drakengard-3
Latest
Square Enix back to school sale is counterproductive to studying
Like the inevitable return of Final Fantasy 10's Sin, the first day of school is descending upon students, threatening all known joy and their tireless quest to save the world take a break from the books. You're not even safe until your first class either, because Square Enix has a pop quiz for you: What better way to prepare for the textbooks you'll never read than stocking up on adventures and time-intensive RPGs? The publisher's online store is offering discounts for reasons to procrastinate on homework, with potential savings increasing depending on how many games are purchased. Buying one game is matched with a 20 percent discount, two games earns 30 percent, and three or more reward shoppers with 50 percent off. Not everything in the store is fair game – the related press release lists "pre-orders, new releases, merchandise and soundtracks" as exceptions – but it does include Drakengard 3, Final Fantasy X/X2 HD Remaster, Thief and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. Older selections are applicable as well, including Just Cause 2 and Final Fantasy 12, but it all depends on you beating other shoppers to the punch before supplies run out. Square Enix's sale is a decent chance to save on games you might have missed, but remember: You can't limit break your way through a stumbling GPA. [Image: Square Enix]
Final Drakengard 3 DLC features Nier-inspired costumes
Just under a month after its initial release, Square Enix's Drakengard 3 has wrapped up its DLC plans with one final batch of add-on content aimed at fans of past series entries and beloved franchise spin-off Nier. This week's new DLC includes a set of ability-enhancing costumes inspired by character garb from the previous Drakengard games and Nier, along with a creepy new baby head helmet for Mikhail (shown above). Other additions include new music packs and alternate narration that enables Japanese voiceovers. Previously, Square Enix launched Drakengard 3 story DLC that expanded the roles of the game's antagonists, adding extra in-game weapons and unlockable trophies as a bonus. [Image: Square Enix]
Drakengard 3 rolls out story DLC starring Zero's sisters
Square Enix has deployed a collection of story mode DLC for its PlayStation 3 hack-and-slash action game, Drakengard 3, giving players new insight regarding the game's bizarre world and outlandish supporting characters. Each DLC chapter in Drakengard 3 stars one of protagonist Zero's sisters – the ones players are meant to defeat in the game's core campaign. Purchasing an add-on chapter also gives players access to an exclusive in-game weapon set and a new batch of unlockable trophies. Drakengard 3's DLC chapters are available individually for $5.99 each, or together in the Sisters Prologue Bundle for $29.99. [Image: Square Enix]
Joystiq Discussion: Drakengard 3 asks, shalt thou always kill?
Scroobius Pip wasn't talking about video games in his song "Thou Shalt Always Kill," but it certainly seems like a prime directive when you pick up a controller. Booker DeWitt grinds Columbian policemen's faces right off while Lara Croft takes a pan species approach to slaughter, doing in tigers and mercenaries with equal efficiency. No wonder! Violence is exciting. Conflict and destruction are immediate ways to affect a player, to bridge the gap between digital and material worlds. Sometimes, though, the extremity and frequency of violence in games can disconnect you from the action. After shooting the 900th enemy in BioShock Infinite or Tomb Raider, Booker and Lara start to feel insane. Drakengard 3, this week's most unusual release, attempts to mitigate violence-born cognitive dissonance. "[When] we were working on the original Drakengard that I thought about the meaning of 'killing,'" explains director Yoko Taro in a new interview, "I was looking at a lot of games back then, and I saw these messages like 'You've defeated 100 enemies!' or 'Eradicated 100 enemy soldiers!' in an almost gloating manner. But when I thought about it in an extremely calm state of mind, it hit me that gloating about killing a hundred people is strange. I mean, you're a serial killer if you killed a hundred people. It just struck me as insane. That's why I decided to have the army of the protagonist in Drakengard be one where everyone's insane, to create this twisted organization where everyone's wrong and unjust. I wanted to weave a tale about these twisted people." That's just one solution, though. Another approach is to ignore it entirely. Wolfenstein: The New Order is full of great characters, but none of them ever bat an eye at B.J. Blazkowicz killing literally thousands of people. The question then is this: Do you want violent games to justify your actions? Do you want a shooter or hack-and-slash to make you question the morality of killing? Or do those moral stakes not matter, at least not in every game? Take the poll, discuss in the comments. Do you want violent games to justify your actions? [Images: Square-Enix]
PSN Tuesday: Transistor, Wolfenstein on PS4
Happy Tuesday, everyone! The PSN Store update packs a punch this week, with Transistor and Wolfenstein: The New Order out on PS4, and Destiny up for pre-order on PS4 and PS3. Wolfenstein is also available on PS3, along with Drakengard 3 and it's collector's edition, Mugen Souls Z and R-Type Dimensions. Sparkle 2 is out for Vita and PS4 as a Cross-Buy, and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is this week's PS2 Classic. There's also a lineup of PS1 Imports playable on PS3 and PSP (plus one also on Vita, Dragon Beat Legend of Pinball). A bunch of apps also get updates, including HBO GO on PS3 and MLB.TV Premium on PS3 and PS4. This week, PlayStation Plus members get Puppeteer and Surge Deluxe for free.
Drakengard 3's launch trailer promises a bloody good time
Square Enix has rolled out a blood-soaked trailer to commemorate this week's launch of its PlayStation 3 action game Drakengard 3, a collaborative project between former members of Nier creator Cavia and Deadly Premonition developer Access Games. Our pre-launch stream showcasing the first hour of gameplay also comes highly recommended for fans of Cavia's bizarre output and/or dragon urination. [Video: Square Enix]
Joystiq Streams: Drakengard 3, bloody horror, and a grand giveaway [UPDATE: Relive the stream!]
