Breathe of fire

Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire (Japanese. ?????????. Hepburn. Buresu obu Faia ? ) is a role-playing video game series developed by Capcom. It originated on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1993. The series is notable for its recurring characters and ambiguous continuity ; though each game is its own self-contained story, the names of the two lead characters are, invariably, Ryu and Nina. [ 1 ]

Main series [ edit ]

Mobile games [ edit ]

Beginning in November 2003, Capcom began releasing Breath of Fire titles specifically for mobile phone devices in Japan. [ 5 ] Each game was developed for use on NTT DoCoMo. au. and SoftBank brand cellphones that use the i-mode. EZWEB, or BREW services. The first title, Breath of Daifugo ( ??? ?? ??? ? ). is a replication of the Japanese card game daifugo featuring characters from Breath of Fire IV . and would be followed by a sports game called Breath of Fire: Ryu no Tsurishi ( ??? ?? ???? ?????. lit. Breath of Fire: Dragon Fisherman ? ) in October 2005, which contained an expanded version of the fishing minigame also from the game. [ 6 ] Two action role-playing spin-offs of Breath of Fire IV titled Breath of Fire IV: Hono no Ken to Kaze no Maho ( ?????????IV ????????. lit. Breath of Fire IV: The Sword of Fire and the Magic of Wind ? ) and Breath of Fire IV: Yosei-tachi to Hikari no Kagi ( ?????????IV ?????????. lit. Breath of Fire IV: The Faeries and the Key of Light ? ) ' were released in November 2007 [ 7 ] and November 2008 respectively. [ 8 ]

Music [ edit ]

In March 2006, Capcom released the 11-disc Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box boxset on their in-house record label Suleputer. which contained all music from the first five games in the series. [ 9 ] The set includes the first-ever soundtrack release of the original Breath of Fire . as well as the first complete soundtrack releases for Breath of Fire II and Breath of Fire III . which had previously only received single-disc selections during their original printings, with a total of 307 tracks from all five titles. [ 11 ] Capcom produced a limited run of only 2000 copies of the boxset, which was distributed on their online store e-Capcom, as well as special retailers, and included a 28-page booklet featuring art from the series. [ 11 ]

Breath of Fire IV

Distribution

Breath of Fire IV . released in Japan as Breath of Fire IV: Utsurowazaru Mono ( ??? ?? ????IV ???????? ? ) is a role-playing video game developed by Capcom. and is the fourth game in the Breath of Fire series. It was originally released for the Sony PlayStation home console in Japan and North America in 2000, and the PAL region in 2001. The game was later ported to Windows-based PCs in Europe and Japan in 2003. [ 1 ]

Gameplay [ edit ]

A battle sequence

The "Master System" from Breath of Fire III returns, allowing players to customize each character by having them apprentice under different masters found throughout the world. Under their guidance, these characters may gain new skills and special statistic increases by fulfilling certain tasks, such as participating in a certain number of battles, or finding specific items. The fishing mini-game common to the rest of the series also returns, along with the village-building Faerie Town feature from the previous title that allows players to construct a special village that opens new features. [ 4 ]

Battles take place with teams of three characters against any number of enemy opponents. During these combat sequences, the player can choose which characters will perform an action in any order, as well as switch in any available reserve characters from the back row. While positioned in the back row, a character may not participate in battle, but may regain lost health or magic every combat round, as well as become unaffected by any attacks. Battles end when either all enemies are defeated or all characters in a player's front row are out of health. Each battle yields experience points that go toward earning levels for each character, which in turn grants increased statistics and new skills. [ 4 ]

New to Breath of Fire IV is the Combo System, which allows certain spells or skills to be cast in a specific order to gain bonus damage or other effects. [ 2 ] Casting two ice spells in sequence, for example, will produce a stronger ice attack, while a fire spell followed by a wind spell will create an explosion-based attack. Combos may also automatically occur in single attacks that have more than one effect. [ 5 ]

Plot [ edit ]

Characters [ edit ]

The principal characters of Breath of Fire IV were designed by series artist Tatsuya Yoshikawa. and consist of Ryu and his companions, each with their own individual skills and personality traits carry the story forward. Ryu (voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi ) is an amnesic young man with the mysterious ability to transform into powerful dragons. with his "other half" being Fou-Lu (voiced by Isshin Chiba ), the principal antagonist and founder of the Fou Empire centuries ago with similar abilities, yet a much more malevolent personality. [ 4 ] Aiding Ryu on his quest to confront Fou-Lu are several other heroes including Nina (voiced by Kyoko Hikami ), a winged magic-user and the reigning princess of the Kingdom of Wyndia; Cray (voiced by Isshin Chiba), a burly member of the cat - like Woren tribe who wields a large wooden post and holds romantic feelings for Nina's sister, Elina; Ershin (Master in the Japanese version, [ 6 ] voiced by Inuko Inuyama ), an enigmatic robot-like armor who speaks in third-person; Scias (voiced by Unsho Ishizuka ), a lanky mercenary and swordsman from the dog - like Grassrunner clan who lives for money; and Ursula (voiced by Kumiko Watanabe ), prideful granddaughter of a military commander with kitsune - like features and skilled with guns. [ 4 ]

