PC (Microsoft Windows)Xbox 3602010
Breath of Death VII
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a parody of retro RPGs.
Screenshots
584
Very Positive
1,449 Steam reviews
Review History
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a parody of retro RPGs.
Very Positive
1,449 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
Классная игрушка, с удовольствием прошел)
Einer dieser Titel, die man am liebsten eher neutral bewerten würde.
Ist okay, aber jetzt auch nichts Herausragendes, wird dazu schnell langweilig und auch wenn Grafik durchaus sekundär ist, schadet sie nicht, um etwas schöner zu präsentieren und selbst das fehlt halt hier. Gerade wenn dann eben der primäre Part (das Gameplay) nur so Durchschnitt ist. Da gibt's (zumindest inzwischen) auch eine Reihe von RPG Maker Spielen, die einen mehr abholen.
Preislich dafür halt sehr günstig und fair. Zeitgleich würde ich es jetzt aber nicht nochmal kaufen, wenn ich mit dem Wissen zum Spiel zum Zeitpunkt des Kaufs zurückreisen könnte.
если честно, шлак, брать только ради карт
The best Breath of Death so far
Breath of Death is a grindy, old school JRPG on the level of the original Dragon Warrior. There are some interesting options at level up and some minor humor, but you have to really be up for 95% of your time to be spent in random encounter fights.
Un jeu sympa pour le prix sa vaut carrément le coût de si intéresser.
Attention cependant c'est un humour qui ne touche pas forcément tout le monde.
Short. The MSQ will take you around 3hrs to complete. I took my time and put an extra hour into it. It's okay for the price, just don't expect much.
Hood classic. Better than the remake as well. Lot's of good memories on xbox 360 indie marketplace playing this game the lab is my favorite area and its my favorite of the two zeboyd games of this style.
A worthy predecesor, though an inferior version of, Cthulhu Saves the World, Breath of Death VII was a fun, surprisingly challenging but quite short experience. The writing was fun, but very minimal, and I can see the roots that were laid down here to let Cthulhu survive and thrive. In all honesty, while it was decent fun and is very cheap, there's not much reason to play this over Cthulhu which is just this game but a lot better on every front. That isn't to say that this is a bad game, far from it, but it lacks the same... heart that it's sequel does. Solid, short, challenging and decently engaging, BoD VII is a good game, easily and quickly finished. Good to pass the time with, at least once.
A short but enjoyable spin on JRPGs; pokes fun at the tropes of the genre, but it actually has a decent battle system. Also, it frequently goes on sale for less than a buck WITH another game!
Full video review: https://youtu.be/LC6CfVa3dso
Funny game
It's a brief RPG parody that feels very influenced by the early ages of JRPGs, where battles feel more like a puzzle rather than hehe numbers go high, and you can die easily if you're not paying attention. Be sure to remember that you can save at anytime.
Music was actually kinda good.
Simple and charming, taking a good amount from the classic style with just enough modern touches to make it feel a bit less time devouring without losing the grindiness of the old school JRPG style (I played on hard mode, presumably the game is even more streamlined on the lower difficulties). It's got lots of good music and a casually quirky but completely nothing story which leans into it and is for the better as a result. Certainly not a modern classic or anything, but a really nice light hearted palette cleanser that's not trying to be anything it isn't.
Has jugado Cthulu saves the world? Juega a esto YA.
Short parodic homage to JRPGs that plays with the formula a little to make it not as grind- or whoops-I-overextended-focused as you remember those old NES games being. But I don’t remember much about it 13 years later; it is, quite literally, forgettable. What’s that? There’s a remake out now I get to play afresh, then? Delightful!
This is often mentioned in the same (ahem) “breath” as Cthulhu Saves the World for all the right reasons, such as price and comedic flavor; however, they have different conceits.
The title itself has multiple tongue-in-cheek jokes, which in c. 2011 comedy spirit I will now spell out in painful detail: a reference to Capcom’s Breath of Fire series which the game itself does not imitate in visual style, it is “of death” because the PCs are undead and it rhymes with “breath”, and it confusingly starts with a very high sequel number while paradoxically calling itself “the beginning” knowingly tripping over how it‘s somewhat gauche to include both a number and a subtitle if it makes the title not so snappy and to imply the existence of previous series entries.
Llevo años y años jugando RPGs, sobre todo por turnos. Desde los primeros Final Fantasy y Dragon Quests hasta maravillas como FFVI, Chrono Trigger y Terranigma. Nunca me pasé del todo al 3D porque se me hizo poco intuitiva la exploración, y sé que mucha gente se quedó en la misma era que yo, y sienten nostalgia al jugar cualquier buen RPG que le haga homenaje a esa época. Y eso es lo que es este juego. No una parodia, un homenaje.
No sólo por tener una estética gráfica 8 bitera, ni por el humor y las referencias, que son muchas. Es por el amor con el que está hecho. Tiene mecánicas que hubiesen sido rompedoras en aquella época: poder guardar en cualquier momento, número fijo de batallas por zona (muy útil para explorar mazmorras una vez que las limpiaste, y pudiendo seguir luchando si lo deseas), recuperar vida después de cada batalla (y así no abusar de pociones, un mal endémico de la época), poder elegir dificultad (utilísimo), y algunas más que se me olvidan. Son mejoras sustanciales pero que no le quitan espíritu: se siente como un homenaje desde el principio, y está hecho par quienes vivimos esa era. Así lo sentí yo, y supongo que no es para todo el mundo, pero tampoco pretende serlo.
No lo he terminado. Voy disfrutándolo despacio, avanzando de a poco. Sé que es corto y quiero que me dure. Lo cierto es que no esperaba nada de él y me ha maravillado. Sé que no a todos les gustará, pero a quienes les gusten los RPGs clásicos quedarán encantados como yo. Recomendado 100%.
I keep getting attacked by like... 6 or 7 enemies before I even make it very far from the starting town. I die. I repeat the process. I don't have time for this.
Pretty basic old-school style RPG with some humor. Good enough for a couple of dollars.
It does have some really interesting mechanics around random encounter battles that I would love to see bigger RPGs adopt.
In honour of Spooktober, I decided to boot this one up a clever parody of classic JRPGs, and honestly, I’m all for it. I love its sense of humour and unique aesthetic. It’s definitely on the short side, but it’s a fun little ride while it lasts. You can grab it super cheap bundled with Call of Cthulhu, so it’s an absolute steal if you can snag that deal.
The penultimate sequel to Breath of Death VI that began with Breath of Death I. And if you think you've already played Breath of Death I, II, III, IV, V, & VI before, you haven't until you've experienced the glory that is Breath of Death VII. It'll make you think that I - VI didn't even happen because VII is the only one that exists that you need to play.
Easy, and interesting. Is a good old Dragon quest like game. Good old humor aswell and other game references. A good choice if you have some time and like old rpgs.
