History Videogame / BreathOfFireDragonQuarter

* BonusBoss: The final challenge the BonusDungeon Kokon Horay has is [[spoiler:Dva, another D-Construct. Unlike Odjin and Chetyre, Dva is very much alive. That Dva is the most powerful foe in the game even though he still bears the wounds from the battle that left him imprisoned -- he even has swords still impaled in him -- shows just how powerful the D-Constructs truly are.]]

Dragon Quarter's most interesting gameplay mechanic is the SOL (Scenario Overlay) system. Among other things, this allows you to perform a "SOL Restart" whenever you get overwhelmed. This is a kind of NewGamePlus which doesn't require beating the game to take advantage of. This mechanic actually ''encourages'' you to start over; rather than starting from scratch, giving up and SOL Restarting allows you to retain all your equipment, combat skills, and any experience that hasn't already been allocated (the game features "Party XP" in addition to regular experience points, which you can allot as you like). There's also a "SOL Restore" option that takes you to your last hard save instead of the beginning of the game. You an do either at any time or if you die, but you lose half your Party Xp and Zenny if you die.

Dragon Quarter's most interesting gameplay mechanic is the SOL (Scenario Overlay) system. Among other things, this allows you to perform a "SOL Restart" whenever you get overwhelmed. This is a kind of NewGamePlus which doesn't require beating the game to take advantage of. This mechanic actually ''encourages'' you to start over; rather than starting from scratch, giving up and SOL Restarting allows you to retain all your equipment, combat skills, and any experience that hasn't already been allocated (the game features "Party XP" in addition to regular experience points, which you can allot as you like). There's also a "SoL Restore" option that takes you to your last hard save instead of the beginning of the game. You an do either at any time or if you die, but you lose half your Party Xp and Zenny if you die.

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: The entire game teaches you that overuse of the various Dragon abilities can net you a NonStandardGameOver, so that you're more hesitant to use any of them without good reason. [[spoiler: To overcome the final fight against a transformed Bosch, both Ryu and the player have to throw hesitation and caution to the wind and ''overextend'' the D-Counter to '''200%''' to overpower the BeamOfWar.]]

* YouAreNumberSix: Everyone, save for people who are fugitives from justice (Lin and the rest of Trinity), the Regents, or those unfortunates so low on the totem pole as to be legally considered experimental animals (hello, Nina) have a D-ratio officially as part of their name.
** These D-ratios are invariably one over a power of two (Ryu's 1/8192 and Bosch's 1/64), and even characters who don't have them as parts of their names have them (Regents are usually 1/4, the dragons themselves are 1/2, the legendary dragons that destroyed the surface were 1/1, or two to the zeroth power).

** These D-ratios are invariably one over a power of two (Ryu's 1/8192 and Bosch's 1/8), and even characters who don't have them as parts of their names have them (Regents are usually 1/4, the dragons themselves are 1/2, the legendary dragons that destroyed the surface were 1/1, or two to the zeroth power).

Dragon Quarter's most interesting gameplay mechanic is the SOL (Scenario Overlay) system. Among other things, this allows you to perform a "SOL Restart" whenever you get overwhelmed. This is a kind of NewGamePlus which doesn't require beating the game to take advantage of. This mechanic actually ''encourages'' you to start over; rather than starting from scratch, giving up and SOL Restarting allows you to retain all your equipment, combat skills, and any experience that hasn't already been allocated (the game features "Party XP" in addition to regular experience points, which you can allot as you like). The relatively short length of the game (about 10 hours, give or take, for a complete run) further facilitates this. Depending on how far you went on your last run, you'll see new cutscenes that reveal previously hidden details. Though the plot makes perfect sense without them, they are important for a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the story. In addition, beating the game increases your D-ratio for subsequent attempts, with the D-ratio rising each time you clear the game, though for story purposes, you are always considered a "low-D". This allows you to open previously inaccessible new areas, and even gain access to better equipment that might be found in them.

Making this more relevant is the D-Counter, a timer that starts when Ryu bonds with his dragon, and which is constantly counting down to his eventual death, speeding up dramatically if he uses any of his [[GameBreaker utterly broken draconic powers]]. While you are allowed to suspend your game through quicksaves, permanent save files could only be created [[FakeDifficulty through the use of rare save tokens]], giving the game an extra layer of NintendoHard difficulty. In addition, if Ryu dies due to his counter maxing out, there is no SOL Restart option offered; you must simply start the game over from scratch.

* ResetButton: The SOL: Restore function. You restart the game carrying over your D-Ratio, items and skill.
* RewatchBonus: A variant. Since certain cutscenes only trigger if your D-Ratio number is high enough, you will only be able to view them all by using the ResetButton.

** Every single dragon in the game has literal numbers (in Russian) as names, based on powers of two. Yes, even Odjn; technically 2 to the zeroth power is 1.

* TurnUndead: One of the weapons Nina can use, HolyHeart, has a unique spell that can't be obtained via chests or stealing from opponents called Kyrie, which is a level three spell that will kill all undead enemies within her vicinity in one hit.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: While the other games in the series are more of a traditional EasternRPG, this is a game with Survival Horror Elements.