Yoko Taro is an unusual man. Drakengard 3 is his first directorial effort since 2010's Nier, a late in the game PlayStation 3 exclusive action RPG where you sword-fight and lay siege to medieval castles with a giant dragon. Sounds pretty common actually. Except you control a mad woman with a flower growing out of her eye, who gains power as more blood covers her skin, and her best giant dragon pal has the brain of an over-enthusiastic tween. This game is a semi-prequel to his last one, which co-starred a bloodthirsty, hermaphroditic swordswoman and a smarmy talking book. Yoko Taro makes awesome games, with spectacularly unique stars. Hence why we're streaming a whole lot of Drakengard 3 and giving away a copy of it worth about $300. We'll be streaming Drakengard 3 on the Joystiq Twitch channel and right here in this post at 4PM EST. Meanwhile in the chat, we're giving away a feast of gaming goods. First up, the Japanese Drakengard 3 10th Anniversary Box Set. Valued at $300, the box set comes with the Japanese PS3 game, a Blu-ray documentary about the series, a massive art book, a soundtrack with cuts from the whole series including Nier, and a novel that takes place before the game. But that's not all, ye RPG freaks. We're also giving away a copy of the limited edition English Bravely Default and a Retro Trio game console that plays NES, SNES, and Genesis games. How do you win these goods? Show up in the chat at 4PM EST on Twitch.tv/Joystiq and find out. Joystiq Streams broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST. [Images: Square-Enix]
Drakengard 3 flies out in May, downloadable only in Europe [update]
Update: North America joins the Drakengard 3 party the day before Europe on May 20, with the game priced at $50. As revealed on the PlayStation Blog, Square Enix has an appropriately surreal tiered pre-order system in place, in which the earlier you order, the more extra stuff you get. Square Enix also unveiled the action-RPG's collector's edition today. For $80, you'll get the game with its Japanese box art, a prequel novella, a game and soundtrack sampler, a two-sided collectible poster, and various bits of in-game content including prequel DLC starring One, the sister of the protagonist Zero. It'll be only available through the Square Enix online store, and just 5,000 units are being produced. Original story: Drakengard 3, the first main entry in Square Enix's action-RPG series in eight years, is due in Europe and other PAL territories on May 21. According to the YouTube description on Square Enix UK's newly released trailer, the PS3 game will only be available as a PSN download in Europe, while North America is getting a retail release as well. There's no news yet on a release date for North America beyond a 2014 window. Drakengard 3 is a prequel to the original game, and it has a mysterious connection to the Cavia-developed spin-off Nier. No surprises, then, that some members of the now disbanded Cavia team are on board at Access Games, the studio behind Drakengard 3. [Image: Square Enix]
Drakengard 3 heading west in 2014
Drakengard 3 will launch in North America in 2014, Square Enix announced in a recent PlayStation Blog. The PS3 game is developed by Access Games, a team composed of developers from the original Drakengard and Nier. As a prequel to original game, Drakengard 3 has players switching between aerial and ground-based combat throughout the fast-paced adventure. The game's story features two sister goddesses that can create magic through song, one of which fights alongside a dragon. Drakengard 3's Japanese release, known as Drag-on Dragoon 3, was delayed to December 19 as of late August.
Square Enix's TGS 2013 line-up includes Lightning Returns, Thief
Square Enix has posted the selection of wares and sundries it'll showcase during this month's Tokyo Game Show festivities, and while the list is primarily what you'd expect, there are a couple of interesting omissions. High-profile highlights include Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy, Drag-On Dragoon 3/Drakengard 3, Thief and Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn. The publisher will also be showing off a small handful of Square Enix Partners titles, such as Wolfenstein: The New Order and Psycho Break, the Japanese title for Shinji Mikami's The Evil Within. Missing from the list, however, are Final Fantasy 15 and Kingdom Hearts 3, neither of which have been heard from since back at E3. But hey, Gardening Mama is totally on there, and that's all that matters.
Drakengard 3 delayed to December 19 in Japan
Square Enix will keep Drakengard 3's dragons grounded until December 19, according to Polygon's translation of a Square Enix announcement. Drakengard 3 is being developed by Access Games, a studio partially comprised of several core developers of the original Drakengard and Nier. The staff's Drakengard experience stems from Series Producer Takamasa Shiba and Character Designer Kimihiko Fujisaka. Nier Director and Writer Taro Yokoo and Composer Keiichi Okabe have also joined Access Games. There are currently no announced plans to launch Drakengard 3 outside of Japan.
Report: Drakengard 3 coming from Access Games and original Drakengard team
This week's Famitsu reveals a sequel to the weird PS2 series Drakengard (or Drag-on Dragoon as its known in Japan.) Square Enix's Drag-on Dragoon 3 reunites members of the original Cavia Drakengard team, including director Taro Yoko (who also directed Nier), producer Takamasa Shiba, and character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka.The team formerly worked together at Cavia, and are now working on this game under the banner of Deadly Premonition studio Access Games. Drag-on Dragoon 3 stars Zero and One, two sisters who can create magic through song. The sequel reportedly maintains the fast action of the original, and the blend of ground combat and dragon riding. Famitsu reports it'll be out on PS3 in Japan this year.
