US, December 6, 2006 - The Xbox brand's biggest Japanese title ever is about to hit Japanese retail in a little over 12 hours from the time of this story's publication. But seeing as how Blue Dragon has been in my top five most wanted list since its announcement, I decided to head out to a secret shop located in some secret location in the heart of the Tokyo wilderness. At this gamers' haven, games are unofficially sold one or two days in advance of their official release. I walked -- no, skipped -- home with a copy of the Xbox 360's first big-name Japanese RPG.
There are many reasons to celebrate the release of this particular Xbox 360 title. In addition to marking producer Hironobu Sakaguchi's return to gaming following the whole Final Fantasy movie thing, Blue Dragon brings together some big development talent, including character designer Akira Toriyama and composer Nobuo Uematsu.
Blue Dragon also deserves mention as being the 360's first multi-disc game. And here, multi disc means a total of three discs packed with Japanese RPG content. The game still managed to ship in a standard-sized case, though, as you can see here.
Microsoft Japan has been hyping this title like no Xbox game before it. The Shounen Jump comic empire, which got the first scoop on the Blue Dragon project just about two years ago, has had a big hand in the promotions, with monthly updates in its V Jump videogame themed magazine and an upcoming comic. Microsoft itself has been taking a more direct approach to marketing, with a set of commercials (many of which can be downloaded in our Gaming Life in Japan ad corner).
Things have recently kicked into high gear on the promotion front. Just today, this appeared a few minutes from the IGN Japan office near Tokyo's Shibuya train station:
This display, part of the "Big Shadow Project," has been set up in a parking lot that was erected a year ago on the grounds of a demolished building. The animated shadow counter is being cast on the side of the next door building. From 12/7 to 12/10, Microsoft will let the public into the event space to see what it's like to have a giant shadow.
A bit more traditional, Microsoft will be holding an official launch countdown event for Blue Dragon. The event will kick off at 9:00am on Thursday morning at the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera, one of the largest electronic shops in Japan (this place had nearly 3,000 people lined up for the Wii last week).
So how has this three year, heavily hyped project turned out? I've just started playing, so obviously it's a bit hard to comment. Your adventure begins almost immediately after you press the start button, with a CG/realtime mixed cinema showcasing the coming of a periodic storm, and how Shu, Jiro and Kluke, two of our heroes and one of our heroines, decide to do something about it.
There's at least one strange quirks worth mentioning. Blue Dragon has short narrational voice messages that indicate when things happen to you. When someone joins your party, the narration says "Join Up." When an enemy spots you, the narration says "Detected." When the game switches from a cinema scene to a player controlled segment, the narration says "Playable." I'm not sure if I've ever seen this in a Japanese RPG before -- and with good reason, as it gets old real quick.
But that's just a minor complaint with what will hopefully be the biggest next generation RPG yet. Turn back soon for a whole lot more from Blue Dragon, including videos and full gameplay impressions.
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like the DVD's in the case 