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, developed and published by Zeboyd Digital Entertainment, is a loving parody of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit Japanese role-playing games that defined the early generations of console RPGs. Despite its humorous tone and tongue-in-cheek title—there are no prior six entries—the game is more than just a nostalgic spoof. It’s a compact, well-designed homage that manages to combine familiar mechanics, brisk pacing, and clever writing into a satisfying experience that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly efficient. Set in a post-apocalyptic world populated by the undead, the story follows Dem, a silent skeleton hero, on his quest to uncover the lost history of civilization. What begins as a simple journey soon becomes a lighthearted romp through the remnants of a dead world, filled with self-aware humor, endearing characters, and surprisingly tight gameplay.
The premise is intentionally absurd yet charming. Humanity has long since vanished, and the undead—skeletons, ghosts, zombies, and vampires—have taken their place as the dominant species. Dem, a heroic skeleton knight with a dry wit revealed only through internal monologues, teams up with a ghostly historian named Sara to rediscover the secrets of the old world. Along the way, they are joined by Lita, a vampire inventor, and Erik, a zombie prince. The group’s dynamic is one of the game’s strongest points. Each character has a distinct personality, and their banter delivers a steady flow of jokes, references, and commentary on RPG tropes. The writing is sharp and self-aware, constantly poking fun at genre conventions—from random encounters and save points to the clichés of heroic destiny—without ever slipping into cynicism. It’s a game that celebrates its inspirations as much as it teases them.
While Breath of Death VII’s story is intentionally simple, its humor and pacing keep it engaging throughout its short runtime. The developers clearly understood that not every RPG needs to sprawl across dozens of hours; instead, the game delivers a tightly focused experience that can be completed in about four or five hours. Every dungeon, dialogue, and battle feels purposeful, and there’s very little filler. This design philosophy extends to exploration, where maps are compact and streamlined, and random encounters are capped per area. Once you’ve fought the maximum number of battles in a zone, you can explore freely without being interrupted, a brilliant tweak that respects the player’s time while still maintaining the spirit of classic RPG adventuring. This balance of nostalgia and modern sensibility is what makes the game’s design so effective—it gives players the retro experience they remember, but without the grind or tedium that often accompanied it.
Combat is another area where Breath of Death VII distinguishes itself. At first glance, its turn-based battles look straightforward, but there are subtle mechanics that add real depth. Each turn you spend in combat increases enemy strength by a percentage, forcing you to finish fights quickly and efficiently. This design introduces an element of tension, pushing players to think strategically rather than simply spamming attacks. The combo system further reinforces this idea, rewarding consecutive actions that chain into more powerful finishing moves. The result is a combat loop that feels brisk and satisfying, where every decision—when to defend, when to heal, when to unleash a powerful combo—matters. After each fight, health is automatically restored, removing the need for tedious recovery after routine battles, though mana points remain limited. This creates a natural push-and-pull between aggression and resource management that keeps the battles interesting even late into the game.
The character progression system also reflects the game’s streamlined design philosophy. When characters level up, players are given a choice between two upgrade options, often forcing a meaningful decision between different playstyles. For example, you might choose between improving a skill’s raw power or reducing its mana cost, or between boosting attack power and enhancing support abilities. These binary upgrades may seem simple, but they give each character a sense of personalization and prevent leveling from feeling mechanical. The system reflects Zeboyd’s talent for condensing the best elements of RPG progression into something light and intuitive without sacrificing strategy.
The presentation of Breath of Death VII, especially in its remastered “Reanimated” edition, captures the retro aesthetic with vibrant precision. The game embraces a 16-bit style, full of bright sprites, detailed backgrounds, and colorful battle effects. Each location—from crypts and ruined cities to ancient dungeons—is distinct and evocative, managing to evoke the feel of a grand world within a small scale. The visuals are sharp and clean, updated enough to look good on modern hardware without losing their classic charm. The soundtrack, composed by Hyperduck SoundWorks, enhances the experience with energetic battle themes and melodic overworld tracks that perfectly capture the spirit of early console RPGs. The music is both nostalgic and modern, full of catchy rhythms that fit the game’s mix of comedy and adventure.
While Breath of Death VII’s compact length and parody tone are key to its charm, they also limit its emotional depth. The story doesn’t aspire to deep character arcs or dramatic twists, and some players may find it too brief or lightweight compared to the sprawling narratives of the games it references. Certain characters, like Erik and Lita, could have benefited from more development, and the ending, while humorous, arrives abruptly. Still, these shortcomings are understandable given the game’s scope and tone. It was never meant to rival the emotional gravitas of a traditional RPG epic; instead, it thrives on being a breezy, self-contained experience that knows exactly how long to last before it overstays its welcome.
Ultimately, Breath of Death VII: The Beginning succeeds because it understands the essence of what made early JRPGs memorable—adventure, humor, and charm—while shedding the excesses that often bogged them down. It delivers fast-paced battles, clever writing, and a world that feels alive despite its tongue-in-cheek premise. The combination of retro visuals, an excellent soundtrack, and smart design choices makes it a joy to play from start to finish. For longtime fans of classic RPGs, it’s a nostalgic return to form; for newcomers, it’s an accessible introduction to the genre’s foundations. It’s not a grand epic or a groundbreaking reinvention, but that’s precisely its strength—it’s a reminder that sometimes, the best games are the ones that don’t try to be more than they need to be. Breath of Death VII stands as a testament to how simplicity, humor, and genuine affection for the genre can come together to create a memorable adventure that’s as fun to play as it is to laugh with.
Rating: 8/10
I am a HUGE sucker for this dev team ever since I played Cosmic Star Heroine. So of course I had to play this old double pack of theirs, and yeah, Breath of Death VII absolutely rules! You might expect a really by the numbers JRPG with basic combat. But if you know Zeboyd, you know it's never that simple!
+Genuinely fun world concept where everything is undead, perfect Halloween RPG!
+Combat has a fun and unique combo system that allows you to deal MASSIVE damage when used right
+Random encounter limit means you can grind through random encounters and then explore a dungeon freely for those of you who don't like random encounters
+Even Level Ups are unique, with each level up giving you the choice of 2 upgrades
+This and Cthulhu Saves the World (another great RPG) are regularly under $1
-I wish there was a way to get upgrades you missed from previous level ups
-Similarly, after a certain point, most upgrades just become plain old stat boosts. Which makes sense but still
-Some of the references are really dated. But it's part of the charm
Classic RPG Vibes, Simple but very enjoyable.
помойка
Funny & meta + short
Kind of goofy, but I'm not a fan of this style of RPGs. It's a no from me dog.
Not recommended
Simple, but satisfying.
good
This is the original Dragon Quest if it were funny and enjoyable by modern audiences. It's full of genre tropes like you'd expect, but there are also some subversions (mana regen, leveling options, and such). It won't change your life but it's pretty entertaining. I have a soft spot for Zeboyd so I have to recommend it.
