Breath of Fire IV: Difference between revisions

As the story progresses, and our heroes travel all over the world, it becomes clear that Ryu and Fou-lu's destinies are intricately entwined and key to Ryu's memories.

* [[Adaptation Dye Job]]: The [[Grand Finale]] in the manga, when Ryu {{spoiler|fuses with Fou-Lu, but like in the game's [[Good Ending]], he is the dominant persona; Nina remarks that his hair is now the same (color) as Fou-Lu's, he became a [[White-Haired Pretty Boy]], while in the game, he became blond}}.

* [[Adaptation Expansion]]: The manga adaptation of ''Breath of Fire IV'', again. Arguably a case of [[Adaptation Expansion]] resulting from a double-dose of [[Adaptation Distillation]], in fact (from both the original ''[[Breath of Fire]] IV'' and [[Expanded Universe]] material from its official artbookart book).

* [[All There in the Manual]]: This is pretty extensive;: huge amounts of backgrounder info [http://www.dragon-tear.net/newnmk/?it=bof/bof4ssmisc.html only appear in the artbook].<ref>The bits not yet incorporated into other media involve who summoned Fou-lu, clan origins, and the fact there have been literally four World Wars with no permanent armistice.</ref>

* [[Bag of Sharing]]: At one point, the player gets to control Ershin alone, and she gets the whole inventory, even though the rest of the part is out adventuring (and has access to it the moment the player retakes control of it).

** Averted with Fou-Lu's segments, where he has his own inventory. Which makes things a bit harder, since he can't buy anything, and healing items are incredibly rare in his areas.

* [[Big Bad]]: Fou-Lu, to the party. {{spoiler|The man responsible for almost everything behind the scenes, including Elina's abduction, is actually Lord Yuna.}}.

* [[Big No]]: {{spoiler|Cray, after seeing just what Yuna did to Elina.}}.

* [[Bilingual Bonus]]: Names rendered in kanji were [http://www.dragon-tear.net/forum/printthread.php?t=7371 renamed to their Korean hanja readings] for international versions. The puns still stay intact. Also, both the original Japanese name {{spoiler|Master}} and the [[Dub Name Change]] to Ershin count (in fact, the reason for the [[Dub Name Change]] was to preserve the [[Bilingual Bonus]]—in... in another language; the original [[Bilingual Bonus]] was in English).

* [[Blood From the Mouth]]: In one of the few notably controversial scenes ''not'' censored, Fou-lu has [[Blood From the Mouth]] in an overt bloody [[Vomit Indiscretion Shot]] after his {{spoiler|Hex Cannoning.}}. It's implied this may be actually a bit of [[Fantastic Nuke|Fantastic Radiation Poisoning.]].

* [[Body Horror]]: {{spoiler|Elina}} reaches nightmarish levels. {{spoiler|She is kidnapped, turned into an artificial endless by Yuna, and used as the engine for the Hex Cannon.}}.

** Several scenes were completely removed from the North American version: one where Ursula drops her pants to prove she's a woman, a scene in which {{spoiler|Fou-lu decapitates Soniel--... which ''itself'' was only shown in Japan via a [[Gory Discretion Shot]]/black-on-red [[Shadow Discretion Shot]]}}, a filler scene where Ryu [[Accidental Pervert|spies on the girls while they bathe]], and and another where he accidentally grabs Ursula's breast.

** The massive incidents of bowdlerization in the international version of ''Breath of Fire IV'' are particularly puzzling (regarding Scias and the [[Aborted Arc]] Via Censorship), considering the game was released for a platform specifically known for being friendly to controversial games.<ref>atAt the time ''Breath of Fire IV'' was released on the Playstation, there had already been a number of considerably more violent and bloody (and controversial) games that saw print; also, Sony was explicitly promoting itself to developers that, unlike Nintendo, it did ''not'' have restrictive "morality rules" on content.</ref> Worse yet, no other games have similarly been censored (save for Cupid's sex change); most infamously, ''Breath of Fire II'' got away with practically ''everything'' that was censored in ''Breath of Fire IV''. In other words, there really is no logical reason why it went through a Nintendo-esque hack job (not even fear of an "M" rating from ratings boards).

