Genre: RPG
Developer: Mistwalker
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

There seems to be a whole new breed of visual style coming to the fore that makes use of incredible texture resolutions and super high poly count models, but opts for crisp, retro-style, colorful aesthetics rather than "Gears of War" grit. "Little Big Planet" and "Blue Dragon" are two titles that use this method, and it's a sight to behold-- "Toy Story" in real-time? "Blue Dragon" comes close.

As his first big game since his shock departure from Square, Nobuo Uematsu mostly succeeds in creating another masterpiece. The style is considerably lighter in tone than his Final Fantasy work, but still features complex melodic structures and beautiful melodies. The Japanese voice acting is superb, with Marina Inoue (as "Shu") really stealing the show.

My arm-hairs continually stood on end while playing Blue Dragon, as it conjured images of early-90's RPGs, like Phantasy Star, in my brain, except brought to the modern era. A comprehensive class/character customization system, a reasonably deep battle engine, and extensive dungeon romping are fun, but partly undone by some occasionally questionable pacing.

Despite Blue Dragon's impressive visuals, great soundtrack, nice selection of characters, and jaw-dropping cinematics, the game feels a little too glazed and generic. In the end, it's more tailored towards those who thrive on grinding levels and dungeon-romping, in spite of the linear story progression-- a surprising mix given Sakaguchi's traditional style. Still, for JRPG-starved 360 owners, Blue Dragon is a rewarding, if not extremely memorable, experience.