Part 2: Chapter Two: Frogger

Here we are on the World Map. We can walk around and get into a few random battles to toughen Ryu up before he reaches the next town.

Music: 12 – Battle Theme



Ryu takes a few steps forward and immediately triggers a random battle with a trio of slimes.



The battle menu has all the standard options. The greyed out “CHNG” option is used to switch out party members and will become available at a later date. For now nothing fancy is required and Ryu simply beats all the enemies to death with his sword.

Music: 12 – Victory



Ryu receives the spoils of war. It’s not much, but every little helps.



Another kind of enemy of note at this point are these – Fleas. They have a very high Active stat and are currently faster than Ryu. This means they can usually get the first hit in, and they also take two hits to kill, so it’s important to be careful with them early on.



Whilst I’m grinding something interesting happens. After the end of a battle, animals begin running around the world map. We can’t do anything with them now, but in the future events like this will provide us with certain opportunities.



After a short time, Ryu levels up to level 2. All stats are increased, including Active, which is now 5 rather than 2. Now the Fleas no longer get the first attack and can be killed in one hit.



The same cannot be said for these “Bulla” enemies. They’re fairly uncommon, but have more health and higher attack power than the other enemies around the starting area. With Ryu at level 2 they’re less of a threat.



Defeating them puts Ryu at level 3. Now that he’s strong enough to comfortably take on all the foes around here, it’s time to visit the item shop to spend some of Ryu’s newfound cash before moving on to the next town.





Here’s the lowdown on all the items:
Mrbl3 – Reduces enemy encounter rate.
Herb – Small health recovery.
Antdt – Removes poison status.
T. Drop – Removes zombie status.
Apple – Recovers more health than Herb.
Life – Revives a KO’ed character.
Cure – High-power healing item.

I buy one Mrbl3, 4 Herbs and 2 Antdts before heading off.



: I can just about see Camlon from here. I’ll rest there for a moment before heading off for Nanai. From there, I’ll take a boat to the southern continent and try to reach Scande. If all goes well I’ll sneak in, get Sara out and then be back in a couple of weeks.

Music: 13 – Sad Town



: Dragon’s blood…did the Dark Dragons sack this keep as well?



: Nanai? But then why is Camlon keep in ruins?



: The castle has been occupied by putrid monsters.

: How awful. Wait a minute…is that the King himself?





: I admire the King’s spirit, but it looks as if he lacks the manpower to retake the keep. It’s a detour from my original plans, but I can’t just leave without doing anything. I’ll just take a quick look around inside, report back with any useful information I can find and then be on my way.

Music: 14 – The Wizard Plots



Camlon Keep is the first real dungeon in the game. As such it’s not too hard, although overconfidence can still lead to death.



It features tougher enemies than the world map, such as the Gloom shown above. The Gloom has high enough defense that it takes two hits to kill and possesses the offensive magic T.Bolt that can take away around a dozen of Ryu’s HP in a single go. It is without a doubt the most dangerous enemy here.



This next enemy is called a Creep. It also takes two hits to kill, but has no other fancy tricks and deals low damage.



Next we have the Beak. Beaks are fast and usually get the first attack. They deal around 5 damage per hit, so aren’t that much of a threat.



Lastly, there’s the P. Bug. The P. Bug is a pathetically slow monster that dies in one hit. Their physical attack can inflict poison, but it rarely happens. They aren’t any trouble and are basically fodder.



: The inside of this place is a mess. These passages are all blocked by a collapsed ceiling…looks like I’ll have to go around.



This pool contains healing water that restores all HP and AP to the entire party. They can be found in other dungeons besides this one and provide great spots for grinding.



: Another collapsed corridor. These monsters have really done a number on this place.



: Coffers? They contain 140 GP in all…looted from the treasury, no doubt.



Across from the chests lies another healing pool. Like I said earlier, this dungeon isn’t too hard.



: These are clearly human bones. Damn these monsters!



: A staircase leading downwards…I could go back and tell the King what I’ve found, but I must admit I’m curious about what lies beneath the keep. I’ll have to be cautious – there’s no telling what might be down there.



: This must be the keep’s vault. The doors seem to be open – though it’s clearly been looted already, there may be something of worth still remaining.



The chests contain a BronzSD and a herb. The new sword increases Ryu’s attack by a whopping seven points, but decreases his Active by 2 and his magic defense by 1. It’s worth equipping anyway for the massive attack boost.



