GuestLog in

Very good translation but some additions are unnecessary, like the legendary Capcom logo jingle has been replaced with a horrible squashed logo, the flames on the splash screen add a cheap effect. For the translation, certain liberties taken by the author are not to my taste. But some adjustments are welcome. Unfortunately the game remains quite altered by these innovations so it's a no for me.

Pros:

• Gives some much-needed coherence to this game's travesty of a script.
• Reasonably topical (if slightly anachronistic) references.
• Dash button.
• Keeps the naming schemes consistent with later games.

Cons:

• The transparent textboxes will reveal when a character suddenly appears behind them, slightly hindering immersion.
• Some NPCs will be entirely visible through the textbox, as opposed to having a blue filter over them.

Translation oddities:

• After returning to Tapeta with the Signet Ring, Petape will ask if you've been eating roaches as a way of implying that you smell bad, despite being the princess of a kingdom that considers roaches a delicacy.
• When Spuke is explaining the machine that she intends to use on Elfarlan, she says that it draws from the power of the human soul, despite the fact that neither of them are human.
• When Tiga is questioning Ryu about his relationship with Lin, your dialogue options are worded in a slightly confusing manner.

Overall, this is still by far the best way to experience BoF2's story.

I can't say I don't recommend this because it's probably still better than the NoA-Compliant original translation, but it's apparent the translator is having a lot of fun with his own turns of phrase. "Moaning Myrtle" is a pop culture phrase that post-dates the release of the game.

I honestly consider the original translation unplayable, and this translation a godsend. The story comes alive under Ryusui's talented writing; the characters are full of personality and the emotional scenes hit hard. This is by far the definitive way to play Breath of Fire II. Unfortunately some references to BOF1 will be lost due to the lack of accurate translation for it, but those can be understood from context. This translation clears up enough nonsense and confusion from the original that it is more than worth it, anyway.

The only thing I would suggest is having the character, Aspara, be referred to in a gender-neutral manner instead of "he", since judging by official character profiles in Japanese, Aspara's a hermaphrodite and doesn't seem to have a strict gender.

In any case, a resounding thank you to Ryusui for this incredible work of art, and I highly recommend this patch to anyone looking to play or replay Breath of Fire II.

Don't get me wrong, I do agree that the English translation needed to be given a new overhaul, and I do think that Ryuusui has achieved what he wanted to achieve (such as updating English canonical terms), but even though the romhack is called a "Translation and Enhancement Patch," I feel like the majority of the "enhancements" are merely cosmetic.

When it comes to romhacks, I do prefer those that pretend to act like the real thing. But when this romhack reworks the intro-sequence and the menu screens, it kinda ruins the experience for me, reminding me that I'm playing a fan project, rather than a fan project that wants to replace the real thing.

Now I know that it's important for a romhacker to add his/her credentials to a romhack of a game. But it could've been simple, like placing his/her username to a copyright logo in the title screen, next to a copyright logo of the publisher, but the changes in aesthetics make the romhack look like it's trying to be a different game, rather than be the game that it's based on.

If I wanted to play a romhack with aesthetic changes, it would be when the vanilla product is criticized for being incomplete, like "Earthbound Beginnings." But the only thing that makes the vanilla product of Breath of Fire II feel incomplete is the English translation (and maybe difficulty and enemy-encounter rates) which I felt like the romhack should've stuck with.

Not that I mind the non-cosmetic changes like adding the dash-button or resizing the text-boxes, but it's hardly an Enhancement patch when the changes are mostly cosmetic.

If you don't mind the aesthetic changes, then this romhack still counts as a great product. But if you were hoping for a romhack that only changes the English translation, font size, or size of the text-boxes, then you might as well wait for an addendum patch to fix that, or look elsewhere.

It fixes the spots where the original gets the translation wrong. Since the original was quite bad, this hack is pretty valuable. However, I don't think the change in menu color was necessary. I also think the updated sound at the beginning of the game is unnecessary, as good as the work done on the project is. I've watched a full walkthrough of this online and played through a section of it myself.

Playthrough available here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL0TBdFbRtA&list=PLVFlHPy0Pa9v4g9tRWoC2lFrQ41HFa0qS

Okay, first off, Wow. I love how this is marketed as merely a re-translation. It so so much more than that and frankly i'm torn to whether or not this should be marketed as a full enhancement hack AND a re-translation. Ryusei and D4S really went all out on this and it shows. From renaming many characters, locations, spells, items and monsters for more consistency throughout the series, to improved text boxes, font width and font in general to an improved intro sequence and vastly elaborated script.

I only have a few gripes going through but they're nothing in comparison to the long long list of pros. Personally I would've kept Tunlan named Tunlan for consistency with Breath of Fire 1 since it is almost the exact same place. I might have slightly toned down the raunchiness but it's not too bad, just a slight contrast from the original that likely comes with elaboration.

