…and kids will be playing it who weren’t even born yet the last time Capcom gave us any news about the status of the main series. Yes, some time next year Capcom will be releasing the first new major title in their petrified RPG blockbuster series since 2002. Western fans have no guarantees just yet–it was only announced for Japan–but there is at least some hope now that Ryu and Nina will be reborn in English once again. The announcement was made yesterday at Capcom’s Network Game Conference, and it’s hard to say just how excited we ought to be. An abandoned western fanbase has been dying for a decade to see classic RPG series likes Breath of Fire, Suikoden, and Final Fantasy reborn or in the latter case resuscitated, but that does not necessarily mean Capcom is going to see a western market or throw enough weight behind this game to effectively appeal to it. Breath of Fire did persist in Japan, like so many other former great franchises, in the form of low budget mobile game spinoffs, and if that remains the most lucrative outlet for JRPGs, then the significance of that 6 next to the title (as opposed to say, 4 Dragon of Ultimate Death 7 Quest Episode 3), might amount to little more than a half-hearted pitch to sell a few more copies. Breath of Fire 6 appears to be technologically bridging the gap between the mobile market and more sedentary gaming, with a touch screen mobile device interface that will also be designed to function on a PC as the same game–not a port–with transferable save states.

It will be worth keeping an eye in the months to follow on just how much Capcom markets this game. If they expect the 6 to sell itself and do little more to promote it, we probably shouldn’t expect (or even necessarily desire) a port. But if they make a big deal about it, then get excited, because I doubt they would put forth all of the necessary effort to create a legitimate, worthy installment to the Breath of Fire series and then forget to ship it overseas.