Breath of Death VII: The Beginning Reviews

To truly appreciate BOD VII you have to understand what you're getting into. For one this is the first and only title in it's "series". That should tell you something right there. BOD is a parody of old school NES era RPGs, and a damn good one. It is filled with jokes and obscure references, mostly to old school (pre 1996) RPGs, some to other games such as Resident Evil 4. It pokes fun at itself often and has no fear of breaking fourth wall. Even the plot and setting are a bit ridiculous. Set in a post WW3 world where everyone is now undead, your party consists of a skeleton, ghost, vampire and zombie. Oh, but the vampire is a "tech girl", and the zombie is a french speaking prince. Also be prepared to find humorous enemies like "cursed car", "lab coat", and the dreaded "Duck Dragon".

This isn't all to say BOD isn't a real game. In fact it may surprise you with some of it's modern, at times innovative gaming conventions. Highlights include the ability to chat with team mates (ala Phantasy star IV), pick fights from the menu, kill all the monsters in an area, use team up techniques, skill trees (admittedly simple ones mind you), a combo system, enemies that grow stronger the longer the battle goes, auto HP recovery after battles, and MP recovery based on your performance. The point is, BOD is a fun game that will inspire some giggles from RPG vets, and supply some good old fashioned JRPG gameplay with interesting gameplay mechanics thrown in, without trying to reinvent the genre like, say, FFXIII. Mind you the story is throw away (and the game knows it), and the game itself is short (roughly 6 hours). There is a fun score attack mode unlocked after you win but that is about it.

All in all, BOD VII is a must buy at only $1 for anybody into old school RPGs with a sense of humor. It won't change your life, but you'll be damned happy you played it, and your money will be helping one of the better indie developers out there.

GRAPHICS- **1/2
SOUND- ***1/2
GAMEPLAY- ****
REPLAY- **1/2
INNOVATION- ***
STORY- **1/2
FUN- **** 1/2
OVERALL- *** 1/2