While we haven’t seen Breath of Fire in ages, Capcom hasn’t forgotten about the RPGs. They’re teaming up with 7th Dragon developer Imageepoch to make Last Ranker.
Last Ranker centers on a tournament and world of fighters called “rankers”. You play as Zig, a scowling, hot blooded drifter who aspires to be top ranker. After each fight one ranker’s rank rises and the other falls.
Kazuya Niinou, one of the key team members on 7th Dragon, tells Famitsu Last Ranker is inspired by kid’s fighting manga. Think of Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, or any other series that has some kind of tournament. Last Ranker is said to emphasize the relationships and rivalries that go on between fights. Ren, a survivor from a ruined kingdom, and Fez, one of Zig’s friends when he was a kid, are two adversaries you’ll meet.
Last Ranker’s combat system is explained as a blend of turn based battles and action commands. Pressing a button results in an action and you don’t need to select things like fight or punch from a menu. However, you can’t directly control your character as if you were playing an action RPG. Sounds sort of like Dissidia: Final Fantasy’s command menu system to me.
Another interesting tidbit is Matsukawa Minae best known for her work on the Phoenix Wright games is acting as the producer. Last Ranker is set to come out for the PSP next year in Japan.
