Drakengard 2

"A fun hack and slash... but it's not for the faint of heart. A major improvement over the first."

This game's a fun one, that's for certain. It's fast paced, mission-based system is easy to get into and it's feel is much better than other hack-and-slash games (I.E. Drakengard 1, Diablo, Dynasty Warriors), and like Drakengard 1, there's the Air-to-Air, and Air-to-Ground aspect, which was greatly improved. The game kept me hooked until I saw the end, and by end, I mean all 3 of them. Yes, there's 3 endings, so if you like alternate endings, there's a bonus. Onward to the specifics of the game:

Gameplay 9.5/10- As I've said, this game's hack and slash, so take it or leave it in this area at that. I'll break this down based on the areas of gameplay:

Ground-to-Ground (general): The control system is easy to grasp, the most common actions (I.E. hacking-and-slashing) using the Square button. There's a major improvement over Drakengard 1 in the controls of Drakengard 2, as the special attacks no longer require strict timing using the circle button and are instead using a Combo-command system, like a fighting game, such as Mortal Kombat, which allows the action to proceed much quicker. There's also much more to do in the ground missions in this game, when compared to the first. And the system's much faster, rather than it's slow predecessor. Also there are recovery items, making recovering lost HP much easier, and you can use MP items, which can give you access to powerful magic like Nowe's trademark "Sonic Burst" (which is the single best magic in the game, IMO) quickly.

Air-to-Air: This is no Ace Combat, but that's to be expected. Instead of using magic, like in the first game, your dragon, Legna collects Breath Spheres to use "magic" attacks. The air combat system is much harder but that's not a problem, as it's harder because the difficulty of the Air Battles is up from the first. However there's not much difference outside of the breath spheres and the difficulty upping. The air battles are fun, but they aren't the main point of the game. And those aren't Airships! They're Dirigibles!

Air-to-Ground: You thought using a pact-beast in Drakengard 1 was broken? Ha! You haven't seen anything. In Drakengard 2, you can't be knocked off your dragon, and unless there's a mage or an Ogre around, you can't be touched. Dragon Overdrives (use of magic during an Air-to-Ground battle) are broken as heck, but it's fun to order Legna to descend upon an unlucky enemy and turn him into lunch (yes you can do that- it's a DO called "Ferocious Fangs", and it's an insta-gibbing attack). Drakengard 2's A-t-G's match the term "Death from Above" far better than Drakengard 1.

Graphics: 8/10. Graphics aren't much of a thing to rate a game on, but Drakengard 2's aren't stunning (like FF12's are) but they're not ugly (like ToS2's are). The blood effects are nothing, and they can be turned off if you want, not like it makes much difference. Your loss there. The damage numbers are a nice addition over on the

Music/Sound: 4/10 While RPGs tend to have impressive OSTs, Drakengard is the exception. Drakengard 2 doesn't make an improvement. This game is better played listening to something like DragonForce than it's in game music, but then again, there's a song called "Growing Wings" by Kari Walhgren, which acts as the game's theme and the BGM for the final boss. A slow, sorrowful tune that matches the final boss perfectly. It also plays during a rather sad scene near the end of the game, it alone prevents me from giving a 0 in the Music department for this game.

Storyline: 8/10 Wow. Is all I really have to say. Umm... might I add that endings 1 and 3 fail?
Well I guess I have to say more than that. Ok... I'll break this down:
Characters:
Nowe- I have to say that he's a clone of Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia. Heck, he even says the EXACT same lines (and I'm not talking about some lame line that practically every character ever says like "What?") at least 3 times! But he's somewhat different. He's less of an idiot. I guess that makes him "Generic RPG Hero #0074". His ability to summon Legna makes him somewhat awesome. And Sonic Burst = Win. But him being a clone of Lloyd... doesn't.

Manah- Wow. Wasn't she like a main villain? Wait that was 18 years ago, in Drakengard. She's still a witch. She's looking for redemption, which is kinda good in her own right. But that doesn't make me want to forgive her for the havoc that she caused in Drakengard. She's kinda fun to play as, and her magic is uber.

Eris- OMG! Add an A! No, actually Eris and Aeris are nothing alike. Which is a good thing, because Aeris is annoying. Anyway, Eris is pretty cool. She doesn't get along with Manah, and isn't a clone of anyone who's not Nephenee from FE9, which isn't a bad thing. She's hax with her late game weapons and Magic, which is just as good as Manah's. But Lances > Staves.

Urick- Mostly anything I have to say about him is a spoiler, but if you look at the box of the game, you'll see him and likely think that he's a bad guy, which he's not.

Legna- The best character in the game, the Black/Blue Imperial Dragon. Yes, the Black Imperial Dragon from the first game. He's got some pretty cool lines and he eats enemies, at your command. He's cool. End.

Enemy characters
Lieutenants: Yawn. Five Grand Cardinal Clones. Esp. the Fire one. The Light/Earth one... killing him was FUN. Like Kuja. Or Seymour.
One-Eyed Man: Once you find out who he is... you'll hate how weak he is.
The insane dragon: BURN! KILL! BURN! Wow... not expected. Fun dogfight. Painful Slalom gate chase.

Plot: Too... much... Tragedy. They start off with a really cool part where you get to own level 1 peoples, then there's a expected plot twist, then massive Tragedy ensues all the way until the ending. No one is safe, honestly. The final boss is crud on Endings 1 and 3. Play the game to see what I mean.

Final: This game's fun, but if you're weak of heart, or don't like hack-and-slash games, then you might want to avoid it. Final Rating: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/08

Game Release: Drakengard 2 (US, 02/14/06)