Here are some tips for first-timers getting into Breath of Fire II. At the very least, we highly encourage reading the “Beginning” section for a smoother entry into the world of Breath of Fire II.
Beginning
- Read the game’s instruction booklet. Older games tend to explain a lot more about the mechanics in the manual than in the game itself.
- Press ‘Start’ on the naming screen to quickly and automatically name the protagonist by his default name, “Ryu”.
- Inspect every dresser in a house, even right at the beginning. Items abound!
- Caveat: If you decide not to inspect any dressers in the beginning village, you’ll wind up finding some zenny in the second town (HomeTown) that wouldn’t be there otherwise. This might be the better option!
- Talk to every NPC in every town you visit. They will give you critical directions to your next objective, among other important clues and wacky exclamations. Take notes!
- Make sure to try out every new character’s special ability! The easiest way to do this is to put them in the lead with the R/L buttons and pressing Y when they’re on the world map (or in some cases, the Hunting Grounds) and see what they can do!
- Pressing Select on the world map will display your map. It will fill out as you explore.
- Love it or hate it, Breath of Fire II has lots of random encounters. At least the battle themes rock! The item/spell “Smoke” can temporarily decrease the random encounter rate.
- The dancing Goblin in the menu is a visual gauge for random encounter frequency. The faster he moves, the higher the frequency.
- The NPCs that appear in towns can change depending on the time of day. Ryu quickly gains a skill called “TimeWarp” that can be used on the world map to change the time of day.
- The ‘Auto’ command in battle initiates auto battle. You can cancel auto battle at any time by pressing ‘B’. Don’t use it against large groups or strong enemies.
- Hunting is easily one of the best zennymakers early on! After a battle, a rustling bush may appear on the world map. Place Bow in the lead using R/L and interact with the bush. You’ll spawn in a random hunting ground. The woodsy areas are the most ideal places to hunt.
- If playing on Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2, you can try to force this hunting ground to spawn by using the Switch Online rewind feature until you get an ideal spot.
- To hunt, press Y with Bow in the lead to fire your crossbow. You can hold Y to prep the crossbow and let go when you’re ready to fire. Hunting nets you Roasts, which sell for 200z each at the shop!
- Try to get a hang of the timing when firing the crossbow. With careful Y buttons presses, you can lobby 2 shots in succession while your prey is still stunlocked, resulting in an easy kill.
- After successfully killing your prey, collect the meat ASAP. The type of meat you get will change and become less effective the longer you wait.
- Something interesting might happen if you kill all wildlife on-screen as quickly as possible.
- Fishing, while challenging, can also be used as a way to catch fish for both healing and selling purposes. After a battle, you may find a fishing spot appear in certain spots on the world map. Put Ryu in front and press ‘A’ to access the spot, but make sure you’ve purchased some fishing bait and equipment, first!
- Try to hook fish that are close to you and not too deep in. When hooked, you’ll have to mash the ‘A’ reel button as fast as possible before the meter depletes.
- If your lure is goes off-course, press ‘B’ to automatically reel it all the way back in.
- Some fishing spots will have treasure chests you can reel in to acquire rare items and equipment, however these won’t be attainable until you can get the best fishing rod in the game.
- The “Gold” bait is particularly important for luring in “Maniro” (Manillo), who will show up at select fishing spots, including a fishing spot near Coursair and Wild Cat restaurant. Manillo will sell rare equipment and items to you; just make sure you’ve got extra money!
HomeTown
- Again, if you didn’t raid any dressers in Gate, the first village, you’ll find some zenny in Ryu and Bow’s apartment.
- You can use Ryu’s bed as a means of free healing.
- Stock up on Herbs (2 stacks of 9 is good) in HomeTown’s Item Shop, but do keep in mind that Bow will soon learn Cure 1, a HP recovery spell.
Mt. Fubi
- It’s a good idea to get the best items and equipment in HomeTown (sell those Roasts!) and grind to at least level 5 or 6 before going deep into Mt. Fubi. The water fountain in the cave entrance at Mt. Fubi makes grinding a cinch at this early stage.
