Thinking about it, you may be right on the breath of fire 1 and maybe 2 not being aoe (or the size of the effect we really small on the lower ones, like 2 or 3). The aoe was the one I think we got when we ascended to adult (breath of fire 3), or it had a larger area of effect so it was noticeable. Being aoe it wasn't a bad ability, even with the longer cast time. Flame Burst basically took its place. i also think the original bof3 had a much longer recycle that it does now that its single target (probably similiar to what flame burst is now). Which wouldnt be bad except now it costs hoard and misses half the time. When it didnt cost hoard it was worth using even when it missed half the targets.
All the breaths could be improved if they simply hit alot more often, and the plain bof3 did alot more damage. I've been asking for this for years now. please fix the Dragon's defining attack.