June 17, 2026

219: Drakengard (with IdolismJ)

2 hours 36 minutes

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Join Dave and special guest IdolismJ as they tackle Drakengard (Cavia, Square Enix, 2003). Drakengard has a reputation for being bad, unplayable, interesting and edgelordy to a certain extent, and we can confirm that some, but not all of those, are correct. Drakengard challenges the player in ways that most games don't, driving you crazy alongside the protagonist. Whether the effect is intentional or accidental, Drakengard certainly left an impression on us. Listen in to find out more, and as always, no spoilers for a while!

Guest info: IdolismJ (he/him)

Check out Jay's YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@IdolismJ

Support on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cw/idolismj

Follow on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/idolismj.yase.world

TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Title Card

0:18 Introductions

4:26 Our Histories with Drakengard and Nier

7:28 Top-Level Thoughts about Drakengard

11:53 Story Setup and Caim's Well-Being

21:40 Following the Plot

27:43 Combat- "Is It Bad on Purpose?"

40:28 Music to Go Insane to

50:14 Air Combat

58:00 Auteur Theory, Revisited

1:08:54 Art, Party Members, Voice Acting

1:18:10 Who Should Play Drakengard?

1:21:58 IdolismJ on YouTube

1:27:16 Spoiler Wall & Patron Thank-Yous

1:29:04 Spoilers- Things Get Worse Until They End

1:39:23 Spoilers- Ending A

1:47:44 Spoilers- Ending B

1:51:55 Spoilers- Ending C

2:00:38 Spoilers- Ending D and Some Hairy Subject Matter

2:16:49 Spoilers- Ending E and Connection to Nier

Music used in the episode is credited to Takayuka Aihara unless otherwise noted. Tracks used: Weapon Select, First Chapter - Sky, Fifth Chapter - Ground, Fourth Chapter - Ground (Nobuyoshi Sano), Fifth Chapter - Sky, First Chapter - Castle Interior, Eighth Chapter - Closing (Nobuyoshi Sano), Route C Staff Roll, Mission Clear (Nobuyoshi Sano)

Cover art by Jack Allen- find him at https://linktr.ee/JackAllenCaricatures

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