Drakengard 2

"A Major Improvement"

STORY: 8/10
Drakengard 2 takes place 18 years after the Empire and the Union war ends and our main character, Nowe, works as a Knight of the Seal. What exactly the seals are sealing and why a woman named Manah seems so intent on breaking them is how our plot begins to unravel.

The story is much more sane than the originals wicked (yet, in a sense, attractive) plot and even more accurately explains the events of the first Drakengard. The plot twists of this game is executed more smoothly so that it really doesn't seemed to be pulled out of nowhere. The game comes with something like a New Game+ (ending levels, weapons, etc carry on into next playthrough), so when playing through again, you begin to notice little things that were foreshadowed and played into the plot later. As the plot is unveiled, Drakengard 1 fans can also be satisfied with the way it connects so well with the first plot.

Like said, though, the strange plot and characters of Drakengard 1 had its own appeal. Unfortunately, the characters of this game seems to take the form of a more basic RPG cast that one would commonly see. For example, our lead character takes on the generic hero oftenly found in these sort of games--destined to save the world while trying to do a simple task, and remains dutiful and morally correct throughout the story. It's even complete with the heroine, who attempts to heal the wounds of her past with the lead hero's help. While the original Drakengard's cast was certainly considered sickly unique, it had its own appeal in the originality category.

GAMEPLAY: 10/10
In my honest opinion, the biggest and most needed improvement from the last game. The original was oftenly bashed for its poor gameplay and repetitive hack and slash. Despite attempt to make the battle system somewhat interesting, I can't deny there was almost no other way to kill an enemy besides tapping X.

Drakengard 2 brings in the new variety in fighting that makes this game so much better than before. Complete with kickass looking combos, battles are spiced up with different ways to take out anything from mobs of soldiers, wizards, or huge guards. From this, it can be both necessary, yet fun, to use different kinds of weapons, spells, and characters. For bosses, you may prefer one type of sword that hits harder. For wizards, you may need to pull out your own magic. For a multitude of enemies, the ways of obliterating them are endless: a quick, light sword with a destructive combo? A devastating area of effect spell? Incineration through dragonfire?

One of my new, favorite, aspects of the games is also the ability to switch partymembers on the spot. The last Drakengard had this strange system of summoning a party member for a limited about of time and I'm pretty sure little to no one actually used them. With the ability to switch on the spot, it becomes necessary to use certain characters in certain situations. One character may be strongly effective against humans, but weak against magic and the undead. In such a case, one can instantly switch to a character that deals more critical damage to either magic or undead. Or, you may switch simply because you are about to die and one character has more HP than the other. With this new battle system, the player is given endless ways to complete their mission and have fun.

SOUND: 9/10
The soundtrack is also another significantly improved factor from the last game. Drakengard 1 pretty much had a forgettable soundtrack, excluding its opening song, "Growing Wings". They must've noted this since they've taken elements from the last game's OST and refined it to the point that it deserves a note of recognition.

The background music is able to give appropriate mood to the scenes, which can go from being a panicked state of disarray during a raid, a cryptic and ancient castle, or a nostalgic, melancholy moment of the past. A particular favorite piece of mine is during quite the plot twist of a battle is a quiet and lonesome remake of the recurring theme, "Growing Wings" which consists of only a piano, a voice, and slowly rising violins.

Besides soundtrack, this series manages to stay consistent in outstanding voice acting. Nowe somehow manages to keep every moral or question he spouts sounding new, and his confusion or strong will always sounds authentic (doesn't keep him from being repetitive though *cough*). Legna, the dragon you ride in this game, is amazing at blending the characteristics of a dragon's pride and a father's concern. General Gismor's voice actor manages to sound like a strict, hardened leader while succesfully foreshadowing his true intentions. And Manah... well, there's always that voice actor in which you knew they could've done better when trying to sound more emotionally distressed.

GRAPHICS: 7/10
Er, nothing really improved here. The graphics remain the same from the same except a lot less cutscenes and FMVs from the original. One of the pros of the original Drakengard was that the game seemed to be packed with unexpected FMVs. And if I can recall, in every cutscene they moved very vividly to their actions and words.

I don't know if the creators here got lazy or mayhap they just didn't have time, but as the game progresses, the cutscenes become simply a picture of their character model doing whatever the intended scene was and talking. This was a great disappointment to me since it really just feels like they didn't feel like putting their effort into it. Honestly, if I just wanted pictures and talking, I would play a dating game. Thank goodness for the good voice acting and the ability to skip cutscenes.

Fortunately, even if the graphics were not improved, they were also not degraded. The graphics remain quite pleasant and realistic enough for a fantasy game.

OVERALL
Story: 8/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Graphics: 7/10
Total: 8.5 --> 9.0

In conclusion, I would recommend this game for any gamer, but I'd give a much more stronger recommendation for those who at least finished the first Drakengard.

Thank you for taking your time to read my first review. =)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/06