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Release Date December 19th, 2013. () May 20, 2014 () Note: Past games will be spoiled here. Read at your own risk! -Some History All the way back in 2000 a little company called Cavia emerged in Japan. They started off light and made a few games here and there but the overall quality of their products left a lot to be desired and some were not westbound like their later works. Also they were responsible for this(Apparently?). Come the year 2003 they worked with Square Enix to develop a game called Drakengard, or Drag-On Dragoon in Japanese. The game was more or less an homage to Panzer Dragoon due to its dragon-striding aerial battles against massive airships and other supernatural elements as well as rival dragons. The main character was a murder-crazy mute psycho named Caim and he was pretty loving awesome and everyone should get to know him. The game took on a "Crowd-battle" flair in the style of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors where on-foot you can wield a massive amount of weapons and play as several characters to fight against hordes of enemies with gore and blood flying every which way. You can even call your dragon buddy down and immolate every mindless enemy soldier in existence. The game enjoyed a cult success thanks to its dissonant and dark soundtrack, the fact your party members are all deranged nutjobs where most of them have a history of abusing children, and last but DEFINITELY not least, a mind-gently caress story where there is only anguish, chaos and . In actual gameplay however it was grindy as hell and sometimes excruciatingly hard. The Dark Id has done LPs of all the games, including NieR, and are worth a read if you want to catch up on the history of this series. Be prepared for The game was successful enough to spawn a sequel starring a character not nearly as cool as Caim -Where are we now? Drakengard 3 came back up in March when the developers of Drakengard and NieR reunited and announced the new iteration of Drakengard. The series director, Taro Yoko, has also returned so you know it's going to have the same old nihilistic flair. Drakengard 3 stakes out its own claim and has an entirely different lore to follow. The gist of it is that our new heroine, Zero, and her sister One, are the protagonists. They are both Utautai, which means "singer" in Japanese, and are basically powerful goddesses each with their own distinct personalities and sordid history. Story Overview posted:In the distant past when darkness swept the world with war and tyranny, Goddesses called "Utatai" saw mankind was suffering and descended on the world. These Goddesses use the magical power of songs to defeat warlords ruling the land. Peace was finally brought to this chaotic world. The Goddesses were worshiped for ending conflict and were entrusted control of the world. They became known as Utahime (divas). Some story elements worth noting (and I'll add more to the OP as they come up) are that each of the Uta sisters are assigned to a specific Church in whatever nation they reside in. For example, Five resides in the Nation of the Sea and is subsequently dispatched by the Church there. What we know about Zero is that she is out to kill all of her other sisters but we don't know why yet. It's likely a hidden truth the same as her mysterious dragon. As well, there are no more pacts to be made with dragons that bind their lives whilst also stealing a critical component from the human. Drag-on Dragoon: Shi ni Itaru Aka There is a spin-off manga called "The Red Death" translated here showcasing One and an Elf named Nero, a prequel(?) to the game. All in all, and above all, expect nothing but strange and sociopathic behavior of every single character in this game. -Gameplay To sum it up, you sing to power up to bloodily murder your enemies, being covered in blood makes you even stronger, you still ride on a dragon, and all the Utahime are sexual deviants. The game is also incorporating features from past games and other things you would find in Dynasty Warriors, like weapon-switching combos. In this game, you will also be accompanied by Zero's companions called Apostles. These companions are tireless supporters of their mistress both on and off the battlefield. You can bring two Apostles with you to each battle, it is not yet known(as far as I know!) if you can them switch mid-battle. You can ride on your dragon as always and it has a few more attacks than the last two Drakengards did, it can bite, swipe with its tail, and of course breathe more of the cleansing fire on the heretics that oppose you. We know that the aerial-only battles, among other things, will be returning for this game as well. Zero has four different kinds of weapons, a chakram which is good for crowd control and can hit everyone around Zero, her fists which are quick and great for comboing, a spear which is slow but powerful, and a sword which is the basic necessity. Beyond that, even the weapons of Drakengard have horrible, depressing, or crudely humorous stories to them, more being revealed as you level up the weapon with continued use. That's also returning for Drakengard 3! As you fight more and more you build up a sort of "rage" meter and eventually enter into an overdrive state where Zero will begin to sing and when that happens she is an unstoppable might about to crush everything in the vicinity. dazat posted:I also translated the sample weapon stories that have been released so far: -The Miniseries Leading up to Drakengard 3's release is a series of stories relating to the game, the first one being about Zero's background. A summary of Zero's story can be found just below. There are translated stories for all the apostles and