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I will never willingly play vanilla BoF2. This hack really helped the game in so many different ways. Definitely use these patches if you're going to give this game another go.

Shaman updates were a lot of fun. Different combinations now allowed for more party diversity, and changing the abilities of a character let you do something different. Putting characters in roles they were initially not suited to made the game much more enjoyable, and it motivated me to try out all different kinds of party setups.

Bosch and Tapeta felt left behind by the new Shaman buffs. The other characters have transformations that give them different options. Bosch's and Tapeta's stat blocks only change one way, and the different combinations just change the degree of those stat changes. Rand, Sten, Nina, Lin, and Spar have Shaman combos that can put them into a different roles if the player wants to.

I greatly appreciated the reduced encounter rate. I would say it should be reduced even further. The dungeon design in this game is so bad, and even reduced by 50%, some dungeons were just so annoying with their layouts.

For the Hero, my feelings are mixed on his changes. The Dragon system in this game sucks (IMO), but it's also the Hero's thing that sets him apart. Giving him a bunch of spells felt like watering down what his identity. Giving him Warp and Exit though - chef's kiss.

Overall, this has been a great way to play BoF2. The amount of time and dedication that went into this cannot be overstated.

Positives:

• The characters all felt usable. It felt like the original tried to make characters such as Jean being in between Ryu and Rand statwise, and Sten as a more durable Katt. Unfortunately it didn't translate, as those two were pretty bad. Nina (and magic overall) felt more useful, and Sten was even one-shotting enemy groups during his solo part. Spar had the most radical change, but it was for the better as s/he might be the best character in the game.

• The spell list updates in general were very good, but my personal favorite was giving Jean and Spar Cure 3. The original game kind of forced you to use either Rand or Bow against the end game bosses that used multi-target spells. Now pretty much every party has one multiheal user, so there's more flexibility in choosing your team.

Negatives:

• This seems to be a problem across Maeson hacks, but you get pulverized by enemy magic at the end of these games. It was the same in his FF3 hack. Burabury kept spamming BoltX and breath attacks, forcing me to use TWO Cure 3 healers just to survive (I didn't feel like grinding Bow up to learn CureX). This ties in to my other two complaints.

• Shamans were horribly nerfed for some reason. I'm fine with reducing the bonuses, but why would I put Sten, a fighter type, in a form that reduces his attack and defense by 25 percent? Your other fighters got bonuses that at least aligned with their strengths, but their AP pool was run dry. Bow and Katt don't even get their super forms until the final dungeon. Most others also don't get them until extremely late in the game. No need for this.

• Level scaling is wonky. Characters join you and only need 1 EXP to level up. Another has more way EXP than what is needed and gains several levels after one battle. Another needs an insane amount, like 100k, to go from 35 to 36, and then gets to 37 immediately. As I mentioned, Bow didn't have CureX because I'd probably need to grind for around 200k more to get him to 43 or whatever it was.

Overall it made good changes. Just be prepared to have two quick Cure 3 users or some Moondrop type items to deal with the end bosses.

I like the revised balance, Ryu having more magic utility other than just being a dragon nuke, Katt actually being able to cast a spell early game and capable of inflicting massive damage, certainly makes the earlier game easier to swallow.

Also surprised to see a couple new skills snuck into some characters kits, like Dice for Sten, essentially being a big brother version of ChopChop which is extremely useful. The reduced AP costs of magic and larger magic pool variety, as well as changes to damage overall makes things much more satisfying.

I was kinda hoping for Status Debuffs to actually work in this, especially against bosses, but they are pretty much useless as they are in the original game which I find to be quite the bummer. Also disappointed that things like Smokes don't seem to have an effect at all, as well as still being clueless what certain accessories actually do (DmndBR continues to mystify me). Most of all though I wish WFruits were changed to not cause damages when used to heal your AP, I always thought that part of BOF2 was whack.

My only real complaint about this hack is replacing my favorite looping dungeon music with tracks from late-game that just don't really fit.

