Nier: a hodgepodge of Zelda, ADD and awesome

[ffc]

General beginning gameplay:  1  2 (first bosses you meet start at 2:40 in second clip)

Zelda easter egg:  1

After being pleasantly surprised by Resonance of Fate I decided to check out another game flying under my radar.  

Nier certainly has a bunch of negatives:  blah graphics, annoying main character, strange spots for invisible walls, the most boring first hour of a game since Twilight Princess, fetch side quests, a broken Epona, etc.

But I'm glad I stuck it out because from the first dungeon area onward there are some really cool (innovative?) things going on.  Dungeon areas alternate between a traditional fighting view, a 2D Mario view with some platforming, and a top-down view.  Using certain spells shifts the game into a pseudo-3rd person shooter.  The area I'm in right now consists only of text like a choose your own adventure book.  I had to pick directions through a surprisingly well written short story where I managed to fail and die.  This game is like a world of ADD and its awesome.  

The music is nice and I like the supporting characters so far consisting of a talking book that sounds like Severus Snape and a woman who I think is possessed by a male demon.  I'd rather play as either of them than the main character.  There's even some funny writing/banter.  The big picture story, world and enemies are all interesting so far.  And bosses thankfully have no QTE's, just a timer popping over a particular area which must be damaged before the timer runs out.

I'm about 10 hours in and having a great time.  Anyone else?  I hope enough people play Nier to warrant further gameplay like this.

[Yegolev]

Sounds like a wreck.  Still on my list to buy.

[Ard]

Yeah, ditto.  I'm waiting for it to drop in price.  Since Square published it, it should be on shelves long enough to drop though.

[ffc]

Annnd let's add a Resident Evil mansion to the mix, complete with classic camera angles and a sink filling with blood when I enter a room for good measure.

I believe this game is striving to be a bizarro version of all games that came before it. 

[NiX]

Did you collect your mutton yet?

[ffc]

Yes.  I think that was bizarro WoW.  I'm refusing all side quests now in the slim chance of a repeat experience.

I forgot to mention you can plant seeds near your house and harvest plants after watering/fertilizing.  Animal Crossing?  Who knows, who cares, I will continue down this rabbit hole.

[Yegolev]

Hmm, now I think I understand the "hauntingly familiar" bit from the back of the box.  Fascinating.  I had originally assumed it was made of recycled assets.

[AcidCat]

I'm waiting for it to drop in price. 

Same here. I had no interest in this game until testimonials such as this thread started popping up. I figure I will pick it up later, hopefully when it's cheaper, when I have a dead spot between other games.

[rrazcueta]

I'm waiting for it to drop in price. 

Same here. I had no interest in this game until testimonials such as this thread started popping up. I figure I will pick it up later, hopefully when it's cheaper, when I have a dead spot between other games.

Way to reward underdogs that take risks and discourage companies to waste (development) money into hype machines.

Wait.

[Rasix]

Doesn't help that my favorite game reviewer savaged Nier calling it a repetitive, easy, and boring (until the last bit) game.

ffc has good taste in games and I'm sure this title is interesting.  But you know, budget.

[Soulflame]

I'll just leave this here.

[Rasix]

Yatzee doesn't count.  He has terrible taste in games.  Good for a "yah, take that shitty game!"  feeling and a few laughs, but not much else.

[NiX]

Yatzee doesn't count.  He has terrible taste in games.  Good for a "yah, take that shitty game!"  feeling and a few laughs, but not much else.

Yeah, I don't think anyone in their right mind would base a buy decision off his "reviews." They're more like journeys through someones cynical preference in games.

[Hawkbit]

He had me at "long distance teabagging".  This one is on my budget buy list, but it's one of the few that is actually on my list at this point.

[Quinton]

Between this thread and a friend babbling about the game, I was sold and picked up a copy today.  Enjoying it so far.  The shift between the intro (before the credits) section and the start of the game was wacky.

[Azazel]

Way to reward underdogs that take risks and discourage companies to waste (development) money into hype machines.

Wait.

Are you paying for his game?

no?

fuck off, then.

[Quinton]

I really love the writing.  Somehow they manage to walk the fine line of poking fun at the game and the genre without making it just pointlessly silly -- the whole bit of interaction with the lighthouse lady, the post office, all the chatter about postman's oaths, etc for example.

