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Gamers won't wait long for Blue Dragon DS
Blue Dragon DS, the spin-off (or possible continuation) of the Xbox 360 RPG, was just announced and now Mistwalker promises it will be on shelves by next March. Those guys work fast! But just to sweeten the pot, they've also promised another title to release even sooner -- AWAY Tsuresarareta Hitobito, aka Away: The Kidnapped People -- which is slated for January 31 in Japan. There are some big names working on Away, most notably Mistwalker's Hironobu Sakaguchi and renowned composer Nobuo Uematsu. Both titles look to have some serious potential, and if ASH is any indication, we can start expected a flood of scans right about ... now, and video precisely three days before the games are released.It's okay, Mistwalker. We like you anyway.
New Blue Dragon DLC ups the difficulty for free
For those out there who thought Mistwalker's Blue Dragon was too easy for your tastes, Microsoft has just released new content aimed at upping the ante for the RPG's difficulty. Best of all? It's free. Dubbed the Ultra Hard Mod, the new content has three aspects. The first is Game Plus, which allows you to start a new game using a saved file from near the end. The other two are specifically for the masochistic: Hard Mode, reportedly twice as challenging as normal, and Impossible, which is meant to play with characters starting at level 50 or higher. (If you want to do the Impossible at level 10, however, by all means go for it. Let us know how that works out.)
Free download makes Blue Dragon ultra hard
Available for free on the Xbox Live Marketplace is a new Ultra Hard Mod download for Blue Dragon which should make even the best Blue Dragon players wince. The Ultra Hard Mod download adds three new options to the game; New Game Plus, Hard Game Mode and Impossible Game Mode. New Game Plus allows players to start over from game saves towards the end, Hard Game Mode makes Blue Dragon twice as hard as the original experience and Impossible Game Mode is well ... extremely difficult and is targeted towards players who are level 50 or higher. Yikes! Go get your free Blue Dragon Ultra Hard Mod now, because it's free and ultra hard.
DS Daily: What franchise needs to be on the DS?
With yesterday's DS Daily, we thought about all of the franchises that generally aren't represented or have recently made their way onto the DS. We thought about how a game (take Blue Dragon, for example) could make its way onto the DS, totally disregarding its initial genre, utilizing the unique functions of the handheld.So, if you could take a franchise and adapt it for play on the DS, what franchise would it be and how would you augment its initial genre and style for the handheld? Would you take a game in the FPS genre and turn it into a side-scroller on the platform? Would you adapt a card game into a shoot-em-up?Take those two cents out of your pocket and toss them in.
DS Daily: We're soooo pumped for Blue Dragon
Having several friends who're all kinds of knee-deep in the Xbox 360 game Blue Dragon, we found that we too wanted to get our role-play on and started it up. We didn't get far, but the 2 hours or so of the game got us pumped. We genuinely felt that this game could be excellent beyond all comprehension.And now it's coming to the DS?! Holy hand grenade, we can't wait for it, even if it's a card-based game. How about you, folks? Are you as excited as we are? Or, could you care less?
Blue Dragon casts its shadow on the DS
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Blue_Dragon_coming_to_DS'; Mistwalker seems to be pro-DS, which we guess means they like money. Not only are they bringing us ASH, which looks not completely terrible, but now it seems that they will be sending us Blue Dragon, the title that encouraged Japanese gamers to buy an Xbox 360. We smell a special edition DS Lite in the works for this one. After all, they have to try to drive system sales again somehow.So what's the less-than-good news? It's a card game. Technically, a role-playing card game, according to the scan from Shonen Jump (available after the break). Mistwalker apparently likes to blend game types; one style just isn't enough for them when it comes to their DS offerings. We'll keep an eye out for more information on this one, because Mistwalker might just surprise us and turn out the best damned card game ever.
Rumor: Sakaguchi working on Xbox 360 MMO
Mistwalker founder Hironobu Sakaguchi has revealed that he is working on a new Xbox 360 title that is "50% MMO and 50% RPG," according to Total Video Games. Speaking at an anime event in Paris, France, Sakaguchi reportedly said that the project is not previously-announced titles Blue Dragon sequel or Cry On. (Though there has been talk about Blue Dragon 2 going online.)The announcement has not been confirmed and we have no other details, so consider this a rumor for now. Should the news end up being true, we just hope the 50% MMO and 50% RPG comment doesn't equate to twice the level grinding and only half the story of most genre-oriented games.
