Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow

Overall Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow is a good title which is right in every of its aspects, although without surprising us in any of then. Everything works well, but the game doesn't achieve to engage us like other ones.

There's no reason why any J-RPG fans, or those with a particular penchant for blocky cutscenes, won't feel their 30 bucks was well spent on Awakened Shadow.

Awakened Shadow is a net positive, but there's almost nothing about it that makes it stand apart from other titles in the genre. Everything is functional, and nothing is extraordinary; the game is interesting, but it's not particularly entertaining

Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow is a well-made 3D action RPG, but unfortunately, it ends up feeling like a poor man's Dragon Quest IX.

Another overhaul brings fun new gameplay to the Blue Dragon series.

A killer item-crafting-and-upgrading system keeps the game's loot flow compelling. But the game's localization and pointless voice acting detract from the customization.

It's unfortunate that the story you're controlling the character through is so uninspired and vanilla, but the multiplayer, simple yet effective combat and cool item fusion makes the game worth a look for fans of the genre.

The item fusions are interesting and there are some decent boss fights in the newest Blue Dragon, but the tempo is too sluggish to make it a truly great RPG.

Thanks to the co-op mode, the character building set and the item combining, Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow is different from the other games in the franchise. But it doesn't exactly stand out from other RPG's. Because of the lack of any ground-breaking elements, it feels like we've all played this one before.

Quotation forthcoming.

Played solo or in multiplayer, Blue Dragon Awakened Shadow is a fair little RPG, rich, nicely paced and quite varied. But it doesn't really own these qualities : they are like a patchwork of ideas from other titles like Dragon Quest IX, Monster Hunter, FF XII or Tales of Vesperia, and even though the formula holds its ground in the end, the "already played" vibe is a serious flaw to its identity, that even Toriyama's designs can't seem to make us forget. Still a decent RPG, but not one that will surprise any regular of the genre.

Even with the limited character customization, online multiplayer, and Item Fusion system, Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow is a disappointing RPG.

Numerous loot drops, item creation through a fusion system, character customization, and online play injects a lot of life into an otherwise dull experience.