This is a big week for Microsoft in Japan as Thursday sees the release of Blue Dragon, its Japanese-developed RPG that's specifically aimed at tempting Japanese gamers towards theXbox 360. Take a look at the new screens by hitting the Imagestab and the game's intro on the Movies tab above, titled "Blue Dragon - playable opening 12-04-06."
The original Xbox didn't perform that well in the Japanese market and many experts put this down to the lack of traditional RPGs available for the console, the type that is particularly popular over there. To make sure this isn't the case for 360, Microsoft hired Final Fantasy originator Hironobu Sakaguchi to oversee the development of Blue Dragon which uses the design of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama.
The game follows the story of a boy named Shu, who has a shadow that can transform into a blue dragon. Not only that but he hasfriends who possess the power to summon other shadow creatures, so they team up and embark on a quest to save their world.
These new shots show the other creatures that can be summoned, each of them blue and suitably threatening.
The new footage is quite low-key but is actually the playable intro for the game. While it lacks a little in terms of action it gives you an idea of the quality of graphics, the type of music used and the way the levels can be explored.
December 4, 2006
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