Part 114: Episode LXXXVII: In Which We Add a Final Few Entries to the Extinct Species List

Episode LXXXVII: In Which We Add a Final Few Entries to the Extinct Species List



Music: Descendus – Vocals Only

The final entry in my recordings draws near.



No matter what conclusion awaits us at the end of this branch, I know that I will never forget this journey...



Alright, folks. This is it. It's the final April 22nd showdown of Drakengard 3. Time to return to Cathedral City, Notspain, Midgard and complete this long, strange murder road trip for keeps. Two missions remain and our time with Taro Yoko's madness will come to an end for another spell. With that said, let's begin...

Verse 8: Endgame



So this is One's home base, is it?



We're not going to mess about with any aerial assaults or wading through hordes of infantrymen and any sub-human creatures taking a spring break vacation to the city. You saw the title of this verse. We're jumping right into the thick of things.



Music: Prevolt - Battleground





Zero immediate trips an alarm and is sent into Alert status as Gabriel warps into the scene to deal with the Cathedral City intruders. Mikhail barely maintaining recommended levels before the end game didn't work out so well the first time around, even when abusing broken high end limit break spells. And the min-maxing low level speedrun Mikhail tried did manage to slay Gabriel, but that also didn't work out so hot for our dragon in the end.



Let's see if things will turn around for our big dumb baby dragon sidekick when he grinds to max level early in the campaign and works on getting an optimal skill point allocation for the remainder of the quest.



Err... Speaking of turning around... That was a pretty abrupt mid-air full speed turnabout there...



Gaah!
I'm fine! Go get that guy!



Right! Be careful, Zero! Be careful, okay?
Stop repeating yourself!



Welp. So much for skipping the slog through a horde of interchangeable stormtroopers.



Oh, right. It's the endgame and we're still within the realm of cutscenes in which Zero can recover from falling a thousand feet and spindash into a powerslide down half a city block, stabbing everyone in her path in the junk.



Why can't we do a dick stabbing powerslide in-game, Drakengard 3? I thought we'd grown past cool abilities that only exist in cutscenes. I'd be perfectly fine with turning this into a melee based Bulletstorm.



My name is Zero, the original Intoner, and the immortal—





KNOCK IT OFF! I'm trying to make a speech here!



Now... Uh...



Oh for fuck's sake! Now I lost my place!



Alright then, right into the thick of it! Zero (and Octa... in theory) must now fight their way to the end of the bridge leading up to One's Cathedral. Of course everyone in their way must be murdered first. Starting with the last 30 remaining infantrymen in the Intoner army. Congrats on lasting this long into Drakengard 3, boys. Have your reward. Spoiler: It's dying as well. Sorry.



Ha! That's so cute.
The only way through here is over our dead bodies!
Oh ho! Is that really the kind of thing you want to say to an Intoner and her disciple?
Hold her off as long as you can! Lady One's counting on us!
She'll be counting your bodies soon!



Are you okay, Zero? Are you okay!?
Stop repeating things, dammit!
But your flower...
Look. You just worry about killing One. She's a powerful foe. She keeps her magic sealed inside her by pure will alone— That's how she's managed to stay sane. And you won't be able to beat her if you keep getting distracted!
But—
No buts!
But... what about you, Zero? I don't wanna kill you...
It's all right. Everybody dies at some point. ...And technically, I'm already dead. So you're just helping me close the book.
Aww man...



Don't worry, Mikhail. Zero is fine for now. We're only dealing with the last handful of soldier grunts and the final two undead lancers in existence. And those two horseback idiots? Pfft.



HORSE PARRY!



BULLSEYE!



While we're at it, RIP the Last Battalion of Notspain. May your children's children live on to be slaughtered wholesale another day by an angry mute and his dragon someday. Or one of the many, many cataclysms surrounding his adventures. Pray that their children do not live to become cannon fodder for a dimwitted half-dragon fool and his dragon dad.



Now then, we've got to wipe out a few classes of enemies to close the prequel loop here. First up is the last Titan in existence. Foul giant automatons brought to life by one of the myriad of ass-pulled powers the Intoner song can muster up as the plot sees fit. Except the times when they're not or the titans were made out of trees or fighting the Intoners that supposedly breathed life into them in the first place...





