Drakengard 2

Drakengard 2
Japanese box art for Drakengard 2
Developer(s)	Cavia
Publisher(s)	Square Enix Ubisoft
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	June 16, 2005 (Japan) February 14, 2006 (NA), March 2, 2006 (Europe) TBA (Australia)
Genre(s)	Action, RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Drakengard 2, or Drag-On Dragoon 2 in Japan, is an action based role playing game for the Playstation 2 system and is a direct sequel to the original Drakengard. Like the original, Drakengard 2 combines on-foot hack-and-slash action with aerial-combat stages reminicent of Sega's Panzer Dragoon. It was developed by Cavia, published in Japan by Square Enix on June 16, 2005 and released in North America by Ubisoft on February 14, 2006.

Drakengard 2 features a number of refinements and enhancements designed to make the game better than its predecessor. For instance, in the original game, the player could only regain health by causing health orbs to generate after chaining enough attacks together, and each stage featured a strict time limit in which the objectives needed to be met. The sequel eases things by allowing the player to purchase and equip health and magic restoration items before beginning each stage, and the time limits have been done away with entirely. Furthermore, should the player's character die, Drakengard 2 will retain all experience gained over the course of play should the player elect to try the stage again.

The original Drakengard featured roughly seventy unique weapons to collect over the course of the game, and finding every last one of them was a requirement to see all five of the game's different endings. However, the process of collecting the weapons was seen by many as tedious and somewhat frustrating, and so Drakengard 2 simplifies the process by making many of the weapons in the game available for purchase in village shops. Purchasing a weapon only requires that the player has stockpiled enough gold to buy it.

One change that Drakengard 2 makes that is not universally accepted is the alteration to the stage selection feature. The original game featured the ability to revisit any stage at any time, but the storyline of Drakengard 2 is presented in a linear fashion that prevents the player from revisiting story-specific missions. This is mitigated somewhat by the existence of free expedition, or basic missions that utilize many of the same maps as the story missions, but the player must either replay through the game from scratch or keep a save file prior to a specific story mission in order to play it again.

Story

Template:Spoilers The story is set eighteen years after the end of the original Drakengard, in which the hero Caim saved the world from destruction and the red dragon Angelus sacrificed her life to become the final seal, preventing a world-ending calamity. The game begins with Nowe, a young man that had been raised by a dragon since infancy, completing his initiation into the Knights of the Seal, a military organization dedicated to protecting the keys located in five districts that hold the red dragon's seal in place. However, during his first official mission, Nowe learns that the keys are powered by the life energy of "martyrs", or citizens of the former Empire that had almost destroyed the world during the war with the Union eighteen years prior. Having doubts about his duties, Nowe later encounters a mysterious young woman named Manah, who holds a desire to help the people by freeing the districts from the rule of the knights.

Although Nowe feels conflicted, he is given further reason to doubt the knights when their leader, General Gismor, betrays him by first feeding him poison, and then revealing that he also poisoned General Oror, the former leader of the Knights of the Seal, and Nowe's adoptive human father. Angered, Nowe attacks Gismor, severing the general's right arm, and then flees. With nowhere else to turn, he travels on his own with the dragon Legna as his only companion until he once again crosses paths with Manah. Intrigued by Manah's purpose, Nowe accompanies her on a quest to free each district, unaware of what consequences their actions would have on the world.

Characters

• Nowe

A young man others refer to as "the dragon child" or "the savior." He was raised by the blue/black dragon Legna from infancy, learning how to speak and understand the dragon tongue without the need of becoming a pact partner. During Nowe's childhood, General Oror, then the leader of the Knights of the Seal, discovered him huddled in Legna's wings, and convinced the dragon to allow him to raise the boy so that he could become more than a "wingless dragon."

Nowe apparently has three fathers; his biological father who he seems to have never met, Legna who raised him and General Oror who became his adoptive father.

As an adult, Nowe becomes a full-fledged Knight of the Seal at the beginning of the game. As the central character, the plot focuses around the truth behind his past and the discovery of his destiny. Nowe is in fact a being known as a "new breed," a being created by the dragons meant to take humanity's place once the dragons regained control of the world. However, Nowe chooses to rebel against both Legna and his supposed fate.

