and finds some sailors in the local pub. The ship's master, Zig, refuses to allow anyone aboard that hasn't had the Sea God's blessing. With that in mind Ryu and the team head to Fane, a small shrine dedicated to the Sea God. The party meets with the Sea God of the sailors, the dragon Hae Ryong. Hae Ryong gives his blessing and the party returns to Shikk. There still lies one problem for Ryu's team...Nina and Ursula. The sailors believe women on a ship to be bad luck and refuse to take them along unless they prove their toughness. Kahn makes a dramatic appearance standing atop the main mast and tells how he wandered to Shikk and began training with the sailors. Ursula ends his spiel abruptly shooting him down. This doesn't convince the sailors of their strength however. Zig does come up with a test though, if Nina and Ursula spend one night in the bowels of the ship they'll allow them to ride. Nina and Ursula bond a little and discover a certain insect fear of Ursula's. The following day, having proved themselves, the entire group boards the boat to head for the Empire. Zig can only take the party to a series of islands before the Empire, which is fine for the team. The trip is far from boring. First Kahn makes an attempted comeback. After Kahn is easily defeated the group runs into a ship graveyard harboring a strong aura inside. Inside the haunted graveyard the group finds a monster altered by the aura of the Endless and thinks itself a God, much like Fou-Lu found. Ryu and his team destroy the false God and they resume their trip to the islands. After a few days the group lands at Lyp, a small village on the beach. From Lyp the gang travels southward coming to a village called Pabpab. Pabpab is inhabited by several small, furry critters and a human named Beyd. Beyd welcomes his visitors and introduces them to Poko...his wife... Beyd tells his guests they can use time the tides and cross the islands and enter the Empire. The group goes to rest and find a sick pabpab. Taking time off of their quest they go and get medicinal herbs and heal the little critter. After the diminuative creature is healed the group is thanked and they head for the island path to the Empire. The path is long and soon night falls. Ryu and his friends become trapped on one of the small islands leading to the Empire by the changing of the tides and it is the tides that will dictate when they can advance again. Helpless against nature the team has no choice but to bide their time. In Chedo Fou-Lu has finally arrived to take back his throne from the current Emperor Soniel. Effortlessly Fou-Lu makes his way inside the castle. One of Fou-Lu's beastial servants, A-Tur, stops him in the main lobby. Once the beast recognizes his master he quickly changes his tone and awaits his master's order. Fou-Lu's command is to assault the Imperial capital, Fou- Lu's final act he says is to destroy the very Empire he created. While climbing the castle Fou-Lu runs into Yohm, who is very surprised to see the God Emperor alive. In one more futile attempt to kill the Dragon, Yohm summons Kahbo to attack. Kahbo is destroyed and Yohm summons Kamyu in another pathetic attempt on Fou-Lu's life. Again, Fou-Lu defeats the monster with no effort. Yohm finally realizes the futility. He bows his head knowing that no force the Empire commands can best Fou-Lu. Yohm commits suicide through igniting himself and Fou-Lu continues to the throne room. Soniel sends Yuna to investigate the disturbance. Yuna has some priests and guards try to overpower Fou-Lu, needless to say this plan does not work. Yuna flees and Fou-Lu confronts Soniel. Soniel pretends to be humble but when Fou-Lu lowers his guard Soniel stabs him with the Dragonslayer, a sword capable of killing Gods. Fou-Lu is not killed, nor is he pleased with this latest crime against him. Back on the island Ryu and Nina are fishing. Nina tells Ryu that she loves Cray but knows he doesn't feel the same. She talks about Cray some more before the two regroup with the others. The tide is finally allowing Ryu and his team to leave the islands. With haste they arrive in Koshka, a village known all over by treasure hunters. From Koshka the party heads for Chiqua by passing through the Shan River. At Chiqua a traveling merchant named Fu Chuman can get Ryu and his party to Chedo in exchange for rare goods. After procuring a piece of potery from Koshka, Fu tells the team of his river he uses to get goods to Chedo. Ryu and his party make it across the river and come to a town called Pauk. The village chief knows the way to get to the Empire from Pauk is unfortunately preoccupied being depressed from his runaway chicken. Ryu goes and retrieves the pet chicken and gets the info to make it to the Empire. The information received takes the party through a tomb...Fou-Lu's tomb. Won-Qu awakens. Won-Qu can identify Ryu as Endless but still refuses to allow him through. Ryu and his party engage in a fierce battle with Fou- Lu's servant and eventually come out victorious. The team ventures through the tomb and runs into even more trouble in the form of two magical cubes I and II. After defeating the troublesome duo Won-Qu appears to the team and complements them. He bequeaths a gem that allows the team to exit the tomb. The path outside the tomb leads Ryu and his party back on track to Chedo. Along the way the group hears rumors of Chedo being attacked. Along a highway Ursula and Ryu run into a road blockade and learn Chedo is indeed under siege. General Rhun, a leader Ursula idolizes, has fallen back to Astana. The team makes for Astana and Ursula gets everyone into the base. The team finds themselves in the same lobby from so long ago that Ryu dreamt. Immedieately the group is swarmed by undead monsters. Throughout the base the team finds several wounded and slain soldiers. The result of the recent flux of monsters. Delving farther into the base discovering horrific organic growths. In a large room beyond sewage pipes lies