In closing, I'd say this is worth playing. It's a refreshing experience with more characters having access to spells that'd otherwise not have or not be able to use until very late game, and generally there is room for a lot more variety of pary composition when every character has more to bring to the table.

Maeson has a great track record when it comes to hacks and rebalancing things in thoughtful, sensible ways, and this is no different.

I always considered BoF2 to be the weakest entry in the franchise thanks to general annoyances and poor balancing, but this hack here becomes a gateaway to an enjoyable experience.

First and foremost, it rebalances character growths, spell lists and stat lines so that they actually make sense (why can Lin/Katt even taunt if she'd fall to the slightest breeze, for example?) and so that they can actually carry their weight in battle (Nina is now a true force to be reckoned with, with a much smarter, well rounded spell repertoire). The changes are indeed many, and all for the better, such that even alone, this hack would be a massive improvement over the crude vanilla experience.

However, there's even more to like here, as there is compatibility to a multitude of other hacks present here at RHDN that make the experience even more enjoyable (like PHA_PHX_PHY_PHP's Unfusing Less, leszy Keep the Great Bird and Agi Up Fix, Ok Impala's Encounter Rate Fix and, thankfully, Ryusui's retranslation.

Normally, using all of the above together would be a nightmare, but Maeson made it as simple as possible to combine everything together.

BoF2 finally gets to stand on an even ground with the other 3 classic entries!

Breath of Fire 2 is easily my favorite of the Breath of Fire series, and while I loved the original with all of its flaws, this mod makes the game FAR better and much more enjoyable to replay; I've done so 3 times with this mod! (Admittedly, I've enjoyed it less on the 2nd and 3rd replays, but that's entirely due to the Retranslation mod making the Menus FAR worse to navigate amongst several other issues I have with it)

This mod does WONDERS for making everyone viable and worth using outside of just Katt, Rand/Bosch, and Nina/Deis, and makes the Shaman system actually feel meaningful beyond getting fusions that change the character's form. Imagine my joy and surprise in my first run when fusing Sten with the Fire Shaman made him stronger than Katt! That huge leap in power for Sten earned him a spot in my final party, especially when I got the Wind Shaman to get Sten's form change to go all-in on his expanded Mage Capabilities. I'll give more elaborate thoughts on the changes to characters from here on

Ryu had always been the most boring character in BoF2 as I too hated spamming his Dragon Forms for damage, but this mod gives him an expanded spell list to make him a far more flexible and enjoyable fighter. Tornado is especially helpful early on for dealing with the Harpy Sisters who will wreck Ryu and Bosch if you didn't grind heavily before going to their territory. I do find it odd that he lacks higher tiers of Thunder (S.Boom and BoltX), especially given the in-game lore reason for Maeson giving Ryu a better spell list.

I admittedly never used Bosch beyond the two required times, but the changes made to him absolutely make it not only worth using him, but also make it far easier TO use him once he rejoins. His boosted EXP curve is a blessing for getting him caught back up to Ryu and the gang, and additional attack spells help him out in the long run before you get Barose to teach him Missile. Despite retaining his weaknesses of Snipe never working later on in the game, and being difficult to squeeze into teams if you're all about those form changes, he's absolutely worth bringing along into the end of the game.

Truthfully, I haven't noticed much changed with Rand compared to vanilla (aside from his boosted base level), and that's perfectly fine. Rand was easily your best choice for your healer as his incredible bulk made him nigh unkillable, and healing late in the turn with Cure 3 could change the tides of battle in your favor. His two most interesting Fusions are with the Earth Shaman and the Water or Holy Shamans. These boost his speed by considerable amounts, and the Earth+Holy fusion boosted his AP at the cost of some strength to improve his AP reserves for keeping the team healthy, while the Earth+Water fusion gives a bigger boost in speed and keeps a large boost to Strength.

