Відео

It's really a bummer how bad DoD1 is as a game experience At least it laid the groundwork for some really weird and cool stuff to follow!

Thanks for watching! If I remember correctly, I think the romantic relationship was pushed more heavily in the DoD 1.3 novellas. Immensely tragic to lose Accord's library, but at least the members of the Discord tend to have a lot of info on hand!

No one ever expects the giant baby and pregnant naked lady ending

A game can be artistic, it can be bold, it can take risks, and it can push the envelope. That doesn't mean it is good just because it does that. Drakengard is strongest as an art piece: the distillation of chaos and unpleasantness in a virtual game world. It makes the player uncomfortable through tone, atmosphere, soundtrack, and gameplay. It excels in pushing the idea that the player shouldn't be comfortable playing the type of game it is. It's also a dogshit video game. The emphasis being on the term "game". Subversive design choices and an edgy narrative doesn't automatically push away the flaws the game has, especially if those hinder it as a playable piece of software. Also, I'm actually of the opinion that both Nier games are masterpieces in their own right, and from what I've read did a great job of conveying the specific vision Yoko wanted with each game (even if SQEX did kinda force automata to be a nier game). DoD3, despite it's technical limitations and letdowns, is a fascinating return to the world of midgard and tells a very compelling and surprisingly feminist narrative. Oh yeah, and DoD2 is actually a pretty good game too. It plays pretty decently, the soundtrack is solid, and the narrative attempts to tell a very interesting continuation to a game that was never intended to have a direct sequel. It also does a great job at characterizing Caim in a way that is clearly understood by the audience and true to his depiction in the first game. Is it a flawless game? Fuck no, but it's a pretty solid ps2 hack and slash

@@HalfLight333 i think a DoD1 remake with the platinum team on ground combat and some ace combat veterans on the sky combat could potentially be an actually really cool project I'd also be interested to see if they make any story changes

@Swam0811 oh my god yeah, it's so hard for no reason. That final note...

@Lillymu961 thanks for watching! I'll give the game this: it is one of the most effective "art games" I've ever played lol

must've been a pretty compelling missing of the point if you stuck around for the full hour

@TheAdarkerglow oh no, I've been found out! After playing Drakengard for the Playstation 2 I have managed to mistakenly refer to it as part of its sister series, NieR for the Playstation 3!!

@kingpin3690 not sure how I could research the game better than playing through it and every other game in the franchise, as well as reading all the supplemental material associated with each game, as well as interviews related to the game's development, but I suppose you do you lmao

@iamdoom9810 whaaaat nooooo... they programmed all that cool dragon combat that gets you no exp so the game would be cool and awesome!! (Ignore the red armored knights, they can't hurt you if you don't ride the dragon)

@NakedRadish just wait until you see final fantasy 14's Nier raid... so many bells... bells bells bells

@@1cegrim Oh I did. They were actually the reason I started playing 14 cause I heard there was Nier content over there. I got to the last boss of the last raid and saw the portal in the sky, then I heard the 1st bell, then I saw the boss... My friends in VC were really confused why I went "Oh hell no..." XD Still my favorite piece of content in the game.

@NakedRadish funny story, ff14 is the reason I started playing the drakenier games. I finished Shadowbringers and saw the Nier crossover and thought "I should probably play that automata game shouldn't I..." And then Replicant v1.22 dropped near to tier 3 of the raids, so I thought "it'd probably be smart to play that first" and then I learned about drakengard right before the remake dropped and well... Needless to say, I've become intimately acquainted with Yoko Taro's works lol

@@1cegrim so you had the complete opposite of my travel XD still now we're brothers in bell PTSD kekw

@andrewtarasenko2976 I actually have played the second one; it's actually a real game lmao One of these days I'll cover it, but I need a break from Drakengard right now

@aidanuzuki3449 i think a lot of people have a ton nostalgia for this game; played it when they were younger. I get having a lot of love for things from your past, but it's important to look at them objectively too... cause this one really wasn't it

