We have more pickups to add to the backlog with the completion of a collection and a retro crime-fighting blast from the past!
Nothing gets me more excited than completing a series and starting new ones. The thrill of the hunt is great and all, but finally being able to say “I have them all!!” is on a whole other level. But then what do you do next to fill that void? You pick a new series to chase after, that’s what you do! It’s an endless cycle really.
It was a long and grueling road, but I can finally say I have a complete Drakengard collection! With the cherry on top being Drakengard 3 on the PlayStation 3! I didn’t quite expect it to take me this long to complete the series, but getting the first two games proved to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. If I’m going to be perfectly honest I was overjoyed to see that Drakengard 3 was still quite easy to find which made putting a fork in the trilogy after acquiring the first two a breeze.
And although technically the Drakengard series had only three entries: Drakengard 1 and 2 on the PlayStation 2 and then 3 on the PlayStation 3, I didn’t consider my collection complete until I acquired the two available Nier games that were released in North America as well. There was a third game released in Japan called Nier Replicant, (which I’d still like to find) but at this point I think I’m satisfied.
I’m really looking forward to playing all three of the Drakengards. As a huge fan of action games in general, they seemed right up my alley and any obscure RPG from Square Enix is alright in my book! I’m a sucker for catching up to a franchise’s story by playing through each and every game in a series start to finish. For an RPG series like Drakengard this might end up being a huge time sink, but it’ll be so dang worth it!!
What really drew me to the series and the reason I decided to try and collect them in the first place was that they were connected to the Nier universe. Loosely mind you, as the Nier series is an alternate timeline derived from one of the multiple endings in the original Drakengard. I loved Nier and Nier Automata and the kooky design antics of Yoko Taro (the director for Drakengard, Drakengard 3 and both Nier titles), so really it wasn’t even a question.
What I found interesting with the release of Drakengard 3 (at least the physical copy) was that they changed the PS3 banner at the top of the game case from black to blue. I’ve not seen this on many other PS3 games (if any) and it actually fooled me into thinking it was a PS4 game. Aside from that I really love the cover art for 3 and you can definitely see the similarities in the art direction and play style when comparing it to Nier and even Nier Automata.
Here’s hoping they live up to the hype I’m building up in my own head!!
Little needs to be said about the popularity of Batman. Children and adults alike are drawn to the grim and morose settings of this crime fighting anti-hero and the zany villians that surround him. It was especially true in 1989 when the Tim Burton film rendition of this comic book cornerstone was released. Sure the 1966 Batman kept this superhero in the popular eye (as goofy as it was) but the 1989 movie sky rocketed it’s popularity, or at least it did to me as a 5 year old child. Lunch boxes, pajamas, actions figures, you name it and I wanted it. The movie may have been a little dark for a child of my age, but it was the 80’s!! Times haven’t really changed either because my 5 year old son is experiencing the same zeitgeist today. And yes I appease his want (or is it mine?) to acquire Batman figures!!
Back to 1989 though, it wasn’t really surprising that someone would eventually want to create a video game based on this huge franchise and that’s exactly what Sunsoft did with Batman: The Video Game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I will admit that although I loved me some Batman I’ve always been more of a Marvel guy. Seriously, give me Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four any day of the week and I’d be happy! But that led me to never really having much desire to play the Batman game. Instead I played games like Silver Surfer and X-Men.
Little did I know that Batman: The Video Game was a fantastic action platformer! And after hearing it’s praises left and right all over this world wide web I finally decided to take the plunge and try it out for myself!! I was lucky enough to find a complete copy in really great condition (super cheap price too!) and I’m excited to sink my teeth into it. It also whetted my thirst to acquire more of the Batman games that were later released. And the cycle begins anew!!
I really need to go back and play more of the NES library that I’ve missed over the years and I think this is a great start. And as a little spoiler you should be seeing my review of the game in the near future!!
What are some gaming franchises you would like to have a complete collection of? Are there any games from your childhood that you’re playing for the first time today?
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