“Thirty Years of Fire: a Lament from the Owner of Dragon-Tear.net”

Thirty years. That’s how long it’s been since the release of Breath of Fire on the Super Famicom. I was ten years old when it came out and I don’t recall how old I was when I first played it. What I do remember is how the series made me feel and the love I was able to share with others. For a series that lasted only twelve years, I don’t think it’s strayed far from my memory. It was the reason why I made dragon-tear.net back in 2000 and even though it’s long gone, it’s something I’ll always appreciate.

But.

Let me tell you: part of me wanted to be nice while I wrote this and channel my professional self, but I want to be my honest self. Being a fansite owner isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. I loved seeing people from around the world come together on my forums to talk about this series, but as they say, opinions are like assholes and everyone has one. Especially Breath of Fire fans. There’s dozens of articles about heartfelt love for the series and how it’s affected them personally… this will be a bit different. This is a page from the book of Casey, former owner and admin of dragon-tear.net.

I jokingly refer to my website as having been “hot take” central for a lot of subjects near and dear to the fan’s heart. If you don’t love Katt, you’re boring because Nina is boring and EVERYONE picks Nina. If you love Katt, you love furries. Before the release of Breath of Fire V, Nina IV wasn’t “cute” enough to be a Nina (although my partner in crime at the time, Oryan, was the eternal defender of her honor). Obviously Breath of Fire IV is a sequel so here’s a convoluted paragraph about how my opinion is absolute truth and it’s a prequel guys. If you deny it, you’re obviously stupid and not a critical thinker. Imagine having to give people time outs because they didn’t agree Ryu III’s samurai trenchcoat wasn’t cool.

The worst part of the fandom emerged once V released and the masses played or rather… didn’t play. Many picked those controllers up and slammed them right down. Keys clicked furiously as they all came to the forums in the dozen to cry and shout (capslock style) their disapproval of the game. A rogue-lite RPG that was way ahead of its time. It felt like I could wipe the tears off the screen of all the stunned fanboys that no longer had a Nina they could sexualize or a Ryu that turned into big strong dragon mans. The dreaded meter was the enemy of the fandom and created the biggest divide I’d ever seen. I had to ban someone from the V sub-forum because he would create endless new threads lamenting the existence of the game. I loved the game and the originality, despite its flaws. Even if others didn’t recognize it as a Breath of Fire game, at it’s core, it was just that.

After all, Breath of Fire was never about the dragon clan or large breasted Nina with wings. It was always about Ryu’s destiny and his struggle to wield his power responsibly along with the bond he had with his friends. That’s what I think, at least. I’d often get a “lmao game is garbage, you can’t be a dragon for more than 2 seconds lol” response when I would argue that point. Gotta love fans who think creators need to only create a game that only fans want. I mean, who needs creativity, right? NO SIR! NOT IN THIS FANDOM!

All good things eventually end and thus, dragon-tear.net died after its 12th year along with all the memories of a time long passed. I still have the memories in my heart and I met a lot of amazing people who I am still friends with to this day. To any who frequented the forums, it was a pleasure to have shared the love of Breath of Fire with you. I still have hope that one day Capcom may revive this series from the dead.

The author, Casey, is a complete amateur and a joke, but somehow she once had a very popular Breath of Fire fansite (dragon-tear.net). Patty and Fou Lu are the best characters in all of Breath of Fire and she won’t be convinced otherwise, so you can take your hot takes and shove it.