@UmmWalad while the game has some of the most dismal endings out of any game I've played, they don't particularly say a lot on their own besides "look how dark and fucked up the world is!" That's my biggest overarching critique: the game is mostly edge without a lot more to say about that edge. Additionally, I was trying to review the game's writing as-is, without relying on the supplemental content to clarify any confusion (I wanted to review the game purely on its own merits) The soundstrack, while grating, is very suitable for the tone and subject the game puts forward. That said, there's a reason I used the DoD3 remix of Seere's prayer over the original version. I also thought the attract mode cinematic used a different track than growing wings, unless my version of the game is different for some reason. As an art piece, the game is very fascinating and has a very consistent theme and presentation. As a game I'd... I'd rather boot up DoD2

@1cegrim the game is basically a dark fantasy with no happy ending and i disagree that it doesnt have alot more to say about its edge. If you criticize it for not revealing everything clearly within the game then every other game in the franchise fails the same metric

@UmmWalad both Nier games and DoD3 include in-game documents that either explicitly state or heavly allude to unspoken plot details, giving more context to what is happening behind the scenes. Additionally, they have the benefit of being sequels, allowing their story to build off of previous entries in the franchise. While this doesn't inherently make those games "good," it does make their subtleties more accessible. My biggest criticisms of both Nier games actually come from their plots hinging on information that was either not in the game or written later. Replicant's central conflict is predicated on two characters restricting CRUCIAL information from the main cast, which could easily prevent most of the second half of the game. This is easily explained away with supplemental content, but I don't think that excuses the game's storytelling. Route D of automata centers entirely around a character that 90% of first time players know nothing about, yet has more lore and history than almost every central cast member. Tying crucial character motivation and background to a stage play that never made it overseas, and has only recently been adapted to localized media, is frustrating and hinders the game's narrative. I believe a central part of enjoying media and media series is being ready and willing to engage in discussion and critique of a piece of media's strengths and weaknesses. Nothing is perfect, and it's important to acknowledge those shortcomings, especially in the media we love the most. As much as I respect every entry in the Drakenier franchise, I don't think DoD has many praiseworthy elements, and it deserves as much critique as any other piece of media

@1cegrim i dont have a problem with criticizing a game. As i said first dod is known for its atrocious and tortous game play and ill never defend any aspect of it. However my point was originally about the story only. And as per your comment it seems that you agree that yoko taro games often leave much to be desired in terms of background info and even motivations of in game characters. But if your complaint is that dod is too dark and hopeless when that was yoko taros intent then that's where you truly lose me

@@UmmWalad I don't actually think DoD1 is too dark. I think darkness in media can make for very compelling storytelling. Berserk is probably the strongest example of this (that story is fucking depressing). Where I run into issues with Drakengard, is that a lot of the darkness doesn't get enough exploration. Like, we don't really go into the fact that the empire is slaughtering villages and committing genocide against the elves, it just happens as set dressing(I think a side story establishes elf blood is super effective against red eyes?). One of the main characters is a nonce and travels with a child who becomes very fond of them. We don't really ever get into that. Furiae and Arioch largely don't have any character to speak of. Again, I have no issue with dark subject matter, I just want it be explored instead of just used for shock

I will concede this game is hard to get out of your head once you learn about it. I honestly think the "game" part of it being so terrible does even more to keep it cemented in your head. It's probably one of the most unintentionally "art" games I've ever played

@@Oakusify thanks, I'll try my best to deliver!

@h_works2965 this is some fire analysis! It's interesting to see what 7-ish years did in terms of both the questions Yoko was asking, and the answers he was pondering to those questions. Nier feels almost nothing like DoD in pretty much every way, yet still retains things that are crucial to what make his games his. Also a lot of the short stories and novellas are like... needlessly dark. Like almost uncharacteristically so. Although it probably doesn't help that their main author Jun Eishima is a little bit too aligned with Leonard's interests

What do you think about Silent Hill 2?

