Breath of Fire III

Breath of Fire III is the third game in the Breath of Fire series, and the first one to appear on PlayStation. It moved in a much lighter direction than its predecessors, and entirely revamped the gameplay, making for a truly fine RPG.

Cedar Woods
Ryu lies naked and collapsed One year ago...

Rei: .........Hmmmm So you don't remember how you got where I found you then? Rei: Doesn't that beat all... Just what I needed-- more trouble Teepo: What? Were you talking about me? Rei: Um, no, nothing at all... Teepo: Hmph... ... ... Oh, well... Teepo: Anyway, Rei did you know that there's absolutely no thing left to eat? Rei: You're kidding!... ... Haven't had much luck robbing people on the road lately... What should we do? Teepo: Our bellies aren't gonna get any fuller sitting around here... Let's go look for some food, Rei Rei: You're right... Hey, why don't we go check out old man Bunyan's? Rei: OK, Teepo You help Ryu there get equipped Rei: You won't get far walking in your pajamas! Here, I'll give you some of my old stuff! Rei: Hey! Perfect fit! Rei: OK, let's hit the road for Bunyan's Teepo: Bunyan lives in the middle of the woods. He's a really good hunter, so he's probably got some food lying around... Rei: I mean... I know stealing's not right, but we need food too, right? Teepo: Right! OK, Ryu, let's go!

Teepo: But... I guess I'm still worried Teepo: I wonder if Rei is OK my himself... Teepo: Hmmmm... Teepo: I mean, Rei's strong, but... I'm worried, Ryu Teepo: Right, Ryu! Teepo: I can't let him go all by himself... C'mon! Let's go after him! Teepo: Ha ha! That's what I thought you were thinking! Teepo: I can't let him do it all by himself... Ryu! Let's go after him!

Cedar Woods (Burning Hut Cutscene)
Rei: Blast... Teepo: It's McNeil! I know it is! He did this to get back at us! Rei: ......... Teepo: I'll kill him! Just you see... I'll get him... I swear I'll get him Rei: Teepo! Rei: ... ... ...Ryu I'm sorry... I... I never thought...  I never knew... Teepo: Rei! There's a bunch of people blocking the road! Teepo: We're trapped... Rei I'm... scared... What should we do... Rei: Ha ha... ... ... That's it... Teepo: What's gonna happen to us? Rei: ...Don't worry Whatever happens, I'll make sure you're all right... I promise! Balio: Here they come... Sunder: W, wait up, bro! Rei: Wha... what the...!?

Sunder: That McNeil's really a wimp, though. Needing us to take care of sum'thing like this for him...eh? Balio: Hmph!... ...Still... We could've used a couple of kids like this...no? Sunder: Yeah, you're right! I guess it's kind of a waste, huh? Balio: We didn't have a choice... Even though they didn't know better, they still tried to steal our money... Sunder: .........Yeah, you're right... So what should we do with this? Balio: ...Just ditch it

Yraall Road
Wait, wait, WAIT! Who gave you permission to use this road!? Teepo: Hey Rei... Maybe we should call it a day...? Teepo: C'mon Ryu... Let's go home... Rei: Hold it! Hold it! His name's Ryu? How did you know that, Teepo? I...I dunno! I just felt like that's what his name was... Rei: Say, is your name really Ryu? Rei: Hmmmm... Stranger things have happened, I guess... What do you think you're doing? Robbery? Forget it! No one with money's ever gonna come down this road!

Syn City
Garr: What is it...? Merchant: Excuse me, sirs! Merchant: This is your first time here, isn't it? You're not yet members of the Circle, are you? Merchant: See, we'd get in a lot of trouble if some official found out about us, so we only sell Circle members the good stuff...You don't need to pay anything to join, so here, take this! You got a Member's Card ! Merchant: So... if you want some...merchandise... Come see me and I can get you whatever you need... Garr: Forget about it. These people are the same as Balio and Sunder... I'd steer clear of them if I were you... Merchant: Oh... well... If that's the case... See you

Mt. Glaus
Rei: It's getting dark... Why don't we rest for the night in this cabin...

