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    Drakengard 3

    Game » consists of 8 releases. Released Dec 19, 2013

    Drakengard 3 brings the series's trademark mixture of hack and slash combat and unorthodox storytelling to the PlayStation 3.

    Review/thoughts thread

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    Steadying

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    So unsurprisingly, there's barely any reviews for this game out there right now, and while it is still early, I doubt there will be very many. But I wanted to go ahead and make this thread anyway, because out of the two reviews that I've seen so far, they've actually been surprisingly positive! The story is good (as expected), but they even compliment the gameplay which is pretty damn awesome since that's the big elephant in the room when talking about Cavia games.

    Destructoid - 8.5
    Polygon - 7.0

    It's off to a pretty good start, so that's nice. I was expecting the reviews were just gonna be " what is Drakengard? I don't like this, it's too weird for me! ", which they very well may end up being later on today, but still. Good start.

    Have any of you guys been able to play this yet? I ordered the collector's edition, so I probably won't be able to play it for quite some time. (Our mail people around here are not the greatest, to say the least).

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    Hailinel

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    I ordered the collector's edition as well. I'm really looking forward to it, damn whatever the reviews say.

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    musubi

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    Wait...I thought Cavia games went under? Huh.

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    Steadying

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    @demoskinos: They did, this is done by the studio that did Deadly Premonition. I think.

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    TruthTellah

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    I imagine we'll see some more reviews roll in. It just isn't the same kind of game as those "must release review by midnight or no one will care" ones. I'm guessing GameSpot and Kotaku will probably weigh in eventually, as well.

    I'm curious about reviews for Transistor coming out today, but I know this has been pretty anticipated by some, as well. I watched someone play it in Japanese a while back, and it seems like a competent action title. Plus a very sexual and silly story. Hopefully people will enjoy it.

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    TruthTellah

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    @demoskinos: They did, this is done by the studio that did Deadly Premonition. I think.

    You are correct sir!

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    musubi

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    @steadyingmeat: Ah okay. You mentioning Cavia had me scratching my head there. Glad to see if turned out well! Although Ill be honest I have no clue what this game or series even is.

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    Flappy

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    I got the Collecter's Edition in the mail yesterday, but all I did was install the DLC and read 80% of the Novella.

    I'm diggin' it a lot.

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    donchipotle

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    I've dumped about, let's call it four hours into the game so far. I'm on chapter 3. As someone who kind of has a huge love of Nier and a huge hatred but total respect for the first Drakengard, so far I'm digging it, though it comes with some very clear issues. It's very much in line with the Drakengard games, in that chapters are broken into verses and are kind of quick paths through not-so-interesting environments while goons attack you and the dragon parts that come with it.

    Unlike Drakengard, the combat is a lot faster paced. You can swap between four weapons on the fly, and in mid-combo, but there's not a whole lot of depth to be had. I've mostly been sticking to swords since they are really effective at taking out groups of dudes easily. I don't find the combat in this to be a chore like I did in Drakengard 1, which is going to make the whole playing verses over again thing a lot less annoying.

    The environments so far haven't been anything special, and I do think Nier had a more interesting world design. Though the characters look better and seem to emote more. Which is helpful. The levels have all been super straight forward, often quite literally, broken up by doors that close until you kill every enemy. So, you know, it's Drakengard. Intoner mode helps out with these sections. Intoner mode is like your rage mode. You get covered in blood from your enemies and ativate it and your attacks get way stronger and faster.

    It has some framerate issues, especially when you summon your dragon for help. Holy christ does it drop quickly when that happens. That might honestly be my biggest complaint so far. Well, that and the camera. The lock-on can be problematic when up against larger enemies, especially in a confined location. As in the camera, while locked on, might just snap to a view of the wall and obscure everything. I have had better luck not using lock on and just using the dodge move to do my attacking since dodging around enemies will circle around them and allow you to attack easily.

    Can't comment much on the story since for one thing it's still early going an for another I doubt playing through it once will even get me the whole story anyway. But as far as characters go, Mikhail is probably the best, partly due to his voice actor and partly do to how he interacts with Zero, who I really can't stop picturing as Mitsuru Kirijo. Thanks, Tara Platt. Zero is a weird character but I don't dislike her. She kind of comes off as a lesser Kaine. Less vulgar but equally as dismissive and angry.

