Hey everybody, my name is Ash and welcome to the XPN Gaming website! We are being spoiled recently with the huge amount of awesome, old school RPG style games that have been releasing and it looks like there is one more to add to that list that released right at the end of 2024! Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated is a remaster of an Xbox Live Arcade RPG that originally released back in 2010 with a plethora of improvements built from the ground up including brand new graphics and soundtrack. This new remaster is brought to us by Shadow Layer Games!
Release Date:
PC - 12th December 2024
Check out the trailer!
Whilst the game is numbered 7, it's actually a stand alone game and is not connected to another game. This game has been designed as a parody to classic JRPGs, so the overlong naming falls in to that category. The story for the game is set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world, humans have been wiped out from nuclear war, and its upto an undead skeleton knight and his party of undead friends to stop an evil force.
The game is filled with alot of light hearted comedy and is well written. I didn't come across any spelling mistakes or problems during my playthough.
Gameplay wise, Breath of Death plays similar to classic turn based JRPGs, but due to the game being a shorter run time, everything feels more fast-paced. When you level up, you get to choose from different skills, which mean there will be a variety to builds between everyone who plays. Battles take place in a first person view, very menu driven like old school SNES games and see you build up combos to use abilities - but you have to be wary as enemies also build up combos to use stronger abilities on you, it becomes a race to defeat them as quickly as you can. There's also a decent amount of exploration to be found and and overworld to roam through when you are not working your way through the games dungeons. Due to the game only taking around 6-8 hours to complete, things never seem to drag or get stale, and with multiple endings to see, there's plenty of replay ability to be found.
I really liked the enemy designs in the game, the art looked great and there was a good variety to the enemies from three headed dragons, to zombies and even killer cars! The game also features multiple difficulty levels, which is nice for those who maybe aren't as well versed in old school RPGs, and this can also be changed mid-game should you desire more of a challenge!
As this is a remake of the original game, there are a whole host of upgrades to be found, whilst remaining faithful to how the original game felt and played. The game features new visuals, with crisp pixel art and a shiny new UI. The soundtrack has been overhauled with new songs from HyperDuck SoundWorks (who worked on Dust: An Elysian Tail) and there is a brand new unlockable Dragonduck mode which has a new adventure on a brand new world map! This really is the best way to play this game.
The fact that I could play this all in one night, meant I was fully drawn into the game from start to finish. Whilst I do love big, epic JRPG style games, more often that not the story and appeal of them tend to waiver when your heading into the triple figures in gameplay hours. With Breath of Death VII, I was able to play through the entire game without it ever feeling stale, and on top of that it's actually a very enjoyable RPG in its own right! I played the game on Steam using an Xbox controller plugged into my laptop and I had an absolute blast! Fun story, enjoyable action, great soundtrack, what else could I ask for?
XPN Rating: 4 out of 5 (Gold)
Breath of Death VII: The Beginning: Reanimated is AVAILABLE NOW!
A copy of the game was provided for this review. A huge thanks for that!
If you enjoyed this, make sure to check out my review of 8-Bit Adventures 2 HERE.
Commentaires