I went into Blockbuster about 3 years ago to rent a video game.  There
was this really cool game, I don't recall which platform it was, i
think it might have been playstation 1 or 2. The only details i can
remember about the game was that you would get these spheres and you
would morph them together to make a "genetically enhanced dragon". If
you could find the title for me i would be greatly appreciated as i
would like to add it to my collection.  It was really cool because
there where many different combinations you could make to make the
ultimate dragon.

Hello.

It sounds like you're describing "Dragon Seeds."

This a Playstation game that features "dragon genetic engineering."

The subtitle is "Breed Beasts for Battle."  See this scan of the cover:
http://jaltet.free.fr/PSX_D/Dragon_Seeds_a.jpg

The back cover says: "Genetically engineer and train dragons for armed combat!"
http://jaltet.free.fr/PSX_D/Dragon_Seeds_b.jpg

See Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00001ZWVK/

Google Groups:
http://groups.google.com/groups?&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=c7fc4ba2.0206061021.97bcd15%40posting.google.com&rnum=1

Ebay: 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8111613754&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=62053&item=8111454241&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

---------
search strategy:
google groups: playstation dragon game
"dragon seeds"

I hope this is the game that you had in mind. If not, please let me
know via the  "request clarification" feature. Thanks.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sunofagund-ga on 13 Jun 2004 21:15 PDT

i hate to say it, but i don't think that is the game im looking for. 
I specifically remember the Spheres that were morphed together, the
cover ( back and front) doesnt show the screen where these spheres
were. and i dont think it was a combat game like the looks of this
game from the back cover.  i think it was more rpg like, i know the
description of the game says so at the link, but i just dont think
this is the game....

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sunofagund-ga on 13 Jun 2004 21:42 PDT

also, this might help your search.  I am almost positive that the
cover art for the back of the game was where i saw the sphere screen. 
Also the sphere screen wasnt in 3D, it was 2D with nice bright
coloring and contrast.  I'm thinking it was most likely a playstation
game.  Im gonna see if the local video store has this game Dragon
seeds, to check and make sure its not it, but im almost certain it not
the game im talking about.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 13 Jun 2004 22:01 PDT

The screen photos notwithstanding, I'm not sure that "Dragon Seeds" is
really much of a combat game.

One of the customer reviews on Amazon suggests that when the dragons
battle it out, it's more like a "rock-paper-scissors" showdown than
genuine combat game.

"And instead of fighting in a strategic manner it's a combination of
luck and rock-paper-scissors. "
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00001ZWVK/


But if you're sure that it's the wrong game, then I guess it's back to
the drawing board...

Let me ask you this... Once you built the ultimate dragon, what did it
do?  What was the point of building the ultimate dragon?  Any other
details that you can remember about the game might help.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 13 Jun 2004 23:13 PDT

Could it be Breath of Fire 3?

This game involves building a dragon out of "genes."

"And yes, as in the original Breath of Fire, the hero can transform
into a dragon. But the old series of tests have been replaced by a
dragon gene system, which enables Ryu to combine different genes to
form bigger and more powerful dragon forms. The more powerful the form
he takes on, the more magic points get sucked up each round of battle
and the more quickly he reverts back to his human form. The key is to
find the right balance of strength, breath attacks, and stamina, and
experimenting to find the right gene combo is a ton of fun. The 18
genes are contained in stones which can be found in different spots
throughout the game."
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Fortress/8824/bof3.htm

Also see these various newsgroups discussions:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=%22breath%20of%20fire%22%20dragon%20genes&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wg

Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000006OVE/

---

Request for Answer Clarification by sunofagund-ga on 14 Jun 2004 06:22 PDT

you found it! your awesome, its Breathe of Fire III. Im sure of it
now. that game rocked, and ryu was a dragon kid, thankyou much and the
other kid for posting the valuable information.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 14 Jun 2004 09:04 PDT

You're welcome.
-juggler

awesome and determined to satisfy me with the results i needed

DAMN YOU!!!!!!! You beat me by mere minutes! Friggin' registration process.

Yeah, I'm almost positive you mean the awesome BoFIII which I fully
support your quest for. When you used Ryu's power "Accession", you
would see spheres arranged in a large rectangular window that took up
the lower 2/3 of the screen, with a small window on top to show the
three genes you'd select. The genes ranged from the bread-and-butter
Flame, Frost, and Lightning, to the more powerful (and costly in
AP-per-turn) Fusion, Miracle and Infinity.

Some gene combinations were just normal and gave what you expected
(Defender + Frost, for example, gave an adult dragon with ice power,
and Miracle + Radiance a holy-power Behemoth) and some combinations
gave completely original dragon forms... such as!