    But so far I'm enjoying it. It's a hell of a game and I am curious as to how this thing unfurls. At this point, I'm prepared for literally anything.

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    Steadying

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    @donchipotle: Heh, yep, I'm also probably gonna be thinking about Mitsuru the entire time. XD

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    Humanity

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    @donchipotle: So I never played any of the previous Drakengards but recently beat Nier and for all it's gameplay shortcomings thought the story was pretty wild. Is this game on par with Nier in terms of gameplay thus far? As in, fairly tedious and straightforward running back and forth? To be honest I thought everything apart from the boss battles was absolutely terrible in Nier, and the constant backtracking was the worst. From what you wrote this almost doesn't even sound like you have that much free movement at all - is it open world or is it a linear progression type of game? I checked my online retailers in this crazy part of the world and no one is even listing it online so I'll have to go to some shops and look around.

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    donchipotle

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    #12  Edited By donchipotle

    @humanity said:

    @donchipotle: So I never played any of the previous Drakengards but recently beat Nier and for all it's gameplay shortcomings thought the story was pretty wild. Is this game on par with Nier in terms of gameplay thus far? As in, fairly tedious and straightforward running back and forth? To be honest I thought everything apart from the boss battles was absolutely terrible in Nier, and the constant backtracking was the worst. From what you wrote this almost doesn't even sound like you have that much free movement at all - is it open world or is it a linear progression type of game? I checked my online retailers in this crazy part of the world and no one is even listing it online so I'll have to go to some shops and look around.

    It is not open world at all. It is chapter/level based and each level is self-contained. A level might contain some minor platforming, but for the most part it is linear paths leading to arenas and then back to the paths. The later levels might open up a bit in terms of pathing, but the early stages are all just linear paths with turns and arenas thrown in to gate progress. The dragon levels are on rails. As far as gameplay goes, it follows the Drakengard style of progression but the Nier style of actual combat. Drakengard never had great combat. That this one is as fast paced as it is is actually a relief.

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    SMTDante89

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    Humanity

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    @donchipotle: oh so this is sort of like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta in that the story is broken up into levels that follow an A-to-B path? That almost sounds preferable than running back and forth all the time. It's also crazy since I heard this game is like 40hrs long.

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    donchipotle

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    @humanity said:

    @donchipotle: oh so this is sort of like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta in that the story is broken up into levels that follow an A-to-B path? That almost sounds preferable than running back and forth all the time. It's also crazy since I heard this game is like 40hrs long.

    Yeah, sort of like that. After every level you can go back and replay any section to look for missed chests or to grind money for upgrades or things like that. As far as length goes, the game has four endings. And if it is anything at all like Drakengard 1 (or even Nier, to a lesser extent) getting the last couple of endings will require some effort.

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    SMTDante89

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    @humanity said:

    @donchipotle: oh so this is sort of like Devil May Cry or Bayonetta in that the story is broken up into levels that follow an A-to-B path? That almost sounds preferable than running back and forth all the time. It's also crazy since I heard this game is like 40hrs long.

    I know there are multiple endings to unlock, and I've read a few people say that's why it's about 40 hours long, and it's likely worth unlocking each one.

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    Humanity

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    @donchipotle: so last question, and be completely honest here without sugar coating it: is it actually fun to play? Or is it just "ehh" and you're going through it for the story?

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    donchipotle

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    @humanity said:

    @donchipotle: so last question, and be completely honest here without sugar coating it: is it actually fun to play? Or is it just "ehh" and you're going through it for the story?

    I'm not having the same kind of fun I would be if I was playing a Bayonetta or Devil May Cry since it isn't as refined when it comes to the combat mechanics, but I'm not actively turned off by it. I think the combat is better than it was in Nier, which I thought had pretty weak combat all around. I think it is fun to play, but I also think that the Dynasty Warriors games are fun to play, so my viewpoint is admittedly skewed. I would totally understand people thinking the game isn't fun if they go in expecting an action RPG with depth to its combat.

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    Flappy

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    I'm digging the overall package thus far, but the framerate can be pretty dicey at times.

