Nier (And Why You Should Play It)

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The fate of Scalebound also upsets me. I mean, I can't say it looked quite as amazing as I wanted it to from the footage shown off, but it was Kamiya's dream project and one of the only reasons to own an Xbone. Phil Spencer talks a good game and is a very likable PR guy, but Microsoft really isn't putting much effort into creating a stable of exclusives. As far as I can tell, their only real hit so far has been Sunset Overdrive, and the only reason that wasn't a Sony game instead is because they wouldn't let Insomniac own the IP rights.

EDIT: Oh yeah, there's also Quantum Break! How could I forget something by Remedy? Still, that's only two exclusive games, even if Rare Replay is an insanely nice package to go along with them. They've got a long way to go.

Anyway, yeah, between Nier, Nioh, Zelda, Yakuza (0 AND the upcoming Kiwami), Persona 5, Tales of Berseria, and surely quite a few others I've forgotten about, this is easily the best year for JRPGs/action RPGs since the PS2's glory days, and we're still in Q1! The Japanese game industry is absolutely on fire right now.

[VLordGTZ]

EDIT: Oh yeah, there's also Quantum Break! How could I forget something by Remedy? Still, that's only two exclusive games, even if Rare Replay is an insanely nice package to go along with them. They've got a long way to go.

Arguably, Quantum Break isn't really an exclusive since you can get it on PC through Steam.

It's nice to see that Nier Automata is getting such great reception.  Due to buying a Switch among other things, I'll probably hold off from buying the game until next month.  I'll also try to pick up the original Nier while I'm at it, and maybe finally play my copy of Drakengard.

[Foggle]

It's nice to see that Nier Automata is getting such great reception.  Due to buying a Switch among other things, I'll probably hold off from buying the game until next month.  I'll also try to pick up the original Nier while I'm at it, and maybe finally play my copy of Drakengard.

I would play the original Nier first and Drakengard last if I were you. Automata spoils most of Nier's story, while Drakengard... isn't fun. But, if you like the Nier games, definitely check it out, if only for the story and soundtrack. Just make sure you have a walkthrough handy to find all those hidden weapons!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

With the sales success of Nier: Automata in Japan and the great critical reception, it'd be interesting if, capitalizing on this renewed interest in his franchise, Yoko Taro and Platinum Games revisited the Drakengard games with full-fledged remakes, keeping the story in-tact while completely revamping the gameplay to be genuinely good. I hear that the first Drakengard plays more like a Dynasty Warriors-style game, and it would be interesting to see Platinum's take on that and if they could add some actual depth and nuance to it.

[Foggle]

I don't think the previous games have any chance of getting remade, both because the Drakengard brand is now considered toxic by many core gamers and because Yoko Taro has openly stated that he never wants to make the same game twice. Also, the first Drakengard plays badly on purpose and has a lot of thematic elements & gameplay aspects that I don't think could be successfully recreated or would necessarily work in today's game industry. That said, I would love to see a full-fledged remake of Drakengard 3. Supposedly, SE's goal was to hire a team that could make better gameplay than Cavia, but D3's gameplay is actually far worse than Nier 1's, so...

The original Nier is almost certainly going to get a remaster, though. The producer said Square Enix would look into it if Automata sold really well, and, well, it is selling really well!

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just bought Nier: Automata. Originally I was going to wait until after I finished Nioh to start this one, but that game is going to take me ages to beat at the slow-ass rate that I play. I'm only just around the halfway point from what I can gather. I'll be switching back and forth between these two and DMC4SE.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I've gotten in about 10 hours with this game so far, and am currently still on 2B's campaign (I'm up to the part where I'm trying to track down 9S via his Black Box). I do really wish that I could play this game for longer periods of time and more frequently, but unfortunately that's just how my schedule is when I have a full-time job and other responsibilities to deal with. That, in addition to all of the shows, manga, comic books, general reading, and other games that I'm trying to keep up with means that I only have a bit of time for any given thing at one time. Even so, I don't believe that it's hurting my experience with the game or making it feel particularly disjointed.