Trance + Shadow gave Tiamat, a sort of dark coiled-serpent dragon with
death spells and poison/death breath attacks..

Force + Trance gave Myrmidon, a demon-like humanoid creature that had
really powerful attacks. Favorite of mine.

Infinity + Failure gave a Kaiser form you could actually CONTROL, as
opposed to having to watch it wipe out your entire freaking party if
it chose to.

Etcaetera!

Breath of Fire III had a masters-based skill system that was pretty
cool, a huge variety of items and stuff to do (fishing! building that
damned fairy village the way you wanted!), an interesting story, an
excellent battle system, pretty graphics (for the time, and
still)..... I forgot the rest of my sentence. Oh! The music, too!
Catchy, doesn't get dull, suits the occasions (some of the boss musics
came to mind instantly).

I think it's the RPG I logged the most time on. I'm glad you're
looking for it. Good luck though, it's kinda rare as far as I can
tell.

you guys rock! thankyou, lemme ask you, have you played breathe of
fire IV. is it like 3 with dragon morphing?

I own BoFs 1 through 4 (5? I don't need no 5, screw the PS2 >:{} ) 
Although they're all good, in decreasing order of preference, they go:
III, II, IV and I. I have finished all of them several times. Yours is
an easy question. Here's my painfully long reply :)

You see.........    

No.


BoF III was the game that had the coolest dragon system of all 4, the
gene splicing system.

BoF I had a "pay 10 to 60 AP now, and a bit more each turn, to turn
into one of those, like, 8 choices we give you" system. 3 Drakes
(assorted elementals), 4 Dragons, I believe, since "GldDgn" is added,
then Rudra, and Agni, ultimate form.

BoF II had a - particularly distasteful - system in which you
acquired, at some point in the game, three mini-"dragon" "summons" (of
the 3 basic elementals, EACH OF WHICH DID THE EXACT SAME DAMAGE
ANYWAY) that would deal "255" points of damage to all if you had all
your AP or "Retarded" points of damage if you had anything less than
that. Later on, you found 3 more full-size dragon "summons", AGAIN
with three identical-damage elements (500 dmg at full AP only) and
AGAIN that required all your AP at once to cast and did BS damage if
you didn't have 100% of it. Then finally, losing against a kick-ass
dragon-transformed Ray, you came back to life with a kick-ass dragon
"summon" of your own, that did, wait for it...  999 damage to
everything, but only if you had full AP! Go GldDrgn, you're so much
better than the others! At least he looked too cool. This friggin'
"haha I drain all your AP at once anyway and you gotta keep it full to
get any use out of the attack" system was totally mental. Ryu had the
opportunity to learn powerful healing magic and some attack spells,
but you'd never get to use it, ever, considering how rare AP-restoring
items were in that game! It really sucked.



AND FINALLY, WE COME TO WHAT YOU HAD ASKED ABOUT. BREATH OF FIRE IV.

BoF IV used a system similar to BoF I. Pay the fee, then a fraction of
it each turn, and you get to keep the form. There were about 6 forms
to choose from, including fan-favorites from III like Kaiser, Behemoth
and Myrmidon. They also had the 0-AP cost Breath attacks from III,
whose damage was affected by what percentage of your HP was left in
you. And you could "evolve" those "dragons" into more powerful forms
(Behemoth to Mammoth, Myrmidon to Knight, for example) by playing the
MANY, MANY mini-games you'd encounter throughout the game... and not
beating people up for their cash. But in the end, after having been
spoiled by the dragon system of BoF III, there was just no going back.
It was a huge disappointment.

Not to say BoF IV isn't good. Its battle system, with the combos and
character switching and stuff, was the best yet seen in the series.
And the town-building part was much better, allowing you to build an
actual town instead of one big communal house. Those are just
examples. If only it had had a different dragon system, the slightly
more endearing characters of III, and music just a teeny bit more
catchy (Fou-Lu, the other character, 's battle themes were just
nerve-wrackingly annoying. ****ing plucked strings. For example.), it
could have topped III and II to reach the top of my heart in the RPG
domain.

As it stands, every BoF I've played rocks. But III is just the better one. 


Wait, apart from the V (BoF: Dragon Quarter, whatEVER), I haven't
played the I and II remakes on GBA..... I've always wanted to see how
those turned out..

OH! Another note! It was just a pure joy to wander freely, to
sweet-ass music, with OPTIONAL encounters, on the fishing-spot- and
secrets-ridden BoF III overworld map. Why the HELL did they pick a
"dot-to-dot" map system for IV? That was depressing too.



Hm, I'd take the time to find and find a place to host BoF III music
samples, but I'm posting this comment now, dammit.