Introduction
      Breath Of Fire is a port of an RPG released years ago and although it is a decent RPG, its has not aged as well as most ports of older games. The game has a simple run of the mill story that sometimes loses track of where it is and the simple battle system is quite similar to a stripped down Final Fantasy style (very stripped down). The graphics are average and could have been re-done especially considering what the Game Boy Advance is capable of. The art style is impressive and gives the player more reasons to want to keep going. Unfortunately the enemy models are far too simplistic and while that would have been acceptable in the early days of RPG's they are not acceptable now. Breath Of Fire could have been an impressive remake but what we have here is a bare bones straight port (but a flawless port).

Gameplay
The story could be called "Final Fantasy 1 Lite Edition". Now that means all the story of Final Fantasy 1 only lighter. Now that wouldn't be so bad except that Final Fantasy 1 had a simple and light story to begin with (a rarity for the series). So now that would mean that Breath Of Fire has no story? Well no it does but its too simple and run of the mill that it really doesn't keep the interest of the gamer. The story sometimes makes no sense and it doesn't always come back from that. Now if your in it for the action than this shouldn't bother you but, the rpg gamers of today want story and they want something fresh. Unfortunately you will not find that here.

Fun
Finally we have the replay value. Its an RPG, which mean long. Although its nowhere near as long as Golden Sun it is quite lengthy and could take you a while to complete. But with a "barely there" story i doubt you would want to play it this long. Decent Graphics and Good music help overshadow the overly simple and drawn out gameplay. I suggest only hardcore RPG fans that aren't afraid of a light story should play this. Overall its good, but it doesn't get the cigar.

Story
The gameplay is simple fare, but the battles difficulty are extremely high even at the very beginning of the game. You don't really begin to have an advantage against the big bosses until much later into the game. There are plenty of random battles but as with many rpgs of the early days, that's mostly all they had. This game keeps that tradition alive by keeping light on story and high on action. Unfortunately, the rpg gamers of today have grown to want a story to follow to give purpose to the seemingly endless battles, breath of fire doesn't deliver on that level. It wouldn't be so bad but the fact is, the battles aren't all that interesting to begin with. There are no twists turns or any variety in the fighting. All it is, is taking turns. I know people would say that's what rpgs are but these days rpgs need to have icing on the cake or else they would be standard fare. Later on the gameplay does get more interesting and that comes in the form of bosses. They induce most of the strategy of the game. Otherwise its simple dungeons with a ton of random battles.

Graphics
The graphics are basically the same as the rest of the game. Simple! Except for the fact that the Game Boy Advance wasn't made with the intention of sticking simple games on it. The graphics, while colorful, are lacking in variety and they pale sorely in comparison to Golden Sun and Mega Man Battle Network (1+2). The graphics are a cross between The Nes And the Super Nes. The level design and environments including character models look like they belong on the ness while the colorful palette would be well fit for the Super Nes. I don't think either is suited for the GBA. I mean a remake would have help more interest than a straight outdated port. The animations are terribly stiff and the enemies models and character models look like toy soldiers waiting to be moved. Overall there decent but could be a lot better.

Sound
The sound is also simple but it is the highest mark of the game. The music is nicely upbeat and stern when needed and never becomes tedious. I thought the battle music was rather dull though. The sound effects are simple but some of them stand out. Mainly the magic sounds. The Sound department is an overall plus.