Blue Dragon XBox360

It's been a long time since I played a traditional turn based RPG on a PC or console. I think the last time I really got into one was FFX on the PS2. In the next gen world of console game it's all about the action, even Fable, which many considered a great RPG was at it's core an action game.

Blue Dragon for the 360 is turn based. Good ol' fashioned turn based combat. I love it.

There are plenty of good reviews of the game, as it's been out a while in Asia and a couple weeks here in the USA, so I won't go into that. I will go into one thing that I really like about the game... it's fun twist on charge up moves and turn sequencing.

In general the combat turns are straightforward agility based move orders. The higher your agility, the more likely you are to go first and more often. I haven't exactly nailed down the increase in action frequency a higher agility gives you yet, but it feels like it's there.

This creates a nice feel to the combat, and you can build a character to be a speedster relatively easily. Additionally, you can build for slower harding hitting skills and get a different experience without feeling underpowered. In the 6 hours of play I've put into it at this point (I just started) it feels balanced.

To mix things up a little, there are charge based skills in the game that also effect your turn sequencing. For instance, a black magic user might try and use the flare attack spell. When this spell is activated, a charge bar appears and you get a chance to increase the damage done by holding down the button. You can even try to land the charge bar in a sweet spot that lowers the MP cost of the spell, very nice.

To balance out the increase in power, the charge bar also adds in a sort of casting time to your move. If you fully charge the bar you'll end up acting last in the round. You can also try and time the amount of charge you use, as it indicates where in the charge bar other characters will act. A very nice, open approach to the mechanic. I really like it.

This is good twist in what is otherwise a very traditional turn based combat game. While I've just started, it looks like this game is going to get a solid amount of hours from me. I love that it's turn based and I love that they are trying new things with turn based gaming.

More to come.

Some links for you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Dragon

http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/728/728023.html