Drakengard 3

 PlayStation 3
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 331 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 248 out of 331
  2. Mixed: 39 out of 331
  3. Negative: 44 out of 331
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  1. superpieguy
    May 20, 2014
    10
    Ah, I knew this was probably going to be met with mediocre-level reviews. I honestly don't understand where people seem to be getting off about long load times. They really are not all that long. Aside from that, there are some framerate issues, but they don't detract from the game as a whole. The gameplay is extremely fast-paced, frantic, and fun. Endlessly slaughtering enemies, really.Ah, I knew this was probably going to be met with mediocre-level reviews. I honestly don't understand where people seem to be getting off about long load times. They really are not all that long. Aside from that, there are some framerate issues, but they don't detract from the game as a whole. The gameplay is extremely fast-paced, frantic, and fun. Endlessly slaughtering enemies, really. The story is dark, and also throws in some seriously morbid, as well as sexual humor. It's a great experience, and if you can overlook the framerate issues, it is really a great game. I love it.… Expand
  2. Lucaskeane
    May 20, 2014
    10
    This game actually keep up whit the essence of the others drakengard games and has that dark and involving story just like nier...this game has such a great hstory you keep playing you keep want to see whats gonna happen next the gameply are so good and given a more than 100 hour if you wanna do everything. We need more game like this!! we have this masterpiece now square please makeThis game actually keep up whit the essence of the others drakengard games and has that dark and involving story just like nier...this game has such a great hstory you keep playing you keep want to see whats gonna happen next the gameply are so good and given a more than 100 hour if you wanna do everything. We need more game like this!! we have this masterpiece now square please make valkyrie profile and star ocean sequels :D… Expand
  3. Amid396
    Feb 22, 2018
    10
    It was really great! The music, the story, relationship between characters, amazing world, great combat system and breathtaking boss fights make this game real real cool and good!
  4. Dark_half-Elf
    Sep 6, 2014
    9
    Good game, which did not have the budget.

    pros:
    - Interesting story that will be revealed at the end.
    - Amazing crazy magical world and characters.
    - Humor.
    - Fairly good combat system.
    - Fast rhythm of the game, it's not medletilny Gov, where you can sleep.

    Minysy:
    - Graphics.
    - Performance.
    - Combat system lacks depth.
    - Very difficult final.
  5. DARK--DRAGONITE
    Sep 14, 2017
    9
    This is one of my top 5 favorite games for PS3. Zero and Mikahil have an interesting dynamic. The ending.. and I mean.. the REAL ending of the game is something we don’t see in games anymore.. It is literally one of the hardest things you’ll ever do in your life when it comes to video games, but it’s SO worth it. Despite the framerate drops and simplistic button mashing combat, this gameThis is one of my top 5 favorite games for PS3. Zero and Mikahil have an interesting dynamic. The ending.. and I mean.. the REAL ending of the game is something we don’t see in games anymore.. It is literally one of the hardest things you’ll ever do in your life when it comes to video games, but it’s SO worth it. Despite the framerate drops and simplistic button mashing combat, this game is really good. 9/10.… Expand
  6. MrAptronym
    May 24, 2014
    8
    I loved Drakengard 3, it doesn't deserve a 10, but its a great experience. The characters and plot are amazing and unique. A couple perverted followers have routines that wear pretty thin, but main character Zero's wit is razor sharp the whole way through. The story and characters maybe rude and violent but they are steeped in allegory and, if you are willing to think about it, you getI loved Drakengard 3, it doesn't deserve a 10, but its a great experience. The characters and plot are amazing and unique. A couple perverted followers have routines that wear pretty thin, but main character Zero's wit is razor sharp the whole way through. The story and characters maybe rude and violent but they are steeped in allegory and, if you are willing to think about it, you get more than just poop jokes out of it. (There are also poop jokes.)

    Sadly the gameplay is a mixed bag. While the attacks feel solid, the controls are never as tight as classic action titles like DMC or Ninja Gaiden. The RPG elements are pretty light, with choices of weapons being your only real customization. Areas are small and suffer from framerate drops that come in bursts and can get pretty bad. Panzer Dragoon style ride-alongs are interspersed throughout, riding your dragon feels a bit clunky in tight quarters, but for all I know that's intentional. (He is a big oaf) Still, I enjoyed the gameplay for the considerably long ride that the game offers; its by no means awful, just more reminiscent of PS2 era action games.

