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Blue Dragon

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Blue Dragon

Developer(s)	Mistwalker, Artoon
Publisher(s)	Microsoft Game Studios
Designer(s)	Hironobu Sakaguchi (game producer, scenario writer) Akira Toriyama (character designer) Nobuo Uematsu (composer)
Released	Xbox 360 ^JP December 7, 2006 ^TW May 22, 2007 ^EU August 24 2007 ^NA August 28, 2007 ^AU August 30, 2007^[1] Nintendo DS ^JP March, 2008^[2]
Genre	Console role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player, Xbox Live
Ratings	Xbox 360 ESRB: Teen (13+)^[3] CERO: A PEGI: 12+ OFLC (AU): PG
Platform(s)	Xbox 360, Nintendo DS^[4]
Media	3 × DVD-DL, Nintendo DS Game Card

Blue Dragon (ブルードラゴン, Burū Doragon^?) is a console role-playing game for the Xbox 360 video game console. It was released in Japan on December 7, 2006, in the EU on August 24, 2007 and in the US on August 28, 2007. Developed by Mistwalker and Artoon and published by Microsoft Game Studios, it is based on a design by Final Fantasy series originator Hironobu Sakaguchi, who also supervised development and wrote the scenario. The game is the first Xbox 360 title to ship on 3 DVDs. The US demo was due to be released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on July 20, 2007,^[5] but was released nine days early just after midnight on July 11, 2007 after Microsoft's E3 2007 presentation.

Plot

Each year for the past ten years, purple clouds have mysteriously appeared in the sky, signalling misfortune and disaster for people across the world. After years of torment at the hands of a "land shark" which ravages their village each time the clouds appear, youths Shu, Kluke, and Jiro hatch a plan to fight back against the monstrous fiend. However, in the course of attempting to stop it, they discover it is not a creature at all, but rather a strange machine. After scuffling with the trio, it leaves the village and eventually takes flight, returning to a mother ship high in the purple clouds, taking the three heroes with it. At the mother ship, they are subjected to constant attacks from metal soldiers. Exploring further, they encounter the ship's captain, an ancient man named Nene. Revealing that he has been behind the yearly attacks on the village, Nene apparently delights in the anguish he causes. Shu and the others are outraged and attempt to defeat him in combat, but he easily defeats them. After barely escaping to a nearby hangar, the three discover a smaller ship docked within, but lack the necessary skills to pilot it. At this point, three small spheres of light appear, and a disembodied female voice instructs them to swallow the spheres in order to gain both power and the ability to pilot the craft. The three youngsters do so, and immediately find that their shadows have grown into monsters; Kluke's becomes a blue phoenix, Jiro's a blue minotaur, and Shu's a blue dragon. They then hastily make their escape aboard the smaller ship, exercising sufficient flying ability to get them down to the ground before it crashes. Following their escape from Nene's air fortress, the heroes (and several others who join with them) gradually traverse and explore the continent. In the process of doing so, they encounter other people from others towns that have also fallen victim to the purple clouds in one form or another. Struck by the injustice and harm that has been inflicted, they decide that they must stop Nene from continuing to bring ruin upon their world.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Blue Dragon is somewhat more traditional than many modern console role-playing games, and the feel of the game compliments it by being relatively lighthearted. The game world consists of a relatively standard mix of towns and dungeon-like areas, with the former having places to rest and purchase items, while the latter contain numerous foes to be defeated. Shortly after the beginning sections of the game, players gain the ability to "warp" to locations which they have previously visited, greatly reducing the amount of time spent wandering on foot.

Shadows

The core mechanic in Blue Dragon is the use of magical blue shadows, with each player character having a distinct shadow modeled after a creature. The shadows are what empower the characters, allowing them to attack with great strength and to use magic. Each shadow can be assigned to a single character class (from a number of such classes) at a time, taking on the attributes and abilities of that class. Class levels or "ranks" are earned only for the active class, but players are free to change classes at any time except in combat, so shadows can be customized to achieve the desired combination. As shadows increase in rank in a given class, they learn new skills, which can then be assigned to a limited number of skills slots. Shadows can assign learned skills regardless of current class, so if, for example, a shadow is currently set to be an "Assassin", but has previously learned the ability to cast "Barrier Magic" while acting as a member of that class, the "Barrier Magic" skill can be set as an active skill. This allows mixing or hybridization, with the player able to pick and choose from among the skills known to a given shadow.

