The Blue Dragon Hype Thread

[AgentDenton]

[note - if you hate ALL JRPGs, this is not for you]
What is it?
Blue Dragon is an xbox360 exclusive JRPG from the brilliant guys and gals at Mistwalker.



What the heck is a Mistwalker?
Mistwalker is a Japanese games studio founded by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the Final Fantasy series of games, with financial backing from Microsoft Game Studios. Other games credited to his name include "Chrono Trigger" and the two "Kingdom Hearts" games. Aside from Sakaguchi, Mistwalker also includes Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball and the visual designer of Dragon Quest, and Nobuo Uematsu, composer of much of the music you hear in the Final Fantasy series.

In short, Mistwalker is Microsoft's non-CG reliant Square, a 360-exclusive AAA JRPG studio.



Final Fantasy has a lot of CG, which I hate. Will Sakaguchi bring that over to his new games?
The last Final Fantasy game that Sakaguchi worked on in any capacity other than "executive producer" was FF6, the last game in the series to not feature excessive CG just for the sake of having it. This, in addition to the fact that all of Blue Dragon, cinematics included, is done in-engine, means no, he will bring that to his new games.



Why should I be hyped for it?
To keep it short, because it's a great looking JRPG from a AAA studio founded by a guy who knows how to make them fun games rather than boring movies, as well as the fact that the 360's JRPG selection is rather thin, so fans of the genre should be especially excited.



What's the basic plot/idea of this game? (taken from Wiki)
The main character, a lad named Shu, has a shadow that can transform into a blue dragon. Using this power, he embarks on a quest with his friends, who possess different shadow creatures, to save the world.



How does the combat system work, is it the typical turn based system?
The combat system has yet to be publically shown (expect that at either TGS or X06), so we can only speculate. As a JRPG from the creator of Final Fantasy, it's likely to be turned based in nature, however, Sakaguchi has previously indicated that it will be more than simply lining up and taking turns as you do in some turn based titles.




Screenshots (all of these are in-engine)

Please note that all screenshots (with the exception of the scans posted, which are likely up-to-date enough to represent the final product graphically) are from earlier builds used at E3 in May. Personally, I think they've nailed the claymation look with this game, and though I hated it at first the art style has grown on me.



Videos
E3 2006 Trailer

Japan TV Spot 1

Japan TV Spot 2

Shaky Cam



"Company Line"
Famed game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker and developer Artoon present the highly anticipated Xbox 360 exclusive Blue Dragon. Featuring the character design of Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball Z and music by Nobuo Uematsu of Final Fantasy, Blue Dragon is an epic role-playing game that centers on a young boy named Shu and several of his friends.

These unlikely heroes possess the power to control phantom shadows that mirror the actions of their masters, giving Shu and his comrades miraculous strength and magical powers.

The warriors can create and develop their combat styles by utilizing different types of Shadow Change, including Sword, Assassin, and Power Magic. Shu and his friends must use the shadows as weapons and wield their skills to save their world from impending doom.

Encountering various people on a planet where numerous ancient ruins remain, the characters and their shadows travel through a world full of mysteries and illusions, where the slightest touch can cause reactions of unparalleled magnitude.

• Innovative RPG gameplay features: As their quest progresses, warriors can create original attack methods by utilizing several types of Shadow Change, including Sword, Assassin, and Power Magic. You can choose to focus the hero on certain areas of expertise. Shadows level up and gain new abilities associated with the job they are currently doing. Once gained, abilities are not lost and remain available to use when needed.
  
  [*]Massive scope and engrossing environments: Shu and his companions battle their way through an immense world filled with vividly illustrated remnants of ancient civilizations long forgotten.
  
  [*]Stunning graphics: Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Blue Dragon engages you in a world and characters that are brought to life with vibrant colors and detail, from Shu's wild hair to his martial arts-style garb, conveying the beautiful simplicity and sense of adventure found in this truly next-generation RPG.
  
  [*]Dazzling character design and effects: Toriyama’s unique influence is evident in the design of the game’s anime style characters, as their actions are enhanced with next-gen blur effects. Additionally, the game’s algorithmic animation system adds heightened realism to character and creature movements.

