t1z4l

The lack of new Breath of Fire games is downright criminal. Worse, it’s also not really easy to find entries on more modern platforms. Sure, the first two games are in the Nintendo Switch Online SNES library, but that also means dealing with the Breath of Fire II localization. I always felt like Breath of Fire IV is one of the more memorable entries, and the GOG release proves the PC version still holds up well.

With Breath of Fire IV, Capcom created a story filled with political intrigue, legendary dragons, and the kind of unstoppable villain that seems difficult to properly defeat. Kingdoms are on edge, due a shaky peace with the Fou Empire and tentative alliances between everyone opposed to them. The problem is, Princess Nina of Wyndia can’t afford to sit back and wait for situations to grow more stable. Her elder sister Elina vanished while on a peacekeeping and morale-boosting journey. To avoid inciting any ill will, Nina heads out alone with the Woren leader Cray in search of answers, finding an amnesiac young man with a tie to dragons in the process. However, even with her efforts, current happenings in the Fou Empire will make conflicts unavoidable.

The Breath of Fire series has always been interesting in how it will always involve protagonists named Ryu and Nina, often with similar sorts of circumstances, who are unique individuals going through unrelated situations each time. (Think of it like Final Fantasy, in a way.) I always loved what Breath of Fire IV did with its story, and the GOG release proves it holds up. By offering these differing viewpoints showing Nina, Ryu, and Fou-Lu’s perspectives at points, we’re offered a well-rounded take on events and get a better grasp of what’s going on in the world. Not to mention, in general, Breath of Fire IV doesn’t shy away from dark scenarios. The stark contrasts between it and other JRPGs of the period and, in some ways, entries in the series helps it stand out.

As for gameplay, Capcom tried some things to set Breath of Fire IV apart from other turn-based JRPGs, and I feel like the combat system still holds up as a result. Our characters can end up feeling very unique, even from ones others might build up when playing the game, because of the Masters system that returned from Breath of Fire III. This allows our units to apprentice under designated Master NPCs to gain abilities and increase stats. So if you want Scias to learn how to Steal, you need Stoll to be his Master. Doing so would also provide an Agility boost in stat growth. While it will be in certain allies’ natures to naturally be associated with certain stats, such as Ershin getting high defense, it allows a sense of freedom I really appreciate about the entry. Especially with Ryu, since you really need to rely on the Master system to build him up into the protagonist you need, due to his other abilities being tied to dragons.

The actual turn-based combat offers some appreciated strategic elements as well. Yes, it does entail selecting actions, then watching as folks take their turns when going up against enemies. However there are some elements that make things a bit more involved. One is that you can execute combos. These can be tied to magic attacks and skills, which can be used by all allies who learn them if you have enough people participate by using qualifying attacks during a single turn, and can be character specific. So Scias could use Ice Sword if you have say Nina use one of her wind spells and Ershin use Blizzard by using a melee skill after that. So there can be a bit of planning to make use of good ally combinations to ensure the three people in-battle work together while the ones not present rest and defend in the back. I really feel like it holds up well because of the combination of the customization and plotting who will be around and active.

When you’re not training and fighting, Breath of Fire IV features a bit of a different progression system for exploration than you might expect. For example, you’ll move along dotted lines on a map and find places you can enter with “?” marks or that are designated spots. There are quite a few puzzles, some of them actually challenging and with mechanics that can involve swapping between characters. 

The important thing to note about the GOG release of Breath of Fire IV is that the Capcom game not only runs, it runs incredibly well. I played it on both a Windows laptop and the Lenovo Legion Go, and in each case it worked flawlessly. The presentation is great. The audio sounded good. The rendering options are fantastic. It works incredibly well, so there’s no need for any concern about if it holds up. I also do see what GOG meant when it said the Marlok crane minigame is improved, as it seemed like the shadows were a bit clearer and my accuracy ended up being a bit better when loading crates onto the ship. In of execution, Capcom and GOG start us off in a good place.

I will say that as much as I enjoyed Breath of Fire IV and getting to play it on PC again thanks to the GOG Dreamlist initiative, actually getting it to run right is finicky on a Steam Deck or handheld gaming PC like a Lenovo Legion Go! The page notes there is controller . However, there are these minor issues in getting it running right. For example, to actually “start,” the start button on a controller probably won’t work. I had to press the left analog stick for the “confirm” action. There is key rebinding in the options, but I couldn’t get it to work right. Prior to the latest hotfix, I experienced an issue where I couldn’t get Nina to leave the North Desert Crash site, as she’d keep re-entering it even after I exited it via the world map. So while the game did work flawlessly on my Legion Go, issues like that mean it might be best to play it on a laptop so you do get access to keyboard inputs if controller is leaving you a little flummoxed as to why it isn’t working right.

