History VideoGame / BreathOfFireII

* BlindIdiotTranslation: A famous example, to boot; this game came as close to a TranslationTrainWreck as is possible without becoming totally incoherent.

* BrokenAesop:
** There's a touching scene with Katt/Lin/Rinpoo (depending on translation), where she [[spoiler:explains to Tiga that people don't just fall in love at first sight. Then it turns out that Ganer and Valerie, Ryu's parents, fell in love at first sight]].
** [[spoiler:Since we never really see how long Ganer and Valerie dated before they got married, the point may be that it's not good to rush things, especially with love-at-first-sight cases. After all, Tiga practically proposed to Katt the very second he laid eyes on her, which Ganer did ''not'' do.]]

* {{Glamour}} / MassHypnosis: Evrai seems like a utopia full of happy citizens. [[spoiler:Try to leave, however, and they're revealed to be muttering, brainwashed puppets.]]

-->--'''Intro Narration'''

The second entry into the long-running and popular Franchise/BreathOfFire Japanese RolePlayingGame series. It was released for the [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] in December 1994 in Japan and December 1995 for North America. It was later ported to the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance in December 2001 in Japan, April 2002 for North America and June 2002 for Europe. It includes updated {{Character Portrait}}s, a dash button, upgraded graphics for the menu screens, a trade option between games (with a few bonus items) and a re-balancing of Exp/Money given by enemies.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Much more so than the first '{{'VideoGame/Breath of Fire|I}}'' game. Heck, this trope applies when comparing ''Breath of Fire II'' to a lot of SNES games at the time.

* BoringButPractical: Chopchop[=/=]Slice only does around 60 damage, but it’s consistent, defense-piercing damage that doesn’t miss, and there’re several late-game monsters that have low HP and high defense who fall very quickly to it.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Much more so than the first ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireI'' game. Heck, this trope applies when comparing ''Breath of Fire II'' to a lot of SNES games at the time.

* FantasticVoyagePlot: A wizard shrinks the party in order for them to enter the body of Tunlan's Queen, who is growing obese due to the demons inside her.

* LeotardOfPower: They actually have an armor called [=LeotrdCL=], wearable by the female characters. It's not very protective, though. [[note]]Apparently, "[=CL=]" stands for either "Cloth" or "Clothing"[[/note]]

** Makes some sense in-series as, unlike the other Ryus of the series, Ryu Bateson is a [[HalfHumanHybrid half-breed]] with a weakened connection to the dragon genes. As is explained in-game, interbreeding with other clans can lead to loss of clan abilities and eventually leads to future generations becoming Clanless (i.e. humans). It's a well-established piece of lore in the series, and it's made clear it applies when Nina has her little talk with an old friend...

* NPCBoomVillage: The "Township" sidequest is about turning the run down house Ryu and Bow hide out in at the start into a full village. This is done by rescuing carpenters in an early story quest, and finding [=NPCs=] to move in (and provide services). To get the best ending, [[spoiler:you must find a hidden machine under the town, recruit the right NPC to restore it, and rescue a certain character to power it; this allows the entire settlement to ''fly''.]]

* PlotlineDeath: [[spoiler:Tiga and Claris.]]

* ReligionOfEvil: Played with [[spoiler:the Church of St. Eva]]. While it's secretly bad to the bone, its believers (and many of its puppet preachers) genuinely believe it's as good and noble as they were told.

* TheWanderingYou: This game features long treks across the world map in general, but the worst case happens when you reach Capitan and save the townspeople there. Ray wants to reward you with a blessing, so you have to go back to your hideout... at the other end of the continent. Once you have the blessing, you have to walk back to Capitan, where Sana the Fire Shaman drags the main character off for some [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything private business involving "uniting"]]. When you've finished setting the house on fire, you get back to town and a man says your friends got bored and walked back to the hideout on their own. You're then (thankfully!) warped back home and told to get a carpenter... from Capitan. Once you get there for the ''third'' time and hire a carpenter, you're finally allowed to move on with the plot. Fortunately, not too long afterwards you'll start to gather alternative transport methods that save a ''lot'' of frustration.

