Drakan: The Ancients' Gates

Drakan: The Ancients' Gates
Game general and emulation properties: Languages supported: Region NTSC-U: Serial numbers: SCUS-97128 SCUS-97169 (Demo) Release date: January 28, 2002 Windows Status: Playable Linux Status: ? Mac Status: ? Region PAL: Serial numbers: SCES-50006 Release date: July 5, 2002 CRCs: 04F9D87F Windows Status: Playable Linux Status: ? Mac Status: ?

Developer(s): Surreal Software
Publisher(s): SCEA (US), SCEE (EU)
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
Wikipedia: Link
Game review links: Gamespot: 7.7/10, Metacritic: 78/100
Game description: In the decaying world of Drakan, the immortal Spirit Dragons are held captive. Now it's up to Rynn--a brave female warrior--and her dragon Arokh to save these spiritual leaders and the last remnants of humankind. Together with Rynn and Arokh, you'll need magical spells, resourcefulness, and powerful weapons to survive the vast environments. You'll gain skills as a fighter, an archer, or a mage as you fight ruthless enemies from the arctic tundra to the swamplands. The mysterious world of Drakan is filled with magical creatures, interesting characters, and challenging puzzles.
Drakan: The Ancients' Gates is an action-adventure PlayStation 2 game with RPG elements by Surreal Software. It is the sequel to the 1999 PC game Drakan: Order of the Flame.

Test configurations on Windows:

Environment			Configurations			Comments	Tester
Region	OS	CPU/GPU	Revision	Graphics	Sound/Pad
PAL	Windows 2000	C2D 3Ghz nVidia Geforce 8800GTX	r710/r1736	GSdx r1611 Mode: HW DX9	SPU2-X 1.2.0	• Hacks: EE x2, INTC, IOP x2, Idle Loop, VU Stealing 3 • With r1736 the emulator will crash on switching to new locations, use r710 to load instead. • Do not use r710 to play as it tends to freeze in some situations	ngng
PAL	Windows XP Pro 32 bit SP3	AMD Athlon x2 7850 (dual core @ stock 2.81 GHz) Nvidia GTS 250 (1 Gig)	r985	GSdx r1888 Mode: HW DX9	SPU2-X 2014-07-14	Hacks: EE x2, INTC, IOP x2, Idle Loop, VU Stealing 2 Constant 50 fps (starting video is somewhat slower ~40 fps)	Elvin presler
NTSC-U	Windows	Intel Core i7-4790k at 4 ghz Nvidia GTX 970 ssc	Pcsx2 1.3.1	GSdx	SPU2-X	No fixes or speed hacks enabled. Shadeboost is on, basically everything else is off. 4:3 aspect ratio, 6x native resolution. FXAA works but is not required. DX11/10 Hardware Mode. 58-60 fps constant, minimal to no stutter, very smooth. Almost as glitch free as on the Ps2, but much prettier. Glitches: Fire halos show through walls at close range, Sunglare shows through certain mountain geometry, The sky is distorted in a pinwheel pattern, but only above the character, straight up. (Not on the horizon.)	Aegrus

Trivia

• For some tips and LilyPad configuration see discussion page

The gallery:

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  This is Surdana

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  Ravenshold is a snowy realm

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  There's something fishy about this guy...

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  Meet Rynn (quite a rich girl)

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  Hold on and don't look down!

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  This is some hospitable looking place!

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  When the spirit is strong no dungeon can keep it.

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  This set of crates is almost impossible to master in the emulated version of the game

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  This unusual sword is really hard to get!

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  Even in death they still are longing for the sky

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  This architecture is... creepy

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  Hmmm! This is a whole another story!

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  One frame from the last video: the proof that game can be beaten in emulator!

Warning: these images can spoil your experience
This butterfly will show some respect, I'll see to it. I can only guess that the next boss will be you, right?

Warning: images from the later stages of the game!
These rocks ain't meant for falling. Thanks but I'll pass.. You're a little too dead for my taste. Those undead people choose their homes wisely And they do have bad manners if you ask me... You should close your eyes before you step Ah, can this be my house for a change? Isn't she a sweetheart?

Warning: images from the last game level (Stratos)!
Ah!.. What to say? Same old question everywhere I go... I see it's not shabby here. Feasts, money and girls! Now wait a minute... I'm a girl too! Must be the altar. Lets find a priest now! He's so relentlessly kind I want to cry... This is the right time to keep a promise. What a waste of a good ancient temple! Vandalism!

Known Issues

Hangs after loading from memcard

• Status: Active
• Type: Serious
• Affected Game Versions: All
• Description: Hangs after loading from memcard
• Workaround: After saving to memcard NEVER load from old states (F3), consider all quick states invalid you can only save them anew!

Minor GFX glitches

• Status: Active
• Type: Minor
• Affected Game Versions: All
• Description: There are some minor GFX glitches in GSdx as of r1888. Sun shines through the walls, the skies can be broken from time to time.
• Workaround: Native resolution

Freezing on certain versions

• Status: Active
• Type: Major
• Affected Game Versions: All
• Description: Note also that you cannot play smoothly in many other versions before 985 (they'll be freezing) and after 985 (up until 1888) as there will be some crashing issues.
• Workaround: Use r985 to play until another good version is found

Frozen world

• Status: Active
• Type: Major
• Affected Game Versions: All
• Description: Sometimes the world can stuck preventing from performing any action (cannot change a weapon, enemies will not move and cannot be killed)
• Workaround: You have to save often (F1) and change quick slots often (F2) as the only way to resolve this is to load.

spu2PeopsSound

• Type: Note (not an issue)
• Affected Game Versions: All
• Description: if you can't get near 100% game speed, spu2-x syncs sound better but stutters/loops a bit

External links

• Drakan FAQ by ilphay FAQ highlighting some possible questions.
• Drakan 2 page by Ray Earle Very good guide! Wholeheartedly recommended! (Sadly the original page is gone but the copy remains)

	Drakan - The Ancients' Gate (SCUS 97128) (U)

VIDEO:

https://youtu.be/HCcg16PCZvA

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