Tatsuya Yoshikawa's character designs for Breath of Fire IV

Primary supporting characters include Yohm, a general from the modern Fou Imperial Army with the ability to summon monsters to his aid who see Fou-Lu as a threat to the world; Rasso, an elitist company commander dispatched to the Eastern Kingdoms to search for Ryu, Fou-Lu's key to obtaining his lost godhood; Yuna, a cruel geneticist and occultist who participates in horrific acts of genetic manipulation with dark magic; and Kahn, a muscle-bound chauvinist and comic-relief villain who constantly encounters Ryu's party. [ 5 ]

Story [ edit ]

The story of Breath of Fire IV begins with a search team consisting of Nina, princess of the Kingdom of Wyndia, and Cray, leader from the plains-dwelling Woren clan. They are heading to the town Synesta for information on the whereabouts of Nina's older sister and Cray's love interest, Elina, who went missing several weeks earlier on a diplomatic mission. [ 7 ] They are soon attacked by a berserk dragon and their sandflier crashes, forcing Nina to go to Sarai for spare parts while Cray guards their ride. Happening upon a crater left when a strange object landed from the sky, Nina confronts a large dragon who transforms before her eyes into a young man. Remembering nothing other than his name, Ryu, Nina surmises he must have amnesia and persuades him to help her search for her sister. Meanwhile, across the world in the western Fou Empire, the ancient Emperor Fou-Lu rises from his burial tomb, declaring that it is now his time to regain his throne, as he promised over six centuries ago. He commands one of his Guardian dogs, Won-Qu, to guard the tomb before heading south. In his vulnerable, newly awakened state, he is attacked by Yohm, a general in the modern Fou army who is privy to Fou-Lu's long-prophesied resurrection, and aims to kill him before carrying out his plan. [ 8 ] Fou-Lu is overpowered in the struggle and is struck down into a ravine.

Elsewhere, Ryu and Nina run into trouble with a Fou Empire captain named Rasso and can not get the needed spare parts in the end. While escaping the Fou soldiers, they travel to a town blighted by an evil miasma known as "hex" to get back to Cray, where they meet Ershin, a mysterious robot-like armor who leads them through the poisoned side of town. [ 9 ] Re-uniting with Cray, the team makes their way west to gather more information. The story shifts back to Fou-Lu, who has awakened after his ordeal with Yohm and finds himself in the care of a man named Bunyan. [ 10 ] After recovering enough, Fou-Lu departs down the mountain only to find Yohm and his soldiers blocking the path. After a struggle, Fou-Lu is forced to flee by transforming into a dragon and flying away, declaring that he must find his "other half", Ryu, and re-unite with him before the Empire finds him first. Yohm summons another creature to chase and strike Fou-Lu down. It succeeds and Fou-Lu crashes into the forest below.

By this time, Ryu and his friends arrive at the border town of Kyojin, where they meet Captain Rasso again who attempts to block them from entering the Causeway's gates. Quickly escaping past the guards in Fou Empire's continent, the team make their way north where they meet Yuna, an Imperial scientist who knows of Elina. He claims that she was here but is no longer. The soldiers then capture and return them to the Eastern Lands with accusations of breaking the pre-war peace treaty by trespassing in their lands. The group is detained in the town of Ludia and Cray is set to stand trial on their behalf. The group tries to help by "lessing the evidence" against Cray but to no effect with the judge. With no other choice Ryu, Nina and Ershin break him out of captivity with the help of Scias, a tall, dog - like mercenary who joins their cause. Determined to clear their names and find Elina, they travel past a swamp and through a volcano to arrive in Wyndia, where after an audience with Nina's father, the king. the group continues west. After seeking the Wind Dragon at the top of an ancient temple and brought to an ancient summoners' village, the group learns of Ryu's heritage, why the Empire is after Ryu, and the danger he would be in should he and Fou-Lu ever meet. They also learn that Ershin is carrying an Endless' spirit named Deis. While the group learns all this, Captain Rasso tracks Ryu to the summoners' village and kills most of the villagers. They then meet Ursula, granddaughter of a high-ranking Fou Empire official, who is against Rasso's savage methods. After attacking the villagers, Captain Rasso pulls out his trump card against Ryu. Ryu goes berserk and incinerates all the soldiers and Rasso and almost kills Ursula too, but Nina manages to calm Ryu down. Before leaving for Kyojin again along the western border, Ursula joins the group to keep an eye on them. Learning that the Causeway broke down after their initial visit, they find that they need a ship in order to proceed with their journey.