I recommend this game, but with a caveat: because it is cheap, that also means it is going to be very short, very light on ALL content (story, areas, fighting, equipment, etc), and have almost no replay value, at least in my opinion. If you go into the game understanding that, you should have a mostly good time. However, I can definitely see somebody being kinda unsatisfied with the game, or frustrated like I was at the start.
So, this is another recommended review where I'm going to seem a lot more negative than I intend to be because it's the good stuff isn't anything worth using large paragraphs to talk about. Not to diss the game, but in terms of actual RPGs it kinda isn't anything special. Though, in most regards, I can excuse this (again, only 3 dollars when it's NOT on sale). However, I can say for certain that the graphics are good if you like gameboy/NES-styled graphics, the story/characters are pretty good and interesting, the monsters are mostly fun to fight. But that's kinda all I care to go into. If you like RPGs, ultimately it should be some light fun.
However, it being so basic also works against it, mainly in the story aspect. Basic combat and graphics I couldn't care less about, as RPGs are satisfying once you hit that zenith of just being able to team wipe every encounter you face, so long as the bosses require slightly more effort (which they do). However, the story is just so barebones, which sucks because that's actually the main reason I play a lotta RPGs, including this one.
It seems interesting at first, it's kind of a parody and love letter to classics mixed into one, and to be fair when it does that, it pulls it off well. But it, uh, doesn't do that too often. Large swaths of the game will contain zero character interaction or story beats. Which especially sucks here, because the characters are interesting and have a fun dynamic! It just barely expands on it. And, look, I don't wanna trivialize how hard writing is, but I don't think it'd be a hot take to say that writing dialogue, especially for a game that doesn't take itself too seriously, is [i]not[/i] as hard as coding or balancing. So that really disappointed me. I guess the story beats that we got were cool enough? But since I've already played Cosmic Star Heroine (same dev), which also doesn't have a gigantic story-to-gameplay ratio but DOES have enough to be satisfying, it's still disappointing. I hope Cthuhlu Saves the World has more story beats, as that's the one that seems like it'd lean harder into the writing, but now I'll try to level my expectations.
Though, the gameplay also is not getting away unscathed. While this does hit the aforementioned zenith of being satisfying to mow through monsters, it's still feels a bit disappointing because that more or less means letting all the cool powers your characters get go unscathed so you don't waste unnecessary time fighting monsters, as this game is a bit grindy. I mean, you definitely use them for bosses, but that's about it, and you never really use all of them. There's a lot that just straight up never got used. But I think the main culprit of this is the MP system. Unlike other RPGs where MP either needs time in battle to regen, or is regenerated using items, this games MP is only regenerated after each battle, based solely on how quickly you defeated the monsters in battle. And it's pathetic; on normal mode the max MP regenned after each fight is only 7! And your character's MP can go all the way up to 200! I think this really incentivizes only using boring moves, and then upgrading those boring moves so they're actually useful, which in turn makes you neglect all the cool moves. It's a shame, really, because I feel like this games combat would've been all the more satisfying if you could at least play sandbox and try out all the cool moves without feeling guilty.
The only other things I could talk about are the grind, which is kinda annoying but not terrible, or the lame numbers-go-up-leveling system. But honestly, those just feel like side products of this game not wanting to be too much, which is understandable, so I think I'll end it here. Repeating what I originally said, this game is good for those who just want a casual comedy RPG, one that requires some effort and time but not too much effort and time. So, buy at your own risk. At least I ultimately had fun.
Un simpatico GDR a turni ampiamente ispirato ai primi Dragon Quest che non si prende troppo sul serio.
I personaggi sono molto simpatici e ben caratterizzati, ognuno con le sue abilità in combattimento che si combinano bene e favoriscono strategie stratificate.
I combattimenti sono avvincenti e la difficoltà è bilanciata.
Questi giochi mi hanno fatto appassionare a tutti i giochi della Zeboyd che sembrano super carini.
This is a simple, quick, goofy RPG. The game is fast-paced, and with each level a character gains, you get options of how to want to grow that character.
There are some good gags but the game is bad.
This game is quite fun reminds me of classical rpgs like Dragon Warrior only less annoying
[h1] Breath of Death VII – Review [/h1]
It pays loving tribute to classic JRPGs with humor, charm, and that old-school pixel art from the '80s.
The aesthetics, music, and gameplay are solid, real nice.
But the story doesn’t really hook you, and the progression gets repetitive and tedious.
It definitely has the soul of a tribute, yes, but it doesn’t quite manage to revive the magic.
I only recommend it if you’re a fan of the genre and don’t mind the grind.
If not, just skip it and move on.
[quote][b]Пародійний омаж на класичні японські рольові ігри, від якого мені варто було очікувати меншого, враховуючи його ціну. І не варто було вірити відгукам.
Хай вас не спантеличує номер 7 у назві. Це не восьма частина у серії. Назва — теж частина філософії посилань на Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Breath Of Fire тощо.[/b][/quote]
[quote]👍 [b][i]СПОДОБАЛОСЯ[/i][/b]
[b]+ Цікавий сетинг.[/b] В основі сюжету — фентезійна немерть, яка намагається жити життя у постапокаліптичному світі. Залишки сучасної людської цивілізації схрещені тут з мутантами, гоблінами та привидами, і це прикольно.
[b]+ Вдалий саундтрек.[/b] Дуже шкода, що його немає на Spotify.[/quote]
[quote]👎 [b][i]НЕ СПОДОБАЛОСЯ[/i][/b]
[b]- Обмаль комедійного контенту та посилань.[/b] Як опис гри, так і відгуки, наголошують на кумедних героях та діалогах. Мовляв це одна з головних причин у неї грати. На жаль це не так. Діалоги короткі, не численні і дай боже у половині випадків викликають посмішку. Якісь великодки та посилання тут теж зустрічаються не так часто, як хотілося б, враховуючи її простоту в усьому іншому.
[b]- Елементарний ігровий процес.[/b] Я не зараховував би цей пункт у мінуси гри, якби він був компенсований тим, що в ній нахвалюють — комедію. Він майже моментально набридає і дійти гру до кінця можна було б завдяки саме їй.[/quote]
[quote][url=https://x.com/naumchas]Ласкаво запрошую до себе в твітер[/url]
[/quote]
I bought this dirty cheap and get much more than anticipated. It's a little RPG from early days of modern indie games, made on image of 8-bit jRPGs with plot as a funny parody of genre, good music and suprisingly engaging battles. Really worth.
Short game, with great commentary. For fans of OG RPG style gaming like Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy.
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Old-School RPG und taktischen Kämpfen, alles sehr einfach und auch sehr einsteiger freundlich. Vor allem die sehr gelungene Story und der tiefschwarze Humor fesseln länger an den Bildschirm als erwartet!
Жена сказала, что если на этом обзоре наберётся 10 лайков и 5 наград, то она подарит ящик пива. Мужики, выручайте!
