Support NeoGAF

[Brandon F]

Need to get back to this, played up to three's chapter and got sidetracked. That was 2 years ago. I loved what I played despite the tech issues though.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I still haven't played the DLC. Someone tell me when it's reasonably priced. I could cave and read the LP, but that feels like cheating.

 

[SephLuis]

I still haven't played the DLC. Someone tell me when it's reasonably priced. I could cave and read the LP, but that feels like cheating.

$30 and not a single discount ever since it was released.

 

[cj_iwakura]

$30 and not a single discount ever since it was released.

I figured.

 

[Dez_]

Man, that final boss looks like some straight up bullshit.

I never played the Drakengard series. I read / watched a LP of the first one, and played Nier. I've always been curious about 3, but I feel like I'm better off doing the same thing and watching a LP of the game, because I just want to see what kind of crazy is in there.

 

[SolVanderlyn]

As someone who enjoyed the weird story of Drakengard 1 and 2, I could not stand the sexually charged overtones (and undertones) of this game, and its main story seemed kind of nonsensical. I like the atmosphere and character design, though.

 

[cj_iwakura]

As someone who enjoyed the weird story of Drakengard 1 and 2, I could not stand the sexually charged overtones (and undertones) of this game, and its main story seemed kind of nonsensical. I like the atmosphere and character design, though.

The story goes to some real dark places. Way worse than Nier.

One is probably my favorite character when all's said and done.

Spoiler

You thought you could save the world?! WELL THIS IS WHAT YOU FUCKING GET!!!!

Her voice actress was phenomenal.

 

[Manbig]

The only time I had issues with enemy size was at the end of Three's DLC. Those guys are WAY too big.

That's not the kind of size I was talking about. I meant in regards to fighting a lot of enemies on screen at one time. Drakengard 1 and 2 had you taking down armies in battlefields almost like a musou game. Drakengard 3 had you take down a handful of guys. Didn't feel anywhere near as badass.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

The story goes to some real dark places. Way worse than Nier.

One is probably my favorite character when all's said and done.

Spoiler

You thought you could save the world?! WELL THIS IS WHAT YOU FUCKING GET!!!!

Her voice actress was phenomenal.

One was pretty amazing, but I liked how all of them were so different. The DLC design really fucked up somethings, like you might not even realize how horrid Four is without playing the DLC for her. I really liked two with her DLC. She wasn't bad at all, just broken by the end.

That's not the kind of size I was talking about. I meant in regards to fighting a lot of enemies on screen at one time. Drakengard 1 and 2 had you taking down armies in battlefields almost like a musou game. Drakengard 3 had you take down a handful of guys. Didn't feel anywhere near as badass.

but unlock those games, 3 actually had some decent combat mechanics, only held back by atrocious performance

 

[LotusHD]

One was pretty amazing, but I liked how all of them were so different. The DLC design really fucked up somethings, like you might not even realize how horrid Four is without playing the DLC for her. I really liked two with her DLC. She wasn't bad at all, just broken by the end.

Yea I'm going through the playthrough now, and knowing that I seemingly completely miss out on Four's real personality is so dumb lol

Only reason I know about it is because I read the novellas beforehand.

 

[Inuhanyou]

i can't say i appreciated this one.

I was far more into the first Drakengard than D3 which just soured me for some reason after Nier. A shame cause i was super hyped for it before release. Great theme song though

 

[hans_castorp]

I platinumed it. No regrets
Final boss was amazing

 

[Mifec]

Real talk, how do you make an NTR harem if their lovers are dead? This is important.

 

[Razmos]

I really don't agree that the writing in Drakengard 3 holds up. I thought it was terrible nearly across the board. Apparently there's novellas that assist in understanding the Sisters backstories? Meanwhile we have to listen to pages on pages of awful innuendos that are somehow supposed to be a substitute for actual character development. And then there's Accord, who by herself almost submarines every cutscene she's in.

After D1 and Nier I wanted to cut Taro a lot of slack, but this story is by far worse than Drakengard 2's, which is at worst cliche.