* [[Can't Drop the Hero]]: Subverted. While Ryu ''does'' have to remain in your party while moving around outside of battle, you're not required to use him in battle once you've got more than 3three characters in your party.

* [[Cast from Hit Points]]: The "Blitz" skill consumes 25% of the user's current HP to inflict damage. The "Disembowel" and "Deathbringer" skills cost 10% of the user's ''maximum'' HP, even [[Useless Useful Spell|when they fail to work]]. (Maximummaximum HP can be restored, but only at a ''genuine'' [[Trauma Inn]]; resting at camp won't do.).

* [[Chain of Deals]]: Various characters will exchange "Ball" items (Lead Ball, Copper Ball, etc.) throughout the game. This becomes useful when apprenticing under Marlok, who rewards the player with new skills depending on which ball the player has acquired.

* [[Con Lang]]: The [http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/196818/15263 PabPab language] in ''Breath of Fire IV'' (which is also used as a [[Cypher Language]] in a sub-plot).

** Per [[Word of God|Word Of Capcom]] the PabPab language is largely comprised of combinations of English prefixes and Japanese suffixes—thussuffixes... thus counting as a potential [[Bilingual Bonus]] for speakers of both English and Japanese.

* [[Dead Hat Shot]]: {{spoiler|How Fou-lu discovered that Mami was the [[Human Resources|human ammo]] in the [[Fantastic Nuke|Carronade]]--: specifically by seeing her hair-bells fall out of the sky shortly after he himself had been Hex Nuked. Quite possibly one of the most tragic [[Dead Hat Shot]] moments depicted, in fact, because it's ''also'' the point Fou-lu goes [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]] and decides [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]].}}. And yes, the manga turns it up to a ''major'' [[Tear Jerker]] that involves ''Ryu'' as well.

* [[Despair Event Horizon]]: {{spoiler|Mami's death is the [[Despair Event Horizon]] that throws Fou-lu to being a full-blown [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]]; the death of the Chek summoners is the [[Despair Event Horizon]] that throws Ryu into a [[Heroic BSOD]] that unleashes the Kaiser Dragon.}}.

** In the manga adaptation, {{spoiler|this is ''especially'' brought home;: Mami's death ends up a [[Despair Event Horizon]] twice for Fou-lu, and after Ryu's [[Unstoppable Rage|Kaiser Dragon RAGE]], he literally breaks down sobbing in Nina's arms asking why [[Humans Are the Real Monsters|Humans Are Bastards]] to each other. Elina's [[Mercy Killing]] is especially' portrayed as a [[Despair Event Horizon]] for Cray and Nina as well (the latter being shellshocked, the former nearly suffering a [[Heroic BSOD]] himself).}}.

* [[Dragons Up the Yin-Yang]]: Dragons ''are'' the YinYang. [http://80.manmankan.com/200906/569/19027/09611631087146.jpg Literally.].{{Dead link}}

** This is not counting the "Static Heaven" ''bagua'' in the final stage, nor is this counting [http://www.dragon-tear.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12019 designs in Fou-lu's clothing]. Suffice it to say that ''Breath of Fire IV'' is about as subtle as a brick with this trope.

* [[Duel Boss]]: Nina vs. Joh early in the game.

** Depicted ''much'' more blatantly in the [[Comic Book Adaptation]] of ''Breath of Fire IV'' {{spoiler|where the Dragon Eyes are explicitly depicted as [[Hellish Pupils]]; Fou-lu and Deis have them constantly, and Ryu gets them when his Dragon Eye activate. This even goes to the extent of ''Rhem'' having [[Hellish Pupils]] when she is "ridden"/possessed by Deis, as well as an [[Affectionate Parody]] in the "behind the cover" 4-koma comics included in the manga.}}.

* [[Exposition Cut]]: Pretty much constant in the first section. Nina explains the situation established in the opening cutscene to Ryu when they seek shelter in a cave for the night using this trope, then they explain things in the same way to Cray when they return to the crash site, then they explain things to the Woren elders when {{spoiler|Cray is arrested.}}.

* [[Fantastic Nuke]]: The Empire's Hex Cannon, or Carronade. It is [[Word of God|explicitly]] powered by a "sacrifice", using {{spoiler|all the nightmares, terrors, and fears of a person ''tortured to insanity''}} as ammunition.

