Part 51: Side Episode: A Look at New Game Plus
Side Episode: A Look at New Game Plus
So we've come to the conclusion of Drakengard 2's first playthrough. Hurray!
But, like with the completion of Drakengard and NIER, we receive an ominous message informing us that additional endings await. Drakengard 2 has a much more...how should I put it...? Dickish approach to how the player unlocks additional endings. In the original title, upon completing the game we could go replay any chapter and find additional paths and alternate routes through the game's fucked up story, culminating in rather different final acts. But, Drakengard 2 isn't playing like that...
Instead, we get to replay the entire game again. From the very beginning. Oh, and the difficulty level has been bumped up to Hard mode! In case the first venture through the game wasn't quite enough of a tedious slog! All enemies get a big boost to their attack power. Gismor in the Chapter 1 Verse 1 tutorial can take off over a quarter of Nowe's health bar in one swing. Terrific... That said, all the party members' stats, items, money, and weapons carry over into New Game Plus. The only thing that doesn't is Legna's dragon evolutions are limited by plot still. But all his Dragon Overdrives remain at least.
In addition, we can now use all four party members in every mission regardless of their rival faction affiliation, sanity, or untimely death. So, I guess it's nice to be able to use the Axe and Spear weapon classes for more than two chapter a piece.
We also receive a few bonuses upon the completion of the game to help motivate us on redoing the journey. First up, a new weapon!
Drakengard 2 Weapon Stories posted:
KINGSBLOOD
History:
Once, there lived two generals. One possessed supreme bravery and the other possessed supreme intellect. The two men admired each other and trained together to become better soldiers, until one day, their hearts were stolen by this ancient sword, Kingsblood. They fought to decide who should own it.
The battle for Kingsblood led to war. The brave general fought using what he called "Iron Guard" formation - a strategy dependent on sheer effort and hardship. It had served him well throughout his glittering military career. The astute general meanwhile, used strategies never before seen in the battlefield. No one knew who would prevail.
The brave general's direct approach dominated at first, but as time passed, the astute general's ever- changing strategies began to turn the battle to his favor. So the brave general's army held on with dogged determination, and managed, at length to cancel out the astute general's advantage. The war had reached a stalemate.
After the war, a villager visited the battlefield and said: " They were both great generals. If only their talents had not been polarized... If only they had possessed a balance of might and intellect, we would have been spared the tragedies of war."
Description: The sword of a ruler who possessed might and intelligence.
Traits: Stronger than it appears. (Not really.)
Magic: "Sonic Burst" - Ever noticed Guile doesn't possess eyebrows? It's pretty creepy.
Seriously, guys. The damage and guard break don't even reach into the triple digits. It's not that great of a sword... And what is it with Drakengard generals murdering each other?
As a completion bonus, we also receive $120,000 gold in funds for the war chest. This will buy roughly three high end weapons from toward the end of the last playthrough. You see why I cheated myself a bunch of money now...?
In addition, a movie viewer for all the game's FMV cutscenes has been added to the world map. Why is the region to select this a hellish poison vapor and tentacle filled anomaly on the map? Well...you saw this game's plot.
And last but...definitely least we get a new accessory in the form of the Maskless Orb. What does this mysterious piece of equipment do when placed into our inventory? Well, instead of trifling with any of those silly buffs to offense or defense normal accessories provide, the Maskless Orb gives us a true rewarding experience.
We can play as Urick without his helmet. And err...that's it. It doesn't change anything but you can see Urick's flowing purple/white anime hair amidst the fields of battle in exchange for any protection a normal accessory would provide. Sure... Sure, why not?
There are also a few new scenes added to the game's storyline, mostly toward the end of chapters. They're not like NIER's paradigm shifting additions that throw parts of the plot on its head. They are instead...rather pointless "character development" scenes for the characters.
Meh... You'll see soon enough...
Drakengard... 2...
