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Blue Dragon dated for Europe News

Xbox 360 News by Tom Bramwell

28 June, 2007

The Hironobu Sakaguchi-produced Xbox 360 RPG Blue Dragon will go on sale in Europe on 24th August, publisher Microsoft said today.

The game - the first of a pair overseen by Final Fantasy veteran Sakaguchi, and in this case developed by Blinx scribes Artoon - puts players into the role of Shu, a young boy on a quest to rid the world of evil forces. It also boasts music from Nobuo Uematsu and character design from Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball Z fame.

You can catch up with it in more detail in our Blue Dragon first impressions, published yesterday, where Rob Fahey claimed it was a "pitch perfect" exercise in nostalgia.

Whether that will be enough is something you'll get to assess as we draw in on release and you can scamper all over our review. Alternatively, if you've made your mind up already, you can also do as Microsoft suggests and download a Fan Site Kit. How peculiar.

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Comments: 1-50 of 60 in total | next 50 »

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alimokrane
28/06/07 @ 13:23
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Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
LeD
28/06/07 @ 13:27
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That's the day before my birthday! \o/
Blerk
28/06/07 @ 13:31
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Sooner than I expected!
LeD
28/06/07 @ 13:32
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What, my birthday?
Donny
28/06/07 @ 13:36
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That's the same day as Bioshock.
aine
28/06/07 @ 13:36
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wait... Artoon? For fuck's sake. Why do they still get work?
LeD
28/06/07 @ 13:40
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Same day as Bioshock? Expensive birthday then!
The Bodybuilder
28/06/07 @ 13:48
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What a drought, eh?
souljacker2000
28/06/07 @ 14:09
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woohooo lovely...
artoon.... where did i hear that recently
Kiigan
28/06/07 @ 14:09
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Artoon did a good job with BD by all accounts.
Blinx might have been an anomaly. Good studios can make bad games sometimes.
alisdair
28/06/07 @ 14:10
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Is it confirmed as having no Japanese audio track option for the PAL release?
aine
28/06/07 @ 14:17
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Artoon did a good job with BD by all accounts.
Blinx might have been an anomaly. Good studios can make bad games sometimes.


I'd say it's the other way around - Blue Dragon is the anomaly. I've heard nothing but bad things about all of their other games. Even Yoshi's Island DS is pretty much a mess, saved only by the fact that most of the gameplay and level design is ripped straight from the original.
Emilia'sHorse
28/06/07 @ 14:20
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Yup Artoon made Vampires Rain and Blinx so Blue Dragon is the anomaly.

I'll be buying BD and Bioshock.
lennon
28/06/07 @ 14:21
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I liked Blinx.

Anyway I think Microsoft are trying to bankrupt me. So many games I want. Thankfully July looks a bit slow so I will save a few pounds and go mad in August and September! :)
Darren
28/06/07 @ 14:32
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A month earlier than expected... NICE! :)

I'm betting that BioShock gets delayed a week or so though...
gizmo
28/06/07 @ 14:41
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Nobuo Uematsu ?

YES!!
Mr.Psycho
28/06/07 @ 14:42
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I think Famitsu gave this 38 and GameTM gave it 9/10, so this'll be a sure goodun for the Xbox 360 during the summer hols!!!
GamerAddict
28/06/07 @ 14:52
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LeD - same here mate, I'm on the 25th too :)

Bioshock AND Blue Dragon on the same day?!?!?! DAMN!!!!
penhalion
28/06/07 @ 14:55
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Isn't this developed by Mistwalker and published by Microsoft. What have Artoon got to do with it?
aine
28/06/07 @ 15:08
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Isn't this developed by Mistwalker and published by Microsoft. What have Artoon got to do with it?