an enormous horrific body. Ryu tries to cut one of the tendrils but fails. An astral image of Princess Elina appears before them saying they'll need the Drgaonslayer to cut this thing. Nina, Cray, and Elina are in shock to see each other but can't talk at the current moment. With no time to waste Ryu, Nina, and Cray scour the remainder of the base for Yuna who is in possession of the Dragonslayer. Yuna is found at Kwanso. Cray immediately gets confrontational with Yuna. Yuna realizes the futility in trying to hide anythine else and freely gives up the Dragonslayer. Back at the Astana base the aura of death and evil has grown. Thick purple haze floods the passageways. As Ryu hacks his way through the growths the organism howls in pain. As they climb to the top of the beast they notice that the wounded parts of the creature have regenerator. Yuna is standing by to greet the party as they reach a small house on top of the base. Yuna cryptically tells that while Elina may not be in Astana anymore what she left behind still is. Ursula learns that the General has left for Chedo. Yuna departs and Cray, Nina, and Ryu enter the house and find Elina. Elina, Cray, and Nina are overjoyed with their reunion but Elina is unable to get out of bed. Elina asks Ryu and Nina to leave her with Cray, and to leave the Dragonslayer at the foot of the bed. Outside Deis comments that a power much like the Endless is emmitting from inside the house. Back inside the house Elina reveals why she can't leave...the horrible organism from before is...her! Yuna spontaneously appears and tells how he made her into a Goddess so that she could be an everlasting sacrifice for the Caronade. Yuna vanishes once again as Cray charges to kill him. Cray blames himself for Elina's current state. Elina tells Cray to kill her with the Dragonslayer as she does not wish to stay as she is. With great reluctancy and a heavy heart Cray fulfills the last wish of his love. The melancholy group makes way for Chedo, capital of the Fou Empire. Several civilians and troops have set up a sort of safe zone outside the city walls. Inside the city walls however, A-Tur runs rampant and unchallenged. Standing above freshly defeated Imperial Soldiers is how Ryu and his party find the beast. Without wasting any words A-Tur launches an attack on the heroes. The mighty A-Tur is humbled by Ryu and his party allowing the heroes entrance into the castle. Ursula finds General Rhun and completes her mission of escorting the Yorae Dragon to the Empire. Rhun senses Ryu's strength and apologizes for all the trouble the Empire has caused him, knowing full well the dark side the Empire has. Rhun knows that the events caused by Yuna and the Empire must be stopped and begs Ryu for his help. Ershin jokes that Ryu is under Nina's thumb so there's no way he won't help. Inside the main castle lobby A-Tur appears before Ryu apologizing for his actions against Fou-Lu's other half. In an effort of humility A-Tur transports the party to Fou-Lu's tower. The first challenge the party faces comes in the form of Dragonne, a minion of Fou-Lu. It's healing ability is little more than bothersome to the powerful warriors and they slay the dragon grabbing the Blue Charm left behind. The Blue Charm allows the heroes into deeper sections of the castle where they find the yellow and red charms which act as other keys. Before long Ryu comes face to face with Fou-Lu. Immediately the God Emperor subdues Ryu's allies. Fou-Lu is more than ready to become a complete God. He demands the merger and Ryu aptly refuses. Ryu slashes at Fou-Lu but finds only an astral image before him. Ryu follows Fou-Lu to his location. With Ryu's allies by his side he confronts Fou-Lu in the flesh at the place of his summoning. Fou-Lu can feel all of Ryu's memories and knowing Ryu cannot be swayed attacks. Ryu fights Fou-Lu one-on-one to a standstill. Ryu's friends come in to interfere with the duel to support their friend. Fou-Lu is again irritated with Ryu, going on to tell of his observations of the mortal world...and their unworthiness. Fou-Lu pries into Ryu's memories of the past evils he's witnessed at the hands of mortals but Ryu believes in the world he and his friends live in. Fou-Lu's impatience has grown thin. He summons a mighty dragon, Tyrant, to destroy Ryu's allies. The great dragon is powerful but ultimately falls to Ryu and his allies. Fou-Lu is amazed. No longer can he delve into Ryu's thoughts. Nina and Deis plead with Fou-Lu for the sake of the world but he continues to refuse to listen. Finally he's heard enough, Fou-Lu opts to take matters into his own hands. Transforming into a neverbefore seen form of Astral he attacks Ryu, Nina, Cray, Ursula, Ershin, and Scias. Astral Fou-Lu's strength is unreal. His power can easily bring the party to their knees in one swoop. Still, with the fate of milions of lives at stake Ryu, Nina, Cray, Ursula, Ershin, and Scias push forward and defeat the mighty God Emperor. Only in defeat does Fou-Lu recognize Ryu's passion for this world. Fou-Lu merges himself with Ryu...and Ryu was no more...the one standing before Nina and their friends was a God that had long since forgotten his name. Only in this merger does Ryu fully understand Fou-Lu's motives and Fou-Lu Ryu's. Ryu/Fou-Lu does the unthinkable by forcing all the Dragon Gods mortal. All around the world the Endless lose their Godhood, only to live as mortal men and women. Atop the Astana base Yuna watches these events unfold and statesw how he can easily make as many Gods as they want...or need. With all the Gods turned mortal Ryu returns to his normal, blue haired self. Deis becomes intrigued by this new turn of events and decides to stay in their world. Back in Chedo Ursula says that the Fou Empire may be done with but the people will rebuild something new. Cray and Ursula come to respect one another and they part ways. The heroes get back to their own lives to lead in a world without Gods, but somehow, Nina