Ignore the title. I have no idea why it's called "Just Breed." That is a really odd title for a game of any kind. I really wasn't sure what to expect, honestly. It was released in Japan in 1992. This game was never released in the USA but it has a small cult following, I gather. After reading up on it a bit, I decided to give it a shot. It was released for the Famicom, which I had to look up-I had no idea they had an entirely different version of the Nintendo system in Japan. It certainly looks cooler than ours.
This is a strategy, turn-based RPG, which means that you control each little dude in your army individually on a big map and you have to kill all the enemies on the map to 'win' the battle. Other games have done this, with more or less success. They added a different dimension to the strategy part with the introduction of "Team Spirits". Essentially, what this means is that your army (which will grow to....slightly ridiculous size by the end of the game) is divided into 'teams', each led by a 'general'. If that general falls, the whole darn team 'retires' from the battle. (Dies, in other words.) And you have to go through every person on the team's actions before you can do anything with any other team. It sounds a bit annoying...and in practice, it is a bit annoying. It helps that you can set various people on "Auto" so you're not having to constantly tell them to attack.
Graphics: 4
The graphics are really simple and put me strongly in mind of the original Final Fantasy, with their pixelated square blockiness and their simple, flat lines. The whole thing looks a bit messy and heavy-handed; they tried to get a bit too much detail in. It's not the most terrible thing I've ever seen, but considering when it was released (The same year the Super Nintendo launched in Europe!) it was probably a bit dated even when it came out.
Sound: 1
Oh, god. The music is terrible. Super loud, high-pitched, electronic terribleness. I muted it about five minutes into the game because the music was drilling into my brain. Just bad, even for this type of game.
Addictiveness: 5
Alright. Once you get the hang of the battle system, it actually starts to be pretty fun. The turn-based RPG thing has always sort of appealed to me (I loved Final Fantasy Tactics, for example) so this was good. I want to keep playing and level up, but I'm afraid that this is going to get a bit repetitive, like most RPG's tend to be. Fight, fight, talk talk, fight fight, level up whoo! fight...fight, fight, fight...
Story: 5
Oh, how original. I knew as soon as I read the opening script the girl was going to get kidnapped. Oh, save your girlfriend, save the world, blah blah blah. Pretty typical story, easy to follow, without many surprises.
Depth: 6
This isn't a game you're going to buzz straight through...but neither is it a game that's going to take forever. There are a total of 29 major battles, some smaller battles, and a whole lotta talking. A whole lot. If you manage not to talk to most of the NPC's, you're still going to be chatting with a lot of people. Like most typical RPG's, you almost have to talk to the random NPC's though-they give you hints on where you're supposed to be going. Sometimes. Occasionally. Kind of.
Difficulty: 5
Once you get the hang of the controls, this isn't a very difficult game. The enemies start out pretty weak and stay that way; later, you do have to do some strategic thinking, as the enemies will start to actively target weaker opponents and gang up. But overall, it's pretty simple, really.
Overall: 6
I give this a six overall because it's not that bad of a game. It's interesting, the strategy part is different enough, and the battles are alright. It's not going on my list of favorite games of all time, but it's not making the worst game list either. So it's kind of a 'meh' overall. I'll probably beat the game and then never play it again, but I'm glad I found it to start with and I encourage you, if you like strategy turn-based games or fantasy rpg's to give it a shot. You might like it.
Edit: Sorry for the weirdness that was the first post-I have no idea what happened there. Hopefully it's fixed now.
Ignore the title. I have no idea why it's called "Just Breed." That is a really odd title for a game of any kind. I really wasn't sure what to expect, honestly. It was released in Japan in 1992. This game was never released in the USA but it has a small cult following, I gather. After reading up on it a bit, I decided to give it a shot. It was released for the Famicom, which I had to look up-I had no idea they had an entirely different version of the Nintendo system in Japan. It certainly looks cooler than ours.
This is a strategy, turn-based RPG, which means that you control each little dude in your army individually on a big map and you have to kill all the enemies on the map to 'win' the battle. Other games have done this, with more or less success. They added a different dimension to the strategy part with the introduction of "Team Spirits". Essentially, what this means is that your army (which will grow to....slightly ridiculous size by the end of the game) is divided into 'teams', each led by a 'general'. If that general falls, the whole darn team 'retires' from the battle. (Dies, in other words.) And you have to go through every person on the team's actions before you can do anything with any other team. It sounds a bit annoying...and in practice, it is a bit annoying. It helps that you can set various people on "Auto" so you're not having to constantly tell them to attack.
Graphics: 4
The graphics are really simple and put me strongly in mind of the original Final Fantasy, with their pixelated square blockiness and their simple, flat lines. The whole thing looks a bit messy and heavy-handed; they tried to get a bit too much detail in. It's not the most terrible thing I've ever seen, but considering when it was released (The same year the Super Nintendo launched in Europe!) it was probably a bit dated even when it came out.
Sound: 1
Oh, god. The music is terrible. Super loud, high-pitched, electronic terribleness. I muted it about five minutes into the game because the music was drilling into my brain. Just bad, even for this type of game.
Addictiveness: 5
Alright. Once you get the hang of the battle system, it actually starts to be pretty fun. The turn-based RPG thing has always sort of appealed to me (I loved Final Fantasy Tactics, for example) so this was good. I want to keep playing and level up, but I'm afraid that this is going to get a bit repetitive, like most RPG's tend to be. Fight, fight, talk talk, fight fight, level up whoo! fight...fight, fight, fight...
Story: 5
Oh, how original. I knew as soon as I read the opening script the girl was going to get kidnapped. Oh, save your girlfriend, save the world, blah blah blah. Pretty typical story, easy to follow, without many surprises.
Depth: 6
This isn't a game you're going to buzz straight through...but neither is it a game that's going to take forever. There are a total of 29 major battles, some smaller battles, and a whole lotta talking. A whole lot. If you manage not to talk to most of the NPC's, you're still going to be chatting with a lot of people. Like most typical RPG's, you almost have to talk to the random NPC's though-they give you hints on where you're supposed to be going. Sometimes. Occasionally. Kind of.
Difficulty: 5
Once you get the hang of the controls, this isn't a very difficult game. The enemies start out pretty weak and stay that way; later, you do have to do some strategic thinking, as the enemies will start to actively target weaker opponents and gang up. But overall, it's pretty simple, really.
Overall: 6
I give this a six overall because it's not that bad of a game. It's interesting, the strategy part is different enough, and the battles are alright. It's not going on my list of favorite games of all time, but it's not making the worst game list either. So it's kind of a 'meh' overall. I'll probably beat the game and then never play it again, but I'm glad I found it to start with and I encourage you, if you like strategy turn-based games or fantasy rpg's to give it a shot. You might like it.
Edit: Sorry for the weirdness that was the first post-I have no idea what happened there. Hopefully it's fixed now.
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