Blue Dragon

Nothing I've seen or read about Blue Dragon appeals to me (most particularly the anime/stylized graphics), but I'm glad to see the 360 library diversifying into different genres and styles.

I'll be curious to see how it sells in the U.S. versus Japan. I haven't played a JPRG since I first booted up Ultimate Underworld and The Elder Scrolls: Arena.

All that matters is that it shows Japan how good the 360 is.

^ Agreed.

I already preordered my copy. Any game made by the threesome of Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, and Nobuo Uematsu (the last game that they teamed up on was Chrono Trigger) is one that I have to buy.

Not to mention this is the first game since FFIX to be fully composed by Nobuo Uematsu. (Well other than Hanjuku Hero 3D, but that doesnt really count.) I bought the Blue Dragon ost when it came out in December and it is pretty damn good. It has a mix of FFIX style music with some classic tones from FFI-VI. I am really hyped for this game. Seeing a real jrpg coming to 360 is amazing, not that other crap that was released a while back Enchant Arms.

Honestly, i am so glad to hear this game did not turn out to be a disaster. I bought my first xbox back in november and have been hoping that there will be something to look forward to that isn't a sports title or fps. The Sony video game juggernaut is bleeding, now we'll get to see what a real three system generation looks like (although with more big exclusives and greater profit margins maybe handheld is the real future for developers, but thats another thread).

I remember seeing in-game footage of the game a few months back. It looks ok I suppose but then again I've never been a fan of J-RPGs anyway. The way I see it, it would be the charaters and the story that'd be carying the fortunes of the game on it's back.
I would have loved to see what UK GAMES magazine said about it though since I find their reviews very reliable. Unfortunately no one carries it anywhere near where I live. Even the big bookstores that imports mags don't have it anymore.

Thanks for the scans Spike. The game sounds great. Just as I thought the quirky characters and playful world is what's going to make this game special.

I don't know why more mags or reviewers don't use GAMES' little "As Good as", "Better than" game comparison idea. That was rather useful.

this is my most anticipated game as of right now. can't wait for the release.

Just read the 1up.com mini-preview. Appears to be coming along very well. I can't wait for this to hit my 360.

Correct, I sometimes have a narrow world-view.

Demo up on XBox Live.

I thought the demo was pretty terrible. This one was on my "maybe" list for the fall, but now it's off.

I don't hate RPGs, but at the risk of sounding like an ugly American, this one is way too Japanese for my tastes. The graphics are gorgeous, and I really like the art direction, but it's too squirelly for me.

It doesn't help that the demo just plunks you right into the middle of the campaign, so nothing seems to make any sense at all.

I'm disappointed. I was pretty interested in this one. Anyone else give it a whirl?

I'm in the same boat as you. While it was nice of them to drop in 2 seperate one hour level, I have no fucking clue as to what I'm doing. I'll definately be renting this though.

The thing with RPGs is that you generally have some sort of investment in the characters. The demo gives you no idea who that band of weirdos are.

I kept hoping for that bomb necklace to go off, like in that Rutger Hauer/Mimi Rogers movie whose name escapes me.

I'll probably buy this, but no, the trailer didn't work. I just didn't have any interest in learning the controls/combat/leveling for an hour long demo. As someone who generally doesn't much care about playing as big-head-kids in RPGs, this one was a little much to take.

I thought it was fun. I started changing my party around and made the monk another Black Mage and the pirate chick a barier mage. What was cool was playing around with the skills, you can slot other skills on each character with things like 2x attack, counter etc but you can mix them up alot. Honestly 1/2 the reason I want to buy this is because Nobuo Uematsu is doing the music.

The framerate SUCKED at times and I hope they get it smoothed out before release.


Ace Combat 6 looked really good.

Considering how much I loved Chrono Trigger, I find it increasingly strange that I never played a JRPG again (except for puttering for a few minutes with some of the Final Fantasies). Did that game ruin me for the genre, as nothing compared? Did my tastes change? It was around that time that I first played Ultima Underworld, and I basically have played "western" RPGs since then.

