Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated Review

Roll Dem Bones: Reanimated

Back in 2010, RPGamer was approached by a small indie team asking us to review an RPG coming out on the Xbox Live Indie Arcade. This game was the original Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, which I had the pleasure of reviewing in its original form. There was something special about this particular title. Perhaps it was the fact that it was a love letter to so many retro RPGs or the fact that it offered some unique twists on traditional ATB combat. I love and appreciate an RPG that respects my time and isn’t afraid to be on the shorter side. Fourteen years later, Shadow Layer Games has revived and updated this gem of an RPG in the form of Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated. While the game was a solid title for the time when I reviewed it initially, I can say with confidence that it has aged better than expected.

After an apocalyptic event destroys the world, and humanity has gone extinct, the world has become populated with demons, ghosts, and monsters. These fiends merely wish to live in peace and don’t fully recall the world before. The story begins with mute skeleton protagonist Dem in a dungeon as he learns the basics of combat and breaks the fourth wall with his “thoughts.” Upon escaping the dungeon, he strolls into a local town and meets Sara, a strange ghost who is looking for the ruins of Langsong and has the hots for our dear protagonist (though this love may not entirely be reciprocated). Along the way, they encounter a vampire techie named Lita and a zombie prince named Erik, who has a strong desire to find romance and cries “le brains!” when he is rejected. These weirdos travel all across the lands, hoping to find magic crystals that could be the key to restoring the past.

There’s not a lot of story packed in this four-or-so-hour romp, but how it is presented is part of the game’s charm. It’s a simple quest narrative, but the characters are constantly breaking the fourth wall and hinting they know they are in fact in a video game. There is a snappiness in the writing that will make seasoned RPGamers smile and laugh, even if a lot of the game’s jokes and puns are just plain corny. The writing wants to constantly remind the player that this is not a serious game and that the overall quest isn’t a serious matter. Players also have access to party chat, which does help flesh out the cast, though it’s a shame it’s a lot of repeated dialogue. Given how short the game is, this could have been an opportunity to add a bit more dialogue and expand on the playable party a bit more. Regardless of that tiny gripe, the writing is still solid years later, and catching the various inside jokes about classic JRPGs is still a joy when found. There are tons of puns, play-on-words, and fun tongue-in-cheek humour, though it may not be for every gamer.

The world has ended, and I’m stuck with this weirdo!

Part of Breath of Death VII‘s appeal is how it references other JRPG classics. The game and its combat visuals are a clear homage to one of the oldest JRPGs around, Dragon Quest. There are also references to games like Lufia and Phantasy Star, and there are even a few borrowed lines from The Simpsons. Even names of locations such as “Langsong” and “Motherbound” give hints as to what is being referenced. While the writing is solid, the game does go a bit overboard at times, bashing the player over the head with a barrage of references. It has a lot of pop culture references, but not always enough substance. Even though the writing is fun, some of these references have not entirely aged well.

Combat in Breath of Death VII pays homage to Dragon Quest, but with some unique twists. Presented in first-person, players can see the enemy’s hit points and have a combo gauge. Certain usable skills do more damage based on how high the combo count is. Combos are gained by using different attacks, though using a combo attack resets it to zero. When the combo counter is fairly high, certain skills such as Dem’s Deathblow have a noticeable impact on regular enemies and bosses, which means building the combo counter is a must. However, for every turn the battle takes, enemies will receive a 10% increase in their stats, and the longer a battle goes on, the more dangerous it becomes for the player, encouraging strategies that end combat more quickly.

It’s also important to pay constant attention during battles, as the actual pace of them is quite fast. Players will find a rhythm in regular battles that will allow them to whip through them thankfully easily as there is a constant bombardment of random encounters. While HP is fully healed at the end of every battle, MP is not and requires players to find a save point to replenish. One unique element is that every dungeon has a set amount of random battles that can occur, and one way to negate the barrage of random encounters is to literally plant Dem and his team next to the save point, manually start a fight with the dedicated button, and deplete the random encounters to zero. While it can be a quick grind, this makes it much easier to explore dungeons and find treasure without the constant pressure of battle. That said, it’s easy to get in a cycle of advancing through battles too quickly, which leads to the notably less hardy Lita getting dying frequently. Characters can be resurrected with potions that are found throughout dungeons, but once they are all gone, the player is screwed unless they manage to find more. Managing potions becomes critical in the latter part of the game when tougher enemies don’t mess around.

Every round the enemies get a bit tougher!

The difficulty of Breath of Death VII is not the most balanced; in fact, it’s pretty easy to get a game over even on the easiest difficulty. Most party wipes are a result of players poorly managing their resources such as potions and MP, but sometimes it’s just a result of getting into a random encounter where the enemies land multiple critical hits. Every level up offers the player two options for how they wish to build their party’s skills and stats, taking attacks that start out worthless and revving them up so that enemies will feel the hits. The game is challenging, even cruel at times, especially when a party wipe has occurred and one hasn’t saved in a while. However, now that one can save anywhere, it’s all the more reason to do it often.

There’s not a lot of side content to speak of in Reanimated. Exploring the overworld, players can find random caves that offer some decent loot and challenging battles. Score Attack mode is back for those who are gluttons for punishment, and there is a new Dragonduck Mode that gives Dem a new map to explore. However, unlocking this mode requires the player to find seven ducks throughout the main campaign and they can be easy to miss. These new elements are fine, but their appeal will vary from player to player. The overall main campaign takes around two to four hours to complete, though the amount of retrying means that the overall time spent is likely to be longer than the game clock indicates.

Reanimated has a lot going for it, especially in the audio and visual departments. Hyperduck SoundWorks upgraded the game’s original soundtrack, breathing new life into it. The game’s battle theme’s revamp still has the musical beats of the original, but there’s an added depth that makes it even more hummable. The music does a great job of setting the tone for each scene, understanding when sounds need to be playful or when the mood is somber (which isn’t often). The visuals have the largest upgrade, moving from the 8-bit to the 16-bit. One of the issues that plagued the original game was how cluttered a lot of the environments were, whereas now it feels like there’s a bit more space to move around and the player can actually tell what a lot of the debris is supposed to be. The character and enemy models are crisp and detailed, though there is a bit of reuse here and there, it doesn’t detract from the overall visuals. It’s a welcome visual upgrade, and pleasing to the eye.

It’s interesting to go back and play something again fourteen years later and both see how a product can remain the same in some aspects, and evolve in others. While there isn’t a lot new here outside of the audio and visual upgrades, the nostalgia came back to me, reminding me of when I played the original on my Xbox 360 in my parent’s basement. I appreciate the challenge of the game’s battle system, and revisiting these characters I long forgot about. While not all the game’s references have aged well, I applaud Shadow Layer Games for bringing Breath of Death VII: The Beginning back into the RPG universe, adding a needed polish to the original and allowing newcomers to experience the game that launched Zeboyd Games into becoming the indie darlings that our community fell in love with.

Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.

Writing is still hilarious and cheesy

Combat is brisk and challenging

Dungeons eventually run out of random encounters

Conversations in party chat are lacking

Too many nostalgia references that haven't aged well

Lita still dies a lot