Blue Dragon demo set for July 20
If you've been on the fence about Blue Dragon, then we have some good news for you. According to Dengeki Online (helpfully translated by Siliconera), an international Blue Dragon demo is slated for July 20. Weighing an impressive 1.1GB, the demo will apparently contain a whopping 2 hours of available gameplay. We hope you've grown accustomed to the English voice-overs though, as Japanese will not be an option in the demo. There may be a few different subtitle options, depending on the language settings of your Xbox. Finally, be sure to grab the demo as soon as you can, as it will fly away from Marketplace on August 3rd, giving just over three weeks to save up for the real thing.[Via Siliconera]
Red, White & Blue Dragon: Celebrating Japanese games
The United States of America's birthday is just around the corner and Xbox.com thought of no better way to celebrate July 4th than by playing ... Japanese games? Well, we don't quite see the correlation here other than a Blue Dragon name tie-in, but we'll go with it. And even though we prefer to celebrate the Fourth of July with explosive fireworks, grilled food and family we just might pop in some Dead Rising, Tenchu Z, Street Fighter or Castlevania come Wednesday.See Japan, the Xbox 360 loves you so much it's willing to incorporate your gaming culture in a marketing campaign aimed at Americans on their country's birthday. Don't you think you owe the 360 some love now?
Blue Dragon officially lands on August 28
It was confirmed during GDC this year that Blue Dragon would be hitting the U.S. sometime this August. We've received official word from Microsoft this morning that the game will ship on August 28. Yes, in just 61 days, U.S. games will finally be able to play Mistwalker's first opus. In celebration of Blue Dragon, Microsoft plans to make a fan site kit available from the official Blue Dragon page on Xbox.com (it's not available right now, despite the press release's protestations to the contrary). Xbox.com will also be hosting a feature article about the game, though it still hasn't gone live as of this posting. For those of you still unfamiliar with the game, we suggest you check out the recent preview from Eurogamer.
Eurogamer takes Blue Dragon for a spin
Eurogamer got its hands on the English version of Blue Dragon and took the time to write up some impressions. Overall, the gist of the preview is that Blue Dragon tries to recreate classic Japanese role playing game design without reinventing it. As noted by the preview, everything seems as though it was pulled from classic RPGs and made to mesh with modern console aesthetics. The graphics look like old school 2D characters and worlds come to life, the characters are broadly drawn, and the combat is solidly turn-based. About the only concession the game makes to modern game design (or "progress" as Eurogamer calls it) is that battles are not random. In the end, it seems that Blue Dragon was meant as a nostalgic trip down memory lane with a new coat of paint. The only problem, according to Eurogamer, is that such nostalgia may be in limited supply outside of Japan. We'll find out when Blue Dragon hits North America this August.
Blue Dragon's BIG SHADOW wins award
Microsoft's 360 sales in Japan may be borderline sad and depressing, but at least their ad campaigns are winning awards. Blue Dragon's marketing campaign BIG SHADOW won a coveted Canneslion award for best outdoor advertisement. The BIG SHADOW campaign can be seen here and took place in Japan where they projected people's shadows on a nearby building that morph into Blue Dragon creatures. The campaign also went online featuring a live feed of the fun and interaction with the shadows. It's quite the creative experience and well worth an award. Now only if Microsoft could translate an advertising award into Xbox 360 hardware sales then we think things would be good in Japan.[Thanks Jonah Falcon, Via Joystiq]
Blue Dragon now available in English, sort of
If you've been waiting for a version of Blue Dragon with English subtitles and you happen to live in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, or Singapore, then you are in luck! Siliconera reports that Microsoft has officially released Blue Dragon to Asian territories outside of Japan. This version of Blue Dragon features Japanese or Korean voice acting and both Chinese and English subtitles. Before you start getting your importing hopes up though, we must inform you that the game is region locked, unlike many Asian Xbox 360 games. However, if you just so happen to have a Japanese Xbox 360, more power to you.The rest of us, unfortunately, will be waiting until the English version's official August release.[Via Joystiq]%Gallery-3400%
English-subtitled Blue Dragon released in Asia
Microsoft has released a version of Blue Dragon with English subtitles ... in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore. That's not exactly helpful for US and European Xbox 360 owners who are yearning for the role-playing game from Mistwalker.According to Siliconera, this release of the game features Japanese and Korean voice acting alongside English and Chinese subtitles. And though you might be thinking of importing the title, we should warn you that it's region locked, requiring a console from the area. We're not quite sure how Microsoft has defined (and subsequently locked) the regions, but Siliconera suggests that a Japanese Xbox 360 would work.If you can wait, Blue Dragon will arrive in August for the US and September for Europe.%Gallery-1935%