Exploration

During exploration both on the world map and within locations, the game doesn't rely on random encounters, but instead allows one to see (and potentially avoid) enemies in advance. In some cases, specific foes will block a path or desired treasure chest and must be defeated to proceed. Other foes will pursue the player characters once spotted, but can be lost if one flees far enough away. Frequently, a single enemy or monster displayed on the screen actually represents a number of different foes (of potentially different types). Combat begins somewhat differently depending on how the player avatar makes contact with the monster. If the avatar strikes an enemy from behind, a "Back Attack" is initiated. Similarly, if the avatar is struck from behind, an unfavorable "Surprise Attack" occurs. Players can also choose to fight several groups of monsters at once, with each combat taking place immediately after the previous one. This is encouraged by awarding bonuses to the player after successfully defeating groups of monsters. In rare cases, two groups of monsters may be bitter enemies, in which case a "Monster Fight" will occur, with both monster groups appearing at once in a battle against each other.

Combat

Although combat in the game follows a strictly turn-based formula, it does make use of an initiative system, requiring careful planning in order to maximize the effectiveness of one's actions. Turn order is calculated based on speed (agility), but characters are allowed to take multiple turns before enemies can act if they are sufficiently quick. Different actions take different periods of time, so the turn order is not fixed even within a given combat. One gameplay addition which adds to combat strategy is the "Charge Meter", which allows players to "charge up" spells or attacks by spending additional time preparing them. This meter is always used for spell casting, as well as when using the "Charge Attack" skill of the "Monk" class. Although players can choose to act immediately, charged abilities do more damage or have a greater area of effect (depending on the ability). Players charge actions by holding down the "A" button, with a longer press corresponding to a greater charge period. However, the greater the amount of time one charges, the greater the time before the next turn. Additionally, it is possible for a character to be killed or disabled during the charge time, causing the ability to fail to trigger at all. As the charge bar appears, an icon for character and enemy is displayed on the bar, indicating when the next action for that individual will be. As a result of this, players can choose to charge up an ability so that the ability triggers shortly before an enemy acts, or can instead aim for a special "red area" on the bar indicating an ideal charge. Overall, deciding on the correct amount of charge (and letting go of the button at precisely that time) can greater influence the effectiveness of characters during combat.

Designers

Blue Dragon's designers include Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama, and Nobuo Uematsu, respectively producer and scenario writer, character designer, and composer. The game's original story was created by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the game director of the first five Final Fantasy video games. The game features art from Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball and visual, character and monster designer and illustrator of Dragon Quest. The producers of the game also hit a snag when the model designer became hospitalized. Wanting to keep the game on schedule they hired a 3rd party model designer to finish an already in progress model for them. Blue Dragon's soundtrack is produced and composed by Nobuo Uematsu, a composer responsible for much of the music in the popular Final Fantasy game series. The music was performed live at the PLAY! A Video Game Symphony concerts in 2006. One of the boss themes, Eternity, was written by Sakaguchi, composed by Uematsu, and includes vocals by English singer Ian Gillan.^[6]

Characters

Heroes

Shu: Shu is plucky, daring, and willing to run headfirst into just about any situation. He has a Dragon Shadow, a blue dragon, which is where the namesake of the game is derived from. He starts off with sword-based abilities.
Kluke: Kluke views joining Shu and Jiro as a way to prevent suffering around the world. Her deceased parents formerly worked in a hospital, giving her some medical knowledge. Kluke has a good heart, and behaves like an adult despite her young age. She's caring, but she knows how to stick up for herself, which is reflected in her fighting style. She has a Phoenix Shadow.
Jiro: Jiro is an intelligent young man focused on details who has a gift for planning. This is excellent when his plans work, but he tends to get depressed when they do not. Although logical and great at keeping his temper under fan, he understands when force is necessary, plotting together with Shu at the start of the game to capture the "land shark" which was ravaging their home. He has a Minotaur Shadow, which by default uses healing magics.
Zola: A calm and collected Mercenary, Zola is cool and distant. She is helpful, and uses her knowledge to assist Shu, but also remains somewhat detached. She has a Killer Bat Shadow.
Marumaro: This little guy shouts and dances a lot, providing some comic relief. Marumaro is a member of the Devee Tribe - tiny yellow humanoids that wear pots for hats. Marumaro has six brothers and sisters; they are Marufini, Marupino, Marutora, Marumira, Marumini, and Maruponi. He has a Saber-Tooth Tiger Shadow.

