Drakengard 3, the third installment in the ten year-old dragon warfare Japanese action series, has been released in North America today, May 20th exclusively for the PlayStation 3. It is available both in disc form and digital download via the PlayStation Network.
Oodles of Goodies for Drakengard 3
Drakengard 3 is actually a prequel to the first two games. "Here, six goddess-like sisters known as "Intoners" undo the peace they brought to the land as the eldest sister, Zero, undertakes a murderous campaign to destroy her younger siblings," states the press release from Square Enix. "With a story that offers many twists and turns, players will find themselves unraveling the mystery of Zero and her true intentions." It promises the same blend of ground based hack-n-slash and stunning aerial combat that made the first two games such big sellers.
Director Taro Yoko, who oversaw the direction of the previous games, including the spin-off game called NIER, gave a rare and slightly bizarre interview promoting the game. The interview, in which Taro speaks to the audience via a bluish-grey hand puppet, is less promotion and more philosophical treatise on the nature of violence in video games. He speaks at length about the 'hidden barriers' of game developing, notably how many of the most popular and best selling games revolve around the killing of people. He notes that in certain games, they exclaim 'good job!' when you, the player, have just murdered 100 people, whereas in real life, doing so would you get you a short trip to the electric chair.
"I think the hidden barriers are many and various, visually and functionally, but I also think we are close to breaking through them. Especially regarding the limitations in having to kill in our games, perhaps the solutions to breaking through such limitations may not be found," Taro, speaking through his puppet, "in a place like Japan where it is relatively peaceful, but in countries that are more directly impacted by terror and war. What I would really like to see is for game developers to not take these limitations as a given, to bring about some real change to the world."
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In this day of sell, sell, sell, it is rather comforting to see a developer be so open and honest about his thoughts on the very nature of game making. There is little doubt that violence and death are the most popular mechanics in the game industry. They are so ubiquitous that we rarely stop to think about why we choose those.
Drakengard 3, violent as it may be, will seek to address some of the issues Taro brings up in his interview. For those not looking for a treatise on human nature, however, the game also comes packed with release date DLC. The new Digital Collector's Edition includes One's Prologue, Japanese Voice Pack, the NIER Costume Pack, Mikhail's (the dragon) Giant Baby Hat, Caim's Garb, and six PlayStation®Network themes. More DLC is planned, including new stages which delve further into the Intoner sisters stories.
Watch the full Taro Yoko interview below.
