Blue Dragon Comments by Rob Fahey

Why the buggery is this no out over here yet?

Indeed, it seems I've been waiting an ice age for this. :/

Does not sound as good as i have hoped, but im gona get it when it eventually comes out over here, bastards

Is the Japanese voice acting intact (and can you play with English subtitles)?

Wooooow, it's soooooo pretty

/drool

Dragging multiple opponents into battle sounds interesting, especially with the boost you get during a battle. I wonder how that will work out in the end.

I don't care about opnions of official reviewers on this one. This looks so good that I'm buying ity by defaultt. No question.

I agree that thsi should have been released 4 months ago, come on people!

"Definitely feeling blue"

I thought this was a review for a sec and this def had me worried. Really looking forward to this game. =O

There are loads of Sony and Nintendo games made for the Japanese market which we never see. If Microsoft wants to succeed in Japan, they have to take the same local approach to Japanese gaming, and stop trying to make every game have global appeal.

Blue Dragon might be a flop in the West just like Viva Pinata, but it sold really well in Japan just like Viva Pinata, and if they help sell the 360 format over there then it really doesn't matter how they do over here.

So they are bringing this game out at the same time as Halo? Yikes. Poor dudes.

Am I the only one getting Chrono Trigger vibes from this one? This will be a day 1 purchase for me. If I have to choose between Halo 3 and Blue Dragon, I pick this.

i think i would pick this over halo too, when released but will get halo later

I just hope this will not get the GoW treatment, which was reviewed with the hype in account (remember the "expectation is the curse of modern games" madness!?).
/end of preemptive strike

Looks pretty bland, regardless of the pedigree, but I'm moderately interested.

I don't really understand why people are looking forward to this so much. It really looks like a game that has ignored all the progress RPGs have made from being 60 hours cliched packed "epics" full of obvious twists, sterotypical characters, and samey comabt. Give me another FFXII anyday over the likes of this.

"fanboys, loudmouths and idiots"

Might want to strip out the tautology there, dear chap.

"about as far from photo-realism as you can get"

maybe one day, all games will look as good as Pit Fighter

If this was a Nintendo game then I could understand the wait.

@tnomad

I found FFXII too far removed from the JRPG to be honest. Either to it traditionally like this or westernise it like Jade Empire or Mass Effect.

i have been playing this for a few months and i have to say it is pretty darn good, although it is a little slow to start with after about the first hour of gameplay it really kicks off learning about plight of all the villages, ancient wars, and 10,000 year old robots. it is very final fantasy-esque with different classes for your shadow much like the FF job system. final words, its not quite up there with ff7 (which in my opinion is the best JRPG) but comes a close second along with ff8.

PS. who couldnt like a game with enimies called 'poo snakes'

Is it possible to import it from (with at least English subtitles) somewhere right now?

"I found FFXII too far removed from the JRPG to be honest. Either to it traditionally like this or westernise it like Jade Empire or Mass Effect."

Why does it have to be one or the other? Variety is a good thing, and sterotyping games so they can be grouped nicely into a single category is restrictive.

btw, the EU Blue dragon wont have Japanese VO's due to disk space. According to xbox.de a while ago, MS is putting Spanish, German, French, English text & VO's on the EU discs. Japanese Vo's will be on the NTSC/US & Canadian versions.

although there's an utterly dreadful and misjudged rock track with English lyrics in there too

Would that be that absolutely terrible band Enter Shikari

Sounds painfully bland & generic.

Looks nice visually though.

I must admit that I'm absolutely gagging for this game, more so after watching the First 10 Minutes HD videos on Xboxyde the other month. The only thing that niggles me a teensy-weensy bit is that I noticed some nasty v-sync issues during some of the real-time cinematics which kind of took some of the polish off the game but otherwise this game not only looks visually amazing, both technically and artistically, it also looks a lot of fun to play. Kind of reminds me a little of the excellent Skies of Arcadia on the DC/GC for some reason but without that game's annoying random battles every 10 seconds. Forget Halo 3, Blue Dragon for me is the game I'd likely buy an Xbox 360 for... if I didn't own one already, that is!

As someone who lives and breathes RPGs there's only one thing I can say after reading this preview:

Blue Dragon sounds terribly boring.

"which is claiming casualties among fanboys, loudmouths and idiots in the grim trenches of forums all over the Internet" -

I wasn't aware the 3 are in separate categories......

8/10.

>" just hope this will not get the GoW treatment, which was reviewed with the hype in account (remember the "expectation is the curse of modern games" madness!?).
/end of preemptive strike "

EG are in a pickle over this.
On one hand, they are notorious for thier love of japanesse games, especially quirky and/or j-rpgs.
On the other, they are also notorious for thier excessive harshment on hyped games.

