Drakengard, known in Japan as and its spin-off series, Nier, are action role-playing video games directed largely by Yoko Taro, with the exception of Drakengard 2, in which he only had minor involvement. The two series share a single branching timeline, though they take place in parallel universes: the dark fantasy world of Midgard and a post-apocalyptic Earth. The Drakengard series was originally developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix. The eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 on the PlayStation 2, and has since been followed by a sequel, a prequel and several spin-offs. The Nier spin-offs, taking place in an alternative timeline set after a different ending to the first Drakengard than the one 2005's Drakengard 2 followed, was started in 2010 with the eponymous game.

The stories of both Drakengard and Nier generally focus on the fortunes and personalities of a small group of protagonists either directly or indirectly connected to and affected by the events of the story. Dark or mature plot and character themes and multiple endings have become a staple of the series. The setting of the Drakengard games is a Northern Europe-like dark fantasy world where humans and creatures from myth and legends live side by side, while the Nier games are set in the distant future of a different ending to the first Drakengard from the one Drakengard 2 follows. Both series have been largely praised for their complex characters and storylines, although the gameplay mechanics of the Drakengard games have been criticized.

Both Drakengard and the original Nier have long been considered popular in Japan, selling well and gaining a cult following, and resulting in multiple adaptations and additional media such as books (including several novelizations), manga, comics, and a stage play. They remained little-known outside Japan until the 2017 release of Nier: Automata, which was a worldwide commercial and critical success and led to an increase in interest from western countries, resulting in a remaster of the original Nier, subtitled Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., being released in 2021 to larger attention and substantially better sales than the original.

Games

Drakengard, the first installment in the franchise. It released for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) in September 2003 in Japan, March and May 2004 in North America and Europe respectively. Square Enix published the title in Japan and North America, while Gathering of Developers published it in European territories. A Europe-exclusive mobile port was released in August 2004. The mobile version was co-developed and co-published with Macrospace. Drakengard 2, the second installment in the series and direct sequel to the first game. It released on the PS2 in June 2005 in Japan, February 2006 in North America and March of the same year in Europe and Australia. For its release in western territories, Square Enix partnered with European game developer and publisher Ubisoft. Ubisoft also handled the game's localization. Drakengard 3, the third main installment in the series and a prequel to the first game. It released on the PS3 in December 2013 in Japan and May 2014 in North America and Europe. Like Nier, it was published in all regions by Square Enix. Nier, a spin-off from the main series stemming from the last of Drakengards five possible endings. Nier was released on the PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Xbox 360 (as Nier Replicant in Japan for PS3 only, Nier Gestalt in Japan for Xbox 360, and Nier in North America and Europe) in April 2010 across all regions. It was published by Square Enix across all regions. An updated version titled Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… was released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows in April 2021. Nier: Automata, a distant sequel to Nier, set in the same universe but thousands of years in the future. It was released for PlayStation 4 in February 2017, Microsoft Windows in March 2017, Xbox One in June 2018, and Nintendo Switch October 2022. Nier Reincarnation, a mainline Nier title for mobile platforms, set in the Nier universe but taking place in a mysterious location known as the Cage. It was released for Android and iOS in February 2021. The game ended service in April 2024.

Development History

The idea for Drakengard originated in 1999 between Takamasa Shiba and Takuya Iwasaki. The gameplay was conceived as a blend of elements from Ace Combat and Dynasty Warriors 2. The team developing the game went under the moniker "Project Dragonsphere". The game was developed by Cavia and directed by Yoko Taro, who was the main drive behind the game's dark atmosphere. It was Shiba's first project as a producer. As Yoko was told there would not be a sequel, multiple endings were created. When it was localized and released in the west, references to things such as sexual taboos were censored. In addition, the title was changed, as Drag-On Dragoon was considered wrong for a western audience. Drakengard was considered enough of a success that a sequel was commissioned. Multiple staff members returned for the creation of the second game, although Yoko was mostly tied up with other projects and was replaced as director by Akira Yasui. Yoko still had a role in development, and he and Yasui had creative clashes during development. Yasui ended up making Drakengard 2 the thematic opposite of the previous game, employing a lighter tone and broader color palette.