    Its clear to me that technical issues got in the way. The game is poorly optimized, having trouble running smoothly even with small areas, low res environments and frequent, if short, load times. However, I cannot find myself too caught up in its faults because I genuinely had fun with the gameplay, with the character's banter and especially with the plot. In many ways Drakengard 3 reminds me of how video games were a decade ago, lower budget affairs concerned with style over everything else. Drakengard 3 is destined to be a cult classic.    … Expand
  7. Jwhite
    May 23, 2014
    10
    This is one of the few games that can tell a great story, worry not if you're a newcomer, Drakengard 3 is actually a prequel. Check out a few game play videos and see how brutal the combat really is. The soundtrack rivaled only by Nier, a game by the same company. It's a damn shame reviewers are giving this such low scores, likely because they haven't finished the game, playing it for 100This is one of the few games that can tell a great story, worry not if you're a newcomer, Drakengard 3 is actually a prequel. Check out a few game play videos and see how brutal the combat really is. The soundtrack rivaled only by Nier, a game by the same company. It's a damn shame reviewers are giving this such low scores, likely because they haven't finished the game, playing it for 100 hours I guarantee this is an experience unlike any other.… Expand
  8. fameless
    May 22, 2014
    10
    Don't listen to the "professional" reviews listed, Drakengard 3 is a shining gem in it's own right as a part of this trilogy regardless if you have played the previous games or not. If you're a fan of epic musical scores, frantic battles and dark, gritty story lines then this is for you.

    Drakengard 3 deserves to stand on it's own merits as a game while staying true to it's    Don't listen to the "professional" reviews listed, Drakengard 3 is a shining gem in it's own right as a part of this trilogy regardless if you have played the previous games or not. If you're a fan of epic musical scores, frantic battles and dark, gritty story lines then this is for you.

    Drakengard 3 deserves to stand on it's own merits as a game while staying true to it's predecessors. I'm 5 hours in and thoroughly enjoying myself.    … Expand
  9. Exebiel
    May 21, 2014
    10
    I really knew, many editors would make a low score review of this game, I've played full playthrough on the japanese version (DoD3) and I can say Yoko Taro & Ex-Cavia devs made an amazing & original game with a rare and dark story, but ask yourself, if they weren't doing this game maybe no one would do it. I know about the framerate issues and loading times but still is a rare and shiningI really knew, many editors would make a low score review of this game, I've played full playthrough on the japanese version (DoD3) and I can say Yoko Taro & Ex-Cavia devs made an amazing & original game with a rare and dark story, but ask yourself, if they weren't doing this game maybe no one would do it. I know about the framerate issues and loading times but still is a rare and shining gem like Nier.

    One more tip before I finish this, very important, the soundtrack never dissapointed me, one of the best I've ever heard like Nier, team MONACA & singers made a masterpiece tracklist.    … Expand
  10. redoni7
    May 20, 2014
    10
    If you were to follow most critic's reviews you'd think this game is bad. The problem is most critics who critic this game don't really seem to get the point. The gameplay is in the same vein as you Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors. That mean fun super stylish combo's that just make you feel like a badass and is "FUN" (you know... the whole point of video games to begin with). The storyIf you were to follow most critic's reviews you'd think this game is bad. The problem is most critics who critic this game don't really seem to get the point. The gameplay is in the same vein as you Devil May Cry and Dynasty Warriors. That mean fun super stylish combo's that just make you feel like a badass and is "FUN" (you know... the whole point of video games to begin with). The story is also something some reviewer just don't get. This is mainly because although I very much enjoyed the more twisted storyline I see where some reviewer just wouldn't enjoy it as it's an acquired taste.

    The thing you need to know is this game is fun, and if you like japanese actions games like this you'll love it. If you're not sure either borrow from a friend or rent through gamefly or something because no amount someone else's opinion is gonna tell you whether you'll like it.    … Expand
  11. Starlord
    May 20, 2014
    10
    Some critic reviews are a bit all over the place. This game is far from perfect, but personally this game has been fun for the 2 hours of me playing it. What I don't understand is reviews reviewing games that doesn't fit their personal taste. When they have to review it, they give low scores due to their "personal taste".

    Anyways, if you love action games, JRPGs or a Drakengard series    Some critic reviews are a bit all over the place. This game is far from perfect, but personally this game has been fun for the 2 hours of me playing it. What I don't understand is reviews reviewing games that doesn't fit their personal taste. When they have to review it, they give low scores due to their "personal taste".

