Blue Dragon is the most underrated next-gen RPG

[Fei]

I was hoping Blue Dragon wouldn't suck because I didn't want to hear about Hironobu Sakaguchi sucking.  This is the most positive thread on this game I've read.  Too bad it's on 360 only... when the PS3 price drops, I am going that way.

Old news, but considering that Microsoft funded the creation of Mistwalker, a PS3 port is unlikely.  I hate this gen.

[Sagacious-T]

Fei you're way late for this gen. a 360 is about 250 and a PS3 is only 300 now. Both very good deals.

I'd recommend playing Blue Dragon if you get the chance, especially if you like retro SNES/PSX RPGs

[Sagacious-T]

Damn that ghost boss was tough. Took me about 4 tries around level 15. His AOEs 1-shot half of the party, and he wipes your status effects. Guards against slow too! That was probably as difficult as end bosses in some RPGs!

[Dios GX]

Not to sound like a random obtuse cock, but, wouldn't posts like that be better suited for the gaming journal? I dunno, it just always seems like a fun thread to have a conversation in.

On topic though, I really can't stand the battle system in Blue Dragon. It's just too slow and cumbersome for me to enjoy, especially since I played it right after Xenosaga Ep III, a lightning-fast battle system.

But who knows, I love The Granstream Saga, and hated FF9 when I first played it. Maybe I oughta give it another chance... after Dissidia.

[Sagacious-T]

Really? I thought Blue Dragon had a moderately fast battle system for a turn based RPG. There are a lot of characters on screen at once so maybe that makes it feel slow. The attack order system was really well done though, improved drastically on the traditional system.

[Myght]

I too liked BD. For the same reasons listed, It's a decent old school JRPG, but the story was really slow until about half way through the game.

[HolyKnight]

i've only played the game about 30 minutes in...the wife played the hell out of it for a long time.  its on my list of games to get to and after reading this thread i think im going to get to it alot quicker now

[Ashtrot]

Strategic battle system? I basically sleepwalked through the game.

Though, I will agree that it gets more flak than it deserves. Not every game has to be some dark, somber, serious tale. I had fun with it, which is more than I can say for most JRPGs this gen.

[Eusis]

Strategic battle system? I basically sleepwalked through the game.

If people say that they probably played the game on Hard. I've heard it's a lot better that way, and will start up a new game on that difficulty eventually.

[Sagacious-T]

Yep it's way better. They dumbed it down on the default difficulty. I think Hard mode would probably be a little too intimidating to the average gamer. There should be a Medium/normal mode that it shipped with, that could balance it a bit better. I've been wiped out from back attacks a couple times already. Stuff like Monster Fights really matter on hard mode.

[ShadowLaguna]

Yep it's way better. They dumbed it down on the default difficulty. I think Hard mode would probably be a little too intimidating to the average gamer. There should be a Medium/normal mode that it shipped with, that could balance it a bit better. I've been wiped out from back attacks a couple times already. Stuff like Monster Fights really matter on hard mode.

I have yet to download Hard mode. I will probably do so when I finish Blue Dragon. I can't be bothered starting again now.

[Fei]

Actually, easy mode might be welcomed by me.  I've been replaying FF8, and it has been really nice to lay back as I'm falling asleep and make significant progress with it.

Persona 3 and 4 on easy mode were still fair challenges to me.  How does Blue Dragon's hard mode compare?

[Marshmallow]

I just can't handle Toriyama's art style outside of DBZ. This game seemed like it tried to be old-school to the point that it felt like Dragon Quest (another series I just plain don't like) and I couldn't get into it.

Strangely enough, I loved the fuck out of Lost Odyssey. I even kept it when I have no 360 to play it on anymore ;_;

[Sagacious-T]

Fei - Blue Dragon hard mode is, well, hard. If you go along without power grinding it's always challenging but not to the point where you can't win. I accidentally forgot Zephyr (AOE heal) so on one boss I struggled by spamming Phoenix Talons (downs) with double item skill from Jiro. It was still doable though. Regular/easy difficulty is basically "attack" the whole way through the game.

Marshmallow - Blue Dragon is only similar to Dragon Quest in the idea that it's a traditional RPG. It pretty much takes everything that traditional RPGs are and does them right.

[Alisha]

i could never get past the kiddie character designs and aesthetics means a lot to me.