Teepo: Hey, it's getting dark... Teepo: Let's call it a day... Teepo: Maybe Rei's staying here too... Teepo: Uh-oh... It's pitch dark... Teepo: I wonder if there's a light somewhere? Teepo: Some... Something's coming! Teepo: WHOAAAA! Ryu! ZZZZ...Z Ryu? Teepo: Hey! That voice... It's Rei!? Rei: .........What are you doing here!? Rei: Don't scare me like that! I thought you were a monster or something... Teepo: I'm the one who was surprised! Boy, was I scared! I mean, you're the one going GRRRRR and growling like that... Rei: Hey ...Sorry, OK, Ryu? Let's get some rest, all right? Teepo: Good idea--I feel really beat... Rei: It's getting pretty late... let's worry about the monster tomorrow Teepo: Good idea... I'm beat!

McNeil Manor
Rei: It's a chicken coop... We won't be able to get in from here, either... Teepo: Are you OK, Rei? Rei: Let the chicken... ...go free? Teepo: Hey, good idea, Ryu! If the boss's chickens get loose in the night... Rei: ...then all the guards will be busy running around trying to catch them!...... Let's try it! Rei: OK, Ryu! You scare the chickens! Rei: That was cute... But would you scare the chickens......... ...please? Teepo: Jab 'em with your sword! Teepo: Say... these guys look pretty tasty... Rei: Be careful... If you're too close, your sword'll get stuck Rei: Enough already! Get over here-- hurry up!

Ogre Road
Recruit: Sorry sorry sorry I may just be a recruit, but I've been given orders to make sure no one suspicious gets by, so that's what I'm doing! Recruit: And since I don't know if you're suspicious or not... You need to ask me if you can pass and go into the black market... OK? Recruit: Oh! You have a member's card! That means you're not suspicious, then I can let you in without getting yelled at... Recruit: Please, go through, but watch out for monsters! Monsters? Like the man-eating tiger. Lately, it's been attacking travelers on the road...

Garr: ...Somehow I don't think so... Let's get back on the road before we meet the real tiger...

Whoa! You mean you weren't eaten by the tiger? T... thank goodness Recruit: Hey, Mr. Tiger... I mean, Rei... Are you all right? Rei: Darn it!! Block off Yraall Road! Don't let them get away!! Rei: I... I won't fail again...

Mt. Myrneg
Balio: ...Hold it! Hold on! Wait a second! Balio: We don't want to fight... Balio: How can we say we're sorry, your magnificent excellent dragoness!? Balio: If we'd know it was you... We...we... Balio: .........Since it has come to this, the only way we can make amends is with our lives!! Balio: Please, your excellency! Our lives are yours!! Sunder: Hahahah...Dummy! Balio: See? Even the mighty Brood doesn't stand a chance against us! Sunder: Hey, bro! We're pretty strong, ain't we? Balio: You bet, bro! We're stronger than anyone or anything! Balio & Sunder: Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Dump
Momo: That's the mutant? It's a little too mutated... Something like this can't be created with what they're using... Nina: Come on, Momo Let's go after it! Nina: That's the mutant? It's...it's almost cute... pukyu....... Momo: Don't you think it's a little strange? If it were this weak, they didn't really need our help... Nina: Are you OK, Ryu? Nina: Thank goodness! Momo: Something about this doesn't feel right... Oh well, let's go on a little further, OK?

Wyndia Castle Basement
System is down. Please use system disk Installing program... Setting area data. . . . . installation complete!

Parch
Lee: You're too late! I got tired of waiting. Still, I knew you'd find me eventually... I'll see you back in Wyndia!

