Breath of Death VII: The Beginning – Reanimated is a full ground-up remake of the Xbox 360 game that completely overhauls the visuals and makes numerous changes and tweaks to the game based on feedback received over the years. This is a fast paced game and very condensed compared to other indie RPGs, but the charm in the game was always less about the adventure and more about the the characters and their conversations. There is a narrative here, but it is not a major part of the game and is just a means of fleshing out the characters and their interactions.
This is a short game, as mentioned and can be completed in about three hours, but the experience will leave you feeling more satisfied than if you had played a sixty hour game where nothing really happens. The plot here is about a ghost historian named Sara who hired the mute skeleton named Dem to be her bodyguard, and from there the party grows with Lita and Erik, a vampire and zombie royalty respectively, and their interactions are the biggest draw of the game.
The plot of Breath of Death VII is that an apocalyptic event wiped out humanity and now the undead live in the towns and work to rebuild the world. It sounds very interesting, but it is window dressing to a very compact game. The NPCs do not contribute much, but it does give the game its own identity. As stated, it is the main characters who are the draw here and their humourous interactions with each other, and the relationship that grows over the game is well though out and the back and forth dialogue is really well done.
Now this is a remake and so things have been changed around here. The visuals, as mentioned, have undergone a massive overhaul compared to the basic visuals of the original. Now everything looks great with fantastic environments, improved character art, and even improved battles. In the original game, the battles were straight out of an early RPG with a plain black background , but now the battles have extremely well done backgrounds, all of which will reflect the different terrain the battles take place in. There is also an entirely new soundtrack from HyperDuck Soundworks and new quality-of-life features that improve the overall experience.
The battles work like those in titles from Zeboyd Games, which originally published this game before the developers went their separate ways, and work by building up a combo before unleashing stronger attacks Each character has their own skills, as well as standard and magical attacks as well as Unite attacks, and you can do a lot of experimenting here to deliver truly devastating attacks. Of course, leveling up is a major part of the game as you can alter and upgrade your states to perfect your skills and create the build you like.
Also new to Reanimated, as new modes, such as Dragonduck Mode. Dragonduck mode is a new quest for Dem and will be very welcome for those wanting more from the game. That is not all though, as there is now Hard Mode+, which gives a much harder version of the game, thus ensuring there is a good amount of replay value. In fact, while the main story is only three hours long, the new content will triple that and remain fun the whole time.
It may sound like Breath of Death VII: The Beginning – Reanimated is a small game, and that may be true, but I would rather a game like this that keeps me entertained the whole time, rather than a large game that is repetitive and boring. The characters are well thought out and the price of entry is low, making this a great experience. What we have with, Breath of Death VII: The Beginning – Reanimated is a fantastic remake that improved on the original in every way and provides nonstop fun for the few hours it lasts. And that is all I could want from this title from Shadow Layer Games. This one is highly recommended.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