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    deactivated-60dda8699e35a

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    For those of you who played this game, I have some quick questions:

    1. Can you play this without playing the previous games? I honestly have NO idea what this franchise is about, so I don't want to go into this if it's not willing to explain to me what is going on.

    2. How dark is this game? I mean this as in, is this world really depressing, or does it have an optimistic outlook, stuff like that.

    Depending on the answers to these questions, I might give it a go.

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    Steadying

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    #21  Edited By Steadying

    @random45:

    1) I haven't played it yet, but it's a prequel. So chances are you'd be pretty okay with playing this game without playing 1/2/Nier, though there will almost definitely be references to them.

    2) I've actually heard this game is way more upbeat and goofy than previous games in the series. Which kinda disappoints me. But there ya go. Again, I haven't played it, but this is what I've seen almost everyone who has played the game say about it. At the same time, though, it takes place in the freaking world of Drakengard, so it'll probably still have some moments of really disturbing/depressing stuff.

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    deactivated-60dda8699e35a

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    @steadyingmeat said:

    @random45:

    1) I haven't played it yet, but it's a prequel. So chances are you'd be pretty okay with playing this game without playing 1/2/Nier, though there will almost definitely be references to them.

    2) I've actually heard this game is way more upbeat and goofy than previous games in the series. Which kinda disappoints me. But there ya go. Again, I haven't played it, but this is what I've seen almost everyone who has played the game say about it. At the same time, though, it takes place in the freaking world of Drakengard, so it'll probably still have some moments of really disturbing/depressing stuff.

    Thanks for the quick response.

    I don't necessarily mind depressing games, (The Last of Us springs to mind), but I just remember hearing something about the ending to one of the previous Drakengard games being a huge downer or something like that. If there's one thing I can't stand it's downer endings. If this game is more upbeat, then I'm all for that.

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    donchipotle

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    #23  Edited By donchipotle

    @random45 said:

    For those of you who played this game, I have some quick questions:

    1. Can you play this without playing the previous games? I honestly have NO idea what this franchise is about, so I don't want to go into this if it's not willing to explain to me what is going on.

    2. How dark is this game? I mean this as in, is this world really depressing, or does it have an optimistic outlook, stuff like that.

    Depending on the answers to these questions, I might give it a go.

    1: You will be fine. It is a prequel set, I think a century before the first game. There might be references, but nothing that will keep you from understanding the story.

    2: So far it isn't so much dark as it is strange. The basic plot is about your character trying to kill five other characters. But Yoko Taro does not make games where things remain lighthearted. The world as presented in the game isn't at war or anything, but I wouldn't expect things to remain the same at the end as they are at the start. But given the personalities of one of the characters in the game, it makes up for depression with debauchery But not in the gratuitous way.

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    Steadying

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    @random45: Yeah, some of the alternate endings of Drakengard are really, really depressing. That said, those endings are also non-cannon. Except one that is technically cannon if you play Nier. But that one's not that depressing, just kinda......" uh k. "

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    Hailinel

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    @random45: Yeah, some of the alternate endings of Drakengard are really, really depressing. That said, those endings are also non-cannon. Except one that is technically cannon if you play Nier. But that one's not that depressing, just kinda......" uh k. "

    Until you learn the full extent of what happens between that ending and Nier.

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    donchipotle

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    @random45: Yeah, some of the alternate endings of Drakengard are really, really depressing. That said, those endings are also non-cannon. Except one that is technically cannon if you play Nier. But that one's not that depressing, just kinda......" uh k. "

    That ending is totally depressing. Just not in Drakengard.

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    Steadying

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    Yes, I was talking about when you actually see it in Drakengard guys. >:|

    Though truth be told, I was actually a little bummed out when I first saw that ending.

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    donchipotle

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    I dunno, I think that ending is kind of depressing in Drakengard. Given the monumental task needed to even see it. That is your reward for the end of that game. That's depressing.

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    Slag

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    Dang I forgot this was coming out so soon, I'm going to have a busy summer getting caught up. I've been wanting to get back into this series.

    Although Ill be honest I have no clue what this game or series even is.

