Whoaah! blue dragon!, bam la bam!. blue dragon had a child!, bam la bam!....

Yeah, i decided to try and make a review of a game for the first time in my life (lie). and theres no game that i'd rather review than blue dragon at the moment.

basic info about blue dragon:

• Its a turn based RPG game for xbox360.
• I am currently playing the asian version, which means its in Japanese, with english options and subtitle.
• Designed by the great Hironobu Sakaguchi (designed almost all the greatest RPG games ever made)
• Character designed by the great Akira Toriyama (dragon ball, dr. slump, dragon quest series)
• Music by Hironobu Sakaguchi (the genius behind Final Fantasy music)
• Its the first Xbox 360 title to ship on 3 DVDs.
• Have i mentioned that its on xbox 360? which means i can play it with wireless controller.

okay, now that youve got the basics, lets start the review.

i got the game from my cousin, i dont know whats gotten into him, but he bought me the game. so i pick it up personally from his house, got home and just put it on my 360.. and i was just lost.

STORY

the story revolves around a group of kids, Shu, Jiro and Kulke. Who are living in a small village, where the village got attacked by a giant sand shark annually. so the kids decided to take matters into their own hands and tried to kill the shark. After failing, they found themselves captured by a flying fortress where an evil.. err... creepy old guy named Nene is actually responsible for the attacks on their village. when nene is asked why he attacks the village, he simply answered "because i like to hear the screams" (badguy hardcore to the max!).
the kids got thrown overboard just to be mysteriously picked up by a sound that orders them to swallow a light sphere (dont try this at home kids!) and after doing so, the kids acquires magic powers that makes their shadows transform into mystical creatures. so theyre off to fight Nene, and the adventure begins...
Grade: A

Marumaro, Zola,Kluke,Shu, and Jiro

GAMEPLAY

for all you gamers out there, remember what it feels when you first tried final fantasy VII? where in the first 5 minutes of game, you cant help yourself not to be amazed by it?
the same feeling happened to me with final fantasy IX, and X. and now blue dragon gave me that feeling again, and i cant stop thinking "this is it people, this is the game that theyre gonna set as the pinnacle of new generation of RPG"

The game is just basically a turn based RPG (the best kind of RPG imho). its the way that RPGs are meant to be played. the way you walk around the world of blue dragon is basically the same with wild arms series (since wild arms 2) where you can freely walk around and rotate the camera around you.

The battle system is very similar with final fantasy X, but in blue dragon, theres a timeline of actions, which enables you to set when you want the attack to be executed by holding the A button and releasing it at the specific point in the timeline.

seriously, that monster is called poo snake

The enemy encounter is almost like lunar series, where you can see the monsters walking around the map and you have to hit them (or they hit you) to start the battle, but it doesnt apply to bosses and specific battles. There are several ways to start the battle, you can sneak up on the enemy from behind, and you'll get a battle where you start first without the enemy even knowing the battle have already started.

One of the thing that amazes me (and annoys me at the same time) is the number of items you can check to see whats inside them. in a single room you can check almost any object that are available in the room. if theres a table in there, you can check the table and get items (or experience), if theres a potted plant in the corner, you can check it, if theres a shelf, you can look whats inside it, if theres a picture on the wall, you can check it, yeah, you get the idea.. it may be awesome at first, but imagine looking for items in every object lying in a town, or a dungeon. my A button sure took a beating for this game.
Grade:
Adventure: B+
Battle: A+

GRAPHICS

Welcome to next-gen RPG. where you cant really tell the difference between the gameplay graphic and the in game videos. where you wish you have a replay button for every FMV. where you basically walk around looking for monsters to fight just because its really cool to see the battle. the world, map, dungeon, and town design are rendered with such details and beauty, and i think its safe to say that Akira Toriyama is still the KING! nuff said..
Grade: A+

In game graphic of a village

Shu and Marumaro in FMV

SOUND

Its Nobuo Uematsu for f's sake! how can it suck? the dude made music for final fantasy a total genius if you ask me, he never failed to deliver the goods and he doesnt have any intention to start! and yeah, the boss battle music is by some rock/metal song that somehow reminds me of dragonforce. the japanese voice acting is very very good, its like watching a good anime, and the voice actor for marumaro is the same guy who does the voice of tamama in keroro gunso.
Grade: B

OVERALL
In overall, this is one great game, if you got yourself an xbox360, make sure that you get this game, i know the US version is not available on market yet, so go ahead and pre-order it. if you dont have an xbox360, go get it, its really worth it if youre an RPG fan.

Damnit! i am wasting valuable time to play blue dragon by just writing this review... im starting to regret this. if you found my review is not convincing enough for you, go look at the video provided below.

on a scale of 1 to 10.. i give this game a modest 12... thats right... 12.. twelve... this game rocks so hard.

and as parting words i shall say " I GUARANDAMNTEE THAT THERE WILL BE SEQUELS!"