thinks they'll all be ok. WHAT WE KNOW NOW: ----------------- -Ryu and Deis were summoned into the world from an outside world. -Fou-Lu is dead. Emperor Soniel is most likely dead (he had made a failed attempt to kill Fou-Lu who was already pissed at him then fade into black with maniacal evil Fou-Lu face, not hard to figure out what happened). -The Fou Empire has fallen. Ursula is helping to rebuild something in it's place. -The Gods are now mortal. -Ludia, Worent, and Wyndia are at least three nations forming an uneasy alliance. -Chek is left with two survivors, these two are the only ones left on the planet with any idea how to properly summon a God. (Rhem was just a child and Abbess seems like she'd understand Ryu/Fou-Lu's will of a world without Gods. Not a big intuitive leap to say that the ability to summon the Gods dies with her.) -Yuna is alive and expressed willingness to create more Gods. OBSERVATIONS: ------------- -So before Ryu4 turns into a dragon as far as a cutscene will allow us to see everyone and their mom knows that Ryu4 is a dragon. This bothers me. Because yeah sure you could just say that anytime you used Meditate in the game everyone sees but Nina is in shock when P'ung Ryong tells her that Ryu4 is a dragon. So if we count random battle transformations and boss fights she probably would have seen Ryu become a dragon more than a few times. I'm either left to believe Nina4 is incredibly stupid or in game battles don't count towards the plot, which is that damn near everyone already knew to be the case with RPGs. -Here's a thought, way way way back in the day Fou-Lu was called and united the empire right? He goes to sleep saying that when he wakes up he wants his throne back, not such a bad request for all he did. When you think about it he never truly became an antagonist until after his peasant girl died. After her death was when he jumped on the "screw all mortals" bandwagon, he used to just consider mortals simply a lesser class of being. All I'm saying is I don't think it would have been so bad having him back on the throne after he woke up if things went according to plan. Sure we'd lose Ryu4 but Fou-Lu already proved himself an accomplished leader before why not let him do it again? -I really wanna know what the deal with the old frog-lady hermit is. She knows about the Dragons, knows Ryu is a Dragon, and generally comes off very enigmatic. She knows a damn sight more than she's letting on. -In BOF4 the Woren are a fairly sizeable population. They have their home of Worent and every now and then you'll see Worens in other towns and cities. So if BOF4 is a prequel what happened to them to put them on the brink of extinction in BOF1-3? -Cray and Tarhn only lend more evidence to my theory that humans are a blank slate in the BOF world. Cray, who in every way looks as Woren as the other members of his tribe, has a completely human mother and Woren father. So is human DNA easily overridden or what? -There's a Manillo in Worent that makes it sound like they were a rare sight before they set their eyes on commercial dominance ("Eh? You say zat you 'ave seen others like me in other places? Zat is because we Manillo plan to take over zee world...zee world of business of course!"). Again, if BOF4 is a prequel we could be witnessing the beginning of the Manillo's great trade expansion as in BOF1-3 they're in damn near every shop. -When you really think about it there wasn't much at stake in this game. When Fou-Lu became a villain the most damage he'd have done was killed a city's worth of people. He planned on leaving after that. Really if Ryu and his party didn't do anything Fou-Lu would have taken down the Empire and ended the war between the Empire and the Alliance. Ludia was being kind of an asshole but I think the Wyndians and Worens together could have taken them. -...HOW THE HELL DO BEYD AND POKO PROCREATE!?!?!?!?!? -Why is Yuna the only male Grassrunner that doesn't look completely like a canine? Typically male Grassrunners look like anthropomorphic canines (such as Bo or Bow) and the females look human with long ears and a tail (like Momo and Ursula). -Goddess Elina and Goddess Myria (specifically BOF3).....seperated at birth? -Was I the only one just strolling through the game without much of a problem until it hits A-Tur then BAM I gotta go level grinding? Kinda like you get to that part in the game and some asshole at Capcom says, "Alright folks time to separate the men from the boys". -So why exactly did Capcom think it'd be a good idea to translate everything in the game except the credits? We don't even get a "The End" in English. PREQUEL OR ALTERNATE REALITY?: ------------------------------ Probably the biggest debate amongst BOF fans is whether or not BOF4 takes place in an alternate reality or is a prequel to BOF1-3. The debate goes pretty much as follows: --------------------------|------------------------ Alternate reality |Prequel --------------------------|------------------------ -In Wyndia you'll find |-Yuna made Elina into a Momo who will say how | Goddess. By the end of she was working in a lab | BOF4 Yuna is still alive when an explosion occured| and well and has stated where afterwards she | that he can easily make woke up there. She | another God if he chooses. will continue to say | Supporters of the that she feels like she's| prequel side say this in an alternate | is the origin of Myria. dimension or something. |-At the end of BOF4 the -The method in which Ryu | merged God from Ryu and and Deis were summoned | Fou-Lu turn all the Gods invloves them being taken| mortal. Supporters say from an alternate | this is the origin of the dimension. Supporters | Brood. of the Alternate Reality |-There is a vast desert and arguement say this means | sea of mud in BOF4, supporters they were pulled from | say this is the desert one of the original BOF | that Myria cut off from games. | the rest of the world. So the arguements go like this: Supporters of