    It's kind of hard to explain, if memory serves The original Drakengard was basically like a giant Dynasty Warriors combat game (single warrior fights huge mobs mashing a few buttons with the occasional super from a Third person perspective while on a timer) crossed with Panzer Dragoon (you are bound to a dragon you can call upon demand and fight with) coupled with perhaps the darkest and deranged story I've ever seen in a video game. None of the individual parts are that amazing but the combined cocktail is pretty great.

    It's a unique experience, I can't think of another series quite like it. The combat is perhaps is bit repetitive and the levels tend to be long and tense (with music too match), but it is entrancing experience. One thing I appreciated just how dangerous the story felt for the protagonists, it felt like anything could happen to anybody at any time. Plus man so many endings, I think I put ~25 hours into that game to unlock them all.

    I haven't played Nier (I didn't care much for Drakengard 2), but I think people generally like that one the best.

    If you've never played the series it's definitely worth experiencing at least one of the titles.

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    Junpei

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    I've been playing since monday (CE came in early) and I'm finding it to be a mixed bag. The big elephant is the technical issues previously mentioned. Frame drops when you summon the dragon to an arena fight is the biggest issue in my opinion. That and every boss/sub-boss fight always seems to end up with the boss against a wall and me at their feet making the camera go completely insane. I'm used to camera issues from a bunch of other games though at this point so that I can live with.

    I think the thing that is leaving me most conflicted is the tonal shift from the older games. I think the base premise of the story has a ton of potential and thus far (middle of Ch 4) I don't think it has been done justice. Everything just feels super goofy but with these brief glimpses of the seriousness underneath from time to time. I don't normally care for Polygon, but their review saying that things turn as the game goes on and it becomes a bit more serious is something I hope comes to pass as I progress further. A little humor is fine, but it just feels like they are trying super hard to play it up in the early chapters of this one. Same goes for the sexual humor. It's fine that it is there, but when you have to remind me about it every 30 seconds of ambient dialog then it starts to reach the point of diminishing return pretty dang quick.

    The only other complaint thus far is the lack of dragon missions. So far I have done one level with the Panzer Dragoon style air combat. There are a few instances of riding above an arena (including one in a very confined space for a boss fight that feels like a poor design choice to enclose a dragon sequence), but when it comes to a pure air-combat dragon sequence it seems to be an afterthought thus far.

    I'm gonna keep going cause I want to know where the story goes, but it really is a mixed bag thus far. Hopefully the typical crazy twists and story arcs come to pass as I get closer to the ending(s).

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    IamTerics

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    #32  Edited By IamTerics

    @junpei: I haven't played other games in the series but I agree on the tone. I'm only midway through CH2. After the flower in her eye does its nasty thing. I found it super strange, kind of weirded me out. Specifically the way CH1 ends.

    The gameplay is fun enough but, damn the framrerate is terrible.

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    Bocam

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    I'm replaying the first two games and the English voices are fucking corny. How's the dub for the third one?

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    Junpei

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    @iamterics: The older Drakengard games were much more serious compared to 3. It's almost like they reveled in going out of their way to make the player uncomfortable at times. In fact I'd possibly argue that the party characters in D1 are potentially more "broken" and have more sketchy backstories than a fair amount of the villains do.

    I'm at the end of Ch 5 getting ready to take on One and things seem to be leveling out tonally. If it is anything like the older games (and Nier) then most of the serious exposition is going to come in the additional endings (there are 4 endings in this game).

    @bocam: The dub is alright. They didn't really put any effort into trying to sync the dialog with the mouth animations though. They do offer the Japanese audio as DLC ($5), but I wouldn't bother since there is a lot of ambient dialog from your enemies that does not get subtitled.

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    donchipotle

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    #35  Edited By donchipotle

    @bocam said:

    I'm replaying the first two games and the English voices are fucking corny. How's the dub for the third one?

    It stars all your favorite voice actors from every game from Japan. The voice work is fine, if a bit samey. The voice actors for the partner characters at least seem to have had fun recording the kind of dumb sexual humor. So there's that going for it.