In general all of the things that I praised it for before still stand, and I also really do enjoy Yoko Taro's sense of humor which is present in much of his writing. One point of contention that I have with the story so far, though, is that it hasn't done much to distinguish itself from lots of other similar types of stories. I mean, I don't mind at all when a story in and of itself is unoriginal in terms of its message or even its archetypes (I'm one of those guys who likes a ton of Shonen Jump manga and those are about as formulaic as they come), but I do at least need to see the narrative make itself stand out in some way through it's delivery, which may be with either broad changes to the norm or even find subtle ways to subvert expectations without actually going so far as to become deconstructive of its genre. That said, I'm not a particularly big fan of narratives that are far too heavy-handed on the "tell-don't-show" approach, which is a big reason of why I didn't get into a lot of PS1/2-era JRPGs, and why Kojima's writing in the Metal Gear Solid series never appealed to me. To be fair, Nier: Automata doesn't go nearly as dialogue-heavy as some of those other games, but I find that my main problem is that the dialogue that is there is basically saying obvious stuff that anyone can really get. The insight that we get into 2B and 9S's characters and their respective arcs has literally all been in what they say, rather than in anything more nuanced than plain dialogue. That said, I am aware that there are some pretty perspective-changing moments in the subsequent 9S and A2 campaigns, so I'm still keeping an open mind about the rest of the story since I know that technically I'm still relatively early on in the game in the grand scheme of things.

Also, I think it's worth mentioning that I love how this game structures its main missions. They essentially feel like finely-tuned character action game levels combined with classic arcade-style shoot-em-up areas, and the combinations works better than I ever could have imagined. That said, for the strength of the main story missions, I'm not really feeling the side-quests at all. Stuff like the escort-mission with the lost girl or that race with the Speed Star robot feel like something out of an old 3D platformer or action game (and not the good ones) and in general they just aren't any fun. They are optional, of course, so I don't really hold any of that against the game, but I do wish that these side-quests generally had a bit more care put into them. I still feel like Darksiders 2 did side-quests the best in terms of games from this decade, though. However, in all fairness, the problem with that game is that it's main story missions got atrociously bad by the final quarter of the game.

One final issue that I have with the game, though this is kind of a big one, has to do with the combat. Not the bullet-hell portion of it, nor the actual act of melee combat in and of itself. The weapons, while limited, can be mixed up in either slot 1 or 2 combined with a different weapon, and of course their attacks, combos, and links when weapon switching will change completely depending on which slots you have them equipped and what combinations you have. The combo-system itself is full of depth, nuance, and possibilities. My problem has to do with the enemies that you have to fight. To be quite frank, there isn't enough variety here outside of palette-swaps and the occasional varied attack patterns from tougher versions of the regular robots. The only ones that can really be juggled in any way are the small ones, and they tend to either be in large groups that prevent you from attacking too much without having to interrupt combos with a dodge, or just die way too fast when on their own and generally don't give you much of an opportunity to play around and experiment with the combat system. Bosses are meant to be fought more carefully and have attacks that cannot be interrupted and have to be dodged, which of course is normal for any action game or RPG, but the point being that most enemies in this game don't necessarily seem like a well-suited match to the combat system that Platinum has crafted here. But, then again, this is Yoko Taro at the helm, here, so for all I know maybe that's part of the point of it all.

If it seems like I'm being too harsh on the game, keep in mind that I still really like it a lot and generally can't wait to play more. I just didn't have anything new to add to the stuff that I already said I liked, and as a huge fan of action-combat and Platinum Games, I only thought it fitting to mention the areas of the game that didn't quite meet up to my expectations. In general there's a great game here, but I'm only pointing out that there is a lot more potential in its system that as of yet in my playthrough hasn't really been fully realized. Of course, much of this could change as I get further into it and I could be proven completely ignorant, but as it stands that's just how I feel about the gameplay at this moment in time.

[Foggle]

Oh, the game finds a unique way to stand out with its story. The first playthrough is deceptively simple and, at first, as a Drakengard/Nier fan, I found it kind of disappointing. But just wait until playthrough 3 and Ending E...

I think the narrative in general is very strong once you can look at it as a whole, but it can come across as really dry with its characters (especially early on), which I'm sure is intentional. Nier 1 is a much more character-based story and has far better dialogue. That said, not everything is exactly as it seems when it comes to the protagonists' thoughts and motivations...

