So I've Been Playing: DRAKENGARD [ Review PS2 ]

[@DrakeVagabond]

The game was actually rushed because Square rejected Taro's request for more time to tweak the game

[@thorhighheels]

Honestly, I'm surprised Square still let's Taro do his thing at all haha. Though it being rushed does explain a lot.

[@malcomalexander9437]

The game wasn't even supposed to have ground combat. It was just going to be dragon riding. But Dynasty Warriors 2 was popular at the time, so Square wanted in on that.

[@cabadger2776]

@@thorhighheels aperently its because theres this one higher up at square that has a shit ton of faith in him.

[@irunasoft]

And i still liked it as a kid. Damn it! I'm very lucky to have this game!!! I wish i could play it again at some point. I should buy a ps2, my brother wont let me play it im sure

[@WakkaMadeInYevon]

@@cabadger2776 I like to think Automata came out and that one higher up went "I TOLD YOU GUYS"

[@KATinBLACK]

Is anyone hoping for a remake? I think the story, music, & concepts are great just... improve the gameplay and graphics. Please Square give the man the chance to do it

[@VarionusNW]

I am always praying for a drakengard remake. It's one of my favorite games in all forms except gameplay.

[@Darkest_matter]

@@VarionusNW the gameplay deadass just copy devil may cry like, automata has that devil may cry/god of war/final fantasy feel to it.

[@Darkest_matter]

@@VarionusNW **in 3rd person mode. I like the short ikagura sections too, not too long. Twin stick parts suck though. It's not my style.

[@VarionusNW]

@@Darkest_matter I suppose in that it's a character action game, and Automata was made by the Bayonetta people so the similarities to other games in the genre make sense. I just find it odd that you're responding about automata when my comment was about drakengard 1, which primarily plays as a 2-button mashing dynasty warrior clone with a dragon shooting flight sim segment. Automata and Nier remake are both great fun and serviceable games to deliver their stories. Drakengard is a terrible game with an angsty hell narrative that I wish had a better vehicle.

[@Darkest_matter]

@@VarionusNW but the reply was about remastering it right? When they're mastered ff7, they didn't use the RTS mechanics right? They made it interesting and engaging (not as engaging as bloodbourne but far from the bore click attack, wait for enemy move, click spell of the original)

[@Prophecyx01]

While some of the gameplay criticisms you made are sliiightly off mark, as someone who has gotten all 5 endings, I can't say that this game is any less than incredibly painful to play. In fact, you said it's tolerable, while I couldn't handle it at all, it almost made me go insane. The dragon gameplay is a LITTLE better, probably would be much better if not for some incredibly frustrating enemies. I honestly struggle to remember the fond moments I had from this game, and I beat all 5 endings twice. All 65 fucking weapons hidden by doing the most tedious, painful, mind-breakingly awful objectives. The good moments feel like foggy childhood memories and I only played this like a year or two ago. On the other hand, the story, the characters, the music, the atmosphere, are just all too damn good. In the end, if I could go back, I wouldn't not play this game. At the very least, watching the cutscenes, listening to the soundtrack, and seeing the final boss battle for Ending E are all recommended.

[@JackGordonsYoutube]

great, now im obsessed with the soundtrack.

[@The_Fat_Turtle]

It was the standout feature of the game to me, it made every battle so much more intense, I still love it all these years later and give it a listen regularly. The music in the other Drakengard and Nier games are fantastic too, but the original game was something special to my ears.

[@KyleS.1987]

There's really nothing else like it...

[@TheMetalGearKid]

A good soundtrack will do that to ya

[@JameboHayabusa]

If this game had Drakengard 3's combat mechanics when it released, it would get a lot more love from me. I was still crazy enough to get every single ending as a kid despite that lmao.

[@MultiGG2]

I soooooo HATED leveling up the weapons. Just replayed the first mission in the game over and over again and ended up fully leveling up Caim to his final level before I was even close to finishing weapon levels.

[@TheDeathOfLucifer]

Honestly I don't see an issue with using cheats to fully level all weapons for this game as its the story that matters

[@linkesocke4533]

You forgot one of the main mechanics. Your weapons level up to, too. They not only become stronger they also change in appearance. Not sure if it has any effect on the game play aside from more damage, but it's a neat idea that you don't see very often.

