I’ve been meaning to get to this review for a while and, for some reason, I’ve just seemed to have been putting it off. Not because it’s not a good game, but, rather, because I don’t really know where to begin. Breath of Death VII brings me back to my childhood, literally, as I was first introduced to the Dragon Warrior series when I was a child (1, 3, and 4… never played 2). Breath of Death VII mimics those games so well that it almost brings a tear to my eye.

Anyway, for those who don’t know, Breath of Death VII (BoDVII) is a newly released Xbox Live Indie Game that takes after the old JRPGs of yesteryear. The story follows Dem, the muted skeleton along with three other compatriots he finds along the way, as he attempts to uncover the mysteries of what happened in the past and, possibly, get into a little wanton adventure along the way.

Throughout BoDVII you’ll be treated to everything you would expect in a classic RPG: random caves, towns, open world map, randomized battles. It’s like living n the early 90s all over again!

Gameplay

As stated above, Breath of Death VII is a remarkably retro throw back to the old Dragon Warrior games released onto the NES. While it may be instantly off-putting to some who’ve never played those games, take heart in knowing that the developers have actually streamlined the entire experience to make it easier to get into. The old Dragon Warrior games could be quite the grind and BoDVII is not.

Of course that’s not to say that the game didn’t hold onto some cherished “traditions” from the past. The battle sequences, for instance, are a brilliantly simple set up containing pure turn-based fighting based off of the mathematical stats your character has. There’s no time limit to make you move, no twitch combat, nothing of that sort. You can sit there for thirty minutes and just watch your enemies before ultimately deciding whether you want to fight or use a special ability. After the recent influx of modern JRPGs, this is a welcome relief for me.

Additionally, BoDVII has brought back the cherished “world map,” something that is quite rare in modern JRPGs. This, in my opinion, is one of the best things about BoDVII. Not because it does anything different, but, rather, because it is exactly what it’s supposed to be. JRPGs were some of the first open world games and it was a huge blow to me, personally, when all the world maps just decided to go away.

As I mentioned above, BoDVII has streamlined many of the grinding traits of the old JRPGs. This means that leveling is faster, fighting is easier, and stats are ridiculously numerous. While many people would probably expect to recieve a few points of each stat when they level, BoDVII grants 10, 20, ,and sometimes, 40 or 60 stat points. Still, despite the high numbered stats, leveling up in BoDVII is roughly equivalent to leveling up in similar JRPG games.

That said, however, leveling in BoDVII is a bit differently than in the classics, primarily because there’s actually a crude form of character customization. Upon each level you’ll be given two options to customize your character. Sometimes it’s a choice between raising specific stats, sometimes you must choose different skills. It all depends on the level, really. Still though, it’s a nice way to give that feel that you are actually creating your own character, not just following a numbered path.

Breath of Death VII ultimately clocks in at around 5-6 hours, at least it did for me. In my opinion, this is awesome. The game only cost 80 MS points ($1) and I got a 6 hour game for it. Few things come at such a price.

Style

Even in the style the game hearkens back to the old Dragon Warrior classics. Crude pixels, oversized avatars, and undersized mountains await you in BoDVII, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Additionally, the audio for the game is also charmingly retro. Town sounds are instantly reminiscent of the older JRPG series. In all, the audio does a great job in helping us relive our past gaming greats.

Story

BoDVII’s story is an unusual one. While I won’t delve into it too deeply, for fear of spoiling anything, I will say that it takes place in the future in a post-apocalyptic world where everything is already dead, hence you playing as a skeleton as the main character.

Additionally, I give huge props to the developers for giving the game such an amusing cast of characters with hilarious dialog to boot. BoDVII is a game with its tongue planted firmly in its cheek. Expect dry wit, and funny moments to abound in BoDVII.

Bottom line, if you were a fan of classic JRPGs, especially for the NES/SNES, then you will love BoDVII. It’s a funny reliving of the genre we all grew up loving. Other gamers, however, who might not have ever enjoyed such games probably won’t see why it’s all that special. In fact, it’s probably safe to say this game isn’t for them.

Still though, for only a dollar, there’s a lot of game to be had in Breath of Death VII. This easily could have been a $3-$5 game and still been worth the purchase.

[buy/try from Xbox]

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