A cute little comedy homage to JRPGs, the humour is endearing, the gameplay simple but solid. I was a big fan of the tools present to streamline the aspects of grinding that are sometimes needed in this type of game. After you finish it for the first time, additional modes unlock extending the game time if you so wish. 6.5h to finish this game in one sitting. for the money a pretty good deal.
There are criticisms to be made here, sure. But there are enough interesting bits to keep you going for the short time it takes to beat. The crux comes down to: Can you get $3 worth of entertainment out of this game and the other one that comes bundled with it? Absolutely. Battle mechanics are interesting. The character build system is interesting. Some of the equipment choices are meaningful (For example, I kept the shotgun equipped the whole way up to just before the end boss). The humor is kind of hit or miss but there are enough hits to make it worth while. Plenty of references if that's your sort of thing.
This is a VERY short old-school styled RPG, taking around 5 hours to beat (or 6-7 if you want to tackle the optional boss and do the necessary level grinding). It's more so a parody and homage to the beginning games of Breath of Fire, Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, so the writing and story is not really anything special or captivating.
That being said, it is still a very fun game, with some unique mechanics that I think serve the game very well. For Random battles, each area only has a certain amount of random battles before they atop appearing, however if you need to grind gold or experience, you can always choose the "FIGHT" option from the menu even after your allotted random battles are used up. In addition, after each turn the enemies will get 10% stronger so you do have a pseudo time limit to finish battles quickly, but to make up for this, your HP is fully restored after each fight. This mechanic of making enemies stronger after each turn means boss fights become challenging as you need to kill them before their attacks just starting wiping your party.
Each party member only has about 5 pieces of equipment they can get in the game, all straight upgrades from each other, so you don't need to worry too much about min-maxing equipment, just play and enjoy.
I would say it is worth the $3 bundle along with Cthulhu Saves the World. It will provide a nice palate cleanser from all the 100+ hour games I know you have been playing. Do note that there is a Remastered version called "Breath of Death VII: The Beginning - Reanimated" which actually has Steam Achievements and has received an upgraded art style from 8-bit to 16-bit. If you enjoyed this game, you should get that one too.
I beat the game, but can't beat the price!
Short, cheap, and doesn't take itself too seriously. A nice palate cleanser. The battle system also has a nice twist to it
It's a cute and relaxing RPG game that's simple to play and not very long, but a pleasant way to pass a little time. :)
[b]Score: 2/10[/b]
[list]
[*][b]Music[/b]: The soundtrack is uninspired and repetitive.
[*][b]Dungeon design[/b]: Dungeons lack unique mechanics, and all rooms in the same dungeon feel identical, making exploration monotonous. Excessive backtracking worsens the experience.
[*][b]Gameplay[/b]: Battles are reduced to spamming normal attacks or group attacks, removing any sense of strategy or depth. The difficulty cannot be adjusted once chosen, limiting the gameplay customization.
[*][b]Art: [/b]The art design is passable but lacks detail and polish to make it stand out. The 2024 remake significantly improves this aspect.
[*][b]Fun characters and dialogue[/b]: Despite its flaws, the game shines with humorous and entertaining characters and dialogues, adding some charm to the journey.
[*][b]Weak story development[/b]: The beginning is poorly developed, leaving a weak first impression.
[*][b]Chests with uninteresting rewards[/b]: Chests only contain money or potions, making them feel unexciting due to the absence of unique or valuable items.
[/list]
Old school classic.
N/D
old school
A fun retro RPG which gives old school Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy vibes that is worth checking out! Plenty of fun dialogue and 4th wall breaks to make even the most calloused of gamers smile. A short adventure you can complete in an evening in about 6 hours or less (I did a decent amount of grinding as I find joy in maxing character stats). The first RPG entry in the Zeboyd Games library is worth checking out as you will get many references here that will make more sense in the company's later games like Cthulhu Save the World or Cosmic Star Heroine. Please support small creators as they are fans just like you!
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a very charming and short old-school RPG adventure that will make you laugh and have an overall wonderful time. The combat is fun, and the music is honestly really good in my opinion. The ending, while not to my taste, was serviceable, and didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the game. I genuinely recommend it.
Another derivative RPG (they say parody but it means the same thing really), better off for a sketch in a comic on animation then a paid for product.
Or as an RPG maker game. Pick up any of the games this is trying to emulate (superficially). Nothing I saw with my playthrough felt like it was worth the time.
This is an homage to classic JRPGs like Phantasy Star and Dragon Quest, and it pulls it off fantastically.
If you don't like old RPG mechanics or sensibilities then this probably won't change your mind, but I grew up on those games and this is now one of my favorites!
Ok
A bizarre but short JRPG that has the feel of a standard RPG-Maker, but with some additional advantages. There is VERY little in terms of story here, which turned out to be fine. There is some comedy mixed in...nothing that will stick in your head as being hilarious, but nothing too cringy either.
For me, there were some shining features though. Foremost, I appreciated the "limit" on random encounters on any given map. If you're trying to explore but keep getting interrupted by random encounters, eventually they'll just stop. Even if you zone out and come back in, you'll still be safe from random encounters.
Personally though, I like overleveling...which is why I appreciated the ability to open the ability to just start a fight. Even if you chew through your random encounters, you can still grind in an area...all without running around waiting for a fight to start! I really appreciated this feature.
Speaking of grinding...you get some say so on how the different characters level up. Do you want someone to learn a spell that attacks all enemies, or would you rather that spell only effect one enemy, but be stronger? Do you want to boost your strength, or your defense? You have to make choices with each level, and can develop your characters as you see fit (although they do all fit certain archetypes). This actually adds some replayability to the game, if you desired.
All in all, I feel the $3 was worth it and I would recommend for anyone looking for a "tune out my thoughts and do something mind numbing" type game.
Cute JRPG, it says I have no playtime but I'm not sure why, I beat this game long ago on my laptop.
Worth a play through for only a few bucks.
Breath of Death VII is one of the best retro RPGs I’ve played in a while. The game perfectly captures the charm of old-school RPGs with a modern twist. The humor, turn-based combat, and pixel art all come together to create a memorable experience. I spent 20 hours thoroughly enjoying the adventure, with each battle and joke adding to its nostalgic appeal. For anyone who loves classic RPGs with a fun, lighthearted story, this game is absolutely worth the time.
Time Investment: 20 hours
Value Rating: 9/10
Stay focused. Keep grinding.
A fun, tongue-in-cheek throwback to old RPGs of yesteryear. Having a limited amount of random encounters per area and no animations in battle makes for very quick exploration. Expect alot of meta humor about the genre as you go through. Plus, it's dirt cheap too!
I've had it in my library for years and eventually thought i'd give it a go. Even though I have not played a lot of JRPGs I really enjoyed this.
The stand out for me is the great humor. It really is very funny and there are many laugh at loud moments be it from the story, the chat between party members or the ridiculous enemies you come up against.
If you just want to try and experience the game and don't want to dedicate a lot of time to it i'd recommend playing it on easy and blasting through the random battles as quickly as possible.
