To say that I rated the game as a 6.5 because the story revolves around kids is to severely miss the point of what I said. The gameplay and the story reach out to two entirely different demographics, and that’s why, ultimately, I gave the game a lower score.

I also didn’t personally find much depth or sophistication in the story. I felt like there were a lot of twists thrown in randomly – especially at the very end – and that, while being fun, was just a little too juvenile for my tastes. I appreciate it, and I think it was done well…but, it feels like something a kid would watch (and, perhaps not coincidentally, it became a Saturday morning cartoon).

Lastly, I reject the implication that grinding is some sort of attractive or necessary staple of JRPGs. Certainly, grinding can be fun, and if you like the combat enough, then great! However, it should not be necessary, because if it is, then it’s nothing more than an artificial way of extending a game’s length. To essentially imply that you can’t have a JRPG without grinding by saying that it’s part of most RPGs – regardless of its veracity – is an appeal to tradition. But I ask you this: Is every tradition worth keeping? We’ve come a long way from RPGs that had no story, allowed you to only target one foe at a time, caused your characters to do nothing if they attacked an enemy that already died, having encounters every two steps, and magic spells that could only be used twice before having to go back to an inn. What, exactly, is more attractive about mandatory grinding than all of these other antiquities?

But if you’re into the JRPG, the traditional combat system, and grinding till the sun comes up, this absolutely can’t be passed up.

If you can get past the aggressively kiddish story, you’ll probably enjoy Blue Dragon just fine.