Ryu and his team travel to the Emperor's pagoda to stop him, and find Ursula's adopted grandfather, General Rhuh, holding off several monsters and A-Tur charging the palace area. Dying in the struggle, Ursula's grandfather tells his daughter to stop Fou-Lu with her new friends, and restore the empire to its former glory. She agrees, and the group makes their way to the palace's inner sanctum, where Ryu personally confronts Fou-Lu and questions his motivation to destroy humanity after they have done so much for him in the past, recalling and comparing their memories. [ 11 ] After an intense battle, Fou-Lu finally understands Ryu's defense and merges with Ryu to become the complete Yorae Dragon God, which decides to send the gods back to their own world. Then Ryu rejoins the group as a mortal, and they leave the palace together.

There is an alternative ending of the story where Fou-Lu absorbs Ryu, making him the dominant half where he then plans to destroy humanity, starting by killing Ryu's friends.

The manga adaptation, Utsurowazaru Mono: Breath Of Fire IV . deviates the ending slightly by having Ryu refuse to fully absorb Fou-Lu as the gods disappear from the world. While the others hopefully wait for the return of Ryu, he and Fou-Lu are wandering the world together, relearning and experiencing the joys of humanity.

Story before game [ edit ]

A long time ago an emperor called Muuru was having problems with the empire which was in a civil war, so he tried to summon a God named ?????arukai? (which was translated as Yorae) to unify the empire through its divinity. The summoning was imperfect, which made the God to be split both in time and bodies. The summoned God was called Fou-lu. After ten years he was able to unify the western continent into the Fou empire. Meanwhile the western continent was repeatedly attacked by the eastern continent, so Fou-lu decided to create a bridge that would transport people and things to the other continent. Carrying the ambitions of Muuru, Fou-lu wanted to unify both continents and cease the war. But due to the imperfect summoning Fou-lu entered a sleeping state (sealed) and the empire lost its strike on the eastern continent keeping the war in a deadlock. Without Fou-lu's presence the war kept going on for many years of truces and war. Several years later, the second half of the God came into the world, waking up Fou-lu that was sealed in a long sleep recovering his powers. And so the game begins. [ 12 ]

Development [ edit ]

Breath of Fire IV was developed by Capcom Development Studio 3, which contained many of the same staff members who produced Breath of Fire III . including director Makoto Ikehara, and character artist Tatsuya Yoshikawa, who provided designs for the game's hand-drawn sprites. In May 1999 industry rumors began speculating that the title would appear on the PlayStation 2 console when Capcom's Yoshiki Okamoto remarking that their next role-playing game would be a "giant project" that would make use of the system's network capabilities. [ 13 ] The following July, however, it was confirmed that the game would instead be heading to the original PlayStation. with development having been underway for "some time" beforehand, and was officially unveiled in an issue of Japanese Weekly Famitsu magazine the same month. [ 14 ] Due to time constraints, some intended features were not included in the final release of the game, including a scenario that would have involved defeating Yuna, an antagonist who otherwise lives in the end. The title would appear at the 2000 Tokyo Game Show trade show in Japan, and would later be released in the region the following April. [ 15 ]

In February 2000, Capcom USA officially announced that an English version of the game would be made available in North America. [ 16 ] This version would contain a number of differences from the Japanese release, including the censorship of four different scenes that take place during the game that involved Fou-Lu decapitating Emperor Soniel, Ryu spying on Nina and Ursula bathing in a pond, Ryu accidentally grabbing Ursula's breast, and Ursula dropping her pants on a dare. [ 17 ] Scias would additionally have all references to his alcoholism removed from the English release, presenting his stuttering word pattern as a speech impediment rather than a drunken slur. [ 18 ] One of Scias's abilities, Shikibetsu (????, literally, "Identify"), which allowed him to view the statistics of an enemy during battle, as well as a short description of their abilities, was also completely removed. [ 17 ]

In May 2003, Breath of Fire IV was ported to Windows - based personal computers in Japan by SourceNext. [ 19 ] This version, though identical to the PlayStation release, contains a filter for sprite smoothing on 2D visuals, as well as shorter load times. The PC version was released in English exclusively for European audiences the following September.

Audio [ edit ]

The music of Breath of Fire IV was composed entirely by Yoshino Aoki. had previously collaborated with Akari Kaida on the soundtrack to Breath of Fire III . [ 20 ] Unlike the previous game, the music does not exhibit a jazz motif, but rather a traditional orchestral score modeled after Asian music. Aoki would also provide the vocals for the game's ending theme, "Yume no Sukoshi Ato" (????????, literally, "A Little After the Dream"), and would write an arrangement of Maurice Ravel 's " Pavane pour une infante defunte " titled "Pavane for a Dead Princess", while composer Taro Iwashiro provides the game's opening theme song "Breath of Fire IV

Opening Animation

". [ 20 ] In May 2000, Capcom would release the Breath of Fire IV Original Soundtrack on the company's in-house music label Suleputer. which contained all music from the game across two discs. [ 20 ] In June 2006, the entire soundtrack would be re-released as part of the Breath of Fire Original Soundtrack Special Box boxset. which contained music from the first five games in the series. [ 21 ]

Long Deep Breathing and Breath of Fire

For those that have been doing Long Deep Breathing and Breath of Fire for many years, the breath is so natural and easy that unless one is also teaching one might not easily focus on what the difficulty could possibly be.

