DO NOT TOY WITH MY EMOTIONS, SQUEENIX

Look.

You guys know that I'm not one to post the most insignificant piece of something and run around screaming and flailing my arms in a comical fashion because I think it's true or anything like that.  I don't like to cling to the faintest hope of something that could be, that has proper time -to- be, because more often than not, that never amounts to anything and it just crushes everyone involved emotionally.  Getting hopes raised up and getting them smashed always hurts and sometimes it just hurts a ridiculous amount.  Which is why I don't do it.  I don't like doing it.  I don't want to do it.

But goddamnit, this is Drakengard 3 we're talking about here.

Basically the story is that some of those internet sleuths out there noticed a new website registration from Squeenix titled "DrakengardGame.com".  It says in very plain detail on the whois site there that Squeenix owns the domain now, but of course if you go to DrakengardGame.com, there is absolutely nothing there.  I am pretty sure that it is legit because I can't see any reason for it to not be legit beyond my pure, unadulterated hope.

It's a weird thing to think about, really.  Trademarking "Drakengard 3" would have been a flag, of course, but companies trademark shit they don't intend to use all the time, so it wouldn't have been a definitive sign.  Website squatting isn't too terrible of a problem though, I don't think, so I don't see the point in registering the website unless you are going to use it.  That does bring up the point that it says "DrakengardGame" instead of "Drakengard 3", however.  But companies do that shit all the time too, have weird ass websites for their normal-named games and whatnot, so that's even more a point in its favor.  Especially because the series has always only been Drakengard over on these shores.  Drakengard has only ever been used specifically for -this series-.  Drakengard is therefore not ambiguous.

It's tiny.  It's a very, very small thing, a kernel of almost miniscule size.  But it's something.  I want to believe that I'll be able to buy a copy of Drakengard 3 from GameStop with the biggest smile on my face and all the wonder of the world in my eyes sometime late next year or so.  I want to believe that Squeenix is going to localize -this- game because they know the very weird niche audience that it has over here that will eat this shit up.  I want to take anything and everything as evidence at face value to point towards the logical conclusion of this goal happening. 

If it does happen?  You better buy the fucking game.  I don't care who you are, I don't care what you want.  If you're looking for a pure action game, I can tell you that this won't be it.  But what it will be is a very particular type of game that has grown amazing over a long-running series.  A particular type of amazing game that I will make you buy.  If you buy the game, that will be the end of it.  I will not look for you, I will not pursue you.  But if you don't, I will look for you.  I will find you.  And I will slam your head against your keyboard until Amazon has ordered a copy for you.

(I won't.  Please just buy the game.)

it's a Taken quote, but you know that already because you're a smart person

Why Should You Be Excited for Drakengard 3?

Some games out there are just kind of a hard sell.  We like them, love them even, even though there are many, many flaws to them.  Many flaws.  Many.  Multiple.  They're not perfect by any stretch, nor can we even say "Oh, yeah, there's -this-, but you can ignore it" because the flaws are big ones.  Drakengard 1 and 2 each have their own which make them particularly hard sells in their own right.

Drakengard 1's combat is archaic, to put it lightly - the entire game about murdering things doesn't actually lend itself well to really getting out there and slaughtering by the tons.  Sure, you'll end up with bodycounts in the hundreds and thousands (Seriously one level in particular you can, oftentimes -do-, end up with a bodycount between 1,000-2,000 enemies) but getting to that point....wasn't that great.  It's unfortunate, really.  Drakengard 2's combat wasn't much better (though some outlets claim it was playable...perhaps I'm a bit biased against it) but it was, apparently, better.  Of course, the entire reason to play Drakengard 1 was for the story which got progressively and exponentially more and more batshit crazy as it went along.  Drakengard 2's story, on the other hand wasn't nearly as good and focused on a cast that was meant to be likeable in contrast to the original's group, yet ended up feeling hollow and annoying at best, going completely counter to point.

