Drakengard 2: Любовь и предательство драконов

Action role playing video game

Drakengard 2, known in Japan as Drag On Dragoon 2: love red, ambivalence black''''', (ドラッグ オン ドラグーン2 封印の紅、背徳の黒, Doraggu On Doragūn Tsū: Fūin no Kurenai, Haitoku no Kuro) is an action role playing video game developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix in Japan and Ubisoft in all other territories for the PlayStation 2. It is the second entry in the Drakengard series, set after the events of the original Drakengard: the story revolves around Nowe, a boy raised by the dragon Legna, fighting against a tyrannical faction of knights, encountering characters from the previous game and becoming entangled in the fate of the world. Like the original, Drakengard 2 combines on foot hack and slash with aerial combat stages and role playing mechanics. The previous game's producer, writer and character designer returned to their respective roles. The game was designed as a more mainstream game in light of the previous game's dark aesthetic and story. The game sold 206,000 copies by the end of 2005. Western reviews praised the story, but gave mixed opinions about the graphics and widely criticized the gameplay. A spin off from the series, Nier, was released in 2010, while a third entry in the series, Drakengard 3, was released in December 2013 in Japan and May 2014 in North America and Europe.

As with the original Drakengard, the game is split into chapters and subdivided into ground based and airborne missions. The story of the game dictates which missions come when during the initial playthrough and how they play out, though as the player progresses, new remixed versions of the various playable levels called "free missions" are unlocked, which allow the player to go through the missions with the story elements removed. The player can jump between the game world's self contained areas via a world map unlocked after the first chapter. The game features Normal, Hard, and Expert difficulty levels, and there are multiple weapons and items to collect throughout the levels. The dragon also gains experience and levels up through combat, dealing more damage in its attacks as it grows stronger. It also evolves and grows stronger at points directly linked to the game's narrative. In the original game, two powers, the Empire and the Union, were engaged in a religious war over the Seals, magical bindings tied to a chosen Goddess of the Seal that kept dark entities known as the Watchers from appearing in the mortal world and destroying humanity. Caught up in the conflict were Caim and Angelus, a human and a dragon who had made a pact (a magical ritual that linked their souls), and fought to try to keep both the Seals and the Goddess safe. Though they ultimately failed, Angelus became the new seal, averting the end of the world. Eighteen years later, the Seals are protected by the Knights of the Seal, who eventually grow to become a dominating force in the land. The game's main character is Nowe (ノウェ), a Knight of the Seal who possesses superhuman powers. Eris (エリス), a female Knight of the Seal and Nowe's childhood friend; and Urick (ユーリック) a former Knight who made a pact with the Grim Reaper in exchange for his mortality. The main villain of the game is Gismor (ジスモア), leader of the Knights of the Seal. Returning from the first game are Caim (カイム), the previous game's main protagonist; Angelus (アンヘル), the current Goddess of the Seal; and Seere (セエレ), once a companion to Caim and now the Hierarch of the Union. Minor characters include the guardians of the Seals, Zhangpo (ザンポ ), Hanch (ハンチ ) and Yaha (ヤハ), and Oror (オロー), who helped raise Nowe.

The game begins with Nowe becoming a fully fledged Knight of the Seal. During his first mission, Nowe begins to doubt the ethics of the Knights' methods, as the seals require human sacrifices to remain strong. During a second mission to ensure the protection of the seal in the District of Soul Flame, Nowe encounters Manah, who kills the guardian Zhangpo and destroys the seal. Manah is sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but uses her magic to escape. After returning from the mission, Nowe is poisoned by Gismor, who reveals that he killed Nowe's adoptive father Oror. Surviving and escaping with Legna, Nowe is pursued by the Knights, including Eris, who wishes to persuade him to return. Nowe and Legna eventually rejoin Manah and join her on her quest to destroy the seals and, in her mind, free the people from the Knights' oppression. On their way to the second seal, Manah shows Nowe the true horror of the Knights' deeds, fully winning him over. The two then fight and kill Lieutenant Hanch, destroying the seal in the District of Hallowed Water. After this, they are joined by Urick, a former Lieutenant of the Knights, to rout a group of bandits. Attacked by the Knights, they are unexpectedly saved by Caim, who is also working to destroy the seals and free his dragon Angelus from the pain of being the Goddess Seal. After taking down Lieutenant Yaha and destroying the seal in the District of Precious Light, Manah is captured by the Knights and sentenced to death. Nowe manages to rescue her and heads for the seal in the District of Shining Life, which was once guarded by Urick before he fled in fear when Caim attacked the district. Urick and Nowe face off against Caim, who mortally wounds Urick before being driven off. Urick dies content and the seal is destroyed. Nowe and Manah head for the final seal in the District of Heavenly Time, guarded by Gismor himself. Nowe and Gismor battle, and Gismor is wounded again, transforming into a shadow like being and using Eris to block Nowe's final attack. Believing Eris dead, Nowe and Manah pursue Gismor, but are met by Seere, who unsuccessfully tries to stop them. When they confront Gismor, he reveals himself to be a vindictive survivor of the Empire from eighteen years before. Defeated, Gismor destroys the final seal himself, releasing Angelus from her imprisonment. After Seere reveals the true consequences of Manah's actions, Nowe and Legna pursue Angelus. When they find her, they find that Angelus has been driven mad by the pain of being the final seal. Caim asks them to kill her, and as she dies, he and Angelus share a final moment together before fading away. With the seals destroyed, the world begins to fall into chaos and Manah is driven mad by the memories of her actions eighteen years before. Legna then takes Nowe to the floating fortress of the Holy Dragons, where they hear a prophecy concerning Nowe: according to the prophecy, Nowe is a New Breed created to aid the dragons in their war against the Watchers. Nowe reunites with Eris, who has been healed by Seere, and frees Manah from her madness. Legna then takes the three to the Promised Land, a dragon stronghold that holds the Bone Casket, an object given to the dragons by, and imbued with the power of, the Watchers, that can speed up Nowe's evolution into the New Breed. It is also where Seere has gone to initiate a new Goddess of the Seal. The game has three endings, each achieved on a separate playthrough. Ending B: When they arrive, Legna reveals Eris' fate to become the new Goddess, and Nowe chooses to follow Legna's plan. But upon trying to enter the Casket, it rejects him and fuses with Manah. Legna and Nowe battle Manah, who sacrifices herself to destroy the Bone Casket's power. Nowe, Legna and Eris then lead the Holy Dragons in their war against the Watchers. Ending C: Events proceed as in Ending B, but when the Casket attacks Manah, she manages to overpower and absorb it. Legna summons the Holy Dragons and events proceed as in Ending A. After Legna's defeat and the destruction of the Bone Casket, both the Watchers and the dragons fade, leaving the world safe and humans free to create a new future for themselves.