an alternate reality say that Ryu, Deis, and all the other "Gods" were actually Brood summoned over from the BOF1-3 timeline. Then there's Momo who says she feels like she's in an alternate dimension. Personally if I'd awakened somewhere, ANYWHERE, that resembled a place I knew after an explosion I'd feel the same so I take this as she just has no idea where she is, or when. Supporters of the prequel say that the Gods that were summoned to the world were turned into the mortal race of the Brood at the end of the game. The Gods united to form the first Dragon family but, as they were no longer Endless, eventually died off. Ryu and Fou-Lu would be the first Kaiser and Tyrant respectively. Remember folks the Dragon family didn't split into the Light and Dark families until a couple hundred years or so before BOF1. Yuna by the end of the game was alive and well and states that he can easily create a new God if he wanted, and Goddess Elina did have that grotesquely large, monstrous form that both Myrias we've seen have used. I always took that as a painfully obvious ploy to say Yuna made Myria. The biggest thorns in the side of prequel supporters is Ladon and Deis. In BOF3 Deis states that she's Myria's sister, but Deis was summoned into BOF4 world and isn't a Goddess in the same vein Elina was. The only reasoning I've heard that can work comes from a strategy guide I saw written by Billy Lee on GameFAQs that goes Yuna "may" (ughh... theres that word...) have created a body for Deis to attatch her soul to thus making herself and Myria "sisters" of sorts. Then there's Ladon the Dragon God worshipped by many in BOF1, 2, and 3. No dragon called "Ladon" exists in BOF4 as far as I've seen. I want to think that the merged Fou-Lu and Ryu was Ladon but no one ever saw him besides Ryu's team. I guess it's POSSIBLE that one of his allies started the religion but who would have done it? Ladon and Deis' sisterhood with Myria make me ask way too many questions and assume one thing too many. So as you can see the Alternate Reality side of the debate is the Occam's Razor explanation. It's simple, it can make sense, go with it. Then the Prequel side is the more complicated one. There's more of an arguement but at the same time there's more holes that need to be filled. I'm still of the opinion BOF4 is a prequel but I can understand those that say BOF4 is an alternate universe. -------------------------------- Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter -------------------------------- (For simplicity I'm going to make a special note of SOL scenes, they will be marked by the "<>" symbols surrounding text, exceptions being the SOL scenes that are only a couple seconds long and just feature Ryu looking off into space or something to that degree.) PLOT: ----- THIS IS A TINY TALE OF TIME CONCERNING WAR BETWEEN FRIENDS. DESTINY DECIDED TO CHALLENGE US, AND SO WE CHOOSE TO END THE WORLD IN ORDER TO MEET OUR MORTALITY. THERE WAS NOTHING TO REGRET. NOTHING... In a locker room two young men, the blue haired Ryu and the aristocratic Bosch, discuss the duty they'll be performing that day. Bosch is most unpleased with this assignment. The duo make way for their superior officer's office and get the details on their assignment. Captain Violet Zeno informs the two of their mission to safeguard a supply lift at Level E. Ryu has no questions concerning the mission, Bosch however wants to speak with Zeno in private. Bosch and Ryu make way for the lift, which in a stroke of bad luck is broken down. An upset Bosch is now forced to walk the tracks to get to the labs for to pick up their cargo. Ryu and Bosch travel through the Genic infested tunnels to reach Bio Corp. Arriving at Bio Corp the duo pass by the Genic Processor where a large Dragon corpse rests. "The long wait is over at last", Ryu can hear in his mind... "You have awakened... my dying dream...Let us go, my little friend...Once again to the sky!" Ryu collapses and a frantic Bosch wakes him up. Ryu dusts himself off and Bosch mentions that there are no records of such a large Genic on file, wondering if it was an experiment. Ryu, to his own surprise, whispers the Dragon's name: Odjn. The rest of Bio Corp is almost completely deserted and riddled with storage containers and Genic cages. The duo make it in time for the lift at Bio Corp and can finally undertake their assigned mission. Bosch chats with Ryu about taking all the credit for the mission. His reason being that with Ryu's low D-Ratio he won't be going anywhere in life and therefore has no need of the recognition. Before Ryu can respond to this arrogant proclomation the train is attacked by a Woren woman on a large Genic belonging to Trinity, an organization against the Rangers and their society. Firing a rocket propelled grenade the mystery woman derails the train and sends Ryu and the cargo plummeting to the depths below. In a dream Ryu sees Odjn and becomes his chosen vessel, inheriting the power of the great Fire Dragon's power, the 1800-year destroyer. A white, transparent figure tells Ryu to find his fate before fate finds him. Ryu wakes up and makes his way to higher ground. Along the way he finds the Genic that attacked him hauling away the young blonde girl with red wings. Instantly Ryu's new Dragon powers activate and a magnificent red aura surrounds the Ranger. Ryu skewers the cycloptic beast through the back and dismembers an arm. After laying the girl gently on the floor Ryu finishes the beast. Ryu's power boost has subsided and the girl with red wings has woken up. In a strained voice Nina gives Ryu her name. Ryu takes it upon himself to escort Nina to a place of safety. Ryu and Nina make way through the Genic infested grounds of End Sector to come face to face with Lin. Lin and Ryu have a brief scuffle and join forces in the best interest of Nina, and because Nina has grown very attached to Ryu in this short amount of time. Meanwhile back at Ranger HQ Bosch is being berated for his failure of the mission. Zeno commands Bosch to "get rid of it permanently". Back in End Sector, with a group three strong Ryu, Nina, and Lin are easily able to traverse the Genic ridden gauntlet. <"Man will gain wings" Hortensia tells her peers. Hortensia has prophesized that man will once again return to the sky. However, The enigmatic indivuals express their dislike of the notion.