    Anyways, if you love action games, JRPGs or a Drakengard series fan this game " in my opinion" is a must have. It does have bad words in the game, so if you can't handle that, I suggest you not to get it. Overall I have having loads of fun I give this game a 9    … Expand
  12. Omocho
    May 23, 2014
    10
    Poorly written "professional" reviews aside (looks like IGN didn't get paid enough to bump that score up!), this game is amazing.
    Destructoid has a very solid review that basically sums up what I also think.
    Action game fans, and fans of Nier will definitely love this title.
  13. Axebrossia
    May 20, 2014
    10
    **** the "professional critics" this game is awesome, epic soundtrack and history, if you love drakengard 2 and 1, well this is the best from the series.
  14. Sylveria
    May 25, 2014
    7
    It's alright.

    It's a middling-ish character action game. It's not as sophisticated as Bayonetta or Wonderful 101, but it's not quite as simplistic as a Warriors game or Killer is dead. It found a nice comfortable spot in the middle of that spectrum. It has graphical issues, considering it's an Unreal Engine game, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Slow down is a problem when your    It's alright.

    It's a middling-ish character action game. It's not as sophisticated as Bayonetta or Wonderful 101, but it's not quite as simplistic as a Warriors game or Killer is dead. It found a nice comfortable spot in the middle of that spectrum.

    It has graphical issues, considering it's an Unreal Engine game, that shouldn't surprise anyone. Slow down is a problem when your dragon is bombing areas and there's a lot of pop-in when the stage loads up.

    The camera also leads something to be desired, especially when you're dealing with the large enemies and can lead you to getting blind-sided.

    There's a lot of content depending on how set you are on being a completionist. To get everything, grinding is required.

    The story is presented in an unusual fashion that requires you to kinda put the pieces together on your own. The characters aren't especially complex, but the dialogue and banter between them is hilarious.

    My major concern is the quality of DLC that seems to be on the horizon. There's trophy segments for all 5 of the other sisters locked away with that DLC + icon. Hopefully they aren't be too over-priced.    … Expand
  15. davegahan3
    May 28, 2014
    9
    Despite the graphics and camera-problems, Drakengard 3 is a fully enjoyable game. Jokes are funny, the dragon is cute and the story is interesting. Do we need more than that?
  16. gyigyo2
    Jun 7, 2014
    1
    Pros-

    Cons: Charatcters is irritating as hell, graphics is like a ps2 game...story is ugly thisis one of the worst game in the world i ever played...
    NIER was 100% better game...
  17. kittyintherain
    Jun 5, 2014
    8
    I'll start off by saying this -- this is probably one of my favorite games I have ever played. It's unique, witty, funny, and has a specific charm that hits what makes me laugh and humored.

    However, there's still the need to be honest. This game is flawed. There are graphical errors all around, and the game is glitched to heaven come. Heck, the game froze on me once after I    I'll start off by saying this -- this is probably one of my favorite games I have ever played. It's unique, witty, funny, and has a specific charm that hits what makes me laugh and humored.

    However, there's still the need to be honest. This game is flawed. There are graphical errors all around, and the game is glitched to heaven come. Heck, the game froze on me once after I completed a mission. I've found myself stuck in corners and also my visuals impaired during a massive battle that I end up losing and it's nothing short of infuriating.

    Also, another fact that the ending chapter is locked until you have all your weapons almost made me ragequit. I've never been a completionist in my games and I admit I've never played a Drakengard game before so I honestly went into this blind.

    However, this game had be entertained so much that I decided to be a completionist for once. Yeah, it was hard, but I did it. It has a charm I have never seen before and the battle system (when it's 95% of the time not glitching on me) is absolutely enjoyable. The banter between the party members makes the tedious missions actually fun as I go into battle not just trying to kill a hoard of 50 soldiers to 3 overpowered monsters, but also enjoying a candid conversation the members are putting on. Zero is literally the player, speaking about how irritating it is to precision jump in game and voicing opinions that probably many players have about tedious tasks. THAT is this game's charm. You're not just playing a game to play the game, you're playing it to be entertained as well, and I find that's something you don't find too much anymore.

    I've laughed out loud so many times. It makes me happy to see a game that caters to my sense of humor and isn't some run of the mill, humor, try not to offend anyone game. So yes, to be blunt, this game is very politically incorrect. It doesn't care that it is either. I've heard reviewers calls this game's humor 'immature' and 'infantile', but hey, there's more than one kind of person. This is definitely a game that caters to a specific group, and I'm happy to say I'm part of that group and will probably be trying the other Drakengard games now.