Faerie Village
OK, let me show you to play... This is a number guessing game, OK? Each time, we'll randomly pick five numbers from 1-9 and you have to guess what those numbers are... But you don't always have to pick five! You can pick only one if you want, but the more numbers you guess, the more you win! So it's good to pick lots! 'Cause that way, you win lots! Get it? "Yes" "No" How much money do you want to bet? (1-100 zenny) You don't want to play? Oh, well, too bad...Bye-bye! Here we go! Pick a number Yay! Congratulations! is right! That gives you X ! Too bad...you guessed wrong... Want to try again? "Yes" "No"

Camping
A small bit of camp dialogue that goes unused, due to the fact that it occurs only during the sequence early on in which you're trying to sneak into McNeil Manor, and the world map is inaccessible at that point.

Rei: "McNeil's mansion is to the north of the farm... Now...how do we get in?

Teepo: "Do you think the villagers will be happy if we rob McNeil?

Chicken Coop
The chickens in the McNeil Manor chicken coop actually have "dialogue", which can't be seen normally as entering the building immediately leads to a cutscene/battle, after which all the chickens flee.

Three chickens respond with this: "cluck... (she looks sleepy)

Two respond with: "...... (it looks petrified with fright...)

And one responds with: "cluck cluck

Unused Music
There are four unused songs hidden away in Breath of Fire III that were unearthed when PSFs were ripped.

Unused Song 1


A shorter variation of "These Little Things", the music played at Rei's house. This was probably intended to serve as Rei's theme, as he's the only character who doesn't have one.

Unused Song 2


A short "suspense" cue. This may not actually be an endlessly looping song; early PSF sets were slightly glitchy in that every song looped, whether it was supposed to or not.

Unused Song 3


An emotional piece. Not quite happy, but not quite sad. There are a number of places this would have fit, making it tough to narrow down any specific potential usage.

Unused Song 4


This mysterious-sounding song was very likely intended for scenes involving either Myria or the Brood.

Unused Item


There's a single unused item which goes by the awkward name of "THE MOCHI", all caps and everything. Its description states that it cures petrification, a status ailment which never made an appearance in the entire series. It's likely that it was planned for Breath of Fire III, but was scrapped for whatever reason, and the item to cure it was left in, albeit unfinished. It can be used in battle, and has the same animation as many other status-curing items, but has no effect.

Entirely Unused
There are ten unused/unfinished skills, all with the name "Noting"; eight of these use the default skill icon, while one appears to be a fire attack, and one appears to be a status attack. They all have unique descriptions, and while their effects vary, most actually don't do anything at all.

From top to bottom:


 * 1) "Grants immunity to normal attacks" - Costs 0 AP, and causes the user to flash white, as several other skills do, but doesn't seem to actually do anything. This would have been quite a powerful skill had it been finished, although magic and other special attacks would still damage the user.
 * 2) "Lower chance of meeting enemies" - Costs 0 AP, can only be used on the field. Again, doesn't seem to do anything noticeable. The description is pretty obvious regarding its intended purpose.
 * 3) "Use Hourglass to stop time" - Costs 8 AP. When used, causes either Japanese text (which translates, roughly, to "amateur female high-school student"; seems someone at Capcom has a schoolgirl fetish) or a random string of gibberish to appear on the screen, and does nothing else. Seems the Hourglass effect was intended to be a skill!
 * 4) "Jump attack (random damage)" - Costs 8 AP. Seems like it would be a duplicate of Jump if it worked, but this one also causes Japanese text or gibberish to appear on the screen.
 * 5) "Holy fire attack; null magic field" - Costs 10 AP. This one is interesting. Not only does it work, it actually has a unique animation not seen anywhere else in the game! A large purple pentagram forms on the ground below the enemy, which is then engulfed in a spiral of flame. Looks impressive, but does very little damage.
 * 6) (No description) - Costs 0 AP. Halts the game momentarily, then the user just performs a physical attack.
 * 7) "The answer becomes the damage" - Costs 0 AP. This produces the same black smoke effect used for a few status attacks, but doesn't inflict any damage. The cryptic description does not help in determining its intended effect.
 * 8) "The answer becomes the damage" - Costs 0 AP. Duplicate of the skill above.
 * 9) "Weaken one target vs flame attacks" - Costs 0 AP. Another skill that generates Japanese text or gibberish. Otherwise, it seems it would have had the same effect as Douse, anyhow.
 * 10) "Weaken one target vs flame attacks" - Costs 2 AP. Identical to the one above, except for the AP cost and icon.

