Drakengard 2

"Wasted Potential..But A Worthy Game"

-Gameplay-

How it's Drakengard 2 (Ground)-7

If you like slicing through hordes of enemies this one is a sure thing for you. It's got a pretty simple combat system that can be semi-rewarding at times if you unlock the right combos. The main problem here is that enemies can become really annoying and tiresome. On harder difficulties you will nearly always be getting poked and prodded which really interrupts the flow of the game. The parrying feature is pretty nice in this game though, and you can parry nearly every attack in the game with good results. The character switching system is also much improved in this game. The four characters each have distinct strengths and weaknesses which can be used to exploit enemies. But they didn't really balance the characters as well as they should have. Eris is by far the weakest of the party (attack pattern leaves her vulnerable) and Urick has a relatively low attack speed (even for a guy with a large ax).

What Could've been Improved Upon (Ground)-4

Firstly, this game changes some of the better parts of the original Drakengard...much to the chagrin of fans of the first game. The first game every weapon had different combos and magic and leveling your weapons up rewarded you with new a new appearance for your sword, axe etc. In this one all weapons of their respective subcategory has the same initial combo and will never change in appearance. The only thing your weapon does is unlock new combos when levelled up. A novel idea but some combos are near impossible to pull of and are basically useless in battle (as they have only a slight advantage over using the same initial combo repetitively). The problem is that the system just isn't rewarding enough. People want more out of weapons they spend alot of time levelling. Another downside is that many of the weapons share the same magic which can get boring at times.

How It's Drakengard 2 (Air)-6

The addition of powerups in the form of breath powers in this game is welcome. There is a slight balance issue seeing as how some breaths (lightning, water) are far superior to others (fire, dark?). But its a nice feature that adds a good mix to sky battles. Legna maneuvers pretty well in this game and you will rarely be in danger with a little bit of skill (Unless your in 9-3 on hard or above then it becomes hell). Again like the ground portion of the game some enemies can be downright infuriating. The little skulls and reapers you will experinece later in the game incredibly frustrating for no apparent reason. Legna isn't the best looking dragon I've ever seen and I prefer Angelus' design from the first game. One of the main air battle gripes is the lack of enemies. You'll run across 6 or so types in the sky and it gets rather bland after a while.

What Could've been Improved Upon (Air)-6

Basically, make Legna more fearsome. His fireballs seem less effective than Angelus' in the first game. From the original Drakengard to this installment there has been little to no overhaul in the combat system. I find this to be a problem. While the system is pretty good there is still alot of room for improvement when controlling the dragon. It's a shame they didn't put more work into the system because it has potential to be great.

Storyline-6

The original Drakengard had a deep dark storyline that alot of fans found to be original and highly enjoyable. Caim in my opinion is just a better hero. He seemed more human and less stereotypical for a male lead in a square game. Nowe is basically your everyday save the earth special power guy from every storyline you've ever heard so it kind of dulls it up. Legna's motivation throughout the story is very interesting and it would've been nice to see more what the dragons and gods were plotting out. The cutscenes in the game are just downright uninspired. Often it is just a still shot with characters talking in the background and I consider that downright lazy from the programmers. There was alot of ways they could've taken the first games story but instead they instituted a new character and killed off the two interesting ones from the first game. Manah's role was pretty good though. I really liked the irony in what she was doing as well as her new benevolent role.

Overall-6

I really loved the first Drakengard and thats my reasoning for giving this one a somewhat low score. I consider the first game a 9. The developers clearly took alot of time with the battle system and weapon development and this game just doesn't measure up. I believe if this game had taken the bad parts of the first game and improved upon(them while retaining all the good points of the original) it would've been an amazing game. I still enjoyed this game very much and will pick it up and play every now and then. But to me it will always be a waste of potential...

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/17/06