    @junpei said:

    I think the thing that is leaving me most conflicted is the tonal shift from the older games. I think the base premise of the story has a ton of potential and thus far (middle of Ch 4) I don't think it has been done justice. Everything just feels super goofy but with these brief glimpses of the seriousness underneath from time to time. I don't normally care for Polygon, but their review saying that things turn as the game goes on and it becomes a bit more serious is something I hope comes to pass as I progress further. A little humor is fine, but it just feels like they are trying super hard to play it up in the early chapters of this one. Same goes for the sexual humor. It's fine that it is there, but when you have to remind me about it every 30 seconds of ambient dialog then it starts to reach the point of diminishing return pretty dang quick.

    I thought the sexual humor was fine until Octa showed up. Then it just went up to 11.

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    ike7779

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    #36  Edited By ike7779

    Definitely enjoying it, the game is just too ridiculous. Love the music, like the art style, and the simplistic combat is actually pretty nice to unwind to. Replayability seems there with the different weapon types & chapter select. Makes me super nostalgic for NieR.

    Took some screenshots of my last session so here's my review:

    No Caption Provided

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    Junpei

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    So I finished ending A and am on branch B now. Yea, I'm definitely on board with where this is going at this point. The enemy AI also seems to be getting more aggressive as well which is making the whole combat experience better as well.

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    Devil240Z

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    I was a huge fan of the first drakengard. I thought the gameplay was awesome. Murdering tons of people and getting tons of new weapons. Is this one similar to the first one gameplay wise. I really didn't care about the story it was all about the gameplay for me.

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    Steadying

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    @devil240z: Yep, it's still totally a Drakengard game. Seems a bit faster paced than 1 and 2, though.

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    Flappy

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    Yeah, you shouldn't read this unless you're at the Endgame (Branch D) and familiar with Drakengard's endings.

    Man...Fuck the Final Verse. I never got to Drakengard's E ending back in the day, but after fiddling with the end of Branch D, I think I have a good grasp of what everyone experienced. Don't get me wrong; I can dig playing a funky rhythm game to cap off an ultra-violent gaming experience, but it really hurts when each failed attempt leads to about 60 seconds of waiting before I can try again. On the flipside, the music is awesome and I get some weird enjoyment out of the way the game tries to fuck me over during the 8~ minute song. I'll conquer this thing sometime this weekend.

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    Steadying

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    #41  Edited By Steadying

    @flappy: Oh God I wanna read that so badly.....but my copy still isn't here. D:

    @hailinel Have you gotten yours yet?

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    Junpei

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    @flappy: So tempted to read, but I'm currently collecting all the weapons to unlock path D. I hear there is a sequence in branch D that is a real pain though.

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    Hailinel

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    @steadyingmeat: Mine came, but I've got family visiting and I'm chugging away at Bravely Default, so I haven't started playing yet.

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    Flappy

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    #44  Edited By Flappy

    @steadyingmeat: I hope your copy gets to you safely! The game may have its faults, but I believe that it's the most interesting games I've played in 2014.

    @junpei said:

    @flappy: So tempted to read, but I'm currently collecting all the weapons to unlock path D. I hear there is a sequence in branch D that is a real pain though.

    It's not that bad. Well, it can be, but it's due to a couple of smaller things adding up into a bigger one. I see it as something that can be relatively easy for one person and incredibly annoying for another. I'm taking a bit of a break before I tackle it again.

    Edit: I'm such a fraud. :(

    Final Edit: Finally beat it. Practice makes perfect.

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    #45  Edited By Junpei

    @flappy said:

    It's not that bad. Well, it can be, but it's due to a couple of smaller things adding up into a bigger one. I see it as something that can be relatively easy for one person and incredibly annoying for another. I'm taking a bit of a break before I tackle it again.

    Edit: I'm such a fraud. :(

    Final Edit: Finally beat it. Practice makes perfect.

    Congrats. All I need to get is the final Chakram from the side mission and I'm all set for the final branch. Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing.

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    #46  Edited By beforet

    I haven't read the thread because I want to avoid spoilers for some reason. I'm only so far into the game, like maybe say 2/5 (from my understanding on how this is going to go) and I have some thoughts so far.

    This game is definitely a Drakengard product, and that's not a compliment. It's generally speaking poorly made, low budget, the framerate is inexcusable this late in the console cycle, and the lipsyncing in cutscenes is atrocious. So, you know, it's Drakengard.