other Utahime which are linked to their character respectively in the next post as I find them. There was another comic I would like to have linked here and all I remember is that One was with some Elven guy and they killed everyone in a town and burned it down. Including children. It was being translated last I heard months ago so tell me about it if you have any info! Zero's Origin posted:Zero — The Rain of the End and the Flower of the Beginning -News and Trailers First Promotional Video for the game The Dragon Mikhail, Part 1 The Dragon Mikhail, Part 2 Taro Yoko talks about Drakengard and the themes of the series A small summary of the four apostles of Zero Aerial battles in glorious 240p Zero cosplaying as Caim! The producer wants to leave a scar on you An interesting interview that claims the dev wants to preserve the old ways! -Official Artwork & Screenshots P.S. I've been sitting on this OP for a long while. If something's wrong or out of order, be sure to blast me for it and I will make it right . Same goes for anything to be added! Lunethex fucked around with this message at 09:06 on Feb 22, 2014 |
# ? Nov 5, 2013 14:38 |
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# ? Jun 8, 2024 07:26 |
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-Characters Zero Full Story Here The protagonist of the story. She has a prosthetic arm and a flower growing from her eye. She's out to kill all of her sisters for an unknown reason and won't be stopped. She is joined by her sister One and the dragon Mikhail, a white dragon. She is lazy and violent in nature, often getting into heated arguments with One, where their beliefs clash. Mikhail Full Story Here An idealistic and child-demeanoured dragon. His pacifist-like personality clashes with the violence of Zero which inevitably frustrates her. It is to be noted that the dragon is a reincarnated form of another person in another life and he has a different name. quote:"Zero, you meanie! You… you fibster!" One An Utautai that wishes for peace and stability, even going so far as to question why the Utahime exist and why they had descended in the first place. She wants to rise on top of all the Utautai in order to bring peace to the world while Zero simply wants to kill them. Two Full Story Here A girl that looks as cool as ice who governs the country of sand. A bright, cheerful girl who is the life of the party between her sisters. quote:TWO ~ TODAY’S MEAL Three Full Story here An eccentric goddess mistaken for being slothful, but is usually lost in her own world. She harbors an obsession with dolls and rules a forest country. She is seen as lethargic and carries herself languidly, which is said to be a reason some soldiers take a liking to her. quote:Three — My Dolls Are Nice Dolls Four Full story here The more reserved and seemingly timid of the sisters. Deep down she is no different from her sisters, yet remains a virgin - the only one among the Utautai. She rules a mountainous country with an earnest and thoughtful personality, but behind the formality lies an inferiority complex. quote:Four — Family Portrait Five Full story here The greedy goddess that rules the water country who has said that the world is made up of things she wants and what she really wants. Overly picky, she fits the archetype of arrogance like a diamond-studded glove with golden cufflinks. quote:Five — My Favorite Things -The Apostles Dito Full Story Here A beautiful young man with a contradictory brutal personality. He has sharp insights, but also a sadistic nature, as he feels joy when deeply injuring opponents and hearing them scream in pain when tormented. quote:DITO - THIS REPULSIVE WORLD Decad Full story here A middle-aged brawny man with glasses who fights with his fists. He secretly considers his pains and adversities to be some sort of rewarding trial that he enjoys in a masochistic manner, but he still has common sense and consideration towards women. quote:All is for Her Sake Cento Full Story Here Cento is a young man with a cross-shaped scar across his stomach. Cento’s weapon of choice are dual blades. He’s a handsome man who has nothing but absolute confidence in himself, but he often makes the mistake of announcing his knowledge, which might seem cocky to others. quote:"Are you okay, Cent? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?" Octa Full Story Here An older man who uses special ring-like weapons. He walks around wearing a pair of amazingly tall wooden clogs. The old man is considered the best of the Apostles when it comes to sexual activities, an abnormality for his age that he is proud for. quote:"I just assumed he shoved the faerie up his rear end in a top hat." (still adding stories) Lunethex fucked around with this message at 21:42 on Dec 13, 2013 |
# ? Nov 5, 2013 14:38 |
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Okay, TheDarkId, time to start your therapy in advance to prepare for this one.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 05:40 |
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This actually makes me very very happy. I have an unnatural love for this series.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 05:54 |
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Unfortunately never played the last games since grindy combat would drive me insane, but these games always seemed like an endless series of punches to the gut and I wish more games experimented with themes like that so I'm happy to see this.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 06:05 |
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Hey I know this is a thing. Yes I will LP it at some point. Probably quite shortly after its release. Stop telling/asking me. STOP! I KNOW! I loving KNOW!!!!