[@orochandesu]

Pretty sure leveling up also unlocked screwed up short stories, like a dagger that ended up used for human sacrifice. You'd get another piece of the short story with each level

[@WinstonHofler]

I honestly think drakengard shouldn’t be remastered, as it really appeals to a very limited audience and the fact it’s a whole lot different from niers atmosphere and tone. I just think most people wouldn’t understand the game’s themes of insanity, war, and killing clearly especially now that everyone practically plays cod these days where they’re killing people without thinking. With drakengard, you really start to feel like you’re going insane and descending into a violent rampage. I also think the gameplay was made bad on purpose to drive you to becoming more consumed by hate and anger. For me, I genuinely got that feeling as the game went on and combined with the horror-esque music and dark atmosphere, it really drives it home.

[@AllGamingStarred]

I think it should be remade with better controls (the flying sucks and the camera is a bitch to control), a better engine (graphics are drab, no onscreen allies, slow as fuck when too many enemies are onscreen) and rework the difficulty (the red enemies are not exactly to magic but also are 100% accurate when shooting back, which will happen when you use a magic attack, later enemies are overly strong, your attacks are weak even at max level)

[@KOTEBANAROT]

Lol i actually started hating enemies so much i would strike at their dead bodies in pure rage, like id be juggling with the corpses because i wanted to fuck them up even further No game made me feel so much anger before lol

[@irunasoft]

well, i agree.

[@isabellamorris7902]

...do you not think violent video games existed before Call of Duty? In a post-Spec Ops: The Line and NiER world, we'd arguably have a more receptive audience in the mainstream for something that does what Drakengard does.

[@HiddenAdept]

Am I the only one who pretty much only used Caim's sword when I had to? 66 different weapons in this game all with their own unique spells to try out. The spells are actually pretty varied. I loved that Staff weapon with the forbidden runes and Fheng's Glaive with the poison AOE spells. Some of the weapons and spells in this game are more interesting then the reviewer lets on. I am pretty sure you can only find weapons if you have the difficulty on Normal as well.

[@thorhighheels]

Yeah for some reason I neglected the weapon system almost entirely. I can't recall if I played it on normal or not. It would explain a lot if I had played it on easy, and given that I heard only bad things about the gameplay, maybe I did.

[@albiedangazone3417]

ANDTHEDRAGONLEVELUPSGODDAMN

[@Kriseiri]

Did you play the game beyond Ending A? Just asking since you didn't really show anything from Route B onwards and that's where the game stops being subtly twisted and turns into the most extravagantly fucked up mess ever to grace the PS2. To anyone on the fence, I'd definitely recommend playing this just for the experience it provides. The gameplay actually gets worse at it goes on, but the story gets more and more bizarre and interesting along with it. The very last ending (there are five) you unlock is... something else, to say the least.

[@thorhighheels]

+Noel Vermillion Nah. I played through the game once, then watched the other endings and pathways online, and read some stuff about it too. Not how I usually do stuff, but I wasn't really looking forward to playing so much more of the game considering the repetitious combat. I REALLY liked where the story went though. S'pretty cool stuff! I imagine if I had played this growing up, I'd probably be sucking Taro Yoko's dick at this point.

[@lovingdreamer708]

ThorHighHeels I would consider playing this game, even if you see it for yourself it's way different if you play it. Also the bonus of beating the entire game you are rewarded with a FIGHTER JET. and it's funny to see Caim riding on top of the fighter jet.

[@tarosceptic]

@Roxion 358 yeah i agree, going through the routes and revisiting the story in the disjointed way it ends up playing out as when going for 100% combined with the painful gameplay ends up converging into such a psychotic experience that builds upon the already established overall vibes and soundtrack so well it turned drakengard into my favorite game of all time simply because of how such a unique experience it is. it really makes me wish there were more ballsy games like it

[@travelerluke5748]

I give them props for getting a great story on a budget. I imagine if they had backing they would not have gotten away with the insanity that it has in it..

[@swapnilkarmakar7473]

What is this that stands before me !? :V WOW accurate music choice.

[@monsterhuntermaniacy]

You should play the third and the NieR franchise. Are from Taro too, and have the same psychopath, suda 51 vibe, the second it´s a mess that continue the ending A (But no yako taro direction). D3 es de prequel and Nier it´s the sequel for the ending E, you should really play it, love your way dude. Love from Mexico.

