The Breath of Fire Manga
Against five games there is very little Breath of Fire manga, which makes the one substantial piece easy to shelve whole: a five-volume adaptation of the fourth game that expands it, gives its silent hero a voice, and then refuses the game's ending in favor of its own. Around it sit a promotional webcomic for the sixth game and a guest appearance in somebody else's crossover.
UTSUROWAZARUMONO
Ichimura's Breath of Fire IV, 2008Utsurowazarumono: Breath of Fire IV, written and drawn by Hitoshi Ichimura and published by Mag Garden in five volumes from 2008, takes its title from the game's Japanese subtitle and its material from both the game and its official design materials, the expanded-universe art book included. It is an adaptation with room to breathe: scenes are distilled, the world is widened, and Ryu, mute in the game, speaks.
Its boldest liberty is the ending. The game offers two; the manga writes a third, in which Ryu refuses to fully absorb Fou-Lu, the gods withdraw from the world, and the two halves wander it side by side as mortals, relearning humanity together, while Ryu's friends wait for a return the page leaves open. It remains available only in Japanese, and it is the closest thing the series has to an authorized alternate telling.
THE PREQUEL WEBCOMIC
Breath of Fire 6, in eight issuesGUEST PAGES
Worlds Unite, 2015In 2015 Breath of Fire appeared in Archie Comics' Worlds Unite, the crossover event running through the Sonic the Hedgehog and Mega Man titles, as one of several Capcom and Sega guest franchises. It is a footnote, but a telling one: a decade after the last console game, the series' characters were still being licensed as recognizable guests in other people's comics.