Yeah the short stories are pretty great. Like when you find out that 5 is actually a pretty good ruler who actually did a lot for her subjects

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Real talk, how do you make an NTR harem if their lovers are dead? This is important.

cuz you're still fucking them on the express criteria that they were your sisters lovers

 

[Mifec]

Secret best girl is the Observer girl tbh.

cuz you're still fucking them on the express criteria that they were your sisters lovers

Ty for helping me be an even bigger degenerate IRL than I already am.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Yeah the short stories are pretty great. Like when you find out that 5 is actually a pretty good ruler who actually did a lot for her subjects

They should have done an alternate ending showing what happened if they successfully stopped Zero.

 

[kc44135]

I've personally only played Drakengard 1, and I can't say it was a great game, but it did have a unique, twisted sense of charm. Drakengard 2 looks kinda bad in general from what I've seen of it, and I'd give 3 a chance, but I'm not sure if I could get past it's framerate woes. All that said, a bit off-topic, but does anybody here think I should give the original Nier a shot? I'm aware it's not very heavily related to Nier: Automata (which I'm very much anticipating) story wise, but is the original Nier a good game on it's own merits (either story or gameplay-wise)?

 

[cj_iwakura]

I've personally only played Drakengard 1, and I can't say it was a great game, but it did have a unique, twisted sense of charm. Drakengard 2 looks kinda bad in general from what I've seen of it, and I'd give 3 a chance, but I'm not sure if I could get past it's framerate woes. All that said, a bit off-topic, but does anybody here think I should give the original Nier a shot? I'm aware it's not very heavily related to Nier: Automata (which I'm very much anticipating) story wise, but is the original Nier a good game on it's own merits (either story or gameplay-wise)?

Both. And the original will absolutely tie into Automata, don't believe Taro's lies.

 

[kc44135]

Both. And the original will absolutely tie into Automata, don't believe Taro's lies.

Oooh, OK then, I will have to check it out.

 

[cm osi]

As a huge Nier fan I really disliked D3. And I tried real fucking hard to enjoy it and I tend to let a lot of shit slide...

The fact that Zero was such a bitch to her dragon Mikhail who exhibited childlike innocence was especially offputting. I get that she's supposed to be an edgy character but it's almost to a fault where I can't empathize with the main character who is so verbally abusive to what is essentially a child.

Nier was great because there was such a great endearing relationship between the crew and was full of a lot of love. Kaine was rough around the edges for a reason they did a great job explaining why she's grumpy, but despite that she cared a lot for Emil, a child.

Also the literal slideshow frame rates made me quit D3. Hopefully they're a PC port. PS3 never played friendly with Unreal Engine

bein a nier fan doesn't mean you'll like drakengard. in fact, if you played drakengard first you'll probably be confused by the nice characters in nier "hey this isn't yoko taro stuff"
they're very different in what they try to do, nier is way more collected and posed, drakengard is wacky and crazy

This makes me think Nier is a very ordinary game.

What in the everloving fuck.

nier is in fact more "ordinary".

 

[ubercheez]

But hey the boss fight looks awesome! If you ever, EVER want to try this, you will need this - video because the fight is impossible without it and if you say you did it without it you are a liar.

Watching this video out of curiosity, and it's pissing me off that the flower timing on the bottom doesn't match up with the musical beat -- it's a fraction of a second ahead. Is that accurate to the game's timing judgment? That would utterly ruin me if so.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Watching this video out of curiosity, and it's pissing me off that the flower timing on the bottom doesn't match up with the musical beat -- it's a fraction of a second ahead. Is that accurate to the game's timing judgment? That would utterly ruin me if so.

I did it without the video until the very end.

 

[Violence Jack]

D3 was hilarious, and I loved the characters. That's probably the only thing that kept me going until the end. I expected some jank, but my god. The jankiness levels on portrayal in D3 might've been the worst I'd experienced. If the characters and dialogue kept me into the game, the jank almost took me out of it.