Whatever! Your origins and purpose are highly unclear and murkily defined. You don't exist by the time Drakengard 1 rolls around. So you've got to go. RIP Titans, your attack is over. I've already seen what's in One's basement and it's a giant silly putty blob of dead orphans. Let us not speak of it again.



Once the titan, undead horsemen, and final stragglers of the Proto-Empire are defeated, the way to the second half of the bridge presents itself. Funny, this bridge feels twice as long as the last couple of times we've had to cross it in previous versions of this map.



Zero...
Now what? Don't you dare wuss out on me...
No, I'm... I'm gonna do this, Zero. I mean, I'll try real hard. I don't understand this, and I don't know if it's right... But I'm gonna try!
I mean, I... I may not ever see you again, right? This... This may be the last time... This may be the last time we ever get to be together...
<sniff> So I want to help you, Zero. I want to help...
...Thanks.





It's the endgame. May as well just get the three hidden chests out of the way and not be a nuisance about it. 33,000 G, a Black Base Material, and 17,000 G respectively. That is the final three chests of Drakengard 3. You get a nice fat treasure hunting trophy for catching them all if you've gone the distance. I didn't this playthrough. I missed one in that barren pit of a desert map and I don't give a fuuuuuuuuuck!



Okie dokie. One mob of mid-boss goobers left in all of Drakengard 3. Ten wizards, the final centaur in all the land, and the last two sand ogres in existence. Let's get to work thinning the herd. Oh, you don't know how good this feels to kill these guys!

Mikhail and Gabriel's battle briefly takes them over the bridge behind the trash mob...



Gabriella...
Listen, Octa and I will take care of One! But in the meantime, I need you to take out that dragon!
Okay, Zero! I'll do it for you!



Ogres still existed by the time of Drakengard 1. But they were of a different stock than those found in Drakengard 3. Bulkier. Wore cardboard face masks. Strange folk. Caim committed genocide on their kind during Verdelet's sub-human ethnic purging in Switched-Scandinavia.





So wiping out this last duo of sand ogres ought to mark the end of their lots existence in Eastern Midgard. Good riddance, sand ogres. May you and your brood be forgotten in the sands of time. Like that edgy second Prince of Persia game with all the Godsmack tracks that nobody liked. Such is your fate.





And of course centaurs are out of the endangered species list and onto the textbooks of the extinct as well. Especially Flame Centaurs. There were like three of you fools the entire game. How do you even function out in the wild? You're on fire and have flamethrowers for hands. You don't even have the excuse of being from hell or some techno-organic alien drawn by a disgruntled 14 year old or someone working as a mid-90s FPS monster design concept artist. Away with you!



What's that foul demon planning to do with our Lady One?
I hesitate to even think it. We must put a stop to her!
We have Lady One's blessing on our side!
You're right... We can't lose now.
Lady One will bring salvation to the world!
All will bow the knee before Lady One's majesty!
Who granted us salvation when all seemed lost?
Lady One!



Unfortunately, despite Zero's best attempts we cannot wipe the slate clean of wizards, magicians, sorcerers, and their magical ilk. Such is the fate of a fantasy setting. If nothing, magic users get worse in number as the series progresses. By the time you get to peak idiocy of Drakengard 2 there's three different variety of mages per element and pacts turning people magic and all manner of wizardry tomfoolery.

Oh well, we can do our little part today and kill the last wizards under One's command at least.



Mikhail and Gabriel are still having their brawl in the skies above with our dragon sidekick doing the pursing for a change. That's our boy.





Gabriel takes a pot shot at Zero as she crosses the bridge. But it only makes for a dramatic rear explosion and cutting off any retreat from the final segment of the map.





Mikhail doesn't take kindly to Gabe attempting to pull some Cutscene Zone shenanigans against Zero. He puts a quick end to the purple dragon's nonsense with a decisive shot to its back.





Nice work, Mikhail! That takes Gabriel out of the equation for the final battle in dramatic fashion. But we're not going to be worrying about the daemon dragon this time around.



No cutscene monologuing or coy allusions to insider information not shared to the player this go around. Hell, we're not even going to set foot into the Cathedral City Cathedral in this final branch.



Tune in next time for the final, final, FINAL battle between One and Zero. Who will be the last Intoner standing? How much more of the cast will get killed off before the finale? Will they make out?

This and more will all be answered next time on Drakengard! 3!







Video: Branch D Verse 8 Highlight Reel (You should at least watch the opening.)