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 06:06 |
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The Dark Id posted:Hey I know this is a thing. Yes I will LP it at some point. Probably quite shortly after its release. Stop telling/asking me. STOP! I KNOW! I loving KNOW!!!! It's gonna be okay ma-...I can't even say it. It's Taro Yoko. Nothing is going to be okay.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 06:10 |
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The Dark Id posted:Hey I know this is a thing. Yes I will LP it at some point. Probably quite shortly after its release. Stop telling/asking me. STOP! I KNOW! I loving KNOW!!!! You'll never escape from internet fame! In other news I heard that comic being made around the time the game was announced is Lunethex fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Nov 6, 2013 |
# ? Nov 6, 2013 09:52 |
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Oh hey cool more Drakengard... okay that's a sentence I never thought I'd type out. I actually really liked Nier, got the full OST in my thumb drive in my car though I should probably get around to paring down the dozen different versions of Yonah's theme. Game itself was alright too. So if they lean more towards Nier's style and less towards, well, Drakengard's, than D3 should be pretty good. The protagonist is basically a girl version of Guts minus the giant sword. Hopefully we get a giant sword in this game.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 10:21 |
The comic is poo poo. It's like someone heard that Drakengard is supposed to be "dark and edgy", didn't actually check the games out, and decided oh hey, must mean rape, cannibalism, fuckwords, more rape. So edgy. The first Drakengard I appreciate, because amidst the horrid, dissonant samples that its score consisted of, there was something beautiful: Actual famous classical music! God, Igor Stravinsky would've utterly loathed what they did.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 11:02 |
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Mazed posted:The comic is poo poo. It's like someone heard that Drakengard is supposed to be "dark and edgy", didn't actually check the games out, and decided oh hey, must mean rape, cannibalism, fuckwords, more rape. So edgy. Wasn't it said that they took classical music and mashed it up to get some of the music in Drakengard 1? SatansBestBuddy posted:Oh hey cool more Drakengard... okay that's a sentence I never thought I'd type out. I'm worried about the game's graphics more than anything I think the combat will still be fluid though from the videos. Maybe it will be more addicting than Dynasty Warriors 8? In terms of weapons I believe that she'll have a similar menagerie of weapons like Caim, maybe more than what we know now or there is a giant weapon for one or all of the types!
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 11:14 |
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So is this a gore hentai game or what?