Theres not a huge amount of choice in the game as far as your party setup goes but if you setup DEM for strength and tanking/damage, SARA for magic and healing, LITA for magic and damage and ERIK for strength and tanking/damage you really can't go wrong.
It's a parody RPG that also happens to be fun and deep enough to keep you interested.
Combat is reminiscent of Dragon Quest 1 (the original) and doesn't have any animation, but there's a great combo system and your party gains health back after every fight. Speed is a factor because enemies gain 10% more strength each round, making battles very fast. All these combined make the lack of battle/spell animation not much of a big deal. The story is very funny also, with references to other RPGs.
It's a great price already but if you see it on sale, this is a great buy.
I got this game on sale and haven't played it until now. This game is a reference to other popular video games that are being developed at this time. From Resident Evil 4, Mass Effect, and other games I probably missed while playing this game. The game takes place in the future where you a Skeleton named Dem explore the world you are in until you reach the end of the game. You get 3 other party members with you in the game—Sara a woman who uses magic, Lila a vampire techie, and Erik a zombie prince. In this game when you first play you're gonna have a hard time since for me I wasn't used to the game mechanics. Every turn the enemy has their attack increased by 10 percent. If the battle goes on longer without you killing them their gonna kill you If you don't do it fast enough. There's a combo system every time you hit an enemy making you be able to do more damage until you break the combo bringing it down to zero. Every time you beat a battle you get money and EXP that you use to level up and every time you level up you get a new passive skill or magic you can use for your party members or on enemies depending on the party members. Every time you die you restart at the last save point you are at. If you defeat a certain amount of monsters in an area you don't have to keep seeing random encounters every time you walk in the world of Breath of Death 7. For mid-bosses and bosses, I just backtrack until I get to a point where I'm strong enough to beat them. There are potions that I found from the chest so use them wisely. If you're gonna get this game get it while it's on sale. Here in Germany, this game along with another game is worth under 1 euro so it's worth it.
The concept of playing as undead warriors: A skeleton, Ghost... etc, is a unique take on a party in an rpg!
The soundtrack is bopping.
As the battles progress, the enemies get stronger, but so does the player, as the characters build up a combo gauge. Certain moves power increases the higher combo count you have, and other moves break the combo.
When characters level up, you get the option to choose which stats to increase, or which moves to learn which makes the characters quite customizable.
The battles go by super fast, so grinding doesn't feel like a chore. Speaking of grinding, the game provides players with healing spots. So, you can continuously heal. You can also choose to engage in battles whenever you want from the menu, so you can fight all the enemies in an area while right next to a healing spot. It's super convenient.
It's a cute short little rpg that I really like.
мнда ну и уныло. примерно на уровне первого драгон квеста и уж точно хуже следующих частей
This is clearly a very passionate game, so I don't really know what to write here... I think, for a so unique cast, I found them to chained in the stereotypes. The combat is neat though. I'll give it a yes, but be forewarned...
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a parody tribute to the primitive years of RPGs, and I think it accomplishes that a little too well. The presentation is on-point with a pixelated artstyle and a fascinating story premise, though the latter sadly doesn't get much attention even with the game's short run-time. I like the concept of a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by monsters, but it's easy to forget this setup is even there when it hardly affects the world design or even the fairly infrequent story beats.
The combat is your standard affair with attacks, spells, and a cool but underutilized combo system, and I really like the branching level-up system where you choose what techniques to learn. However, the static visuals means that combat gets really dull really fast, and the lack of a universal run option or even items is baffling, with infrequent save points being the only reliable way to recover MP until the last quarter of the game. Having all HP recovered after a fight is convenient, but combined with the lack of items, that leads to a system where spamming the basic attack is the best way to handle most encounters, and even harder enemies can often be dealt with using the same techniques on repeat.
But hey, at least the repetitive combat is better than the navigation part of the game. Dungeons are an absolute slog to get through, sporting maze-like layouts, repetitive visuals, and the dreaded random encounters. The game at least tries to amend the latter with a finite amount of encounters per area and an on-demand fight button, but random encounters are still incredibly common and incredibly annoying. Maybe the worst part though is the lack of anything to find in these dungeons other than the occasional treasure chest off an optional path. There's no secrets to find, no puzzles to solve, and hardly anything to interact with in general. Plus, for such a short adventure, they sure do repeat visuals and music a lot.
I wish I could at least say that the humor carries the game, and admittedly it does have some good gags and fun characters. I like the concept of a silent protagonist who only speaks through cynical thoughts, but the game doesn't do a lot with it. The rest of the humor feels wasted on referencing classic games, some of which is pretty clever (I really liked the gag with the treasure chests in the towns), but most of which is just spouting the most overused quotes. There's a robot that says "I am error" when it dies, if that's your style of humor then this game will have you on the floor.
I was honestly kind of surprised with how positive the reception was for this game. I suppose for many people it just scratches an NES-era RPG itch, but frankly I think you'd be better off just playing those older titles instead. This game feels as barebones as its protagonist, with a world containing nothing worth exploring for. Excellent soundtrack though.
UPDATE: I went on to play Cthulhu Saves the World, and it's so much better. It's clearly made with this as a base but the improved writing, visuals, level design, and QOL features elevate the experience to the point that I've come to appreciate this game as a solid foundation that just isn't fleshed out enough. So I guess I actually would recommend the bundle on the basis that you're really not missing much by just playing that, and leaving this in your backlog.
Real old school. In the new style of classic RPGs that have a p**stake story for veterans who want a bit of nostalgia
☀️
it's good.
Found this looking for breath of fire. Very dragon quest 1 looking. Very funny.
what the hell is wrong with me i spent 6 hours on this game and it was very basic and i loved it, why was this game good?!
nie git
Наидушнейший кал с RPG мейкера.
Прикольная олдскульная рпг на вечерок или два с неплохим юмором
Шутки-прибаутки [spoiler]за 300[/spoiler], троллирование [spoiler]вас[/spoiler] и разрыв [spoiler]жёпы[/spoiler] четвёртой стены - всё это здесь присутствует!
Прямолинейный сюжет с выборами [spoiler]без выбора[/spoiler], ненавязчивая музычка [spoiler]которая через час уже бесит[/spoiler], персонажи-клише, бесконечные битвы с монстрами, пока пытаешься найти выход из очередного лабиринта-подземелья!
Хорошей игры! [spoiler]Да.[/spoiler]
If you're not into the earlier Dragon Quest games or the plethora of imitators that they have spawned, then you won't like this. Just don't even consider this game, because it has gone full speed into that direction.
So, this game. My biggest issue would have to be how hard it tries to subvert one's expectations. Now, this was before it became all the rage with a bad space conflict movie from a studio division run by a lich, so I can't say that it's a case of bandwagon riding. But what I can say is that it's the worst aspect.
You see that chest in a dungeon behind a locked door? You're never getting it, and the game makes it clear that you can try all you want, you ain't getting it. That chest in a town? Nope, true heroes don't take things from the townsfolk. That chest behind a door? No sir, there's no unlocking that door, even if you're Jill Valentine. it's not quirky or zany or amusing, it's just annoying. Don't do that.
