Customer Reviews

Blue Dragon

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Blue Dragon brings back a lot of good memories of classic RPGs ive played over the years. While not groundbreaking in any way, Blue Dragon takes all the eastern rpg conventions to near-perfection.

This may come off as a kids game when you see the childlike characters and cartoony animation style, but for every time you see some cute animals dancing you hear someone yell "that bastard!" or you encounter some ridiculously challenging boss. even the hardcore RPGer will find a challenge in some of these bosses.

The music is always fitting and usually quite beautiful. when you have the composer of FF I-V would you expect any less? i gotta say though, the boss battle theme feels a bit out of place. the total cheezemetal wouldnt be as bad without the vocals, and i know Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) is capable of much better. the voice work was all done exceptionally well though, with the main character Shu being voiced by the same actor as Izzy from the original cast of digimon. very recognizeable voice. i hadnt seen that show in at leased 5 years and i knew who it was right away. thats kind of pointless info, but i thought it was cool.

The main thing that drew me toward this game was the job system. If you've played Final Fantasy V you'll feel right at home with this job system. you select a class (sword master, black mage, ect) for each character. you can freely change class when not in battle, and as you grow in each class you learn the skills and abilities associated with that class. as your characters grow in level you can unlock new classes for them, although there are only 9 classes total, which i found a little disappointing; however, the job system is still my favorite aspect of the game. character growth and trying to balance the right mixes of classes for each is done better in this game than most others ive played. its simple yet very effective, like most aspects of this game.

Graphically, i think this game looks great. the world is full of unique and beautiful environments. from the characters to the environments and buildings, this is Akira Toriyama art all the way. this is one of the most cinematic games i have ever played. impressive pixar quality cutscenes and animations abound.

Blue Dragon plays out in the standard turn based style, however, there are no random encounters. you see your enemies walk around the areas as you explore. making contact with them will start the battle. when the battle starts you have a list of commands (attack, defend, spell, ect) and you choose one for each character. i feel a much stronger sense of strategy in this than any other game like this ive played. there is a list at the top of the screen showing you the next 4-10 turns. certain skills can be charged to increase power. the more you strengthen the attack, the more turns you have to wait for it to actualy happen. the charging is done with a mini game similar to the 3 click swing of golf games. little things like this add some extra depth to the combat.

the story itself doesnt shatter any conventions by any means. if you've played Japanese RPGs before you know the idea. evil being trying to overthrow the world/ragtag group of young heros set out to stop him and meet new friends along the way. its just that, like the gameplay, the characters and their underlying stories are done so well. i find myself actually caring what fate is in store for these characters. nearly everyone in this story has such a strong sense of charm and perseverance that you cant help but root for them.

The experience offered by Blue Dragon will make the seasoned RPG player remember exactly what got them into these games in the first place. For those who havent played one of the many Japanese RPGs over the last 20 years, this is one of the best places to start.

Blue Dragon is yet another highly anticipated XBOX360 title. Not completely for hype, however, but more because of the men behind the game. Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama and Nobuo Uematsu. Sakaguchi is, of course, the famed created of the never-ending Final Fantasy series, Akira Toriyama is a famous character designer for the Dragon Quest series as well as Dragon Ball and Nobuo Uematsu is the music composer for the Final Fantasy games and a contributor to several other games. The only man missing from this "dream team" is Yuji Horii, the producer for Dragon Quest. The last time these men teamed up we got what is arguably one of the greatest RPGs of all time: Chrono Trigger. So, of course, with a game like Chrono Trigger under your belt, as well as the Final Fantasy series, expectations for Blue Dragon are high. Do they live up? If you lower your expectations they do, but for the most part, this game is more of an introduction for those who aren't familiar with Japanese RPGs.

You play as Shu, and as the game begins you fight a Land Shark, a monster that's been terrorizing the village of Talta. Shu and his friends Kluke and Jiro have a plan to get rid of the Land Shark by leading him into a trap. Not everything works out as perfectly planned however and before he knows it, Shu is waking up in some ruins alongside his friends. This is where your journey ultimately begins.

The reason it seems as though Blue Dragon is an introduction to Japanese RPGs is simple: Everything about it is simple and basic, and there's really nothing too "deep" here. When I say simple and basic, I'm not kidding. The story is pretty basic. Mostly because you just don't feel like it's going anywhere. The characters don't help either and neither does the writing. However, sometimes simplicity is key. Because of how simple the game is, the learning curve isn't so steep here. And while the story and characters are nothing special, the gameplay elements are.