** And then there's General Yohm's order to use the Carronade against Fou-Lu himself: The revelation that they used {{spoiler|Mami}} to power it was the [[Wafer-Thin Mint|final straw]] that pushed Fou-Lu [[Kill'Em All|over the edge]].

** [[The Hero]] -: Ryu.

** [[The Lancer]] -: Cray (interestingly, he has the looks and abilities of [[The Big Guy]], but his personality fits this trope better).

** [[The Smart Guy]]/[[Robot Buddy]] -: Ershin.

** [[The Big Guy]] -: Scias (he has very few lines and no plot significance after he formally joins, serving only as an extra fighter).

** [[The Chick]] -: Nina.

** [[Sixth Ranger]] -: Ursula.

* [[Flying Seafood Special]]: Skulfish, the first boss in the game. Flying... Flyfish are also seen above the clouds when the party visits the Wind Dragon.

* [[Foreshadowing]]: In Wychwood, some faeries attempt to play tricks on the party, resulting in one faerie receiving a headbutt from Ershin. This surprises the fairies, who claim mortals shouldn't be able to see them. {{spoiler|Ershin, we eventually learn, is indeed no mortal, but rather an Endless named Deis}}.

* [[Forever War]]: The conflict between the Fou Empire and the Alliance in ''Breath of Fire IV''. The two continents have been in a Cold War that has lasted 600 years, punctuated by ''four'' world wars and the incipient threat of a fifth.

* [[Gaiden Game]]: Two separate sidestory games in ''Breath of Fire IV'''s universe exist (''[http://www.dragon-tear.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6964 Breath of Fire IV - The Sword of Flame & the Magic of Wind]'' and ''[http://www.dragon-tear.net/forum/showpost.php?p=247192&postcount=24 Breath of Fire IV: Faeries Light Key]'') along with [[wikipedia:Mobile phone games of the Breath of Fire series|two other GaidenGamesGaiden Games]]: a spinoff of the fishing game from ''Breath of Fire IV'' (''Breath of Fire: Dragon Fisherman'') and a "Great Dalmuti"/"Millionaire"/"President"/"Asshole" game featuring characters from ''Breath of Fire IV'' (''Breath of Daifugo'').

** Unfortunately, due to the platform and carrier these were released for (Japanese smartphones using Qualcomm's BREW OS, and most of ''these'' being an exclusive to NTT's DoCoMo mobile phone network), these are, to a one, [[No Export for You]] and likely to remain so permanently.

** Of note, ''Breath of Daifugo'' and ''Breath Of Fire: Dragon Fisherman'' were co-releases with a ''[[Street Fighter]]'' [[Gaiden Game]] (a Solitaire port) and the BREW-phone version of ''[[Mega Man 2]]'' respectively, whilst the sidestory games were released at the same time as the [[Comic Book Adaptation]]; adverts within Comic Blade Avarus and the volumes published by Mag Garden included adverts for the [[Gaiden GamesGame]]s.

* [[Gory Discretion Shot]]/[[Shadow Discretion Shot]]: {{spoiler|1=The Japanese PSP's depiction of Fou-lu's decapitation of [[The Emperor|Soniel]], specifically via a "washi screen" variant showing a black-on-red silhouette.}}. And ''this'' ended up [[Bowdlerised]] in the international version. This may well be only one of two known incidents with international adaptations where a violent scene [[Bowdlerised]] in the original via [[Shadow Discretion Shot]] was ''itself'' [[Bowdlerised]] out of existence in international adaptations (the other incident involves dub adaptations of ''Yu-Gi-Oh'' for American children's television, and at least makes ''sense'' in that context).

* [[Headless Horseman]]: There are two of them in this game. One's called [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|"Horseman"]], the other's called [[Boss in Mook Clothing|"Rider."]].

* [[Healing Factor]]:

** An enemy called Trunked regenerates 15,000 HP ''per turn'', but is (quite fortunately) harmless, existing solely to practice combo attacks on. (Itsits higher-level counterpart, Trean, regenerates ''[[Up to Eleven|30,000 HP per turn]]'').

