Order and chaos in Drakengard 3's soundtrack
For my birthday, my beloved friends gifted me the soundtrack for a videogame I adore. Composed by Keiichi Okabe's studio MONACA, for a game by Yoko Taro that is not NieR, but very close. My obsession with the series started exactly from here: Drakengard 3, or Drag on Dragoon 3 if you are more familiar with the japanese nomenclature.
It's definitely not a game for everyone nor a perfect one. Though, it's imperfections and quirkness is what endears me to no end. There's a lot that I could say about the game itself, but I want to focus on the soundtrack. Which might not be as iconic as NieR's, but it's really cool nontheless.
Drakengard 3 is the story of Zero, who is a godlike creature whose power comes from her singing voice. As such, throughout the game she's simbolized by the song Kuroi Uta (Black Song) and its leitmotiv. There are other tracks that are linked to different sides of Zero's character (we'll talk about that later), but what simbolizes her power as intoner is definitely Kuroi Uta.
Zero has five sisters, conveniently named One, Two, There, Four and Five, also intoners, she wants to kill. Each of them has a battleground theme and two boss themes that iterate on the same leitmotiv.
Five has Exvulsion / Battleground, Exvulsion / Phanuel and Exvulsion / Galgaliel. To my understanding as a non english native speaker, Exvulsion is not a real word and neither 出蠢 (its japanese original corrispondence) that I've seen translated as "Rising fool". In english, I think it might be a portmanteau of expulsion and avulsion and I'm not sure what it's supposed to mean in this context, but knowing Five my gut feeling is that it might be a reference to giving birth.
Four has Prevolt / Battleground, Prevolt / Armaros and Prevolt / Zophiel. I've seen it's japanese title (防来) translated as "Upcoming battle", but it feels a bit generic. Prevolt, however, seems to me another portmanteau, of prevent and revolt this time.
Three has Corroscience / Battleground, Corroscience / Almisael and Corroscience / Ezrael and I think the word Corroscience might be corrosion melt with science, which is fitting for Three who loves to experiment. Japanese counterpart 侵贖 gets translated as "Redeemed Invasion".
Two has Blissade / Battleground, Blissade / Egregori and Blissade / Raphael. I'm a bit unsure about the portmanteau this time: I feel like one world is bliss, but I'm not sure about the second. I found the translation of 踊祝 as "Leap Wishes". On a side note, Blissade / Egregori might be my favourite track in the entire soundtrack.
One has Companthem / Battleground, Companthem / Gabriel and Companthem / Abdiel. It would make sense if Companthem standed for company and anthem, considering One definitely has company and it would also fit the translation I found of 友歌, "The Comrade's song". Finally!
As someone might have noticed, the boss themes are named after angels. Because the bosses are named after angels. NieR Replicant has fairy tales, Automata has philosophers, why couldn't Drakengard 3 have angels?
Back to the sister's leitmotifs, I think the best part is when it all comes together in The Last Song. This is the last fight and at the same time a huge 10 minutes long cutscene... yes, don't ask, it brings back PTSD, if you know you know. Anyway, Last Song uses all the leitmotifs we've known throughout the game. It starts with Zero and Kuroi Uta. Then it's Five's moment... but the song is Companthem. Four has Exvulsion. Three? Prevolt. One has Corroscience. Only Two still has Blissade. I think there's a reason for that, but I don't want to enter spoiler territory more than I already have.
Last thing I want to say about this soundtrack is in regard of the ending songs. One for each of the four endings:
- Ending A has a track that is also the first track of the CD: A Better End. Is ending A really the better end? I don't really know, they all seem pretty bad (thanks Yoko Taro).
- Ending B has the aformentioned Kuroi Uta. This comes in two versions! One by japanese singer Aoi Eir and one for the international edition by Emi Evans. It's an ending that focuses a lot on Zero's power, I think it's fitting.
- Ending C has Exhaustion 3. A reference to the song of the same name from Drakengard 1.
- Ending D has probably my favourite: This silence is mine. It brings me to tears everytime. Such a powerful, angry and utterly sad song. And yet, while you're watching the final credit roll of the game, I don't think there could have been a more fitting song than this. This is Zero's song. Not as an intoner, but as a human being.
And this is it.
I love Drakengard 3 and its soundtrack.
Bye