Katt is much the same as she is in vanilla, but thanks to Maeson heavily cutting down on spells' AP Costs (which was very much needed), she can now cast her uber powerful spells LONG before the end of the game! This is a HUGE buff for her, as her sky high speed lets her pop off a spell to wipe out enemies before they have a chance to even blink. My personal wish for her is to be able to fuse with the Earth Shaman for a huge boost to her Vitality, so that her Dare command can see more use in the endgame (and get more out of the boost to her Counter rate while Daring!), as her Form Change isn't as useful or as interesting as her normal form in my opinion.

Nina is still incredibly powerful and useful throughout the game. I, unfortunately, never really used her, as the changes to her were the least substantial & least interesting. Most importantly for her, though, is that now she doesn't compete with Deis as aggressively as before.

Sten is easily the star of this mod, getting the absolute most out of the fusion system changes, and being incredibly flexible AND powerful. In my first run, he effortlessly cleared out mobs with high powered spells before the enemies could act. And in my third run, he dominated the field with incredibly powerful attacks boosted by the Fire Shaman (and later Fire+Holy Shamans) while still casually tossing out field-clearing spells to wipe out the mobs that relentlessly pestered me. My one suggestion for him is to return his Bomb spell to him so he can hit Wind Weaknesses sooner, and complete his spell list of Fire and Wind spells. Beyond that, Sten needs no additional buffs, as he already threatens to break the game in half (which he deserves, given his history as a powerful and respected war commander!)

Orignally, Jean had been little more than an annoying joke you have to put up with for a whole 2 seconds before tossing him to the bench for the rest of the game. Now, he's a fantastic tank with brilliant support spells to keep your team alive better. I used him in my first run of this mod to great success, as he effortlessly kept my team healthy and strong. His Form Change, however, takes off too much of his bulk in his 2 Shaman Fusions for comfort. I stuck with just the Holy Shaman on him to keep most of his bulk intact. Truthfully, I think he loses more than he gains when his form changes, which isn't particularly good for him, as he struggles enough to find a place in teams already.

Similar to Jean, Spar was often best used as a bench warmer, as they lacked any useful spells to cast with their massive AP Pool. Maeson greatly corrected this by giving Spar better utility spells, namely Cure 3, and access to Typhoon and Missile. This makes Spar an incredibly invaluable support character, boasting every buff and Cure 3 (which is, on its own, a huge buff!), and a capable mage with Typhoon to clear out mobs for most of the game, and Missile for the end of the game. This does, however, come with the side effect of making Spar's Smurfette But Better form their best form to change into. The Seed form loses far too much speed and AP to maintain Spar's improved supportive abilities, and its Blossom command is rather risky for the last few bosses you can use this on. The Dragon form, while incredibly cool, suffers from being locked off to the end of the game (like the Seed form), and not having enough power to match the Mushroom Gal form's incredible Magic Offense (though this may be due to Spar lacking any new weapons until Infinity & the 9-TailWhip drop). Additionally, I think Spar could do with gaining the Hail spell to better deal with Wind Resistant enemies at endgame. (To other players: I highly recommend using Barose to teach Spar the Flame spell to give them better elemental coverage! a lot of enemies are weak to Fire!)

Deis, much like Nina, never saw much, if any, use across my 3 playthroughs with this mod (heck, I didn't even use her in Vanilla). However, despite never using her, I do greatly appreciate Maeson's efforts to balance her compared to Nina so that she doesn't completely eclipse our beloved Wyndian Princess.

All in all, this mod is a tremendous improvement over vanilla Breath of Fire 2, and does wonders for the game's replayability. I highly recommend playing this mod, though I suggest playing it on its own. The Retranslation makes the menus absolutely horrible to navigate (which is a HUGE issue for spellcasters), and I personally found the Unfuse Less mod to not be worth the effort to install.

