The game, like the rest of the series, features a mixture of ground-based hack-and-slash combat and aerial battles.

When the gauge is filled to any degree, Zero can temporarily enter Intoner Mode, a hyperactive state which enables her to move quickly and deal high damage to enemies while also making her immune to attack.

At the height of the carnage, five mysterious figures called Intoners[b] appeared and using their ability to utilize magic through song, defeated the warlords and ended the conflict.

The game is narrated to the player by Accord (アコール, Akōru), an android created by the "old world" to monitor and document all timelines.

The group then fight their way into the Cathedral City, where Zero transforms the Disciples into their true dove forms, freeing them from their service to her.

"[q 5] After this, Accord tells of three alternate series of events or "branches," caused by a group of singularities (Zero, her sisters, and the disciples) coming together.

[q 9] In the fourth and final branch of Zero's set of timelines, as she proceeds on her quest, she encounters each of her sisters possessed by the flower's power, as well as interacting directly with Accord.

Upon winning, Mikhail destroys the monster and Accord's voice declares that the flower's evil has been sealed away, although there is still the possibility of it reappearing in another time and place.

[q 11] Drakengard 3 was conceived when Takamasa Shiba and Yoko Taro, the respective producer and director of the original game, met up years after Cavia, the company where they created the series, was absorbed into AQ Interactive.

As part of the brainstorming process, the company used fan questionnaires, from which the team learned that many wanted a dark story similar to Nier for the next entry in the series.

Alongside that was Shiba's ambition to show that the RPG fanbase was now a mainstream community that wanted a more hardcore gaming experience.

He also wanted to create a strange "abnormal" picture for the players: the cited instance was the contrast between the fear and terror displayed by enemy soldiers and the often vulgar dialogue between Zero and her companions.

[13][24] Many aspects of Zero's design and abilities were intended to evoke the game's gritty atmosphere, while the flower growing from her eye was almost cut when Shiba thought it would be too much of a risk for the series when coupled with the character's gender.

Yoko wanted Nagashima to write Cent to be as much of an idiot as possible, while she received some negative feedback for her portrayal of Decadus despite her best efforts.

[26] The characters' number-based names and differing eye colors were meant to help players identify them, while aspects of Zero's design were incorporated into the other Intoners to emphasize their connections.

[29] Okabe, who also led composition for Nier, wished to match the work of Drakengard composer Nobuyoshi Sano, finding creating it a new experience.

He was also requested by Yoko not to follow the musical route of either Drakengard or Nier and was inspired by the game's theme of "the sense of contrast".

[40] Drakengard 3 received few gameplay previews and was promoted in the form of novellas: this was because Shiba wished for the game's story to be a mystery for players.

[47] It was also localized into Chinese with the assistance of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia, in an attempt to actively tap into the Chinese-speaking market.

[50][51] Alongside the game, there were also two manga released in Japan written by Emi Nagashima under her pen name Jun Eishima: Drag-On Dragoon: Utahime Five, a prequel focusing on the other Intoners, and Drag-On Dragoon: Shi ni Itaru Aka, which acts as the game's sequel.

[67] Destructoid's Chris Carter stated that the story compelled him to "truck forward and figure it all out for [himself]", while he found the dialogue between the characters funny and their relationships entertaining.

[62] Game Informer's Kimberley Wallace was less enthusiastic, saying that while there were a few interesting scenes, "the narrative and characters make a lot of missteps.

"[64] IGN's Meghan Sullivan criticized the story for being too slow and too reliant on foreknowledge of the previous games, while calling the main characters "poorly written".

[65] GameSpot's Heidi Kemps generally praised the story, especially the ways it poked fun at the genre and focus on the many paths the game took players down, while GamesRadar's Becky Cunningham called the story "the main reason to play [the game], especially as it approaches medieval fantasy with dark comedy instead of straight-laced tropes.

"[1][2] Eurogamer's Chris Schilling said that the game played out "like a jet-black comedy", calling its narrative far colder than that of Nier, while praising Zero's characterization.

[65] Cunningham said that the combat will "keep [players] on [their] toes", praising the balance between character and enemy power and the weapon switching ability, but being more mixed about the dragon gameplay.

[1] Carter called the action gameplay his "favorite part", referring to it as a faster and smoother version of combat from the Dynasty Warriors series, while Kemps found it generally satisfactory despite its simplicity, while citing the dragon sections as "a welcome, if not always particularly well-designed, break from stabbing troops directly.

Cunningham called the environments "very bland" when compared to the narrative, while Wallace generally criticized the in-game level and character design, though cited the cinematic cutscenes as an improvement.

[62] Sullivan was generally negative, citing the level design and narrow color palette as part of her critique, and comparing the graphics to a game from the PlayStation 2 era.

[4] Technical issues such as frequent frame rate drops, an erratic camera and screen tearing were cited as general faults with the game.