A couple of years ago, Square-Enix released a game called Drakengard. The idea was simple; you and a dragon get to rip through armies and rain destruction every step of the way. While the gameplay was fun, if a bit tedious, the most memorable part of Drakengard was its story. While it was, at points, all but intelligible, the sheer morbid pessimism and downright crazy turns in the later endings made it all the more entertaining. Drakengard 2 takes a more conservative approach with more varied stages and a more traditional narrative.

From a technical standpoint, the visuals in Drakengard 2 are about on par with its predecessor, but whereas the original game’s environments were often sparse and barren, Drakengard 2 has improved. The game still suffers from a bit of a “clean room” feel, but that’s likely due to the fact that the poor game has to render huge quantities of bad guys at the same time, leaving no rendering power for lots of little details.

When you’re not battling armies, you’ll be watching the game’s many cutscenes. Far more refined than the single camera angle endeavors seen in the original, Drakengard 2 is more conventional in its storytelling. The animated 3D portraits seen in Drakengard have been replaced with 2D pictures drawn in an anime style. This all refers to the scenes that use the in-game engine, of course. There’s also a healthy portion of what Square-Enix does best, the pre-rendered CG cutscenes. There’s plenty of those to see and each of them meets the high expectations everyone has come to expect from Square-Enix’s work.

One of the most significant differences between Drakengard 1 and 2 is in their music. While Drakengard mainly utilized very short, looping, dissonant pieces (which drew lots of criticism), Drakengard 2 uses a far more traditional fantasy score. There are only four or five core pieces of music used, but the game features several versions of them.

The sound and voice acting are exemplary. Human characters are all given strong British accents. While the voice of Angelus reprises her role, Seere and Manah sound decidedly different because of the addition of those accents. There is also a fourth character that returns, but he doesn’t need a voice actor, now does he.

Because Drakengard featured a very convoluted story with multiple (often insane) endings, those who played the original likely wonder how the sequel fits in. In a nutshell, Drakengard 2 follows the first, and only happy, ending players saw wherein the red dragon Angelus offers to become the new seal to keep away the chaos beyond the world. Since then, an order of knights, called the Knights of the Seal, has been established to protect the seal. Players take on the role of Nowe, a young knight who was originally raised by a blue dragon named Legna. His life begins to take an interesting turn when he meets a young woman named Manah.

Fans that were confused by the disjointed storytelling of the original will be happy to hear that Drakengard 2 has a far more straightforward, but still dark, story. Amazingly enough, by the end of the game Drakengard 2 also manages to explain much of what happened in the original. Looking back, the seemingly random twists and turns actually start to make sense. All of them. Yes, even the babies.

Drakengard 2 offers multiple endings much like its predecessor. Unlike the original however, each progressive ending becomes more positive. One thing I don’t like is the path players must walk to access these endings. Unlike the original, which simply opened up new chapters after conditions were met, to see the “best” ending in Drakengard 2, a player must play through the game no less than three times, with each subsequent playthrough becoming more difficult. Suffice to say, this becomes quite monotonous.

Drakengard 2 features a very steady difficulty curve that does a good job of properly preparing players before putting them in really tricky situations. Well, most of the time. The boss fight with the gnomes is ludicrously more difficult than anything else I experienced in the game, forcing you through a very time-consuming battle that requires you to constantly avoid very tricky attacks that nearly demolish your health. The game offers a normal and easy difficulty setting at the outset. Subsequent playthroughs feature an increase in diffculty.

The basic premise of the Drakengard games is all about decimating huge groups of enemies at a time, sometimes on foot, sometimes with the help of your dragon friend. Stages come in three categories: aerial battles with the dragon, large ground fights where you can switch between both the dragon and your human characters, and indoor areas where you cannot summon your dragon friend.

One of the deepest aspects of Drakengard 2's gameplay is the staggering number of weapons you can find and power up. The game features a huge selection of short swords, long swords, staves, axes, and spears for players to find. Each weapon category has a general style of use, and each specific weapon can vary slightly in the combo attacks available for use. Each weapon also features a magical attack that increases in power as the weapon is used. Weapons are usually found in chests in a stage. Often they are hidden and only available to find if the player comes back to the area later.

One new addition in Drakengard 2 are shops. Players can earn gold on the battlefield to use for new weapons, healing items, and accessories. Players will want to visit and revisit towns as they become available on the map, not only to see what new items might be for sale, but because oftentimes visiting a town will trigger a short dialogue scene.

The single biggest different between Drakengard and Drakengard 2 is the presence of secondary characters. While the original allowed you to unlock and use powerful partners after you had received the first ending, the characters in Drakengard 2 are far more prominent in the story straight from the outset. There are four playable characters in all. While the only major difference in the characters is the types of weapons they use, a few have some unique qualities. Manah and Urick gain magic energy and health, respectively, while out of battle.

The Drakengard series is certainly a unique style of game. If you didn’t like the original’s gameplay or dark story, Drakengard 2 probably won’t do it for you either. If it was the tedium or confusing storytelling that bothered you, the sequel has improved in both of these areas. Fans of the original definitely need to pick this one up, no question.