Oh, that's the other issue, the tongue in cheek references. Yeah, I get it, you played other games, especially ones based off of Dragon Quest. You know that some games had their name changed in the west. It's not funny or cute, it's just annoying.
What else is annoying? How paper thin the characters are, and how everything just sort of happens because it needs to happen for the sake of the so called plot. Bosses just appear from nowhere, your entire main story doesn't even really start until you're three of four characters deep, and even then, it's a vague excuse to keep going. Characters have nothing going for them, outside of a basic character trait.
Dem is a silent protagonist type... because he doesn't have a tongue. Sara is supposedly into archaeology, but that's the plot excuse to get her in the party, she's really just the mage and healer. Lita is basically Lucca from Chrono Trigger, only she breaks machines instead of making them, and uses Earth/Lightning/Dark instead of fire. But still uses guns.
Erik is French.
Yes, that's his character. He's French. At least he's not a frog, like Breath of Fire 2. But he's even more French than Ekaru Hoppe de pe Jean, which is amazing, since that's so French that I had to start eating snails covered in sauce with a crusty bread halfway through copy pasting it.
So what's good about this game? The gameplay. I mean, if you like early Dragon Quest. Which I do, so hey, I like it. It also tries, vaguely, to have double techs from Chrono Trigger, in the form of Unite attacks, and it even has an all party attack, but only gained so late into the game that it's basically worthless, unless you go for the bonus dungeon.
Unless you did the bonus dungeon before the final dungeon, like me. Whoops.
You also have some control over character builds, skills and stats wise. Every level up comes with a choice to make between an A and B option (up until level 31 or so, when they just both become the same thing), and while most of the time it's just what stats you gain (so yes, you can spec your mage into a beat the crap out of enemies with her staff type), you sometimes get an option for a skill.
Now, most of these skills are pretty simple combat and magic. Dem can learn to cast fire magic or set his sword on fire. Sara can learn healing spells and water/ice spells. Lita can learn Earth/Lightning/Dark/gun skills and spells. Erik... um... does zombie things. But you can also learn passive abilities, such as doing an extra attack in combat, or your healing spells also revive fallen characters, or a spell will do damage and have a chance to inflict a status ailment. Dem can gain stances that boost attack at the cost of defense, or the other way around. He can also gain an ability that can buff the entire party for 25% of every stat... or himself for 100%.
But more, there are level ups that allow you to enhance previously learned things, or modify them. For example, Erik starts with Regenerate, which lets a single character regen health, but later on, he can change it to an all party effect. Lita's elemental spells that can be changed to target all, or target random.
It's not extremely deep or tactical, but there are level ups that you can agonize over, because you can't have all of them. Do you really want that extra hit, or whatever other benefit that it's up against? Do you really want that elemental spell to hit harder, or hit a little softer but also have a chance to reduce enemy agility?
While the story barely qualifies as such, the ending is... well, it's different. It's not actually what I was expecting, and it's so out of left field that I'm conflicted on if it's just another lazy subversion or if it's actually good for how odd it is.
I'm torn on the enemy encounter system. See, the game tries to discourage you from grinding by giving you a set number of encounters per dungeon/floor that, once exhausted, means you cannot get any more random battles. But because the game has to let you level grind for harder difficulties, it's offset by going into the menu to start a random battle, which you can do as many times as you want.
While this is at least sort of clever, because it means you're clearing a dungeon, or enemies are getting smarter and just avoiding the death train, the fact that they let you just start encounters at will ruins the whole notion. But at the same time, I can see how it would be lame to never be able to fight another enemy in a given dungeon, especially if I needed a level up.
The only inventory in the game is a single weapon and single armor slot for every character. That's it. No accessories, not even items to use in battle. Sort of. You can find potions in chests that act as a full HP heal and revive, but they're limited. You usually have more than you need, so there's no real worries.
Oh yes, battles fully refill your HP and revive fallen characters at the end of battle. But not MP. You regain some MP after battle, depending on how quickly you finish. You can also, very late, gain passives that boost regained MP, but it's not a lot. So you have to conserve MP through a dungeon.
Or be me and just spam all the random battles through the menu fight option while standing next to a save point that refills all your MP. But that option doesn't exist in the bonus dungeon with the superboss, so uh, have fun with that. Also, as time goes by, those MP refill points become further apart, so if you're not ruining the system for yourself, it becomes an actual challenge to balance MP use to how far you think it is to the next save point.
And no, while they are save points, they're not the only way to save. You can save at any time. But if you're going for a more purist run, they can function at the only save option.
And now, we're back to "so, this game". It has its ups, its many down and its... sort of middles. It's a hard game to really recommend to most people. Really, I'm on the fence if I even liked it. If you're looking for a short game to ease you into these sorts of games, you can't do much better than this. If you're looking for another DQ styled game, then you might like this, even if it's short and basic. if you're looking for anything complex, lengthy and story rich, then uh... yeah, no. Don't touch it.
This is a 51% thumbs up sort of thing. So take that for what it is. But the game is cheap and short, so you may not regret your purchase. Or you can just refund, because that's an option.
I originally got this for free on G.O.G. roughly back when it came out along with Cthulhu Saves the World as a promo when I bought The Longest Journey or Planescape: Torment or some old school classic of that sort, so I figured I'd give it another try now that I've been playing so many retro RPG's and given that it was dirt cheap in a bundle with CStW.
I only vaguely remember the premise about a party of undead characters in a post-apocalyptic world where magic and technology co-exist and how the game had a humorous tone, but I don't know if I only read the summary and played a very short segment of the game because I remembered the mechanics were basically the same for Cthulhu Saves the World, but once I started playing it I was surprised to find I did not actually remember a single thing regarding the plot or the locations, so maybe I never actually played it back then.
I'm definiely going to play this studio's other newer games once I'm done with this one, since I've read good things about them.
Some quality of life improvements are present here. Needs slow-mo text pop-up with fast scroll option. First cave/dungeon is run right 25 screens, second area was a good idea though. Not dragon quest level design. If you're looking for a pure DQ clone, there is alot of them on the Famicom.
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is a old school RPG that strikes a balance between decent game play and a self aware sense of humor. As this is a short game, nothing overstayed its welcome. Bundled with Cthulhu Saves the World (another excellent RPG) you will find a good time for several hours. The bundle is cheap and i believe it can found during sales as well.
Yes
Short and funny RPG. Took me less than 8 hours on ‘normal’. Don’t grind this one or the end boss will be a little too easy. Runs great on Steam Deck.
Honestly its pretty good, but you should play cthulhu saves the world first since it is similiar and is way more "polished"
READ THE FULL REVIEW (Steam has a word limit) HERE: https://gemsimov.com/game-reviews/f/breath-of-death-vii-%7C-a-review
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Simple review details - I rank games on an out of 10 basis, granting up to 3 points in 3 categories, as well as a last, single point from my own self, depending on my experience with it.
