DISCLAIMERS:
- the reviewer has not finished the game with 100% completion
- the game was played on the Xbox One S using the Xbox 360 version of the game intended for United States audiences through the backwards compatibility feature of the Xbox One series of consoles
12 years after Chrono Trigger‘s release on the SNES, the biggest names from that game returned to create a Dragon Quest knock off exclusively for the Xbox 360. This was an obvious attempt at bringing the Japanese audience to the Xbox but at this point it is clear that this didn’t work out. In this review Blue Dragon will be judged on its own merits.
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The gameplay of Blue Dragon is its biggest draw. It features classic turn based combat with a few minor twists. Moves are charged by pressing the confirm button as a bar moves from right and then to left at varying speeds. On the bar where each character’s turn will take place is visible, and confirming on a spot between two characters means that the attack will occur between the actions that those two characters will take. At the same time, going further to the right will result in a stronger move. This mechanic helps keep battles engaging while also allowing the player to relax as the pace is completely up to them. The enemies that the player fights are about as well interestingly designed as you could ask for from a JRPG of this type. The job system allows for a lot of customization, creating a playstyle that fits the player, though eventually the player will likely have every character using essentially the same jobs in the endgame once they find an optimal set up. Random encounters aren’t present, with enemies visible on the field that can be battled when ran into. There are also multiple field abilities that allow the player to manipulate enemies in the field, but this feature isn’t as flushed out as it could have been and is mostly useless in the later parts of the game. Overall Blue Dragon uses classic JRPG gameplay to great effect with a few mechanics that add a bit of depth without detracting from the experience that classic JRPGs provide.
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Blue Dragon also features a few other gameplay minigames that are generally things the player will only experience one time that this review won’t spoil. These side modes have a surprising amount of effort put into them, with the only major issue being that they can sometimes be cumbersome to control. Overall they are a good break from the rest of the game and should have been used more frequently, but it is hard to fault the game for this as the reviewer never felt bored with the standard battle mechanics.
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The sound in Blue Dragon is easily one of its best aspects. Nobuo Uematsu made an amazing soundtrack for this game which doesn’t have any songs that stick out as being particularly bad. The boss battle theme is famous for being a bit over the top and used too frequently but it is not the type of problem that would effect a game’s quality. Sound effects are about what you would expect and all fit perfectly. Voice acting is also more than passable. There is one character that some might find very annoying, but this was pretty clearly intended by the developers. Overall Blue Dragon is a joy to listen to.
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Technically Blue Dragon is fantastic in some areas and mediocre in others. The transition from Akira Toriyama’s source art to 3D is one of the best in gaming history. This combined with much more realistic backgrounds works surprisingly well, like a much more visually appealing version of Jump Force. Optimization is what makes this game much less technically impressive than it could be. The game constantly drops below and hold at below 30 FPS whenever something slightly intensive is happening on screen, which helps bring credence to the rumor that this game was originally made for PS3. Playing on Xbox One alleviates a lot of this lag but it is still far from as smooth as it should be. Overall Blue Dragon‘s graphics are appealing but its frame rate is not.
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The story in Blue Dragon is its weakest aspect, but mostly because the other aspects are all rather good. The story is rather generic and the writing is just passable. There are a few standout moments but they are good on their own rather than as part of the overall story. Overall Blue Dragon is not a game you should play for the story.
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In terms of value Blue Dragon is obviously worth it. The game takes at least a few dozen hours to beat and is entertaining the entire time. If you are a fan of JRPGs and a Xbox 360 owner this isn’t a game you should skip.
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Overall the reviewer would give this game a 9.0 out of 10.
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If you decide to purchase this game through one of the links below this blog will receive a commission.
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