Nier originated when Yoko and Shiba teamed up to create a third Drakengard game. As the project continued, it became more detached from the main continuity and eventually developed into an entirely new spin-off. Despite what it became, Yoko has stated that he considers Nier to be the true Drakengard 3. It was the last game developed by Cavia. After its release, Cavia closed down and was absorbed by AQ Interactive, then Yoko Taro left to pursue a wider range of projects. A stalled attempt to begin production of further games in the series at AQ Interactive was blamed by Shiba on a prevalent trend at the time for light-weight games for the general gaming community. Later, Yoko and Shiba came together again to create a proper second sequel to Drakengard, with the intention of creating a hard core RPG for the fanbase. Unlike the previous games in the series, Drakengard 3 was developed by Access Games, a developer whose noted games included Deadly Premonition, and brought in team members used to create action games. During the run-up to Drakengard 3s release, both Yoko and Shiba expressed their willingness to continue the series on the PlayStation 4 if the latest game was enough of a success. Speaking in 2014 after the game's release, Yoko stated that the series was on hold due to lack of funds. A new Nier game was revealed to be in development at Square Enix and PlatinumGames.

Writing and character design The stories of the original game's characters were written by Yoko, Shiba and Iwasaki, while the main game script was written by Sawako Natori, who would go on to co-write the main scenarios for future Drakengard games. Yoko designed the darker elements to both contrast and actively compete with the likes of Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Yoko conceived the "insane" characters around the premise that people who killed hundreds of people in pursuit of their goals and took satisfaction from it were naturally insane. During the production of Nier, his focus changed to writing a story where everyone believed they were in the right whatever their actions. Through the series, Yoko has also been attempting to answer the question of why people are driven to kill. Although some of the dark narrative themes were kept for Drakengard 2, many of the other narrative elements were made more mainstream. Drakengard 3 was intended to return to a dark aesthetic, but also to include moments of humor and tie in with Nier.

The character designer for the Drakengard games is Kimihiko Fujisaka. Initially a minor staff member at Cavia, the team were impressed by his skill as an amateur artist and he was recommended for the post of character designer for the game. The designs for both the characters and the world were influenced by armor and clothing of Medieval Europe. He returned in the same capacity for Drakengard 2, and later for Nier. Disliking some of his initial designs for Drakengard, he took the opportunity to remodel them more to his liking for the arcade game Lord of Vermilion. In Drakengard 3, Fujisaka designed the protagonist Zero around the dark themes of the game, although some unusual elements were nearly cut. The other female characters were inspired by Puella Magi Madoka Magica, while the male characters, considered a low priority, were designed around male archetypes and approved quickly.

The character designs for Nier were handled by an artist under the moniker D.K. For Niers international release, the protagonist was redesigned from a teenager to an adult character. This was because the publishers felt an older character would appeal more to western players. For Nier: Automata, the main character designs were handled by Akihiko Yoshida, an artist noted for his work on the Final Fantasy series. While he was initially expected to refuse, he agreed as several staff members at his company CyDesignation were fans of Nier. For his designs, Yoko requested he focus on smooth outlines and black coloring. Other characters were designed by Yuya Nagai and Toshiyuki Itahana.

Music

The first game's soundtrack was created by Nobuyoshi Sano and Takayuki Aihara. The two created the score using samples from well-known classical composers. The second game's soundtrack was composed by Ryoki Matsumoto and Aoi Yoshiki, who had never before been involved with video game soundtracks. The game's Japanese theme song, Hitori, was sung by Mika Nakashima. The music for Nier was composed by Keiichi Okabe, who composed the soundtrack as something different from the main series, and to directly reflect the sombre tone of the game's setting and story. Singer Emi Evans (Emiko Rebecca Evans) wrote and sang the vocal tracks, and performed many tracks in an invented language dubbed "Chaos Language". "Chaos Language" is less a language and more a writing style, as each individual song has a different language based on a real-world language. The one exception to this is "Song Of The Ancients" which is sung in a language based upon multiple different languages, instead of a single language. Okabe returned to compose the soundtrack for Drakengard 3: in an interview, he stated that, in composing the music, he tried to emulate the work of the earlier composer without imitating them. He also commented that the result was very unlike the traditional Square Enix game. The game features two theme songs: "Black Song", performed by Eir Aoi, and "This Silence is Mine", the game's theme song proper, written and sung by Chihiro Onitsuka. Okabe again provided the music for Nier: Automata, with singer Emi Evans also returning.

Common elements Setting