Quite a bit, it seems. I'm not sure how much involvement each company has - it might be that Mistwalker's only contribution is Sakaguchi and everything else (music and character design aside) is Artoon's... or maybe (hopefully) all the actual design was done by Mistwalker and Artoon are just doing the grunt work.
TheStranger
28/06/07 @ 15:15
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What is peculiar about a fansite kit? Mass Effect has one, and so does BioShock...
Caimbeul
28/06/07 @ 15:21
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Any confirmation of Japanese Audio track in the game?
aine
28/06/07 @ 15:23
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Apparently it doesn't have one. They're including tracks in a few different European languages, and there wasn't room on the DVD for the Japanese. Or they couldn't be arsed. Something like that.
cheeseweasel
28/06/07 @ 15:31
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@aine Mistwalker's wiki page says

'Mistwalker outsources coding duties to other companies (including Artoon, and Feel Plus), preferring to focus primarily on the design portion of game development.'

so it sounds like thankfully, maybe your second theory is correct.
kmittal82
28/06/07 @ 15:38
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Did I get it wrong, or is it correct that it took them almost a year simply to localise the game, and translate it from Japanese to English ???
LeD
28/06/07 @ 15:42
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/highfives GamerAddict
Peew971
28/06/07 @ 15:44
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Someone on the forum mentionned this should be the date for 360 Elite and 120GB HDD. That's a lot on a single day.
Kiigan
28/06/07 @ 15:48
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"Did I get it wrong, or is it correct that it took them almost a year simply to localise the game, and translate it from Japanese to English ??"

7 or 8 months more like, and translated into lots of different languages, including localising all the voice acting. It's more than Nintendo have managed with SPM. At least we're getting BD at the same time as the USA (roughly) so it doesn't feel quite so bad. It is nice that the game is getting a western release at all.
Edited 1 times, most recently on 28/06/07 @ 16:48
CitizenGeek
28/06/07 @ 16:00
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This game might actually make me buy a 360 in August! I should have money by then too! :)
alimokrane
28/06/07 @ 16:09
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quote [ Did I get it wrong, or is it correct that it took them almost a year simply to localise the game, and translate it from Japanese to English ??? ]

About 8 months I would say and it's not like final fantasy didnt take that much.
miiiguel
28/06/07 @ 16:49
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I really hate this "360 drought" (quoting PS-only gamers), it messes my finances.
menage
28/06/07 @ 17:22
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"That's the same day as Bioshock.""

Godamn it. How am I supposed to save foir a HDTV like this.
mysteryfaceuk
28/06/07 @ 17:39
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Enjoy the game, 360 owners. Just don't weep when FFXIII is released for the PS3 next year and blows this game away.
TheStranger
28/06/07 @ 17:42
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"Enjoy the game, 360 owners. Just don't weep when FFXIII is released for the PS3 next year and blows this game away."

That so? And Blue Dragon 2 will wipe the face with it if not the first.
JediMasterMalik
28/06/07 @ 17:53
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Impressed I am, took about 30 comments or so until it descended into fanboy bullshit.
menage
28/06/07 @ 18:31
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"Enjoy the game, 360 owners. Just don't weep when FFXIII is released for the PS3 next year and blows this game away. "

(No offense to other PS3 owners which do have more than a single braincell)

Jezus Christ. Were you the one that made that YouTube video jealous idiot. Have fun waiting until 2009 then.
Edited 2 times, most recently on 28/06/07 @ 19:31
mysteryfaceuk
28/06/07 @ 18:40
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Blue Dragon just doesn't look very good. It's very much designed for the Japanese market with its cutsey graphics. The only reason it's getting any attention over here is that it's the first Japanese RPG for the 360.

Microsoft hyped this game up a lot when it was first released and seemed to think it was going to help them win over the Japanese market. True, it did increase sales of the 360 over there for a while but this is not the sort of game that will appeal to Western audiences.
menage
28/06/07 @ 18:56
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That still doesn't justify your first comment, as nobody has seen anything substantial about FFXIII. And if Sakaguchi and Toriyama are behind it, it certainly has a good reason for being hyped. Hell, I would be interested in this if it was on PS2, just because 2 of the most influential men in the JRPG Industry are behind it.

