Drakengard 3 Part #5 - Episode V: In Which We Take a Trip to the Beach

Part 5: Episode V: In Which We Take a Trip to the Beach

Episode V: In Which We Take a Trip to the Beach

New Music: Descendus - Instrumental

Between missions we are given an opportunity to take a breather and do a bit of housekeeping. From here on out we have access to Accord's mail order service... which just means we can purchase items from the intermission menu screen. Hey, it's more justification than the post-Resident Evil 4 games ever gave after dropping the Merchant.

Supplies in the item storefront are rather limited at that moment. All the items present are rather self-explanatory. Recovery potions restore HP, with Small variety being so little restored it's barely worth mentioning. Defense/Strength potions boost the corresponding stat for about thirty seconds. As the game progresses additional items will be added to the store inventory at fairly regular intervals.

The primary money pit of Accord's shopping catalog will be purchasing weapons. While a decent number of Zero's armory will be found out in the field, a not insignificant number must be purchased for hold hard cash. And before we can complete the game, every single one must be obtained. Game progression and completing certain side-missions will update the weapon stock inventory and the further along the unlocks, the more pricey this collection hobby will become. Like to the magnitude of pushing "100,000 G for one shiny stick" pricey.

We cannot quite afford the solitary weapon for sale just yet. But meh... I'm not keeping track of every time I put Accord's kids through college for some new Hanzo steel. So let's take a look at the newest revealed sharp hunk of metal.

SINFUL SCREAM posted:

An executioner's sword that passes merciless judgment on the sinful.
Weapon Type: Sword
Weapon Size: Large

He committed a crime. The famine raged, taxes rose without
mercy, and his parents vanished. Soon his siblings grew
gaunt with hunger, and for them, he took action.

He committed a crime. He shared the stolen milk and bread
with his five young siblings, allowing himself none.
Instead, he simply watched as they devoured the bounty.

He committed a crime. When the rich merchants found him,
he was not allowed to die for his sin. That honor fell to his
siblings, for they alone had consumed the stolen goods.

He committed a crime. His siblings' ravaged bodies lay in
the street. He gazed upon them, rubbing the open sores form
his own public whipping, and heaved a voiceless sob.

Ah! There it is! There's the grimdark Drakengard weapon stories I remember!

Weapons in Drakengard 3 can be upgraded to improve performance (and of course unlock weapon history tales.) The requirement to do so is two fold. First, you of course need the cash for the mail order blacksmith services. This ain't a charity. Secondly, Zero must have the required Base Material handy to forge the enhanced weapon.

Base Materials come in Copper, Silver, Gold, White, and Black Tiers. These can be found in the golden chests during missions as well as occasionally dolled out as mission rewards. As the game progresses Base Materials will also begin appearing in the Item Shop for sale at frankly ridiculous prices. Black Base Material doesn't even unlock in the shop until you've literally completed the entire game.

It is a soul crushing grind to fully upgrade every single weapon (unless you're willing to dole out real money for the highly profitable DLC chapters.) So of course there is a trophy locked behind it. Even from beyond the grave, Cavia hates you and everything you stand for in the pursuit of OCD game padding bullshit and achievements.

Lastly, between missions we can swap out Zero's weapons. Zero can switch between four different weapons mid-mission. Unfortunately, she can only carry one of each type of weapon at a time. Considering at the moment she only possesses a trio of swords... not much going on here at the moment.

That about wraps up the gameplay intermission. Now for a story intermission...

Verse 2: The Cove
New Music: Aethervox

Every once in a while Zero and company (yes Zero's entourage will expand beyond adorable dragon buddy) will build a campfire and chill out for a bit. During this downtime we're given the opportunity to listen to some relaxing music that sounds like it would fit right at home in NIER and gather everyone's thoughts on the mission thus far.

So let's go see what's shakin' with Mikhail.

So no one was in the shop, huh?

Nope. Pretty stupid of 'em to leave it unguarded.

Why don't you stand in until the shopkeeper comes back?

That's a terrible idea.

Why? I bet you'd be a good shopkeeper!

Heh. I'm not sure I could keep myself from stealing everything.

