On the world map, you may see little strips in the water moving around. These places are called 'fishing spots'. You can catch plenty of useful fish here- provided you have the suitable rod and lure. You can usually buy different rods in certain shops, as well as lures. The strongest rod is hidden, and won't be revealed- at least here anyway. You can also fish in wells as well as a pond in one town, to recieve some useful stuff, like hints regarding the ultimate dragon form in the game, as well as some of the most powerful equipment to equip on Ryu. Ryu is the only person who can fish. Simply equip him with a Rod AND Lure, both in different etc. slots, and walk up to where there is a fishing spot/well. Press the 'talk button', and Ryu will automatically begin to fish at that spot. It'll only take a few seconds to find out if you caught something, or didn't. Basically, there are some things you CANNOT catch without a stronger Rod- that's the way it is. If you don't catch anything- you don't lose your lure- which is a good thing. If you attempt about 10 times to catch something at a certain spot, but fail, come back to the spot with a stronger Rod, later in the game. Fishing for fish isn't really necessary, but it CAN be useful to you if you learn how to use it right. You never know, you may find yourself selling the fish you catch for extra money! To learn more about fishing, go to the fishing section.
Yes, Ryu has the ability to transform into one of many dragon forms in battle! However, he must first visit the different 'dragon training centers', located throughout the world, in order to access these powers. As he passes each training session, a partial area of his powers are awakened. Of course, the first training session you can go to will reward you with the weakest of the dragon forms- though don't let that make you NOT use them. All the dragon forms in Breath of Fire 1 usually do set amount of HP damage- unless the enemy is strong/weak vs. that type of elemental attack. This being the case, Ryu's attack in human form could actually grow stronger than that of the dragon's! Now, let us talk about the capabilities of the dragon forms in battle. Turning into dragon form costs a certain amount of AP. This, added to the fact that Ryu CANNOT have any status ailments on him at the time. Obviously, if Ryu is stunned (unconcious), he cannot transform. If any of these requirements are not met, then Ryu cannot transform into a dragon. Ryu always goes first when transforming, unless a support/healing spell is cast. Since support/healing spells are ALWAYS cast first, Ryu's transformation will take place DIRECTLY after that. Ryu's defense is usually increased, and all HP is restored upon transformation. Ryu's equipment DOES affect how much defense he has in dragon form. You see, the dragon form increases the defense of Ryu by a percentage. So the higher your defense is in human form, the higher it will be in dragon. Ryu's other stats (HP, ACT, MAG) usually stay the same. As for Ryu's attack, each dragon has a SET ATTACK POWER, so it just changes to that, regardless of any other factors. There is no AP consumation after Ryu transforms into a dragon. Ryu cannot be hit by any status ailment, except stun (death), while in dragon form. Ryu can also REVERT back to human form if he wishes (for 0 AP). Just look in the spell list while you are a dragon and you will see it. Reverting back to human form DOES NOT restore HP. It leaves you with the HP you had left while in dragon form. Same goes for winning while in battle. You'll leave the battle with the HP left remaining during dragon form. Below is a list of ALL the dragon transformations in the game. It lists the defense boost, as well as the defense number percentage. The location of where you can find the transformations are also listed. DTC stands for Dragon Training Center. Everything you could practically ask about the dragons is down there, so take a look!
Dragon Forms | |||||
| DTC located south of Tantar, near Fairie Ring | |||||
| SnoDr | 7AP | 40 | 12% | 112% | Water/Frost |
| FlmDr | 10AP | 140 | 16% | 116% | Fire/Flame |
| ThrDr | 12AP | 160 | 20% | 120% | Wind/Fry |
| DTC located south of Nabal Dungeon, by the sea | |||||
| IceDgn | 20AP | 180 | 24% | 124% | Water/Ice |
| FirDgn | 27AP | 260 | 28% | 128% | Fire/Char |
| BltDgn | 30AP | 280 | 32% | 132% | Wind/Gale |
| GldDgn | 40AP | 300 | 36% | 136% | Holy/ZomX |