Breath of Fire 2 for GBA— Characters
You know all of these characters from previous playthroughs of Breath of Fire 2, whether you played on the SNES or the GBA. Or at least you think you do. Here is semi in-depth look at the characters that might take arms by your side as you fight the evil spirits bent on devouring the world.
Ryu
Ryu, the Dragonbrood, is still the human (mostly) powerhouse that you know and love. He has extensive knowledge of swords, especially heavy swords, but can also use some rapiers and daggers to good effect. He is also capable of wearing heavy armor. He's balanced offensively and defensively, is fairly quick, and has powerful healing spells and dragon abilities, which he can use more often than before. Really and truly, it is hard to find a downside to Ryu, unless the lack of Shaman affinity is considered a weakness. And I haven't even mentioned his most amazing ability: often times he is able to get up after receiving horrific deathblows, grit his teeth, and continue to fight by sheer willpower and guts. Warrior.
Stats
Level 1— HP: 30 MP: 10 Str: 20 Sta: 16 Agi: 16 Wis: 8 Luck: 12
Level 25— HP: 209 MP: 53 Str: 84 Sta: 64 Agi: 71 Wis: 77 Luck: 74
Level 40— HP: 354 MP: 91 Str: 137 Sta: 100 Agi: 95 Wis: 111 Luck: 98
Spells by Exp. level
TimeWarp — lvl. 2 Heal — lvl. 7 Restore — lvl. 18 Warp — lvl. 30 Recovery — lvl. 41
Bosch
Bosch, of course, is Ryu's best friend. As a canine he has a certain natural strength about him, but his strongest ability is that of the healer. If Bosch is in your party, you will never want for defensive abilities. However, Bosch's weakness is his physical defense, and so he should be stationed behind more stalwart fighters, where he can ply his healing trade, or snipe enemies with his crossbow.
Stats
Level 1— HP: 25 MP: 15 Str: 16 Sta: 18 Agi: 12 Wis: 10 Luck: 8
Level 25— HP: 173 MP: 112 Str: 95 Sta: 51 Agi: 82 Wis: 103 Luck: 88
Level 40— HP: 261 MP: 189 Str: 135 Sta: 76 Agi: 116 Wis: 153 Luck: 127
Spells by Exp. level
Heal — lvl. 2 Purify — lvl. 3 Protect — lvl. 5 Haste — lvl. 6 Drain — lvl. 8
Smoke — lvl. 12 Restore — lvl. 15 RobMana — lvl. 16 Thunder — lvl. 18 Raise — lvl. 20
Remedy — lvl. 23 Barrier — lvl. 25 Shield — lvl. 27 Recovery — lvl. 28 Lightning — lvl. 30
HealWind — lvl. 33 Arise — lvl. 36 FullHeal — lvl. 40
Lin
Lin strikes first and asks questions later. Her fierce feline nature gives her incredible reflexes, great strength and a strong vitality... but is unprepared for a fierce onslaught against herself. Lin is not too bright, but nonetheless applies herself and picks up some fairly useful abilities, though it taxes her a fair bit to use them. Lin makes a valuable addition to any team employing blitzkrieg tactics.
Stats
Level 6— HP: 62 MP: 5 Str: 44 Sta: 21 Agi: 41 Wis: 15 Luck: 32
Level 25— HP: 221 MP: 30 Str: 98 Sta: 47 Agi: 128 Wis: 43 Luck: 92
Level 40— HP: 361 MP: 45 Str: 161 Sta: 73 Agi: 182 Wis: 67 Luck: 161
Spells by Exp. level
Slow — lvl. 8 Firebolt — lvl. 9 Weaken — lvl. 12 Paralyze — lvl. 16 Fragile — lvl. 19
Flame — lvl. 23 Death — lvl. 28 Inferno — lvl. 32 Blizzard — lvl. 37 Mjollnir — lvl. 40
Rand
Rand is a loyal giant of a figure, and you'll be glad he's on your side. In addition to his bulging muscles, he can protect the team almost single-handedly from attacks, and heal the wounds that are done afterwards. He also gains a couple of explosive offensive attacks in his repertoire of abilities. His weakness is speed.