* [[Interface Spoiler]]: Talking to your party in the camp can help give you some idea of what to do next. Doing so at one particular point, however, can spoil a major plot point: {{spoiler|Ershin's usual way of ending her statements ("...says Ershin.") instead comes out "...says Deis.")}}. ''Oops.''.

* [[Iron Butt Monkey]]: Kahn is a good example. He is defeated multiple times by the party, shot off of the mast of a ship by Ursula, and his lack of fighting skill is pointed out by Una and Zig's crew. He recovers quickly from each defeat, though, and can even become a master to the party later in the game. Appropriately, his special ability gives his apprentices a chance to survive fatal blows in battle.

* [[Karma Houdini]]: One of the game's most infamous aspects is that {{spoiler|Yuna}}, who was to blame for nearly everything bad that happened, apparently was never punished. There is a bit of background behind this, which can be read in the main entry.

* [[Kill the Cutie]]: {{spoiler|Mami. Even worse, she is captured, broken by [[Cold-Blooded Torture]], and ultimately killed by being used as [[Human Resources]] in a [[Fantastic Nuke]] that is [[Powered by a Forsaken Child]] (with connections to the target).}}.

** The manga adaptation turns this [[Up to Eleven]] in a major borderline [[Stuffed Into the Fridge]] moment. {{spoiler|Including Mami's literal last words being "An-chan", a term roughly equivalent to "dear" which she uses as an affectionate term for Fou-lu, and the sound of her [[Memento MacGuffin|hair bells]] after the Carronade fires making it very obvious what happened}}...}}

* [[King in the Mountain]]: Subverted to the point of deconstruction. In essence, Fou-lu would have been the Fou Empire's prototypical [[King in the Mountain]] if [[The Empire]] had kept up its end of the bargain. Instead, Fou-lu's entire storyline in the game can be best described as "What Happens When A Country's Government Sees The Return Of Its [[King in the Mountain]] As An [[Unwanted Revival]]". It goes [[It Got Worse|poorly for all involved.]].

* [[Literal Split Personality]]: {{spoiler|Ryu and Fou-lu}}, {{spoiler|thanks to {{spoiler|a botched summoning by the Fou Empire's predecessor, and resulting in the god they called forth not only being split in two, but the half that became Ryu being temporally displaced six hundred years in the future.}}.

** Cray: {{spoiler|Beingbeing unable to return Elina to Wyndia, and in fact being forced to [[Mercy Kill|euthanise her]] after she is turned into an artificial Endless.}}. This would also apply to Nina as well.

** Ryu: {{spoiler|Beingbeing unable to stop the people of Chek from being massacred. This causes a [[Heroic BSOD]] which unleashes the Kaiser Dragon.}}.

** Fou-lu three times over: the first in realising the purpose for which he was summoned was impossible due to the [[In Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves|intrinsic nature of humanity]], the second being the fact that the empire he founded has become [[The Empire|irredemably corrupt and overtly evil]], and the third being {{spoiler|the inability to save Mami and the knowledge [[It's All My Fault|she was tortured and used as Fantastic Nuke Ammo because she loved him]].}}. The combination is enough to make him [[Go Mad from the Revelation]].

* [[Never Grew Up]]: {{spoiler|The entire town of Chek, with the possible exception of the Abbess.}}.

* [[Nice Hat]]: Yuna, Soniel and Fou-lu, in a [[Projected Man]] when he first appears to Ryu. Depicted in the official artbook, and especially in the [http://80.manmankan.com/200911/569/25863/09111611393899487.jpg manga]{{Dead link}}.

** The cover for Volume V of the manga has fun with this in giving [http://ameblo.jp/avarusblog/image-10519481830-10514529948.html both Fou-lu and Ryu] matching [[Nice HatsHat]]s.

* [[No Koreans in Japan]]: One of the [http://www.dragon-tear.net/forum/printthread.php?t=7371&pp=40 most blatant subversions for this trope] in the English localisation;localization: practically ''every'' name that appeared in kanji in the Japanese version were changed to Korean hanja readings or renamed to something in Korean (in some cases resulting in frank [[Dub Name Change]] of NPCs). Some of the internal mythology in the game is also a subversion of this.

* [[Physical God]]: Fou-Lu, {{spoiler|the other dragons, and Ryu}}.