Akira Toriyama's work here is obvious. The characters look like they were pulled straight out of Dragon Ball, the monsters look like they're pulled straight out of Dragon Quest. The characters are obviously children, and a lot of the game is rather "cute" looking but the game is very beautiful looking. The cutscenes are great, and some of the voice acting is pretty good (albeit at times annoying).

Gameplay wise, Blue Dragon is like most of your traditional RPGs. There are no random battles, just enemies out on the field that you battle upon making contact with them. This means battling is largely optional. There are, of course, times when monsters are in your way and you'll be forced to fight, but for the most part, there are no random encounters and that's a blessing. In battle is rather simplistic. It's a lot like battling in the NES installments of Final Fantasy and the Dragon Quest series. It's entirely turn based. This means that there's some time for strategy, and the game encourages it. You know when your enemies are going to attack and you can plan accordingly. Blue Dragon adds a little something to its field system though. The Attack Circle. Outside of battle you can make a circle to engage multiple groups of enemies at once. This helps to clear out areas faster, but the real gem of this is to get two enemies that hate each other into battle and watch as they attack each other before they attack you. In the long run, this really isn't something you'll do a lot. Blue Dragon is by no means a hard game.

A slight problem with the battle system however is framerate issues. Turn based battles are usually slow as it is, but here you'll find they're even slower and it isn't because you have to spend time watching every action, it's because the framerate dips and the game lags.

The abilities system is quite unique at least. You select a job, learn the abilities in that class and once you learn abilities you can mix and match them all you want. You can change jobs whenever you want as well. It's a great and interesting system that allows for tons of customization. It also a great way to provide some strategy in the long run. This is because certain classes will have a direct effect on your stats. For example, a sword master gets a large boost to his attack and defense. Mages get a boost in magic abilities. The system is very similar to the job system found in Final Fantasy V

Blue Dragon isn't a bad sounding game, but Nobuo Uematsu has certainly done better. For the most part, what you get in terms of music is actually pretty good, though you won't find yourself humming most of it any time soon. As I said earlier, the voice acting isn't so bad, but there are some moments when it can be pretty annoying.

Blue Dragon is by no means a bad game. It's just a game that didn't reach as high as it could. It sticks to simplicity and basics. Basic storyline and basic characters. Certainly that's not always a bad thing, but in this day and age, no RPG can survive on gameplay alone. It needs a good story and good character development. Both of these things, Blue Dragon lacks.

Pros:

+Some nice visuals
+Simple gameplay elements
+Battles encourage strategy
+No Random Encounters
+Job system allows for a lot of customization
+Great cutscenes with some decent voice acting

Cons:

-The story is not interesting
-The characters are nothing special, either
-The game is far too easy for veterans of the genre
-Dips in frame rate in battle are annoying

My son and I have been playing this game together and have really been enjoying it. He's almost 9, and yes, they say the word bastard a few times, but he's so engrossed in the storyline that it hasn't been an issue at all.

The game itself has been quite fun (we aren't done yet, currently on disc 3). The only problem is that we are up to boss fights now, but our levels are suddenly not near high enough. So now we are just putzing around grinding levels. I have WoW for that =P It's much more fun to follow a storyline than grind, especially in this game, so I wish they had planned out the leveling better.

Other than that no complaints.

I'm not an avid gamer anymore, but i do know a good game when i play one. This one in particular is above average, as far as fun factor goes.
Graphics are good,( there are some slowdown issues at times, and skipping in some scenes) sound ranges from ok to really good,( if your not under 16 you will find some of the voice work to be really annoying), gameplay is as easy and traditional as a japanese rpg can be. Story is nothing special, same ol good kids versus a terribly evil villain, there are some small twists here and there for good measure. For me the most enjoying part is character upgrades. everything else was above average.

I loved the leveling system. How you can use the best skills from all the classes. Reminded me of Final Fantasy Tactics! The only issue I had with it was that I took a wrong turn and fought some harder guys in the beginning of the game and then the rest of the game seemed too easy. I never had to use any of my items except for boss battles.

This is a must have for anyone that's into RPG's.

OK, I am not an anime fan. Not even a little. I tried Blue Dragon simply because I was jonesing for an RPG, and this was about all there was after Oblivion for the 360.

Well, much to my suprise, I ended-up thoroughly engrossed in the darn thing.

Since I have limited time, I'll do a short and sweet Pro/Con summary:

PROS:

Absolutely stellar graphics. It really seems like you are playing a Pixar movie at times. Colorful and inventive, Blue Dragon is a pleasure to look-at, and lets face it, that matters.