...

Let's go.

Huh? Already...? Can't we rest a liiiittle longer?

Shut it. I'm leaving, and so are you.

Fiiiine...

New Music: Antipurity - Battleground

Back into action. This is another straightforward mission that is mostly just taking down scores of cannon fodder with swords and bows. Maybe a shield or two if they're feeling saucy. I'll mention any hiccups or anomalies in the mission format. But if large swathes of the gameplay content are glazed over between missions, you are safe to assume what transpired was the same exact shit as the prior mission.

I eat 'em.

Aaaaah!!

Just kidding.

Oh... uh... Hahaha-haa! I totally believed you!

Once I kill them, I can exploit their powers.

So you're going to steal their Intoner magic and stuff?

Something like that.

If we fight bravely, we might get an audience with Lady Five!

Hah! And then we'll get to see those beautiful gams!

Chaaaaaarge!

A bit further down the path we come across the fourth soldier enemy type: the halberd jerks. Halberd wielding soldiers have been bulking up for their battle against Zero and as such have about twice the HP of their compatriots. The have a decent range up close, but rarely will that be the primary issue with these foes.

Halberd soldiers' primary attack is charging forward Zero with the pointy bit of their weapon. This attack has a fairly large tell as they like to glow bright blue before beginning their dash. Evading out of the way is no sweat if you see it coming. These buggers tend to be annoying if you're taking on a swarm of lesser enemies and suddenly this big armored brick shithouse guy shoves a spear up Zero's blindside when not paying attention.

When facing normal soldiers, I tend to put these guys #2 on my to kill list beyond archer nuisances.

A few dozen more suits of armor in need of recycling later...

Just sink the goddamn battleship, will you?

Fiiine...

Look, Mikhail... I know you're young. But the world is a vast place full of variety as well as fidelity. I don't mean to judge but... you could do a lot better with your oceanic vistas... Just sayin'...

Past a lighthouse with neither a man _{_alive} nor a city...

Puzzle time! There's an indestructible barrier barring Zero's path. Zero will need to use all her brain power to circumvent this dubious obstacle. No the flying dragon is not the answer to this dilemma. An no she cannot jump 100 feet in the air, that Intoner power only works in cutscenes. Now, the solution might have something to do with those two raised walkways above. If we could find some box to push, peh--

Guess I'll just have to climb up and go around somehow. Heh. That's a pretty half-assed way to try and slow me down...

Oh... wait there's just some stairs over there... Nevermind! False alarm!

The slutty kind.

What's "slutty" mean?

It means all she thinks about is dirty stuff.

Oh. So she's just like you!

Would you shut up already?

A jog past a rather out of the way subterranean church and a bit of Zero punishing naughty red shirts skipping Sunday School and we arrive at the final area of this mission.

Dammit. I think we've been had.

Zero, you're like maybe three or four miles from your house. You never bothered to recon, or at the very least send Mikhail on a quick peek, to see if this was the right direction before going on a warpath?

The answer is honestly no. Zero is absolutely shit at planning anything ever.

What's that, out in the PS2 caliber waves?!

...My inquiry remains...

Whatever it is, if it gets in my way, it's going down.

Just be careful, Zero! This guy's strong! Super strong!

Heh. What are you looking at, shithead?!

Our final task of this mission is to take out this bruiser: The Gigas. A rather intimidating looking fellow. I'm somewhat puzzled as to how he was able to hold his breath under the waves in order to make his dramatic appearance, what with the 12 foot tongue stretching out his mouth and all. But, details...

You cannot grasp the true form of Giygas' attack!

...

No... wait. Dammit. Added an extra y in there by mistake. Sorry. Gigas does a low sweeping club swing, followed up by an overhead smash that gets its club stuck in the sand. That is... really all it has in its bag of tricks. At least in the wheelhouse of this incarnation of the enemy type.

If a full meter of Intoner Mode juice is retained up until this fight, Zero can chew through half of the giant's health meter within the first thirty seconds of the battle without breaking a sweat. After that it's just a matter of hanging back to let it perform its singular attack cycle and then following through with sword strikes. Repeat until death occurs.