bit-tech Shopping: Microsoft Blue Dragon (XB360)

Rating: 8

Time with product: 2

Strengths: Graphics, gameplay

Weaknesses: Music

Summary: Blue Dragon is a old school Japanese RPG game for XBox 360. The game is fun and enjoyable, although the presentation may suggest its original appeal towards the younger population.The game takes some time to get into the story but it's really interesting. Overall, the game is very well done, with nice character designs and story development. Graphics is more anime looking and serves the purpose well. However, music is repetitive and the same tunes can be heard over and over during battles. Consider this game can easily takes 50+ hours to finish, the repetitive music can be annoying sometimes.Having said that, Blue Dragon is still a great game to play. It has visuals, a good story and a nice battle system that goes well for both adults and children.

Rating: 8

Time with product: 30 Days

Strengths: Visually stunning cut scenes (story is epic, if not original). Simple gameplay for casual gamers, while still being appealing to most hardcore RPG fans. Voice acting is decent (Japanese is an option).

Weaknesses: Requires great time investment (50+ hours). No side missions. Slow paced. The same song plays repeatedly when fighting bosses. Designed with a Japanese audience in mind. Maro = Jar Jar Binks.

Summary: This is a great game for RPG or anime fans. It works well for both kids and adults, but the story presentation might seem a little childish for some adults. Overall, its a great game if you have the time to invest and you can handle increasingly annoying repetition in music and battle animations.

Rating: 6

Time with product:

Strengths: The graphics are clean and bright. There is a lot to do in the game.

Weaknesses: Unfortunately, most of the gameplay is completely boring. The soundtrack is poor and the story is cliche. Triple shot of suckiness!

Summary: Blue Dragon is developer Mistwalker's old school RPG epic (it spans 3 DVDs). It figures to be Microsoft's answer to the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest role playing franchises. Three key figures contributed to the development of the game - Hironobu Sakaguchi (founder of Squaresoft and creator of Final Fantasy), Akira Toriyama (creator of Dragon Ball and character designer for Dragon Quest) and Nobuo Uematsu (famous video game composer). I hoped that the combined efforts of these creators would result in a classic game. That didn't happen. Blue Dragon is a typical JRPG in every way and as a result is unenjoyable. Gamers want to experience something new each time out. They don't want the same thing repackaged and thrown back at them year after year. I would say that it is safe for most XBOX 360 owners to pass on Blue Dragon.

Rating: 6

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Beautiful visuals, occasional nice soundtrack

Weaknesses: Story, gameplay, exploration, characters

Summary: Blue Dragon is a feast for the eyes, I wish I could say such things about the actual game. It's boring, the characters are not interesting, there's no development, they look lame to boot. The battle music, especially the boss, is annoying j-rock that verges on unlistenable. It's an average RPG, with an average story, and average battle system. It's being sold at $39 most places, and I'd say this is a reasonable price, and for the money, you might possibly enjoy it; I didn't. Did I beat it

Rating: 8

Time with product: 3

Strengths: Impressive graphics, long gameplay length, great character design

Weaknesses: Slow to start story, bad music

Summary: Blue Dragon is an old-school JRPG on the Xbox 360. Covering three DVD's, it's a very long game in the best JRPG traditions, though done up with great graphics. The well-done character design shows clearly, though it takes a while to get into the story and really get interesting. The music, however, leaves a lot to be desired, and it's a bit of a distraction at times. RPG fans with so few choices on the 360 should look this one over, with the time to spend on such a game.