Nier, on the other hand, was much, much easier to recommend to folks.  Combat wasn't flashy and amazing, but it was far more capable than the two iterations in the Drakengard series.  Plus, as with Drakengard 1, the story is worth paying attention to, but not because it gets batshit, but because it gets more and more involving, touching and, at times, depressing.  The cast is wonderfully developed as well and remains the only instance in (Action) RPGs where they've introduced a child character that wasn't annoying in every facet of her existence.  Complaints ranged from vapid (as in meritless) - That whole fishing fiasco kerfuffle, whining that the game is ugly, uses too much bloom - to reasonable ones - trying to 100% the game takes forever and is not encouraged, nor worth it, a couple of the areas -are- a bit much, in terms of forced combat and length - but overall are mild enough that, even pitting the litany of them against the pros of the story, the characters and the soundtrack, it's still something we can easily describe as "Worth it" and have it fit a broad enough appeal of the phrase to be correct.

Nier is, however, a decidedly different beast than what Drakengard 1 and 2 were and while it may be the actual progression of that style, I'm not quite sure it will be.  Where Nier had a semi-open world to travel across, Drakengard had levels (Chapters and Verses, rather) that had a set-up for each and every one.  You are in a forest level for this reason, the sea temple for that reason, etc. etc.  It's very constricted, which is something that we've by-and-large out-grown in the games that have come out since.  Not saying that it isn't possible to make each of those levels wonderful so that it's not a problem, just that it's not immediately accessible to people.  Combine with the likelihood of Drakengard 3 following that, with the history of the first and second games and the idea that combat may be merely good at best, it's hard to tell you that Drakengard 3 is a game that will sit alone on a pedestal as a game you should look into, should have excitement for, feel -anything- for.

Yet, that is precisely the reason you likely -should- be excited, should be looking forward to Drakengard 3 for.  Some games have their over-the-top spectacle to fall back on, to be the thing that embeds them in your mind.  We'll all remember Uncharted 2 for that moment when you were inside a building that was physically falling over and God of War 2 where the tutorial was murdering the hell out of the Colossus of Rhodes.  Other games maintain that a tightly-controlled, polished experience will keep you coming back for more and more, and the technical workhorses that are the Call of Duty games (while we may groan, they -are- usually locked to a butter-smooth framerate and tuned to accentuate the shooting) are a good example of this as well given their commercial and critical success, no matter how many people who call themselves 'hardcore' or what have you roll their eyes.

Only a select few games really try to have a story or an experience that will burn itself into your memory.  Games like Heavy Rain do this by making the story personal - the ending you get, considering your actions, is -your- ending from then on, even if you go on to play it again.  Others do this by making the story something truly provocative, intellectually or morally, so that you paint things in other games by your freshly expanded mental toolset.  Games like Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, like Planescape Torment, made particular use of this tactic and because of that, you still hear about them to this day.  While I'm not suggesting Drakengard 3 will be in the same 'hallowed halls' as these games, I -am- suggesting it will likely be special enough to be singled out for a similar reason, as was Nier.  And, in a sense, Drakengard 1, given that it was an experiment in wallowing in Anti-Heroes in a terrible world that only succeeds in getting more and more messed up the further down the rabbit hole you get.

Drakengard 2 was just awful, though.

Drakengard 3 is Officially Official

By officially official, I mean that it has a Japanese Squeenix web page that just so conveniently more or less confirms everything we've found out about the game thus far. This is more or less the 'point of no more news' for a while I would think since this is out there to get initial hype, where in a couple months, there'll be some follow-up and a month or so afterwards again, etc.  You know how the beast operates when it comes to the hype machine and while it won't be working over-time for this game for a lot of people, there are the few, like myself, that will go absolutely froth-at-the-mouth-crazy in the meanwhile whenever something else pops up.  Yet I don't expect anything for a bit, is the point that I was trying to make.  You'll hear it from me if I'm wrong, of course, but for now, let's just cover what we've got.