When will this game come out?
Despite the near total lack of released media/information on the game, Sakaguchi has assured the gaming press that the game is on track to meet it's Q4 2006 release date in Japan. Expect much more information at TGS (this is the game Microsoft is banking on in Japan, that territory's Halo), as well as a more solid release date. Assuming it ships in 2006 in Japan, expect a western release sometime between late summer to late fall 2007.



Gamespot's E3 2006 Impressions

Mistwalker's Official Game Page (The website content is translated, you simply need to scroll down past the japanese text to get to it)






Personally, I think the game looks and sounds very cool, and has a lot of talent behind it, so I'm confident that it's going to be a hit. It'll be great to see JRPGs return to being really fun games and not just interactive movies.


So...discuss.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

This game has fantastically imaginative artwork and some very successfully accomplished technical feats, however, I find that this game is overshadowed by the much more intriguing if somewhat morose "Lost Odyssey".

 

[AgentDenton]

Lost Odyssey and Cry On are probably going to be awesome games as well, but this is the one closest to release, so we'll find out more about it before we do the others. Hopefully though, we'll see more of Cry On than a press release at TGS, I'd at the very least like to see where this game is heading besides "sand giants".

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I'm going to assume this game will be great because it's coming from a great design legacy. The actual development is done by Artoon of Blinx fame, but with a great lead designer, that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[XwolverineX]

Wow, pathetic, stop hyping random JRPG's and bashing FF. It's so pathetic, and fanboyish.

 

[AgentDenton]

Asking people to hate and bash all JRPGs that aren't Final Fantasy, despite the fact that there's a good segment of the gaming public who hates that series, is not "pathetic" and "fanboyish"? I can't possibly hate Final Fantasy and like Blue Dragon for reasons other than being a "fanboy"? roflcopter

 

[XwolverineX]

No, you cannot. You are, a fanboy.

 

[AgentDenton]

Wow. You know, if you like Final Fantasy so much, this is from the guys who made it great (before excessive CG and shemale characters undid that), you should be more hyped than anyone.
Anyways, now that ****** "omg final fantiez rulez!11!!" happy hour is hopefully over, back on topic.

"It will be released at the end of the year. 'It' being Blue Dragon. This means that Fall will be a season of deadlines. A very scary time (nervous laugh). I wish Summer would go on just like this...not that it's the time to be saying stuff like that. At any rate, keeping mindful that Fall is right around the corner, we are currently running full speed ahead. It looks like we'll somehow make it on time. This is nothing short of miraculous. It may be the first real achievement of mine in my long career as a game producer. You know, meeting a deadline on time. For this, I have to thanks Matsumoto and Takahashi of the development staff, as well as the close to 200 other individuals that make up the staff [of the game]. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you.

But seriously, the technical prowness on display here is truly amazing. This time, I seriously found myself in awe. But still, we can't let our guard down. We'll continue ahead at full speed until the end. Whether it's Fall or whenever, we'll spare no sweat, blood and tears in our ongoing race to raise the quality [of Blue Dragon] to the utmost levels! It's shaping up very nicely. Don't miss it."

Hopefully it makes it's release date, and hopefully the fact that they've already translated the website and stuff into english means that localization is at the very least "under way".

 

[WhatsHisFace]

XwolverineX, you're an idiot.

 

[TheCardPlayer]

Indeed.

 

[AgentDenton]

Wow, pathetic, stop hyping FF and bashing random JRPG's. It's so pathetic, and fanboyish.



It's funny how one little switch can take something so fundamentally wrong and make it right

 

[WhatsHisFace]

I find that people I know in real life who play a lot of FF games are... how do you say... odd.

 

[AgentDenton]

"Odd" in the same way that Final Fantasy character Vann is obviously "odd"?


Anyways, how would you guys like to see the battle system turn out? Personally, I'd like to see random battles done away with first thing, or at least see them happen much less often than in Enchanted Arms, they get annoying after a while. Allowing real time movement in a type of grid like the one in EA, and then you select your attack and stuff, something like KotOR, would be ideal for me.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

Yeah, the KotOR/Anachronox way is the best way to do it if Turn Based has to be done at all. I'd really prefer real-time, but if I can't do that, let me see my blasted enemies so I can take a medpack.