This is undoubtedly the best version of Breath of Fire II available. It delves deeper into characters and dialogue which helps players engage and immerse further into a really charming world. I should point out also that I played with Maeson's 2x EXP & Zenny hack to make it slightly less grindy but overall a solid job. 9/10 work for sure. Thanks to all that worked on this 3

I've just played up to the final dungeon and I can't wait any longer to write a review.

I don't want to spend my time talking about how bad the original English translation is because those issues have been well documented. Suffice to say it may be the worst official translation of an eastern RPG in history, or at least among the hundred or so that I've played.

This translation however is the real deal. It's not your typical fan created fare where you have either a stilted and awkward literal rendering, crude language inserted that wasn't true to the original text, or contemporary jokes and cultural references to the time of the project that only serve to date it awkwardly. No, this is good. Ryusui has a gift for language and characterization. Everything flows. Each character has their own unique voice. The jokes are genuinely fresh and funny, not feeling dated at all. I hope Ryusui is making money doing this professionally by now because he is well equipped to compete against official translators.

To speak briefly of the story itself, this one is a winner. I honestly couldn't see that when I originally played it years ago. The themes are ahead of its time, more akin to the themes of PS1 era JRPGS. The story ties together exceedingly well where nearly every seemingly disconnected character and event end up serving the story in a powerful and endearing way. I remember feeling that way about the then underrated Breath of Fire 3 years ago but I'm delighted to now have another BOF that stands right with it. Overall it's a great game. You have to be like I am and have the patience for a little grinding but the payoff is there.

Since I always end with a touch of constructive feedback, I do have something to note. This has nothing to do with Ryusui's work but is written so that maybe someone out there with the skills could take on the project. We need to fix the bug where the dragon elements don't function. It's not a huge impact to the game as is but it just makes me crazy and I'd love to see it fixed.

Thanks for reading!

I've played both the SNES and GBA versions and I've been disappointed in the translation of BOFII. This hack is what the actual English release should've been. I'd prefer a patch on GBA as well but seeing as the SNES had a far superior soundchip and no hassle over a backlit screen, I'd say there is no use in having a GBA hack of the same nature.

Plus, Through Fire and Flames was a beautiful addition. If this was the official Breath of Fire II release, it would've been the best JRPG on the system.

Breath of Fire 2 is my favorite game ever, but the translation was always a hot mess. More than a few portions of the game were nigh impossible to figure out what to do next without a guide, and so much text was incredibly vague due to font limitations.

This hack changes all of that and then some. While the core mechanics and plot of the game are unchanged, this translation fixes almost every problem I've ever had with this game. Apply it, and you absolutely have my definitive edition of BoF2

Never play the game without it ever again!

I've said for a long time that this was one of the best titles for the SNES. I have played through this game on many occasions in the past. But as I got older, the game didn't get older with me. As an adult, the original translation is incredibly amateurish and at times just stupid. Certain references didn't make any sense and many of the characters dialog was childish. When I played the re-release on the GBA I was really surprised that the translation didn't get a new treatment and as a result, I played about 10 minutes of it before turning it off.

For a while now I have noticed that a fan made translation was made but the last experience with playing the game was such a disappointment that I had no real interest in checking the patch out. Now that I have, I can say that I wouldn't play this game any other way.

The patch breathes new life into this game and just makes the game more adult. Every bit of dialog has been changed, character names have been changed (some of them), just about every enemy has a new name. There are sexual references, some swearing, etc. The translation also has a lot of personality adding in some incredibly humorous dialog at times. Also characters now are far more interesting and not dull and moronic like in the old translation.

Last and not least is the new intro with excellent artwork and a song as well. It made me feel like I was playing a new game.

I can't stress enough how great this translation is. For all the old school gamers and for the ones that grew up playing the BoF series, this patch is the only way to play this game. Highly recommended!

What a fantastic piece of work! I am really trying to suppress my enthusiasm and be as objective as possible but this is really difficult if you have a work like this in front of you. The official translation is somewhat infamous and therefore this re-translation was long overdue, but what Ryusui accomplished here is more than just a translation. He kept some of the great features implemented by d4s (e.g. dash button etc,) and added some of his own (e.g. multiple patches for those who want to keep d4s's new game intro or those who prefer the original title screen etc.). If you liked the allegorical tones of religion/collectivism vs atheism/individualism in "Breath of Fire III" this patch is a must, since they are also present in "Breath of Fire II" and with this version now restored back to their full glory. Finally a translation of "Breath of Fire II" that clearly shows, why this game is one of the BIG RPGs of the SNES-era! If you have played to official version and left the game unsatisfied try this patch and you might start to reconsider your previous opinion. If you have not played "Breath of Fire II" yet, this is the perfect opportunity to meet an outstanding gem among RPGs.