Stats
Level 6— HP: 70 MP: 31 Str: 35 Sta: 30 Agi: 12 Wis: 25 Luck: 20
Level 25— HP: 278 MP: 86 Str: 119 Sta: 103 Agi: 45 Wis: 74 Luck: 46
Level 40— HP: 455 MP: 147 Str: 205 Sta: 193 Agi: 69 Wis: 118 Luck: 45
Spells by Exp. level
Heal — lvl. 6 Purify — lvl. 6 Simoon — lvl. 9 Protect — lvl. 11 Barrier — lvl. 15
Restore — lvl. 17 Quake — lvl. 24 Raise — lvl. 27 Remedy — lvl. 29 Might — lvl. 31
EarthChant — lvl. 34 HealWind — lvl. 36 Recovery — lvl. 38 Sirocco — lvl. 42
Nina
Nina's black wings may have been interpreted as a bad omen for Wyndia, but Nina may just be the best all-around magician available to your group. She is rather fragile, and should not be placed on the front lines, but her offensive magic packs quite a whallop, and she can cast her spells all day long. She is also quite adept at recharging her spells, via magical means or otherwise. She may also heal her companions wounds in a pinch, too.
Stats
Level 8— HP: 48 MP: 64 Str: 24 Sta: 22 Agi: 36 Wis: 48 Luck: 36
Level 25— HP: 151 MP: 150 Str: 54 Sta: 50 Agi: 97 Wis: 130 Luck: 81
Level 40— HP: 244 MP: 250 Str: 80 Sta: 78 Agi: 153 Wis: 212 Luck: 126
Spells by Exp. level
Aero — lvl. 8 Cold — lvl. 8 Thunder — lvl. 8 Firebolt — lvl. 8 Haste — lvl. 9
Exit — lvl. 10 Lightning — lvl. 12 Heal — lvl. 14 RobMana — lvl. 15 Typhoon — lvl. 18
Freeze — lvl. 20 Flame — lvl. 22 Barrier — lvl. 24 Kyrie — lvl. 26 Death — lvl. 28
HealWind — lvl. 31 Blizzard — lvl. 33 Mjollnir — lvl. 36 Inferno — lvl. 42 Might — lvl. 45
Sten
Sten might look like a clown, but he's more than able to make monkies of his enemies. He is almost as fast as Lin, while sporting heavier armor, which translates into better defense. He is a survivalist, and fights like an assault trooper, using deadly accurate knive strikes or fiery blasts to get the job done. Simply put, Sten should not be underestimated.
Stats
Level 8— HP: 55 MP: 16 Str: 35 Sta: 25 Agi: 42 Wis: 22 Luck: 45
Level 25— HP: 178 MP: 62 Str: 94 Sta: 67 Agi: 108 Wis: 51 Luck: 129
Level 40— HP: 282 MP: 104 Str: 143 Sta: 104 Agi: 160 Wis: 76 Luck: 195
Spells by Exp. level
Firebolt — lvl. 8 Simoon — lvl. 10 Warp — lvl. 11 Purify — lvl. 12 Haste — lvl. 15
Flame — lvl. 17 1000-Cuts — lvl. 22 Drain — lvl. 24 Inferno — lvl. 33 Sirocco — lvl. 38
Jean
Jean's potential is not immediately apparent. His personality lends itself to his initially (somewhat) laid-back stats. However, he does seem to shrug off alarmingly dangerous strikes with ease, and has a tendency to strike critical blows with alacrity. As Jean gains more experience however, his inner strength begins to show itself, and becomes a truly gifted holy warrior. Truly one who is fit to lead his people!
