Reviews of Drakengard - PlayStation 2

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A big criticism of this game is how repetitive the gameplay is. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the gameplay in all RPG's the same? Don't you basically use the same tactics in every battle? I don't really get the repetitive argument, especially when the actual gameplay itself isn't bad. If the game had been just Caim on the ground killing thousands of enemies(I'm up to 19,000), then the game wouldn't have been nearly as good. If the game had been only Caim on his dragon, flying through aerial missions against other dragons, griffons, and assorted targets, then the game would not have been nearly as good. But the fact that these two aspects of the game were combined into one game makes it well worth the purchase. The story and characters are also unlike most anything you'll find on the videogame market. It's ashame the game isn't more popular, but then again it's premise pretty much guaranteed it to have a niche role, the same as the two games that spawned it; Dynasty Warriors and Panzer Dragoon. The game can simply be described as a no-bull action game that delivers where it counts.

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Drakengard is sort of a fusion of Dynasty Warriors and Final Fantasy with some dragons thrown in for good measure.

From a RPGers point of view, this game has it all. The orphaned hero. The strong, beautiful sister who is kept apart from the man who loves her. The need for revenge, and the hard choice to pair up with a sworn enemy. You build up skills as you go, learning more about your enemy and finding ways to defeat them.

From a strategy point of view, the game is amazing. It's based on the Dynasty Warriors gameplay which is brilliant. The use of maps, of health information, and gathering new weapons and powers is very similar. I've always loved the Dynasty Warriors map, with the way it lays out the enemy locations, your location and your objectives.

The graphics are quite nice the textured grass, shading on rocks, details on the bodies all draw you into the world you're inhabiting. The sounds are good as well. Even the voices are rather good, making you feel the emotions of the characters.

There's really something to be said for being able to leap on a dragon, fly up into the sky, and then let loose a flame barrage on your enemies!

I highly recommend this if you're into RPGs and strategy gaming it brings the two worlds together quite nicely!

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Well, I'm close to the end, with two endings left to view, which means I've gotten an idea of what the game has to offer (finally).

Initially I enjoyed running around in massive battlefields hacking enemies into pieces, or flying on the dragon and using her fire breath to wipe out large groups of the bad guys at once. Then that got old (and the game got difficult) so I got tired of it and put it away.

Curiosity got the best of me, however, and I picked it up again later and learned that I was supposed to be finding weapons, 64 in total, on many of the levels I had previously just rushed through. I searched while leveling up my character and weapons, discovered places where the plot branched and two chapters that I previously had missed. Suddenly I discovered that the game had more depth, and that there certainly was a plot going on, which kept me going through the slightly repetitive hack and slash.

At certain points in the game, there are levels that you can see, but are 'locked'. Selecting the levels will tell you what you have to do to unlock them, usually completing another level in a certain amount of time, or doing another mission elsewhere. Early in the game, the un-lockable levels are events/movies that show you encountering a character and then you have the choice of following that character, leading to a new chapter that focuses on that character's experiences with your party prior to where the main plot picks up. For example, the first time you play a chapter, you are heading to an elf village, but discover that the village is destroyed and some elves were taken prisoner. Your party goes onto a desert area, and that seems just fine and dandy. However, when you go back to the locked mission, you see a scene where you meet a man named Leonard, and he leads you through a quest to rid the area of the Empire (the bad guys). Then, after this, everyone decides, based on events in the forest, to go to the desert. The locked quest in the desert involves finding one of the imprisoned elves, who also has a chapter that you can go through, after which the plot continues as it normally would have had you not done the desert chapter. This adds an interesting depth to the game. Usually optional quests either don't follow the events of the plot (and therefore can be done at anytime) or must be done at a certain time.

When you reach the first ending, you have several paths open to you. The first covers events right before going to the Imperial capital, and you meet a character significant to the plot and hear some revealing things about the villain. Another choice focus's on one of Caim's friend's making some bad choices, and leads to two separate endings, each based upon slightly different events at the very end of the game. Each features a very difficult final battle, and ends the game well (although not always happily).

Despite my initial dislike of many aspects of this game, I have been very pleased with the depth of play that it can offer in terms of storyline and character (and weapon) building. This is a good bargain bin title to pick up, although if you're looking for the best RPGs and don't care about cost, you're best off looking at other fine titles by Square-Enix, Monolith Soft, or Nippon Ichi.