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 12:02 |
Lunethex posted:Wasn't it said that they took classical music and mashed it up to get some of the music in Drakengard 1? Yep, literally that. Most easily identifiable amidst the chaos is bits of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, among other things. There were a few pieces that seem to be entirely original, but they kept the same dissonant aesthetic as the rest. Most notable is the series' recurring song "Growing Wings", and the music you play a rhythm game against to get the final ending. Speaking of Growing Wings, Keiichi Okabe (NieR's composer, who's in on Drakengard 3) did his take on it. Hear that? That's the work of a man who gets Drakengard.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 12:07 |
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Blast of Confetti posted:So is this a gore hentai game or what? More like a normal game but with gore hentai characters, I guess.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 12:11 |
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boblemoche posted:More like a normal game but with gore hentai characters, I guess. And child murder. Good to know the devs still hate children with a burning passion judging by whats posted so far.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 12:20 |
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Mazed posted:The comic is poo poo. It's like someone heard that Drakengard is supposed to be "dark and edgy", didn't actually check the games out, and decided oh hey, must mean rape, cannibalism, fuckwords, more rape. So edgy. It does bear repeating that video game mangas usually have gently caress all to do with the game itself. There's some really stupid "edgy" supplementary material for Nier too, which they for one reason or another keep out of the games themselves. You know, before people start declaring this game a stillborn because of that crap again. Rather than the "KAWAIIII" dragon voice. BioMe fucked around with this message at 12:28 on Nov 6, 2013 |
# ? Nov 6, 2013 12:21 |
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This sounds like a complete abomination. I'm already looking forward to it.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 12:22 |
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I really like the song used for the Drakengard 3 trailers: This Silence Is Mine. I eagerly await the full version. Man, I love Drakengard 1's soundtrack. What other games have contemporary music for their soundtrack? None of them.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 14:59 |
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Two and Three look like they're taking cues from a couple of other dark and edgy magical anime girls.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 15:38 |
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Cephas posted:Two and Three look like they're taking cues from a couple of other dark and edgy magical anime girls. How can you tell? That just looks like any generic anime to me.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 15:45 |
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Great job OP! I'm glad the game has its own thread now so I can quit spamming the Nier one. Here are my additions: I translated a few of the short stories. You've linked to my most recent one for Decad, but here are the rest: Zero's Story - The Final Rain and the First Flower Two's Story - Today's Meal Dito's Story - This Repulsive World I also translated the sample weapon stories that have been released so far: Widow's Guilt & Blossom of the Pilgrim Death Knell & Ironcluster quote:They are both Utautai, which means "singer" in Japanese, and are basically powerful goddesses each with their own distinct personalities and sordid history. Just a note that Utautai is being officially translated as Intoner. I was using using Songstress in my translation, since I felt that was a closer translation of the Japanese words which have a theatrical tone (Utautai means something like Song Troupe, and the individual term for an Intoner, Utahime, means Singing Princess), but have also since switched to using the official translation. Lunethex posted:The game was successful enough to spawn a sequel starring a character not nearly as cool as Caim and it wasn't canon. Drakengard 2 wasn't directed by Taro Yoko and had a different writer, I believe, but while it's much more tame and typically JRPGish and therefore not as liked, there's nothing suggesting it's not canon. Nowe and Legna were even included in the Drakengard 10 year anniversary illustration done by the main series artist along with Caim/Angelus, Nier/Weiss and Zero/Mikhail.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 16:16 |
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What were they thinking using Intoner instead of Songstress anyway? Songstress is still archaic and formal and somewhat stilted, while Intoner just sounds like a fantasy-novel-writing idiot with a thesaurus was let loose on the script.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 16:31 |
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Some extra stuff: One of the main two theme songs, Kuroi Uta (Black Song) by Aoi Eir has been released (click to listen). This is the same song that was used in the first trailer. There's an additional Drakengard-related manga being serialized right now, called Utahime Five, starring younger versions of the Intoner sisters. The artwork isn't as good as in Red Unto Death, but the storyline is a little more interesting (and not as needlessly grim dark). Unfortunately it isn't being translated! DLC has been announced which amounts to two additional outfits for Zero which were decided via fan vote. The first is a version of Kaine's costume, obtainable only by pre-ordering the limited edition 10th Anniversary Box (orders for which have now been closed): The second is Caim's costume (along with his sword) which can be obtained by purchasing the Japanese guidebook, going on sale a week or so after the game: Also... TWITTER ICONS:
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 16:32 |
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Hey thanks for all the stuff I'll add it ASAP, and thanks for clearing a few things up.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 16:55 |
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Drakengard 1 and 2 are bad games but I have a soft spot for them, and I listen to the Drakengard 1 soundtrack all the time. Nier was an actual good game and I will not hear a word against it Looking forward to 3 for some reason!
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 17:24 |
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quote:I suppose this is going to be Dark Id's avatar at some point.
