History Franchise / Drakengard

* MacGuffinSuperPerson: A person (or sometimes an artifact or a place) whose effect on causality is so massive that it leads to the creation of new timelines ("Shifts") is known as a "Singularity" and they serve as an important subject of observation by the likes of the Administrators from ''Nier'' and Accord. They appear to be ImmuneToFate for better and for worse as most of them are [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom Unwitting Instigators of Doom]] whose relentless attempt to fight against destiny lead to less-than-favorable results in the timelines they helped create. Thus far, the characters explicitly named as Singularities in various games/[[AllThereInTheManual guidebooks]] are [[spoiler:Caim (of both ''Drakengard 1'' and the alternate timeline novel ''Drakengard 1.3''), Nowe, Nier (both Replicant Nier and the Shadowlord/Gestalt Nier), Kainé, and all Intoners (no word regarding ''Automata'' characters yet). The term has also been thrown around in ''VideoGame/{{Sinoalice}}'' but its connections to this franchise and its Singularities are somewhat unclear.]]
* MagicAIsMagicA: "Magic" in the series is defined InUniverse as "the process of creating something out of nothing by drawing on energy from other dimensions", made possible by strange particles which were dubbed "Maso" in the ''Nier'' universe. Maso happens to be potentially extremely dangerous to humans; only certain forms of life that are "beyond human" can use them safely (such as Gestalts and Ultimate Weapons in ''Nier'' and pact-bearers in ''Drakengard''). The presence of Maso played a huge part in [[spoiler: locking the universe in a StableTimeLoop that prevents it from becoming our normal magic-less world]], but anything beyond that is largely unknown other than the fact that it probably came from "God" in its relentless quest to destroy humanity.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Dragons are among the most powerful of magical creatures, often cynical, proud and not big fans of humans. They share a [[HiveMind collective memory]] of sorts that allows them to evolve physically and mentally depending on their circumstances. They're also servants of "God", though they have no real allegiance to it as they were more or less been enslaved after an ancient war and would like nothing more than to strike back.

* SnowMeansDeath: Out-of-season snow is a recurring sight in the series, best seen in the intro to ''NieR''; it's not actually snow, but rather the particles of White Chlorination Syndrome spreading.

'''''Drakengard''''', known as ''Drag-On Dragoon'' (Japanese: ドラッグ オン ドラグーン commonly abbreviated as ''DOD'') in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}}, is a series of action role playing video games published by Creator/SquareEnix. The eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, and has since been followed by a sequel and a [[VideoGame/{{Drakengard3}} prequel]]. It was conceived by Takamasa Shiba and Takuya Iwasaki as a gameplay hybrid between ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' and ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors 2'', with the ability to switch between on-foot hack-and-slash gameplay and riding a dragon for flight-sim fighting action. The story was created by Shiba, Iwasaki, Creator/YokoTaro, and Sawako Natori, who were influenced by European folklore and popular anime series and movies of the day. Shiba, Yoko, and Sawako have had involvement in an entry of the series since its debut.

* ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard}}'' (2003, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]]). A young man named Caim sets out to destroy TheEmpire and protect his sister, who acts as a BarrierMaiden to a horrific threat. Caim isn't a [[NominalHero great guy]].
* ''Drakengard 2'' (2005,[[/index]] [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 PS2]]). [[note]]The only game in the series not directed by Creator/YokoTaro.[[/note]] A [[ContrastingSequelProtagonist conventionally heroic]] young man named Nowe fights to save the world from both his own corrupt knightly order and [[RogueProtagonist Caim himself]].[[index]]
* ''{{VideoGame/Drakengard 3}}'' (2013, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]]). A prequel. Zero, a bloodthirsty young woman, sets out to kill her sisters, the godlike Intoners, so that she will be the only Intoner left.

* ''VideoGame/{{NieR}}'' [[note]]Released in multiple versions as described below.[[/note]] (2010, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]]/UsefulNotes/XBox360). Nier, a somewhat downtrodden older brother ([[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo or father, depending on the version]]) looks for a cure to save his sister (or daughter) from a mysterious disease.[[/index]]
** ''[=NieR=]: Replicant'' (2010, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 PS3]]) [[note]]Nier is Yonah's brother. Released only in Japan. Treated as the default over ''Gestalt'' by background material and sequels.[[/note]]
*** ''[=NieR=] Replicant ver.1.22474487139...'' (2021, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]], Xbox One and PC) [[note]]A remake of ''Replicant'' with updated character models, musical tracks and gameplay features, released both in Japan and in the West. Finally increased the popularity of the first ''[=NieR=]'' game with Western audiences following the positive reception of ''[=NieR=]:Automata'' and introduced them to Brother Nier.[[/note]]
** ''[=NieR: Gestalt=]'' (2010, UsefulNotes/XBox360)[[index]] [[note]]Nier is Yonah's father. Released in Japan as ''[=NieR=]: Gestalt'' but localized in the West simply as ''[=NieR=]'' (also on [=PS3=]), so more well known to Western players who don't speak Japanese until the ''Replicant'' remake was released in 2021. ''Gestalt'' received no equivalent remake.[[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' (2017, [[UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 PS4]][=/=]PC) [[note]]Received a digital-only UsefulNotes/XboxOne port in 2018[[/note]]. A race of androids fight a civilization of invading extraterrestrial machines AfterTheEnd.

* {{Deconstruction}}: The series is known for deconstructing various storytelling and RPG tropes, with an especially strong emphasis on GreyAndGrayMorality, the nature of war and protagonists which are at worst [[VillainProtagonist villainous]] and at best "good people" that have reasonable motives but fail to see things from the perspective of [[{{Mooks}} those they consider evil]], typically to [[DownerEnding horrifying results]]. That being said, it's also a DeconReconSwitch as Creator/YokoTaro stated that he doesn't write scenarios that are ''too'' [[TooBleakStoppedCaring constantly introspective and realistic]] and instead allows a lot of room for conventional storytelling and RPG tropes that are played perfectly straight, which allows the deconstructive elements to stand out when they do show up. And then there's ''Drakengard 2'' which [[OddballInTheSeries wasn't written by Yoko Taro and is not really deconstructive at all]].

* ''[[VideoGame/NierReincarnation NieR Re[in]carnation]]'' (2021, Android and iOS). [[MobilePhoneGame A mobile spin-off]] set in a world known as “The Cage”. How the game connects to the rest of the franchise is currently unknown, but it contains references to several games in the series.

** ''“The Story of the Sun and the Moon”'': The Second Arc (total of six main story chapters in each routes along with Three MultipleEndings) involves two high school students of modern-era Japan being transported to “The Cage”, both determined to return home to one of their parents (the father for the girl and the mother for the boy). Unlike the previous arc, players can choose either the Sun route (the female student) or the Moon route (the male student).
** ''“The Story of the People and the World”'': The Third Arc is when Mama brings back the characters from the previous two arcs for their assistance to protect The Cage from an external threat and eventually uncover the hidden truths along the way.