- After the boss fight in Mt. Fubi, make sure you get the FireRock in the chest before dropping down the hole. FireRock casts the “Fireball” spell which you don’t get until late-game, and you’ll want to save it for a tougher boss fight later.
Coursair (Post-TagWoods)
- In the Colosseum, after getting the 1,000 zenny in the dressing room treasure chest before your fight, DON’T EXAMINE THE DOOR. Rather, leave the Colosseum & deposit all your money in the bank before going back to open the door. You’ll see why.
- After defeating your Colosseum opponent, ACT FAST and press “Up” on the D-pad immediately to push them out of the way. This will ensure you have a “fuller” party for an upcoming fight.
Windia
- When Sten joins your party, KEEP. HIS LEVELS. UP. You’ll reach a story segment much later on where you play as him solo, and you’ll want his levels to be on par with the rest of your team at that point!
- You can use Sten’s field ability to cross the gap between Windia and the eastern part of the continent.
- You may have noticed you can change Battle Formations in the menu & during battle. The Breath of Fire Fandom Wiki has a good breakdown for how these formations work. If you’d prefer to let the game figure out the best party order for a specific formation, “Order > Auto” can auto-arrange your party to suit each formation.
Capitan
- When entering Capitan (west of Windia), don’t go into the well until you’re ready to be locked into some REALLY tough battles ahead! It’ll be good to have healing items and all the best equipment from Windia before you go down there.
- You’ll be asked to rescue the villagers in the well. Don’t tell Ray “Yes” until they’re all rescued! Rescuing every villager will determine a magic spell you get later, and it’ll also determine which carpenters are available to work on your custom town. Talk to every NPC in the well & specifically target the “Chiroru” face huggers and NOT the NPCs to avoid killing them.
- Each of the three carpenters has a specific craft that benefits you:
- Cottage: Opens a kitchen where you can craft perma stat-boosting items, AP recovery items, and lucrative Gold Bars.
- Mughal: Opens a bar with tenants who tell you random facts, such as time played and the number of chests and dressers you’ve ransacked.
- Treehouse: The carpenter will take the “Tolen” items you find throughout the world in exchange for rare equipment.
- The best deal out of all of these is arguably the Cottage, so I’d wholeheartedly recommend that option. Make a copy of your save file beforehand, since this is a permanent decision that will impact the rest of your game.
Witch’s Tower
- Before going to Witch’s Tower and/or Sima Fort, go to the cave west of the waterfall. Follow all the directions posted on the signs of the cave EXCEPT ditching your weapons. At the end, forgive the chef & you’ll get “Chopchop”, an attack skill that negates defense, which is helpful against pesky high-DEF enemies. I personally have Ryu learn the skill, since he rarely leaves the party throughout the game.
- After completing the Witch’s Tower, go back to the area with the five lifts, and take the rightmost lift. It’ll lead you to the left passage. After climbing the stairs, you’ll find the second Shaman, Seso. Fusing Sana or Seso to a character back in TownShip can increase their Strength (Sana) or Wisdom (Seso) by 25%, respectively.
Sima Fort
- After getting Jean, DON’T go to Sima Fort in the center lake just yet! With Jean in the lead, press “Y” on the world map & he’ll turn into a jumbo frog that can swim in lakes & hop over cliffs. He can also jump over gaps and lessen the frequency of random encounters! Enter the top of the waterfall, put Ryu in front, and check out the entirety of the cave for some special secrets.
- Jean learns the “Warp” spell for town teleportation at Level 14. Before then, it’s a good idea to have him lead as a jumbo frog to reduce random encounters and skip over cliffs and gaps, like between the woods and Capitan.
- Once you get to Sima Fort, you’ll be there for a long while, and Jean won’t rejoin for some time. When you do get Jean back, put him in the lead & press “Y” at the docks to leave Sima Fort instantly.
- There’s lots to explore in Sima Fort. After you finish this long scenario, remember to go to the cockroach pit area to get into the treasure rooms. There’s also a “person of interest” you’ll need to “help” out here. Get ready for a nice surprise when you leave to head back to TownShip and Home Town! 😉
TownShip
- Once your custom town “TownShip” is built, you can chat with your party members at the main HQ, who will all have something fun to say after every plot beat! Also, Dragon Statues will now let you swap out party members.