Nier: Automata looks GOTY-esque to me so far after playing the demo. I hope it becomes a hit, and we get more Taro stuff in the future.

 

[rocketskates]

Yarp. The drakengards really make it clear that maaaaybe Taro should be relegated solely to design/concept/marketing roles.

Is part of why i'm getting the feeling that Automata will be the best of the lot.

Wut 🤔

 

[InsaneFandom]

I still need to get this, not sure how much I'll like it but I absolutely loved Drakengard despite never finishing it. I'm planning on replaying the first game & trying the second before tackling 3 though. Not sure how many endings I'll go for, I at least want to beat them once if I can

I've already got a feeling I'm not going to like any of the characters except from Mikhail, which isn't necessarily a problem if I at least find them interesting & they don't irritate me too much but I wont know that until I play it - the snippets I've seen so far aren't too promising but we'll see.
It's good to hear the dragon stuff is better though

Overall I juts feel like this is a game I need to try & I'll either love it or hate it

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Ok so just some questions because I know this series loves packing half the story in books and shit -

1. No seriously wtf is up with Accord? She's some robot sent by someone to watch possible singularities that cause timeline splits and there are like 200 of her and she's super strong and ?????????? Since she's an android is it possible she's related to Nier/Automata or is she a setup for a possible Drakengard 4?

2. When Zero birthed her five sisters, did they each retain an individual part of her personality? One and Five seem the most similar to her.

3. Was the final boss of Drakengard 1 an Intoner? The final boss of Drakengard 3 is clearly a remake of that fight.

4. The flower is...what? Related to the grotesqueries from Drakengard 1? Some kind of alien parasite?

 

[Wagram]

Ok so just some questions because I know this series loves packing half the story in books and shit -

1. No seriously wtf is up with Accord? She's some robot sent by someone to watch possible singularities that cause timeline splits and there are like 200 of her and she's super strong and ?????????? Since she's an android is it possible she's related to Nier/Automata or is she a setup for a possible Drakengard 4?

2. When Zero birthed her five sisters, did they each retain an individual part of her personality? One and Five seem the most similar to her.

3. Was the final boss of Drakengard 1 an Intoner? The final boss of Drakengard 3 is clearly a remake of that fight.

4. The flower is...what? Related to the grotesqueries from Drakengard 1? Some kind of alien parasite?

1. We'll probably learn a bit more in Automata.

2.) Yes.

3.) I believe that the GQ is Zero.

4.) Created by the gods as a means to take out humanity. They really don't like humans and consider them to be failures.

 

[fvng]

bein a nier fan doesn't mean you'll like drakengard.

yeah i know

 

[cj_iwakura]

yeah i know

I think I might like Drakengard more. There's a certain beauty in its chaos, and D3 has the same gorgeous(very, very underrated) OST.

Aethervox

Gabriel


Amazing that Nier's composer managed to perfectly invoke the madness of Drakengard.

 

[Zonic]

I've beaten all the DLC (though why did One not have any trophies??), & the final thing I need to do is grind for money to upgrade weapons (DLC made some of it a lot more tolerable) & do that Ending D path.

I still have little to no idea about the true final boss aside from the frustration it's caused people & I fear actually discovering how frustrating it might be.

This game seriously needs a PS4 version so it can actually run good, or give me a Drakengard HD Collection with the PS2 games uncensored/the original script.

 

[Dio]

I think I might like Drakengard more. There's a certain beauty in its chaos, and D3 has the same gorgeous(very, very underrated) OST.

Aethervox

Gabriel


Amazing that Nier's composer managed to perfectly invoke the madness of Drakengard.

Hearing this again made me shit myself:

Exhausted (DOD3 Version)

 

[Kouriozan]

I loved and 100%ed both Drakengard 1&2, never touched 3 for a simple reason, no French translation! Totally killed my interest, I was so invested in the franchise.

