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Fun at first, but later aggravating for the casual gamer

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: September 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I picked up Drakengard 2 for $20 since I was wanting something of a medieval vein and RPG-like without the classic RPG combat interface that is about as menu-heavy as doing your taxes. At first, Drakengard filled this niche. Most of the other reviews have covered the general pros and cons of the game. It has full voiceover, which is typically nicely done, though the British accents are a little hammy. For sword-swinging mindless fun, it's pretty good at first. It does get pretty repetitive, though.

The real problem starts when you discover that there are 3 different endings. You must play the game through on Hard mode to get the second ending, and Extreme mode for the final and supposedly best ending. For the casual gamer, Normal mode will prove slightly challenging, but not really frustratingly so. Hard mode will step things up a bit, mostly in the form of enemies having more hit points and doing significantly more damage to your characters.

In Extreme mode, the difficulty steps up exponentially. Bosses can kill you in 1 hit no matter how high your levelled up. Your strongest swords will do fair damage to enemies, but you'll still be bashing each one 3, 4, or 5 times to take them down. Throw a couple hundred enemies into the fray, and that's a LOT of button mashing. As a result, you have to go through the game 3 times with increasingly frustrating difficulty levels. If you're one of those folks that likes to get all characters maxed out, and see having "1337" gaming skills as a major life accomplishment, you'll have no problem. If you are just a casual gamer, however, you'll start to question if the repeated playthrough and aggravation are worth seeing a varied ending and slightly different end level.

The real headache comes in the form of the final boss on Extreme mode. This boss is harder than anything else you will encounter in the game. I grappled with this same level for 3 hours straight for 3 days before deciding to invest the time in levelling up my character to max. At present, I can't tell you if that will have helped significantly. I still haven't beaten the game.

If you're a casual gamer that likes to swing a sword for an hour or so in the evening and not worry about maxing out a character just to have a sporting chance, this game is probably not for you. If you're willing to have a go at Normal mode and not worry about the endings for Hard and Extreme modes, you'll probably be okay. But if you're the type (like me) that figures you paid for the game, you might as well see what there is to see, stay away. The drive to see the final ending versus the frustration of the final boss is about like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer for fun.

Oh, I should mention there are NO CHEATS out there like health or god mode that can help you tackle the parts where you feel the difficulty factor outweighs the fun factor. I personally hate it when developers don't make such concessions to those of us that don't spend every waking moment playing video games.

I gave the game 3 stars for fun, because it is a fairly decent game at first. But I gave it a 1 overall because the frustration factor far overshadows anything out there. I might also mention the music is pretty grating. I shut it off and used the soundtrack to "King Arthur" and the Lord of the Rings soundtracks to provide ambience. The problem is the cutscenes' volume is controlled by the music volume, so you have to make sure to leave it on at least 1 so you can turn the TV up to hear the cutscenes.

A vast improvement

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: July 04, 2006
Author: Amazon User

As a pretty big fan of the first "Drakengard," I did my best to approach this sequel with some objectivity. I expected nothing more and nothing less than what its predecessor delivered.

I was pleasantly surprised, however, by the vast improvements Square-Enix et. al., made with this game. If you've played the first installment, then you are definitely familiar with the mind-numbingly repetitive music that seemed composed of only two or three different measures of music. This second game, however, has a much more varied soundtrack, and the music is far more lush and pleasing (as opposed to the harsh synthesizer music of the first).

They tweaked the way you use the additional characters as well. Instead of a limited "summon" of a character with even further limited attacks, they have allowed you to use all other playable characters whenever you want for as long as you want (as long as they are still in your party and you have at least one of their weapons equipped on the weapon wheel). This, to me, was a huge step in the right direction. Manah's magic is stupdendous. Urick's attacks are brutally strong, and Nowe is like the "Mario" of the group with his all-purpose talents, and "decent" skill level in everything. Although the gameplay CAN be repetitive, levelling up your various weapons and various characters may soothe any irritations you have over this repetition. If, however, the redundant repititious repeating (ha ha!) of the battles gets to you, then feel free to blast away at whatever targets there are and breeze through the levels.

Speaking of breezing through the levels, in Drakengard 2, you actually have that option in many of the air levels (which you NEVER had in the first one). Don't want to fight those obnoxious planes or griffins? Just fly straight to the target! Of course, this isn't available in every air mission, but still...!

The story line picks up eighteen years after the first game ended. It's an intriguing continuation on the original story, and my only complaint is that in a few cases, the character's actions were a bit contrived. Manah's reunion with her long-estranged brother Seere? Yeah...Not believable at all. Nowe and Manah's refusal to hear Seere out until after it's too late, and then they are (for seemingly no reason) adamant about finding him and hearing what he has to say? Silly...but necessary for plot development, perhaps? Nevertheless, I've seen many games with far worse flubs in storyline, so I overlooked this.