@yeahbuthow2005 i haven't had a chance to play the silent hill games, would you recommend them (and should I play the remakes?)

@tlozfreak888 if I'm gonna review a game, I gotta go all the way!

@@meow-s6l5p yeah, obviously lol

@aaron8342 it's called "Breakthrough" from Drakengard 2's ost.

@@1cegrim thank youuu

@aaron8342 I got you 👍

@@tsunderelict 😎

@@1cegrim hey, mad respect for you completing the final boss! Personally, I love this game but yes it is a grating and rather uncomfortable experience to play- especially in the modern era. I'm glad it is still being recognized for what it is. I still blast the sound track far too often, I love the chop and screwed classical music so much!

@tsunderelict I really want to be able to like DoD1 more, but I'm glad it exists regardless cause of all the other stuff it paved the way for! Nier is great of course, but I'm actually just as much a fan of DoD2 and 3 as I am of Nier. Honestly, a drakengard remake that plays like modern ace combat and automata would be pretty sweet (just please organize the story more like DoD3 lol)

@@1cegrim I'm glad you added the part about taro NEVER EVER MAKING ANOTHER DRAGONSPHERE game... and then we got the wonderful weird gem that is dod3 lmao. I also enjoyed dod2, mechanically i feel like it tidied up the ideas of the first game and again the ost slappppps. anyways- really looking forward to more content from you, you really nailed this so well!

@tsunderelict thanks, i really appreciate it! The DoD2 video will be made someday, but for now I need a bit of a Drakengard break lol

@llsinon360ll8 Automata showed up to the function... I'm not sure what else I was supposed to do...

@KarinKoenig7 DoD1's soundtrack is fascinating because not only does it understand the assignment, it fully commits to trying its hardest to convey the horrors of war and the madness the follows unending violence. It's repatitative and grating and makes you feel like you're starting to lose your sense sanity and self. From a purely artistic standpoint, it delivers exactly what you need from a game like Drakengard It's also one of the few RPGs that makes me lunge for the remote to mute it after being in a ground stage for more than 3 minutes lol

@@1cegrim I guess I am into the experimental style it's going for. I personally do find myself listening to specific tracks for enjoyment lmao. It's definitely top 3 of my favorite ost ever.

@KarinKoenig7 that's fair, it's certainly the most unique ost I've ever found in a game

Also Growing Wings is such a beautiful song.

@@raiden_fumo Yeah, both versions are awesome.

@sadmiqoxiv I'll concede that it set up the framework for very strong series of games to follow it

What did he mean by this?

@1cegrim that, right there. Perfect example, thank you.

@gd995 bits aside, what actually did you mean by that? I'm afraid I don't follow

​@@1cegrimYou speak in memes lol Expand your prose a bit by reading something from before the 21st century 😂

@AngraMainiiu I really don't think the average viewer would be interested in listening to an hour long video on a game from 2003 written by David Foster Wallace

@HolyBoredom i appreciate all of your insight in the comments! You know a ton about this series which is super cool. It's wild that every game is technically a weird sequel to the previously released game, but also fit into the larger timeline at different points (og repliCant and v1.22 being different loops) I think it's really funny that the queen beast was originally based on a idol that was big at the time.

@@1cegrim Its become a very odd passion of mine (i am also a writer so I love this type of timey wimey nonsense) Have you played the other games in the series?

@HolyBoredom I've played every game in the series and read almost every short story and manga, bummer accords library died so now I can't read story side

@HolyBoredom holy... did you figure this out yourself just by playing, or is there info on the combo/orb strats in the manual??

@@1cegrim Pushups, sit ups, and pLENTy of juice. The orbs and strats i figured out myself. And i just started noticing the dps was changing for the weapons depending on the move set. Again I am deeeeeply broken.