Some primary things to cover first, of course.  In Japan, the game is only slated for a Playstation 3 release which isn't surprising because PS3's actually sell in Japan unlike the other counterpart of the "HD Twins" as they're often referred to.  (Noted by the 360's inability to crack 1,000 sales last week and definitely not the first time)  In some localization cases, I would suggest that there might be a 360 version outside of Japan, but that's a hard one to count on, really.  Most critics will say that the game probably won't be localized and, unfortunately, there's a chance of that because it's Squeenix and Squeenix is a factory of dream-crushing and terrible games that -do- get localized for whatever stupid reason. 

However, I'm of the opinion that it -will- be localized because it makes perfect sense to do so...in that it -doesn't- make sense at all to do it.  Drag-On Dragoon 3 will release in the tail-end of 2013 for Japan, right around when the PS4 hits that will not be able to play PS3 games...like Drag-On Dragoon 3.  Not a great time for what is, by all accounts, a niche title, to get released.  Localization tacks on at least half a year, I'd assume, so it would come out in North America mid-2014 when the PS4 will likely be in the tepid "Okay, but where are the games?" phase that all new consoles go through which means, for all intents and purposes, that it's probably a better time for release, actually.  People will be picking up PS3's because the PS4 isn't up to snuff yet, but they've got an itch to scratch anyway, etc. etc.  However, it's going to be a budget thing - so a PS3-only release is likely in my head at least.  Which means it is entirely possible that Squeenix will go full-bore and make a 360 version as well.  It's hard to pin down.

As previously stated, the 'Cavia Dream Team' will be working on the game, but under the banner of Access Games, instead of a Squeenix subsidiary or, heaven forbid, a re-formed Cavia.  Because why would we have nice things, Squeenix?  If you're thinking to yourself, "Self, where have I heard of Access Games before?", and haven't gone off to check it through Google or Wikipedia, then allow me to make it easy for you.  Access Games is the developer behind a few niche titles, but Deadily Premonition is likely chief above them all for its cult following and over-the-top absurdity in the ranks of the classic Twin Peaks, since it was...kind of modeled after the show.  It's also the developer that SWERY calls home; SWERY, of course, being the writer and director of the mentioned Deadly Premonition, as well as the writer for the Lords of Arcana/Apocalypse games for PSP (with the latter getting a Vita version eventually).  SWERY is also a pretty righteous dude in his own right and is an absolute joy to follow on Twitter.  (You probably should.)

With the basics out of the way, however, let's get down to the juicy bits, yes?  This is the main character, Zero.  I'm sure I don't have to say a lot about Zero after you take a look at her, but let's just set matters straight.  Yes, that is a metal prosthetic left arm, not a gauntlet, nor armor or anything like that.  Yes, a flower is growing out of her left eye.  No, she's not modestly dressed, nor will anything about her be modest - it's been suggested that Zero is...liberal and very in-touch with her sexuality, let's say, and isn't afraid to let it be known.  Knowing Cavia, it'll be less 'easy' and more 'aggressive, border-line predator' which kind of crosses the line twice to go back into 'yeah, that's okay' territory.  Finally, yes, that is a pretty awesome-looking sword she's got, very similar to other weapons in Drakengard/NieR, and no, she is nowhere near afraid to use it.  Come on, this is a Cavia game - be grateful it's not constantly dripping blood or always disemboweling somebody.

Oh, yeah, about that.  That's a good segue into some of the game mechanics since, well, they do introduce elements of that.  As you can tell from these screenshots, the game is going to be very bloody and, as suggested with the second screenshot there (which, I'm certainly hoping isn't indicative of the final graphics build - at this point, it honestly can't be), some blood will be persistent.  One of the key mechanics -is- getting all bloody from slaughtering your enemies, actually.  Zero is a Songstress, or someone who draws magical power from song, and her magical ability actually grows more and more powerful as she is covered in the blood of her enemies.  No, I am not kidding.  Yes, it is, indeed, metal as fuck.  Pretty....pretty literally, actually, given some of the associations with the metal genre.