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# ? Nov 6, 2013 21:04 |
Lotish posted:I suppose this is going to be Dark Id's avatar at some point. Considering they've sent the guy merchandise in apparent thanks for hyping up NieR in his LP, it's not entirely out of the question that they know exactly what we do to his avatar.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 01:24 |
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Hopefully the game's combat will be totally passable like Nier's and not a complete grindfest like the first two games.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 04:03 |
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Accordion Man posted:Hopefully the game's combat will be totally passable like Nier's and not a complete grindfest like the first two games. The gameplay they've shown so far looks decent. Zero moves around pretty speedily, you've got the four different types of weapons you can switch between, the Intoner blood lust super mode and the ability to call the dragon down to fight on the ground... that should break up the monotony a bit, at least hopefully. In the original trailer, once you mounted the dragon there was some awful frame rate slow down but they've seemed to address that. A lot of people have been really down on the graphics, though. I don't think they're awful, but they do seem to be a little less polished than Nier's, and I remember a lot of people complained about the graphics in that, too. Obviously we Cavia faithful aren't playing the game for the graphics, though.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 04:11 |
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Mazed posted:Considering they've sent the guy merchandise in apparent thanks for hyping up NieR in his LP, it's not entirely out of the question that they know exactly what we do to his avatar. Wait, they sent DarkId merchandise becase of his LP?
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 13:38 |
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You know what else has a character's virginity as a plot point? The Bible. And this has dragons.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 13:42 |
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BioMe posted:How can you tell? That just looks like any generic anime to me. Madoka is fairly popular as of 2011, mainly because it was written by a guy who sleeps in HG Geiger's room and reads Faust and worships a tiny shrine dedicated to Lovecraft. His work is generally known to be soul-crushing and people around the world eat it up, so much so that the Madoka movies actually got theater releases outside of Japan. If it looks generic to you right now, it probably is because they essentially have already been copied several times by other works since then. Doesn't hurt that it is actually really good and doesn't fall for most of the tropes anime usually fall into.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 14:02 |
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Mordaedil posted:If it looks generic to you right now, it probably is because they essentially have already been copied several times by other works since then. Doesn't hurt that it is actually really good and doesn't fall for most of the tropes anime usually fall into. To be fair the designs are intentionally fairly generic. Madoka is designed to make you think it's a normal magical girl style show when it starts.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 14:54 |
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I don't think it's been said but because One looks like Manah I'm going to reckon that Mikhail might be Seere. Or close to it. I can't wait to delete my entire save file to get the last ending.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 22:40 |
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Lunethex posted:I don't think it's been said but because One looks like Manah I'm going to reckon that Mikhail might be Seere. Or close to it. I can't wait to delete my entire save file to get the last ending. No no, this time it deletes other save files to get the best ending. Starting in order of most time invested.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 22:44 |
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Sarkozymandias posted:You know what else has a character's virginity as a plot point? So does the bible : http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-Dragons/
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 22:45 |
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Here are some more gameplay videos in decent quality: Ground combat Aerial combat More ground combat You'll either need to log into nicovideo (you can log in with Facebook) or use a mirror site like this one.
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# ? Nov 7, 2013 23:32 |
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^^^ [e]: The weapon switch thing is pretty neat. If I'm hearing correctly, whenever Zero goes into berserk mode, vocals kick in for the music track. That's a pretty cool touch. Especially with the dynamic music they had for Nier. From the same youtube channel as the person who uploaded the theme song: Some sample music from the game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alckVn1l-SQ Definitely having a real Drakengard 2 vibe. That's not a bad thing. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Nov 7, 2013 |
# ? Nov 7, 2013 23:42 |
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The music is not dissonant and insanity-inducing enough. They should have gotten Philip Glass.
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# ? Nov 8, 2013 03:30 |
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# ? Jun 8, 2024 07:26 |
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Pesky Splinter posted:If I'm hearing correctly, whenever Zero goes into berserk mode, vocals kick in for the music track. That's a pretty cool touch. Especially with the dynamic music they had for Nier I wonder if it's actually supposed to be Zero singing while berserking. I certainly hope that's the case.
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# ? Nov 8, 2013 03:51 |