I never thought that I would see the Microsoft name on a Nintendo DS game, but if you are like me, pick up a copy of Blue Dragon Plus and be surprised.

Sequel or Level Continue?

Blue Dragon Plus is basically the continuation of Blue Dragon for the Xbox 360. I don’t know about the Xbox 360 game (never played it), but this Nintendo DS game is chokeful with CGI cut-scenes (the game itself is 2D-isometric), interesting but it gets a bit tedious after awhile. The gameplay speed doesn’t help either.

BD+ is one of those strategy/RPG hybrids whereby you control a bunch of heroes, walking around engaging enemies in a mid-sized map. In BD+, walking around = crawling about and everything else moves in the same slow speed. There’s also no way to skip all the talking and all the pausing (to talk..what else?) that takes place in a single level.

With so many things going on (you can end up controlling up to 16 units), I wish that the game took place on a bigger screen, like the one on the PSP. But the thought of having a Microsoft game on the PSP is even more unlikely.

Talk Talk Talk

Storyline wise, well, the game does try to keep you up to date on the story so far, with character profiles and what not, but if you did not play the first game, you wouldn’t know what all these “swallowing souls” and stuff are all about. The main protagonist, Shu, is the typical anime protagonist stereotype, complete with annoying attitude and slogan to life. If you are allergic to this (I’m partial), stay away.

The Bottom Line

I’ll see how far can I go with this SRPG and all that talking (it did put me to sleep last night). But hey, don’t take my word for it, the game might be good for you SRPG nuts. The Japanese version of Blue Dragon Plus is selling at a discount at USD 19.90 (click here for details), and the US version is available for pre-order at Play-Asia (click here for details)