Breath of Death VII - Review

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RPGamer reviewed Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated:

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Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated Review

Roll Dem Bones: Reanimated

Back in 2010, RPGamer was approached by a small indie team asking us to review an RPG coming out on the Xbox Live Indie Arcade. This game was the original Breath of Death VII: The Beginning, which I had the pleasure of reviewing in its original form. There was something special about this particular title. Perhaps it was the fact that it was a love letter to so many retro RPGs or the fact that it offered some unique twists on traditional ATB combat. I love and appreciate an RPG that respects my time and isn't afraid to be on the shorter side. Fourteen years later, Shadow Layer Games has revived and updated this gem of an RPG in the form of Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated. While the game was a solid title for the time when I reviewed it initially, I can say with confidence that it has aged better than expected.

After an apocalyptic event destroys the world, and humanity has gone extinct, the world has become populated with demons, ghosts, and monsters. These fiends merely wish to live in peace and don't fully recall the world before. The story begins with mute skeleton protagonist Dem in a dungeon as he learns the basics of combat and breaks the fourth wall with his "thoughts." Upon escaping the dungeon, he strolls into a local town and meets Sara, a strange ghost who is looking for the ruins of Langsong and has the hots for our dear protagonist (though this love may not entirely be reciprocated). Along the way, they encounter a vampire techie named Lita and a zombie prince named Erik, who has a strong desire to find romance and cries "le brains!" when he is rejected. These weirdos travel all across the lands, hoping to find magic crystals that could be the key to restoring the past.

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It's interesting to go back and play something again fourteen years later and both see how a product can remain the same in some aspects, and evolve in others. While there isn't a lot new here outside of the audio and visual upgrades, the nostalgia came back to me, reminding me of when I played the original on my Xbox 360 in my parent's basement. I appreciate the challenge of the game's battle system, and revisiting these characters I long forgot about. While not all the game's references have aged well, I applaud Shadow Layer Games for bringing Breath of Death VII: The Beginning back into the RPG universe, adding a needed polish to the original and allowing newcomers to experience the game that launched Zeboyd Games into becoming the indie darlings that our community fell in love with.

Score: 3.5/5