    For the score, I should have given it a 6 or 7 for the gameplay, because it is very rough at times and it is infuriating, however I also want people to give this game a chance if you're looking for something unique. It's far from perfect, but you will know probably right away if you'll love this game or hate it. There's no inbetween, and this game doesn't allow for that. So if the crude humor and political incorrectness is going to be a turn off? Don't touch this game. Then again if any graphical errors and glitches make you cringe, this might also not be a game to pull yourself through.

    If you want something fresh that only cares that it leaves the player entertained with its twisted and messed up sense of humor? Go for it. Give it a try at least. I'm glad I did. I saw the reviews for this game before I picked it up and saw the see saw of positive and negative reviews that I decided to game a gamble, and it's one that paid off for me.

    Gameplay wise, I enjoy a good hack and slash, and the fluidity of switching between weapons and using your items is really nice. There's no lag or anything, just boom, boom, and we're moving on.

    All in all, if you're itching to give this game a try or just want to play a good hack and slash, go for it. If the negative reviews and talk of it's strange sense of humor that doesn't even try to cater to the masses makes you look the other way, then don't get it. It's really as simple as that.

    If you do end up picking it up, I hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did.    … Expand
  18. dragon0085
    Jun 5, 2014
    0
    Do NOT make the mistake is getting this if you liked Drakengard, or Neir, this is absolutely the worst game I have played in a very long time. The actually gameplay is not that bad beyond just its simplistic button mashing but the story is horrendous, and the characters reminded me as if a 9-year wrote them to be as 'adult' as they could.

    You get compltely one-dimensional characters    Do NOT make the mistake is getting this if you liked Drakengard, or Neir, this is absolutely the worst game I have played in a very long time. The actually gameplay is not that bad beyond just its simplistic button mashing but the story is horrendous, and the characters reminded me as if a 9-year wrote them to be as 'adult' as they could.

    You get compltely one-dimensional characters that swear alot, wow so cool...    … Expand
  19. Epiternal
    Jun 3, 2014
    4
    Quite honestly could never recommend this game to anyone, especially in its current state. For starters the game feels like its a decade old, no scratch that, there are games that actually are a decade old that appear more advanced than this game. I'm an old school gamer, so rarely do I concern myself with graphics too much, but my god this game is UGLY, the prime example is the leadingQuite honestly could never recommend this game to anyone, especially in its current state. For starters the game feels like its a decade old, no scratch that, there are games that actually are a decade old that appear more advanced than this game. I'm an old school gamer, so rarely do I concern myself with graphics too much, but my god this game is UGLY, the prime example is the leading leading, Zero herself; Somehow a woman wearing completely white, with white hair can still look dirty, courtesy of the obviously low budget this game was working on. As for combat, the game is a basic hack and slash. While it does a mostly ok job at this, the game takes any and every opportunity to glitch and show its atrocious frame rate making the game virtually unplayable during the later levels where there are lots of enemies as well as big ones. One of the selling points of this game was being able to fly on a dragon, yay!...Unfortunately the dragon steers abysmally, this coming from someone who's steered the helicopters in GTA V, that's saying something. By far one of the worst things about this game though are the characters, 1 dimensional tools who apparently can't go a single sentence without some depraved sexual statement, one of which is overly eager to share his desire for masochistic punishment. I'm not even kidding, everything that comes out of their mouth is crude filth, and while I enjoy that sort of thing usually, constantly hearing it just makes the characters hollow and really puts a dampener on the whole game. The voices don't really help, it's a Japanese game and while it hasn't got the worst cast in the history of American dubbed games, you're likely to hear rare classics like Yuri Lowenthal whose whiny voice makes already hated characters that much more hated. Usually I wouldn't comment on such a thing, when a game has a Japanese Audio feature, but being a lucky schmuck from Europe Square released this tripe and didn't fix the damn Japanese dub, leaving us with no choice but to listen to the American cast. Among one of the most amateur mistakes this game makes however is the bad AI; There is no excuse for that kind of AI, not these days, AI are frequently running into walls, and sometimes your companions don't notice the hundreds of enemies surrounding them and will just stand there taking hits, it's bad, unforgivably bad. The only really good things I can say about this game is the sound track is very reminiscent of Nier, I loved Nier and the I adore the soundtrack of Drakengard 3 all the same. The story is also pretty good, sometimes the game can't seem to make up its min whether it wants to be funny or serious, but overall it's ok, it's at least more original than the story of some games these days.
    Unfortunately, even with those good points, I don't consider them enough to warrant buying the game, it's just not good enough. Save your pennies.    … Expand
  20. Alteration
    May 23, 2014
    5
    Unlike most people, I have the unpopular opinion that this game doesn't deserve a 10/10 rating.

