An Analysis Of The New Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow Character Art

I'll be honest: Before I wrote this issue's preview for Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow, I didn't know anything about the series. And after reading up on its history and some of the new additions to the gameplay, I’m still awfully confused. Rather than dig any deeper into Blue Dragon’s lore however, I figured I’d just take a gander at some of the character art for the game, and add some good old Andy Rooney-esque commentary for each one. Let’s begin!

The first thing I noticed about Blue Dragon is that despite the cute anime style, the main characters always look seriously angry. I guess if I had to constantly battle monsters with drooling problems I’d be pretty upset too, but come on – you know you’re going to save the day, at least pretend you’re enjoying it.

Here's an example of one of the shadow powers characters can call on during battle. Apparently he traps enemies with his claws, then runs them under the hair hanging from his horn, like a car wash.

Here is another shadow power. I don’t get this one at all. The girl apparently belongs to some kind of primitive tribe and uses a bone for a weapon, yet her shadow is a robot? What gives?

This is another one of the heroes. The game allows you to customize what your character is wearing, which in this case apparently means four belts. Also, if you’re going to be in a showdown against some ancient evil that has been recently awakened and threatening mankind’s existence, don’t wear a cat hat.

Let’s move on to the enemies. This first one is a doozy. I think those wings are ornamental, but otherwise I’ve got no complaints about this guy. He’s a real badass.

This guy is pretty scary looking too, but that second mouth is confusing. Maybe that’s the point – he lures in heroes and when they see him they think, “Why does this guy’s stomach have a mouth?” Then he strikes. Whatever his deal his, I’m guessing the crown means he’s good at it.

Apparently stomach mouths are a motif in Blue Dragon. The more I think about it, the less it makes sense. Do they both connect to his stomach? Can he talk out of both mouths? That’s assuming this bird can talk in the first place – ugh, my head hurts, I think I need a nap.

This guy is just plain disturbing. If I was a hero and I came across him, I don’t think I’d necessarily feel inclined to kill him; I’d probably just make a sour face and tell him to go figure his life out already. Regardless, I’m printing my own custom Valentine’s Day cards this year, and this guy is going front and center.

How do you make a four-legged dragon seem completely harmless? Make his head a blooming flower, and make him breathe bubbles instead of fire. As far as dragons go, this guy is even less scary than Falkor.

This guy is just a mess. Or guys I guess I should say, as it has at least two faces. On one arm this monster has a sword for a hand. The other arm has a real hand, that’s holding another sword. Both of his faces look grumpy. It makes sense for the bottom one to be cranky, since he’s essentially protruding out of the other’s nether regions. The one on top must just be upset over the ridiculous character design he’s stuck with.

Well, that about wraps it up. As absurd as the character design is in this game, it’s much preferred to just regurgitating the same RPG archetypes again and again. I’ll take creativity over cliché any day of the week. If you want to see more Blue Dragon pictures, check out the game’s main page.