By Sean Ewing

Square-Enix is a company best known for their epic role playing games. Occasionally, they will deviate from the norm and try a new genre. They’ve had mixed results, ranging from forgettable (Racing Lagoon) to instant classic (Einhander). Drakengard falls somewhere in between. A hack and slash adventure that’s got more going for it then against it, Drakengard is ultimately a lot of fun, if you can stick out the beginning.

Drakengard tells the story of a young knight, Caim, who is fighting to liberate his home from an oppressive empire and protect his sister and her fiancée. In a battle for his sister’s castle, Caim is fatally wounded. He limps into the castle where he finds a dragon tied down and also on the verge of death. The dragon explains that if they form a “life pact” it will save both of them and make him stronger then ever. The catch is, he can never speak again. He accepts the offer, and the dragon becomes his constant companion and helps him wreak havoc on the battlefield.

From there the events spiral into a fascinating, but horribly depressing and strange story arc. Caim plays the role of a tragic hero perfectly, and it is really engrossing to see how things play out for him. In fact, the story is really the driving force in this game, which is unusual for a hack and slash game.

The gameplay is your standard fare, but with one pleasant surprise. Caim and the dragon are partners; so naturally, the dragon will assist Caim with his genocidal missions by allowing him to ride it. When you are on the dragon, things change quite drastically. Rather than Caim going toe to toe with the enemy hordes, you can look down upon them with scorn from your dragon, while raining hellfire on their unsuspecting heads. It’s even more fun than it sounds.

There are some missions that require Caim to ride the dragon, and the game switches to a Panzer Dragoon style dogfight section. Anyone who’s played Panzer Dragoon will tell you that this is good news indeed. The air levels feel very well integrated, not just like they threw it in there to mix things up.

As you use your dragon and the multitude of weapons you collect on your quest, they will level up, open up new attacks, and change in appearance. For instance, one sword may be medium length and completely unremarkable at level one, but be six feet long and glowing at level four. Also, as your weapons gain levels, you can read more of the back-story of the weapon, which is a neat incentive for the perfectionist. Another fun element comes from the magic system. Each weapon has a magic attack that grows in strength as the weapon levels up. Square-Enix also did a good job of innovating the combat system by allowing Caim to bring in allies, who fight alongside you, and eventually you can even play short scenarios with them.

You control Caim as he goes to area to area; defeating literally thousands of troops per stage, then you will watch a cut scene, maybe do a flying stage, then cut apart more bad guys. If this sounds repetitive, it sort of is. Square-Enix did an admirable job of trying to break things up with the dragon areas, but still, you only play as Caim, and the enemies really don’t start to look different at all until the later levels. Oddly enough, the story is the only thing keeping the gamer tuned in until midway through the game, where new weapons, magic, dragons and enemies abound. This is where Drakengard is at its best, when you’ve bolstered your weaponry, leveled up your dragon, and you ride against a whole army of villains, and you know that in a few minutes, they will be smoldering craters.

Drakengard really brings a lot new to the genre, but unfortunately, it can take some time to get to all of it. If you have the patience to slog through the lackluster opening levels, you’ll open up the tragic and fascinating world Caim lives in.

Final Grade: B

Drakengard takes a while to kick in, but once it does, it doesn´t stop.