Product Description

Breath of Fire V is the latest edition in the long-running RPG series, now for the PS2. Set in an underground world that is devoid of all light sources, players embark on an epic quest to find the earth's surface. Shelter, the ancient underground city in which the story is set, has been formed because of a natural disaster that has devastated the planet. Ryu, a Ranger for Shelter, is on a routine patrol when he has a sudden "awakening" and is determined to discover what lurks above. Gamers follow Ryu and other members of the underground society, as they fight their way to the unknown surface against numerous monsters and foes. This game is being noted for its new 3D world, rich storyline, stylized graphics, and innovative gameplay features. The game's focus revolves around the "Survival" style of gameplay, in which players are challenged with multiple enemies and a strategic elements such as deciding whether to fight or avoid enemies, or timing when to attack. Not Final Cover.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #628896 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-05
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

About the Author

Capcom Entertainment, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capcom, Co., Ltd. of Japan. A leading force in the multi-billion dollar interactive entertainment industry, Capcom's legacy spans 22 years of entertaining video gamers. Capcom develops, markets, and distributes home video games for the PlayStation(r) game console, PlayStation(r) 2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo(r) GameCube game console and the Xbox(tm) video game system, Game Boy Advanced and Game Boy Color systems, personal computers, and coin-operated games. Worldwide recognizable product lines include Street Fighter, Mega Man, Breath of Fire, and the Resident Evil series. World headquartered in Osaka, Japan, the company also has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Sunnyvale, California. The company is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, code number 9697.

Customer Reviews

No frills, straightfoward guidebook
Strategy guides...you love the extra depth and the helping hand they provide? No? then you think they are a rip off compared to the free FAQs available on the net? If not that then do you hate them with a passion, as they allow cheating freeloaders with more money than sense to learn in seconds what you sweated for hours to glean from your favourite game?

Personally I think it comes down to whether these guides ruin the game by making it far to easy, or enhance the experience by giving insight and help while needed, and being more than just an expensive FAQ. Some of that depends on the type of player you are, and some on the quality of the guide.

It has to be said that if any genre of game lends itself to the extra financial investment of a strategy guide its RPGs and especially Japanese ones. They can justify their existence by giving so much more depth to the game, as well as the basic walkthroughs, and allow you to eek out that extra bit of pleasure from your chosen game. Also they can explain what the hell the crazy Japanese plot is all about.

A truly good guide avoids failing to finish a game due to frustration, simplifies combat and equipment, helps you find those extra XP and upgrades to take out the Bosses, enlightens as to plot points and background and enhances the experience of the game without spoilers.

This guide succeeds on most fronts. The walkthrough does the job, and the glossy maps and tables give that extra sparkle over a faq text file. There is particular help avoiding problems with the controversial Dragon Counter that ends the game if it runs out...fans have either loved or loathed this development, and this guide does help you choose when to use up those precious Counter credits.

As with most RPG's the complexities of the combat system and the ins and outs of equipment and upgrades can be bewildering and certainly you can't rely on the manual that came with the game for help. This guide assists well in these departments too.

On the downside - its a bit thin on extra detail, and doesn't really stand up well to the lavish standards of the Authorised guides to FFX or FFX-2. Hardcore RPGers who know all the tricks are unlikely to find anything to really enhance the experience here.

How much do you love the game? Is is giving you real problems? Have you got that bit more money to have easy help at hand? If you're stuck and will pay for glossy maps over txt file line drawings, then go for it.