Although the Steam Deck compatibility rating for Breath of Fire IV is still “Unknown”, Dragnier was able to run the game on it just fine, although it will require some additional tinkering. Here’s a guide for setting it up.

Please note there are other methods for getting the Steam version of Breath of Fire IV up and running on your Steam Deck, but the configuration outlined below is Dragnier’s preferred method.

If there is a method you prefer and works for you, please do share it in the comments.

1. Install and Run Breath of Fire IV

1. First, install Breath of Fire IV. Once you’ve powered on your Steam Deck, go to your library, highlight Breath of Fire IV, and press ‘A’ to select it. Hover over the blue “Install” button to begin the installation.
2. Before proceeding, it’s strongly recommended to connect a wireless mouse and keyboard to your Steam Deck. You’ll be going into Desktop mode, which is much easier to use with a mouse and keyboard.
3. Boot into Desktop Mode. Press the Steam button, then go to Power > Switch to Desktop
4. Once you’re in Desktop Mode, bring up the Steam window by clicking on the Steam icon in the taskbar.
5. In your library, click on Breath of Fire IV and press Play.
6. The “4249150_Launcher.exe” window will open. From here, you can configure visual settings with your mouse or touch screen.
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7. Here are Dragnier’s recommended settings:
   • Graphics Setting
   • Display: Think of this setting as your “canvas” for which the game’s display will show on. Set this to your monitor/screen’s resolution. You can select “Same as desktop (Default)” or specifically select your resolution and refresh rate:
     • If playing on Steam Deck, select 1280×800.
     • If your Deck is hooked up to a 1080p monitor, select 1920×1080 along with the appropriate refresh rate (Hz) your monitor supports.
     • If connected to a 1440p monitor, select 2560×1440.
     • If connected to a 4K screen, select 3840×2160.
     • If you’re unsure of the resolution or refresh rate, go to your Windows Display Settings and confirm the resolution and Hz there.
     • If using an ultrawide monitor, you may find your resolution is not in the drop-down list. In this case, select “Set by Desktop(Default)”.
   • Presentation: Select “Full Screen” or “Windowed” depending on your preference.
   • Aspect Ratio correction: Put a check in the box next to “Enable”.
   • Scalling (sic) method: Select “Integer scaling”. This way, you can pick an in-game resolution that best matches your tastes and it will scale appropriately based on your above display mode selection.
   • Language: Select English or Japanese, depending on your linguistic abilities.
   • Vertical synchronization: If you experience screen tearing while playing, set this to “Enabled”. Otherwise, “Set by application (Default”) should be fine.
   • Gamma correction: Keep it at 1.0 (Default).
   • Anisotropic filtering: This option intends to make distant objects in games look sharper. In our experience, we did not notice any discernible changes, so we recommend not using it.
   • Antialiasing: This option intends to smooth jagged edges on curves and diagonal lines, however in our findings we found it messed with the game’s environmental lighting, with some parts of the environment being darker than they should be. We recommend keeping it at “Set by application (Default)”.
8. Click the “GameStart” button to launch the game. This will generate the dxcfg.ini file we’ll be tinkering with later.
9. From the title screen, press Enter on your keyboard, or click the left analog stick in (L3) or right analog stick (R3) and go to Options.
10. Under “Screen”, select your game resolution. This will be the resolution which will be integer scaled to fit on your display. For the Steam Deck’s screen, the following options are recommended:
    • 640x480x32 (2X Scale)
    • 800x600x32 (2.5X Scale)
    • 1024x768x32 (3.2X Scale)
11. Once you’re done, back out to the title screen.
12. Press ‘F9’ on your keyboard to exit the game.

2. Enable Point Filtering

Breath of Fire IV PC on Steam forces a bilinear filter on the game screen, thus giving the game’s 2D pixel art a smooth, blurred look. It’s a controversial choice depending on your preference. For those of us retro game enthusiasts that don’t like our retro game screens smeared with vaseline, there is a way to force point filtering in the Steam version of the game, although it will require some additional steps.

The problem is, unlike the GOG.com version’s DirectX wrapper, the Steam version’s launcher doesn’t include an option to change from “bilinear” to “point filtering.” Fret not, because there is a workaround!

To enable point filtering in the Steam version of Breath of Fire IV, follow the steps below. Dragnier recommends this setting.