[@albiedangazone3417]

I genuinely give it 9/10 for a ps2 game. And the cutscenes were fuckin ahead of their time. It's dark souls but with an actual storyline, voice actors, character depth, and there's way more to it than this guy says. You can even level up your dragon buddy! And the story is goddamn alluring af.

[@pspbook13]

How idiotic to you have to be in order to compare this to Dark Souls? The combat functions completely differently and I don't recall any point where you mount a dragon and kill giant babies.

[@TheAxeGrinder]

>Black Sabbath 30 seconds in Subscribed.

[@NateNintendo]

Does anyone else think this looks like a PS1 Game? The fog and low poly models really made me think that this was a late ps1 game until I glanced at the video title again.

[@observer.b_e_l_l_i_s]

Its a great addition for people looking to complete the short Taro collection thus far but that aside it is rather dated so heading in its best to throw on the retro gaming hat and anyone should be fine.

[@joeyisabsb1]

I think I watched this years ago and ignored the game. After I caught up with the lore of the universe from the drakengard/nier games I now want to play this for the story alone. It has some of the darkest characters in any video game.

[@ParappatheRapper]

I tried to play this but the lack of any good feedback from the fighting killed my desire. Sucks because I missed out on a crazy story.

[@Darkest_matter]

Wow! The graphics at the start had me thinking maybe that was an early Dev build but nope! That's the game!

[@RegalPixelKing]

Yeah I tried playing this game. And I put it down after 2 hours. I wanted to put it down once I was able to actually interact with the game, the only reason I didn't was because I wanted to experience the story, characters, and atmosphere that I heard was so fucking amazing with this game. Honestly with the game being so 2/10 in terms of its gameplay I suggest just watching all the cutscenes on KZbin and moving on from there.

[@teddyranberg1092]

That’s what I did probably the best way to do it today

[@sucksatskating41]

I'd like to see a much more modern Yoko Taro musou clone. Don't tell me Drakengard 3 exists. I'm playing that now and it's not what I'm talking about.

[@TheMrCrown]

Thx, now I can spare my time and enjoy Drakan - The Ancients' Gates! ;)

[@marko6219]

+TheMrCrown That game is much better than this one

[@CjWalker-t6o]

I loved this game as a kid

[@OwnD1]

I’d love to play this game without its gameplay. The plot, setting, and characters seem really intriguing

[@MHKeenani]

Sounds like the most meh game ever

[@Kaixero]

I have now decided that we play the exact same games. You're not bad, dude. In fact, you seem pretty fucking cool, but I mean, whatever, don't tell you I said that. You said that you never felt like stopping. I didn't, the mindless drone of the combat I slept through but never quit - until the game kept hanging in one cutscene. I never cared to find an alternative, and was perfectly fine to just drop it. That's pretty sad. The gameplay has cool concepts but that does not make it good.

[@saxistaja2]

boring, repetitive gameplay, thats a fact, the multiple endings and stories and how that the nier franchise was born: it worth's the gameplay

[@Akaritomi]

Just couldn't take one for the team could you Caim?

[@marko6219]

Played this game many years ago and never finished it ( and I always play games to the end). I reached a point where I couldn't progress because I didn't level up enough. You are expected to replay levels which are boring the first time. But you keep on playing the game has a knack for making you run around empty environments chasing enemies. I will play it a again though just to get into this series.

[@thorhighheels]

+John Smithy I played the game for about 2 or 3 hours before I decided to start over and set the game to easy. The battles seemed a lot shorter, and I wasn't forced to replay anything as I managed to keep up pretty well. I HIGHLY recommend playing it on easy if you're going to replay it.

[@marko6219]

+ThorHighHeels I never play games on easy because I'm MANLY! but yeah I will take your advice on this one cheers

[@iwanttoforceavegantoeatmea7596]

Do you have any plans on playing or reviewing Nier? Its a fantastic game despite its flaws.

[@thorhighheels]

Yup! I was going to make my way through the series chronologically, and I recently covered Drak 2 & 3. So I should be getting to Nier sooner or later.

[@didjano]

So true ​@@thorhighheels

[@gishathosaurus6828]

Pretty cool like everyone I see and know says the same things about Drakengard. Shitty combat (air battles are kinda neet though) but the story alone is worth playing it, including the extra chaptets to unlock all the endings.... Well, maybe not the last one unless you're a masochist >-

[@loudrockacdc]

You don't have pods in this one?