- Shamans! Use them! Besides Sana and Seso, there are 4 other Shamans you can find. Only one of them, Solo, is missable. By fusing, you can increase a character’s stats & dramatically alter their appearance and skills! This Breath of Fire Fandom Wiki article has a great breakdown of shaman fusions. Try different combinations, and see what you like.
- Now that you’ve got your own town, you can recruit six NPCs to live there. Recruiting NPCs is permanent. Some NPCs are useless while others can be incredibly beneficial. Do be picky about who you choose, because recruiting them is permanent and some of them can only be tied to a specific house. This guide has a breakdown of which NPCs can be recruited.
- Dragnier’s TownShip NPC Recruit Recommendations:
- House 1: Hekkeler; can be found in HomeTown
- House 2 :MacClean; can be found in W. Cape Beach. He’ll take you to a secret A+ fishing spot.
- House 3: Baretta; can be found in the armory at Windia. She’ll stock the best late-game equipment. Recruit her ASAP to ensure she stocks the best weapons by the end of the game.
- House 4: Barose; He’s inside a house in the Wise Tree’s Memory and can teach a total of four powerful spells.
- House 5: Hanz; He can be found in HomeTown after getting Spar. He sells stat-boosting items.
- House 6: Daiye; He can be found in Windia. He sells fish, some of which are ideal ingredients for the cooking carpenter.
- Dragnier’s TownShip NPC Recruit Recommendations:
- After you fill the first 3 houses in TownShip with NPCs, speak to your carpenter and he can offer to expand your town (for a price). Once he starts, you can repeatedly enter and exit your town over and over until the expansion is complete.
- If TownShip has been upgraded to 6 houses, go into the well on the east side. Then, once you acquire sea travel, go to the main house in Guntz (located on an island west of HomeTown) & check behind the bookcases for a staircase. Chat with the hidden person here. They’ll serve a purpose much later on.
Whale Cape
- When you get to W. Cape (finally, eh?), you’ll reach a wooden gate blocking a ladder. Put the “Master of Breaking Things” in lead & press “Y” to proceed.
Post-Whale Cape
- Once you’re able to sail the seas, head to the desert southeast of TownShip. North of the beach there, look for a sandy whirlpool. After exploring this hidden abode, talk to the students on the second floor of M. School in Home Town for a special surprise!
- Ring the whale bell at a beach and sail north of Windia & you’ll come across an island with a house. Congrats, you’ve found one of the best grinding spots in the game, and fans of the first Breath of Fire will appreciate what you’ll find inside the house.
- After visiting the carnival near Tunlan, you’re tasked with catching an Uparupa in the cave under the bridge near Coursair. But first, you should go to the Owl Woods between Capitan and Windia to get Owlfruits, which will be used as Uparupa bait. Prepare yourself before going here.
Lake Cave
- Only two of the eight Uparupas can be caught. If you let the catch-able Uparupa go after battle, you’ll win a prize. If you re-enter this area after getting your prize, you’ll get a second prize! Next, go back to the carnival & talk to the ringleader for new dialogue.
Highfort
- Setting off to Highfort? LEVEL UP STEN TO 20+! Equip him well, and stock up on healing items; you’ll be in Highfort without a way out for the entire scenario.
- If you want to make this segment even easier, Sten’s best weapon DemonDR is a very rare drop from the Sheef enemy in Thieves’ Tomb, in the south-central part of the desert.
Mt. Maori
- To help the Queen of Tunlan, you’ll need to find an old man in Mt. Maori, which is at an island northwest of HomeTown. Bring Katt or Nina; you’ll need one of them to talk to the old man to progress. If you feel like exploring the whole area right now to get treasures, bring Sten to cross the gaps.
- After going back to Tunlan, you’ll revisit Mt. Maori to speak to the apprentice and scavenge for a mushroom. Quickly take a screenshot or phone pic of this mushroom and bring Sten to cross the gaps as you climb the mountain. If you mess up & pick the wrong mushroom, you’ll have to climb all the way back up again, so take whatever precautions necessary to get the right mushroom the first time.