Blowing_Wind
Drakengard 2003
Log Status
Completed
Playing
Backlog
Wishlist
Rating
Time Played
--
Days in Journal
1 day
Last played
November 26, 2022
Platforms Played
This review contains spoilers
It tries too hard to deconstruct the dark fantasy narrative to make a message about how the player is willing to go kill thousands of enemies, even children characthers, just to beat a videogame.
But I feel it's portrayal of the mental health problems of these characthers are really forced. It's not like Metal Gear Solid where the game doesn't reward you for killing people like a mad movie action hero, instead counting the number of enemy deaths (in a stealth game) at the end of the playthrough, nor is it possible to play it through the true end in a way where you can choose to spare the enemies like in Undertale. No, it's one of those works of art that shames on you for sticking with it.
And you HAVE to stick with it. In need of unnecesary padding, you have to collect every cryptically available weapon in the game just to be able to select the final chapter and reach the true ending. The weapons you collected aren't used narratively in this Evangelion-esque finale, either, it's just there to make your purchase last longer and forces you to kill even more people in the process. It doesn't end up saying anything more philosophically or psychologically valuable than the rest of the adventure which was already dropping an anvil over the brutality of war.
The characthers aren't that special either, they are more risqué than anything deep. The most interesting ones are a pedophile who feels guilt for leading his brothers to their death once he left them unprotected because of his need to stop his sexual desire (yes, you can play as a pedophile), and Arioch, a woman who lost her children and has a cannibalistic mental disorder that makes her eat them because she thinks inside her there won't be anything from the exterior threatening them (yes, you play as a cannibal). The script doesn't do anything much to deepen their conflict but at least it's really interesting to see these unusual kind of characthers in a videogame.
Overall, the experience just felt like a drab adventure deconstruction with monotone visual design, lots of filler, but some interesting ideas that should have been fleshed out more. I hope the sequel, Nier: Replicant is a better game.
But I feel it's portrayal of the mental health problems of these characthers are really forced. It's not like Metal Gear Solid where the game doesn't reward you for killing people like a mad movie action hero, instead counting the number of enemy deaths (in a stealth game) at the end of the playthrough, nor is it possible to play it through the true end in a way where you can choose to spare the enemies like in Undertale. No, it's one of those works of art that shames on you for sticking with it.
And you HAVE to stick with it. In need of unnecesary padding, you have to collect every cryptically available weapon in the game just to be able to select the final chapter and reach the true ending. The weapons you collected aren't used narratively in this Evangelion-esque finale, either, it's just there to make your purchase last longer and forces you to kill even more people in the process. It doesn't end up saying anything more philosophically or psychologically valuable than the rest of the adventure which was already dropping an anvil over the brutality of war.
The characthers aren't that special either, they are more risqué than anything deep. The most interesting ones are a pedophile who feels guilt for leading his brothers to their death once he left them unprotected because of his need to stop his sexual desire (yes, you can play as a pedophile), and Arioch, a woman who lost her children and has a cannibalistic mental disorder that makes her eat them because she thinks inside her there won't be anything from the exterior threatening them (yes, you play as a cannibal). The script doesn't do anything much to deepen their conflict but at least it's really interesting to see these unusual kind of characthers in a videogame.
Overall, the experience just felt like a drab adventure deconstruction with monotone visual design, lots of filler, but some interesting ideas that should have been fleshed out more. I hope the sequel, Nier: Replicant is a better game.