GAMEPLAY
"Breath of Death VII"(BOD) is a JRPG plagued by THE common genre pitfalls, notably the necessity for extensive grinding. The turn-based combat system is slow and unengaging, leading to repetitive and tedious gameplay. Attempts to alleviate this issue include mechanics like MP restoration after battles and combo systems, but these additions have limited impact on the overall experience.
While the game offers potentially infinite leveling and character development choices, it fails to address fundamental gameplay issues. The lack of meaningful exploration and the prevalence of empty, time-consuming areas contribute to the game's overall unpleasantness. Despite featuring multiple modes of play, "Breath of Death VII" ultimately fails to innovate or improve upon the JRPG formula, resulting in a generic and unsatisfying experience.
1/3
PRESENTATION
BOD an RPGMaker product, resulting in visuals reminiscent of classic JRPGs but lacking in originality. The game features low-resolution pixel art and generic assets, evoking titles like Chrono Trigger and older Final Fantasies but falling short in comparison. While the audio is passable, the music and sound effects feel unoriginal. The game's dialogue is its strongest point, employing witty, fourth-wall-breaking humor to guide the Player through the basics in a decent tutorial. Combat sprites and dialogue portraits are decent, but overall, the presentation fails to leave a lasting impression.
1/3
STORY
In this game, set in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by the undead, the player controls DEM, a silent protagonist tasked with saving civilization from the forces of Evil. The game, as mentioned, breaks the fourth wall regularly, similar to the developer's previous work, "Cthulhu saves the world," and includes numerous references to other bits of media.
DEM is joined by a Ghost and later a Vampire on the quest to uncover ancient artifacts and discover the fate of the world. Despite its interesting concept, the game's attempt at ironically presenting a JRPG can come across as cringeworthy. While the characters are caricatures, the world-building and overall story are relatively coherent, with established boundaries and payoffs for various plot elements, although the story itself is somewhat middling.
1/3
Legendary Point
Does this game get the legendary point, so craved and wanted by all and none at the same time? No, although the concept was pretty neat. 0/1
CONCLUSION
3/10. A teeny tiny JRPG that’s nothing special. If you’re a big fan of JRPGs, maybe give it a try. If not, don’t.
I do not think it fit for the wall of shame, so in the bag of mediocrity it goes, to be buried and forgotten.
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READ THE FULL REVIEW (Steam has a word limit) HERE: https://gemsimov.com/game-reviews/f/breath-of-death-vii-%7C-a-review
This game came bundled in for free when I bought Cthulhu saves the world. I'm really happy it did. Its just more of the same. If you enjoy the Cthulhu saves games you'll enjoy this. While its fairly short it is very charming and a solid jrpg experience.
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Rather short, nice and humourous advanture!
Fan de RPG ? Voire même de JRPG ? Avec une nostalgie pour l'époque NES/SNES ? Avec l'oreille sensible aux sons et musiques d'époque ?
Vous êtes au bon endroit, vous allez vous amuser en dépensant moins que pour une cartouche de l'époque !
Le jeu se joue très bien, les sensations sont OK et le gameplay est équilibré avec une histoire sympa donc...
Je recommande clairement :)
The only JRPG's I've ever played proper are Pokemon, Final Fantasy VII, and, to my shame, The Legend of Queen Opala.
So, I don't actually know enough about the classic JRPG genre to get the real geist of parody, tribute, and improvement this is going for.
However, I can say that I'm more glad than not that I've played it- on account of having gotten it on a very steep sale. At least compared to the aforementioned RPG's, there's an improved combat encounter system, whereby one can bring up a menu and choose to start a randomized encounter. This works both for grinding purposes, and the fact that, uniquely for an RPG, defeating enough wild encounters in a given area causes them to stop randomly happening altogether - at which point you can explore to your heart's content, and just use the aforementioned menu thing to pull up a new fight if you're interested in grinding some more.
Now, if only the world were really worth exploring.
This is definitely a very simplified experience. Compared even to the paltry few RPG's I have played, environments are very simple, with very little to interact with and almost no secrets or out-of-the-way goodies to find. This means that you have impressively wide open spaces that serve to do little but gaslight you into thinking there's more to do, see, and find in this game world than there is, or else to make finding the way you're supposed to go for the outstandingly linear plot its own challenging part of the game experience.
But that's surprisingly bearable if you get this on sale like I did. And in fact, learning it's so linear makes it great for this newfound undertaking of mine to quickly fand and then review games from the massive backlog I hoarded in my mental defeat.
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The real mixed bag is in character interaction and worldbuilding. The world actually seems to be set in what could be a relatively serious universe. The opening scene to fill you in on where this takes place shows these pixellated, but otherwise realistic war impressions, with two guys with machine guns and a nuke going off near a city.
On one hand, this, plus the presence of decrepit imagery and genuinely intense and sad-sounding music for the ruins and fights, seems like a great chance at a serious and emotion-nudging story in this one-of-a-kind- or to my knowledge, at least, first-of-its-kind- setting of civilized undead living in humanity's aftermath.
On the other hand, though, this game is loaded with jokes. Lots of them. It's clear that this is meant to be a comedy game, much like its sibling Cthulu game. For folks coming right off the RPG train of nothing but largely self-serious JRPG's a la the 80's - 2000's, this probably is a great change of pace to just chortle a bit.
However, the humor seems kind of thrown together, and it seems to come at the expense of character development. The main character, a skeleton hero, actually seems at first like has the best of both worlds, serious and humorous, in the form of not speaking, with each "speech" line being a three-dot to show his silence. This would be *great* for both angles, again, because it would let us imagine his own reaction to whatever NPC's are saying.
But no, the game has the narrator interact with the hero to make him talk anyway, just with parentheses around what he says. And he's an unlikable, uninteresting prick.
The ghost girl who seems like she could be a great avenue into an interesting and liveable* world, what with her role as an archaeologist, seems instead to just be the naive, tagalong groupie who adventures for adventure's sake and has a crush on the hero. And when she does talk about the 'old world', it's these silly little trivia bits like squishing together different tongues to make city names, despite the fact the game has cities whose name stems come from the same language (Mother and Bound are both Old English words, for showdeal.) Not much talk about more serious older traditions; it's a letdown not to see or hear any satire of real-life culture through undead eyes.
Now, this isn't *awful* by any means. There's some room for smirks and chortles in all this. But it just doesn't feel like something that would be worth paying for, at least in my book.
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For all this, maybe best to come to middle. On sale for less than a dollar, this, and its sibling Cthulhu game, might be worth getting just as curiosities. But as RPG experiences proper, I don't recommend it unless you're a classic JRPG veteran who really wants to see a homebrew tongue-in-cheek tribute-parody of your deep-seated fandom.
