Review of Breath of Death VII

I first learned about this game when I saw it go on sale at Steam. It was bundled along with Cthulhu Saves the World for only $3. I was almost going to get it when I then saw both games originally came out on Xbox Live Indie Games. I thought about it for a little bit and then decided that I would rather play both games on my 360 instead. Both games are currently available on both Steam and Xbox Live Indie Games.

Breath of Death VII: The Beginning is really the first of the series, not the seventh. It is an old-school RPG that features references to many other classic games of its time period. The story follows a skeleton named Dem who lives in a world inhabited by the undead. A war long ago wiped out all life on the earth and so everything has been taken over by the undead. Dem goes on his adventure by following the advice of his fellow companions who join up in his party. Eventually a whole group of four of you will find the a long lost secret that will decide the fate of everyone.

Breath of Death is about four hours long. Though that may be considered short for an RPG I think for the price it is just the right length. The game has random encounters with enemies just like many other games do. However, once you fight so many of these random encounters you are able to avoid them in the area unless you choose to fight them. Leveling up in the game is pretty quick and has branching choices for leveling up such as "+ 30 HP" or "+ 10 strength" along with new different attacks to choose from. Graphics are simple but classy. A nice soundtrack accompanies the game as well.

Breath of Death is pretty much your typical retro RPG. It is well done and there aren't really any problems with it. It does have a harder difficulty mode and a couple extra dungeons to go explore. But there really isn't a whole lot to separate it from other games of its type. Also some of the areas can be a little hard to navigate around.

If you like JRPGs I would recommend this game. It's only 80 msp on 360. Cthulhu Saves the World is a much better game however and I would recommend it over Breath of Death if you are only going to get one of them. If you're going to buy both then play this one first.

I give Breath of Death a 3/4.