That, honestly, is the bulk of the information we have about Drag-On Dragoon 3/Drakengard 3.  While there's another character, One, who is Zero's much more conservative and innocent sister.  And...just happens to have glowing red eyes like a certain other blonde girl in the previous two games.  As in Drakengard 1 and 2, Zero has a Dragon companion, who is featured in some of the art and screenshots, specifically here and here, but doesn't have a specific character page just yet.  In what I can only assume is an assurance of an American localization, the dragon is White, whereas the previous dragons were Red and Blue for Drakengard 1 and 2 respectively.  Let me dream, okay?  Until we get more information, pretty much all I have are dreams, but, well, all I had were dreams before it was announced as well.  So perhaps there -is- something to them!

Drakengard 3 is Being Made, I Could Not Be Happier

Do you have that one game in your head, the game that uses ideas, characters or a world that already exists, and is simply some form of that?  Generally this is a "I wish there was a sequel" idea, like a lot of people pine for Mirror's Edge 2, Psychonauts 2 and the like.  I imagine asking if you have one of those is a little bit rhetorical - I figure we all have those.

For me?  I'd always held the possibility of a Drakengard 3 close.  While an almost impossible thing to consider, given that I don't think the series ever really had much traction -anywhere-, I still couldn't help it.  And even with the dissolving of Cavia, I wished, I hoped there was still some sort of faint glimmer of possibility.  Just let the Cavia dudes do what they do, that's all I wanted.

Every now and then, it happens.  You don't know why, you don't know how, but it does, and it is pretty much one of the best feelings.  You want these things because you think they're impossibilities, so to see them given life is almost surreal, but it's entirely pleasant.  Of course, the news that it gets better helps as well.  News like the entire team behind Drakengard 1/Nier are getting back together for this is something that almost seems to elevate the impossibility to an entire new tier, forgetting that that's nonsensical.  Seeing that Yoko Taro was the glaring thing missing from Drakengard 2, and given how it turned out, while he was present for Drakengard 1 and Nier, it's not a small comfort that he's directing this.  It's almost the perfect thing to assuage any and all early fears.

There are some slight details leaking out already, but I would like to wait until there's a bit more so I can expound on them fully, when I'm confident that we won't get a whole new stream of information directly after I present the initial bits.  For now, I just want to sort of savor the reality of the situation here.  Drakengard 3 is a reality and it's already looking pretty damn sweet from what's been leaked.

Things just keep looking up, folks.

It Is Nier Time

Which is to say that it's always Nier Time, but now specifically it is since I restarted it earlier today for the simple fact that, you know what?  I just wanted to play it.  It's been far too long since I last played it, having only lived it vicariously through other sources up to and including Helloween's recently started LP of the game.  The fact of it is that, however way you look at it, Nier is a pretty personal game, so watching it, reading it, living it without playing it is doing yourself and the game some degree of disservice, since it really shines brightest as you are playing it.  So, in an effort to do myself a favor and to respect the greatness of Nier and Cavia's best project, I figured that it was the best idea to forgo my backlog and play through Nier since, hey, next week is REVENGEANCE week anyway and I totally didn't realize it until earlier today which was like someone telling me it was my birthday, giving me a present and then also telling me I was the best at something.  It was a good feeling.

Getting back into Nier, well, it feels right.  Because I've only actually played through the game once personally (getting the endings beyond the first doesn't make you play the game from start all over again), I'm noticing all sorts of things I didn't really pay attention to the first go-around.  Mostly because I didn't consider it necessary to pay attention to them.  Which is, of course a mistake, and one that I will relay to you, anyone who might be eager to play through Nier which should be everybody.  Everything is important.  You might not think so.  You might think "Oh, they can't possibly make everything in the game relevant" and you would be wrong because that is exactly what happens.  It is a thing that happens.

