“Breath of Fire Week at The Pixels & the BoF 30th Anniversary Fan Video”

Thirty years ago, one of the most influential video game series in my life hit the shelves. Time flies! Happy 30th anniversary to the Breath of Fire series! Capcom’s classic RPG series may be a ship that has largely sailed at this point in time, sadly, but it will be fondly remembered for years to come for its unique storytelling, worldbuilding, and chronology, the playful experimentation of its music, its dark themes, and, of course, its dragons.

For me, those themes that combined numinous fear with ineffable awe and metaphysical menace inspired my future education in religious studies. I’ve written about this elsewhere in a post entitled “Breakfast at Noon”. I don’t plan to recount the story, so I won’t clog it up here. I just wanted to emphasize the powerful effect that Breath of Fire has had on me, beyond the reach of its own coding and characters. It’s reached out into real life.

If you’ve yet to play the original Breath of Fire for yourself, now’s the time! There’s no shame in using a guide or even reading a wiki if you find you can’t get through it. I’d just encourage anyone curious to play through the series, muscle through the steep random encounter rate in particular, and enjoy a story that plays out (in order) across millennia.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the beloved draconic franchise, we’re officially unveiling Breath of Fire week here at The-Pixels! You can expect a series of related articles throughout the week here. Additionally, I’m happy to share with you an awesome fan video that was put together by the Breath of Fire community!

I was invited to share my thoughts on a favorite game, favorite character, and what I love most in the series, but I wasn’t prepared for the outpouring of affection from so many fans from around the world. This is a truly special event! A huge thank you to Nina Windia, admin of the BoF fan pages across social media, for reaching out to me in the first place, and a big thanks to everyone who took the time to participate. Finally, thank you, Capcom, for supplying us with these worlds to inhabit, explore, and be inspired by.

Nothing lasts forever. Not even the Dragon Clan~

Here’s the video description:

April 3, 2023 marks Breath of Fire’s 30th anniversary! To celebrate, we have put together a video with Breath of Fire fans around the world telling us what they love about the series, as well as special messages and words of thanks to Capcom and the Breath of Fire development teams.

This is Part I of the video, with Part II coming soon! Please let us know in the comments what YOU love about the Breath of Fire series!

#BreathofFire #ブレスオブファイア #BoF30

■ BoF Fan Sites Portal: https://linktr.ee/breathoffire
■ Official BoF Series Portal Site: http://www.capcom-s.jp/bof/

Breath of Fire 30th Anniversary Fan Video Part I Participants:
■ jotozoto
■ thewaterclown@instagram
■ Aegis Runestone (@warrior_aegis)
■ @JordWelk on Twitter and YouTube
■ AshSaidHi
■ @GoodOldPixel
■ Brittney Brombacher @BlondeNerd
■ Frozenthia
■ Chris Chirico @geeksandguitars
■ Coury Carlson @mylifeingaming
■ DavidK5
■ @DiceSMS
■ Jayson Napolitano (Scarlet Moon)
■ Jordan Moore
■ Kainin
■ FrappMocha
■ SENN in Space
■ TheWellRedMage
■ @excalipoorist
■ @Oni_Dino via Twitter
■ @Jmanvelez
■ Jenja23
■ @dindevalhalla
■ seharjh
■ Rosalie (Little Record Girl) Video Game Journalist (@lilrecordgirl)
■ NephirosCosplay
■ RememberTheAGES
■ @Captain_Supreme
■ Al Yang
■ Casey
■ Patrick Kulikowski @PatrickKul
■ BOWIEtheHERO
■ John Linneman
■ Saruneko (ff_saruneko)

I hope I’m still here to celebrate this series when it hits its 60th anniversary!
Perhaps we can get a Breath of Fire VII before then…

Red formerly ran The Well-Red Mage and now serves The Pixels as founder, writer, editor, streamer, and podcaster. He has undertaken a seemingly endless crusade to talk about the games themselves in the midst of a culture obsessed with the latest controversy, scandal, and news cycle about harassment, toxicity, and negativity. Pick out his feathered cap on Mage Cast podcast, on Twitter @thewellredmage, or on Twitch at /thewellredmage.