• Legna

The dragon that acts as Nowe's "father," Legna is an ancient blue/black dragon who's unrelenting pride compares only to his might and intelligence. His "blood memory" allows him to evolve into more powerful forms when the situation grows dire, which helps him guide and protect Nowe. However, Legna's ultimate form as the holy dragon is drastically different from the other holy dragons shown in the game, and obviously much more powerful. The game provides a few hints that Legna was also Inuart's black dragon in the original Drakengard. The official materials collection entitled "Memory of Blood" backs up these claims by stating them directly. Interestingly while Legna is known as the black dragon, in the game's 12th chapter for the first ending he has a blueish shading but for the other endings he has a black shading that matches the black dragon description.

• Eris

A female knight whose fighting ability was advanced for her age, allowing her to rise quickly through the ranks from childhood. She has a long friendship with Nowe, and the game hints that she has also fallen in love with him. She vows to take Nowe back from Manah because she believes Nowe is under her spell. During a confrontation between Nowe and General Gismor, Gismor uses Eris as a human shield, and Nowe accidentally runs her through with his sword. However, she survives and is restored to health by Hierarch Seere.

In the game's first ending, Eris is chosen to become the new goddess of the seal, taking the role previously held by Angelus.

• General Gismor

The current general of the Knights of the Seal and a former member of the Empire. Gismor is shady in nature, lustful for control, and he will stop at nothing to achieve absolute power. He attempts to murder Nowe by poisoning him, and also reveals to him that he caused Oror's death. Before Gismor can finish Nowe off, Nowe reveals his "new breed" powers for the first time in a fit of anger. Gismor loses his right arm in the assault, but he is seen later on the game with a new one courtesy of his pact partner, a shadow. Gismor is secretly the guardian of the District of Heavenly Time.

• General Oror

The late general of the Knights of the Seal, a former Union officer, and foster father to Nowe. He was poisoned when he drank water given to him by General Gismor, but did not succumb to its effects until he entered battle with Caim, who killed Oror in his weakened state. Oror is widely remembered as a just and noble individual, and Nowe has vowed to avenge his death.

• Zhangpo

The guardian of the District of Soul Flame, Zhangpo is a man of childish temperament. Weak as a child, he constantly ate food with the goal of growing big and strong until he became a pact partner of Ifrit, a fire spirit. The price Zhangpo paid for the pact was his ability to eat and taste food, leaving him in a constant state of hunger. When monsters attacked the District of Soul Flame, he sent Manah and a few martyrs inside in order to make sure that the district key had not been disturbed. However, after realizing that Manah intended to destroy the key, he gave pursuit, along with Nowe and Eris. Unable to protect the Flame Dais from Manah's efforts, Zhango dies just as Eris and Nowe enter the chamber.

• Hanch

The only female district guardian, Hanch was once a charming girl that the people of her village referred to as "sunsmile." During an incident when she fell into a lake and almost drowned, she made a pact with the sea monster Kelpie in order to survive. The price of her pact was her allure, causing her to become unattractive and unpleasant. As the guardian of the District of Hallowed Water, she fights against Nowe and Legna from atop Kelpie, but she proves to be no match for them.

• Yaha

The guardian of the District of Precious Light, Yaha entered a pact with the gnomes, and in return was given such dazzling beauty that he could entrance anyone that looked directly into his eyes. He and Urick were once very close to each other, and are hinted to have shared a homosexual relationship, but by the time the events of Drakengard 2 unfold, Urick has put all of that behind him. Yaha attempts to defend the district by siccing the gnomes upon Nowe and his companions, but with his pact partners defeated, Yaha's life comes to an end and the district's key is destroyed.

• Urick

A renegade warrior with the air of a jokster. During his days as a Knight of the Seal under General Oror, he acted as a big brother figure to Nowe. He is secretly the pact partner of a reaper, and as a result he can only die if the reaper itself is slain while inside him. He made the pact when he was severely injured in a fight with Caim. Oror saved Urick, but Urick fled, and became wracked with guilt for leaving Oror to die at Caim's hands. He also believes he is a coward for making the pact with the reaper. To atone for the wrong-doing he believes he has committed, he seeks an end to his immortal life.

