Last Ranker is a 2010 role-playing video game developed by Imageepoch and published by Capcom for the PlayStation Portable. Set in a fantasy world where warriors are ranked by Bazalta, the world's ruling military and government who are dedicated to fighting hostile beings called the Evinos. Zig, a young man from the nomadic Cantalera tribe, decides to enter Bazalta and reach its top ranks. He ends up allied with a rebel group and fighting against both Bazalta and the Evinos. Gameplay combines mission-based explorations, and combat featuring players controlling Zig in real-time during turn-based battles.
The game was created by director Kazuya Niinou, based on his love of tournament-style fights in shōnen manga and his wish to create a title fitting for Capcom's history of fighting games. The team featured industry veterans including Capcom producer Minae Matsukawa, illustrators Tatsuya Yoshikawa and Shin Nagasawa, and composer Yoko Shimomura. The scenario was created by Final Fantasy writer Kazushige Nojima, who also created supplemental novellas expanding on the narrative and characters.
The game remains exclusive to Japan, a fact attributed to the platform's weak market presence overseas. Last Ranker saw generally positive reviews from Japanese critics, with many citing its gameplay as standing out from other RPGs of the time. Debuting in the top ten best-selling titles of the week, it sold over 100,000 units during 2010. It was supported by two guidebooks, two mangas, and two CD dramas written by Nojima.
Gameplay
Last Ranker is a role-playing video game where players take on the role of protagonist Zig as he battles his way through the ranks of the military group Bazalta. The game has Zig navigating 3D environments in towns and the countryside areas, fulfilling missions for Bazalta and unlocking new areas of the world as Zig's Ranker status improves within Bazalta. Zig can wear equipment and accessories that both change his appearance and alter his abilities and statistics. He can also equip two weapon types; a sword as his main weapon, and a subweapon.
The battle system, while grounded in turn-based mechanics, also uses real-time elements. Three types of battles appear; random encounters against monsters, battles against rival soldiers tied to Zig's battle rank, and boss battles. The battles play out in real-time, with Zig as sole playable character and the current enemy or enemy party attacking in turn; with multiple enemies, Zig can select which target to attack. Zig's attacks rely on a charging energy meter filled with a resource called SP. Different attack types use varying amounts of SP, with Zig being unable to do anything except block when he runs out of SP.
Zig uses his sword for standard and heavy attacks, with a secondary attack using the equipped subweapon tied to different combat styles; subweapons include a second sword, dagger, axe, gun or gauntlet. Zig can have two accessible pairings of main and sub weapon, with one being active at a time. Attacks can be chained together to create combos which deal higher damage. The player can also open quick command menus to use skills, and some attacks cause status ailments for Zig or the enemy such as poisoning or paralysis.
Ranker battles are triggered by soldiers who see and confront Zig during exploration. When defeated, Zig advances to the defeated soldier's rank. Losing the battle causes a game over. All Ranker characters have a "Break" gauge in battle which is lowered by different attacks. When the gauge is emptied, hits cause more damage. After winning a Ranker battle, they will be entered in an in-game encyclopedia. Following encounters with the more powerful Rankers in standard and boss encounters, Zig can learn their powerful finishing ability, which grants him that ability to assign to the command menu. Through battles Zig gains experience points, which increase his level and both raise his statistics and unlock more skill slots. Skill uses are limited in battle, and using the powerful "mystery" skills will use all skill points for that battle.