    Essentially, what i'd been hoping for over the past 9 years was a successor to the original Drakengard, instead it was more like Drakengard 2. The design of the characters is nice and the main characters personality was a refreshing change for me, but when you compare it to Drakengard 1 it    Unlike most people, I have the unpopular opinion that this game doesn't deserve a 10/10 rating.

    Essentially, what i'd been hoping for over the past 9 years was a successor to the original Drakengard, instead it was more like Drakengard 2.

    The design of the characters is nice and the main characters personality was a refreshing change for me, but when you compare it to Drakengard 1 it is fairly lacking.

    Where Drakengard 1 had massive maps and the ability to call your dragon at any point Drakengard 3 is a linear corridor game, the closest comparison that comes to mind is Ninety-Nine Nights, but even that had massive amounts of units on the fields.

    The weapon level system is not like Drakengard 1 and instead uses a much less interesting method.
    The game suffers from constant frame-drop despite the small amount of action occurring on screen.

    This is - at best - a decent game.    … Expand
  21. aspentitan
    Dec 29, 2014
    6
    I decided to check out this game because Drakengard was one of my original ps2 games and I was curious what this game would be like. Drakengard had pretty lame gameplay to be honest but for some reason was still fun. I guess its just a time filling hack and slash that just moves forward with a nice story. Drakengard 3 to me is an updated next generation console version of the orginal. II decided to check out this game because Drakengard was one of my original ps2 games and I was curious what this game would be like. Drakengard had pretty lame gameplay to be honest but for some reason was still fun. I guess its just a time filling hack and slash that just moves forward with a nice story. Drakengard 3 to me is an updated next generation console version of the orginal. I found the gameplay equally repetitive and the looting similar. What was noticably improved by far were the graphics to me they are really nice. The atmosphere is much different I felt the original game was rather midevil in nature where this new one is more j-rpg graphically. I have to admit this is where my interest in this game was lost just one short hour in. First of all 45 minutes to install then what really got to me was the voicing. The dragon is portrayed about as similar to spongebob squarepants and I found it really super annoying. I certainly don't understand what the developers were going for this game is riddled with heavy potty mouth and very mature themes it didn't make sense to have the dragon so friggin annoying and childish. All in all I could tolerate the gameplay and the visuals but I could not tolerate the development of the game not deciding on a particular crowd for this game. Is it for kids as the dragon suggests? Is for for adults as the vixenous characters and potty language suggest or is it for anime fans. This total disconnect put the image in my head this game is not worth the effort. I only played an hour as i said i liked a lot of the next generation nature of this remake but in the end i have to say i might as well play games that don't turn me off instead. I usually don't mind quirky games but i found this one unnecessaryily so.… Expand
  22. vahn
    Jan 10, 2020
    3
    Long time ago, in a generation of consoles far away, there was this little game called Drakengard which was a mixture between an action and an rpg very similar to Dynasty Warriors, with large areas to go, the ability to ride the dragon and many, MANY enemies to kill. The plot was dark, the characters likable yet questionable, and one of the endings - ending A - would lead to a sequel,Long time ago, in a generation of consoles far away, there was this little game called Drakengard which was a mixture between an action and an rpg very similar to Dynasty Warriors, with large areas to go, the ability to ride the dragon and many, MANY enemies to kill. The plot was dark, the characters likable yet questionable, and one of the endings - ending A - would lead to a sequel, Drakengard 2, which is a much lighter in tones than the first game.
    However, it's ending E that would lead to the eventual creation of a little title that not many knew, probably one of the most curious games I ever played. That game is of course NieR. Yeah I guess Nier Automata also exists but now I digress.

    This is all to say how much I LOVED the Drakengard series: I played the first 2 games so much, i got all weapons, got all endings, and everything. I was so in love with the series that I only bought NieR later because I had no clue it was tied to the series! Then there's NieR automata but we don't talk about that.

    So it pains me to say that Drakengard 3 is, to put it nicely, complete garbage.

    Let's start with what could be a good point: the story is interesting and I really enjoyed the character interactions and overall dark humor behind it. I was afraid that the silly humor would ruin the overall dark and gritty and bloody theme of the game but I'm glad it didn't: between swear words and a sex joke there was legitimate care and talent in making the game flow greatly and I'm amazed how it works well. I was NEVER tired of the dialogues, I was NEVER tired of the swearings and highly offensive regards but that's because it KNEW how to pace it, it KNEW how to make each sentence work against another. I'm just amazed how well it worked and I played this game non-stop for over 10 hours because it was just that entertaining. Why can't Square Enix be like this anymore...

