My Kingdom Hearts II project...ruined...
Position: 4
Name: Blue Dragon
Platform: Xbox 360
Developer: Mistwalker, Artoon
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Genre: RPG
Release Date: 2007
The second of Mistwalker's games grabs a very high position on my list. The Xbox was never really well received in Japan. So with the 360, Microsoft are trying to attract the Japanese market with more JRPGs. Blue Dragon appears to be the pioneer in all of this. As with all Mistwalker games, Blue Dragon features a very high pedigree of developers as well with not just Uematsu and Sakaguchi again, but Dragon Ball artist Akira Toriyama who produced stunning graphics in the recent Dragon Quest VIII.
The thing that probably singles Blue Dragon out from Lost Odyssey is that although it features the same turn-based battle system that Lost Odyssey features, it doesn't look as boring. Whereas Lost Odyssey's system looks like it could get old after a few hours, Blue Dragon's seems to have more longevity. Of course, this is mainly due to the fact that it's much nearer to release than Lost Odyssey but somehow, I just anticipate that Blue Dragon will end up being the better game.
The battle system seems pretty standard but it seems to have a great deal of action. One thing that slightly annoys me is the battle interface in which the character's face who you are controlling appears in a large square, at the top right of the screen. It just looks downright messy to me and you can hardly see the battlefield. Of course, the game gets it's name from the blue dragon's that reside behind your characters in battle. In battles, the dragons will help you out A LOT. They will basically do all of the attacking. There will be the mix of special abilities to use with the dragon and from what we've seen, it looks like the player has to work in unison with the dragons throughout the game.
Outside of battle, you can explore the vivid world in full 3-D and to add to this, you have actions available to you for treasure and the like but also, you have the ability to gain an advantage on your enemy by a jumping attack. This can be utilised by walking up to the monster, and before it can attack you, you can hit the enemy to give your party the first strike in battle.
Many people are liking this game to the amazing SNES fan-favourite Chrono Trigger, since it has a few of the developers from CT working on this project. While I think it could take some of it's influence from Chrono Trigger I seem to be getting some Final Fantasy IX vibes from the game as well. And what game mixing Chrono Trigger with Final Fantasy IX could be a failure?
Good Points: Great graphics, exciting looking gameplay, nice roaming system, light-hearted action.
Bad Points: Some of the interface looks messy in battle, gameplay could wear thin after extended playing.