Honest reviews on Drakengard - PlayStation 2

I've read the reviews of this game and seen how it has been brutally slashed and burned! however, i see this game as a hell of alot of fun. that may be because i don't mind just hacking and slashing my way through endless armies but heck! smashing the square button is fun. IN addition, the story is thick and rich and the movies look spectacular! However, the in game music is slightly disturbing and the endless button smashing does get dull after awhile. Also, that dragon hurt my feelings!!!!! the big jerk does nothing more than burn things and then insult u! i can get that from my school hallway!! i dont need it in a game! Sure u laugh about it at first but it gets to u after a while!

On the brighter side this game is fun! if u enjoy a time of magic and racist dragons! this game is for u!

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Jeez. I'm surprised that a lot of these reviews are horrible. Honestly, they're not giving this game enough credit. Yes, like, every game, it has it's faults. But the pros ultimately overwiegh the cons by a longshot, in this action RPG. To make it easier, I'll just separate everything into categories.

---Plot: The plot for this game is unique. No one can deny the game that. I've never seen a game so original in quite some time. There aren't any overused cliches here, if you're worried about that. Hey, it's SquareEnix-when was the last time they failed to deliver in that aspect? It's mysterious, and every event, every movie sequence leaves you wanting to know more. There are many twists and turns, leaving the story one of the main reasons for wanting to beat this game.

---Characters: Same goes for this category as well. The characters, while lacking super-extensive backgrounds, are intriguing, interesting, all with their own personalities that complement the story well. They aren't your cookie-cutter fictional characters. They're troubled, angsty, full of hate (this doesn't count for all of them), very well done. You don't get to know them as well as you would in a Final Fantasy game, but that isn't fair. What you do get to see leaves you wanting more; all of their personal stories are out of the ordinary, and captivating. This is a sure-fire sign that Square has suceeded in this department.

---Graphics: Okay, I've noticed that people have had some problems with the graphics. Why? No, the ENVIRONMENTS aren't the most diverse you've ever seen, but that does not mean that what's there isn't beautiful. Square has always been one step ahead of the others in graphics, and this game isn't any different. Nothing is blocky, or course, the movements are very fluid, there's nothing wrong here. And the CG...are, bluntly, to die for. They're absolutely gorgeous. Nothing more to say.

---Action: This is where the game could fall short for SOME. Yes, leveling up both yourself and weapons takes time, and patience, but is very rewarding. Every weapon has a back story, which gives you more motivation to level up the weapon to the max to see it. It's repetitive, yes. But what game isn't, in that sense? There's different magic with every weapon, different finishing blows, different stragies you have to use to defeat certain enemies easier...come on! In fact, I even enjoy the 'repetitiveness' of the game. Being able to call upon your dragon at any time makes it even more interesting, not just to attack, but s a (much) faster means of transportation. Honestly, this part of the game isn't half as bad as what some make it out to be.

---Voice Acting/Sound/Music: One word for the voice-acting:WOW. It is superb. They all have authentic (sounding, at least) english accents that fit well for the characters. Personally, I love Caim (for the bit that he does talk), Inuart (full of madness, sorrow, despair-lovely), and Leonard's, which is deep, musical, very pleasing to the ears. Not that the others are bad, but those are my absolutely favorites. The sound of the game is fairly good. ALthough some of the weapons sound more like thumping on the ground, the rest sound unique. The footfalls, though not perfectly timed, sound good as well. Now music. Excellent. Is there a sound track? Because I would lvoe to buy it. It's all orchestrated, not midi, or mp3. There are a number of songs, all fitting for the mood. One of the more well-done soundtracks to a video game, in my opinion.

---Last one, Replayability: Very good, ALthough there isn't any need to 'replay' the game to get all 5 endings. After you get the first one, new branches to story open up, and continue from there. So there isn't any replaying of anything-it's all new, which is very nice, since there is a lot to do in this game. Getting all of the allies (which are actually VERY useful), all the weapons, unlocking more hidden verses...this game doesn't fall short in that aspect.

If you were able to get through all that, I pat you on the back. I was more than a little upset that no one seemed to be doing this game any justice. I think it was only because people were expecting another game of the quality of Final Fantasy. But htis game, for once not aiming for mainstream, and big sales---they wanted to be creative, and that they were. Drakengard is a unique, original game that is well worth your time.