Blue Dragon any good?

[eurythmech]

Thinking of getting it, I'm having something of a japanese RPG withdrawal here.

[Gregatron]

I thought about it, but decided not to as it only got okay reviews.

[20Five]

the demo was pretty lackluster at best.. the reviews make it sound like its an okay game but requires about 10-15hours of boring gameplay to get to the fun parts.

[Dire]

Most of the reviews affirm that it's exactly what you'd expect: an oldschool traditional style jrpg. This game scored a 37 (9/9/9/10) from Famitsu (!!). If you like jrpgs, you'll love this. If you don't then you probably won't. I think this section from the Wikipedia entry is very apt:

[ QUOTE ]

Upon closer inspection of the IGN review and several other reviews which do not at all vocalize recognition of the depth in the turn organizational strategy nor ignore the fact its turn based before moving onto the meat of explaining things, it would appear alot of the bad attention the game is drawing to itself could be attributed to the philosophy most 360 gamers abide by. Dragon Quest VIII, a game which is arguably more generic in appearence and lacks the complexity of combat was praised for its very simple 'JRPG' formula, netting high scores left and right, but PSX and PS2 owners are generally more accepting of the turn based rpg concept. The fact that Blue Dragon is presenced on the 360 may make it the black sheep in the pack, considering few reviews draw comparisons to similar RPGs nor recognise the same line of depth most Japanese RPG players would take enjoyment from, such as the keen planning system in combat or the more looser hearted plot with focus on humor and character development rather than moody or dramatic events.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a new jrpg IP, on the 360, being released in America. It's going to polarize.

Gamerankings Ratings Distributions:


I'll definitely be picking it up once I finish with Bioshock.

[Dire]

More good reviews (9/10, 9.5/10) are also starting to roll in for the game. Above image is dynamically updated and the link has links to all the reviews. Just more evidence that the game really is going to be polarizing. Looks to be a great game if you like jrpgs. Not so much if you don't. The game was supposed to be released today, but it was still unavailable in my area with expected dates between tommorow evening and the 31st.

[ilya]

if you want a great old-school japanese-style RPG, wait for Wild Arms 5...it's gonna be sick

Blue Dragon looks really generic and overhyped, one of those games like Rogue Galaxy that gets good reviews but is completely forgotten within a month

i mean what is the point of developing for the 360 if your character models are gonna look like they belong to an early Xbox game

[Dire]

ilya, you really might want to try the game before bashing it. I really can't even believe you just said the graphics look like they belong to an early XBox game. The graphics in Blue Dragon, while not my cup of tea stylistically, look beautiful, especially in HD. Very crisp and clean with some amazing animation sequences. Even stranger is that you bash the graphics in the same post you're recommending Wild Arms V as a replacement, a PS2 game with mediocre graphics even by PS2 standards.

EDIT: Also, Wild Arms is also not what one would generally refer to as a JRPG. If anything it is an SRPG.

[ilya]

[ QUOTE ]
ilya, you really might want to try the game before bashing it. I really can't even believe you just said the graphics look like they belong to an early XBox game. The graphics in Blue Dragon, while not my cup of tea stylistically, look beautiful, especially in HD. Very crisp and clean with some amazing animation sequences. Even stranger is that you bash the graphics in the same post you're recommending Wild Arms V as a replacement, a PS2 game with mediocre graphics even by PS2 standards.

[/ QUOTE ]

it's true that the graphics in Wild Arms are technically inferior to Blue Dragon's, but a PS2 game can't be held to the same technical standard AND it is superior aesthetically (i understand this is a matter of opinion, but it is also a more important consideration than the graphics' technical quality).

as for not bashing a game until i've tried it, well, i don't claim to have tried it, so i don't see the huge problem. we here in the video game forum are constantly expressing opinions about unreleased games that are based on no more than what i've based my opinion on, namely website, screenshots, trailers, interviews, etc....i have been gaming & reading about games for over 20 years and in my experience it is VERY rare for a game to seriously surpass the expectations created by the above. just like movies rarely live up to their trailers.

i'm a big 360 supporter but i'm confident that Blue Dragon will not go down in history as a classic or even a cult favorite. if i'm wrong, great! anoter good game for my favorite system.

[ilya]

two more points,

i concede it was a low blow to compare Blue Dragon graphics to early Xbox graphics technically...they are much better from that standpoint.

i don't agree however that Wild Arms 5 is an SRPG. IMO it is a very typical example of a JRPG. It features an explorable 3d overworld design identical to that of most Final Fantasies, random encounters, a focus on short battles against a small number of enemies, and dungeon exploration elements that tend to be totally absent from SRPGs.

[Dire]

The problem here is that one of the primary components of your complaint with the game was just wrong. Go look up even the most critical reviews and you'll see praise for the graphics. They really are beautiful.

And you were also wrong regarding it being overhyped. If anything, this game has had a relatively luke warm western reception - and has almost no main stream appeal. I was suprised to see it in the top ten UK sales charts.