Just Breed is a strategy-RPG for the Famicom that was released by Enix on December 15, 1992, making it one of the last RPG-ish games ever released for the Famicom, or so I’ve been told. It had some pretty advanced features for the time, such as B-button dash, extra sound channels, and a large font (the Japanese script even has a smattering of kanji, generally unheard of on the Famicom). Also, the characters were designed by Yuzo Takada, author of the manga 3×3 Eyes, though it’s not like you’d be able to tell from the 16×16 character sprites.

The game plays much like Fire Emblem or Shining Force, with the gimmick here (called the “Team Spirits” system) being that your units are grouped into armies and must take all their actions together as one army, as well as stay close to their respective commanding officers. Between battles you get to explore a rather large number of towns, which provide entertaining and occasionally odd story events as well as a welcome respite from the monotony of that blasted overworld music.

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