Drakengard 3: 3 Reasons To Be Excited

The recent release of Famitsu over in Japan has dropped a new title in development from Japanese developers Access Games. That game is Drakengard 3. It’s been a long while since the last Drakengard game was released, so it’s highly likely the game won’t be a direct sequel to the Drakengard games, although having said that Nier (a game by the same people involved, but under Cavia), was a sequel of sorts to Drakengard 1 as it carried on the story long after one of Drakegard 1’s endings. The info that has poured out so far for the game suggest new characters anyway, so it’ll be a frantic new ride with the original game creators still at the helm. Here are 3 reasons to be excited for this game (and hope it gets localised…).

Drakengard 3: 3 Reasons To Be Excited

3) Dragons

While a lot of games recently have included dragons within their lore, few have given you good freedom to control and ride dragons while also attacking enemies. Dragons are awesome, but they are even cooler when you can control them yourself. Games like Skyrim and Dark Souls and The Witcher 2 don’t really give you that satisfaction, aside from actually fighting dragons. Utilising a dragon in Drakengard games is part of the main focus of the game, so there will be a lot of it. The question will be whether it’s good. Granted, Drakengard games haven’t been known for their gameplay outside of being mindless hack and slash, but I feel like the developers improved with the gameplay in Nier. Honestly, I was one of the few that found the gameplay fun. Not wholly solid, and kind of easy, but still pretty fun. I’d like to see them retry the formula for dragon riding and see how far they can take it.

2) Soundtrack

Whilst Drakengard may not be known for its soundtrack, Nier definitely is. Nier has a beautiful soundtrack that not only provides beautiful music, but also correlates it to the gameplay on screen. Nier is one of the few games to provide musical variations for active gameplay moments versus exploration. That sense of build-up fit the game really well. Best of all, the music tends to really fit the atmosphere of the games (both Drakengard and Nier) and even help elevate the lore of the world. Tunes like ‘Song of the Ancients‘ and ‘The Lost Forest‘ help to provide a sense of understanding to what has happened in the world of Nier. And to be fair, Drakengard’s music was pretty good too. It’s weird to praise a game’s soundtrack as reason to look forward to a sequel, but it is a pretty unique experience. On the official site for Drakengard 3 located here, we’re already treated to a beautiful melody from the game. The more the merrier.

1) Twisted Story

I love a good story in a video game. Personally, I don’t feel like dark or unconventional stories should be praised simply for being different than the norm. They should still be judged on merit of the story and characters, regardless of setting and atmosphere. With that in mind, I still feel like the story contained within the Drakengard and Nier games is pretty damn good. Sure, there are still a lot of liberties being taken by the developers, but the core parts of the story still tend to be handled really well. The underlying plot is conveyed well and the dark and twisted themes simply make it rather unique. As I said before, Nier is a sequel to Drakengard 1’s Ending 5/E, but it takes place many years after Drakengard 1. Reading up on the history of what took place between the two games is enthralling in itself. Drakengard 3 hasn’t been given a setting yet in the Drakengard timeline, but I’m sure it’ll be another unique experience with crazy characters. Some of the early images already show a girl with a flower in her right eye. I’d say that’s par for the course in this series.

Here’s hoping to another great game!