Villains

Nene: Nene is an old man who flies around the world causing destruction and despair in a ship surrounded by purple clouds. Like Shu, Nene wields a Dragon Shadow, but its power is far beyond anything Shu's is capable of.
Deathroy: This creature appears to find great joy in his master's malevolence. He sits dutifully on Nene's shoulder, attached by a small cable. He is also known for repeating anything Nene says.
General Szabo: General Szabo is a mechanical warrior that terrorizes the world alongside Nene. An imperious and formidable figure, anyone wishing to get to Nene has to go through Szabo first...

Cast

As previously stated by Masaki Akahane, the game's Localization Program Manager, the North American version features a choice between the English dub and the original Japanese voice track with English subtitles. The English dub is directed by Richard Epcar and written by Liam O'Brien.

Japanese version

English version

Mona Marshall: Shu
Tara Strong: Kluke
Steve Staley: Jiro
Cindy Robinson: Zola
Nika Futterman: Marumaro
Richard Herd: Nene
Akira Toriyama: Toripo

Reception

With a total of 80,348 units sold on the first four days of release in Japan, Blue Dragon became the fastest selling Xbox 360 game in the region.^[7] Many gamers in Japan purchased an Xbox 360 specifically to play the title; of the units sold in the first week, approximately 30,000 of those copies were included with the Xbox 360 system in a bundle.^[6] By October 19 2006, all 10,000 Blue Dragon pre-orders bundled with a limited edition Xbox 360 Core system were sold-out in Japan.^[8] Microsoft and Mistwalker initially hoped to sell over 200,000 copies,^[9] breaking their record for sales of an Xbox 360 game in Japan to date, and the game did manage that goal, having sold pretty much exactly 200,000 to date in Japan. ^[10] Creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has indicated that he was pleased that the game had sold as well as it did.^[11]

Review Scores

Reviews for Blue Dragon have been somewhat mixed, although generally favorable,^[12] with few multi-platform sites being highly critical in their reviews of the game. While many of the reviewers praised the game for its traditional approach, a few reviewers criticized it for that very reason. The story also came under scrutiny from some reviewers for being too generic and too similar to existing Japanese RPGs, with slow pacing during the beginning of the game. Despite this, the graphics and soundtrack received high marks, and the game was pronounced relatively solid, if unremarkable.

Gamepro.com: 4.4 out of 5 ^[13]
Famitsu: 37 out of 40 ^[14]
GameSpy.com: 4 out of 5 ^[15]
Game Informer: 9 out of 10 ^[16]
IGN.com: 7.9 out of 10 ^[17]
Electronic Gaming Monthly: 6.83 out of 10
1up: 6.5 out of 10 ^[18]
Eurogamer: 5 out of 10 ^[19]
Gamespot: 6.0 out of 10 ^[20]
GameTrailers: 7.5 out of 10 ^[21]
X-Play: 3 out of 5
Hyper: 88 out of 100
Xbox World Australia: 81 out of 100 ^[22]

Sequels

In an interview on IGN, Hironobu Sakaguchi confirmed that Blue Dragon 2 was in the planning stages^[23] and will start development presumably soon. Later in an issue of Shonen Jump, it was announced that Blue Dragon Plus is in the works for the Nintendo DS.^[24] This game will be a Real time Simulation RPG and feature 2D sprite graphics.

Manga and anime

Blue Dragon anime

On November 14 2006, Shueisha announced that a manga adaptation of Blue Dragon would be produced. Blue Dragon: Secret Trick will be drawn by Shibata Ami and was scheduled to premiere in Monthly Shonen Jump in January 2007.^[25] Takeshi Obata, the illustrator of Death Note is handling Blue Dragon Ral Grad, which began serialization in Issue 1 2007 of Weekly Shonen Jump.^[26] Viz Media also plans to release the manga as Ral Grad in February 2008.^[27] An anime adaptation to be directed by Yukihiro Matsushita, animated by Studio Pierrot and co-produced by SKY Perfect Wellthink, TV Tokyo and Pierrot was announced in November 2006.^[28] The anime began airing April 7, 2007, featuring a different vocal cast than that used for the game. It airs on TV Tokyo, and is currently scheduled for 51 episodes.^[29] On April 16 2007, Viz Media secured the license for the anime adaptation^[30] and it will be released in both North America and Europe later on in the year.^[31]