Speed Star and the two escort quests where the NPCs can actually die are fucking awful, as is Heritage of the Past (use GameFAQs for this one, seriously), but I think most of them are pretty entertaining. The one where you have to collect amusement park stamps may very well feature the game's funniest moment, and many of them tell their own humorous or fucked up short stories. On the whole, I definitely like them a lot more than the side quests in most games in terms of writing, and they don't even compare to the tedium of the original game's in terms of gameplay. If you need help with the second Speed Star race, here's a video of how I beat it (you get this grappling hook move from a side quest called Amnesia in playthrough 2): https://twitter.com/FoggleAR/status/836143947189784576 I'm pretty proud of this, honestly.

Unfortunately, as far as enemy variety goes, it doesn't really improve much. Nier Automata was not a particularly high budget game, and I think they mostly chose to use their resources elsewhere. Thankfully, since it's turned into an overnight success both critically and commercially, I think Yoko/Platinum's next collaboration will have a lot more of, well, everything.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Actually, they did a great job of utilizing the assets that they had to make the production values look stellar. I find that instead of trying to make a huge game, being able to cleverly reuse content in unique and varying ways can really benefit a game regardless of how much money it has to throw around. It gives you a sense of familiarity with its world while constantly challenging your expectations of what you will do with it.

Having read up a bit on Yoko Taro, he does seem to be a very interesting character in his own right. Obviously, I can clearly see his commentary on prejudices and subjugation of roles in this game with all of the stuff involving YorHa (which I only just found out is basically a reference to a real Japanese band), but beyond that there is a clear criticism of the gaming industry at large within his entire body of work, both in terms of featuring tons of senseless violence and in terms of a general lack of experimentation, hence all of the varying gameplay styles in this game being mish-mashed together.

In many ways I can agree and empathize with many of his sentiments, while in other regards I feel that he may go a bit too far in his distaste for certain gaming trends that, while tropes in and of themselves, are not inherently bad when done the right way.

Part of me has really been suspecting lately, though, that the game not being properly balanced for the harder difficulty settings may in fact have been intentional as well. It's hard to tell with Yoko Taro, but especially with this game since its a collaboration with Platinum, and clearly they were setting out to craft a legitimately great game, and these guys have tons of experience with balance. Yet I've heard tons of complaints about how frustrating the harder difficulties are, even to veteran Platinum fans who could Pure Platinum Bayonetta in their sleep. If that was a mandate on Yoko Taro's part in regard to him interpreting harder difficulty modes as some vehicle for an elitist mentality, I'd highly have to disagree with that sentiment. Then again, it could just be that the game had a release date to meet and Platinum didn't get to completely finish fine-tuning it to the level that they ususaly Polish their other big games. Like I said, it's hard to tell what's intentional and what's an oversight with Yoko Taro at the helm.

[Peanutbutter]

Just barging in to say I got Neir Automata for my birthday last week, and I can't wait to play it. After I get done with Yakuza 0 of course. Is it me or this year REALLY knocking video games out of the park already?

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

It really has been the highest concentration of new releases in a short amount of time that actually interest me in ages.

[Avaitor]

I don't have any of the consoles or the time, but Nier Automata, Nioh, Yakuza (0 and the franchise in general), and of course BOTW all really interest and excite me.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Well, if you have an OG XBOX you can always still play Ninja Gaiden Black, which is still Team Ninja's best game.

Nioh is like the biggest return to form that I've seen for any developer ever, though. Easily their second best game.

Also if you have a PS2, I'd recommend giving the first and third Devil May Cry games another shot, since your 360 apparently crashed on you.

I myself have been wanting to experience or revisit some classics, such as Psychonauts, which is currently available on PSN, as well as various PS2 classics that I missed out on when I was younger.

In general also have a lot of gaming to catch up on, myself.

[Peanutbutter]

So I'm hearing yeses.



I only have a few games this year, but just the ones I've played/rented have been GREAT. Resident Evil 7, The Last Guardian, even late releases last year like FF 15 and Quantum Break are fun as all heck. Starting to feel like a new Golden Age for Video Games.

[Avaitor]

Also if you have a PS2, I'd recommend giving the first and third Devil May Cry games another shot, since your 360 apparently crashed on you.

I don't have a PS2, unfortunately.

After the semester's over and I'm graduated, I'm going to pull out my OG XBox for a while. Part of me wants to invest in another 360 and try again, but my dream goal for now is to make enough to buy a Switch.