Review: Drakengard (PS2)
Set in the world of Drakengard, the harmony rests upon several ancient seals, with one being within Princes Furiae, who is the brother of the warrior Caim. This warrior is driven revenge after a dragon murdered his parents, and when the balance of the war (between the Union and the Empire) tips in favour of the Empire, Caim must protect the seal within his sister. The first twist arrives in the form of a pact, which Caim must make with a dragon. In doing so they become linked and rely upon one another, especially as Caim loses his voice as part of the pact. The combination is well matched, as the dragon is an ancient and noble beast, whilst Caim in many ways is the savage, barbarian.
The marriage of role playing elements, and the emphasis on real-time action has created what many will think is another Dynasty Warriors clone – without the skill of Koei involved. However this is a lazy comparison, and Drakengard has a strong storyline, backed up by strong character designs. The characters are refreshing, and in particular the lead character Caim, who has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Hate burns within him, and is the only force to pushing him on through the battlefields, towards his own personal peace. The story is the strength of this release, and a great reason to continue through what proves to be an epic and sizeable adventure.
Drakengard is drenched in blood, as the game is divided into chapters with battles and events littering each page. Caim has to literally cut his way through hundreds (if not thousands) of foes on each level to progress. This is easily the weakest aspect of the release, as you have to hack and slash through simpleminded troops to achieve goals. On the easier difficulty settings it is not that taxing, and at times is very repetitive, as you charge around the battlefield performing dissections. Cavia has tried to spice up the action with different types of enemies, and progressive goals. However when some levels can take over an hour to complete (with no midway save points), Drakengard is a strong test of character. At times it is like swatting flies, as you rush headlong into a field of enemies; it’s very therapeutic after a terrible day at work.
To alleviate some of the repetition Cavia has included an experience system for Caim, and each of the sixty-four weapons in the game. There are also opportunities to call upon allies, but the real change is summoning the dragon, and taking to the skies to burn the battlefield below. There are also levels based only on aerial battles, which are far shorter and help break up the continuous slaying of opponents. Taking to the sky also confirms how large some levels are, and just how many troops have been crammed into this release. It is almost impossible to kill everything on a level, but gaining experience is important. To facilitate the point, Cavia has also included Free Missions outside of the main story, and once opened up, these are a good source of valuable experience for the main story.
Only Square-Enix could create such a lavish game with strong production values, dynamic soundtrack and wonderful CGI sequences; budget it seems was not an issue. However Drakengard is not just an overload of medieval CGI (stunning that it is), as it uses an isometric viewpoint for in-game sequences that is reminiscent of the excellent Shadow Hearts. The mix is helped by some excellent voice acting that forces you onwards, although Drakengard (surprisingly) lacks Dolby Pro Logic support.
On this format the featuring of fog is perhaps predictable, as Cavia has really gone for the epic feel – putting it before the technical limitations of the Playstation 2. As such fog does exist, but the open spaces are fairly well handled, with the large indoor environments (and taking to the skies) highlighting the issue. Just like DRIV3R the developer has focused on the environment, with close up details only popping up when you approach them. With an overhead map and radar this is not an issue for Gamestyle, yet complainers will always complain about such things. What is worth moaning about however is the scenery, as Caim cannot leap over rocks or off stairways to engage the enemy. Instead the ugly spectre of invisible walls is everywhere, when it doesn’t need to be. In saying this though the loading times are prompt and the game hub well laid out.
It can be argued that this is the definitive version, as for Europe Drakengard not only underwent a name change (Drag-On Dragoon in Japan) but also several bugs were resolved. Not only this but the camera, which was a chief source of complaint, has been reworked in this version. Although not entirely successful (ideally the camera view should be overhead, but in the marketplace its almost suicide) the camera is now easily realigned, and follows Caim’s trail of destruction satisfactorily.
Already Drakengard has received a retail price change since its recent European release. This is no mere game lasting six hours instead the strong story spans ninety levels and offers plenty beyond the main story. Make no mistake, Drakengard is not groundbreaking, but coming from Square-Enix it’s a welcome piece of variety, and a fine game as well.
Rating: 7 / 10
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