Fluent Plays Drakensang! Rah!!

Yeah! I think those games only showed up on Steam like…last year?

Yes, because dtp had financial troubles, and what's worse : They found no-one wanting to publish Drakensang on the international market !

That alone speaks volumes !

In the end, THQ did it - and they did it badly. Maybe they already had their financial troubles at that time, too ?

Yeah, it was such a shame. The game would have been a definite hit, but for some odd reason they couldn't get a publishing deal for rest of Europe and other regions.

It was so weird because the game itself was stellar work. Well atleast they are available now, but can't help not to think "what if things had been different"

Holy cow. I am really, really enjoying myself! I'm getting a strong Neverwinter Nights vibe from it (although I've only played the Saleron's Gambit mod for NWN). There's a lot of love and care baked into this one. While not quite as great for me as Pillars of Eternity has been, it's been really fun exploring Aventuria and getting to know the locals and see the sights.

I'm enjoying the lore, but I just wish I knew more about the world. I'll have to check out those lore links that Alrik posted.

And wow, speaking of lore, I just read a book in the game called "Into the Depths" or something, about an ancient Dwarven underground city. I have to say, that was one of the best written books in an RPG I have ever read! It was beautiful. I could have read much, much more of that story and loved every minute. I haven't read the other books yet but they are in my inventory for future perusal.

If the second game is even better than this one, well, I'll be really happy to check that one out when I get to it. Drakensang has just sucked me in and when I look up, hours and hours have passed by. I suppose that's a mark of a good RPG, eh?

Yeah. These games are an RPG's RPG, for serious.

Drakensang is rare epic RPG and is IMO a musthave/mustplay. Even people who're not into RPGs should try it.
It's not cheesyeasy like plenty of RPGs, on the other hand it's not unforgivable like another TDE based game Blackguards. But most important, it's not a grinder where you need to collect some souls or something to win boss fights.
Don't ask me for an explanation of no international success - if it wasn't for a few obscure sites back then, I'd never even hear about it.

There is something else special with Drakensang.
It's UI is so PC centered, you will never see that game, or something with similar mechanics, on consoles nor on phones/tablets.
The day I see Drakensang on phones will be the day I'll accept phones are spectacular as Apple wants people to believe. Never, right? Who knows. But till then, I'll think of phones as phones and virtual beggar slot machines.

NWN you say? Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
If someone never bought that one, do me a favor, skip it. Your time is too precious to waste on such stuff.

Originally Posted by joxer
NWN you say? Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.If someone never bought that one, do me a favor, skip it. Your time is too precious to waste on such stuff.

You never change do you Joxer. Anyway you can thank me and a few other RPGWatch members for converting Fluent into a fan of NWN thanks to our mod suggestions.

NWN is great, at least, the mod, "Saleron's Gambit", is. It's a high quality mod and the feel is very similar to Drakensang, although Drakensang does seem a bit more epic, and of course the quality seems a bit higher in Drakensang than the mod (although don't get me wrong, I think both are great!).

I have no comment on the original content of NWN, but I could almost guarantee I'd like it. I mean, come on, it's a Dungeons & Dragons, party-based RPG! How could it possibly disappoint me?

But wow, I can't believe I stumbled on yet another amazing gem of a game! I bought this game on a whim a few months back. It's one of the first games I bought a boxed copy for. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a manual, but some Google-searching is making things easier to understand, although I wish I had a nice manual in English to peruse!

But wow, man. Synchronicity in full force. What a game that just magically fills the time for me while Pillars is still cooking. Now I just wonder what other RPGs are out there that I have completely missed over the years!

Originally Posted by Fluent
I bought this game on a whim a few months back.

You got yourself an achievement.

Originally Posted by Fluent
it's a Dungeons & Dragons, party-based RPG! How could it possibly disappoint me?

And here you are, unfortunately, wrong
NWN isn't party based, it's about a Hero and his retarded Henchman - except if you play it with friends, thats a total game changer.

Drakensang is ok if you play it as a sight seeing game; River of Time is great; the AddOn is horrible - really I can't think of a more boring game then the River of Time AddOn.

Edit:
Mages can wear metal armor, but really, really shouldn't

Spoiler:

If your Spells are suddenly not available anymore, you are using some Armor with Metal components.
(Iron is blocking magic in TDE; but there are some magical ores, that you can still use.)
Metal Weapons are no problem.

