Oh, how I loved the days of Super Nintendo. This was before RPGs had become mainstream (in other words, pre-FF7), which is ironic, because many people, including myself, consider those days to be the source of most of the best RPGs ever made. It’s funny to think that the best RPGs came out back when very few people, especially in the US, even wanted to play them.

One of the games to come out of this period was Capcom’s Breath of Fire II. Although many perhaps consider it an average game in retrospect, I remember it being one of my favorite games of that era. Nostalgia counts for everything, and when you have a pretty good game to back it up, all the better. BoF2 was notable for having very pretty graphics (back then, RPGs were still known for their poor visuals...a stark contrast to modern games in the genre) and a fairly risky storyline with heavy emphasis on religion. I personally loved it for the Auto-Battle feature, which is a blessing against easy enemies, and the varied cast of characters, each having his or her own unique powers both in battle and on the field screen.

Now BoF2 is on Game Boy Advance, and the experience hasn’t changed much. In fact, other than the item-trading link feature that I’ll probably never use, there isn't much that I noticed to be different than the original version. But, even as a straight port, BoF2 is great to have on the GBA just because it’s portable and much longer and more in-depth than your average handheld game. The quick save feature is a must for handheld RPGs, and BoF2 of course has that.

So far my only two complaints have to do with the text. Even at the fastest scrolling speed, dialogue is typed out far too slowly. Since we have to press A to see the next set of words anyway, why not just make them appear all at once? Sheesh. And even if the scrolling speed doesn’t bother you, the translation probably will. Grammar isn’t so fundamentally broken as in Final Fantasy Tactics for PSX, but there are tons of tiny errors that just really gnaw at an editor like me. Most sentences end with no punctuation at all, enemies names have ridiculous oversights (“Wild Bear” for an animal that is obviously a boar), etc. And I haven’t read the whole instruction booklet, but I noticed quite a few errors in there too. Not that any of this is crippling to the experience, but it does take away from the immersiveness of an otherwise eloquent story.

Otherwise, the game seems to be a lot easier than it was on SNES. Sure, it could just be that I’m a better player now, but I killed the first two bosses in three hits each...I remember distinctly dying many times to those guys before finally emerging victorious. The original version was pretty difficult though, so I’m not necessarily complaining about this tweak. Just thought it was worth mentioning.

I’ve still got a long way to go in this lengthy quest, but I don’t expect these impressions to change too much over the course of the game. If you’re a fan of the series and haven’t played BoF2 yet or in a long time, it’s pretty darn cool to have it in the palm of your hand. RPG fans who aren’t familiar with Ryu and the gang should also give it a hard look, as this may be the last decent quest on the system for several months.