> Eventually the trio makes it to the end sector ghetto of Junk City, a ghetto where those with the lowest D-Ratios are forced to live. After picking up some supplies and taking a moment to rest the trio head for the lift station. There they are confronted by Bosch. Though Ryu is happy to see his friend alive Bosch is only there for business. Bosch immediately draws his rapier and Ryu stands against him. Bosch explains that his orders were to terminate the cargo and apologizes to Ryu before lancing his knee. Nina rushes to Ryu's side. Ryu once more tries to protect Nina, resulting in Bosch's rapier penetrating his throat. Ryu's dragon powers activate once more and he heals. This time, however, Ryu isn't just engulfed in a red aura. No, he makes a full transformation to a human/dragon form. Ryu easily dispatches Bosch and his two goons. A terrified Lin and Nina watch Ryu as he reverts to his human form and feints. Ryu wakes up in a room with Lin and Nina. Lin instantly tried to get answers out of Ryu but Ryu takes the conversation by asking about the hit on Nina. For Nina's sake Lina and Ryu put their differences aside and make for Bio Corp labs to get answers regarding Nina. Back at Ranger HQ Bosch is still shaken by his encounter with the dragon powered Ryu. Zeno tries to assure Bosch that the chain of events is within acceptabe margins but Bosch won't have any of it. Zeno then tells Bosch that he is relieved of further duty, angering Bosch further. Elsewhere the Regents have assembled again to discuss Ryu. The pink haired girl from before mentions that even though this day was forseen, the exact date was not. Suddenly a blue aura generates in the room and a man pulsing with electricity and covered in blue markings appears. Hortensia is shocked, much like the other Regents, to learn that the new host of the Dragon's power is a ranger grunt. She begins to power up a form of space/time rift to deal with Ryu but the blue man stops her saying it isn't time to act yet. Ryu, Nina, and Lin have made it to the Low Sector Borough. After a quick stop to rest the trio enter the labs but can't go very far due to lacking the proper ID card. They exit the labs back into the Borough and find that Rangers have flooded the area with a nerve gas. The Rangers jest that this gas is perfect for killing Genics and Low-D's and Ryu looks around to see the townsfolk falling to the gas's effects. With no time to waste Ryu, Nina, and Lin dispatch the villainous Rangers. With the Rangers' last move one of them breaks the shut off valve from the tank. The group is left to figure out how to dissipate the gas with no answer. Things look worse and worse until Nina displays a most powerful ability: atmospheric cleansing. With her red wings Nina purifies the air and saves the Borough and Ryu. Lin moves the two unconsious heroes to a more secure area. Ryu wakes up and is informed of the events and Nina's wings now discharge a slight, dark colored, gas. Not enough to hurt anyone else but still detrimental to Nina's health. Lin informs the team that the lab head's complex will be at the top of the facility and the party makes haste. In one of the examination rooms the trio find a small stuffed doll. Ryu, Lin, and Nina continue to make their way through Bio Corp Labs fighting through Genics along the way. When the trio make it to the room where Nina was experimented on and ultimately silenced a lab tech walks in. Talking about Nina as if she were no more than a piece of equipment the man scolds Ryu and Lin for not taking better care of Nina's ventilation equipment. Ryu can't stomach anymore of the man's uncaring words and punches him into the wall behind them. Ryu draws his blade in anger and demands answers regarding Nina. The lab tech explains that in Nina's current condition it's only a matter of time before she dies unless she can get to a place with cleaner air. Ryu decides the only course of action is to take Nina to the surface of the planet, gambling on the chance it is pure once more. The trio quickly take their leave of the labs and begin their journey to the sky. The passageway to leave the labs is not an easy one however, multiple sentries have been alerted to the heroes presense and stand foolishly in the way. Eventually the heroes find an unguarded exit through the Frozen Road. At the end of the Frozen Road the team runs into an ambush lead by Zeno and Bosch. Zeno tries to tell Ryu that it's contact with the "experiment" that is causing him to have delusions and makes him rebel. Ryu is, needless to say, not convinced. Ryu asks politely if he and his friends can pass which Zeno will not allow. Ryu, Nina, and Lin defeat the first wave of Rangers that outnumbered 3 to 1. Bosch looks on in fear at the power Ryu has attained and a new wave of Rangers enters the fray, these ones possessing mechanical suits of armor. This new mechanical enemy is quickly brought down by the might of the heroes and in a last ditch effort to kill them self destructs. Luckily there was plenty of cover and the heroes avoided the blast. Ryu stands defiant of Zeno and is forced to battle his former superior officer. After a fierce battle Ryu overcomes his skilled adversary. Zeno dies and Bosch is left to run in fear of Ryu and his power. Ryu falls to his knees asking who the voice speaking to him is. Odjn tells Ryu that he is chosen and he needs to go find his fate. Ryu shakes his head stating that all he wants is to help Nina. Lin decides the best course of action is to go and get help from Trinity. With that plan the group leaves the area and prepares to pass through the