Quite often students will fill the lower abdominal area of the lungs, then as the try to fill the chest area, they shift the air from the lower area to the chest, as they try to lift the rib cage, and do not actually keep the downward pressure of air in filling upwards, but instead only shift upwards, so that a complete breath is still only chest breathing and not actually diaphragm breathing.

The conscious awareness of the diaphragm is not apparent to every one so some means needs to be provided to somehow allow attention to the sensation of the use of the diaphragm to come into focus until the natural rhythm of the diaphragm is felt and the effortless force and flow of prana takes over.

Long Deep Breathing

A great way to relax, and also very good for any lung-related problems.

Long Deep Breathing is usually taught first because one can become aware of the full distention and contraction of the diaphragm, after which the Breath of Fire may come more naturally.

Sitting cross-legged (or even in corps pose), in long deep breathing one will first fill the abdominal area by inhaling the air down, then pressing the air consciously into the lower areas. By arching somewhat forward with ones palms on the knees, then with arms straight pressing the palms inward towards the lower body against the knees, the chest cavity will open forwards, so that you can not only keep the pressure on the lungs in the lower abdominal area, but also feel the lungs filling in and through the chest area and, finally, because of the forward arch of the spine the upper area of the lungs will fill as well, all without the need to either open the rib cage or raise the shoulders.

Once the lungs are completely filled in this manner, hold the breath lightly for a moment and press the shoulders back and expand the chest out so that the full length and pressure on the diaphragm can be felt.

Then contract the entire length of the diaphragm from the upper chest to the abdomen, so that all the air is squeezed out.

By breathing in this way through the nostrils for several breaths, the flow of energy consciousness (the feeling of prana) through the diaphragm can be felt from the pressing down and distending of the air into the lower region of the lungs, where most of the blood circulates, then filling through and up to the chest areas from the back to the front and into the upper lungs.

The pressure in the lungs in all areas of the lungs also generates energy in all the nerve endings, so that the entire body is effected both by the breath and the pressure on the nerves.

Once the Long Deep Breathing is done in the manner described, the focus on the muscles of the abdomen, chest and shoulder areas as being involved in the breathing begins to recede, as the natural bellows like motion of the entire diaphragm is felt.

Breath of Fire (Agni-Prasana)

A cleansing & energising breath, powered by abdominal contractions

Once the diaphragm is felt during Long Deep Breathing then there are a couple of ways in which one can begin to do Breath of Fire, where the air is pulled in and pumped out very rhythmically, just like pumping a bellows, without any tension being felt whatsoever on the abdominal muscles, chest and rib cage muscles or shoulders, which remain relaxes throughout the breath, so that it may almost seem that you can continue the rhythm indefinitely with little effort at all.

One way to start Breath of Fire, which was the way I learned it some 30 years ago, is to start with long deep breathing, then as soon as the lungs are completely expanded, as described earlier, to immediately force the air out, and as soon as most of the air is out to immediately expand the air back in, each time arching the spine forwards and pressing the palms inward against the knees in a light manner to feel the diaphragm filling the lungs from the back to the front completely, then contracting again.

With each breath one expands a bit faster and contracts a bit faster until without expanding or contracting completely, a rhythm is felt, and you let that rhythm take over.

You might liken it to an old model locomotive where the wheels lurch forwards until some steam and speed is built up, then suddenly the train is moving forward almost effortlessly, with each breath like the chugging sound of the locomotive.

The other way to get into the rhythm of the Breath of Fire for some, may be to immediately go to a powerful rhythmic breath, just by visualizing the bellows like nature of the diaphragm.

Either way, from that point on you can make the Breath of Fire very powerful or very light.

The Breath of Fire is not the same as Bastrika, which is a light fast rhythmic breath, usually taught as one of the pranayamas in hatha yoga.

Nor is the Breath of Fire like Kabalabati, which is a forceful breath, where you contract the abdomen and rib cage (pulling on the root lock with each contacting breath), where the simple relaxing of the rib cage brings the air back into the lungs, without inhaling, and you force the air out again (also in a rhythmic manner).

While Kapalabati is very powerful and beneficial, and while it is used in many KY Kriyas, it is not the same as Breath of Fire.

Breath of Fire will entirely charge the nervous system, causing the glands to secrete and purify the blood. When it is done with certain postures and movements, which are meant to put contracting (drawing in) or expanding (releasing) pressure in nerve plexuses and glandular centers, those areas are made to fire and become completely charged.

As an area becomes charged, the sexual (seminal) fluids are released into the bloodstream and flow to those charged areas, so that gradually those areas will maintain that charge and pranic pressure builds throughout the body converting Bindu (Tamasic and Rajasic energy) to Ojas (Satvic energy), which fills and permeates the entire body and mind.

