Breath of Fire IV

Breath of Fire IV remains a beloved classic JRPG with a compelling story, engaging turn-based combat, and beautiful hand-drawn art that still holds up well decades after its original release. Fans appreciate the depth of its battle mechanics, character designs, and immersive worldbuilding, making it a memorable experience for both newcomers and longtime players.

However, the Steam release of the game is widely criticized for being a poorly executed port. Issues include the addition of unnecessary DRM on an old single-player title, lack of cloud saves, no achievements, poor controller support, an intrusive launcher, graphical filtering that blurs the original pixel art, and absence of Steam Deck verification. Many players recommend purchasing the DRM-free GOG version instead, which includes important fixes and enhancements missing from Steam. Despite these technical shortcomings, the core game remains highly praised, and fans hope Capcom will improve the port and bring more Breath of Fire titles to modern platforms.

Highlights

Players especially praise the game's classic JRPG turn-based combat system with combo chaining and skill learning, which offers strategic depth.

The hand-painted visuals and animations are lauded for their timeless charm and vibrant style, considered among the best of the PlayStation era.

The storyline is regarded as epic and immersive, exploring themes of memory, identity, and humanity through well-developed characters and rich worldbuilding.

Many express joy at finally having this legendary title available on modern PC platforms, with some noting it runs well on Steam Deck after minor tweaks.

Criticisms

The port suffers from numerous technical and quality of life issues: DRM inclusion despite the game's age, no cloud saves, no achievements, and missing Steam overlay frustrate players.

Controller support is poor, with incorrect button prompts and keyboard-only inputs required in some cases. The launcher is clunky, and the game lacks an in-game option to disable the blurry filtering effect, forcing users to edit config files.

Performance issues such as crashes, audio glitches, and lack of Steam Deck verification further diminish the experience.

Many reviewers advise buying the GOG version instead or emulating the original PlayStation release until these problems are addressed.