Drakengard

 PlayStation 2
Drakengard Image
Metascore
63

Mixed or average reviews - based on 55 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 158 Ratings

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  • Summary: Conflict has erupted between the Empire and the Union. The Empire, once part of the Union itself, has forsaken peace and accumulated awesome power in a surprisingly short time. Caim, a Union warrior and former prince of a small kingdom destroyed by the Empire, has received word that hisConflict has erupted between the Empire and the Union. The Empire, once part of the Union itself, has forsaken peace and accumulated awesome power in a surprisingly short time. Caim, a Union warrior and former prince of a small kingdom destroyed by the Empire, has received word that his castle is under attack. To make matters worse, his sister, Furiae, is still trapped within its walls. In an effort to save her, Caim manages to infiltrate the castle gates, but is mortally wounded in the battle. Slowly dying from his wounds, Caim comes upon a captured red dragon that also lies on the brink of death. Desperate to survive and continue his battle with the hated Empire, Caim decides to enter a pact with thedragon. By nature, the dragon herself is a proud beast that is unwilling to cooperate with humans, but she, too, has no choice but to accept Caims offer in order to live. The pact is a bitter compromise, as it requires the human partner to sacrifice some part of his or her body; the price for Caim is the power of speech. But the instant Caim joins souls with the dragon, the two pactpartners are given new life, and become bound together until death. With his strength restored, Caim rescues Furiae and sends her away to safety with a childhood friend, Inuart. Caim and the dragon then begin their quest to unravel the mystery behind the Empires sudden rise to power.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 34 out of 55
  3. Negative: 8 out of 55
  1. XGP Gaming
    83
    One of the most important factors of gameplay is the layout of the controller. Square Enix has done an excellent job of making all of your tasks simpler by utilizing the DualShock 2 efficiently and naturally.
  2. Gamezilla!
    78
    The dragon gameplay makes a good gimmick, and the story is strong, but for gameplay, it only has a Dynasty Warriors hack and slash system backed up by good experience gain.
  3. Game Over Online
    75
    A title that showed promise, but was hampered from soaring primarily because of its static, somewhat limited combat and graphical issues. This is a pity considering the solid storyline, numerous weapons and multiple endings lend themselves to a large amount of replayability.
  4. Game Power Australia
    65
    Perhaps if the developers had spent less time trying to blur the lines between roleplaying games and action titles, they could have focused their efforts on compelling combat – something that should be important in a game all about slicing and burning everything in sight.
  5. Electronic Gaming Monthly
    60
    The robust gameplay will keep you coming back. All three level types are totally engaging, and a wealth of secrets (hidden stages, dragons, and weapons) means that a weekend rental won't be nearly long enough. [Apr 2004, p.120]
  6. TotalGames.net
    54
    It's uninspired and pretty ugly.
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Gaming Age
    25
    It takes many of the flaws from "Dynasty Warriors" (i.e. repetitiveness and pop-in), and makes them much worse.

