[360] Blue Dragon

I'm 10 hours into the Asian release of Blue Dragon (NTSC-J, japanese/korean voices with fully english translated interface and subtitles). So far it plays like a kiddy mix of Xenogears and Chrono Cross, complete with backstory on ancient civilizations and arcane technology. The plot's only starting to pick up, I anticipate really good things with this game.

Only complaint so far is the low depth of field, I sometimes feel like I'm playing without my glasses on.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I've played the game through, and I can tell you that THE plot twist isn't on the second disc. So relax!

There's nowhere I can't reach.

You only get absymal framerates when you

(minor disc 3 spoiler, probably in the demo but whatever)

Spoiler:

manifest a corporeal shadow, like your FF limit breaks

otherwise it's smooth sailing.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

You won't be seeing most of those fancy spells until near the end of the second disc / third disc anyway. You probably won't even be using them afterwards -- considering that, once you're mid-level, second tier spells will already be sufficient (if your sweeping physical attacks haven't already ended the encounter).

Spoiler:

In my experience, I barely even used any of the Corporeal attacks. The battles simply ended too quickly.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, it's "good", if you're just looking for something simple. Parts of the game will remind you of, say, Xenogears and Chrono Cross, but overall Blue Dragon never manages to rise to their calibre due to its lack of challenge and slightly dumbed down feel, including the story and dialogue which can get mighty embarrassing at times. The game does introduce some novel features but it wears off early.

The biggest problem with the game is balance. The highest tier spells are left unused because you can get much better efficiency with lower tier spells; you virtually never get to use your strongest physical attacks; with the right passive skills engaged you won't even need to use any items. Apparently there's a patch out in Japan that ramps up the difficulty level (and one that adds a New Game Plus feature) but it's not available in the Asia Pacific yet.

But otherwise it is a well polished game. You'll probably even like the characters, despite their designs. Story isn't anything you haven't seen in other RPGs, but that's to be expected. Music is awesome.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by guyinrubbersuit

and come on we have next generation hardware. Take advantage of its capabilities and do something with it.

Well, they did






By the way, here's how to get one of the achievements:



What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Roballs pop out of the ground in the wake of the

Spoiler:

mobile mecha base

and they disappear after a short while, so you have to string them up using Attract Aura or the stink status (one of the accessories will inflict it). It takes a few passes to collect that many, and you have to dodge any that try to attack you. If all goes well, though, they'll stall at a distance just out of attacking range, and you can wait for more to appear.

FELIPE NO