Dragon Quest IX is ready to storm sales charts this week while another “Dragon” game is on the horizon.
Namco Bandai and Mistwalker plan to release Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyojuu (Blue Dragon: Colossal Beast of the Underworld) in Japan on October 1st. Instead of turn based battles Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyojuu has an action RPG combat system. Players swap shadows, a first for the Blue Dragon series, and attack enemies in real time.
Even though the box art doesn’t show it, this game also supports Nintendo Wi-Fi for online play. Up to three players can connect, grind, and collect 200+ pieces of character customizing loot found in the game. Dragon Quest IX only has ad-hoc multiplayer.
While it’s nice to see online play, it’s only useful if people purchase the game. Blue Dragon Plus didn’t sell well on the Nintendo DS. Can Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyojuu do better or will Japan still be busy with Dragon Quest IX then? Either way Akira Toriyama wins.
