Review: Breath of Fire IV Remains a Delight on PC

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. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tmvNxgXe4k 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. Images via Capcom and GOG 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. Images via Capcom and GOG 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

May 6, 2025 - 15:45

Review: Breath of Fire IV Remains a Delight on PC

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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tmvNxgXe4k

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.

Review: Breath of Fire IV Remains a Delight on PC GOG — Images via Capcom and GOG

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 terms 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 support. 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 support 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 support 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.