Blue Dragon and I'm a few hours in.

We've got a cast of creators we know: Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, Dragon Quest designer Akira Toriyama and legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu. And they're doing their thing. But as familiar as the game feels, it's still fresh. And it moves. The story's pacing so far seems quick. It's bang, bang, bang, exposition. The graphics are beautiful, and the cut-scenes are pretty. The music, while varied, works wonders. And you can go crazy examining stuff to no end.

The battles aren't difficult. And, the game's comfortable—easy even (right now). We're in familiar terroritory here. It's not re-inventing the wheel, and it doesn't have to, and I don't want it to. Earlier today, I was talking to Insert Credit's Tim Rogers, who pointed out that the game's combat system is "basicallyFinal Fantasy X with FFV-style stripped down classes." Tim's dead right. And no, that's not a bad thing.

Blue Dragon is like re-newing a relationship with a good, old friend. And one that I will happily give 70 hours of my life to. Brian Ashcraft

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