Stats
Level 10— HP: 84 MP: 20 Str: 30 Sta: 40 Agi: 20 Wis: 30 Luck: 49
Level 25— HP: 178 MP: 62 Str: 75 Sta: 79 Agi: 45 Wis: 42 Luck: 125
Level 40— HP: 319 MP: 122 Str: 124 Sta: 144 Agi: 79 Wis: 79 Luck: 211
Spells by Exp. level
Purify — lvl. 10 Weaken — lvl. 11 Fragile — lvl. 12 Silence — lvl. 13 Warp — lvl. 14
Heal — lvl. 16 Paralyze — lvl. 18 1000-Cuts — lvl. 20 Restore — lvl. 25 Kyrie — lvl. 30
Raise — lvl. 32 Shield — lvl. 38
Spar
Spar is a most versatile soul. He (she?) is compatible with almost every possible shaman combination, and this is where Spar's true power lies. By himself, he is a mediocre fighter, and a decent caster, but his magic power lags somewhat behind the best magicians. However, Spar has a tremendous vitality and can soak up much damage for the party, and can cast his cantrips all day long. For this reason, Spar is relatively low maintenance. His claim to fame is that he has spells that heal allies, has decent attack spells, and spells that can debilitate enemies or increase the power of allies.
Stats
Level 12— HP: 116 MP: 95 Str: 28 Sta: 27 Agi: 25 Wis: 72 Luck: 36
Level 25— HP: 218 MP: 146 Str: 71 Sta: 86 Agi: 47 Wis: 125 Luck: 58
Level 40— HP: 333 MP: 219 Str: 106 Sta: 132 Agi: 69 Wis: 196 Luck: 79
Spells by Exp. level
Heal — lvl. 12 Cold — lvl. 12 Purify — lvl. 12 Aero — lvl. 12 Haste — lvl. 12
Slow — lvl. 13 Silence — lvl. 14 Protect — lvl. 15 Paralyze — lvl. 16 Exit — lvl. 18
Warp — lvl. 19 Drain — lvl. 21 RobMana — lvl. 22 Remedy — lvl. 24 Restore — lvl. 25
Quake — lvl. 26 Freeze — lvl. 28 Barrier — lvl. 30 Shield — lvl. 31 Typhoon — lvl. 33
Might — lvl. 36 Earth Chant — lvl. 40 HealWind — lvl. 44
Bleu
Ah Bleu, the legendary sorceress. The years have addled her a bit, and she doesn't have quite the command of magic that she once did. However, that'll come back to her with a little bit of quality time with her hero, Ryu. Like Ryu, she is a being of extraordinary power, and as such she may not join with any shaman. This does limit her effectiveness a bit, but when you consider the power of the attack spells that she commands... it's really not much of a weakness. She can't fight effectively, but given her natural ability to recover her wounds completely at will, she can stand up to her enemies quite admirably.
Stats
Level 35— HP: 245 MP: 225 Str: 48 Sta: 50 Agi: 71 Wis: 143 Luck: 62
Level 40— HP: 296 MP: 293 Str: 76 Sta: 76 Agi: 114 Wis: 187 Luck: 85
Spells by Exp. level
Flame — lvl. 35 Freeze — lvl. 35 Lightning — lvl. 35 Typhoon — lvl. 35 Quake — lvl. 35
Firebolt — lvl. 35 Cold — lvl. 35 Thunder — lvl. 35 Aero — lvl. 35 Simoon — lvl. 35
RobMana — lvl. 35 Drain — lvl. 35 Weaken — lvl. 35 Fragile — lvl. 35 Slow — lvl. 35
Exit — lvl. 36 Warp — lvl. 37 Inferno — lvl. 38 Death — lvl. 39 Blizzard — lvl. 40
Sirocco — lvl. 41 Mjollnir — lvl. 42
Copyright notice
The content in this portion of the website pertains to "software" known as "Breath of Fire 2", which was developed by Capcom, and published by Capcom (SNES release) and later licensed for a remake to the GBA which was published by Ubisoft. The Fresh Fire mod is completely unofficial, and was an amateur fan-made undertaking. I respect the intellectual property of Capcom and Ubisoft, and under no circumstances will I distribute the ROMs for the GBA versions of Breath of Fire 2. The patch available for download is a derivative work and is completely my own. It is offered totally free of charge.