Breath of Fire 6

Breath of Fire 6: Hakuryū no Shugosha-tachi
Developer(s)	Capcom
Publisher(s)	Capcom
Producer(s)	Kazunori Sugiura
Composer(s)	Tamiya Terashima
Series	Breath of Fire
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows iOS Android
Release date(s)	Microsoft Windows, Android‹See Tfd› JP: February 24, 2016[1] iOS‹See Tfd› JP: July 12, 2016[2]
Genre(s)	Role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Breath of Fire 6: Hakuryū no Shugosha-tachi (Japanese: ブレスオブファイア6 白竜の守護者たち, Hepburn: Breath of Fire 6: Guardians of the White Dragon) is a free-to-play online, web-based role-playing video game with microtransactions developed and published by Capcom as the sixth main installment of its Breath of Fire series. The game was released in Japan on February 24, 2016 for Microsoft Windows computers and Android devices, with an iOS release following on July 12, 2016.^[3][4]

Gameplay

Breath of Fire 6 is a an online action-based roleplaying game where players create a hero character whom they can customize in appearance, gender, and skills. Both characters and environments are presented using two-dimensional graphics, with the player traveling across several environments battling enemies and taking part in the story. They are accompanied by AI-controlled partners called "Fellows" who make up their party to help complete missions, while multiplayer missions allow up to four players to team up together.^[5] The hero's class can be customized depending on their weapon specialization, which can branch into other, more specialized classes with more powerful abilities as they progress.^[6]

Both the player's hero and their Fellows can utilize rechargeable skills and spells which enable the player to create timed combo chains, such as combining two spells into a larger one. Eventually players can unlock the ability to build up a meter that allows the hero to temporarily transform into a dragon form called "D-Trance Mode" and cause bigger damage to enemies.Players can connect to a hub village that allows them to shop for items and equipment, chat and team up to accomplish co-operative missions. Like previous entries in the series, players can customize their own village as the game progresses.^[5]

Plot

Characters

Players assume the role of a male or female hero who is the sibling of Ryu (voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi), the young mayor of the town of Dragnier who goes missing following an attack by the villainous Insidia Empire.^[7] The player is assisted by a number of support characters including Nina (voiced by Kyōko Hikami), a descendant of a race of humans who could once transform into giant birds who is searching the world for her lost sister. Other denizens of Dragnier and its surroundings include Gilliam (voiced by Hiroaki Yasumoto), a blue-furred, wolf-like Wolba beastman who strives to protect his forest home; Amelia (voiced by Mai Nakahara), an aloof but intelligent magic-user of the Algar sheep-horned tribe; Jubei (voiced by Naka Hiroshi), an older, weasel-like Kamaitachi beastman archer who acts as a distributor of advice; Masamune (voiced by Takehito Koyasu), a Kamaitachi swordsman and old friend of Jubei; and Peridot (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu), a traveling female musician who seems to lack emotion but is otherwise kind.^[8]

The central antagonists are members of the Insidia Empire, led by Emperor Steinberg, which intends to use the powers of the Dark Dragons to take over the world and create lasting peace through oppression.^[9] Their chief knight is Klaus (voiced by Tomoyuki Morikawa), the strongest swordsman in the Empire, who is joined by Elise (voiced by Hitomi Nabatame), a woman who wields a similar dark power,^[10] and Elena (voiced by Chuo Hiroshi), a mysterious woman with vast knowledge of the dragon clans.^[11]

Story

The game takes place 1,000 years after an apocalyptic battle between the Light and Dark Dragon clans, humans with the ability to transform into powerful dragons with immense destructive power, that ended thanks to the actions of a mysterious young man. The resulting fallout caused planet-wide gradual desertification, and over the years the people of the world have created new communities, paving the way for a peaceful new era. However, behind the scenes, the powerful Insidia Empire covertly disrupted that peace, overtaking the world slowly and dominating smaller countries, one by one.

One of the lands that fell under the Empire's strength was the country of Dragnier, home to the hero and their brother, Ryu. The Empire attack the village, destroying all in their path. Peridot, a traveling bard who just happened to come by the ruins, found the hero in trouble and saves them. Together with the surviving citizens of their hometown, the hero and his companions must rebuild their lost land and strike back at the Empire while discovering the secrets of the dragon clans.^[12]

Development

Breath of Fire 6 was first announced in August 2013 during Capcom's Network Game Conference in Japan, where it was given a tentative release date in the region for the following year.^[4] It is the first installment in the series to not debut on a home console, and was created specifically for touch-based PCs, smart phones and tablets.^[13] Capcom designed the game as an "Easy touch type online RPG" with simple controls and "exhilarating combat", and is the first main series title released since Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter in 2002.^[13] The title supports online play as well as a cross-platform save feature that will allow players to resume their progress on separate devices.^[14] On March 31, 2016 a statement was issued by the Breath of Fire 6 development team announcing the delay of the iOS version of the game to summer 2016.

The game's official theme song is "In Our Hands" by Haruka Tomatsu, which was released in Japan as the B-side to her single "Fantastic Soda!!" on July 30, 2014.^[15] A soundtrack album for the game was released in two volumes: the first, the Breath of Fire 6 Original Soundtrack -Myakudou-, was made available on February 24, 2016;^[16] and the second, Breath of Fire 6 Original Soundtrack -Ryuushou- followed on July 27, 2016.^[17]

Reception

As of August 2016, the game holds a 2.0 out of 5 rating on Japan's Google Play Store.^[18]

References

External links

• Official website (Japanese)