Mike Bantick
Saturday, 13 October 2007 08:26
Opinion and Analysis
Page 2 of 3
The settings change and characters, (including some further playable characters) constantly change. The range of change is vast, so you never feel you are simply playing a fantasy, steam-punk, jungle crawl, desert romp or dungeon delve game.
Now to the all important game mechanics: Thankfully the random encounters – the tired mechanism that permeates this genre so often – are kept to a minimum. For the most part, whether traversing the world map, or in third person mode, Shu and the gang are aware of nearby enemies.
Through a neat radar style engaging system, enemies can be fought in single or multiple groups at a time. This is important, as it is possible to pit monster foes against each other in a particular combat, easing your task.
The combat itself is turn based, though some attacks can be charged, requiring a deft hand to time the charge to inflict the greatest affect, sometimes forgoing that characters “turn” in the process. This adds a simple but effective element of tactics to the combat that along with monster vs monster set-ups makes the moment seem so much more cerebral.
Games such as Final Fantasy have moved on from this style to a more semi-real time lock on method, but Blue Dragons crux combat is by enlarge enjoyable with only a smidge of repetitiveness.
The Inventory system is light, but once the Shu gang swallow the mysterious orbs early on, the depth of Blue Dragon is revealed. Each cast member gains a ‘shadow’, which permanently attaches themselves to the characters. Kluke gains a Phoenix, Jiro an impressive Minotaur and Shu the titular Dragon.
Levelling up is an RPG staple, Blue Dragon is no exception. Each child can specialise in combat or magic styles with a satisfying range of options available for specialisation. And because the progress is rapid, you can afford to experiment with different approaches for your on screen avatars.