One small gripe I have to point out are some of the odd choices on places where the track "There's Something Here" was replaced and I hope Maeson changes in a future version: The Well in Capitan uses Infinity's Theme, which I initially thought was funny as that well is the hardest bit in the game prior to Infinity, in my opinion. Though, hearing Infnity's Theme again in the cavern with the Uparupas felt weird and took away from the weight of Infinity's theme. I strongly suggest changing the track in at least the Uparupa's Cave

Under SimaFort in its dungeon, the Great Bird's theme plays, which is just a really weird and off-putting place to play this theme. I suggest instead using the music that plays in Township's Well for SimaFort's dungeon.

Regardless, not having to hear the obnoxious "There's Something Here" in every other dungeon made replaying this mod a 3rd time was SUCH a tremendous improvement over vanilla, that this change alone should convince people to try this mod.

Maeson's hack removes a considerable amount of the tedium that was present in the base game. Grindiness is drastically reduced with the increased rewards and encounter rate, though may occasionally be required if you struggle a bit or choose your party a bit poorly.

Party members feel both more flexible but more specialised. Tapeta and Aspara seem to have been considerably buffed, making them far more useful. Since spells are generally reduced in cost and the element system actually seems to be more utilised, Nina can sling spells for much longer.

The shaman system increasing certain strengths AND weaknesses is a very nice touch.

I personally disagree that the background added by Ryusui makes the menu hard to read, but to his credit, Maeson has made this hack customisable.

If there's anything I'd like to see in the future for this game, it'd be a way to tweak main character names to our own preferences.

Good on the effort to breathe new life into this old game - I really want to like this as the new font is beautiful and easy on the eyes but I just can't get into it this hack because of the changes it makes to the original menu making it hardly legible at times, this takes away my interest to play this hack! The new background looks nice at a glance but I already know from using terminal transparency that backgrounds with fewer colors, especially with little to no wallpaper art is best at least when reading inside the transparency is needed and that is exactly what the original game provides!

EDIT: There is an alternate menu background hack included that looks promising from the hack screenshot page but unfortunately it was not patching through correctly and I had multiple Maeson ROMs! I hope to try this again some day it will just have to wait a little longer.

I am a huge fan of the BoF series and have played through this game a ton of times. While the game is good, there are undeniably some major issues. The main issue being how unbalanced the party members are, causing many of them to be worthless. The Maeson hack does an excellent job of re-tuning everything and really breathes new life into the game. In the vanilla game you will most likely use the same characters for everything because they are clearly the best and dread the times you're forced to play as Nina or Sten alone. However, in this hack everyone becomes viable and it totally changed how I played through the game. It is now thrilling to pick out a party and try different characters because they're all useful and contribute something meaningful to the party. Everything feels properly balanced: the monsters, the stats, the magic (and new distribution of spells). I also enjoy certain changes such as the semi-nerfing of Bleu (now takes much longer for her to get good stats/spells), and increasing the difficulty of Giant Island to prevent you from getting OP way early on. I'd say across the board pretty much everything that's been done is an improvement on the original game. This is a truly great hack and I HIGHLY recommend it. It feels like the author has a true appreciation for this game, understood the weak points and corrected/improved them in a way that both makes sense in the context of the game/lore and makes it a fun experience.

People who know me on the boards know I love this game (flaws and all)—I know it backwards and forwards, and jumped at a chance to play a rebalanced version of it. I've played through the entire original patch and found a few balance issues (which Maeson has been a real pro and fixed faster than I expected)—Long story short, whether you have played this game before ore never at all, this patch does a lot to make this game much more enjoyable!

It's difficult, even if you know how to exploit just about everything in the original (and I definitely do), but not in a cheap way. If you're willing to try out the full range of strategies the game has to offer, it is very manageable-and pretty fulfilling when you tackle some of the hidden monsters that have seen serious power increases! (Seriously, don't even attempt Giant Island until you're relatively strong-you really can't stand up to those things any more)

Still though, if you take this hack seriously and play with an eye towards preparation, it's the best version of BoF 2 out there!