Very simple and intuitive interface. Almost everything you need to access for your inventory, stats, spells, etc are logically located in one, succinct menu, with the map in another. Very quick and easy. Makes you wonder why after 10+ years the otherwise excellent Resident Evil series can't figure this out.

The storyline is predictable silly, even juvenile, but it's done with enough charm and originality to more-or-less make up for it. Somehow, I still wanted to see what would happen next, and I am one cynical sod ;)

Tons of content. Lets face it, 60 bucks is a lot of dough, and I would usually shy away from buying a plotted game. Normally I rent them, as the replay value, at least for me is low. But this thing is so darn huge, that it will keep you playing for a month probably. At least as long as Oblivion from what I can tell.

Technically, the game seems nearly flawless. I have experienced no graphic gitches or frame-rate slowdowns at all.

Soundtrack. The score and incedental music is excellent, if not slightly incongruous. There's a main leitmotif that sounds almost exactly the same as the one from Godfather II. There's also a very cool uptempo original metal track from Deep Purple's Ian Gillan that plays during the boss fights. Cool track, except that I wish they had more than one in the game :/ I noticed a couple of teen reviewers noted the "cheese metal" boss-music. I found this pretty hilarious. They are playing a game that looks like a carebears cartoon, what do they want, Slayer? The song that's there is heavy and fast enough to fit the action, without being out-of-place.


Cons: (These are largely subjective)

Frustrating content decisions. Although I haven't quite finished the game yet, (I'm on disc 3) so far this has been an almost entirely innocent and innocuous game, that I would highly recommend for any child. The gameworld is whimsical and charming, without the slightest hint of "adult content", with the bizarre addition of the occasional use of the word "b*stard". Now stop me if this doesn't seem weird to you, but why on earth would they have these cuddly, carebear-like charcters suddenly feel the need to yell that? It's not only unintentionly funny to an adult, (picture a lady smurf suddenly flipping-up their shirt for no reason)but it's keeping me from letting my 9-year old play a game that ordinarily would be fine. Like the game would be less fun if they didn't say "b*stard" a few times per disc. Just seems like a stupid business decision. "Hey! Let's limit millions of potential little-kid buyers from spending their 60 bucks so we can cuss a few times! They make a good, cute, kiddie game, then make it off-limits for much of their target audience. Weird. Glad they aren't handling my mutual fund.

Repetiton. Any long-time fan of Japanese console RPG's is used to the somewhat repetitive combat, so it won't be news to you, but to any people more used-to western-style combat, fighting essentially the same battle 10,000 times can stretch your patience. After 20 hours or so of play, I found myself running past most of the mobs just so I wouldn't have to battle anymore. Although to be fair, they did add more depth and strategy to the fighting than normal, otherwise, i would have started avoiding the fights much sooner :)

Overall, highly recommended.

I have enjoyed playing this game. Like most RPG's you can save anywhere in the open world areas but once you get into another type of area there can be long times between saves. It's a pretty easy game I haven't had to take time to level up in order to win battles. Money is easy to get in this game, so it makes it easier to buy things you need. If your looking for a nice simple RPG to play for a while or a starter game for younger players, this is a good one.

I love RPG's and this one is a good mix of old turn-based play and new graphics. I don't know how I feel about the Dragon Ball Z style characters yet, but they do show off the 3D rendering power of the X Box 360. I bought the game along with the 360. My wife and I spent an entire weekend playing and wanted to continue but when you're over 40 life still gets in the way of the important things. We definately expect more good things out of microsoft...a company that large should be able to afford good gaming engineers.

P.S. Buy from Amazon.com, you'll always know where and when your stuff is. They even e-mailed me of a shipping problem and they took care of it at no cost to me...good to know a company still cares about service.

I bought this game at the suggestion of my husband. I am new to the whole RPG game and he figured this would be a good one for me to start with. I like the game but there's just a few things missing. There seem to be gaps in the storyline so that I can't get all the invested in the characters. It's also difficult to level up and gain more skills.

While it's easy to play, some of the achievements are difficult to get and unless you save in just the right place, you'll miss them. Of course I didn't find this out until AFTER I'd missed them. While I don't play just for the achievements, I know a lot of people who do and who had very harsh things to say because of that. I also found that some of the in-game maps were hard to follow.

It's definitely a starter game but not sure one I'll finish. I hate not being able to level up at a consistent pace and, like I said before, I'm not invested in the characters that much. It is fun and I might eventually make my way back to it. It will definitely be one that I can help my kids play when they get a little older.

This game is lots of fun and lots of things to do 3 disks wow lots of game play . A really good rpg . If you like Dragon Quest or games like that you will love this one .