Blue Dragon (Xbox 360)

First off this game is criminally underrated, I remember going to game to buy this, because of the relation of staff between Mistwalker and Square Enix. It suprised me though, i was hoping and expecting for something similar to Chrono Trigger. But what you get from this game is a collaboration of features from previous game made by other developers, that's the main let down of the game. I know people may argue that they can't help this because Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest have near enough done everything with the RPG genre that is possible to do. But there is always a new idea out there somewhere. The games story in my opinion is very good and excellently presented, though it does drag on a tad when you get on to disc 3. All in all if i had to give this a review a score out of 10 i would give it around an 8. The game is very good, but i do not recommend it to any im-patient gamers (because it does go on a bit and you will have to do, like in every RPG undertake in tedious walking around and battling to get your level up.) or a person who dislikes RPGs (because its about as true to the genre as possible).

Pros:
* Well presented Graphics perfect for the story.
* Decent Storyline.
* Loveable Characters.
* A proper RPG that lives up to the Genre.
* No random ecounters you see the enemy (think Mario RPG Seven Stars).

Cons:
* Having to level up for boss battles all the time.
* Pointless parts of the quest that were only in the game to expand the main quest.

I have been playing blue dragon for quite some hours now and feel I have to add a fair an honest review of the game to level the playing field a little. Firstly I tend not to take too much notice of reviews and hence don't blame you if you ignore mine, but I will try to be as fair and unbiased as possible. Firstly the beginning of the game - and by the beginning I mean the whole of the first disc and a good bit of the second (there are three in total) is very average and quite often yawn educing. The game play throughout is typical turn based fare but the first disc is completely bog standard and unexciting. After that it does get more fun, but that's a long time to stick something out and I wouldn't blame anyone for giving up and trading in because there is very little pay off for your hours of input. Even after the initial hurdle is cleared the game doesn't really break new ground or offer anything overly fantastic - it's just a solid JRPG with a slightly off putting slew of cringe worthy characters and a by the book, heard it a thousand times before, story. However as I said before; it's a solid enough experience with some cool spells and ideas, albeit brought on more than a little late in the game, and if you're looking for a decent length adventure which isn't too offensive you could do a lot worse - especially for the bargain basment price it's now going for. Let's hope Lost Odyssey is something special. Cheers for reading.

I bought this game on release day, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I am 15 hours in, still on the first disc (of 3), and am utterly engrossed. This game has many positive aspects: firstly, it has wonderful graphics. It's not like Bioshock or Oblivion, realistic, but it has graphics which make the fantasy world feel alive and vibrant. Every character and monster has been given great detail, with looks and especially movements seeming natural and interesting. The graphics really do the combat justice. The combat is typical Final Fantasy turn based combat with a twist, where there is a charge bar which alters the turns depending on the charge. The combat itself is, in a word, awesome. Fights aren't random as in FF games, but you see enemies on the field, so you can either attack them, or avoid them. Combat is a tangle of brilliant looking moves and tactics, and as the game goes on, more great looking moves are unlocked. Occasionally a boss fight will occur, where the enemy is tougher than the usual monsters. Overall, the game doesn't really repeat the monsters for you to become sick of a particular monster. Another good aspect of the game is the music. The music is on par with the FF series. When exploring the world, the music is light and jolly (except during dramatic parts), and when in a boss fight, it becomes more rock and roll. Finally, onto the world itself. The game has a weird and wonderful sense of humour, and the world shows this. It is a large and expansive world, although quite linear, unlike Oblivion, but a benefit of this is that you won't get lost. The game's designers have put a lot of effort and thought into making the world as fun as possible, and it is evident when encountering some of the areas and races for the first time. As for the storyline, it is there, but very vague. Just trust the game to present storylines. This leads us onto the bad points: the saving system is quite bad in some places. You can save at a save point, or on the world map. You cannot save halfway through a dungeon, so if you die, you have to go all the way back to the beginning. Alternatively, if you need to save, you could warp back to the beginning of the dungeon and save at the save point (a warp device and save point are usually found in the same place), but this resets the dungeon's monsters, so you have to encounter (or avoid) all the monsters again, possibly not a bad thing as it gives you extra experience. The cut scenes are not, as one reviewer insinuated, bad, and the dialog is not cheesy. I enjoy all the cutscenes, as they make the world seem alive to me, and help you relate to the characters. The dialog is fine, considering this is a Japanese game. Another slight fault is that sometimes the fights seem to follow the exact same sequence and moves, but considering the wealth of combat moves, it won't happen often.
As you might expect, this game is not online playable, but will probably follow Oblivion's example and have downloads available.
Overall, this is a class game, with not many things wrong with it. It certainly has longevity, with a large game world and 3 discs. You certainly would be spending money well, as it will keep you occupied for at least a week. If you enjoy a great story, exploring (fans of the Broken Sword series will love this), and exceptional looking combat, this game will delight you to no end.