Something that I was reminded of with my playthrough was just how early you run into Kainé.  For some reason, I didn't remember that it was, indeed, early on that you run into her and that was a welcome surprise.  A very very welcome surprise.  Kainé is, of course, the woman whose dulcet tones accompany the above teaser trailer that is, in my opinion, the absolute best teaser trailer for anything ever.  I am actually being pretty honest with that as, for some reason, I cannot help but enjoy everything that comes out of Kainé's mouth, and it's not just because of Laura Bailey's absolutely wonderful voice-acting for the character.  She's just a very excellently realized character and the VA-work is icing on top of that delicious cake.  Even with the supplemental information.

More or less, I really just wanted to get on here and post the above teaser while also gushing about Nier a bit.  Since that is kind of my bag.  Expect a lot of that until Tuesday since until then, I will be playing Nier and possibly afterwards which is strange to consider since, on Tuesday, I should likely have my Sword Lamp copy of REVENGEANCE.  Which means I should be playing REVENGEANCE.  And I will want to be playing that, but I will happily forgo the game, any game, to play Nier until I have completed it once more.  Because I just want to, and it's odd that I find a game that I want to do that with, especially in these days of trophies and such where I simply focus on getting those and then being satisfied with my conquest.  But, well, that's just part of the magic that is Nier.

Annoying Games Journalism, Brought to You by Siliconera

I don't really like to slam news sites on the way they do things (even though I can't say I haven't done this in the past), but sometimes there is just a line and I get bothered when people cross it or, sometimes, just skirt it for one reason or another.  This is what just happened over the course of this past weekend with Siliconera and if you frequently visit the site, you've probably already been exposed to it.  It's kind of a big thing over there for a myriad of reasons, though most of them have to do with readers being disappointed.  Obviously, I'm one of those people since I'm taking the time to actually write about it when there are quite honestly bigger things, for me at least not in the broad spectrum afoot (God of War: Ascension talk, how my Persona 3 Portable game is going (Like I said, for me), etc.), but I like to think that my annoyance is steeped in rationality where I can agree that the annoyance (and verbosity of) some are not.

The reasoning is pretty simple and it's all about the handling of the information that Siliconera has.  Yesterday (barely, it was posted at midnight), Siliconera had a post go up with the title "Siliconera Will Reveal A Square Enix Title on Monday", which is, uh, pretty direct.  The body of the article leaves even less room for speculation (as to the status of the title, at least) as well.  (Ignore the obviously editted-in-today part at the bottom)

We have a treat for Siliconera readers this week with news about an unannounced Square Enix game. I can’t say anymore for the moment other than this will be a Siliconera exclusive and the game will surprise you.

News on an unannounced game.  I don't feel I really have to take this single sentence apart and explain where the confusion comes from, but I'm gonna, since apparently there was confusion and there is also confusion as to how there was confusion.  Confusingly.  An unannounced game, in 98.7354% cases (Which might be a percentage I just made up) means a game that is yet to be announced, as in a game with a definite future, wherein there is a logical announcement window that comes before the pre-release or hype window that comes before release window that comes before post-release support.  This is the implication because this is how the word is used.  This is how words are used.  You don't always have to say everything and in fact, sometimes things are better when you don't.  But when using words, there is an unsaid agreement between you and the person or people you are speaking to that you understand how words work.

Now, is it true that "Unannounced" can also stand for a game that was never announced because it died (or, ahem, 'is in limbo') in development?  Yes.  If you're being literal, that is also a way you can use the word because technically it means that.  This, as you can imagine, is where the problem comes in, and there's even precedent for this exact thing, which I will get into in a moment.  Basically to come right out and say it, this "Unannounced" title from Square Enix is, indeed, unannounced, because it is a game that was being worked on by (the now defunct) Cavia, and was planned to be shown off at 2011's E3.  As in the E3 that came and went almost exactly one year ago, wherein this period of a year, the game has not been announced.  The game is called (hell, just codenamed still) "Catacombs".  But, I'll get to that in a moment.  (I know, I know I just said that about something else, I'm getting to that now)