This game is both, but I sense they will go for the latter route.

I'm surprised EG doesn't see that it's dated

I don't think that this game comes even remotely close to Gears of War concerning the hype around it. Maybe one day when the release gets closer but right now it's just like every other game coming to the 360 (at least for me).

BlueTooth said: "Why does it have to be one or the other? Variety is a good thing, and sterotyping games so they can be grouped nicely into a single category is restrictive."

I totally agree with you I just felt that FFXII would have been better if it stuck with the traditional JRPG route rather than the route it took which made the game feel kinda like work.

PS IMHO

I agree, this game hype is not even close to GoW's. But this preview reminded me a bit about that....but that's only my perception, so we'll see..

P.s: i hope their love for jrpg prevails, but i also want a fair review. See, i'm in a pickle too....

P00 Dragon more like

I've never been a big fan of J-RPG's, most likely due to a lack of exposure. This game certainly interests me.

How many times can one use "fanboy" in a game article? I sense some underlying issues, would you like to talk about it? /starts tape recorder..

Looks interesting. However, nothing will knock my beloved FF7 off its topspot...

This game is never going to be as popular as Gears of War for the simple reason that (a) you don't shoot people or chainsaw them violently; and (b) it doesn't have any online gameplay. I expect it will sell well but nowhere near the numbers that Gears achieved.

However, for me, boring or not, it's likely to be fresher, more welcome experience, particularly as the Xbox 360 is a machine awash with SF/military shooters but lacking in good RPGs. Blue Dragon can't come soon enough if you ask me...

Have to agree with itamae, sounds really dull.

Blue Steel.

/turns left

"If anything, Blue Dragon's graphics feel almost exactly like you'd expect a very old J-RPG to look like, if it somehow popped into life. Monsters often sport cartoonish human faces, bright colours are the order of the day, and even the game's magic attacks feel strangely retro compared to the flashy, particle-effect laden spells of modern Final Fantasy titles."

As I’ve stated before, I’m not a big fan of HD graphics (whether they are on PS3, PC or 360). In particular with games like this, IMO the clean graphics have less character. It would actually have looked better had they not pushed the graphics engine to the limit. Or maybe it’s just that for me anime style characters don’t work in a Toy Story like engine.

But it’s a (traditional) Final Fantasy game bar the name so it’ll probably be good if you like JRPGs.

But it’s a (traditional) Final Fantasy game bar the name so it’ll probably be good if you like JRPGs.

I think the caveat here - which I tried to make clear in the article itself - is that the vast majority of European (and American) gamers don't really like traditional JRPGs. They've only become popular over here since they were overhauled late in the lifespan of the SNES, and more notably, in the PlayStation years.

My main feeling while playing Blue Dragon is that this game faces the same fate as Dragon Quest - a game which is very popular in Japan, but whose incredibly traditional gameplay seems to leave western audiences totally cold. If you didn't play and enjoy Dragon Quest, I'm a bit confused as to why you'd be so keen on Blue Dragon - and I'm willing to bet that many of the really keen posters in this thread didn't play Dragon Quest :) Still, if there's about to be a sudden surge of interest in traditional-styled JRPGs, I really can't complain!

"The Console War which is claiming casualties among fanboys, loudmouths and idiots"

Not pointing any fingers at our own beloved forum dwellers I hope :P

@souljacker2000

If it was a PS3 exclusive you'd hear the best things ever for this game. After all, FFVII had weirdest characters and we know it's most ppl's favorite game. So, my advice: don't pay attention to the reviews here. It's not even a review. That how the dude felt about this game actually and nothing more.

@tnomad

Since you have a PS3 and played FFXII I don't think you expect a serious answer to your question. I guess that makes you 2. It's you and the dude that wrote this article about his impressions. They don't even have a copy of the game but yet you guys don't like it. Some people are just so obvious.

RPG-wise for the 360 it's all about Fable 2 and Mass Effect for me. Lost Odyssey looks good artistically but I imagine the criticisms levlled at BD here will apply their also. Actually - this is looking more like a Jrpg vs Wrpg debate now.

@davisorle

You seem to misunderstand the purpose of a preview. If opinion is not to be offered based on what is observed, what exactly is a preview for?

Isn't Blue Dragon a range of oriental cooking products?

""The Console War which is claiming casualties among fanboys, loudmouths and idiots" "

I think just the word "fanboys" would have been sufficient... ;)

"Some people are just so obvious."

People like you perhaps?

I haven't got an xbox 360 yet...but this game as well as Eternal Sonata are making it a very compelling proposition (avid JRPG fan ya see)