Play Breath of Fire 2 (Mode7) Online

Summary

Breath of Fire 2’s Game Boy Advance port keeps the classic top‑down RPG feel while sprucing up the visuals with redrawn character portraits and fresh cut‑scene artwork. The menu was overhauled from icons to a clean text‑based layout, and a new dash button lets you zip across the world faster than the original handheld version.

The game adds a handful of systems that feel fresh for a 2D adventure. A Monster Meter hints at random encounters, while a town‑building mechanic lets you recruit special villagers and assign them to houses built by three distinct carpenters. Six elemental Shamans can fuse with party members, granting new forms and abilities, and a Formation feature lets you rearrange the party for speed, defense, or attack bonuses. Two players can even link their GBAs to trade items.

Combat remains turn‑based, ordered by agility, but the battle screen mirrors the later Breath of Fire IV interface. You can save at any dragon statue, making progress tracking painless.

Series newcomer Yuko Takehara composed the entire soundtrack, later released on a Japan‑only CD and finally included in a 2006 special box set.

Critics praised the faithful translation and new conveniences, earning a 29/40 from Famitsu, an 81% Metacritic score, and perfect marks from GamePro, though some noted bland music and low difficulty. The title was even nominated for Best Port and Best GBA RPG in GameSpot’s 2002 awards.

Storyline

Breath of Fire II (often just called Breath of Fire 2) takes place 500 years after the original game in a world where demons erupt from a mountain and a great dragon once sealed the breach. The story follows 16‑year‑old orphan Ryu Bateson, whose father Ganer and sister Yua disappear when the villagers forget who he is, prompting him to live at a church and meet Bow, a fellow orphan and crossbow‑wielding thief. Ten years later the two work as Rangers, retrieve a princess’s lost pet, and become embroiled in a false accusation against Bow, sending Ryu on a quest to uncover the mysterious "winged thief".

Along the way Ryu recruits a colorful cast: Katt the cat‑person gladiator, Rand the pangolin‑type brawler, Nina the wing‑tailed magic student, Sten the monkey‑people trickster, Jean the frog‑prince, and Spar the plant‑girl who communes with nature. An optional immortal sorceress, Bleu, can also join the party. Their journey leads them across coliseums, cursed towns, and a demon‑infested continent, where they free Jean’s usurped kingdom, rescue Spar from a traveling sideshow, and retrieve a Therapy Pillow to heal the Great Wise Tree Gandaroof’s fading memory.

The climax unfolds at St. Eva’s Grand Church, a front for a demon that uses worshippers’ prayers to empower itself. After battling the high priest Habaruku, a dragon‑form Ray, and finally the god‑demon Deathevn, Ryu unlocks the ultimate dragon power Anfini and defeats the ancient evil. Depending on the player’s choices, the ending varies: Ryu may sacrifice himself, Ganer may pilot the floating TownShip to seal the mountain, or the world falls to demons in a non‑standard game over.