* SevenDeadlySins: An interpretation of the major demons fought throughout the game.
** Deathevan, the final boss, is a creature of pure wrath, who wishes to make the world suffer as his mother, Myria, desired, and to punish them for what they did to her.
** Augus desires suffering and mayhem in the gladiator arena, showing bloodlust
** Joker sexually lusts after Nina, wanting her to submit both her magic and herself to him.
** Trout not only hires thieves to steal, but he'll even steal zenny from the player during the boss fight.
** Kuwadora's plan is to destroy all of the Creeping Clan so they can feel his wrath.
** Ringmaster John wants to feed Spar to a demon both because Spar doesn't make money and because he enjoys the carnage.
** Shupkay is extremely envious of the other clans since they live in fertile territory, whereas she lives in a desert.
** The Queen of Tunlan was a gluttonous creature that desired nothing but to consume. Ryu and his party kill the demons inside of her before she becomes a full demon.
** Arumahel inspires sloth and forgetfulness in creatures he infects, even causing all of Gate to forget Ganer, Yua, and Ryu.
** Habruku is a prideful man who gloats of his sinister accomplishments as the head of the St. Eva church.
** The eighth deadly sin, Despair, also makes an appearance with [[spoiler:Father Ganer]], who begs for death in his despair. [[spoiler:Sparing him can net the player the good ending]]
** The only demon who doesn't fit the mold is Barubary, who is a creature of fear. [[spoiler:Of all the demons, he's the only one with a code of honor]].

** Yet ''another'' example: Finding all six of the elemental shamans. Using these can power up your characters drastically, but only two of them are encountered in the course of normal play, and of the remaining four, only one (Shin) fails to qualify for this trope, and you get her right before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Seso is at least possible to run into by chance... Except that when you do, she's TakenForGranite, and good luck remembering to go back for her after you lift the curse on everyone in the tower. Solo requires you to donate 2000Z to Namanda, when the game only lets you donate 100Z at a time - the only hint you're given is a wise tree telling you to "be generous with your donations!" and it's entirely probable for a player to miss this tree altogether. The worst part is that Solo won't even show up until after [[spoiler:you level the St. Eva Church]], in a place the player is less than likely to return to, and if you didn't donate 2000Z by this point, Solo is [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]]. And the last shaman, Seny, somehow manages to be even worse - randomly showing up in a dungeon the player beat three hours ago, with no indication whatsoever that anything is different there. This, by the way, is the second method of finding Seny - the first method[[note]]The hallway before Seny's room has two arrow switches on the floor you need to press to access different rooms. To access Seny, you need to press the right arrow switch to expand the hall as far as you can, then step onto it again and stay there for five minutes to make the fall expand a final time.[[/note]] is such utter GuideDangIt that it took the playerbase '''fifteen years''' after the game's release to find it. If this isn't indicative of ''II'' taking GuideDangIt up to eleven, nothing is.

** Yet ''another'' example: Finding all six of the elemental shamans. Using these can power up your characters drastically, but only two of them are encountered in the course of normal play, and of the remaining four, only one (Shin) fails to qualify for this trope, and you get her right before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Seso is at least possible to run into by chance... Except that when you do, she's TakenForGranite, and good luck remembering to go back for her after you lift the curse on everyone in the tower. Solo requires you to donate 2000Z to Namanda, when the game only lets you donate 100Z at a time - the only hint you're given is a wise tree telling you to "be generous with your donations!" and it's entirely probable for a player to miss this tree altogether. The worst part is that Solo won't even show up until after [[spoiler:you level the St. Eva Church]], in a place the player is less than likely to return to, and if you didn't donate 2000Z by this point, Solo is [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]]. And the last shaman, Seny, somehow manages to be even worse - randomly showing up in a dungeon the player beat three hours ago, with no indication whatsoever that anything is different there. This, by the way, is the second method of finding Seny - the first method is such utter GuideDangIt that it took the playerbase '''fifteen years''' after the game's release to find it. If this isn't indicative of ''II'' taking GuideDangIt up to eleven, nothing is.

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: In some events, you take control of Sten, then Nina, and then [[spoiler: Ryu's mother Valerie]].

** Second, and more disturbing: The citizens of Evrai, [[spoiler: who, when not mindlessly and joyfully praising St. Eva, are little more than {{Empty Shell}}s incapable of independent thought and action, with their ability to communicate cut down to vague mutterings of distress using as few words as possible.]]

* AsianCleaverFever: About midway through the game, you visit a restaurant where [[spoiler: they try to cook and serve you]]. This trope is in full effect -- albeit mostly by implication due to LimitedAnimation -- as each strike of Chef [=WildCat's=] cleaver slashes you multiple times. You even have the option of being taught the move "Chop-Chop", which is pretty much this trope as an attack, by the chef after defeating him.

* BerserkButton: You do NOT mess with Ryu's friends. EVER. [[spoiler: Not even if you are God.]]

