Blue Dragon was released on the Xbox 360 in 2006, and a following grew from the franchise spawning an Anime series, and spin-off games. In 2009 almost three years since it's original release, Blue Dragon: Plus was released as the first game in the franchise to be released on the Nintendo DS. Being set a year after the ending of the first game, the events of Blue Dragon: Plus follow onto another adventure involving the characters of the original game including Shu and his companions, as they seek to find a new monster that has spawned and been spotted by King Jibral, amid fears that the protagonist of the original game Nene has returned.
It's a simple story and plot, but sadly this is one of Blue Dragon: Plus most negative points, as for a game that has moved away from it's original RPG elements into an RTS format, it's story would have been it's saving grace if it was better written. This brings me to the game-play of Blue Dragon: Plus, which again is one of it's main points that it suffers from in my opinion. What made the original Blue Dragon so appealing was it's turn-based combat, and RPG elements; now Plus has dropped this element, and replaced it with action, real-time combat. This would work if RPG elements were still here, alongside the RTS elements like Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings comprised of, but it does not work without this RPG structure.
As for Blue Dragon: Plus's graphics, this is one of it's points I actually enjoy, I bought the game for it's DS friendly graphics, and Anime influenced visuals. I would liken it's visuals to those I have found in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, Lost Magic or even the more recent Pokemon: White 2 edition when you explore the in-game world. However there is no exploration to be found in Blue Dragon: Plus, these graphics are only showcased in battle sequences, and this is poorly used as it's one of the game's finer points that should have been showcased.
As for it's musical score, some of the music and inspiration of the original are taken and used in Blue Dragon: Plus, I cannot fault it's musical score - it's well used during battles and cut-scenes, but with a lack of any in-game exploration there is no exploration themed music used. This is usually what you would expect from a Japanese-RRG, particularly in the original game, and it disappoints.
The Good:
- Strong musical score, with some memorable scores from the original game.
- Stable, Japanese-RPG visuals that compare to those found in Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, and even Lost Magic.
- Some fun action moments, when using Shadows and their powers against enemies.
The Bad:
- Sadly the change from turn-based combat, to the real-time combat and lack of exploration found in Blue Dragon: Plus has been badly done, and with a lack of actual exploration there isn't much to aim to do in the game, except finish the line of main missions, and these can become very dull and boring very quickly.
- No RPG elements, even partial can be found in Blue Dragon: Plus, after completing missions there is truly no real RPG element, in improving or advancing your characters.
- Boring and dull story-line, that becomes stale within the first hour of the game. As for a spin-off-sequel to the original game, Blue Dragon: Plus actually doesn't feel like a sequel in any way, other than having characters from the original game in it which is quite disappointing for fans of the franchise.
Blue Dragon: Plus is quite disappointing, as a sequel to the original game and doesn't truly utilize the power of the Nintendo DS which is quite a failure, from quite an original, promising series. You can find Blue Dragon: Plus for quite cheap now, as it's not truly wanted, or yearned after I believe, as the franchise is better remembered from the original game, it's more recent DS sequel Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow which seems to have garnered a better reception than Plus did. I bought it for under $10 in Canada, when I was on holiday there, so it's not a hard game to find with a high price tag on it, so if you're willing to take a chance then go for it. But I would honestly advise fans of the series, to go straight for the most recent sequel Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow instead of Plus.