Industrial Area. Ryu and the party make their way through the Industrial Area and find several high ranking rangers slain. Ryu wonders if they were waiting for an ambush and comes face to face with their killer: Tantra, one of the trio of assassins hired by Cupid to kill Ryu. After a battle Ryu takes Tantra's ID card and leaves what they presume to be his dead body. Tantra however looks up after Ryu and the party leave the area pleased with his strong opponent. Meanwhile the Regents discuss the defeat of Zeno and her squadron. While the Regents want to handle Ryu themselves the engimatic blue man says to send someone else, Cupid's assassins, instead. After clearing the next set of rooms Ryu, Nina, and Lin come across Geegagis and Deegon, the next of the assassins. They make for troublesome foes but are defeated none-the-less. Once defeated they evaporate into the air and a single for each body will-o-wisp leaves the area. Ryu, Nina, and Lin advance to the next area only to be confronted by Tantra again. Tantra has slain several Rangers and absorbed the souls of Geegagis and Deegon. Tantra's power up makes him a daunting adversary but through teamwork, clever wit, and muscle Ryu and his team manage to surmount this enemy. With the threat of the assassins neautralized Ryu, Lin, and Nina make for the next level up. The party arrives at the MidSector Mall, a kind of black market area. After a brief rest Lin feels a presnse behind her but dismisses it. In order to reach the Trinity HQ the team must pass through a ghetto riddled with undead ghouls. After traversing the infested ghetto Ryu, Nina, and Lin make it to Trinity HQ. The doctors there place Nina under medical supervision because of her worsening condition. Ryu meets Mebeth who insists that Nina be left under the care of Trinity, calling Ryu's trek towards the sky a wild goose chase. Ryu and Lin decide to take it upon themselves to search the ghettos once more for some medicine for Nina. . Ryu and Lin return to Nina and deliver her medicine. The duo take time to rest and discuss Ryu's power and how it feels like it's killing him. The moment is cut short by the sound of Nina's scream. Ryu and Lin rush to her aid and discover she's being attacked by Trinity soldiers. Ryu and Lin dispatch the Trinity soldiers and save Nina only to be met by Zebul and more Trinity soldiers. After trouncing the Trinity soldiers Ryu is confronted by Mebeth who was going to have Nina kidnapped only to blame it on the Rangers to get Ryu to join their fight. Ryu dismisses Mebeth and tells him they are going to the sky. Lin, disgusted with Mebeth's plot, opts to go with Ryu. Before Ryu leaves Mebeth gives Ryu a key to help him reach the sky, saying he'll need three more like it. Ryu, Nina, and Lin proceed through an area called "Lifeline". Lifeline is crawling with bandits and powerful genics, most notable the Gigantis. However these threats pale in comparison to the resolve of Ryu and his friends. After muscling their way through Lifeline Ryu and his party come to a large room where standing in their midst is Bosch. Ryu is surprised to see his former partner but even more so when Bosch turns to face him, revealing a horrific sight. Bosch has become imbued with cybernetic alterations leaving him a disfigured monstrosity. Ryu looks with pity at Bosch who explains that he "needed a little boost" to cut down his partner that thinks he's so great even though he's just a low-D. Ryu shakes his head and draws his blade. Bosch's enhancements have given him more power than anything Ryu has battled thusfar. However, no manner of artificial power could compare to the strength of the Dragon's might burning in Ryu. Bosch swears that he won't lose to Ryu again and plumets to the depths below. A seething mad Bosch lies at the bottom of the pit while a voice echoes in his mind. "Can it hate?" he hears. "I choose you" he hears... Meanwhile Ryu, Nina, and Lin make their way through the remainder of Lifeline and come to the Power Plant. The beginning of the Power Plant is home to a few stragglers and government workers. After re-stocking on supplies and taking a moment to rest Ryu and his party make way through the main facility. After making their way past the sentry robots and undead demons of the Power Plant Ryu and his friends make it to the roof where they are confronted by the Regent Deamoned who stands between them and a transport lift to take them further. Deamoned gloats that he will fight the dragon once again and demands a battle. The Regent has a barrier protecting him much to Ryu's frustration. Before Ryu, Nina, or Lin can inflict any harm on this foe his barrier must be broken first, wasting precious time and energy. This barrier is only the beginning of Deamoned's power though as he also boasts impressive raw physical strength. But as strong as Deamoned is he couldn't stop Ryu and dies leaving behind a necessary key. Ryu, Nina, and Lin have arrived at Centre and step into the massive, ornate palace. Centre is a stark contrast to the meek and deploarable living conditions of the world below. The Regent's home is one of luxury and spectacle. Ryu, Nina, and Lin eventually find a teleporter platform that takes them into the northern part of Centre. From there they pass through a series of stairwells and run into the child-like Regent Cupid. Cupid tells Ryu that he isn't strong enough to reach the sky, that the time has not come yet. He goes on to talk about someone else who faced the sky and sealed their world eons ago until one who will be chosen by the Dragon emerges. Cupid says it was a mistake for Ryu to have been chosen and attacks. But Cupid does not fight alone, his doll Oncotte supports him. Not only can this doll not be damaged, Cupid has the same barrier protecting him that Deamoned did. Cupid tries to allow her doll to do the fighting for her. Unfortunately she couldn't keep away from the team before Oncotte could finish them and pays the ultimate price. Ryu takes