Oh well' maybe I'm the only human on Earth to actually enjoy Drakengard 1.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Hearing this again made me shit myself:

Exhausted (DOD3 Version)

The best song in D1.

D2 had a great song, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuI671YQV2c

I loved and 100%ed both Drakengard 1&2, never touched 3 for a simple reason, no French translation! Totally killed my interest, I was so invested in the franchise.

Oh well' maybe I'm the only human on Earth to actually enjoy Drakengard 1.

You're not. I very much enjoyed it, we can revel in our insanity.

 

[Zonic]

....screw it, thanks to this thread, I'll finally start the final path & see what this Ending D boss is all about.

....also, this game has some sweet boss themes. My favorite is Four's 2nd theme.

 

[Dio]

I loved and 100%ed both Drakengard 1&2, never touched 3 for a simple reason, no French translation! Totally killed my interest, I was so invested in the franchise.

Oh well' maybe I'm the only human on Earth to actually enjoy Drakengard 1.

You're not. One of my closest friends actually prefers the combat in the first Drakengard to Nier 1 and likes it better in general.

DOD3 is very goofy and weird and darker than Nier and all that, but none of Taro's other games have really reached the level of despair and fucked up of Drakengard 1.

All your party members in Drakengard 3 are really shallow and one-note jokes in comparison to those in 1, but that's story related.

Drakengard 3 is about Zero and almost all about Zero, but the first game covers your party member's backstories in greater detail and gives them a lot more depth. The general cast gets a lot of development comparatively, actually. Then again, since D3 is almost all about Zero that makes sense.

 

[cj_iwakura]

....screw it, thanks to this thread, I'll finally start the final path & see what this Ending D boss is all about.

....also, this game has some sweet boss themes. My favorite is Four's 2nd theme.

It's a damn shame the final boss is so viciously difficult, it's a gorgeous spectacle that you can't fully enjoy.

 

[Ludger Kresnik]

All your party members in Drakengard 3 are really shallow and one-note jokes in comparison to those in 1, but that's story related.

Drakengard 3 is about Zero and almost all about Zero, but the first game covers your party member's backstories in greater detail and gives them a lot more depth. The general cast gets a lot of development comparatively, actually. Then again, since D3 is almost all about Zero that makes sense.

The problem with DOD3's cast is that they're actually a fairly rounded, magnificently screwed up bunch of people.

...it's just that you get to see almost none of it in the actual game. You really have to read the novellas and play the DLC to see what everyone's deal is. It makes the story and setting a whole lot richer and it makes the ending (as in, the ending ending) a whooooole lot sadder. But since none of it was included in the main game, most missed out on it completely. They really shouldn't have cut up the game like this.

 

[cj_iwakura]

The problem with DOD3's cast is that they're actually a fairly rounded, magnificently screwed up bunch of people.

...it's just that you get to see almost none of it in the actual game. You really have to read the novellas and play the DLC to see what everyone's deal is. It makes the story and setting a whole lot richer and it makes the ending (as in, the ending ending) a whooooole lot sadder. But since none of it was included in the main game, most missed out on it completely. They really shouldn't have cut up the game like this.

It doesn't sound like something Taro would do. Probably a deal with the devil necessary to get the game made. I would've taken the offer too.

 

[Zonic]

....this can't be it, right? I beat two bosses in a row & while the first part was super tedious with how little damage it took, it wasn't terrible.

"Verse 3" Oh....well, guess this or the next one will be when I discover the infamous boss.

 

[cj_iwakura]

....this can't be it, right? I beat two bosses in a row & while the first part was super tedious with how little damage it took, it wasn't terrible.

"Verse 3" Oh....well, guess this or the next one will be when I discover the infamous boss.

 

[Zonic]

...so is THIS the final boss? Still annoying, but not awful. Granted, took all of my healing items to make it through.

"Verse 5" No? Hmmm.....

Also, is "Book Club: Discipline" the final mission you unlock? I've got just that & Third Survival to deal with.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

...so is THIS the final boss? Still annoying, but not awful. Granted, took all of my healing items to make it through.

