Review
Release Date: 03.01.2004
Platform:
PlayStation 2Developer:
Square-Enix Co., Ltd.Publisher:
Square-Enix USAReviewed by
Wade Monnig on 7.12.2004
| Review Rating: 7/10 | User Rating: 7/10 |
When you are famous for one thing and try to diversify, you get it from both sides of the fan base. One side bemoans the fact that everything you do is orientated toward your strengths (In SquareEnix’s case, Role Playing Games) and everything you do is derivative of that and, when you do try to expand you focus, the other side complains “This isn’t what we expected.” Drakengard is not a Role Playing Game. Granted, there are swords, sorcery, and dragons and a touch of RPG-like elements but it has much more in common with tactical action games such as Dynasty Warriors and Fantasy Flight simulations like Panzer Dragoon than it does with SquareEnix’s flagship franchises of Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy. Normally, I try to avoid direct game-to-game comparisons since they rarely do justice to either game. In this case, I will make an exception because it is not one but two genre defining games that I am comparing to Drakengard.
Drakengard is divided into two main parts: aerial mission and ground-based missions. However, the real highlight is the melding of the two: Swooping down from the sky and strafing a mass of troops with flaming dragon breath. Between mass battles, strafing mostly unsuspecting troops, and the in-flight missions, you have the traditional boss battles. When I say traditional, I mean it too. We’re talking old school – trial and error, learn the bosses pattern, and lots of countering and dodging.
In the great SquareEnix tradition the story unfolds via amazing CG rendered cut-scenes. Complementing the awesome video presentation is old English-style voiceovers. Coupled with the incredible music and high-quality sound effects, the story presentation is amazing. Unfortunately, the gameplay is marred by a few issues that keep it from matching the plot presentation.
The biggest hit against Drakengard is the bane of most 3-D games in existence – Poor camera angles. The camera is sluggish and I found myself cursing it more than a few times. The camera during the aerial battles suffers the most, which is no real surprise given the extra dimensions involved but the frustration involved sucks much of the fun out of the air to air battles. Factor in some obvious pop-up hiding fog and the pop-up the fog doesn’t hide and air-to-air battles come out on the low end.
The ground battles fare better with a well-designed control scheme and a “Center camera behind character” button that always keeps you in the heat of the action. Much like Dynasty Warriors, the action can get derivative. It involves plenty of button mashing and combos come in the form of a few different button presses thrown in. However, it this is your type of game, you’ll find it highly entertaining to cut a swath through hordes of enemies while powering up your weapons and the ability to switch weapons on the fly is a nice touch.
Drakengard is a surprisingly long game, clocking in at around 30 hours with multiple endings. Once again, players spoiled by the mammoth hours SquareEnix RPGs normally encompass may bemoan it as being short but within its splintered genre, the length is more than respectable.
