Drakengard 3 delayed to Dec. 19 in Japan

Square Enix is shifting the release date of Drakengard 3 in Japan from Oct. 31 to Dec. 19 for the PlayStation 3, according to an update on the company's official website.

Drakengard 3 was first confirmed by Square Enix back in March, with the original release date announced in June. The title is being developed by Access Games, a development studio touts several core Drakengard and Nier developers, such as producer Takamasa Shiba, director/writer Taro Yokoo, character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka and music composer Keiichi Okabe.

Okabe, who composed the Nier soundtrack, said that he wanted to avoid both rehashing Nobuyoshi Sano's work — the composer of the original Drakengard — and repeating his compositions featured in Nier. Drakengard 3's main theme will be sung by Eir Aoi, a Hokkaido local who was discovered singing cover songs online.

The Japanese Square Enix store is currently offering a 10th Anniversary Commemoration Box for ¥19,800 (approximately $202.50 USD). The Commemoration Box consists of a Drakengard Novel Prelude, DLC code and an illustration drawn by Kimihiko Fujisaka. The anniversary edition also includes a Drakengard World Inside book, a story that ties in Drakengard, Drakengard 2, Nier and Drakengard 3 and a 24-track soundtrack featuring 8-bit remixes from Drakengard, Drakengard 2, Nier Gestalt and Nier Replicant.

Polygon reached out to Square Enix about a possible Drakengard 3 western release.