Not because it's the first JRPG on 360. That's Enchanted Arms.
Edited 2 times, most recently on 28/06/07 @ 19:59
Agent_Llama
28/06/07 @ 19:04
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Instead of the fanboy crap about FFXIII versus BD, how about we just buy both and *enjoy them both*? I know I shall be.
Scimarad
28/06/07 @ 19:07
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That's going to be an expensive day...
famous_roy
28/06/07 @ 19:08
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This is coming out way earlier than expected! Same day as Bioshock, damn I need a HDTV for that glorious day.

Mystery face is clearly very envious, why does BD coming out affect you so much? Clearly insecure and not comfortable with himself.. also ends his name with UK. : /
Edited 1 times, most recently on 28/06/07 @ 20:08
menage
28/06/07 @ 19:19
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"Instead of the fanboy crap about FFXIII versus BD, how about we just buy both and *enjoy them both*? I know I shall be.
"

You're right. I'm sorry for getting suckered in derailing the thread.

They both look very good.
mysteryfaceuk
28/06/07 @ 21:11
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I just don't get this game. I'm happy for others to enjoy it but I just don't get it myself. I'm not all envious.
The Bodybuilder
28/06/07 @ 21:38
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>"this is not the sort of game that will appeal to Western audiences."

That can be said for any j-rpgs.

Besides, if MS marketing are smart enough, they could market this using the "also by the maker of dragonballz" and market it more towards the younger crowd (ala kingdom hearts).

The j-rpg adult lovers will still buy it, so nothing is lost.
TheStranger
28/06/07 @ 21:53
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"I just don't get this game."

Do you "get" the xbox 360? I'll assume you have a 360, and are just not sure about the game...

Check out:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/art...
http://thexboxdomain.net/2006/11/30/fami...

"I'm happy for others to enjoy it but I just don't get it myself. I'm not all envious."

Ok.
Monkey-Wizard-Ken
28/06/07 @ 21:57
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mysteryfaceuk

silly fanboy
DrunKao
28/06/07 @ 22:28
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Does anyone want to take bets on how long the European release of FFXIII will be after the US release? 2009 for Europe?!?!?!
Edited 1 times, most recently on 29/06/07 @ 00:34
mysteryfaceuk
28/06/07 @ 22:30
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I'm not a fanboy and I don't have a 360. I have a PS3 but I actually don't care whether people have a 360 or PS3 that's not the point. I just don't understand what all the fuss is about this game. I now it has a good pedigree because of Sakaguchi but I just think personally that this is a game created for the Japanese market, not the Western world. Just like the Dragon Quest games are.

Sure, the FF games are as well to a degree but they have at least changed the graphics to give them a more realistic look that appeals to people outside of Japan.

I thought Bodybuilder's comment about marketing it to a younger audience was a good one though. If this was a PS2 game (yes, PS2) it wouldn't achieve the same success as FFXII just did.
menage
28/06/07 @ 23:13
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` just think personally that this is a game created for the Japanese market, not the Western world. Just like the Dragon Quest games are.
`
exactly why I like it. ąP
TheStranger
28/06/07 @ 23:14
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"I'm not a fanboy and I don't have a 360."

Then, why care about Blue Dragon? Why would it need to convince you of its worth? Why do you think we care what a Sony fanboy thinks of a 360 game? Why am I even bothering with you?

"I now it has a good pedigree because of Sakaguchi but I just think personally that this is a game created for the Japanese market, not the Western world. Just like the Dragon Quest games are. "

And Final Fantasy. Yes, exactly. Blue Dragon is really MS trying to sell 360s in Japan. That people from Europe and NA will get the title is an added bonus. Don't really see the need for any confusion here...

"Sure, the FF games are as well to a degree but they have at least changed the graphics to give them a more realistic look that appeals to people outside of Japan. "

Ultimately, most of the FF sales come from Japan. NA and Europe aren't nearly as interested. So obviously its not working too well.

"I thought Bodybuilder's comment about marketing it to a younger audience was a good one though. If this was a PS2 game (yes, PS2) it wouldn't achieve the same success as FFXII just did."

Probably true. Final Fantasy sells on brand alone. After all, the latest games have been rubbish.

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