Basically, "Drakengard 2" is, as my title clearly states, a vast improvement over "Drakengard." More weapons than you can shake a stick at, TONS more super attacks (overdrive) for your dragon (you can EAT PEOPLE!), playable characters you can use for more than, like, thirty seconds (as in the first one) with weapons specific to them, incredible new spells, killer movie scenes, HEALTH AND MAGIC POTIONS YOU CAN BUY AND USE DURING BATTLE, and an interesting-enough story line make for a great game. I recommend this game to almost everyone.

Just FYI, too...try and get your combat chain up to 1,000...it's so cool!

Was this sequel necessary?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 9
Date: May 30, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I confess - I never played Drakengard. It seemed interesting enough, with a character wiping out loads of monsters DW3-like, and occasionally flying on a dragon to - wipe more monsters out. Ultimately, though, my lack of fiscal security kept me from purchasing the game.

However, it's 2006, and I have a high-paying job as a professor! Now, I have disposable income coming out my ears! So, enter Drakengard 2. And after playing it for a couple of days, I am left to wonder - why all the hubbub? The sequel is bad-to-mediocre, so either the original was great and they're milking the cash cow, or the original was just as bad and they're...milking the cash cow?

The fact is, this game is clunky, with controls that just plain stink. Thankfully, none of that matters, as the monsters fall easy enough, but with the incredible number of games in this genre out there (I can think of about 10 Dynasty Warrior titles, e.g.), you'd think they would do a better job. Plot? Not much to talk about here - you pretty much can get the gist of it from the back of the box. Action? Quite a bit, but it's really boring (IMHO)...

This game might have been OK had I got it for $19.99, but at the price it's going for, save your money.

The Dragon Boy Enters The Knights!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

*The begining is just my reaction and happiness*
Well i never thought i see Drakengard 2 come out but it came out in japan but what really surprised me was the release here. The day i heard it was going to also be a US release i smiled with joy since the first one was so good in my opinion. Well time went by and the release date wasn't given. Then after a few months i checked and it was coming out on tuesday the 17! I mean i just looked and it was sunday night. So i of course call to make sure at my local video game store if there getting it and they gladly say "Yes we will be reciving that on tuesday" Well i was set. The days took forever to finish but once done i drove to the store and grabbed a copy of the game along with Xbox 360. I get home, open it up, look at the nice cover, and put the game into my PS2!

THE GAME -

First i noticed were the voices, at first i couldn't stand the dragon's voice but over time you begin to really enjoy it. Then i knew there would be 12 Chapters which at first i was like "ONLY 12!?" But soon after i found out some chapters have up to 11 Verses in each chapter and some of those verses could take up to a hour. Well when you start you could pick either Easy or Normal mode and i choose Easy to get use to it and good thing i did because later on chapters begin to get hard. If you played the first you know the big thing was the multi endings, well there back. Maybe only three this time but there quite larger and with the beatiful CGI into work you could really enjoy it.

The CGI Cinme's are great but the regular graphics are that hot. I mean you could get passed them but they aren't "Up To Date". Next thing i must point out is there are alot of twist and surprises in this game and i'm sure you will enjoy. The sadness of the first game is back so this game is not for the weak of heart.

The fighting system has improved big time. Each weapon has it's own special and there are four speacials for that one weapon. The ultimate special is always nice looking and does a mass amount of damage while the first hurts many but usally doesn't kill them. The dragon system is better then the first and it's always fun to have a special that could wipe out forty or fifty soldiers at a time.

There are now four playable characters and after you beat the game the first time you will have to play on a harder mode you could use them all. *Spoilers* Come characters you can't use do to the story results*

So in the end this game is a worty game that should not be ignored. I promise any RPG fan out there will get some joy our of this game for it has alot of elements from RPG's and adventure players will have a great time.
Final Score - 4 1/2

very fun, a little lacking...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: May 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

where to start, where to start... ok, I randomly bought this game because i had nothing else to do. I have enjoyed it pretty thoroughly from the beginning to end for the most part... there are a few drawbacks and a few boost ups so ill get to those...

STORY - this game takes place 18 years after the first one (which i never played, but will buy now). If you havent played the first one yet, you will be a little confused at first, but eventually you will piece everything together. The storyline in this one is really great. the cinematics are magnificent! some of the dialogue is retarded, but for the most part when they talk, its worth listening to. There are 5 characters to play as(Nowe, Legna, Eris, Manah, Urick), and a WHOOOOLE bundle of weapons to buy/pickup.

WEAPONS - There are ALOT of weapons to choose from, some of the damage amounts that it states are deceiving, but for the most part its all right. the cool thing about this game is that you dont only level up your character, you ALSO level up the weapons! each weapon has magic powers to it, trying each magic out is a blast, and leveling up each weapon also raises the attack power/size of the magic.

CHARACTERS - Each character has a different use (IE Urick is good against monsters, Manah is good against magicians). So its not just one of those games where you choose one person and play and play and play with them... well, you could, but it would take you FOREVER. AND you get a dragon to fly around on, on top of all this, now how cool is that?!

