“This is the Beginning!”

Joseph Luster June 19, 2008

So wails Deep Purple’s Ian Gillan as each boss fight in Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon kicks into gear, surrounded by a flood of screaming guitar notes and speedy drum kicks. That’s all I REALLY remember of my stint with the game, and the only sad bit I have to add to the following bit of news is that it’s going to take some personal modification work on the player’s behalf to carry over that audio experience.

It might be worth it to bust out a stereo and put Gillan’s track on repeat, though, when entrenched in a heated round of the Blue Dragon collectible card game. VIZ Media announced yesterday that they are licensing the title to Konami for the manufacture and distribution of the CCG, which sounds like it could be a good time if you fancy yourself a fan of card battlers. There’s a small bit of specific game information to be culled from the press release itself, as well:

“Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. welcomes the opportunity to further build the popularity of the BLUE DRAGON franchise with this licensing agreement with VIZ Media and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work on its first ever role playing card game with a dynamically advancing game mechanic,•bCrLf said Yumi Hoashi, Vice President, KDE’s Card Division. “We look forward to reaching out to an array of players of all ages and sharing the excitement of the group-oriented role playing card game, Blue Dragon. It is our expectation that the character designs of esteemed creator Akira Toriyama combined with the unique game play of Blue Dragon, will create countless new fans within the card game community.”