Urick is the guardian of the District of Shining Life. He is finally killed at the hands of Caim, who sought to destroy the district's key.

• Manah

A mysterious young woman with great magical powers and vast knowledge of the dark arts. Her mysterious past is unbeknownst to Nowe, whom later befriends Manah when he leaves the Knights. Manah seeks to destroy the keys of the five districts in order to free those that suffer under their existence, unaware that she is inadvertently reenacting the events of her childhood. Following her actions resulting in the destruction of the key at the District of Soul Flame, she was branded as a criminal by the Knights of the Seal and sentenced to death, but used her magic in order to escape.

As a child, Manah had gone mad and was possessed by the gods, who used her as a means to destroy the world during the events of the original Drakengard. Her past has left her with a traumatic fear of Caim. In Drakengard 2, she unknowingly re-enacts her previous crimes by convincing Nowe and Urick to help her in destroying Angelus' seals, and once again brings the world to chaos, due to the influence of the gods who still had dominian over her.

• Seere

The current hierarch and leader of the Knights of the Seal. Although he has the appearance of a young child, Seere is actually about twenty-four years old. His time, or his ability to grow old, was the price he paid in entering a pact with a golem. Seere is Manah's twin brother, and he suffers constant guilt because his mother loved him but abused his twin sister. Although Seere's father was mentioned in the first game, nothing is revealed about him in the second game.

• Caim

Frequently referred to as "the one-eyed man," he is an immensely powerful fighter and relentless opponent. Caim was the main protagonist of Drakengard, and his pact partner is the red dragon Angelus. He seeks to destroy all the keys in each district in order to free Angelus from her burden as goddess of the seal. Between the events of Drakengard and Drakengard 2, Caim sought revenge by murdering Verdelet, the previous hierarch who was responsible for sealing Angelus, and the cause of the red dragon's descent into madness. Caim also killed Oror, the former general of the Knights of the Seal and Nowe's adoptive father, as part of his efforts to destroy the keys and break Angelus's seal. Caim asked Legna and Nowe to kill Angelus in order to save the world from her. Nowe, while knowing that Caim had killed his foster father Oror, felt sorry for Caim and Angelus, but reluctantly agreed to grant Caim's request.

• Angelus

The red dragon who gave her life to become the final seal in the first game. She is also Caim's pact-partner. When the five keys are broken, she is set free and, maddened by the burden the seal had placed on her, goes on a psychotic rampage to destroy humanity. In reference to what drove her mad, Hierarch Seere explains that the keys of each district were necessary to keep Angelus sealed because the process of sealing a dragon is different from that of a goddess, requiring methods "most cruel."

In the end, Nowe and Legna are forced to kill Angelus, which in turn brings about the death of Caim.

Interestingly Angelus evolved into stronger forms due to the "pact" that she made with Caim, while Legna evolved due to the blood memory he had as a holy dragon. Angelus actual name in the japanese game was "Angel", which is "Legna" spelled backwards.

Trivia

• The world of Drakengard is world full of magic and technology, with culture and entities originating from medieval Europe. Apparently, this world is seperated from Earth by the seals as in the first game's final ending Caim and Angelus were able to travel through the chaos and arrive in modern day Tokyo. For this world to remain free of chaos the seal and the goddess are needed to keep the chaos at bay.
• Apparently the gods and the dragons are in a war to determine who will rule this world. The dragons seem to be ruled by angelic entities known as the holy dragons or the arch dragons. The gods seem to be the opposite of the holy dragons as they seem to resort to demonic practices such as possessing Mana and seem to identify themselves as "I" and "us" interchangeably while speaking through Mana.
• In the first game Angelus evolves into stronger forms, due to her pact with Caim, but in the second game she is seen in her second last form since the official ending of the game five ending didn't reach the point where she evolved into the chaos dragon.
• Keeping with the first game, the map is once again a map of Europe. The map covers Eastern Europe, North being on the top and West on the left of the map.

External link

• Official Website (Japanese)