    But at the same time, it's not. I don't know how I would define Drakengard, but what I've seen so far isn't it. This may be because I have a flawed idea of what makes a Drakengard. Drakengard to me is dark to the point of trying too hard, without feeling like it's trying too hard in the moment. With the original game (and bear in mind, I completely acknowledge my rose tinted glasses), it wasn't until I was describing the porcelain baby apocolypse after the fact that it started to feel ridiculous. D3 kinda just has that as a default.

    D3 is...different, I will grant it that. It's approach to sex is juvenile, but its explicitness is at least unexpected, and that much I will give the game credit for. That said, the comic asides are not entirely welcome, and the game feels like it's playing its hand too often.

    I dislike the change from "kinda crappy dynasty warriors" to "kinda crappy 3-d beat-em-up." I liked kinda crappy Dynasty Warriors. I liked being able to jump on a dragon when I wanted, and the dragon missions were more common.

    Overall, I'm unimpressed, which means that D3 is meeting my expectations. I'm entirely open to the later game changing my mind; it is Taro Yoko after all, and he's a late game kinda guy. The localization is decent if spotty (every single time Zero says "Dummy" I hear some otaku kid shouting "Baka!" and it infuriates me to no end), and the banter has been good, if shockingly colloquial for what is apparently a medieval fantasy story and not nearly on the same level as Nier - but that's a different game all together, and it would be unfair to compare the two too much.

    Also, I miss the British accents of the first game.Bring those back, mur.

    P.S.: One other thougtht that kinda unifies my other feelings. I feel that this game is trying to run off the "Oh my god this game is sooo twisted flying babies" situation that garnered the cult following the first game had, and was distressingly lacking in the second game. Just things like "oh, this guy is loudly and obviously a sadist, and this one is a masochist" just feel like, again, it's trying to hard. I get that it's largely because the localization completely defanged it, but I feel that Leonard's pedophilia or Furiae's incestuous feelings weren't played as strongly or over the top. Despite how strange it was, Drakengard 1 was a very muted game, in almost everything, and that's something Drakengard 3 is badly lacking.

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    @flappy said:

    Yeah, you shouldn't read this unless you're at the Endgame (Branch D) and familiar with Drakengard's endings.

    Man...Fuck the Final Verse. I never got to Drakengard's E ending back in the day, but after fiddling with the end of Branch D, I think I have a good grasp of what everyone experienced. Don't get me wrong; I can dig playing a funky rhythm game to cap off an ultra-violent gaming experience, but it really hurts when each failed attempt leads to about 60 seconds of waiting before I can try again. On the flipside, the music is awesome and I get some weird enjoyment out of the way the game tries to fuck me over during the 8~ minute song. I'll conquer this thing sometime this weekend.

    Oh, buddy, the one in Drakengard is a walk in the park compared to the one in 3. At least in the first one the camera doesn't zoom and pan and remove your character from the screen in the middle of a timing heavy rhythm section. In the first one you could buffer your attacks.

    I finished the game. I even got the Platinum for it. I'm waiting until all the Intoner DLC drops before collecting my full thoughts on it. I will say that even though it was put out by Access Games, in the end Drakengard 3 is still Cavia as fuck.

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    One last note: I've been made aware that in Japan there was DLC for a Caim outfit which included Caim's Sword. I have seen no way to acquire this DLC for the US release. This chagrins me to no end.

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    @beforet said:

    One last note: I've been made aware that in Japan there was DLC for a Caim outfit which included Caim's Sword. I have seen no way to acquire this DLC for the US release. This chagrins me to no end.

    The DLC is coming. Caim's costume increases your stamina. But the winner is Kaine's costume which increases the parry window. And parrying is super useful, so that's the costume to get.

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    @beforet said:

    One last note: I've been made aware that in Japan there was DLC for a Caim outfit which included Caim's Sword. I have seen no way to acquire this DLC for the US release. This chagrins me to no end.

    The DLC is coming. Caim's costume increases your stamina. But the winner is Kaine's costume which increases the parry window. And parrying is super useful, so that's the costume to get.

    Yeah, I saw those effects. I haven't been parrying, but I'm still early in the game, I think (I only have two party members so far, if that's not too spoilerish)

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