GDC: Blue Dragon in autumn

By Robert Purchese Published 9 March, 2007

European release narrowed down.

Blue Dragon will be released across Europe this Autumn, Microsoft has confirmed this afternoon, with September looking the likely month of launch.

Developed by Mistwalker and Artoon, the Japanese RPG epic is based around a boy named Shu and his friends, who possess the power to control phantoms that mirror the actions of their masters.

It's a typically lavish romp presented in a very impressive cartoon-inspired style. You'll also be able to create your own original attack methods whilst choosing to focus your approach on various different areas, as your dragon-like shadow levels up and gains new abilities.

The game was released in Japan last December, and met with huge critical acclaim. A US release date for the game has been set for August.

Pop over to our Blue Dragon gamepage for all the latest news and assets.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (35) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Penguinzoot #1 5 years ago

    /sets diary date.

  • morriss #2 5 years ago

    Why haven't we had an import review yet?

  • BartonFink #3 5 years ago

    Excellent - wasn't expecting this till Nov/Dec at the earliest.

  • woodnotes #4 5 years ago

    BRILLIANT! This game will be the dogs rollocks! And it's 50 HOURS LONG!!!

  • Blerk #5 5 years ago

    They don't usually review Japanese releases, morriss. Especially of RPGs, where story really does matter.

  • spongebob #6 5 years ago

    I wonder why this news was not posted earlier. Also, Mist Walker is supposedly looking into PS3 developing.

  • Aretak #7 5 years ago

    The story is on IGN. All they said is that they've tested out the PS3. They were also quoted as saying they found it difficult to work with.

  • Rirekon #8 5 years ago

    About time, can't wait!

  • spongebob #9 5 years ago

    I wasn't speaking crap. Since they are testing PS3 it's possible they could be looking into developing games for it.

  • ChrisBen #10 5 years ago

    Well they're not, so take your trolling elsewhere.

    Anyway, fantastic news, Blue Dragon's release date. The 360 is turning into quite the RPG haven!

  • Drakron #11 5 years ago

    You DO know Mistwalker was set up by Microsoft?

    They only "tested" the PS3 to say its difficult to develop for it.

  • spongebob #12 5 years ago

    bcolter, and you're so mean and evil :)

  • Les #13 5 years ago

    I'll wait for the REAL Final Fantasy...

  • morriss #14 5 years ago

    Idiot.

  • Barry619 #15 5 years ago

    i can't wait for this, i really beleive it's going to be one of the best RPG's ever, up there with the FF's etc.

    Another review of the Jap version was in 360 Mag over here, they gave it 4/5 saying it was a amazing RPG even if they couldn't understand a word of it, probably 5/5 if they could!.

  • Lov3 #16 5 years ago

    Why does it need to take a year to come out here? The is the 360 you're developing for here, not a Sony console. It's clearly ready now, just release it now.

  • ChrisBen #17 5 years ago

    @ Barry619

    Yep, I'm like a kid at Christmas waiting for this game to come out! So good to see the 360 getting thes JRPG's And if it sells, we could start to see a lot of cross-platform PlayStation frachises on the 360. Yey! \o/

  • Les #18 5 years ago

    "Just like you're still waiting for the "R3AL" next gen eh?"

    No it doesn't and will never exist. 'Next gen' is stupid marketing speak that's almost impossible to avoid when talking about games currently.

    "Hmm, maybe the "REAL" FF devs were busy making something else...Oh Blue Dragon perhaps?"

    Exactly and that's the problem with this game: it's Final Fantasy but with cutesy Dragon Quest graphics that don't fit at all.

  • corner #19 5 years ago

    Looking forward to this. Hopefully it'll sell well, and we'll start to get more PlayStation JRPG's going multiplatform on the 360.

  • Vin #20 5 years ago

    Thank fuck for that.

  • suzakuseven #21 5 years ago

    "How on earth could anyone see having Akira Toriyama involved in character design as a minus?"

    Maybe because all his characters look absolutely identical to each other? Looks like an odd game this. At times, really beautiful and at others shockingly drab. I have a feeling it'll lose my interest with rubbish, featureless battles pretty quickly but hey, i'll give it a go and hope to be proven wrong.

  • Jas315 #22 5 years ago

    Kato - "Lol so FF7/9 in your book are obviously crap because they had cute characters with big heads?"

    Have you even took a damn LOOK at the characters, AT ALL?

    *GROOOOOOOOOOAN*

    Kato, why do you have to be such an ill informed ass.

  • Les #23 5 years ago

    "Maybe because all his characters look absolutely identical to each other?"

    Exactly.

  • Les #24 5 years ago

    "Ok so Les & jas think Toriyama's art is meh, funny, but there's quite a few people in Japan (among other places) that would disagree."

    So what?! Btw, my point was that the art is a very poor match with the excellent game engine. It looks way too clean and very soulless.

    "The thing that really makes me laugh is I bet you two guys actually go to bed at night seething with resentment because the "real" FF team now makes 360 games and you kids end up with some kind of hybrid spin-off "Vagrant Fantasy12" instead of a "real" FF game."