COMPLAINTS - ok, so i do indeed have a few of these... first off, the game gets VEEEEEERY repetative. For the first 10 chapters or so you are playing OVER AND OVER in the SAME levels... its very annoying... THEN, of course, the enemies you fight are the same ones OVER AND OVER, too! eventually they figured out during the making "wow, this is dumb, lets make some new enemies"... and they very retardedly came up with the same enemies, but they hang from the ceiling like podpeople or something and when you walk under them they fall and attack (their attack and defense is stronger)... oh, and did i mention they just changed their color to ALL green... its dumb... then, the suspense... i hate it, you beat SOOOOOo many bosses that SHOULD be the final boss, but nooooooo!!! oh well, its worth it in the end...

OVERALL RATING - so, overall, im giving this gamea 4... i gave it a 5 for fun because i had a blast learning all of the combos for all of the weapons (especially Manahs "dance move" combos, those were fantastic!). And the storyline was wonderful, to me at least. the game gets a 4 overall though, because it got a little boring after awhile with the same scenery and the same enemies over and over again... still, i would suggest this game to anyone, its a blast!!!

Drakengard 2= Drakengard + 1

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: September 11, 2006
Author: Amazon User

this game here has what drakengard should've got. First off....that thing about allies only being out for a certian amount of time is finish (thank god) now all u have to do is switch to the allies weapon to change to him/her. And thank you...no creepy music. Instead, the music is a lot more cheery and story is kind of the same thing....but a lot more conspiracy related. which i think makes u think more about what is happening. ok...to the gameplay, basically same thing...smash that square button and hope for the best right? WRONG! they've twisted it a little...now u use the triangle for a nice little upper cut slice giving u an opprutunity to finish a baddy in the air! and that circle for the weapons...that now includes potions and crystals and stuff for ur enjoyment. well...basically...this game is Drakengard + 1!

Interesting yet...oddly difficult.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The graphics and storyline are amazing, there's no doubt about that. The only issue about this game is that it's sometimes too difficult to obtain money to upgrade weapons or even get recovery potions.

What makes it even weirder is, that when you use different kinds of weapons, you sometimes get the same combo attacks. As it stands, Eris and Ulrick are the strongest characters, but you lose them early in the game to have them really be effective (except Eris, you do regain her later in the game). Manah is strong, really strong, especially with her staves and combos -- this also includes her magic attacks that obliterate the enemies. My one gripe is the main character himself (who surprisingly, I can't even remember the name). Not strong weapons and not strong magic attacks to boot. He's like, some kind of hybrid; a magic user and a melee user. This sucks even more when you're completely by yourself in around chapter 11 and have to obtain money to fight crazy Manahs.

Other than getting a minor HP boost, there really is no point in actually leveling. The only thing that really matters is leveling your weapons, which can be tedious or fast -- depending on the weapon. In the story, merchants say "this so and so weapon has magical powers and is super duper strong!" (obviously not with that wording) but it comes with some of the lowest attack power you've ever seen. How will you beat bosses with such a low attack power and a weapon that takes forever to level?

All in all, it's an okay game. I mean, if I had a gameshark, I'd probably use it so I wouldn't be bored trying to level my weapons or get infinite gold so I wouldn't have to go mission through mission just to help pay for potions.

Amazing game!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: September 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you are looking for a game that will wrap you inside it this is the game. The graphics are fantastic and the storyline is great!!

Button mashing nonsense

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: April 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

"Drakengard 2" takes place a few years after the original game. This time around, the main character is a lad called Nowe who's been recently inducted into the Knights of the Seal. It seems, however, that the Knights aren't the good guys they are purported to be and soon enough Nowe is switching sides to that of the local traitors and is off to save the world from the greed of the other Knights.

Players get to control characters other than Nowe, thereby getting to try out different main weapons and magic spells, but gameplay falls short when one realizes that all the action can be completed by basically mashing the square button over and over. So all those fance combos, power-ups, and spells really mean nothing in the end. What's more, so many of the enemies found in ground battles can often be completely ignored if they are not the main focus of a mission. Enemy AI is also rather dumb, as most of the monsters you encounter will slowly lumber up to you, ready to be destroyed.

Nowe also has a dragon partner named Legna. Legna allows the player to do battle from above or in the sky. Sky battles are just as slow as ground battles, unfortunately, with similarly stupid opponents, and sometimes even stationary series of cubes floating in the sky that need to be destroyed. And you'd think that Legna's fire breath would be a little more powerful than Nowe's sword, but in fact it pretty much takes as many number of hits to destroy enemies with it.

Graphically, the game is fine. The soundtrack could have been better as there are only a couple main themes that repeat ad nauseam. The voice work is the usual by the numbers kind of silliness that too many of these type of games employ. Overall, "Drakengard 2" is one that younger gamers or those new to real-time RPGs might enjoy (this even despite the odd "M" rating), but hardcore gamers will be left out in the rain with only the square button to hit over and over, successfully beating the title in no time at all.

So boring

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: August 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Just giving people a warning here. This game is very dull. The voice acting is poor, the dialogue is juvenile, and you can complete the game using a couple of buttons (just keep trying to hit something, maybe move around a little and eventually you'll kill it). Also, I have no idea why it is rated M. I wasn't looking for a gore fest or anything like that but this game would really be ok for a 12 year old (or younger) to play. Don't waste your money, please.

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