Now, like I said, there is a very clear precedent that's been set here in the past with the way you handle a project that is cancelled, most likely going to be cancelled, or is cancelled but might be revived because hell why not.  In fact, there is a very clear precedent to all of these with Square Enix games themselves which is absolutely all the more baffling that I have to even write this post.  When "Fortress", the Grin Studios project, was cancelled it was, well, cancelled and then news sites were like "Well, this was in development, here's some screenshots and art and such, coulda been cool".  It is still most likely dead in the water.  I don't even know what the hell "Project Dropship" is, but it was another cancelled title that was, well, cancelled and presented as a cancelled project.  And Gun Loco was announced, cancelled and presented as a cancelled project after being cancelled.  Cancelled.  (Because I certainly didn't say that enough)

So maybe, maybe people are a little annoyed with people who present a project that is most likely cancelled as an unannounced title, given the past and the circumstances thereof.  As I said, there is an implication and you can be as coy as you want about it, but the truth of it is is that you just can't do that.  I don't really blame them, however as I don't think it was done 'maliciously' or in an attempt to drum up hits (though it's likely done that), but simply was an example of poor judgement which, as always, should be pointed out sometimes.  The worst part about the whole situation, however? "Catacombs" actually looks pretty interesting.  Cavia is dead, though, has been dead and will continue to be dead.  The last time we had a game that was finished by Squeenix after the creativity left, we got FFXII.  Yeah, -that- ended well.

Maybe I'll fix this up with some actual Catacombs info or do up a post about it individually, but for now, I'm tired of finishing this post on my Vita.  On the plus side, however, -look how dedicated I am to this-.  Also modest.  Screw it, we're doin' this -live-.  (Because the storms have passed and I don't have to do this on the Vita.)

So, as I said, "Catacombs" looks pretty interesting, actually, since it does what Cavia, well, does and just throws a whole bunch of stuff together that somehow just friggin' works.  Reading the little bit of information Siliconera had to offer at this point in time, it seems like it's an FPS, RPG, Action and Roguelike title all in one.  Every floor of the tombs or the underbelly of the museum seems to be randomly generated (save for a few, I imagine), hence the roguelike, the RPG elements come in through the spells which are cast from rings that are found scattered here and there (possibly a level-up system as well beyond the one the weapons get) and the rest is pretty self-explanatory.  Because it's just weird and mish-mashy and pure insanity, I have some faith that it would actually just work (provided Cavia was still together and at the helm, obviously that won't happen and I don't think it would work otherwise), and it really would have been an interesting title to see come out.  I guess technically it could still come out but.....it just won't be the same.

The four characters seem fairly unassuming on the surface, but given Cavia's characterization, I can't help but wonder just what the hell would come from the game had it been made.  Based on the backstories for characters in past games, I'm sure not a single one of these people would have had a positive life (Perhaps Matt, but it seems like his son might be dead or missing at the start, so...), nor would it get any less depressing as the game went on.  And that would have been pretty interesting at the very least, since I imagine, despite the type of game it....would have been, it would have been very, very story-centric.  Which, again, would have been pretty interesting to see how they would have pulled that off.  Sigh, too bad about it, though  Damnit, Squeenix.

Character Spotlight: Caim (Drakengard Series) Part 2

Once again, I warn that this post contains Drakengard Spoilers as well as Nier Spoilers (for real this time, I -really- don't think anything was spoiled about Nier in the last post) so if you have not consulted the proper source material for either game, possibly give this post a little skip-over.  With any luck, I'll do an extra post afterwards with general news for anyone who's skipped out on these but wants to read something regardless.  Once again, there is a page break for your convenience.

Character Spotlight: Caim (Drakengard Series)

Something to be noted before I start at it, there's going to be Drakengard Spoilers as well as possibly Nier Spoilers in this post, and as I've said in the past, the best way to experience the former is with this Screenshot LP whereas the best way to experience the latter is to buy it and play it.  Fully.  All four endings.  So if you've not done either, maybe skip this post until you have.  I've even inserted a page break for your convenience, much like I did with the spoiler-heavy post about inFamous 2 I made a while back.