Drakengard 2 was announced in December 2004. Producer Takamasa Shiba and character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka returned to the team, alongside actor Shinnosuke Ikehata, who voiced the dragon Angelus and its partner Caim in the previous game. The CGI cutscenes were created by Studio Anima. The game's cast featured multiple film and television actors, including Ryo Katsuji, Saki Aibu, Koyuki and veteran actor Yoshio Harada. Shiba commented at the time that he felt they had gathered a very good voice cast for the game. One of the decisions Yasui made was to make Drakengard 2 far more colorful than the previous game, wanting to do something that was the "opposite" of Drakengard. It was designed to keep some dark aesthetics from its predecessor, with the previous game's theme of immorality as one of the key character and narrative themes, as well as themes of war and death. Other themes explored were love and hate, and the ambivalence represented in the world's prevalent factions (the Knights of the Seal, and the Cult of Watchers). Highlighted aspects of the story were the father son relationship between Nowe and Legna, and how Manah had matured since the events of Drakengard. While Square Enix published the title in Japan, they entered an agreement with developer and publishing company Ubisoft to publish the title overseas. Ubisoft also handled the game's localization.

One of the main concepts for main protagonist Nowe was surpassing one's father. For the fight between Nowe and Legna, special gameplay functions and mechanics needed to be created for Nowe. In addition to designing the characters, Fujisaka drew the character portraits used for character dialogue boxes during in game cutscenes, a feature he initially objected to. Elements of their designs were taken from Caim and Furiae, representing "passing the torch" between characters. Because of Legna's different roles in Drakengard and Drakengard 2, his design and movements were altered for his second incarnation. Eris's design was inspired by Casca, a character from Berserk: while he tried not to copy any parts of Casca's design, Fujisaka tried to convey it using aspects of her personality. He also tried to balance this part of her depiction with a tender and more feminine side. Another idea he had in mind was the image of an honors student. Her dance like fighting style was generally suggested by the game's staff. The CGI cutscenes were scored by Masashi Yano. Due to criticism of his work on the first game, Sano was asked by Shiba to bring in outside help for the second game's soundtrack: Matsumoto was brought in because of his work on the songs "Yuki no Hana" and "Tsuki no Shizuku", and, Yoshiki was brought on at Matsumoto's request. The game's theme song in Japan, "Hitori", was sung by Mika Nakashima, who also worked as a sound producer. The theme song for the game's English release was "Growing Wings", a localized version of the first game's theme song sung by Kari Wahlgren.

Drakengard 2 sold well in Japan. The game was considered a hit in Japan by Ubisoft, selling 100,000 units in its first week, It eventually sold just over 206,000 copies by the end of 2005. The game was eventually re released as part of Square Enix's Ultimate Hits series, re releases of high selling titles. Drakengard 2 received a score of 30/40 from Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu. In the year of its release in Japan, the game received a novelization written by Emi Nagashima under her pen name of Jun Eishima. Yoko and Shiba teamed up again to create another game in the series, but that eventually developed into Nier, a spin off from the first game's fifth ending. After Niers release, Cavia was absorbed into AQ Interactive, then Yoko left to become a freelance. An attempt by Shiba to begin development of a third Drakengard game at AQ Interactive were unsuccessful. Drakengard 3 was eventually unveiled in 2013, with Shiba, Yoko and Fujisaka returning to their former roles and the story being set before the original game. Both Shiba and Yoko have voiced their willingness to continue the series on next generation consoles if there were sufficient sales and funds, while Yoko also expressed interest in making a second spin off, although he did not specify whether it would be set in the world of Nier or not.