The most unique RPG of this era

Reviewed by benkosar on February 21, 2008  |  report this review

Where to begin? This game you can play from start to finish as a regular RPG, but you are racing against THE CLOCK! At a certain point in the game, you begin turning into a dragon, and X amount of time is on the clock. at the end of that time, it's GAME OVER! You can use uber dragon powers, but they eat at the clock much, much faster then. So it becomes a game completely about balances.

There's a limited number of characters, and interactions, but the story becomes a race to reach the surface, and even feels like a hurried rush to get there. You really feel the sense of urgency. At about any point you can choose to start over. You get bonus EXP, which transfers to a started over game, or other ways. You can use this EXP to level your chars. If you reach high enough levels, you can increase your dragon points, which in turn let you open special doors, etc. Don't expect to max out on them in one sitting! So the game becomes either power-leveling, or a mad dash towards the end. I didn't finish this one, I got frustrated. However, it is an awesome, unique concept.

Everything is cell-shaded, and looks very good. Hopefully this won't be the last BOF game. You know what I'm talkin' about.

The game might not quite match up in quality compared to uber-blockbusters like Final Fantasy X, or the ever-long Disgaea, but it has it's niche in the unique dept.