Bit by bit, over a period of just a few weeks of sets and kriyas combining posture, movement, breath, sound and locks, the entire body will begin to feel magnetically electric and etheric, as the field becomes balanced with an inward dynamo-like force.

As this charge builds and polarizes, the mind becomes very still, very clear and bright, and a radiance is felt in and through and around the body and head.

The feeling of the stressful need to think and act and to be the "doer" begin to recede, as the mind becomes more receptive and open to notice that there seems to be an almost automatic connectedness between one's aims and events and experiences that come to fulfill them. The feeling of a natural ever present oneness begins to emerge as a clearer always existing reality.

Little by little, outward tendencies of the mind towards the physical and mental begin to fade, and one abides in one's satvic presence - spacelike, pervasive, without the sense of me or mine - the Self-Effulgent Heart, where "I AM" is the single Truth.

The practice of Kundalini Yoga with the natural awareness and rhythm of the diaphragm in Long Deep Breathing and Breath of Fire allows the postures and kriyas to have the greatest and most complete effect in bringing the satvic field to the point where the Self recollects Itself and abides without attention in one's True Name - Sat Nam.

Try these breaths out this way and see what happens.

Breathing Techniques

Most of us don't know how to breathe properly. We take shallow breaths as if we are afraid of what breath does. But breath is manna to our bodies. so we should drink heavily and deeply to energize and feed our bodies.

I was taught by breathing in to the count of four. slow counts. Feel the breath expand your ribcage. you are aiming to fill your whole chest cavity with air. At the end of the fourth, when you think you can't take any more air in, take a sip more. Hold for a count of four. Exhale over a count of four. and when you think you have all the air out, huff more out.

You will be amazed how much you can get out after this count of four. You may experience burning in your lungs doing this. But soon, your breathing comes deep and sure. and the count of four expands to a count of five. six. I was told to concentrate on the emptiness between breathing in and breathing out. that period of stillness.

Once my lungs were used to doing this, I started breathing in from different parts of my body. No one taught me this. it just started to happen when I meditated. I would open up my crown chakra and breathe the energy down, on an inbreath. feeling it flow around my heart. keeping it there. then on the outbreath, push the breath down the rest of my body to exit out my feet. Then I would reverse it, breathing in my feet, feel it flowing to my heart, then on the exhale, pushing it up and out my head. Dizzying at first. but the energy that fills me when I do that is incredible.

I found out later that I was unconsciously doing something that is taught to get the energy flowing in the two currents that wind around our spines. We would practice this for about five minutes. at the beginning of each session. It prepared us for the work in the session by calming us and getting our minds into the proper space for work.

The fire breath is very different. Here, you concentrate on the outbreath, as it is thrown out with such force, the inbreath comes after it automatically. We were taught to put our hand on our bellies and use those muscles to force air out of our lungs in a whoosh. Our hands were to remind us to use those muscles to force it out. Your whole abdomen is used to empty the lungs very quickly. You should hear your breath coming out vocally. almost like a cough but not so loud. kinda like a HUH sound.

Here, you are not using so much breath. it is like little sips in and whooshes out. Like my advanced terminology. ;grins. As the fire in fire breath is related to the power center or third chakra, this is where the breath is being localized. You are using your diaphragm and stomach muscles to force the breath out. Dizzying again. and you feel the heat in your belly rising up into you. making your head reel with it.

It took me awhile to get used to doing this. and my stomach muscles hated me for a while. but it was worth everything to feel what I did when the rising started. At first, we couldn't do it very much. it was far too difficult to keep up. but as the weeks went by, we had longer lessons using it.

The alternate nostril breathing was taught to us after the above two. After doing the first breathing exercise a few times, raise one of your hands to your face, palm facing it. Put your thumb by one nostril and your forefinger by the other. Gently put your thumb over the nostril, blocking the passage of air through it. Breathe in the other nostril slowly, using the first technique. Hold the inbreath for a second. concentrating on the stillness. then exhale. Remove your thumb, and put your forefinger on it's nostril and breathe in. concentrating on the middle. exhale.

Continue to alternate with one complete inhale/exhale per thumb/finger. Do this for about eight to ten cycles. You should feel this breathing calming you yet energizing your chakras.

Susan P. Boles lives in a small town, east of Toronto, Canada, and is a student and teacher of chakras. A gifted healer, using her own brand of hands-on and remote healing, she makes use of Reiki, Therapeutic touch and an inner child process to help people. This is not a full time occupation - she mainly helps people over the Net as she finds her effectiveness is greater using this energy medium. She has facilitated earth healing meditations for several groups.

When Susan first started taking Kundalini yoga, she had a very hard time even getting on the floor. She had broken her back at work. Doing anything was extremely painful. Her teacher was very patient with her - allowing her to adapt positions she couldn't get into or found hard to maintain. After a few months, and the aid of other alternative healing methods, she was able to move with much greater mobility, feeling the energy move up her spine. The fire breath, actually just learning to breathe properly, helped her a lot. Now, she says, if you look at her back, you will not find the break. She went from being wheelchair dependent, according to allopathics, to being able to do anything she wanted, and she does too!