I'll have to give one another shot, one of these days, instead of continuing to replay FFI every year.

Wasn't a huge fan of the demo either, and I was really looking forward to this one. Didn't see any issues with framerate at all, but I didn't play for very long. Would it have been a better demo if they let us play the first 2 hours of the game maybe? One thing they DID do right is apparently once you fight a monster, you can bypass the fight if you run into it again. Didn't see it in action, but I like the idea a lot. Fighting the same thing over and over made the FF series always drag a little for me by the end.

When I was in battle almost anytime the cam would zoom into the Blue Dragons it would slow down a bit. I have always been a framerate whore, most my friends don't notice the subtle changes that I might bitch about

The spells and whatnot looked good and had little to no effect on the framerate. I hope you can just turn off the Dragon animation I dont want to sepnd 1-10 seconds watching the same animation for 40+hours of gameplay.

The bar at the top was confusing as hell. I think I fiqured it out thou, it places your attack in the area you stop the bar, but I am not quite sure what the red part of the bar means, I am guessing max damage. I killed the first boss alot quicker with just launching right into the attack, screw the charging up.

I played this demo last night. I was turned off right at the beginning, as the cartoony look wasn't appealing to me. But with each successive battle, I started to fall in love with the thing. I love all the options in battle. It really feels like a return to form for Japanese RPG's, as I think that Final Fantasy has become ridiculously overwrought, and seems to care more about the cut scenes than the gameplay with each new chapter.

I wasn't going to get into an RPG so close to the release of Mass Effect, but I think I may have to be on board for this.

Enjoyed the hell out of the demo. A compete and utter throwback to the classic JRPGs without any regard to the modern RPG.

You're up late.

Blue Dragon looks intriguing, maybe I'll check it ou.......ahhh, who I am I kidding. Bring on Mass Effect.

comes out today...think I'm going to be picking it up.

I was just talking to Jon about this the other day... it looks like a great game and all, but it's probably going to be a January or February purchase for me. These next few months are too crowded to plunk 100 hours into one game. Unless that's for Halo 3 multiplayer...

I'll most likely end up getting this, but I'm not in any real hurry. The reports that the entire first disc is a bore pushed it down on my list.

I got it today. I'll let you guys know what I think.

I don't understand why anyone would ever have the remotest interest in the this game.

Ever. In life.

That's fascinating.

Now I'm tempted to buy the game and proclaim carnal love for it just to annoy you. And I really don't care for RPGs. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice just to make you scratch your head.

You jest, but I would be scratching. Honestly, what is the draw? Is it 'just' that it's a JRPG? The combat's nothing special, the characters are as generic as they come, I can't imagine the story rises above typical low-level anime fare so...

What the Hell?

I'm not trying to be a dick, it's just late at night and I find myself genuinely puzzled.

Eurogamer's 5/10 review is... troubling.
They're a pretty good site.

Yup, the reviews for it have been somewhat on the "so-so" side, but I still picked it up after some trade ins. I haven't tried it yet though. One of the draws for me is that it is a Japanese RPG game. I'm a sucker for those and I've even enjoyed Enchanted Arms on the system. But I think the main draw is the team behind the game. This game has a pretty good pedigree and I'm curious to see the results, even if they are a bit underwhelming. I took a few cracks at the demo and enjoyed it a little more each time, although I never played all the way through, so I'm looking forward to seeing it from the start, rather than getting tossed into it right in the middle of stuff.

I do have to add though, that I'm actually more excited about Eternal Sonata than Blue Dragon.

I'm trying to get as much of this in before the avalanche, but I imagine that I won't be finishing this for a long, long time.

I played a few hours last night, and I've found it to be quite enjoyable. It very much feels like a game that would've been made 10 years ago, if they had the processing power for it.

The areas are large and fun to explore. Combat is simple, but looks like it has enough depth later on to stay interesting. The story hasn't really kicked in yet, but the opening sequence was pretty fucking cool. The music is making my day, it all sounds like older Final Fantasy music, but without all the shitty midi that Uematsu used to use.

