Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Drakengard

Written by Matt Partington on January 24, 2003

First Impressions: May the name butchering begin!

The year of 2003 shows more hope for the RPG genre than any in a long time. Already in the first to second quarter we're seeing such big titles as Xenosaga, .hack, Dark Cloud 2, and Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. We've also seen one of the biggest news events of the year unmaskЦthe massive merger between the two biggest names in the RPG biz, Enix and Square. Enix may not be nearly as big as Square here in the states but in Japan it's a totally different story. Some speed bumps were hit at first, but it seems as though the business deal has put itself back on track. Even though we won't see any effects of the merger anytime soon (meaning Final Quest XXI won't be around the corner for awhile), Enix has revealed their new action-RPG, Drakengard. And I must say, with considering the minimum information unveiled for far, Drakengard is one of the more intriguing games we've seen so far.

At the center of the story is Kaimu, a 24-year old man who is the prince of a small country. Problem is, his kingdom is being raided by a neighboring empire, whose Black Dragon militia murdered his parents. For power and protection, Kaimu replies upon his trusty Red Dragon. Kaimu's Red Dragon unwillingly agreed to give him her power, but for a priceЦKaimu has been entailed with an emblem in his mouth which takes away his ability to speak. It seems as though Kaimu could make even the biggest badasses like Dante from Devil May Cry weep for their mommy.

Oh, but it gets better; Furiae is Kaimu's 19-year old sister. Not only that, but five years ago a goddess called for Furiae to maintain peace in the land as well as protect and oversee the existing dragons. (Quite a task, indeed.) Despite this, Furiae finds no reason to live and is constantly fretting over her brother's safetyЦparticularly after the siege on the kingdom and Kaimu's departure.

Land taken, parents killed, unable to see his own sister, Kaimu is put under all extremes. This is where it's expected that Drakengard will turn into a quest for vengeance. Against who, though? The kingdom that attacked him? The religion that withholds his sister? There's undoubtedly shades of gray in Drakengard since Enix has yet to give us the story details, but it's undeniably interesting so far.

Drakengard doesn't fail to present an unique battle system either. Even though specifics still have yet to be told, we have the general gist of things. Combat takes place in three areas: ground, low sky and air. All three potentially seem to provide very unique experiences, therefore enhancing Drakengard's gameplay. You might note on the information sidebar that Drag-on isn't simply an RPG, but indeed and action-RPG. Therefore we can only hope that Enix provides the goods when it comes to action, and puts another great twist to the game.

Air battle is fought via dragons and other flying creatures and objects. At first glance, it seems to resemble such games as Skies of Arcadia and Panzer Dragoon. As far as we know, these battles will be more like a shooter with a lock-on type crosshair. Ground battles are the complete opposite of sky (obviously), mainly because no longer will your dragon provide help. Weapons such as swords and shields are the fancy. Lastly is low sky battle. Low sky is a hybrid of the two, where you fly upon your dragon with arrows and such flying in your direction. We've seen time and time again that the more a battle system features, the deeper the entire experience becomes. Hopefully Drakengard can follow this formula well enough to maintain its truth.

I won't lie when I say that Drakengard's visual flair first beguiled me. If you haven't seen, there's a Japanese trailer of Drag-on that's been released on the official site. For the most part, it's a collection of CG movies that hardly tell anything about the game at allЦexcept that it's a visual masterpiece. Drakengard's CGs are parallel to even the best on the best, including Final Fantasy X. All from the atmosphere, character movement, effects and everything in between are stellar. If Drakengard fails in every other aspect around, it surely supplies plenty in the graphics department.