Breath of Fire

Breath of Fire . also known as Breath of Fire: The Dragon Warrior ( ????????? ????. Buresu obu Faia Ryu no Senshi ? ) is produced by Tokuro Fujiwara. and is the first entry in the Breath of Fire series of console role-playing games. Developed by Capcom in 1993 for the Super Famicom, it was licensed a year later by Squaresoft (now Square Enix) for release in North America. In 2001, Capcom independently re-released the game for the Game Boy Advance worldwide. It is notable for being the first role-playing game ever published by Capcom.

Contents

Gameplay Edit

Breath of Fire consists of four basic modes of gameplay: an overworld map, town and dungeon field maps, a battle screen, and a menu screen. The overworld is a scaled-down, simplified version of the game's fictional world, which the player uses to navigate between various locations. With a few plot-driven exceptions, enemies are randomly encountered while travelling though field maps or on the overworld. As the player commands the lead character to move, the other members of the travelling follow in a line behind him/her. The order of the group line can be changed at any time, allowing another character to take the lead. Most playable characters display a unique field skill outside of battle, which can only be accessed by placing them at the front. Some areas cannot be entered unless a certain character has joined; for example, the party cannot walk through forests unless Bo is at the head of the group.

BoF World Map

The color palette of field maps changes depending on the time of day. Whenever the travelling party appears on the overworld screen, the sun rises and sets with each passing minute of real time. Non-player characters can be found milling about inside towns at daytime, whereas they will retire to their homes at night and early morning. In certain instances, the player must wait until nightfall before they can enter a given town.

The game's story develops as the player visits towns and dungeons. Townspeople offer helpful information, and some residents own item or equipment shops. Since the player's inventory space is limited, most item shops double as banks which offer to hold spare items or GP (the game's currency). Dungeons primarily appear in the form of castles, caves, and towers. Towers consist of several floors, often composed of puzzles or mazes, further complicating the party's task of reaching the top.

The menu screen is where the player makes such decisions as which characters will be in the travelling party, which equipment they wield, and the configuration of the gameplay. It is also used to track experience points and levels.

Fishing and hunting play a small role in Breath of Fire's gameplay. By outfitting Ryu with a rod and bait, the player can fish at designated spots on the overworld, often nabbing rare equipment in the process. Birds, wild boar, and deer randomly appear on the overworld. If Bo is leading the group, he can hunt animals by firing arrows at them. Once struck, the animal will change into an item (Meat) which can be then picked up. Certain types of meat restore Health Points (HP), while others refill Ability Points (AP).

Combat Edit

During its turn-based fight sequences, Breath of Fire switches to a 3/4 isometric perspective. Up to four characters may participate in a battle, though each can be swapped out for another party member if the player so chooses. The battle screen is a detailed representation of whatever area the party is currently in, such as a desert or grassland. Although characters are miniaturized on maps, in combat their sprites are normal-sized and more realistic.

BoF Combat Screen

A maximum of four characters may participate in battles, although each can be swapped out for another party member at any time. Each character acts in an order dependent on their individual statistics. Players are rewarded for winning battles with experience points and GP. When characters attain a certain amount of experience points, they gain a level, which increases their statistics. Experience Points and GP are awarded based on how quickly the party dispatches the enemies with the maximum allotment being given if the player ends the battle in one round. Each party member has the option to attack, cast a magic spell, use a restorative item, or escape the fight by running away. The party can also be placed under automatic control, causing them to attack without the player's input.

The Hit Points and Ability Points of each party member is visible from a heads-up display at the bottom of the screen. The HP of enemies remains unseen, though a life bar measuring an enemy's health will appear whenever they take damage. An identical display appears during boss battles, but in this case, the life bar is misleading; the bar very often will drop to zero, only to see the boss acquire a 'second wind' and continue to attack without any visible HP.

At the beginning of the game, Ryu is powerless except for his sword-fighting skill. He can awaken his innate powers by visiting small, isolated shrines on the overworld known as Dragon Temples. After accepting a challenge from the monk inside, Ryu is separated from the rest of his party and pitted in a one-on-one battle against a dragon. If he wins, Ryu earns the ability to morph into various dragons during battles. Whenever this occurs Ryu's sprite is replaced with a dragon, and the strength of his attacks increases. Each set of dragon spells represent differing stages in Ryu's power: His early transformations resemble an infant dragon, while his most powerful form (Agni) takes up the entire right-hand corner of the screen.

Karn is another character who can change forms. Hidden throughout the game are four members of an ancient clan who claim to be Karn 's blood relatives. Each one enables Karn to change into powerful mutant creatures by "Fusing" with Bo. Ox. and Gobi. Although this removes the fused characters from the party roster, it also grants Karn a boost in HP and overall strength. Unlike Ryu. however, Karn stays in his fused state outside of battle, and will remain so until the player commands him to revert back.