However, this is something that could be a moot point by the time people read this review. It seems GOG gets quite responsive about these things. Case in point is a rendering patch. Days after Breath of Fire IV launched on GOG Dreamlist on April 25, 2025, the company shared a hotfix that allowed people to choose between bilinear and point sampled options, so you could determine if you wanted to smoothed effect or clearer spritework. So the is absolutely there, and since two hotfixes already launched, it is possible that we’ll see other controller issues adjusted. 

While I feel like there’s something lovable about most Breath of Fire games, Breath of Fire IV can feel like one of the most memorable ones due to its story and Capcom’s gameplay decisions. So much so that I feel like even without some light enhancements, it holds up well for its age. The extra work GOG put on on compatibility and features helps Breath of Fire IV feel even more worthwhile, even though using a controller with it can feel a bit frustrating as you first find your footing.

Breath of Fire IV is available for PC via GOG, and it is also available on the original PlayStation.

The post Review: Breath of Fire IV Remains a Delight on PC appeared first on Siliconera.

Back when GOG announced the Dreamlist initiative to grant access to older PC versions of games, it made a point of mentioning Breath of Fire IV. Then, on April 24, 2025, it teased the title on social media. Now, the game is back as part of the GOG Preservation Program initiative. It costs $9.99. 

As part of the announcement, GOG confirmed about 22,000 voted for the Breath of Fire game on the Dreamlist site. It also went over the additional features implemented to help ensure compatibility and make sure it runs as well as possible on modern systems. Part of that means it works with Windows 10 or 11, both in full-screen or windoed mode. Anti-aliasing, V-sync, and gamma correction are also available. Of course there’s still controller , with newer ones like the DualSense, Xbox Series X, Joy-Cons, and NVIDIA Shield ones working. It does cloud saves. The only audio option is Japanese, but you can switch between the English and Japanese subtitles.

As with other GOG releases, this version of Breath of Fire IV also includes some adjusted and restored content. Specifically, the crane and warehouse minigames are apparently “improved” on some way. The company also worked with Capcom to restore missing environmental sounds.

Here’s the trailer for the release:

Breath of Fire IV debuted on the PlayStation worldwide, it appeared on the PC in both Japan and Europe, and now it is widely available via GOG.

The post Breath of Fire IV Comes to PC via GOG Dreamlist appeared first on Siliconera.

GOG specifically cited the JRPG Breath of Fire IV as a game that people voted for when heading to the GOG Dreamlist official site to request PC games that should be brought back, restored, and sold on the storefront. If you visit the page, it currently has over 11,110 votes as of 11am ET on February 13, 2025.

How this process works is GOG asks people to vote on the Dreamlist for PC games they want to see return, and then the company will work with the developers and publishers to see if games could be brought back. In so doing, any compatibility issues would be addressed. They’d then be sold for people to play again.

As of February 13, 2025, here are some of the more popular games highlighted on the GOG Dreamlist main page:

1. Black and White - over 80,280 votes
2. Command and Conquer: The Ultimate Collection - over 69,310 votes
3. Black and White 2 - over 66,890 votes
4. Freelancer - over 63,980 votes
5. The Operative: No One Lives Forever - over 63,350 votes

As usual for a game in the series, Breath of Fire IV stars a young man who can turn into a dragon named Ryu and a young princess with wings named Nina. He’s suffering from amnesia, and she’s searching for her missing sister. The two end up traveling together to search for her sibling and discover who Ryu really is in a war-torn land, which is even more destabilized than usual due to the reawakening of a god named Fou-Lu.

It's been quite a while since we've seen a game in the series or reference to the Capcom JRPG. One of its last appearances was in Teppen. The last entry was Breath of Fire 6, which only appeared on PCs and mobile devices in Japan in 2016.

Breath of Fire IV is available on the PlayStation worldwide, and it appeared on the PC in both Japan and Europe. 

The post People Are Upvoting Breath of Fire IV on GOG Dreamlist appeared first on Siliconera.

Helpful as ever, the ESRB recently rated Breath of Fire IV for the PSP and PlayStation 3, which means we have another PS One Classic arriving sometime in the future.

Breath of Fire IV was originally released in Japan by Capcom in 2000 for the original PlayStation. It was later ported to the PC in 2003.

Update: On their community forums, Capcom USA's Christian Svensson revealed last week that Breath of Fire IV will be released on the PlayStation Network on August 16th. Breath of Fire PSN avatars will be go on sale the same day as well.

The post Breath of Fire IV Will Descend To The PlayStation Network [Update] appeared first on Siliconera.