It almost feels a little pointless reviewing Breath of Death VII. It only costs 80 points, so how cheap do you have to be not to at least give it a shot? And if ever an Xbox LIVE Indie game deserved your time and precious points, it’s Breath of Death VII. It’s an absolute bargain and a great example of just what is possible under the Xbox LIVE Indie name.
Breath of Death VII is a wonderful parody and tribute to the humble 8-bit RPG. It might not look out of place on an aged NES but what it lacks in graphical prowess, it more than makes up with charm and good old fashioned RPG goodness. You play Dem, a skeleton knight whose job is to rid the world of evil. Along the way he teams up with a zombie prince, a vampire and a ghost. Quirky? Oh yes. The story is full of humorous touches too, from self-referential quips to bizarre anecdotes. Wandering through a graveyard I stopped to read each gravestone as they all had something funny engraved upon them. The storyline might not be as long as other RPGs, weighing in at around 6hrs till completion but for a mere 80 points, this still feels like fantastic value. Outside of the Sam & Max games, rarely does a game make me laugh out loud but Breath of Death VII did with ease. Even its title is clearly a nod to the Final Fantasy and Breath of Fire series.
Outside of the storyline, Breath of Death VII is quite simple. Viewed from a top down perspective much like Dragon Warrior before it, the game is very minimalist but functional. Battles are conducted with a blank backdrop and you never actually get to see moves be performed. Fighting works as expected though and there’s some nice additions such as the Unite function. This feature is something that I’ve always been a fan of since the Suikoden days. It enables two characters to team up and perform a particularly strong move combined. While visually it’s no different than any other in Breath of Death VII, it’s an appropriate feature in any game that focuses so heavily on characterisation. After each battle, health points are fully restored which helps to make Breath of Death VII feel more accessible than many other RPGs. Shame then that save points still feel a little sparse but it could be worse.
Like I said at the beginning, for 80 points it seems daft not to give Breath of Death VII a try. Fortunately this is no sympathy purchase as it really is one of the more enjoyable games I’ve played in recent months, let alone one of the most enjoyable Xbox LIVE indie games I’ve played since the service began. To pick holes in it would be ridiculously unfair and even if I were a pedantic sort, excluding the brief length, there’s not really much to fault here. It’s an ideal walk down memory lane while still being entirely new too.
VideogameUK verdict: 9/10