Plot Edit

Setting Edit

Thousands of years ago, the goddess Tyr sowed discord amongst the Dragon Clan by offering to grant any wish. Feuding over the goddess' favor eventually split the Clan into two competing factions — the Light Dragons and the Dark Dragons — who engaged in a destructive war. Tyr encouraged the fighting and watched the war escalate. Just as the world was on the brink of annihilation, the "Goddess War" ended when a heroic Light Dragon and his companions managed to imprison Tyr and seal her away with six keys. Each key has a unique magical property which effects the surrounding landscape; the Light Key is hidden in the port town of Auria. providing boundless prosperity for its residents. Alternatively, the Dark Key resides near the slums of Bleak. accounting for that town's perpetual darkness.

Story Edit

The Dark Dragons continue to hunt their longtime enemies, the Light Dragons, and have driven them into isolation. Unbeknownst to the Dark Dragons, the Light Dragon Clan sealed away its dragon powers long ago. The game's protagonist, Ryu, is living peacefully in a village of Light Dragons survivors. Ryu was orphaned when he was young and was raised by his sister, Sara. a priestess who can summon powerful magic. One night he dreams of a dragon that warns him of impending danger; he awakens to find his village has been set ablaze. Sara uses her magic to draw the Dark Dragons away from Ryu and the other villagers, but is taken prisoner.

The Dark Dragon Emperor, Zog. has announced that it is the birthright of the Dark Dragons to conquer the planet. Zog intends to release Tyr by assembling the six Goddess keys. Ryu leaves the village and embarks on a quest to collect the keys before Zog can.

Development Edit

The North American release of Breath of Fire is the product of a joint venture between Capcom and Squaresoft. At that time, Capcom had not yet attempted to localize a game which relied so heavily on text. In addition, the company had already begun work on Breath of Fire II. The task of localizing Breath of Fire was therefore handed over to Squaresoft, a company with more experience at translating Japanese role-playing games to English. Squaresoft released Breath of Fire in lieu of Final Fantasy V, which was not ported to American video game consoles until 1999.

Ironically, Breath of Fire's lacklustre translation is an oft-cited criticism of the game. The English port also saw several name alterations, though some of these — in the case of the main characters — were necessitated by technical restrictions of only four letters per name (e. g. "Giliam" is shortened to "Bo"). Similarly, the names of inventory items are limited to five letters (LtKey, F. Stn, WtrJr, etc).

For the English localization, Karn's appearance was altered to give him Caucasian skin and brown hair. This was also edited in re-release on Gameboy Advance.

Re-Release Edit

Breath of Fire was ported and re-released by Capcom in Japan on July 6, in North America on December 13, and in Europe on December 14, 2001 for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance. It includes additional illustrated cutscenes, new character portraits, and adjustments to the game's overall difficulty. The menu icons that appear during battle sequences were replaced by a text-driven interface, similar to that of Breath of Fire II. The ability to "dash" by holding the B button was also included. As an added feature, players can utilize a link cable and swap items from their inventories. The re-release met with generally positive reviews; GameSpot and IGN both praised it for being a smooth conversion of the original game, though some have noted that the sound quality is lacking.

Trivia Edit

In Bleak, a thief inside one of the houses will offer to perform a magic trick for 100 GP. If the player responds "yes" "yes" "no" "no" "yes", the result is a brief cameo appearance by Chun-li, a heroine from the Street Fighter series of fighting games.

Ghosts 'n Goblins/Makai Mura - If you look closely at all the portraits hanging on the walls of houses in this game, you'll see that they are in fact of Arthur, the heart-patterned boxer shorts-wearing hero of the Makai Mura games. It actually seems to be the face of his sprite from Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts.

George Romero - Earlier in the game, there is a town called Romero. Considering that if you go to the town during the evening, there's zombies all over the place, it's quite obvious that this is a reference to George Romero, director of legendary zombie thrillers such as Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, and many others. This is the same in both the English and Japanese versions - apparently, one of the staff members was a fan.

Mega Man V - One of the bosses, Goda, has an uncanny resemblance to Stone Man from Mega Man V. It's not simply that they're both made of similar brick-pattern stone, but he even has the very distinct Wilybot style eyes that all Wilybots have.

Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune did the original illustrations for the game.

Games you may like

Breath of Fire II

One of the most popular RPGs of all time continues in this epic quest. Enter the magical life of a hero Ryu, a dragon.

Final Fantasy VI Advance

Learn From The Past. Many centuries have passed since the war of the Magi - civilisations have been rebuilt with iron.

Golden Sun

Final Fantasy V Advance

BREATH OF FIRE: Everything you wanted to know but were afraid to ask

How to do it: Sit in easy pose (simple cross-legged position) Stretch the spine up straight and tall, with the base of the spine forward, the chest lifted and the chin tucked down and back (neck very straight.) In this position, find a balance and relax completely. Inhale and exhale at even lengths with no break between. The navel will start to flex as though pumping. This is one of the many benefits which we will highlight later. Continue from 3 minutes or more (up to 20 minutes)

Eyes: Generally closed, focused up and in at the brow (Third eye point)

Finish: Inhale deeply and hold. Gently squeeze the body to expand the energy, focusing on bringing the energy to the third eye point. Exhale, and relax. (Breath of fire can also be practiced in intervals– 3 min breath, 2 minutes rest, another 3 min, etc.)

