Blue Dragon

December 7, 2006

Artoon, Mistwalker, Bird Studio

Microsoft Game Studios

User29 ratings

Critic4 ratings

Total33 ratings

Role-playing (RPG)Adventure

X360

Single player

Third person

ActionFantasyOpen world

Summary

"Hironobu Sakaguchi, the Father of the Final Fantasy series, and Artoon present the world of Blue Dragon on Xbox 360. Featuring the character design of Akira Toriyama, the Father of "Dragon Ball Z", and music by Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for Final Fantasy, Blue Dragon is an epic role-playing game (RPG) centered on five youngsters who possess miraculous strength and magical power to control shadow creatures that mirror the actions of their masters." Blue Dragon follows the story of five friends (Shu, Jiro, Kluke, Zola, and Marumaro) as they travel across the world to confront Nene, the evil ruler of the Grand Kingdom. The setting inspired separate anime and manga adaptations, although these follow the story to different degrees and feature a different cast of characters. The game follows a traditional role-playing design, based around exploration and turn-based combat. The gameplay of Blue Dragon uses turn-based gameplay elements seen in older Japanese role-playing video games. The game world contains two major types of areas: towns, in which the player can rest and purchase items, and dungeon-like areas, with numerous foes to be defeated.

Storyline

Blue Dragon is a classic turn-based role-playing game set in a fantastical open world plagued by ominous purple clouds that herald disaster each year. When a mechanical beast known as the Land Shark rampages through their village, three young friends, Shu, Jiro, and Kluke, set out to stop it and are swept into a far grander adventure. They discover they can wield powerful magical shadows, taking the shape of a dragon and other mighty creatures, and use them to battle the forces of the sinister ruler Nene. Joined by new companions, the party journeys across a vast world to confront Nene and uncover the truth behind the calamities threatening their home.