** There's a touching scene with Katt/Lin/Rinpoo (depending on translation), where she [[spoiler: explains to Tiga that people don't just fall in love at first sight. Then it turns out that Ganer and Valerie, Ryu's parents, fell in love at first sight]].

* CaveBehindTheFalls: One waterfall near [=SimaFort=] hides a cave containing [[spoiler: a hermit who teaches Ryu the second-level Dragon transformations]]. [[GuideDangIt Good luck finding out about it without looking at a guide]].
* ChekhovsGun: Arguably [[spoiler: the Township itself]], for a role it will play in the true ending of the game.

* CorruptChurch: [[spoiler: Evrai can be seen as this]]. ''Breath of Fire II'' is one of the first games to pull this trope off effectively.

* CrystalDragonJesus: The church of St. Eva worships one. [[spoiler: Or rather, [[PathOfInspiration they worship an arch-demon]] ''[[PathOfInspiration pretending]]'' [[PathOfInspiration to be one.]]]]

* DeathOfPersonality: The reason why being transformed into a "[[GiantFlyer Great Bird]]" is a heroic sacrifice [[spoiler: when Mina does it in Nina's place]]. To quote one NPC [paraphrased]:

* EarlyGameHell: This game doesn't really hold your hand after the DistantPrologue finishes; after being thrust into the shoes of Ryu and Bow, heading out into the overworld and to your destination ''will'' result in you getting slaughtered in no time flat. Most guides recommend you're at least level 10 before entering the first cave, and you have to grind a bit more from there for Bow to get some healing magic to make things more bearable. Then you lose Bow [[spoiler: for an entire third of the story]], and you have to barely survive with only Ryu to the next party member before things ''finally'' begin to even out.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* GlobalAirship: The Great Bird, and later [[spoiler: Township]].
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: The entire point of the [[spoiler: St. Eva]] scam.

** Avoiding the BittersweetEnding requires finding a certain NPC to live in your new village, saving [[spoiler: the old man strapped to the Eye Machine boss]], and finding the hidden control room under the village. Miss the first, you'll never know what the third does. Miss the second, you'll never get the third to work. You'll not get a single hint as to what it does until you've already got it working.

** Another example involves a secret character: [[spoiler: Bleu/Deis, a recurring character from the first game.]] Sure, finding this character isn't as hard as some of the others on the page, but it's still a GuideDangIt in its own right. The search involves two simple steps: First, you have to walk into a random (albeit marked) spot in the middle of a desert to find an empty abode, containing little more than two unhelpful spirits that simply proclaim that "[their] master is away". Then, you're expected to visit a building in the first town -- one that you've had almost no business in since the start of the game -- and talk to a random NPC within, who inexplicably transforms into [[spoiler: Bleu]]. Considering that said character is met at a high level (relative to the level you're expected to be when you first enter the aforementioned desert) and knows a ton of powerful magic, pulling this off [[GameBreaker makes things considerably easier.]]
** Yet ''another'' example: Finding all six of the elemental shamans. Using these can power up your characters drastically, but only two of them are encountered in the course of normal play, and of the remaining four, only one (Shin) fails to qualify for this trope, and you get her right before TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Seso is at least possible to run into by chance... Except that when you do, she's TakenForGranite, and good luck remembering to go back for her after you lift the curse on everyone in the tower. Solo requires you to donate 2000Z to Namanda, when the game only lets you donate 100Z at a time - the only hint you're given is a wise tree telling you to "be generous with your donations!" and it's entirely probable for a player to miss this tree altogether. The worst part is that Solo won't even show up until after [[spoiler: you level the St. Eva Church]], in a place the player is less than likely to return to, and if you didn't donate 2000Z by this point, Solo is [[PermanentlyMissableContent lost forever]]. And the last shaman, Seny, somehow manages to be even worse - randomly showing up in a dungeon the player beat three hours ago, with no indication whatsoever that anything is different there. This, by the way, is the second method of finding Seny - the first method is such utter GuideDangIt that it took the playerbase '''fifteen years''' after the game's release to find it. If this isn't indicative of ''II'' taking GuideDangIt up to eleven, nothing is.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Sten fakes us out of one, then Nina gets robbed of hers by Mina. Just after you enter Evrai, the amount of sacrifices is considerably increased; Tiga and Ray go down for your sake, followed by Rand's attempt only for his mother to switch places with him, and Ganer is more than willing but it depends on you; some time later it's Valerie's turn so you can progress; and finally Ryu has two different situations: one in which everyone is willing but he must ''not'' sacrifice a friend, and the last one in the [[MultipleEndings normal ending]] where he takes up his mother's place.]]

