Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow[a] is an action role-playing video game developed by Mistwalker and tri-Crescendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released by Namco Bandai in Japan in October 2009 and Europe in September 2010 and by D3 Publisher in North America in May 2010.
| Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | Mistwalker tri-Crescendo[2] |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Yoshiharu Miyake Takeshi Kaneda |
| Producer(s) | Hideo Baba Hiroya Hatsushiba |
| Artist(s) | Akira Toriyama Kaori Tosa |
| Composer(s) | Nobuo Uematsu |
| Series | Blue Dragon |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
It is the third and most recent installment in Microsoft's Blue Dragon series, and is the second to be on the Nintendo DS after Blue Dragon Plus. Series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and character designer Akira Toriyama return from the original game while Hideo Baba ,brand manager of the Tales series, is producer.[2]
Gameplay
editIn contrast to its predecessors, which were a traditional turn-based RPG and a strategy RPG, respectively, Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow is an action RPG with real time combat. The player is able to explore 3D fields, attack enemies directly as well as call upon shadows.[3]
The game allows the player to customize their character's appearance, such as their gender, hairstyles, eyebrows, eyes, voices, among other traits. Players are able to use their customized characters in multiplayer with two other friends, locally or online.
Characters
editFor the first time in the series, the player does not play as Shu and his companions. Instead the player will play as an unnamed customizable protagonist. Shu and his friends are not playable characters, but AI controlled party members.[2]
Reception
edit| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | 63/100[4] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| The A.V. Club | B−[5] |
| Eurogamer | 4/10[6] |
| Famitsu | 31/40[7] |
| GameSpot | 7/10[8] |
| GameZone | 5.5/10[9] |
| IGN | 8/10[10] |
| Nintendo Life |   [11] |
| Nintendo Power | 7.5/10[12] |
| RPGamer | 2/5[13] |
| RPGFan | 80%[14] |
| Metro | 3/10[15] |
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[4] In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of two eights, one seven, and one eight for a total of 31 out of 40.[7] 1Up.com summarized the magazine's stance on the game as "a solid standard action RPG but not an exceptional game". Famitsu praised the amount of extra content put into the game such as character customization, item synthesis and boss battles, but they noted that with the battles on the lower screen of the DS and the status on the upper screen it may cause some problems for the player. They also noted that there was a large amount of cutscenes in the game which may make the player "feel like a passive viewer at times".[7]
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Fahey, Mike (October 29, 2009). "D3Publisher Brings More Blue Dragon Stateside". Kotaku. G/O Media. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Brandon (December 12, 2008). "Namco Bandai Announces Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyojuu". Sword Machine. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
- ^ Tanaka, John (December 22, 2008). "Blue Dragon Goes Online". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ a b "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on November 2, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
- ^ Mastrapa, Gus (June 7, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow". The A.V. Club. G/O Media. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Schilling, Chris (September 23, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ a b c Gifford, Kevin (September 29, 2009). "Japan Review Check: SMT: Strange Journey". 1Up.com. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Meunier, Nathan (July 6, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow Review". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ GameZone staff (July 8, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow review". GameZone. Archived from the original on April 24, 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (June 3, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Blake, Laurie (October 21, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow Review". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow". Nintendo Power. Vol. 256. Future US. July 2010. p. 88.
- ^ den Ouden, Adriaan (July 26, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow - Staff Review". RPGamer. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on July 3, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Wallace, Kimberley (July 21, 2010). "Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow". RPGFan. Emerald Shield Media LLC. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Jenkins, David (October 1, 2010). "Games review – Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow stirs into action". Metro. DMG Media. Archived from the original on March 8, 2023. Retrieved March 8, 2023.