I bought this game somewhat near the time it came out in 2011, finally in 2024 I was in the mood for a retro RPG parody and I was not disappointed. The game certainly isn't groundbreaking but it was honestly enjoyable. There's just enough humor and content to make you feel like you're getting a full game even though, in all likelihood, you spent 0.59 to get this in a bundle with Chtulu Saves the World.
Get it!
While I enjoy Cthulhu Saves the World, I feel like this one lacks the tongue-in-cheek sincerity and off-the-walls creativity that makes it work. It certainly has some good ideas (I loved playing as a mute skeleton hero who could only communicate with a fangirl ghost) but not enough to carry it through the grindy battles and winding, bland dungeons. I'll just accept this one as a learning experience.
It's not a bad game, though a tad boring in parts...like it is missing something compared to games it imitates like early dragon quest series.Still worth a play. I hope I don't forget the game again for a decade like I do with so many games after I stop playing for the day!
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"Breath of Death VII" is a 2D retro pixel "party RPG" dungeon crawler... and while it looks like yet another of thousands of RPG Maker asset flips, it's not! It's made with XNA game studio... and the product is probably a notch or two better than RPG Maker garbage, it's resulted in a playable game. But not really a good one. If I gave every RPG Maker game 1/100 points, I'd give this maybe a 5/100. Maybe.
Even though this is an amateur project, it does seem to be sincerely and genuinely made. I couldn't find any flipped assets, plagiarism or any other kind of insincere actions from the developer, but unfortunately genuine intentions alone are not enough to produce a brilliant PC gaming experience.
From a technical perspective, the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard.
A choice was made to use obsolete, decades old retro pixel "art" as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics. It's unclear if this is due to lack of budget or talent, regardless, the overall visual quality of the game is extremely low as a result.
There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks. There's no way to ensure this is running at the native resolution of your display. There's no guarantee this game will look right on any PC as a result of this hamfisted design decision.
Some of the defects in the game can be attributed to the choice of using the video game library/engine, Microsoft XNA Game Studio. It's rarely used, because it's arguably no better than construction kits like GameMaker Studio, RPGMaker and Clickteam Fusion, but it's also much harder to work with. Despite this, Microsoft XNA Game Studio has very limited capabilities, which go some way to explaining the poor quality of the game. Just as you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear, you can't make a great video game if you use a terrible engine.
These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game.
"Breath of Death VII" is relatively cheap at $3 USD, but it's not worth it. Given the defects and quality issues with the game, coupled with the unrealistic price, this is impossible to recommend. This is also competing with over 9,000 free games available on Steam, many of them far better than this paid product.
Breath of Death VII is actually the only game in the series. The title is meant as a joke, but I think it scares off a lot of people who don’t want to jump into the middle of a series. I think the only reason most people buy it is because it comes bundled with Cthulhu Saves the World. I think they actually used XNA to make these games, but the end result looks like an RPG Maker game. A party travels across a 2D world and grinds up by fighting random monsters until strong enough to face the final boss.
I didn’t like wandering through the mazes, but I did like the combat system. You’ve got a choice of several different attacks and you get a special attack that does more damage the higher the hit counter is. If you keep increasing the hit counter, then the special attack becomes really devastating when you finally unleash it. Also, I liked the limit on random monster encounters. If you’re in a dungeon, you can check how many encounters are left. Once you complete all the encounters, then you can roam freely through the dungeon and just have to face a boss or two. You can even stand near a save point and call the monsters to come fight you until you clear out all the random encounters. You can save at any time, but save points restore all your magic points.
I’ll go with a thumbs up for the limit on random monster encounters.
https://blog.naver.com/jampuri/223312264156 <- 장문의 리뷰는 이쪽.
미국산 패러디 개그 RPG 게임.
제목은 캡콤의 RPG 게임인 '브레스 오브 파이어', 제목 뒤의 넘버링은 고전 RPG 게임 시리즈물의 넘버링을 패러디했고. 게임 메인 그래픽은 8비트 패미컴 시절의 도트 그래픽에 에닉스의 '드래곤 퀘스트' 스타일을 따르고 있어서 확실히 레트로 느낌이 강하다.
근데 게임 시스템은 고속 이동 지원, 어디서든 세이브 가능, 전투 종료 후 HP 자동 회복 등등. 편리한 기능을 많이 지원해서 현대적이고. 무엇보다 전투 엔카운터율이 숫자로 표시되어 있어 전투 횟수를 알아서 조절할 수 있는 게 매우 편하다.
8비트 시점의 RPG 게임은 레트로 분위기에 취해서 끌리긴 한데, 조작 방식과 게임 환경이 현대의 게임과 비교하면 불편한 점이 많아서 그 옛날 그 시절처럼 몰입해서 플레이하기 어려운 구석이 있는데. 본작은 그런 부분을 개선해서 높이 살만하다.
콤보 개념이 있어서 파티원이 공격을 명중시킬 때마다 콤보 카운터가 올라가고, 콤보 부스터로 그 속도를 늘리거나, 콤보 브레이크를 써서 콤보 카운트 올라간 걸 단 한 번의 일격에 다 가져다 써서 높은 데미지를 입히는 전투 시스템도 나름 재미있었다.
인류가 전쟁으로 멸망한 뒤 언데드 종족이 문명을 건설했다는 삭막한 배경 설정과 달리, 게임 소재가 패러디 개그물이라 분위기 자체는 밝고. 주인공 파티 멤버들도 정감이 가며, 온갖 패러디, 조크가 다 튀어 나와서 깨알 웃음을 주니 스토리 자체도 괜찮지만. 유일한 문제는 플레이 타임이 다소 짧다는 것으로 빠르면 3시간 이내. 늦어도 5시간 정도면 클리어가 가능한 게 좀 아쉽다.
다만 게임 가격을 생각하면 볼륨이 작은 것도 어쩔 수 없다고나 할까. 게임 2개 합본인데도 정가 3달러, 할인가로 1달러 미만이란 걸 생각하면 그 가격만큼은 충분히 하고도 남았다.
It is like Chtullu saves the world. A game with a simplistic combat system and a corny story. It is short but my patience was shorter
By far the best Breath of Death game I've ever played. 10/10 would play again.
played a good portion of the game before just saying screw it, its not worth it.
Random generation of mobs leads to situations where some fights are broken. this makes them either too easy or to hard. Starting at lvl 1 to end game you are almost always outnumbered, each turn scales the badguys harder and unless you want to save after each fight and grind endlessly to try and overlevel the mobs they will have a 33% chance of just wiping you in three-four turns.
The story is terrible. It has some humor and i don't mind the main character but the rest are aweful and what little story there is doesn't make me want to grind to find out what happens next.
Each level is also a maze, meaning if you want the gold and items hidden in them expect to have to backtrack a couple times to get everything while almost always having a chance to instadie to a bad random spawn. Bosses were actually pretty easy compared to several of the random encounters i had.
Overall if you like turnbase pixel games it isn't terrible but expect to grind or save alot. Personally i just didn't find it worth it.