Enemy-Only
A number of skills, unsurprisingly, can only be used by enemies, and cannot be learned or used by your characters at any point. However, they can be hacked into your skill list, and most are functional (some have broken animations, however, as they were intended to be used only by a very specific enemy), but interestingly, they still have descriptions, classifications, and sometimes even have unique voice clips associated with them!

RottenBreath and Bone Dance are particularly interesting, as their descriptions aren't even remotely accurate, suggesting that skills that actually had those listed effects were overwritten by these two skills in the final game.

Inaccessible Locations
At several points in the game, there actually exists slightly more to an area than a wall or other obstacle would allow the player to see.

Normally, everything that happens in Mayor McNeil's bedroom is automatic, you're never allowed to walk around, and while a passage can be seen behind McNeil's large bed, there's no way to see what's back there. However, a walk-through-walls GameShark code allows you to explore the room at your leisure, which reveals that the mystery path in the back conceals several large safes, the graphics of which are not used anywhere else in the game! Even more peculiarly, they contain items! From the one on the lower left, clockwise to the one in the lower right, the contents are: Empty, 1000 zenny, 120 zenny, Silver Knife, Gems, and Power Food. Why all this is here is anyone's guess; at some point in development, you were probably able to explore back here.



The small "?" area at the base of Wyndia Castle (where you can grab a chest containing a Ginseng) is actually surprisingly large for an area you can only explore a very small part of. While most of it is nothing more than flat bricks, there's also a small structure with a staircase and a flag present, which is otherwise completely out of view, except for one very brief period when Nina descends from the balcony in which a small part of it is visible. Moreover, while similar flags can be seen in Wyndia itself, this one flies in the opposite direction. This area was likely going to be a little more involved than it ended up being.



The east face of Mt. Boumore features a huge locked gate. Not only is it impossible to open this, but bypassing it via cheat codes reveals that there's nothing beyond it, anyhow. Was this intended solely as decoration, or was there once going to be a path here?



The railroad tracks leading through the Dauna and Yraall regions actually continue quite a ways beyond what you can normally see in-game. They simply cut off past Cedar Woods, however, and don't continue into the Wyndia region.



The Dauna Hills checkpoint is well-known for the fact that... you never get to pass through it. And for good reason: There's absolutely nothing beyond it; the world literally drops off into an untextured grid. It's just a nicer-looking way of marking the edge of the game's world than a mountain or river.





Due to camera angles and blockoffs, it's normally not possible to get a very good view of Wyndia Castle or Steel Beach on the world map. And while there's a little more beyond the impassible wall near Kombinat that you can't otherwise see, like the checkpoint above, it's mostly just more untextured grid.

Assorted Oddities




It's normally not possible to examine shelves behind shop counters, and even if you use a walk-through-walls code to get back to them, they don't appear to have any "search" code. The shelves in Rhapala, however, are a notable exception, as, while they still can't be reached normally, not only can they be properly examined... but three of them also contain items! The left shelf in the Guild Hall contains 40 zenny, the right shelf in the clinic contains 400 zenny, and the shelf behind the inn counter contains a Vitamin. Nothing special, but why put anything at all in these if they can't be reached?





Similar to the shelves above, attempting to talk to people in inaccessible locations via cheating usually yields no response. Someone didn't tell the robots in Kombinat that, however, as all three can be spoken to. Two just make generic robotic sounds, while one helpfully states that "I'm a robot". Nevertheless, the dialogue is unique.



Near the very back of Caer Xhan, beyond the elevator leading to the Myria Station, and normally inaccessible, is what appears to be a doorway among some buildings. It can't be entered, and is normally completely hidden from view, ruling out mere decoration, so it's unknown what the purpose of this is.