Blue Dragon 2 could be online
Speaking to Japanese website, Gpara.com, Mistwalker head, Hironobu Sakaguchi, expressed interest in taking the inevitable sequel to Blue Dragon online. Sakaguchi told the website (translated by Eurogamer), "Specifics aren't finalised, but there's a possibility that it will be produced as an online title." Granted, it's possible that something was lost in translation, but it sounds as though Sakaguchi wants to make online functionality central to Blue Dragon 2. Of course, it's just as likely that the online functionality could be limited to simple things like item trading or the Mechat shooting segments. Given the original title's relative success in Japan, adding online functionality could be a good way to get more Japanese gamers on Xbox Live.American gamers will finally get their shot at Blue Dragon in August.[Via Joystiq]
Blue Dragon sequel may go online
The sequel to the Xbox 360 Japanese RPG Blue Dragon may include online play. Speaking to Japanese website Gpara.com (translated by Eurogamer), Mistwalker producer Hironobu Sakaguchi said that they are in talks with Microsoft about developing a sequel and that, "specifics aren't finalised, but there's a possibility that it will be produced as an online title."To what extent Sakaguchi is considering integrating online play is unknown; it could be anywhere from online trading to a full-blown MMO. It is pretty much assured Microsoft, with a minimal-at-best library of RPGs for the Xbox 360, will greenlight a sequel to the one title that has so far proven to be successful in Japan.Blue Dragon will be arriving in North America August 15 and Europe in September.%Gallery-1935%
Rumor: Mass Effect 'delayed', due in September [update]
A CVG report asserts that the Xbox 360's role-playing space opera, Mass Effect, has been "delayed" until the horrifyingly distant month of September. Of course, having never had an official release date to begin with, it seems exceedingly impatient to consider the game delayed just as its first potential release window is revealed. Though there have been hints pointing towards a May or June release, September would be the first month Microsoft and BioWare have openly committed to -- if indeed the report is wholly accurate.We'd prefer a month that was sooner (like April), but it seems the utterly blinding level of light bouncing off all the shiny spaceships, futuristic weapons and revoltingly moist aliens in the game just isn't enough for BioWare to stop polishing. The only worrying aspect of such a September release is that it would be awfully close to the August arrival of Hironobu Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon. Having access to both time-consuming RPGs within 30 days could prove socially, economically and hygienically disastrous for fans of the genre. Curiously, when asked for comment on the September date (which could specifically be for Europe), the Mass Effect publisher only offered, "Microsoft has not announced a release date for Mass Effect."Update: "We have not made any official announcements regarding release timing for Mass Effect," adds Microsoft. "At this time, any information about the game's release date is purely rumor and speculation."Joystiq contacted CVG for clarification. We were politely informed that the information originated from a Microsoft employee and that it has yet to be "officially" announced. In other words, we're waiting on that official announcement letting us know we have to wait until September for the game -- point being, we're waiting.
Blue Dragon's first premium DLC: random dungeon generator
Having already released extra downloadable difficulty settings, Mistwalker and Microsoft have announced plans to release a random dungeon generator for Blue Dragon on April 27. The downloadable content is available in Japan only (no surprise, seeing as the full game is only available in Japan) and, according to a translation by Siliconera, will cost 300 MS points (¥444, US $3.75).The value of the random dungeon generator is tantamount to its construction, and we don't know how well Mistwalker implemented the feature. For all we know, a faulty algorithm may lead to an entire wing of the dungeon being blocked off by an impassable Sarlacc Pit! Blue Dragon will be available August 15 in North America and September in Europe.[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
Behold! BD's random dungeon creator
Today, Microsoft announced a sparkly new piece of Blue Dragon downloadable content that will be available for Japanese Xbox 360 gamers April 27th. For 300 Microsoft points (444 yen) you too can get your very own Random Dungeon Creator. That is if you live in Japan and have a copy of Blue Dragon. And excuse us if this is common knowledge, but what in the world is a Random Dungeon Creator? Does it create post-modern dungeons in a random fashion to explore and wander about? Seriously, a Random Dungeon Creator ... it just sounds silly to us.
PSP Fanboy Theatre: Volume 15
PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.) Manhunt 2Download MP4 (6.8MB) | Download JPG The following videos are featured after the break: Blue Dragon, Gene Simmons - Guitar Hero II Tournament, God of War II: Mythology, Guitar Hero II [360]