NWN doesn't have the managed combat of a game like Drakensang, but I still enjoyed what I have played of it, and I'd definitely consider it party-based, even if your companions do have a mind of their own for the most part.

Thanks for the tip!

Drakensang actually gets better and better as the character system opens up. AFAIR there's only one big map you have to grind out.

Originally Posted by Fluent
Holy cow. I am really, really enjoying myself! I'm getting a strong Neverwinter Nights vibe from it

Take your time and have fun, Fluent.
I didnt expect that because of some PoE issues you will "find out" a little gem called Drakensang. But as they say: "better late than never"

Originally Posted by Fluent
I'm enjoying the lore, but I just wish I knew more about the world. I'll have to check out those lore links that Alrik posted.

I recommend those links too. TDE lore is huuuuge. The more you will know about the world and its history the more you will understand (and like) the game and that central quest. Because the lore is not presented in the game very well. Many details are sadly omitted. So other sources of info are generally welcome.

Originally Posted by Fluent
I just read a book in the game called "Into the Depths" or something, about an ancient Dwarven underground city. I have to say, that was one of the best written books in an RPG I have ever read! It was beautiful. I could have read much, much more of that story and loved every minute.

Do you mean that book about human traveller who tried to get into the dwarven city and succeeded?

Originally Posted by Fluent
Drakensang has just sucked me in and when I look up, hours and hours have passed by. I suppose that's a mark of a good RPG, eh?

Definitely.

Farflame, yes, i think the book was about the human who got into the dwarven city and was exploring underneath the city, I believe. He ended up getting thrown out later, but had an epic battle with a spider in one of the unexplored areas. It was a really well written book and I was surprised at how well translated it was. I want to read the rest of them in my next play session.

And yeah, how's that for meaningful coincidence? One game breaks, leads me to an entire new universe in another game that I now really, really like. Funny how the universe works.

If only the novel "Das Ferdoker Pergament" was translated … It would give you so much …

And you'd see more of that "big picture" with it …

I would love to read a novel for this game. At this point, I'd take an English manual (a paper one that I read in my spare time! )

Well, after several days waiting, I finally received my Drakensang PC boxed copy with the handy handbook included! Sweet! Now I at least have a little book to reference, and I may make a video talking about some of the details outlined in the manual.

Would anyone be interested in a nice fire-side chat with Fluent as he reads from the Drakensang handbook? I can even put on a virtual fireplace in the background as I read!

The manual is indeed a beauty for this game. Very meaty and full of lovely details. Good bedside reading material. I ended up getting the "3 in 1" package very cheaply off ebay a couple of years ago, mostly because I wanted an original of the expansion, Phileasson's Secret. Plus any way to pay more to the developers more for how little I paid for my first copy of the game, was a welcome donation I think, as they were fine games.

Drakensang reminds me a great deal of NWN 2, but with an exceedingly warmer heart and an almost dream like fairy-tale quality to its atmosphere. It was a very welcome change of pace for me at the time. Enjoy it!

Edit:
Random question: Does anyone know if the Drakensang soundtrack can be ripped from the dvd or if the game installs it in mp3 form in a directory or something? Alrik?
Think I might be catching a bout of nostalgia.

Great post, Pessi!

Drakensang indeed reminds me of NWN quite a bit, but exactly as you say, it has a warm heart and a fairy-tale fantasy atmosphere that just invites you in like a good friend.

I would like a boxed copy of Drakensang 2, but I don't have the cash just yet. I *do* have the Ultimate Collection copy, which features both games plus the expansion, but that version sadly does not have a manual or booklet. That's why I purchased the Drakensang standalone version, for the nice little guidebook.

Hoping to get ahold of the second game in the future, but it will definitely be awhile before I get to it, since I have a *ton* of games I still have to get to, and hopefully cover along the way.

I think the CE or the PE does contain the soundtrack in an Audio CD form. I know because I own an PE.
I … think it should be there in MP3, but I never checked it.
I think it's on YouTube as well.

For both CE & PE you could try Ebay Germany. I saw both there recently.

The "clue books" hold even more detailed information, but they seem to be completely died out. I had quite some problems getting the book for Drakensang 2.