 

[XwolverineX]

Final Fantasy is the best JRPG series ever, and you 2 are homosexual fanboy's, it's quite obvious.

 

[AgentDenton]

So what's your opinion WHF? Should we write about his terrible taste? The irony of saying that trash that the modern FF series is is the "best ever" while also calling someone else "fanboys"? Talk about the fact that he use' t' tal' lik' thi' while wearing wolverine footsie pajamas and holding butterknives in his fist, pretending to be a comic book character? I'm confused and can't decide

 

[WhatsHisFace]

So what's your opinion WHF? Should we write about his terrible taste? The irony of saying that trash that the modern FF series is is the "best ever" while also calling someone else "fanboys"? Talk about the fact that he use' t' tal' lik' thi' while wearing wolverine footsie pajamas and holding butterknives in his fist, pretending to be a comic book character? I'm confused and can't decide

I actually don't think he's worth our time, or effort. He's probably just like my roomate from last year in real life. Actually, I'm pretty certain he is. We could so easily flame him to cinders, but then the mods would just make an unwelcome appearance. Let's just keep bashing FF because it's a milked and subpar franchise, the Madden of Japan, and let him cry himself to sleep over it.

 

[AgentDenton]

Heh, Madden of Japan

 

[XwolverineX]

You always have to get off the subject, when you realize you're wrong, don't you?


Pretty much anyone who has a head on their shoulder's and is not blinded by fanboyism know's FF is the best JRPG franchise ever.

 

[WhatsHisFace]

You always have to get off the subject, when you realize you're wrong, don't you?


Pretty much anyone who has a head on their shoulder's and is not blinded by fanboyism know's FF is the best JRPG franchise ever.

Even though avid FF fans will say Dragon Quest is better? Hahahaha, you total fool.

 

[XwolverineX]

Did you pull that out of your ass? Because they wouldn't.

 

[AgentDenton]

Off the subject? You mean like trolling threads with stuff about Final Fantasy, a series that used to be good but has since become a cliched, CG-heavy, boring gut bustingly bad series, loved to death by fanboys and fools who think a heavy focus on story means that the story in question must be "good"? No one "got off the subject", we directly replied to everything you said, no matter how off topic, off the wall, poorly thought out, and obviously juvenile and hypocritical it was. You want to talk about Final Fantasy, go make another thread for it, and enjoy talking about it with whoever else is unfortunate enough to share your bad taste, or remain here and talk about it, getting flamed left and right and generally made to look like a fool, all while you desperately try to save face by making nonsense comments like "omgz u guyz are off the subjects when wrong!11!", flying in the face of how obviously wrong that is to anyone with a "head on their shoulders", as you put it.

You fail at posting just as the last FFX, FFX-2, FFXI, and FFXII fail at being worth my time.

 

[AgentDenton]

Even though avid FF fans will say Dragon Quest is better? Hahahaha, you total fool.

It's funny, "avid" Final Fantasy fans would have followed the series before the Playstation games came onto the scene, CG heavy and boring, and will generally tell you that the games up to FF6 were of much higher quality, the games that Blue Dragon's head guy worked directly on. In addition to that, Chrono Trigger, another game Sakaguchi worked directly on, is almost universally held higher than any Final Fantasy game. If this kid were an actual 'avid FF fan', or even just a JRPG fan, chances are this game would be of great interest to him. It's so obvious that he's a blind FF zealot, he can't even grasp that their quality has been slipping over time, or that other games are just plain better. It would be sad if he weren't logged onto the internet and putting his hilarious attachment to such a bad series on display for us.

EDIT: lol, go look in the Misc discussion session. The idea of a FF-esque game being put together that corrects the problems people have with those games has angered him so much that he's actually trying to get people to "rally" in this thread. I don't think I fully grasped what the term "fanboy" meant until now. I'll never be so liberal with that word again

 

[WhatsHisFace]

What would really be sad is if someone actually cared about what he was saying, because then the poor person might take his idiocy to thought for a moment, and cause them an unfortunate headache.

 

[Panophobia]

On topic, this games looks pretty good. I like the ary style, it's pretty unique, and I'm a sucker for most turn-based RPGS (FF hasn't been great since 8 IMO).