Introduction
Drake of the 99 Dragons is a 2003 third-person shooter game released on the Xbox and PC. Developed by the then-new (and now-defunct) Idol FX, the game was supposed to spark a franchise based around the eponymous Drake, an assassin for the Clan of the 99 Dragons. A short comic was released as a promotional product, and a cartoon was supposedly in development during the same time.
The release of the game killed any hope of success for this multimedia project.
On release, it was critically panned, and received an average Metacritic rating of 22. The game is absolutely riddled with bugs and design problems. The Xbox version of the game did not include a reticule for the guns, and tried to make up for it with an auto-aim feature, which is inconsistent at best. The camera is fast and loose, and often forces an awful perspective for gameplay. The controls are loose and floaty, and many of the additional movement mechanics are disgustingly inconsistent and buggy. The music is bland and uninspired and the sound design is worse than that, featuring some truly awful false gun sounds and at least one sound effect that seems to be ripped straight from AOL Instant Messenger. Sometimes, sound effects from previous levels will bleed into the cutscene at the start of the next level. The graphics are pretty bad, even for the Xbox, and I’m pretty sure the menu font is some form of Comic Sans. The story is a mess of poor narration, hidden in cutscenes that usually only vaguely relate to the gameplay sections surrounding them; even then, the storytelling is hard to follow past the most basic conceit. It is an awful mess of a game, often put on the same pedestal as Superman 64.
And yet I bought it on a whim a number of months ago, still factory-sealed. I was ready for the worst, and boy did I get it. On at least two occasions I had to consult a walkthrough (the only one, mind you) to figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing because of poor direction on the part of the game. At this time, I realized that I could not find a single completed video playthrough of this game, and so at the end of my first playthrough, I decided to take up the mantle.
My name is ChorpSaway and I have a problem. Thankfully, I have
This a video LP with cut and uncut options for the commentary, though the story is so bad and unnecessary that it’ll probably be difficult to parse even if we’re not talking over it. I will be subtitling all of the narration and dialogue, so you can still try to keep up with what’s going on during the cutscenes even if you’re watching the uncut videos.
I will be showing off as much as I can about the mechanics, the weapons, and the gameplay overall. This won’t be a completely expert run, because I want to show off some of the more egregious things that this game can do to new players, but I believe myself to be one of the best Drake players in the world (because I am the only one still around).
I don’t expect many of you to have played this game, especially to completion, but I don’t want to see any spoilers in the thread. There’s plenty to talk about without jumping the gun(s) on the later missions.
Bonus Updates
Drake of the 99 Dragons: All Cutscenes (Video)
Drake of the 99 Dragons Issue 1: The Demon Box (Comic)
Drake
An undead assassin for the Clan of the 99 Dragons. Wears a cool trenchcoat and has a cooler dragon tattoo on his chest. Looks a little like Bizarro from Superman and is the number one mumbler in the 99 Dragons clan.
List of Powers
As of Mission 1:
- Can shoot two guns at the same time
- Can make guns appear from thin air
- Can jump twice
- Is basically a ragdoll
- Can NOT carry guns between levels, except for his precious pistols
As of Mission 4:
- Can cling to and run on walls
- Can NOT move from one wall to another wall without jumping
- Can see and collect the souls of dead people
- Can slow down time (he is also affected)
- Can freeze time (he is also affected)
As of Mission 5:
- Can NOT leap out of tall buildings and survive
- Can be revived by magical statue spirits into a new body
As of Mission 7:
- Can draw souls towards him
- Can NOT absorb evil “lost” souls
As of Mission 8:
- Can use key cards to open doors
As of Mission 11:
- Can make souls explode as they exit a body
As of Mission 13:
- Can be revived by magical statue spirits into an old body
As of Mission 14:
- Can regenerate his body from fatal wounds (may be an oversight by the game)
- Is light enough to be affected by industrial fans
As of Mission 15:
- Can unleash the Undying Dragon from his body when in an excess of souls
As of Mission 21:
- Can pull every type of gun out of hell
As of Mission 23:
- Can just straight up kill ghosts
As of Mission 24:
- Can harness the power of the Soul Portal Artifact to fly
Waffleman_ hopes that we Take Care (feat. Rihanna) over the course of the LP.
ShadowMar is bringing in the Comeback Season with an old call-back to games long past.
Camel Pimp shows the thread the meaning of Bad Meaning Good (feat. Slakah the Beatchild).
Hyper Crab Tank depicts Drake on his Worst Behavior.
Melaneus shows us what happens when there's Too Much (feat. Sampha).
ShadowMar documents the problems of staying Up All Night (feat. Nicki Minaj).
Waffleman_ brings Drake back to the time of Spider Riders.
Lady Naga attempts to immortalize Drake in WW2k15 and is Successful (feat. Trey Songz and Lil Wayne).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBTsld9tG7o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaA_W2rBpkU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2k4Q6N2BIA
Combat Lobster helps Drake invade PSO2 and he knows how to Show Me a Good Time.
