Blue Dragon, the long-forgotten baby of FF and DQ is finally playable on emulator

[aweigh]

Featuring art and character design by Akira Toriyama, a scenario concept by Sakaguchi and a soundtrack by Nobuo Uematsu, Blue Dragon is considered the lovechild of FF and DQ series and now we can finally play it on PC without having to eBay a disgusting Xbox 360 console:

Blue Dragon

Box art of Blue Dragon
Developer(s) Mistwalker
Artoon
Publisher(s) Microsoft Game Studios
Director(s) Takuya Matsumoto
Programmer(s) Shinji Iseki
Artist(s) Akira Toriyama
Writer(s) Hironobu Sakaguchi
Composer(s) Nobuo Uematsu
Platform(s) Xbox 360
Release

• JP: December 7, 2006
• EU: August 24, 2007
• NA: August 28, 2007
• AU: August 30, 2007

Genre(s) Role-playing video game
Mode(s) Single-player

Review for the game are all positive, and many consider it a "hidden gem" of an RPG. Most people attribute the lack of success for the "Blue Dragon franchise" to a combination of bad business decisions and the earth-shattering failure that was the Xbox 360 in Japan. They tried hard to get this thing turned into a franchise complete with manga and cartoons and action figures in Japan but they were just not having it! Japs hate the Xbox and not even the combined might of Toriyama, Uematsu and Sakaguchi could convince them otherwise.

 

[Dreed]

I finished this years ago, the only good things about the game are the art style and the soundtrack, the rest is boring, repetitive and too easy.

The only good JRPGs for this console are Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate.

 

[sullynathan]

was this an anime before a game or a game before anime?

 

[newtmonkey]

The boss combat music is this game is cringeworthy. I really thought it was some Japanese guy singing some offkey shit English, but then when it hit the chorus I was like, wait... isn't that fucking Ian Gillan from Deep Purple?!?!?! :O And it was.

(The lyrics were apparently written by Hironobu Sakaguchi and then translated, so I suppose Gillian did the best with what he had, like building a bridge between nations from shit and vomit, but still)

 

[Clockwork Knight]

The dangerous cheesiness of the theme is the best part.

If someone asked me what game had the worst boss music ever, I would say Blue Dragon
If someone asked me what game had the best boss music ever, I'd also say Blue Dragon.

 

[newtmonkey]

I dunno man, I think it's beyond cheesy. The chorus is nice, but everywhere else it seems like he's stumbling to sing the shit they handed him. The song itself is not bad by any means... I mean, replace his singing with a MIDI guitar and it would be a pretty decent JRPG battle theme.

 

[newtmonkey]

Having said that, I'd love to see Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey playable on PC someday. Two of few games I enjoyed on my 360 back in the day.

 

[Clockwork Knight]

Yeah, but it would be more generic. It reminds me of when Dragon's dogma changed

THE WIND IS PUSHING ME

to the woman moaning for the Dark Arisen expansion. It's good and more fitting, but it doesn't make me want to grab onto a cyclops' ass and stab it repeatedly just as much.

 

[abnaxus]

Play Emerald Dragon

 

[Taxnomore]

I will just thank this game for bringing us the music theme of basket ball fights against Michael Jordan.

 

[Deflowerer]

Update the txt when Operation Darkness is playable on PC.

 

[abnaxus]

https://github.com/xenia-project/game-compatibility/issues/298

https://github.com/xenia-project/game-compatibility/issues/1042



Will be playable in twenty ten years.

 

[Falksi]

I finished this years ago, the only good things about the game are the art style and the soundtrack, the rest is boring, repetitive and too easy.

The only good JRPGs for this console are Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate.

Bang on.

Would also throw The Last Remnant into that mix too though, an aquired taste but I thrived on it.

But Blue Dragon was absolutely dull as hell.

 

[Dreed]

I finished this years ago, the only good things about the game are the art style and the soundtrack, the rest is boring, repetitive and too easy.

The only good JRPGs for this console are Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate.

Bang on.

Would also throw The Last Remnant into that mix too though, an aquired taste but I thrived on it.

But Blue Dragon was absolutely dull as hell.

