Slow start.  The characters need time to grow and the battles are a little boring in the beginning.  As the game evolves and your little tykes develop the strength and combat moves to kick butt in battles, you find yourself 10 hours in and DEEP! 

With the different attacks features and effects, Blue Dragon definitely hit the sweet spot.  A charge bar marks off the maximum effect area, so when you use certain attacks the meter moves back and forth to display the maximum effect.  Blue Dragon gives you the ability to determine the position of your players prior to battle, saving valuable moves when in combat.  Most of the moves only require two or three button presses.

30-40 hours into it and another good 20 hours left, I am loving the shadow spirits.  These spirits kick it during battles and all I have to do is direct their actions! 

Blue Dragon isn’t just about the battles.  There’s so much to see and do.  There are hundreds of treasure chests to search for and you can explore Blue Dragon’s world and see how beautiful it is.  

All in all, Blue Dragon is a lot of fun.  It’s a little long, being that it’s 3 DVD’s but it’s well worth the time as long as you can get past the horrific music, often played off-key.  

Most 360 gamers most likely won’t be too happy with Blue Dragon, but for those who remember the days of Dragon Quest, they couldn’t do any better!