I recently took my classes through the complete basic steps of breath of fire, how it is done, the principles behind it and its benefits. It’s really amazing when you look at it closely. So many Kundalini Yoga kriyas have breath of fire within them, but it’s easy to do it incorrectly unless you learn it properly first, and then apply it after some practice.

Breath of fire is basically an inhale and exhale of even length, in rapid succession. That doesn’t mean it has to be done fast. In fact, when doing breath of fire for the first time, one should go slowly and find the rhythm before going faster. The breath simply has to be an even length with no break between the inhale and exhale. This creates a very unique breath, which is actually considered one long breath, but paradoxically it appears to be many rapid breaths. Because there’s no real break between the inhale and exhale, it’s actually considered very long deep breathing sped up. Here’s how you do it…

The even inhale and exhale is a matter of creating balance. The Prana– or life force within the breath comes into the body through the lungs and transfers into the body at the level of the navel. Within our bodies is an opposite, polarizing force called Apana. Apana is an eliminative energy in the body and prana is an activating energy we bring into the body with the breath. When they mix at the navel, the Kundalini energy is sparked and charged. This creates a balance between the life force coming in and the existing energy within the body and what need to get rid of, or eliminate. This mix and balancing of prana and apana creates an energy flow. Breath of fire, literally fires up this energy flow process and results in countless benefits.

[ad#ad-endpost-1]

The Mechanics of Breath:

When you inhale properly, the lungs fill completely with air and push down on the diaphragm, a U-shaped muscle just beneath the lungs. The diaphragm’s down/up movement causes the navel to expand and contract. Thus when you inhale properly, the diaphragm causes the navel (belly) to expand and when you exhale the navel deflates and the diaphragm rises, deflating the lungs. When you pull in on the navel toward the spine as you exhale, you force more air out of the lungs, causing a more complete breath. So the diaphragm moves up/down and the navel moves in/out.

In breath of fire, the navel pumps as a result of the continuous breath and acts as a bellows, firing up the white-hot kundalini energy at the base of the spine. Yogi Bhajan says this is not a temperature-like heat as we know it, but rather a force– like the encompassing white light of meditation rather than the heat of sunlight, for example. The exercising of the navel point also releases energy stored there in the solar plexus. This energy in turn, expands within you and radiates into your entire energy system. It does so in very practical, physical ways as you will see in the following list of benefits.

‘They say that about five hundred diseases do not come near that person who moves the belly button. The navel controls the vayus, the praanic airs which circulate through your body.’ –Yogi Bhajan

10 Benefits of Breath of Fire:

Cleans the blood in 3 minutes. It also takes an average of 3 minutes for the liver to filter the blood completely. This is why beginners sometimes feel lightheaded or a little queasy, because the blood is being oxygenated rapidly and the toxins are rushing through the liver. (After very little practice, however, there is no unease, but rather the breath becomes very invigorating and energizing.)

The solar plexus, at the level of the navel contains a lot of naturally stored energy. This is because the navel is at the third chakra which is the center of personal will power (which is why we use phrases like “fire in the belly” and “she’s got guts.”)

Causes the nervous system to increase its voltage and fire properly.

Changes the brain waves creating a global alpha rhythm when practiced properly.

Expands lung capacity.

Increases physical endurance.

Strengthens the navel point, which as mentioned previously is the core will center. This added strength gives mental constancy and the ability to focus and follow through on your promises. (The guts to follow through on what you say you will do.)

Assists in the overcoming of addictons by cleansing the toxic effects of smoking, drugs, sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

Increased mental and physical energy in the entire system.

Releases deeply rooted toxins in the lungs, mucous membranes, blood vessels and cells.

Further Tips for Breath of Fire:

Once you get into the rhythm of the breath, scan your body for tension. People, especially beginners tend to hold tension in different places in the body, the legs, knees, face, back, etc. Once you begin the breath, relax every part of the body not in use, which means basically, everything but the navel.

Practice this breath for a minimum of three minutes a day for forty days and watch your life change dramatically. Set an intention in your mind (quitting smoking, losing weight, any positive change) and don’t worry about the particulars of how you’re going to do it. Simply dedicate your self to doing the breath meditation each day. Make an event out of it– first thing in the morning when you wake up or in the evening, but don’t miss a day and watch the result

Use the mantra “Sat Nam” as you practice the breath of fire. Mentally say or vibrate “Sat” as you inhale and “Nam” as you exhale. Sat Nam basically means, “Truth is my identity, “or “I agree to the truth within.” This centers the mind from wandering on thoughts but also seeds the sub-conscious mind with the soul’s vibration of truth so that when you’re on auto-pilot throughout your day, the back of your mind is actually working on the higher part of your self.