her key and proceeds to the teleporter in the next room. The teleporter brought Ryu and his friends to another part of Centre. Fighting their way through another set of enemies the team comes to a large room with a checkerboard floor and Hortensia waiting in the middle. Hortensia says that Ryu's very existence is sin and will lead the world into chaos. She concedes, though, to the fact Ryu has been chosen by the Dragon and recognizes his potential to become a Regent. She requests that Ryu follow her to meet with Elyon. Lin loudly rejects her proposal for Ryu and the party battles with the Seeress Hortensia. Hortensia's magic is on a completely new level compared to what the party has seen so far. The Seeress can distort the space around them and like the other Regents has a protective barrier to aid her in battle. Ryu won't be stopped though. He has to get to the sky. The trio muster together all thier skill and wit to defeat this powerful mage. Hortensia dies believing that perhaps Ryu may bring truth to her prohpecy. The party makes haste for the next teleporter. Ryu and his companions are teleported to another part of Centre where there are even more genics to storm through. Like the other pathways in Centre the final teleporter brings the trio to another Regent, this time Vexacion. Vexacion stares down Ryu and swears to stop Ryu in the name of justice. His two followers, Ryked and Nakala, help their master in his battle. Nalaka singles out Nina for battle and Ryked takes on Lin leaving Ryu to face Vexacion uninterupted. The proud swordsmen are strong but they underestimate the strength of the heroes. Vexacion falls accepting his fate like a true warrior. Following his death Ryu, Nina, and Lin use the next teleporter. As expected the teleporter takes Ryu and his team to another section of Centre crawling with genics. And as expected the teleporter at the end takes them to the next Regent Jezuit. Jezuit appears from the shadows claiming to be a fan of Ryu's. Ryu demands Jezuit's and Jezuit agrees on the condition that Ryu can show him his strength. The battle begins and Jezuit displays a terrifying skill called Shadow Walk that makes him invisible and impervious to conventional attack. Luckily Nina's trap magic can render him tangible once again. From there Ryu needed simply to break through his barrier. Jezuit falls laughing to himself that he won the bet with Hortensia. Ryu, Nina, and Lin make their way past the Regent's meeting room and take the teleporter to their next challenge. The trio emerges at a cemetary where they can use the keys they collected from the Regents to gain access to the Geovator Terminal. They ride the lift and reflect on the great feat they're about to accomplish to save Nina's life. The lights go out and when they come back Elyon stands behind a terrified Nina. Elyon, duplicates himself and introduces himself as the one who ensures the harmony of the world. He says that it is at last time to reopen the world he locked away eons ago when he was Odjn's host. Elyon powers up and attacks Ryu. Like the other Regents Elyon possesses a powerful barrier but stronger than the ones previously encountered. Elyon and his Alter Egos are extremely powerful, as expected from the previous chosen one. In the competition of Chosen warriors though, Ryu and his Dragon power prove to be the superior in this duel. Elyon falls, saying in the past he failed. Nothing more. He has no regrets saying it was destiny. He merely wanted to see the people worthy of seeing the sky again. Ryu, Nina, and Lin exit the lift and and look up at the giant plate blocking the surface. The trio is elated they made it as they look up. The moment is shattered when Bosch, returned to normal, walks up. He too looks to the stairway to the sky. Ryu and Bosch recognize the power inside each other and the dragon's aura begins to swell up inside them. The two unleash their Dragonic powers and the battle of fire and darkness begins! Ryu and Bosch clash, their power being pushed to the limit and Ryu's power coming dangerously close to consuming him entirely. However this isn't the time to hold back. If Bosch isn't defeated Nina will die. Ryu smashes and hammers Bosch into submission. The battle concludes and Bosch is becoming consumed by his Dragon's power. Before Bosch can transform again Ryu impales him on his fist. But it's too late. Bosch's dragon Chetyre has risen. Chetyre claims the sky for himself leaving Ryu to face this incredible enemy. Ryu no longer has any concern for himself. He expends all the power he has with no regard for what the power will turn him into. With a mighty blast he punches a hole into Chetyre. Chetyre makes one last attack on Ryu's life. Ryu unleashes the last of his reserves and overpowers the Dark Dragon. In a brilliant explosion Chetyre vanishes and Ryu sits on the ground, as a human. Ryu is understandably exhausted and tells Lin and Nina to go on without him. Ryu sees himself using Odjn's power and reflect on their adventure and success. Odjn says that without Ryu's determination he'd have failed. Nina and Lin step onto the lush green surface overflowing with life. Nina runs back down to see a dead Ryu. Nina and Lin mourn when Ryu's eyes open wide. He's alive! WHAT WE NOW KNOW: ----------------- -In this world dragon's are near extinct. -Dragons choose a host of sorts and channel their power through said individual. Though abuse of this power turns the user into a dragon stripping them of humanity. -A catastrophe in the past made the surface uninhabitable. By the end of BOF5 the surface appears to have been suitable for life for quite some time. -The social hierarchy is based on a person's D-Ratio. -The air in the lower parts of Deep Earth are polluted and cause significant health problems. Specimens like Nina are designed to remedy the situation. -The Regents are all dead. The highest echelon of leadership is no more. OBSERVATIONS: ------------- -BOF5 takes place in an alternate