* HolyPipeOrgan: The village church theme, "Please, God", is a rather soothing organ piece. [[spoiler: It serves as a stark contrast to "[[OminousPipeOrgan Decadence of God]]", which is heard after the Church's true nature is revealed.]]

* HumanResources: There are several ancient machines powered by draining life energy. [[spoiler: One under Evrai, in which Ryu's father has been imprisoned, one in Highfort, which the princess must be rescued from, and one under the Township, which Ryu's father [[HeroicSacrifice insists on powering]] if you rescue him, allowing Township to fly.]]
* IHaveNoSon: Windia's royal family has disowned Nina. Her mother refuses to acknowledge they're even related. [[spoiler: They were supposed to kill Nina because of a prophecy about a black-winged royal bringing destruction to Windia. Instead, they sent her to [=HomeTown=] when she was a little girl, and they faked her death to ensure that she would be safe]].

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The trope that sets the plot into action. Later, you get to meet the guy who fired the laser [[spoiler: and kick his face in]].
* LastOfHerKind: Katt thinks she's one, as she's not seen any other [[BeastMan Woren]] around. [[spoiler: Tiga later explains to her that there are a very few of them scattered all over the world.]]

* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: Patty is actually Yua, Ryu's sister]]. This is barely alluded to, with only one quick line ("[[spoiler: I want my brother!"]]) despite being a central aspect of the TheDragon's plan, and is never followed up. See WhatHappenedToTheMouse.

* MobileMenace: Teleportation is the ''only'' possible explanation for Habaruku serving as both leader of the St. Eva church ''and'' [[spoiler: priest of a tiny backwater village on another continent]]. For ten years. (Granted, the game ''does'' have a "Warp" spell.)

* MyMasterRightOrWrong: Ray knows that [[spoiler: the Church of St. Eva is bad]], but fights you anyway out of loyalty to his adopted father.

* PlotlineDeath: [[spoiler: Tiga and Claris.]]

* ReligionOfEvil: Played with [[spoiler: the Church of St. Eva]]. While it's secretly bad to the bone, its believers (and many of its puppet preachers) genuinely believe it's as good and noble as they were told.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: It doesn't matter if you think you're God: [[spoiler: if you kill his friends in front of him, Ryu ''will'' bring you down, no matter how many explosions you throw at him.]]
* SaintlyChurch: The Dragon Clan and their religious beliefs. There's something very Literature/BookOfRevelation-y about the story, with the people ignoring the benevolent deity and [[spoiler: worshiping a demon who poses as one]].

** One happens as a SecretTestOfCharacter. To obtain the ultimate power of Anfini, Ryu is told he must sacrifice one of his party members. [[spoiler: The correct choice is to refuse to sacrifice any of them.]]
** In the best ending, [[spoiler: Ryu is told that [[BigBad Deathevan]] [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil may return]], so he prepares to sacrifice himself by using his dragon form to seal the entrance to the underworld just as his mother did (which is what happens in the bittersweet ending). Then Ryu's father shows up and [[ColonyDrop drops]] [[FloatingContinent Township]] [[ColonyDrop onto the gate]], burying it completely.]]
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Not only is it actually a running theme in the game about how far Ryu will go for his friends, or how far they are willing to go for him in return, [[spoiler: it also turns out that this is the true power of Anfini: to revive all of Ryu's friends after being killed by Deathevn so they can help in the final battle.]]

** Foods that permanently boost certain stats by 1 point each[[note]]Dinker, GutsBL, LuckCndy, MisoSoup, PwrFood, & Stamina[[/note]] can be made from items bought in the item shop in Guntz, plus maybe some fish that you can buy from Daiye if you recruited him for your town. If one doesn't mind the monotony of stocking up on supplies and cooking over and over again, then you can max out your party's stats, regardless of level, by the game's halfway point.

* PowerUpFood: Biscuits (a fairly easy item to make) will permanently boost one character's stats by +1 per biscuit. If one doesn't mind grinding to get the proper ingredients, you can max out your party's stats, regardless of level, by the game's halfway point.

* UglyGuyHotWife: Ryu and Patty's parents. Their mom is a hot young winged woman who can turn into a gigantic dragon and their dad, while not necessarily ugly, is a normal old human:[[http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/2/2e/958876-bof2_ganer_super.jpg Ganer official artwork]] / [[http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/4/4b/Valerie.jpg Valerie official artwork]].