If you don't like RPGs, you won't like this. If you don't have an affection for many traditional elements of JRPGs, you won't like this. But otherwise, it seems pretty great, and I cannot fathom why the review scores have been so bad.

It is simple, but it's fun. It's a classic, old-fashioned Japanese RPG, with all the good and bad that implies. It isn't terribly concerned with immersiveness; you fight tons of random battles, watch a cut scene, have a boss fight, and move on to the next area. Wash, rinse and repeat. I'm getting a serious dose of nostalgia for the classic Final Fantasy games on the NES.

To answer Cogs' question, what I find appealing about games like this is the building of characters. I'm a sucker for this stuff. Choosing classes, unlocking skills, learning spells, upgrading abilities, and watching your characters become continually more powerful. I'm a sucker for character customization.

Some bad things: you'll want to switch to a custom soundtrack after about ten minutes. Hearing the same battle music kick in over and over gets aggravating quick. Also, no weapon collecting. There are items, there are spells, but no weapons. I likes me my weapon bonuses. Plus, the world looks freaking huge, which many might consider a good thing, but I don't see myself dedicating the time to it to explore the whole thing.

The good stuff: I really like the turn-based combat system. We don't get enough of that these days, and I like having time to choose my moves. I like the formation system, and the multiple classes. It has a good feeling of making the party your own creation. The little bit of control it gives you over field encounters is very nice, and adds a touch of tactics to running around fighting things for no reason. And though many will hate it, I love the look of the thing. It has a heavy seventies-era cartoonish anime vibe that's a nice break from the pseudo-realism of its kin these days. I even kept the Japanese language track on with English subtitles to goose up the feel of it.

All in all, it's an entertaining diversion, and I'm having fun with it. I'm probably more interested in Eternal Sonata, and once Mass Effect hits, I'll probably be done with both of them. If you're a fan of the genre, it's worth checking out. If you're not, it certainly won't change your mind.

I would have to disagree actually. I haven't been into RPGs in well over a decade, but I picked this up yesterday and am loving it so far. There's something about the classic nature of it combined with the colorful graphics that I really enjoy. And, because I haven't been into an RPG in years, it all seems surprisingly fresh and fun. I can't wait to play more.

This has basically done for RPGs what I hoped Bioshock would do for FPSs -- get me into a genre I had no interest in. This has succeeded where Bioshock failed me.

Quoted for truth. Very Japanese and very nostalgic.

I don't know where everybody is seeing all these bad reviews, but on Metacritic, it has a 78%, so it must be getting positives from somebody.

Eternal Sonata has the same score, by the way.

The Monk class kicks ass. I just wanted to add that.

Soooo, I like it. The characters are annoying, the story is the same as every other JRPG on the market, but it's pretty fun. The class/leveling system works well and the combat is good, honestly that's about all I need. I just like collecting shit and upgrading, which there is plenty of. I just wish the camera was panned out a bit more on some of the over-map areas.

As said above, if you don't like JRPGs in general, don't get it. If you're expecting something groundbreaking, pass. It's just a big old-fashioned JRPG with goofy characters and bad guys and everything that comes along with it.

I don't understand the "entire first disc is boring" complaint. I figured they meant it was just tons of cut-scenes with little to do for hours, but no. The only thing I can think is that it is extremely linear so for, but most large RPGs take awhile before the world really opens up. Right from the start there has been a steady stream of bad guys and bosses to fight, with little time spent watching shitty cut-scenes, great beginning as far as I'm concerned.

now if only they just spent the cash and paid Tenacious D to do the boss battle music...

I entered disc two last night. I really like this game. The multi-class system combined with the skill slots is actually pretty original and ingenious. This is definitely going to keep me busy for a while.

Some of the cut scenes are a little on the "so what" side, but that aerial assault on the mothership was frickin' great.

Well, like I said, I did away with the in-game music some time ago. It's all custom soundtracks for me. I've made up a collection of Godzilla/Anime/Transformer/Miyazaki scores that works really well.