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| | Title:
Blue Dragon
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System:
Xbox 360
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Genre:
RPG
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Publisher:
Microsoft
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Developer:
Mistwalker
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Release:
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Online:
No
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ESRB:
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Of all the games in the Xbox library there was a genre where it was lacking; RPGs. If it weren’t for companies like Bioware and their amazing epics the RPG genre will be dead on the Xbox. This contributed to the Xbox not selling well in Japan, since RPGs are one of the most popular genre’s in the country. Microsoft noticed this, and accordingly sought out as many Japanese developers as they could, targeting the RPG genre. Of all the companies signed onto the Xbox 360 the most exciting is Mistwalker. This is a new company founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mr. Sakaguchi is responsible for Square-Enix hits like Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, and many more both before and after these titles.
Of the two RPGs being developed for Xbox 360, Blue Dragon is the one receiving the attention. While still in development, Blue Dragon is turning out to be a masterpiece that the industry and gamers expect from talent like Sakaguchi.
Sakaguchi is teaming up with another Japanese entertainment revolutionary to design the world and characters of Blue Dragon. He goes by the name of Akira Toriyama. Yes, this is the man behind the legendary anime Dragon Ball Z, as well as the character designer for the Squaresoft masterpiece Chrono Cross. He gets around. This will be the second time Sakaguchi and Toriyama have teamed up to design a game. So far there have been five character designs released on the Mistwalker website. The first character, is a young boy who obviously looks to be the main character. Immediately the influence of Toriyama is evident. The remaining characters are an older girl who seems to be a pirate; a young school girl; an older boy (whose outfit DBZ fans will recognize), and a short yellow character whose race is unknown.
If the character designs don’t sound original, how these five fight in battles just might. Each of the five characters will have shadows which allow them to summon powerful creatures to do battle. Although not confirmed it is thought the Blue Dragon will be the summon of the main character. A demo screen shot confirms this.
The look and sound of Blue Dragon will be nothing short of breath taking. Sakaguchi is famous for creating beautiful pieces of gaming art and Blue Dragon will no doubt follow in this trend. The other exciting prospect is the fact that Mistwalker has also gained the genius of Nobuo Uematsu the composer for the Final Fantasy games (up to FFXII). It has not been confirmed if Uematsu is working on Blue Dragon, but the chance that he might is enough to get all of Square-Enix fans jumping up and down. Uematsu has not worked solely on a game since Final Fantasy 9 (some consider it his best), and with his knack for music and the power of the 360 at his finger tips, the possibilities look endless.
Microsoft has certainly acquired a gem with Mistwalker. With the names of Sakaguchi and Uematsu behind the company, Microsoft might be able to tug away some of the die-hard Square-Enix fans over into the Xbox court. Xbox Core will keep you updated as more details arise.
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