Square Enix is well known for releasing original games that take hold of gamers and lead them on a wild ride! When Drakengard was announced I was waiting with keen anticipation until I could finally get my hands on it, but I was really surprised once I did. While this game has the usual Square Enix wonderfully crafted storyline, the gameplay is really lacking in many areas. Read on to find out more.

In the world of Drakengard, dragons still roam the earth. The Union and the Empire are two great forces that wage war for control of the Goddess who protects the harmony of the world. The Union is an alliance of smaller nations that try to stop the vast Empires from totally controlling the planet, and they are equal in strength. Lately the Empire has been recruiting help from demons and monsters to help their cause, and they are beginning to overtake the Union.

Scattered throughout the world are three scared places that contain the great seals. The Goddess is the fourth seal, which unites and protects the other seals. Once the seal is broken the Goddess will release the Seeds of Resurrection, and this will bring salvation to the world. Women are chosen as goddesses, and only in death will the task end, once she dies, another woman is chosen to replace her.

Caim is the son of royalty, and when he was a child he witness the brutal murder of his parents by a Imperial black dragon years ago. He has a deep hatred for the Empire ever since, and now he only lives to wage war and revenge. One day while in battle he was fatally wounded, then he stumbled upon the mortally wounded Red Dragon. He was about to kill it when he told the Dragon that in order for both of them to live they should make a pact. A pact is when a dragon and a human exchange hearts and become “pact partners.” Once they are united, a Dragon and Human are as strong as an army. Any human that forges a pact has to give something precious up, and Caim loses his voice. Now Caim has the power to help stop the empire but will he be successful, it is up to you to find out!

What makes this game different from a lot of other games in the market is that this one has two different forms of gameplay, on the ground and in the sky. When players are on the ground, the game plays very similar to Dynasty Warriors. Players hack and slash their way through myriads of enemies till they get to the boss character, then they repeat the process over and over again. While in this mode, depending on what sword they are carrying, they will have different speeds, strength, and magic attacks. Each of the weapons can be upgraded to be stronger and have more powerful magic attacks.

The dragons are recognizes as the “lords of the natural land” whose task is to advance evolution by trials to those who are too weak to deserve life. Once players are in the sky upon the dragon, the game feels very reminiscent to Panzer Dragoon. All of the enemies on the ground look like tiny ants to the dragon. Players can incinerate all of the enemies in a matter of seconds, the only disadvantage to this is that the dragon gets all of the experience points while in this mode, and the weapons get none.

The best thing about switching between the dragon and on foot is that it happens in a matter of seconds, and players can continue to switch between the two to their hearts content.

There are also “dragon” specific modes, in which you take to the air and defeat all of the enemies that are upon you. Players have full 360-degree control of the dragon while in this mode, and it is very fun taking out air ships and other things “in your way.”

Not only does Caim have his Red Dragon, and his own powerful arsenal of weapons to dispose of the enemies, he can also call upon several allies (if available) to help him turn the tide of combat. If players have any allies, they can switch to them, and the ally will do battle, once they are defeated, the game switches back to Caim.

Drakengard is rated M for Mature for Blood, Gore, and Violence. It requires up to 41 Blocks on your memory card.

Gameplay: 6.9
The biggest problem with the game is the AI and the repetition that you will face. The AI in this game is really stupid, they wait for players in groups, they watch you slaughter their allies, and then when you get close enough they finally decide to attack. Then couple that with the fact that you will do this over, and over, and over again throughout the entire game. The saving grace is that you can hop on your dragon and touch a lot of them at once or change to your allies (if you have any available at the time). While this game does have its high points, it still just boils down to a lot of monotonous repetition. This is something I would have never expected from a Square Enix game.

Graphics: 7.1
The style that the game offers is really well: ancient times where swords, dragons, castles, and magic are the way of the land. The game offers some interesting character designs, that look normal in comparison to many of the other games this developer produces. The magic effects, such as the fire protruding out of the dragon’s mouth, looks really good. The dragons look very nice and have a nice animation set, but after this the game really starts to falter.

One of Drakengard’s biggest problems is the limited draw-in distance. It feels like you have to be 2 feet in front of the enemies before you can actually see them. While riding the dragon provides more draw-in distance, it really isn’t that much better. The next problem is the very limited set of animation. All of the enemies do the same moves over and over again, and it is really sad to see a group of ten troops, fighting the exact same way. The worse thing about this game is the inconsistent frame rate, at times it will be super fast, and then in another instance (mostly at the wrong time) the game crawls to a standstill just to fight a few enemies. This is very disappointing for this or any game to have issues like this.

Sound: 6.8
Unlike many other Square Enix games, Drakengard’s soundtrack will not blow you away in any sense. While it is palatable, it does not entrance you while you are playing like so many of their other games do. The voice acting is decent and will not get on your nerves.

Difficulty: Easy
I found this game to be very easy, even without going through and leveling up my weapons and dragon, I had no difficulties playing through each level.

Concept: 8.5
I really like the concept for this game, combining two really popular genres and blending them into one. The problem with it is the execution was not perfected and it left the game to be really lacking in many areas.

Overall: 7.0
I really liked the idea of a combination of Panzer Dragoon and Dynasty Warriors, I thought that with Square Enix making this game, nothing could be wrong, but boy was I mistaken. While this game isn’t bad per say, it just feels like Drakengard could have used a lot more polish, such as no frame rate issues, a better draw-in distance, and better AI.