"Verse 5" No? Hmmm.....

Also, is "Book Club: Discipline" the final mission you unlock? I've got just that & Third Survival to deal with.

If you can heal it's not the final boss. You're not done.

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

I gave up after a few hours, but I still think that the final boss is literally one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced in a game.

The more I think about it, the more I love it.

In the first game, the rhythm game final boss was a complete nonsequitur. It was bizarre and confusing and horrific.

In D3, it feels the same at first - like "you son of a bitch, Taro, you did it again!" - but really, the entire fucking series has been building up to it. Once you're through the looking glass, you realize that it's the most perfect and logical and obvious thing to do and it's fucking beautiful.

 

[Dragonslayer_023]

Yoko Taro is my dude, and I love NieR, but I gotta say I hated Drakengard 3. The story, the characters, the gameplay, I didn't like a single thing about it. And that's not even mentioning the final boss.

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

Yoko Taro is my dude, and I love NieR, but I gotta say I hated Drakengard 3. The story, the characters, the gameplay, I didn't like a single thing about it. And that's not even mentioning the final boss.

The supplementary short stories are a must-read if you haven't. They aren't too impressive in their own right, but they add so much to the characters and plot.

You get to learn Zero's backstory, for one.


edit: for anyone who's interested, here's Zero's short story. There are a bunch more for the other characters, but this one's the most important, I think.
(warning) Edge level: Cold Steel

 

[guybrushfreeman]

...so is THIS the final boss? Still annoying, but not awful. Granted, took all of my healing items to make it through.

"Verse 5" No? Hmmm.....

Also, is "Book Club: Discipline" the final mission you unlock? I've got just that & Third Survival to deal with.

I'm not sure how close you are but I love the idea that you don't know what's coming. Anyway OP great write up, reading about all the Drakengard stuff after playing Nier has been crazy but I'm not sure I'd ever play 1 and 2. It seems 3 really needs a PC release or something with all the DLC and fixed performance which will probably never happen. So thanks for the write up and perfect title

Edit: I've been checking out the D3 soundtrack now and it seems just as great as Nier to me

 

[SephLuis]

...so is THIS the final boss? Still annoying, but not awful. Granted, took all of my healing items to make it through.

"Verse 5" No? Hmmm.....

Also, is "Book Club: Discipline" the final mission you unlock? I've got just that & Third Survival to deal with.

Trust me, you will know when you hit the final boss

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

I absolutely love this post, what a hell of a fun read OP. That being said, I literally cannot fathom why anyone would say this game has good writing. Seeing how awful it performed, I decided to just watch a 5 and a half hour video on youtube with all the cutscenes and gameplay dialogue. I have had to stop and come back to it multiple times just because of how bad it all is. (I was told it might tie into Nier Automata someone, and I played all 4 endings of Nier last year for Automata so I am willing to sit through this.) The weirdness is definitely enjoyable, but every line of dialogue comes off like a teenager wrote it, from the inconsistencies to the cringe worthy sex and murder jokes.

Still, I am close to finishing it, and it says a lot about Yoko Taro and his weird ideas that I am willing to finish the video let alone watch more than 15 minutes. Honestly, I would have played this if I wasn't so busy/it didn't run like shit. This is coming from someone who has really fond memories of Drakengard 1

Spoiler

that I know would be crushed if I revisited it today

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

I'm not sure how close you are but I love the idea that you don't know what's coming. Anyway OP great write up, reading about all the Drakengard stuff after playing Nier has been crazy but I'm not sure I'd ever play 1 and 2. It seems 3 really needs a PC release or something with all the DLC and fixed performance which will probably never happen. So thanks for the write up and perfect title

Edit: I've been checking out the D3 soundtrack now and it seems just as great as Nier to me

Absolutely!

Aethervox
Descendus
Kuroi Uta
*trigger warning* Black Song, White Scales *trigger warning*

This Silence Is Mine is fantastic on a conceptual/thematic level, but the Engrish is really rough.