* [[Royal We]]: Used by the Emperor Soniel of Hesperia, as appropiate. Also by Fou-Lu, though for him, it's partially justified in that {{spoiler|his soul is split in two, the other half being Ryu, so he's sort of two people at once.}}.

* [[Save the Princess]]: Deconstructed, rather harshly. {{spoiler|When you finally find the princess, she's far beyond saving}}...}}

* [[Sealed Good in a Can]]: {{spoiler|Deis trapped in Ershin's armor.}}.

* [[Split Personality Merge]]: Happens no matter [[Multiple Endings|which end-game you pick]];: it's just a matter of whether you decide that [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]].

* [[Third Person Person]]: Ershin. This becomes [[Justified Trope|justified]] once it is [[The Reveal|revealed]] who "Ershin" really is. {{spoiler|"Ershin" is what the suit of armor calls Deis.}}.

* [[Title Drop]]: The manga's long ''Utsurowazarumono - Breath of Fire IV'' title, Utsurowazarumono can be translated as ''The Endless'' or ''The Unfading Ones'', so anytime Ryu, Fou-Lu and the other Endless are mentioned in story, it also doubles as this.

* [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]]: {{spoiler|Princess Elina, who pretty much devoted her life to finding a way to end the war and promote peaceful coexistence between the continents, and consequently, was well loved by the people in the east. She was chosen by Yuna as a sacrifice ''because of this.''}}.

** The [[Comic Book Adaptation]] actually manages to elevate {{spoiler|Mami's bells}} to a frank [[Cradle of Loneliness]]. {{spoiler|In chapterChapter 19, Fou-lu is depicted cradling Mami's bells whilst [[Technically a Smile|giving a very feral smile]]; in chapterChapter 25, Ryu even points out that Mami's bells have become Fou-lu's "most treasured possession", which begins the progression from the [[Bad Ending]] to the [[Good Ending.]]}}.

* [[Trapped in Another World]]: Occurs in spades and is arguably a major theme of the game with the Endless, who were {{spoiler|summoned to this world against their will. The dragon gods have accepted their lot in life, the others are not that pleased.}}.

* [[Trauma Conga Line]]: Poor Fou-Lu... First, the Empire doesn't want him to reclaim his throne, so they send General Yohm to pursue and kill him. Repeatedly. A cute boar he befriends makes a sacrifice of itself to open an escape path for him, while the only person in the world he may have had any love for is taken prisoner by Imperial forces, {{spoiler|then tortured and used as living ammunition for the Carronade}}, before Fou takes a ''direct hit'' from the Empire's magical superweapon. No wonder he wants to [[Kill'Em All]].

* [[Twin Telepathy]]: Ryu and Fou-lu are implied to have this to a limited extent in ''Breath of Fire IV'' (though for the most part this is only explicitly noted at the game's end).

** ''Very explicitly depicted'' in the [[Comic Book Adaptation]] of ''Breath of Fire IV''; in fact, it's actually a major plot-driving force in the manga.

** Played straight and subverting the prior occurence at the same time when Ryu returns to Sonne later in the game, where Ryu is greeted as if he were the missing "Ryong", despite the fact Ryu has blue hair and no horns and a definite lack of [[Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe]]. The only plausible explanation for this is that Sonne is secretly a village of psychic farmers.

* [[Unwanted Revival]]: Fou-lu. Though technically, he never died (he's immortal), [[The Dragon|General Yohm]] explicitly states upon first meeting him that the Empire finds his resurrection "inconvenient" and that they'd rather him "rest a little longer" in his tomb.

* [[Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?|Why Did It Have To Be SEA LICE AIEEEEEE]]: Ursula in a particularly [[Crowning Moment of Funny|hilarious]] scene wherein she and Nina [["What Do They Fear?" Episode|are discussing phobias]]. It turns out Ursula is ''extremely'' phobic of bugs... even sea lice, which are completely ''harmless'' bugs (merely seeing one is enough to cause Ursula, normally quite the Type A [[Tsundere]], to [[Screams Like a Little Girl|scream like a cheerleader]]).

** In a backhanded salute to this, the manga adaptation of ''Breath of Fire IV'' apparently has Fou-lu speaking in what amounts to Ye Olde Butcherede Japanese, as opposed to the original ''[[Keigo]]''.