Drakenguard, also known as Drag-On Dragoon has had a pretty long series history ever since its inception back in 2003, and now, finally on the PS3 the game takes the players back to the origin of the intoners and focuses on Zero, an intoner hell-bent on killing her sisters (other Intoners) until she is the only intoner left. To be honest, I haven’t really played many JRPGs but I would assume that even though this game brands itself as an action RPG, it probably isn’t as deep as something like Final Fantasy or Kingdom of Hearts, but instead focuses more on the action than the actual deep role-play. However, that does not mean that this is a bad game or anything of the sort.
In fact, it was surprisingly interesting especially due to the unique charm from the cast of its messed up characters, who each had a different personality and taste. Watching them interact with each other with their darkly comedic dialogue is entertaining, due to which you will find yourself smirking every once in a while. The voice over work for them is pretty good too, and in my opinion, fits the tone and pacing of the game. However, the true spotlight belongs to non-other than the dragon Mikhail.
Mikhail has been voiced in a child-like manner by the talented Lara Woodhall, who has worked on the English version of many different and popular shows like One Piece and movies such as Wolf Children. In Drakengard 3, she has managed to accurately represent the hyperactivity and the childishness of Mikhail with her iconic child-like voice, making it a treat whenever Mikhail is present. The others have done their jobs too as expected and I didn’t really come across any noticeable flaws, except with the timing in some scenes as they tend to go quiet for a while. I understand that those supposed to be there as awkward pauses, but the length may have been a bit too much at times, making me actually wonder if it was nothing but a screen for the loading in the background. Still though, you have to admit that the cutscene’s and the characters’ respective performances are highly entertaining.
The story overall is pretty straightforward, with you following Zero’s tale as she ruthlessly goes through her enemies. Unfortunately though, I did feel that at times it tried too hard to be deep or inter-connected, but got a bit complicated due to it. Also, Zero’s reasons are never really revealed as to why she is doing this, or what she will actually do if she completes her goal. Still, the story is pretty interesting to follow, especially with the narration which guides you through the protagonist’s journey and the dark humour it supports. Also, there are multiple endings to be seen by completing different branches. Basically, each branch is a different timeline, which even though similar in its character’s objective contains a few variables which lead to different outcomes. These playable branches are unlocked after you play through the main game once.
Other than the main storyline levels, you have got Accord’s quests which are pretty much challenge modes that you have to complete with the set criteria for each level. You get rewarded with items and currency after you successfully complete them. Which you can use to buy more weapons, items or upgrades, and trust me, with how hard the game gets in the second half you will need to be constantly stocked up on health items and upgrade your weapons. Also, every time you upgrade a weapon, you get to read up more on its back story in the database.
The basic gameplay is pretty straightforward and is what you’d expect from a hack and slash game where you’ve got one button for your normal attacks and another for the heavy ones which you can both combine to execute combo moves. Then you have your standard jump, dodge, block and special power button. The special power here is the intoner’s ability which you can activate by pressing the L3 and R3 button simultaneously. Once you do, Zero goes into a fit of rage and deals massive amounts of damage with each hit.
The other part of the game focuses on controlling a dragon… yes, you heard that right, you get to control a dragon, and man is it empowering. When you control Mikhail, you can use Square to hit fireballs or Triangle to breathe fire on your enemies. Be advised though, as by using the dragon’s fire ability and Zero’s heavy attacks, it will cost you stamina, which can be viewed right under your health bar. Lastly, by tapping on X you can get Mikhail to lift off or pick up altitude too, and if you don’t do so while in the air timely, Mikhail will start descending slowly until he lands on the ground.
The level structure could have used a lot of work though, as it becomes a rinse repeat situation after a while. Go through these many enemies, come into a small arena, have the passages locked until you defeat the set amount of enemies, repeat. This does get boring after a while, and by the end I was just running past enemies who I did not necessarily need to kill.
There are also boss fights in this game, which feel both satisfying and unfair at the same time. Satisfying in the sense that each boss looks amazing (especially that creepy doll one) and acts unique while unfair as the collisions are not accurate and you can get hit without even being anywhere in the vicinity of the attack. Also, even with distinguishable patterns, the bosses tend to get really hard especially when thrown at you in greater numbers.
The camera work doesn’t help at all in that instance, making it even more frustrating when mixed with the lock on mechanics that seem to just unlock whenever you travel a certain distance. In my opinion, it is not supposed to do that, there isn’t any gameplay justification for it. Locking on in games is like focusing on someone in real life. Will you ever all of a sudden just start looking away from someone you are focusing on because you went a little distant? I doubt it.
Moving on to my favourite aspect of the game, the music that accompanies Drakenguard 3 is absolutely dynamic and comes into play in the most interesting of ways. For example, whenever you activate your special ability whether as Mikhail or Zero, a vocal layer starts playing, providing a boost to the base background music. Also, it isn’t a random vocal track that starts playing, but is instead something that matches the bg music. I especially love the electronic themes that play whenever an angel is summoned by the disciples of the intoners, serving as an introductory track or when you are controlling Mikhail and activate his special ability.
Graphics wise, the game looks pretty good at times, but has a huge problem. Apparently, whenever a lot of effects start showing up on-screen the frame rate takes a massive hit, making the gameplay lag. Now, it wouldn’t really be much of a problem if it just happened once or twice somewhere, but there are constant frame rate drops throughout the game, really hindering your gameplay experience.
Otherwise the game looks pretty beautiful, especially with these details everywhere. I personally love how Zero gets bloody after going through her enemies, and how the bosses mutilate when you finally kill them. The game is satisfyingly gory. Overall, the game is a pretty enjoyable experience with some really gory hack’n slash on ground mechanics that are mixed with sections of aerial combat, all played to memorable music and a dark humorous storyline that is strengthened by the performance of its characters, especially Mikhail.
However, you will definitely notice a lack of polish here when it comes to some of the mechanics and level structure, which can make things needlessly hard for you, and the horrible frame rate at times doesn’t help. Also, the enemies just get absolutely ruthless all of a sudden, so you should keep your health items in check, and weapons up to date. If you like your JRPG’s, dragons and the fantasy theme, as long as you don’t go expecting miracles, Drakenguard 3 very well may be a game worth slaying.