@HolyBoredom nah bro that's impressive commitment. Somebody has to be Drakengard's strongest warrior and you're certainly a strong contender for that spot

@@HolyBoredom this is one of the coolest pact prices because you can immediately see how it affects the pact holder. Him yelling Furiae's name during his fight is an A+ character moment

@@1cegrim Absolutely. I have strong hopes for a full remake, especially with the narrative devices they've built along the way. Expanding the story as depicted in some of the side content, but still keeping much to our imagination. Also making many of the short falls make narrative sense story wise. (As you said this was just a brand new jam for all involved)

@HolyBoredom I know I was very harsh at then end of the video (I was sort of getting fired up for effect), but i actually wouldn't be too opposed to a full remake. I still think it'd be a massive undertaking though. The gameplay would need to be reworked from the ground up (getting the ace combat team and new clover team could work), and the story would need to be repaced to be easier for audiences to follow. (And please please give more characterization to Caim) Ultimately though, I'm not sure DoD1 could make it in the current game environment

@ Well my hope Nier Replicant was an indication of what they could do by revisiting. That game just needed a remaster but they remade all the visuals and updated the combat. The Drakengard series could be fertile ground to explore more of the Cathedral city, Accord, and the Kingdom of Night. (But also lean very heavily into the connection between the 2 worlds. Also Taro loves money.

@ so DOD1 as is wouldn’t fly. But if it’s another loop and make it the farthest point in that timeline…(cuz the world is dead dead) but in “this” world the Lunar Tear mutates from a wayward wish and creates the black flower (and the loop starts again)

@nidgithm Thanks I really appreciate it! It's always wild to go from the newest entry in a franchise to the very first, especially when the changes between the two are so drastically different

@@HolyBoredom You have a considerably higher tolerance for stuff like DoD than I do lol

@ oh I’m nuts. I fully can turn off parts of my brain and level up each of the swords fully in one sitting. I’m broken.

@@HolyBoredom man, I can commit to a grind if I need to, but that is next level

@ Is it a head injury? Is it mental illness? I don’t know. But I do know that it’s a #traumaresponse

@@HolyBoredom LMAO

@maruseu If you don't mind me asking, what do you find compelling about the OST?

@@1cegrim It boils down to being really experimental but still fitting drakengard's vibe perfectly. The ost was made by taking excerpts from classical pieces (recorded live btw) then heavily editing them to sound chaotic and weird, it doesn't sound weird by accident it was competently made like the flying stages have flying feeling music and ground stages have kinda this war vibe so when you get used to the style not only is pretty good there also isn't anything quite like it. Also tsukiru the jp version of the branch b ending is awesome it kinda just feels like its more acting than singing but still hits the notes it is very good. Idk in truth one day I woke up with a drakengard bgm stuck in my head and then I heard again and thought it was good actually.

@maruseu i agree that from a purely artistic angle, the music does fit into the whole "madness of war" theme. I guess I'm just not super partial to having an unpleasant game experience be paired with an unpleasant experience... even if that's kinda the point

Thanks, I appreciate it!

🐁🐉

WE'RE SO BACK!!

@renren225 Hey, thanks for the input! I go over it in the video, but I'm specifically covering Dragon Quest Monsters. While DQ5 introduced monster taming to Dragon Quest, DQM was a response to Pokemon's surging success, and you can see a lot of elements that were present in pokemon throughout the game. (i.e. a focus on catching and breeding monsters, "trainer battles", a league style progression system, and a younger main character)

You're totally right! I actually go a bit more in-depth about the history of monster taming games early in the video and how SMT and DQ5 set the groundwork for the genre as we know it today!

@@andream5462 thanks for leaving a comment! The zones really are gorgeous this time around, aren't they. And that whole combat event with Otis was heartbreaking. I really appreciate you stopping by, thank you!

@@Wraithranger see you then!

Glad I could help!