    The plot itself, not to go into spoilers, is a prequel to the original Drakengard which means nothing can be lost if you start with this one, however one thing I felt it wasn't a good choice was to sell tons and tons of DLC that serves as prologues for the events before the main game. We wouldn't see this kind of greed until ff15 but it's sad to see it started from here...at least I think so.

    But beyond the story, which is interesting and definitely the best (and only) good thing of the game, it's EVERYTHING ELSE that completely takes the cake and makes it from a potential nice action game from a complete wreck.

    How can I start this nicely...the controls are godawful, probably one of the worst controls I've had in a long time and I played enough games to know that this is bad enough that I can't believe they let it go. It's so bad that not only it often doesn't connect hits but it also locks you in one direction, making you go to another direction despite you're pressing another. I also want to mention how IT CANNOT BE CUSTOMIZED, how it randomly opens the menu, how the lock on always disappears, how there is 2 buttons for weapon swap for no reason, how the intoner mode doesn't always turn on because R3 and L3 don't always work, and many many many MANY more issues, i think it's safe to say that more attention to the controls would've made a world of difference.
    When you make a game hard because of bad controls, you made a bad game.

    But oh no, there's more: if controls don't bother you there's the technical issues that will definitely poke your eyes and probably blind you. The game is quite literally broken on many levels: the game is supposedly on a 30 fps, which was normal back then for most action games too, but it DROPS CONSTANTLY and there are times that I can safely say it went below 10 fps to the point of a slideshow. Not only that but the camera is completely uncontrollable and will often get stuck on walls and make you see nothing of the enemies. It also makes other sections of the game, like the dragon ones, just a pain to sit through.

    This is all technical stuff that could've been fixed but guess what? Square Enix did exactly diddly squat! I'm currently playing the 1.00 version which means it never got patched - AND YES, I did check for updates and there are none! On top of that, IT'S DIGITAL ONLY FOR EUROPE! They absolutely did NOT care to release it here in retail! How scummy can you **** be?!

    In other words, this game was dead on arrival and Square Enix killed it before even release. It's clearly it was rushed to meet a deadline and they had no expectations that this game would be any good so they released it without even testing it properly.
    It would take 3 years for Nier Automata to give some justice to the series and give it some recognition to old and new fans for the series but considering what we got I would have preferred to let it rest.

    Do I recommend it? Absolutely not, don't buy this game: I got it on discount and I still feel it wasn't worth it. Watch a longplay and save your money and your patience.    … Expand
  23. ryuzaki57
    May 25, 2014
    7
    The story goes straight to the point : Zero, one of the singing maidens supposed to bring peace and prosperity, wants to kill. No one knows why, but she's firmly decided to decimate all her sisters in the most brutal possible manner. She will be helped by her faithful Dragon Mikael in her wicked plan.

    I don't know why, before starting Drakengard 3 I was convinced that it would be an    The story goes straight to the point : Zero, one of the singing maidens supposed to bring peace and prosperity, wants to kill. No one knows why, but she's firmly decided to decimate all her sisters in the most brutal possible manner. She will be helped by her faithful Dragon Mikael in her wicked plan.

    I don't know why, before starting Drakengard 3 I was convinced that it would be an open-world RPG. I quickly realized it was the contrary : most of the stages go straight without junctions, although with treasure chests here and there to make the player search a little. Most of the job is to slay the armies of monsters and bosses that get in your way by chaining combos and dodging in style, all of this in real time. Yes, I just described a BTA. Because Drakengard 3 is much closer to a BTA than a JRPG or even an A-RPG like Kingdom Hearts given that no menu ever show up in battle. That said, it keeps a few elements of that lineage, mainly weapon customization and experience points. Those are still very important, because the difficulty increases gradually during the main story but very quickly in the postgame chapters. You will then have to grind in previous chapters so as to keep up with the adversity. In parallel, it will be crucial to improve your weapons because top gear is required too.

    So if you take it as a BTA, Drakengard 3 ends up fairly good : the gameplay which relies on weapon-switching is pretty hooking, enemies are tough but the difficulty is very progressive as I already said. It's actually up to you to establish your own attack strategy by choosing the weapon you see fit depending on the situation. You have the choice between 4 types of weapons : spears, swords, gauntlets and chakrams. Like in all good BTAs, you'll have to carefully analyze the enemies' moves if you want to survive, and it's quite fast-paced too. Many sequences will have you ride the dragon. Those ones are far from gimmicky as there's a whole gameplay behind it. I can fly and keep onto the ground, in both cases the dragon's attacks vary. Surprisingly, when flying you have to manage your altitude with X. Every boss fight is done on the dragon's back and each one involve a new strategy. You also have a bunch of sidequests that are actually mini-challenges that put you against the clock. Others consist in some series of colosseum fights in which you'll need serious knowledge of the bestiary.

