The original Breath of Fire was an innovative RPG for the Super Nintendo. It was one of the first enjoyable non-Final Fantasy RPGs to come out for a console system. Breath of Fire II, which followed a year or so later, was nowhere near as entertaining. (In fact, when someone saved over my game, after I had invested about 20 hours, I didn't care enough to ever bother trying it over again.) However, once the reviews of Breath of Fire III came rolling in, I decided that it must be closer to the original, and I could once again enjoy being a half-breed little dragon.

The premise of the Breath of Fire series is simple. You are a little, blue-haired boy with no clue as to your identity. Eventually, you will become a blue-haired young man who discovers that he is a member of the Brood, a race of dragon men. As in just about every RPG game, the fate of the world lies in your hands. You meet many different people, and some become your friends and allies. These friends become your cohorts, and join you in battles. Eventually, you fight some great evil, and save the planet. Yippee.

The plot-line of Breath of Fire III tries to break slightly from this classic mode and this is where some problems develop. Yes, you still have to save the world, but your driving motivation is to find God. Evidently, the main deity has decided that the Brood must be destroyed. You are the only known relic of this ancient race. You must find out your identity, and hunt down the goddess who wants you dead, to find out "Why?" The sub-characters, throughout the game, answer that question, so running around the planet for 50-60 hours seems to me to be a big waste of time. Your friends are, for the most part, a bunch of cookie cutter stereotypes that repeat catch phrases ad nauseam. One of the first bosses you face is the last of her kind. That's right, for all you animal rights activists, you get to finish off an endangered species. Don't you feel like a hero?

The graphics are reminiscent of the Super Nintendo versions, only they are much cleaner. The control is great, the characters go where you want them to when you want them to. Although some have complained about difficulty in making the characters walk diagonally, I had no problem with that using the standard Sony joypad. The pseudo-3D rotatable camera makes searching for items and secret passages a breeze, provided you remember to use it. The fight sequences are turn based, with the always helpful option to cancel moves before your parties actions are finalized. Some of the spell sequences, particularly the dragon morphs, are rather pretty, although the characters all make squeaky noises before casting their spells, and sound like they're being punched in the stomach whenever they perform their designated actions.

It wasn't that this game wasn't enjoyable, it was just aggravating. This game could have been cool, if the plot weren't so cheesy, and the characters weren't so by-the-numbers. There were sub-quests and mini-games that were fun. Fishing, present in the previous games, is back and expanded, so that there is a bit of skill required. As in Breath of Fire II, you get to build another village, only this time your inhabitants are fairies. (I admit, some of mine died, and I feel horrible about it.) However, these interesting goodies are little things, and the game as a whole, especially after the pathetic ending, just doesn't hang together. There's nothing worse that devoting the equivalent of several days of your life to something that blows it all in the last sequence.

Overall, the game isn't horrible, but die-hard RPGers will probably find themselves rather disappointed. If you're just looking for something to feed an RPG jones until the next great one comes along, this game is satisfactory.