The Last Remnant is indeed good, I didn't mention it since it was ported on PC.
I can recall one other RPG exclusively out on XBox 360, Infinite Undiscovery by Tri-Ace, which was complete shit.

 

[Rahdulan]

The only good JRPGs for this console are Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate.

There are some games I'd like to try despite them clearly not being AAA titles, stuff like Operation Darkness and such, but I will agree Lost Odyssey is the main prize. It's just a matter whether emulator or Microsoft bringing backwards compatibility to Windows will claim it first.

Also, I totally want Operation Darkness for plot reasons.

 

[oddech_wymarlych_swiatow]

Regarding X360 emulation I planned to ask 'Bullet Witch when?' but suddenly, despite negative reviews it went to PC via Steam few month ago, wtf?

With last Cavia gem playable on Master Race Platform, Xbox 360 emulation became pointless for me.

 

[Black Angel]

I probably should ask this in some other thread, but what's the relation between this Blue Dragon franchise with this Blue Dragon? I immediately see a connection of both having stand-like shadow dragon thingy, but the very first time I saw this Toriyama-style Blue Dragon, I immediately reminded of boob-grabbing scene Blue Dragon I happened to found years before that. Is this a kind of a remake to the older Blue Dragon?

 

[Jacob]

I probably should ask this in some other thread, but what's the relation between this Blue Dragon franchise with this Blue Dragon? I immediately see a connection of both having stand-like shadow dragon thingy, but the very first time I saw this Toriyama-style Blue Dragon, I immediately reminded of boob-grabbing scene Blue Dragon I happened to found years before that. Is this a kind of a remake to the older Blue Dragon?

the wiki page you've linked specifically stated that it's loosely based on the video game

 

[Siveon]

The only good JRPGs for this console are Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate.

There are some games I'd like to try despite them clearly not being AAA titles, stuff like Operation Darkness and such, but I will agree Lost Odyssey is the main prize. It's just a matter whether emulator or Microsoft bringing backwards compatibility to Windows will claim it first.

Also, I totally want Operation Darkness for plot reasons.

I'll say first hand that Operation Darkness (from what I've played with the demo) is an absolutely fun SRPG bogged down by the worst camera I've ever used in my life.

Getting past that (which is surprisingly easy), you have a fun tactics RPG in a fun setting, with giant almost Fire Emblem 5 levels maps.

 

[Dreed]

The only good JRPGs for this console are Lost Odyssey and Resonance of Fate.

There are some games I'd like to try despite them clearly not being AAA titles, stuff like Operation Darkness and such, but I will agree Lost Odyssey is the main prize. It's just a matter whether emulator or Microsoft bringing backwards compatibility to Windows will claim it first.

Also, I totally want Operation Darkness for plot reasons.

I'll say first hand that Operation Darkness (from what I've played with the demo) is an absolutely fun SRPG bogged down by the worst camera I've ever used in my life.

Getting past that (which is surprisingly easy), you have a fun tactics RPG in a fun setting, with giant almost Fire Emblem 5 levels maps.

I never heard of the game before this thread, it seems it was never released in Europe

 

[Siveon]

I never heard of the game before this thread, it seems it was never released in Europe

Ah sorry friend. Atlus, you know.

 

[ColCol]

Really Boring.

 

[Black Angel]

the wiki page you've linked specifically stated that it's loosely based on the video game

I failed yet another [Reading Comprehension]. And me thinking Ral Grad being older is because I encounter it first, while Toriyama-style Blue Dragon didn't appear until a few years later on.... Indosiar?

 

[Jacob]

the wiki page you've linked specifically stated that it's loosely based on the video game

I failed yet another [Reading Comprehension]. And me thinking Ral Grad being older is because I encounter it first, while Toriyama-style Blue Dragon didn't appear until a few years later on.... Indosiar?

I've never seen the Ral Grad though, did you read it on

or was it published here?

 

[Black Angel]

I've never seen the Ral Grad though, did you read it on

or was it published here?

It was actually my brother who read it first, but I can't remember if he read it online or in comic form. Me, though, I go on to sail the seven seas to read it, yar harr harr!