Blue Dragon
Despite the involvement of Hironobu Sakaguchi, father of Square Enix\'s world-renowned Final Fantasy (FF) role-playing game (RPG) franchise, expect in Blue Dragon not the convoluted character-driven storyline of your average FF, but simplistic fare that is mostly as an excuse to propel the protagonists to their next dungeon. The lack of plot might bother you initially, but is soon forgotten once you get a taste of the excellent character growth and combat mechanics in here. Protagonist Shu and friends each possesses a shadow creature that can be placed under any of nine inter-changeable shadow categories representing such typical RPG roles as the warrior, elemental mage and thief. Each category caters to its intended role by granting practical statistic bonuses and a basic category skill.
As the category\'s rank (a shadow\'s equivalent of character levels) increases, the bonuses snowball, and advanced category skills are unlocked. Only four advanced category skills can be equipped at a time, but the good news is that they can be equipped independent of the character\'s shadow category, allowing conscientious players to mix and match for improved results. Although the shadow category system is derivative of older FF games, it works well. Genre veterans will be pleased with how familiar and flexible the nuances feel. but not everything is derivative.
Intoducing simultaneous encounters, a revolutionary feature that makes the process of ranking up and unlocking skills much less mundane. Monsters are visible in the dungeon areas your party explores, so enemy encounters are triggered when you come into contact with one. So addictive are the combat mechanics that it is disappointing whenever there are distractions to lengthen the quest. The biggest beef: the ridiculous amount of out-of-places objects - cupboards, pillars, trees and rocks - you can search for gold, items or experience points. Annoying as it may be to examine every little nook and cranny, the rewards are too substantial for you to pass up.
