Blue Dragon Critic Reviews

Blue Dragon might not be sheer perfection, but it still delivers a truly exemplary console RPG experience by thoughtfully executing and expanding on longtime genre traditions.

While Blue Dragon is clearly old school in its cartoonish art and turn-based gameplay mechanics, very distinctly different from a completely next-gen RPG-style title like Mass Effect, Blue Dragon definitely delivers something to the 360 that the original Xbox system never had enough of: an RPG so original, exciting and appealing, it will make PlayStation fans feel like they’re missing out on something important in the RPG landscape.

Classic RPG gaming brought to the next gen. Sure it's no political drama, and it won't have you aggressively button-mashing, but Blue Dragon promises engaging gameplay that you'll not only want to play through once, but revisit again and again.

Where so many RPGs deliver dry experiences that adhere too closely to traditional type, Mistwalker delivers an RPG that pushes the genre in all the right directions. With supreme technical qualities and gameplay to match, it’s little wonder that Blue Dragon has revived the 360 in Japan.

Blue Dragon finds the perfect balance between linearity and excessive freedom - it doesn't embarrass you by holding your hand, and yet it doesn't just leave you alone crying in the supermarket. Hironobu Sakaguchi (the FF creator and Blue Dragon mastermind) is as good a parent as Shigeru Miyamoto.

If the market allows giant-budget RPGs in the "Final Fantasy VII" mold to continue to be made(and there is some doubt as to that), they're going to look and feel a lot like this game...and for that reason alone, Blue Dragon is an absolute must-play.

Enormous, intelligent, wily - a true dragon.

It does as much as "Final Fantasy XII" to inspire hope that RPG developers are now beginning to look forward. In this instance, looking ahead results in a slightly more linear experience than some hardened role-playing game fans may appreciate.

Mistwalker and Artoon have developed something special with Blue Dragon and the end result should appeal to both Hardcore RPG fans and fresh faced adventurers.

From its astounding visuals to the constantly compelling gameplay, this experience will make role-playing veterans recall the good old days, and give newcomers the opportunity to start creating some memories.

Other than that, you've got the first definitive RPG from Japan that shows what the 360 can do and it's just the start - there are more to come.

This is the RPG that fans have been waiting for! If you love the Final Fantasy brand, but don’t own a Playstation system then this one is for you.

It's a new world, new story, and new characters, but it feels like an old friend.

This is a game meant to be enjoyed, not induce frustration.

Blue Dragon's light-hearted charm and role-playing goodness fills a lacking aspect of the Xbox 360's lineup.

I hope this sells like hotcakes because I would love to see Mistwalker and Artoon deliver a sequel and continue on the series.

As perfectly as it nails the traditional, linear turn-based approach and draws you in before opening up, the only real giant leap it makes for the RPG genre is by being easily the finest Japanese example to so far grace the Xbox 360. Traditionalists, however, will simply love it.

A mostly old-school adventuring format, swanked up in a manner worthy of Xbox 360.

Blue Dragon definitely has the pedigree and quality to appeal to RPG gamers, however long they've been putting the hours in over the years, with enough peculiar touches to keep the old hands engrossed, even if it won't be the best they've ever had.

A solid battle system is flanked hour after hour by attention-grabbing cutscenes and cinematics. Fun to watch, fun to play.