Another set of chests on the left side of the room yield another herb and a Gauntlet. The Gauntlet goes in the Shield slot and replaces Ryu’s WoodSH, giving three extra points of defense and one extra Active point due to it being a bit lighter.



: After climbing another set of stairs, I seem to be on the other side of the blockage from earlier. I found some strong equipment in the vault, so I feel like I can push on a little further.



: Another staircase…



Ryu arrives in another vault area. The four chests here contain two herbs, a SuedeCP that’s outclassed by our current armor and a Visor. The Visor is an upgrade over our current Head slot, so I equip it posthaste.

At this point it should be noted that Ryu is level 5 and can pre-emptively oneshot every enemy except the Creep.







This chest contains an Antdt. It’s also trapped. The “trap” however turns out to trigger a Sproing, which completely heals the party’s HP and AP. In future most traps will have far more lethal effects.



Like this chest, which triggers a “Dark Mist” trap. Dark Mist causes the party to lose AP. This chest also contains an Antdt, so it’s best to ignore it.



: There’s an odd smell coming from this staircase. It makes me feel uneasy, but I’ve come so far already it’d be a shame to turn back now. Onwards and upwards, then.



: Is that a monster on the throne?



: Erroo! Growl! Get out!

: Was the keep’s garrison really defeated by such a pathetic monster?

: Pathetic?!



: Who’s the pathetic one now, puny human?!



: Go ahead, try!

: Dragon’s blood, this is more than I bargained for! If I run, this creature will surely catch me…there’s no other choice but to fight!

Music: 04 – Boss Battle



Meet the Frog, the first boss of the game. He’s not too tough. He has three basic attacks, one where he strikes Ryu with his tongue, another where he spits a purple ball of vomit at him and a third where he performs a jumping bodyslam. All do around 4 – 5 damage. He does have enough Active to attack first, however, so there’s that to keep in mind. When his HP runs low he begins to use Recover, which heals him for 10 HP.



When his HP reaches zero, Frog’s sprite flashes and this message pops up. This happens with most bosses and minibosses in Breath of Fire – once their HP bar is depleted they gain a second wind and continue to fight with a second, invisible HP pool. In this case, one more hit seals the deal and causes the Frog to GET OUT of this mortal coil. Overall, he’s not too tough. Ryu gains two levels after the fight and is now level 7.

(Video – Frog)

: *Pant*, *Pant*…I survived…somehow…





:…I originally intended to only look around. I never expected to actually defeat the monster in charge of the keep. I should inform the King about this at once.

Before leaving, there are two chests to the north east containing a herb and 150 GP. We can then safely backtrack to the entrance, since the random encounters disappear after Frog’s defeat.

Music: 20 – Happy Town



: You there! What did you do?

: My Lord?

: A few minutes ago, there was a great outpouring of monsters from the keep. Nobody was injured, and the foul beasts dispersed into the fields beyond the town. Was that your doing?

: My Lord, I entered the keep in order to gather information on the monster’s strength, but by a twist of fate ended up defeating their leader. It was a near thing, but I believe the keep is now empty of the beasts that plagued it.



: That scar…it looks familiar.

: I am called Ryu, my Lord.

The ground shakes.

: Wh-what is this!?



: The Quake Control?

: Yes. It is an ancient weapon of the Nanai Kingdom. It is undoubtedly the reason why the Dark Dragons chose to invade us.

: And now Zog’s forces have it.

: Indeed. What a conundrum. Hmm… “Ryu”, was it? I’m sure you have other business to attend to, but you’ve proven yourself to be a capable warrior with your actions today. I apologize, but I must ask a further favor of you.



: Please go there and put an end to these quakes.

: It is not much trouble; I too am opposed to the Dark Dragons. I was planning to head for Nanai in any case. Before I go, there is the matter of the keep’s looted treasures…

: Please, keep whatever you may have found. Consider it a gift, meager as it may be.

: My thanks, Lord.



: The Quake Control cannot be allowed to remain in Zog’s possession, and any actions that weaken the Dark Dragons will make my own rescue mission that much easier. I will head for Nanai, and see what can be done about this weapon.

And that’s that. Next time we venture off to infiltrate Nanai, taking the fight directly to the Dark Dragons and hopefully weakening their forces in the process.