    No I don't because the "real" FF team as you call it makes Final Fantasy games like they were 10 years ago while the "real" franchise has evolved a lot since then. If I want old style FF (and sometimes I do) I'll grab any of the excellent GBA ports.

  • Les #25 5 years ago

    "now you're actually trying to discredit Hironobu Sakaguchi & Co just because they make 360 games? Fanboys eh!"

    Why would I want to discredit them?! What kind of nonsense it that?! I've seen plenty of gameplay footage around the web and despite the fact that it has dragons, it looks like old school final fantasy. It even has the silly after battle dances...

    But if you like it, good for you, won't judge you on it. But please let me dislike it if I do.

  • DrunKao #26 5 years ago

    Kato, you really are an ill-informed ass.

    Why should someone play Blue Dragon this Autumn when they could just wait till Christmas of 2008 or even early 2009 until FF XIII comes out? Who cares if Blue Dragon is made by the original creators of the biggest JRPG franchise of all time. The fact that it's on the 360 and not the PS3 takes away at least 98 points from it's credibility (on a scale of 100). It will hardly be worth anyone's time.

    I totally agree with Les. Why play Blue Dragon on the 360 when there are already equivalents available on GBA at a cheaper price? Just wait till FF XIII comes out and you're able to watch 10 hours worth of 1080p FMV cutscenes (on only one disc). Then you will know what a real JRPG is all about.
    Edited by 1 at 11/03/07 @ 21:54

  • Lov3 #27 5 years ago

    "Why should someone play Blue Dragon this Autumn when they could just wait till Christmas of 2008 or even early 2009 until FF XIII comes out?"

    Didn't you just answer your own question there? There's more than a year between those dates, and I'm sure most people reading this play more than one game per year.

  • DrunKao #28 5 years ago

    Nothing gets by you Lov3...

  • Drakron #29 5 years ago

    Actually GameFAQs have no user reviews for this and that is not a good indication.

  • Les #30 5 years ago

    "I doubt the professional reviewers who gave the game 9/10 would agree with you that it's passed its sell by date."

    So what?! I regularly disagree with reviewers' scores, that's why I always read the articles.

    "I totally agree with Les. Why play Blue Dragon on the 360 when there are already equivalents available on GBA at a cheaper price?"

    Never said anything about price.

    “Just wait till FF XIII comes out and you're able to watch 10 hours worth of 1080p FMV cutscenes (on only one disc). Then you will know what a real JRPG is all about."

    I personally don’t mind cut scenes as long as they’re well acted and relevant to the story. Btw, why do you think Blue Dragon comes on 3 DVD’s?

  • DrunKao #31 5 years ago

    Les wrote:
    "I totally agree with Les. Why play Blue Dragon on the 360 when there are already equivalents available on GBA at a cheaper price?"

    Never said anything about price.

    I did, what's your point? I'm going to go out on a limb here and just assume that FF GBA games will retail for cheaper than Blue Dragon when it's released later this year. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. That's the great thing about playing FF games on the GBA. You get the same exact experience you would playing Blue Dragon on a High Definition TV, PLUS it's cheaper. You just can't lose.

    “Just wait till FF XIII comes out and you're able to watch 10 hours worth of 1080p FMV cutscenes (on only one disc). Then you will know what a real JRPG is all about."

    I personally don’t mind cut scenes as long as they’re well acted and relevant to the story. Btw, why do you think Blue Dragon comes on 3 DVD’s?

    Because Microsoft were complete idiots and used the obsolete DVD format for their next generation console? If they were smart like Sony they would've went with an HD-DVD drive.
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/07 @ 11:19

  • Les #32 5 years ago

    "I feel sorry for you son (honestly). The fact that you'd write off a game you haven't played (just because it's on the 360) not to mention a Dev team made up of some of the most important names in the industry just because they make 360 games is unbelievably sad, the only one who loses out is you."

    Where do I say I don't like Blue Dragon because it's on 360?! Right, nowhere. Who's the idiot, I wonder...
    Edited by 1 at 12/03/07 @ 11:24

  • Les #33 5 years ago

    "I personally don’t mind cut scenes as long as they’re well acted and relevant to the story. Btw, why do you think Blue Dragon comes on 3 DVD’s?

    Because Microsoft were complete idiots and used the obsolete DVD format for their next generation console? If they were smart like Sony they would've went with an HD-DVD drive."

    Wow, fanboy overload here...

  • Les #34 5 years ago

    "You don't need to say it Les, it couldn't be more obvious."

    That says more about you...

  • Les #35 5 years ago

    "All it says about me is that I've read your frankly ridiculous posts in numerous 360 threads for months on end and I know exactly where you're coming from"

    No you don't, your posts say it all. I’m no fanboy of any console brand, that’s stupid.

    We don’t agree on Blue Dragon and frankly, I don’t care. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. You try to turn this into some stupid fanboy argument and I’m not going there. I’m out.