Blue Dragon - hands-on

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We take the English version of Microsoft's big RPG for a test drive

It's been months since we played through the final Japanese version of Blue Dragon and, thankfully, not much has changed for the US version. According to Microsoft's Hees Kyung, the company "strove hard to stay faithful" to the original version while implementing changes under the blessing of the game's original creative staff in Japan - such as reworking the tone of the character dialogue to help make characters such as the young know-it-all Jiro easier to relate to while preserving the meaning of the original text.

Hardcore fans of RPGs and anime will be happy to note that the US version of the game contains the option to listen to the spoken dialogue in both English and Japanese; you can switch between the two at any time. All text is, obviously, translated into English. Unlike, say, Final Fantasy XII, we're conscious that it's translated, but it's clear and readable. The English voices, as far as we've played, are above average - particularly given the young protagonists of the game. Kids can be annoying. If you need the inside scoop on the game's story, be sure to check out our priorpreviewcoverage.