I am an eternal Drakengard and NieR fan, and despite that I believe Drakengard is a good game story-wise, but oh my god is it functionally just straight up awful. I love the story so much but it cannot save it from anything more than two stars because of what a mental toll it takes to play the game.

Drakengard’s gameplay is repetitive and painful, mostly just mashing the square button over and over to attack and finishing the combo with the triangle button roughly 1,209 times per level(that statistic is as real as my enjoyment of the ground combat). After getting the red dragon, you’re able to ride on her back during the ground combat segments and blast the hordes upon hordes with her fire and magic.

As well as the ground combat, Drakengard is known for its in-air, dragon-riding combat segments. They feel infinitely better than any ground combat, and if the game just took place in air maybe its ass would have 3 stars, but alas it does not and is cursed with 2 stars. I’m not being spiteful, either. I love this game.

The music is known for being trash but I personally love it A LOT. I could also listen to a generator hum for 10 hours, so maybe the critics could be onto something. The sound design isn't that great either, but the voice direction is pretty good!

Graphically, the pre-rendered cutscenes are really quite nice for a PS2 game! The character design is above average, especially with Furiae's Manah's outfits. The normal gameplay graphics are average for the time period, but it’s not bad at all.

Drakengard is a game that developed a cult following for it and its sequels, as well as its spinoff series, despite its massive flaws and issues. It personally changed my life as a result of its being made. It has so much wrong with it, but what it does have going for it makes it a net positive experience even if it’s pretty painful to play. I highly suggest watching a longplay rather than playing it, but if you’re a fan of any NieR games already you should give it a chance.

PS: Manah did nothing wrong.