    The general atmosphere of the game is terrific : chapter 0 begins very intensely and the game in general gives adrenaline rushes. Zero and Mikael are constantly making fun of each other, despite the massacre they do. It's purely funny, there is nothing serious in the story. It looks like some long-running manzai in which Zero keeps complaining about everything and everyone while the others make fun of her. Drakengard 3 is equally efficient as an action game than as a comedy. It's still extremely violent, as limbs fly and Zero is drenched in blood. It's precisely after a sea of blood that she can unleash her fury.

    Drakengard 3 has unfortunately two sad drawbacks, that are its technical and sound performance. Level-design is ultra poor the characters' 3D models reminds you of 10 years ago. I almost wondered whether the Access Games re-used the 3D engine of Drakengard 2. I could understand if it was one of the first PS3 games, but it's kinda one of the last... and the framerate sinks horribly on quite some occasions. The OST is good, no doubt. But you actually enjoy it more or less only outside battle because there is zero emphasis during the game in itself.

    A quick word on DLC : those invite you to play as Zero's sisters during one chapter focused on their own story/personality (there's also one on Zero for some reason). There are not very important in regard of the story in general, and the gameplay is the same as Zero's most of the time (only Three has the exclusivity of her scissors and associated skills). However, Two's chapter felt a little more interesting and emotional than the others. Whether you buy these or not depends on your liking of the various characters or if you just can't get enough of the game's bizarre direction. Let's stress that there are quite a few trophies to be earned here.

    Although it's nothing like a Ninja Gaiden or a Bayonetta, Drakengard 3 is a very good third way to enjoy an action game. The irresistible personality that springs from it makes it a fine choice for Japanese games fans.    … Expand
  24. YellowKoala
    May 25, 2014
    7
    Pros: It has a unique story and characters. The aerial battles on a dragon are fun/original. Controls feel pretty responsive. Pull off combos and swap between weapon types on the fly.

    Cons: Graphics (looks like someone coloured outside the lines during cutscenes). Frame-rate problems. Camera angles while playing can make it hard to see what's going on (mostly when there are many enemies    Pros: It has a unique story and characters. The aerial battles on a dragon are fun/original. Controls feel pretty responsive. Pull off combos and swap between weapon types on the fly.

    Cons: Graphics (looks like someone coloured outside the lines during cutscenes). Frame-rate problems. Camera angles while playing can make it hard to see what's going on (mostly when there are many enemies on the field).

    Other (Can be pro or con, depending on your taste): Fast-paced Hack and Slash gameplay. Just a menu where you choose which mission you want to take (not open world, but you can go back and retry missions to level up).

    Bottom line: The humour, gameplay, and story won't be for everyone, but, if you're into hack & slash games and don't mind humour that's a bit on the dark and odd side, this game would definitely be worth checking out at a lower price or if they fix some of the technical problems with an update.    … Expand
  25. kyoycz
    Aug 14, 2014
    5
    Most of the people who claim that this is a great game probably didn't finish it.

    The visuals are PS2-era, technical performance is a crapshoot, and gameplay is extremely repetitive. On top of that, the final boss is a RHYTHM GAME which has no place in a hack-and-slash RPG. Zero and the story are interesting, and the soundtrack is certainly fantastic, but not enough to pull this game    Most of the people who claim that this is a great game probably didn't finish it.

