1992 · Enix · Adventure · Role-playing

Just Breed

Nintendo exclusive

Just Breed is a strategy RPG released only in Japan for the Nintendo Famicom.

Released: 15 December 1992
Platforms: NES
Genres: Adventure Role-playing Strategy Tactical role-playing
Developers: Enix
Publishers: Enix
Modes: Single-player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Fantasy
Country: Japan
Languages: Japanese
Composers: Kōhei Tanaka

About

Just Breed (ジャストブリード, Jasuto Burīdo) is a tactical role-playing game published by Enix for the Famicom. It was published exclusively in Japan in 1992. The game was announced nearly three years before release. It is one of the largest RPGs for the Famicom.

›Story

Long ago, in a time of legend. The country of Rumbleville is said to have prospered. Protected by the power of the seven sacred stones and guided by seven guides, the country was said to have been promised eternal peace and prosperity. However, when an evil shadow fell on one of the stones, Rumbleville was destroyed in an instant. The seven imams with the sacred stone led their people on a journey in search of a new land.

One night, many years later, in Astholm, a town blessed with a sapphire stone, Phyllis, a girl from a family that has inherited the stone, is performing the annual Sapphire Festival, the first ceremony after becoming a new priest. The festival is in full swing, the ceremony goes off without a hitch, and Phyllis meets up with the town's garrison leader, a boy, at the edge of the village. Suddenly, however, a monster appears and snatches Phyllis away. All that remains is the sapphire Phyllis was wearing. The next day, with the sapphire in hand, the boy and his fellow garrison members set out on a journey to save Phyllis.

Keywords

wizards
magic
kingdom
forest
hero
king
battle
priest
conversation
fan translation - english
magician
level up

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The game's six main characters each have their own armies of six soldiers, making the total number of troops thirty-six.

Each character has a set character class, which allots them fixed attributes and allows some of them to learn and use certain spells. The leaders are well-rounded Heroes that use both weapons and magic. Wizards rely almost entirely on powerful magic. Fighters battle close-range with a number of weapons.

Story

The game's story opens in the town of Astholm, which is spiritually protected by a sapphire wielded by the priestess Firis. She is one of six priestesses charged with holding a special gem to have together held an archaic power for several generations. During the town's Sapphire Festival, Firis is kidnapped by the henchmen of Ezelkiel, a man bent on collecting the priestesses to revive an ancient evil. The player takes on the role of the nameless Hero who, along with being sworn to protect Astholm, is the lover of Firis. He immediately sets out with his army to rescue the priestess and ends up becoming involved in a much larger-scale predicament involving the world's other priestesses and gems.

Development

Just Breed was announced nearly three years before its release, which took place towards the end of the Famicom's lifecycle. The game was programmed by Kazuro Morita's game company Random House. Manga artist Yuzo Takada, best known for 3×3 Eyes series, designed both the characters and monsters, while anime composer Kōhei Tanaka scored the game. The cartridge for Just Breed includes the MMC5 chip, which boosts the game's graphics and sound.

At 6 megabits, it is lauded as one of the largest RPGs for the system. The game was never released outside Japan but an unofficial English patch was created by Stealth Translations in 2004.