1. While still in Desktop Mode, right-click on Breath of Fire IV in your library and select “Manage” > “Browse local files”.
2. Select the “english” or “japanese” folder, depending on which language you’re playing in.
3. Double-click the dxcfg.ini file to open it.
4. Underneath the existing text in the file, add the following 2 lines to the document:
   • [enhancements]
   • filtering=point
5. Save and close the document.
6. Right-click Breath of Fire IV in your library again and select “Properties”.
7. Under launch options, add the following string:
   • WINEDLLOVERRIDES=”ddraw=n,b;dinput=n,b” %command%
8. Exit the window.

3. Controller Setup (Steam Deck)

Before launching Breath of Fire IV again after following steps 1 – 2 above, it’s important to map 3 keys to your Steam Deck controls: Esc, F1, and F9. Esc will allow you to exit the Options menu correctly, F1 will be used as a Start / Tutorial button, and F9 will allow you to exit back to the title screen and the game entirely.

It’s also important to note, for whatever reason, the only button that will let you get through the title screen is L3/R3 (clicking in the left or right analog stick).

To streamline this process, Dragnier recommends Steam user Xavelrie’s “Custom Steamdeck Layout W/ Back Buttons” community layout for playing the game on Steam Deck.

1. While running Breath of Fire IV, press the Steam Menu Button.
2. Go to “Controller Settings” > “Select Current Button Layout”
3. Press ‘X’ to “Show All Layouts”.
4. Cycle with R1 to the Community Layouts select, then select Xavelrie’s “Breath of Fire 4 – Steamdeck Layout W/ Back Btns & TPs V1.2”
5. Press ‘X’ to apply the layout.
6. This layout requires additional keyboard remapping within the game’s Options menu. Doing this keyboard remapping will make on-screen keyboard prompts properly correlate to the Steam Deck buttons.
7. Within the game’s keyboard settings, remap the following actions:
   • Talk/Confirm: A on Keyboard
   • Action/Cancel: Y on Keyboard
   • SubScreen: X on Keyboard
   • Dash: B on Keyboard
   • Camera Turn Left: L on Keyboard
   • Camera Turn Right: R on Keyboard
   • Change Rank: 2 on Keyboard, LT on Steam Deck (this ensures both Reverse Rank and Forward Rank buttons are bound)

If you would rather use a different layout or bind things yourself, do the following:

1. While still in desktop mode, go into your Steam client and right-click on the game’s non-Steam game shortcut and select “Properties” > “Controller” > “Override for Breath of Fire IV” > “Enable Steam Input”
2. Tap the “Controller Configurator” hyperlink.
3. Under Quick Settings, Enable Back Grip Buttons.
4. Highlight one of the back grip buttons (L4, L5, R4, or R5) and confirm to be given the option to bind a key to that button.
5. Select the following keys and bind them to your preferred backgrip buttons: F1, F9, Esc.

For additional in-game control-related configuration, visit the Controller Setup (PC) section in the Breath of Fire IV PC (GOG) Setup Guide.

Note: As far as Dragnier is aware, there doesn’t seem to be a way to retain rumble / vibration support for Breath of Fire IV on Steam Deck.

4. Save Data

Save data from the original PC release and GOG reissue of Breath of Fire IV works just fine in the Steam re-release. Keep in mind that save data naming scheme and file location have been modified since the original CD-ROM release.

• CD-ROM Save File Default Location: \Program Files (x86)\Capcom\Bof4
• CD-ROM Save File Naming Scheme: BOF4-##.DAT (## being numbered from 01 to 15)
• GOG Save File Default Location: \Program Files (x86)\GOG Galaxy\Games\Breath of Fire IV\SAV\
• GOG & Steam Save File Naming Scheme: ##.DAT (## being numbered from 01 to 15)
• Steam Save File Default Location (English): \Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\4249150_BreathofFire4\english\SAV
• Steam Save File Default Location (Japanese): \Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\4249150_BreathofFire4\japanese\SAV

Sources

• Dawe, Liam. “How to install GE-Proton on Steam Deck, SteamOS, Linux“. GamingOnLinux. January 23, 2025. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
• Archer, James. “How to install and use Lutris on the Steam Deck“. Rock Paper Shotgun. February 20, 2024. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
• YouTube. “Breath of Fire IV Steam Deck: NOW AVAILABLE ON STEAM!“. DeckWizard. Retrieved April 2, 2026.