[@eiwhaz-tina6528]

I loved that FFVII music

[@PerrydactylShow]

This looks a bit too rough around the edges for this guy.

[@thorhighheels]

+PerrydactylShow yeh. While I did like parts of it, it does seem like kind of a tough sell. The sequels look pretty banging though! Which is mostly why I played it to begin with. Anyway, thanks for sticking around my man. Nothing like a bit of Perry in my comment section to HYPE up my day!

[@PerrydactylShow]

YO ANYTIME BB!

[@SomaCruz70]

Mmh... 4:3 stretched to 16:9.

[@ComradeArthur]

Nice review. Good idea on making the game better by lowering the difficulty level. Have you tried Drak 2? I've heard it's the opposite of Drak 1 in that the story isn't so good but the game play is solid.

[@thorhighheels]

I have, but I didn't like it much. The gameplay was a bit better, but mostly more of the same from what I saw, and the story and characters weren't that interesting to me. So I got bored and gave up. Exited to give 3 a try though.

[@kennethfoster3913]

"Medieval times were ratchet as fuck" that killed me XD

[@mrwasteoffood]

Yo fam. When you gonna review Drakengard 3?

[@SpoonyBard88]

Pacman has more gameplay depth.

[@danfontaine8179]

This game was a huge waste of money when I was a kid. I only played it for one session. It’s so fucking empty

[@Mintcar923]

So this is part of the Nier series?

[@thorhighheels]

The other way around. Nier is part of the Drakengard series.

[@Mintcar923]

ThorHighHeels I have Neir 1.. Should I go right from that to Automata? Or are these older ones worth playing beforehand??

[@thorhighheels]

The connections are loose, so you can play Nier just fine without having played the Drakengard games.

[@Mintcar923]

@@thorhighheelsSorry a little late.. I just started Drakengard 3 yesterday lol Weirdly I noticed it has a similar vibe to the far more recent FF 16 which I play quite regularly.. Dunno if it’s intentional or coincidence

[@trevorbelmond908]

ok what do you guys expected its a game made in 2004

[@nikodem123asdf]

It's a game made to be a launch title but it was delayed to 2004. Saying it was released in 2004 is a bad argument cause that would be insulting to many much better playing games of the genre released at the time or prior, like Chaos Legion, Bujingai, and hell what about Panzer Dragoon and Dynasty Warriors

[@kvltizt]

So? Metal Gear Solid is quite a bit older and has pretty deep mechanics compared to this.

[@SparksBots]

ijust saw this and im so dissatisfied with your video and comments

[@FredHerbert999]

12:13 hahahahahaha

[@000Chill000]

REMAKE

[@SparksBots]

wow you got a lot of people that hate for this!!!

[@Evanz111]

You're reviewing a 2004 game in 2015 yet acting as though it was meant to be a game made in 2015. At its time, it wasn't as basic as you're making out, it's just bad in comparison to now-evolved games.

[@yourfriendlyneighborhoodfb2626]

Drakengard is not excused for being on the PS2, there were tons of games on the PS2 with way more depth in their battle systems Kingdom hearts, Devil may cry, etc. The gameplay was bad back then too.

[@FelixS.]

Infinite view kingdom Hearts and complex combat 😂 Next you assume kingdom Hearts has a good story 😂😂😂

[@hb-robo]

+FelixAJS 02 You go play KH2.5 and tell me how laughable it it to try to beat all of the Data XIII and Lingering Will on Critical Mode. KH1 is very simple but KH2 is fairly advanced, and certainly makes Drakengard look like a pile of actual garbage gameplay-wise

[@tadaokou4919]

...Devil Kings is on the PS2...

[@night1952]

Nah dude, the story is great, but the gameplay is pure garbage even for it's time (i played it when it came out and still own it)

[@hamburguesaSINcorazon]

No combos? Did you even know how to play this game?

[@thorhighheels]

Nope. I also didn't know about the different weapons & stuff.

[@albiedangazone3417]

I will find you, and steal that blessed game from you. You unappreciative fool who lost his taste to bond with his dragon.

[@johnsmith-vm9kc]

You didn't even talk about the giant canable baby ending or multiple endings for that matter definitely one of your worst reviews this games is amazing for it's time