    The visuals are PS2-era, technical performance is a crapshoot, and gameplay is extremely repetitive. On top of that, the final boss is a RHYTHM GAME which has no place in a hack-and-slash RPG. Zero and the story are interesting, and the soundtrack is certainly fantastic, but not enough to pull this game out of mediocrity.    … Expand
  26. Trollton47
    Jan 2, 2015
    4
    Drakengard 3 carries on it's predecessors legacy completely. And if you liked the first Drakengard game you will probably enjoy this quite a bit. Despite everything that I am going to say.
    there are a couple of things that I like about this game. The soundtrack is great, the character designs are fairly well done. and of course the character controls are awesome. The game has an insane    Drakengard 3 carries on it's predecessors legacy completely. And if you liked the first Drakengard game you will probably enjoy this quite a bit. Despite everything that I am going to say.
    there are a couple of things that I like about this game. The soundtrack is great, the character designs are fairly well done. and of course the character controls are awesome. The game has an insane number of weapons. And they function differently from one another.
    But for how good the character controls and weapons are. that is all counterbalanced completely by the enemies that you use them to fight.
    All the big enemies feel pretty much the same to fight. With lengthy wind-up times they should be alot easier to dodge then they are. But with the Haphazard hit boxes. and the fact that all of them spin around like ballerinas during that time. You are basically stuck dodging backwards 2 or 3 times, or timing one dodge perfectly.
    I chose the former, finding it to be a lot more reliable.
    And all the little enemies are either pointless, or annoying. With the main character literally complaining about the games poor design choices on a regular basis.
    Well sorry but pointing out that your game is poorly designed doesn't make it any less poorly designed. The levels are lengthy, and have very little variety. While most of them having only a few standout sections. If any.
    The boss battles are typically pretty cool. If a little frustrating. The set scene and well themed bosses manages to make them actually very interesting. Easily making the boss fights, complete with epic music. By far the best part of the game.
    Lastly the story is horrible. While I have heard that it improves quite a bit after the first play through. I should not have to literally beat the game once before things get interesting. Before the first ending (and more or less up until the last second of it) the story can be easily summed up as "Zero wants to kill her sisters because she's a **** With only vague hints in the last couple scenes that there may be more. All the while you get to hear the character you collect along the way tasteless talk about sex. It is tasteless, stupid, pointless and not even funny in the slightest.
    I managed to get the first ending. But I could not even bring myself to start on the second play through.    … Expand
  27. chesaro
    Jan 1, 2016
    6
    I haven't finished this one, but it just can't get better. This game made sad, just because it looked really great, and it could have been, but the developer made it look like they don't know what they wanted to make, the next one platinum games is making also looks great, but you already know this genre is where they are good...
  28. Lee_boi
    Apr 26, 2015
    0
    oh yeah, not to mention this game is a wannabe nier game and they still suck making this game square enix could have done better with the graphics come on we are in 2014-15
  29. XV_
    Aug 5, 2018
    7
    This game introduced me to the excellent writing of Yoko Taro, at first I picked this because of the character design (which is amazing) ignoring that from the moment I see game play videos the combat seemed kind of dull and bad, to my surprise the combat was even worse, repetitive uninteresting combat and that can be said also for the side quests, also is note worthy that the English dubThis game introduced me to the excellent writing of Yoko Taro, at first I picked this because of the character design (which is amazing) ignoring that from the moment I see game play videos the combat seemed kind of dull and bad, to my surprise the combat was even worse, repetitive uninteresting combat and that can be said also for the side quests, also is note worthy that the English dub is terrible but you have the option of buying a pack with Japanese voices (which I strongly recommend if you have the extra bucks). Even tho' it has everything to let this game go, I just couldn't it has a very interesting story to tell and incredible well written characters, the soundtrack is just pretty much amazing. Be wary that you need to do a **** thing to get access to the real final boss (get every weapon and upgrade it to the max), which isn't hard but you need a lot of mindless repetitive grinding, and talking about hardness this game after 7 hours or so of trying the to beat the final boss I just couldn't and I have to quit, to this date is the only boss that I have to give up, a lot of people says that Is a **** boss but even after a I couldn't beat it I disagree, it's just brilliant but incredible hard nevertheless. Anyway I can't recommend this game to everyone because has a lot of bad design choices and maybe is a bad game, but if you're interested in kinda philosophical stories with anime characters and lewd design, maybe this can be for you.… Expand
  30. Leontorres7
    Nov 15, 2018
    7
    A really good game, there are lots of cool things about it and it is a lot of fun to play.
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Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Best PS3 Game of 2014
7
#7 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2014
8
#8 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
61

Mixed or average reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 33
  3. Negative: 5 out of 33
  1. CD-Action
    Aug 25, 2014
    40
    The most interesting bad game of this generation and the ugliest I’ve seen on PS3 in last couple of years. Only for Nier and Drakengard fans. [08/2014, p.70]
  2. Playstation Official Magazine UK
    Aug 4, 2014
    60
    Despite the shonky performance issues and woeful combat, there's still something that compels you forward. [Aug 2014, p.91]
  3. Playstation Official Magazine Australia
    Jul 16, 2014
    80
    A technically troubled, budget production that tries to compensate with gore and 'edgy' characters that are ultimately obnoxious. [August 2014, p79]
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