universe. There is no possible way to tie it to the other four BOFs in any way, shape, or form. Capcom even came out and declared it set in it's own timeline. -I'll give props to Capcom for the experiment known as Breath of Fire 5: Dragon Quarter but I despise the gameplay. There should never be a game you aren't expected to beat the first time around and are more or less forced to constantly restart the game at the beginning just to play through AGAIN but save exp so you're stronger for the boss you couldn't beat. I also hate the D-Counter with a passion. It makes sense plot-wise I guess but it's retarded to have a time limit to play the game in. On a more positive note BOF5 has my favorite story and Ryu out of the BOFs. -BOF5 marks the first game you actually play as human characters. In all the other games Ryu and Nina are part of the Dragon and Fae clans, not technically human. Momo and Ursula are part of the Grassrunner clan and not human either. And Bleu/Deis is a damn Goddess. Karn, I'm not completely sure about, it all depends if Shamans are considered a seperate race or not. In BOF5 Ryu is a human that has aquired abilities after birth. -BOF5 also marks the first in the series where Ryu doesn't actually become a dragon. In this game he's channeling the powers of a dragon and using it's power. He gets like a hybrid human/dragon form but doesn't become a full dragon himself (least not through canon, if you abuse the power you'll transform into a dragon which ends the game). -Another big step in the world for the BOF series is the fifth is the first where out main hero actually speaks. The roles are reversed for Ryu and Nina for the quiet character and they actually give Nina a reason why she doesn't talk. It's kinda hard when your vocal cords are surgically removed. -Whoever runs Bio Corp needs to be fired on safety regulations. All sorts of large boxes everywhere to run into and, oh yeah, several monsters just running around like they own the place. -If you notice there's a lot of dead Genics strewn about in the lower levels of the BOF5 world. I'm not gonna overthink it and just say that these are genics killed by other would-be adventurers but it does make me beg the question if Capcom had another purpose for them. -Something I don't quite get in BOF5, so everyone gets assigned a D-Ratio which is their chance of linking with a dragon. But the Regents mention that there are select "Chosens" that are the only ones capable of this feat and they're supposed to be extinct. Sure the society uses D-Ratio as a means to determine status in life but it still bugs me. Only thing I can think of is that the practice of creating D-Ratios still persists since a long, long, long time ago and people have either forgotten it's original meaning or don't care. -I can't help but feel bad for Bosch. All his life he'd been raised in an elitist culture and if you see the SOL scense his dad was less than "Father of the Year". He'd always been struggling for recognition because of his birth status forcing him to in a way and by the time you fight Cyber-Bosch he's freakin' lost his mind. Wanted to kill him just to put him out of his misery. -Seriously what is it with these facilities? The Power Plant has undead zombies attacking people and rabid robots trying to murder everyone... -Even in Centre there's wild monsters running around? Seriously call animal control or something. -In order to get to fight all the Regents you have to use specific teleporters in the boss rooms. You can potentially go through these guys fighting only two of them. For the purposes of the analysis I went with the notion that Ryu made several wrong turns and fought each Regent. -So...a couple of girls can get past the Regent's playhouse, past the cemetary with the four locks whose keys are held by the most powerful dudes around, and set up shop on the other side of that door? -------------------------------- Frequently Asked Questions BOF5 -------------------------------- Q: So what D-Ratio level do I need to see all the SOL scenes? A: 1/256. In order to access every last room though you'll need 1/4 (though to be honest the rewards are pretty meh). Q: Can I find Kaiser anywhere? A: No, Kaiser/Infinity and Tyrant are either non-existent or long perished in this alternate universe. They don't matter as far as this game is concerned. Q: So what's up with Elyon? A: A long time ago Elyon was the first host chosen by Odjn. He was supposed to be the one to do what Ryu did, take humanity back to the surface, but he failed and instead became the High Regent Origin. That's pretty much it. He's the guy behind Nina's wings and the whole experiment too. Q: Is it true that Capcom canned the entire BOF series over the poor reponse to this game? A: You know, that's a fan theory you'll see pop up quite often. I've never seen anything official to cement this claim. In fact the reviews of this game were moderately positive, it was a hit in Japan apparently. Personally, I think it has more to do with bigger projects that Capcom has chosen to work on (let's not kid ourselves, a Street Fighter or Resident Evil game will be way higher on their priority list than Breath of Fire). I do recall reading an article mentioning that one of the problems Capcom has with creating new RPGs like BOF is the enormous competition it has from other companies (most notably SquareEnix) where as it's other flagship titles would be more likely to succeed on the makret. So there really is no answer to this question unless you have a personal hook-up to some big-wigs at Capcom. SPECIAL THANKS: --------------- Special thanks to YouTube users Korona211 and Ominouslionheart for their playthroughs of BOF5. Saved me the trouble of having to play that crappy game again. Another special thanks to Dragon-tear.net for their translations of the Princess of Wings comic. CREDITS: ------------- Lawrence E. Cowden Feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated. lecmuaythai@yahoo.com