See all 55 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 36
  3. Negative: 9 out of 36
  1. NinaJ.
    Mar 8, 2004
    10
    Love, love, love this game! I'm not a fan of action games or fighting games, but I am a HUGE fan of the RPG. And I'm very, very Love, love, love this game! I'm not a fan of action games or fighting games, but I am a HUGE fan of the RPG. And I'm very, very picky! This game is gorgeous, addicting and engaging on all levels. The game-play and video graphics are eye-candy, the story line is totally engaging, and the action is non-stop. I don't know where the "repetitive" criticisms are coming from. Come on people, you have an ever-evolving storyline, interesting characters and 65 weapons to choose from! Plus a dragon to fight with, either in aerial or strafe mode! Plus, you can either play straight through or replay sequences as often as you like! There's a lot more, but I think I've gushed enough. Unless you suffer from terminal ennui and cannot be satisfied by anything, the only thing there is to hate about this game is the potential for sore hands (no really!)because you can't stop playing!… Expand
  2. carloszgz
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. increible ,bello unico y especial,muchas veces pensamos que lo mejor es lo que se te quede en la memoria ,clasico instantaneo impredecible y cautivador.… Expand
  4. DrunkenSnake
    Apr 4, 2013
    10
    I voted 10 because it just is my favourite game of all times. I know it has its issues and if I was professional reviewer, I'd probably loseI voted 10 because it just is my favourite game of all times. I know it has its issues and if I was professional reviewer, I'd probably lose my job right away, but I don't really care. There is just something that makes me play this game even after all those years. The most interesting thing about the game is definitely story especially thanks to the unique, mostly completely insane bunch of characters that are far from your everyday heroes. I don't want to spoil much, but let's say our party consists of mass murderer that enjoys killing above all, cannibal that eats children, pedophile, and racist. Oh well... Now about gameplay. Most of you probably know that this game is combination of Panzer Dragon and Dynasty Warriors and it's pretty spot on description. There are 3 types of mission Dungeons, where you have to fight alone, in the air, where you fight airships with your dragon and combination of both, mostly on some plains where you are given choice to either fight on foot or from the back of your dragon. You can get down and call for her anytime. Ground battles are the part of the game I found most fun. During the course of the game you come across many many weapons (around 60), everyone can be leveled to level 4, gain unique combos and more importantly magic, which by the end of the game gets really devastating and quite satisfying to use. Then there is fairly interesting chain system that gets you hooked up during longer battles since you get more experience, buffs, health orbs and other bonuses, the higher is your combo count. Air missions have less variety if you ask me, but it's not really bad. Dragon can shoot homing (weaker) fireballs as well as huge fireball with manual aiming. And just like Caim, she has MP gauge that fills up after certain number of kills, which means you can use overdrive. But like I said it is the story and overall atmosphere (I guarantee you, that music in this game is nothing you have ever heard anywhere else and it's awesome!) that keeps you interested. The game has 5 endings, to which applies simple rule They get more and more crazy. This, along with weapon collectibles and leveling, kinda ensures fairly long playtime and high replayability. Just give the game chance and maybe you will like it. Be prepared though. It's definitely not for everyone, that's for sure.… Expand
  5. SelfPlayer123
    Feb 13, 2023
    7
    For anyone who likes Yoko Taro this is an absolute must-play. However the critique is more than justified. The Gameplay is insanely repetitiveFor anyone who likes Yoko Taro this is an absolute must-play. However the critique is more than justified. The Gameplay is insanely repetitive but not as bad as some like to claim. The story is amazing, but some parts are just down right very poorly acted. The hacknslash style mixes great with the overall RPG style and it feels great to level your stuff, however the game would have been better of with a souls-like style, as some encounters don't seem to mix well with its style. Overall this game remains a stable 7/10, but is hardly any innovation.… Expand
  6. Boring_Schultz
    Dec 16, 2021
    6
    Drakengard has a great idea at the base, but a disgusting implementation, both in gameplay and in technical terms.
  7. Javike7
    Oct 31, 2012
    5
    Tedious entertainment. I like the story and the concept of the dragon. I like the weapon and how as they level up you can get some kind ofTedious entertainment. I like the story and the concept of the dragon. I like the weapon and how as they level up you can get some kind of story about their origin. I can put up with the repetitive attack pattern one,two,three special... But two things that really brought my enjoyment down were the camera, it sucks not being able to slowly adjust the camera, instead you are force to use the block button to look ahead or the right analog stick which sends the camera in a crazy whirl, that and the fact that you can't save in the middle of a stage suck. After playing for nearly an hour it really annoys me when I get killed because I had little life and made a stupid mistake. I understand not wanting players to save every so often so that they can become pretty much immortal, but you could have limited the saves during gameplay to two, hell even one would have been enough. Just so that you don't loose 40+min of gameplay.… Expand
  8. Broyax
    Apr 11, 2017
    0
    BTA mou du genou particulièrement vilain, pseudo-histoire ridicule, univers des plus génériques dégoulinant de mièvrerie. De joliesBTA mou du genou particulièrement vilain, pseudo-histoire ridicule, univers des plus génériques dégoulinant de mièvrerie. De jolies cinématiques (enfin, par rapport au reste...) mais ça ne suffit pas pour éviter le naufrage jusqu'aux abysses de ce néant vidéo-merdique.… Expand

See all 36 User Reviews

Awards & Rankings

30
#30 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2004
15
#15 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2004