Both the writing and the voice acting for Weiss are fantastic.  The dripping sarcasm is great.

There's fedex quests and kill ten rats quests and backtracking and running around... but I'm having fun... somehow after the ultra-glossy, ultra-polished, ultra-on-rails-ness of FF12 this is a nice return to some of the classic rpg things that I still enjoy.

[Pennilenko]

The game is fun, but fuck the fishing.

Edit: I figured out the fishing and am now having a great deal of fun. Also, protip, farm your ass off, it's a good money maker.

[ffc]

Nier can go from lighthearted to twisted and right back again without blinking an eye. 



When chapter two kicks off the crazy train goes into high gear.  After playing the bizarro Diablo dungeon I am flat out amazed at how successfully the game changes camera perspectives.  This is the alpha and omega of awesomebad gaming.

Here is a good guide for knowing what stuff to keep/sell if concerned about weapon upgrades.

[Quinton]

When chapter two kicks off the crazy train goes into high gear.  After playing the bizarro Diablo dungeon I am flat out amazed at how successfully the game changes camera perspectives.  This is the alpha and omega of awesomebad gaming.

I really like how they shift into quasi-2d for the indoor-cutaways, platformer bits, and shooter bits.  Mimicing the Resident Evil style perspective and camera shifts in the area where they do that was very nicely done. 

The game continues to have little quirks and warts, but the combination of everything is just total win from a big picture standpoint.  It's like the anti-ff13.  In ff13 everything was polished to a high shine and looked beautiful, but was totally lifeless.  I just didn't give a damn.  This is a grungy, dying world that I care about (or at least want to learn more about).

Also, nice to have the protagonist not be a spiky-haired amnesiac or whatnot.  40-something world-weary adventurer dad works for me.

[Quinton]

Important: READ ME

If you're a crazy completionist, be aware that there is a halfway point in the game, after which you will not be able to complete the 36 quests from the first half of the game.  New Game + starts at the halfway point, so you would have to start a new game to pick those up.

The action that triggers the end of the first part is gathering vapor moss for Popola.  Once you pick the moss, an event starts and you will be done with questing for part one.

[KallDrexx]

This is why I love f13.

I was in best buy looking for a new game.  I saw Nier and remembered this thread.  I bought it and have not regretted it so far :D 

And fishing is retarded until you realize you are fishing at the wrong damn beach.......

[Pennilenko]

This is why I love f13.

I was in best buy looking for a new game.  I saw Nier and remembered this thread.  I bought it and have not regretted it so far :D 

And fishing is retarded until you realize you are fishing at the wrong damn beach.......

Ive got the fishing down now, Its important for people to figure out what type of bait to use as well, and not fish in area outside what you've been trained to fish in. It is insanely hard to catch fish types or fish where you haven't been introduced to yet.

[KallDrexx]

Well my only fishing attempt has been for the first fish (shaman fish) and I almost threw my controller at the TV until I read online that you have to go to another place to get that fish.  It's not explained well and pretty frustrating.  That has been my only issue with the game so far.

[Quinton]

The big quest X it dropped by the beach on my map seemed like a big clue.  Got the silly shaman fish on the second try.  Sardines are annoying me, so I think I may not be doing fishing quite right though...

[KallDrexx]

The big quest X it dropped by the beach on my map seemed like a big clue.  Got the silly shaman fish on the second try.  Sardines are annoying me, so I think I may not be doing fishing quite right though...

Oh I didn't think to even look at the map.  I just talked to the guy who was like "here's how to fish", then just assumed I fish right there where he was standing.

[ffc]

A friend played that fishing part instead of me.  I was watching and not really paying attention but he knew right away to run toward the X on the map.  Maybe there was some easily overlooked quest text that indicated the fishing spot was different? 

By the end of the game the main character grew on me despite initially not liking him because he seemed so wooden compared to the other characters.  Apparently the Japanese version features an effeminate younger guy instead of the father in the US release.  I'm happy with this version because like Quinton said the dad character is a nice change.

[Malakili]

I was watching and not really paying attention but he knew right away to run toward the X on the map. 

Wait, what?  If there is a giant X on the map why would you NOT run toward the giant x on the map?

[Pennilenko]

I was watching and not really paying attention but he knew right away to run toward the X on the map. 

Wait, what?  If there is a giant X on the map why would you NOT run toward the giant x on the map?

I started a new game just to check for the X, there was no X. What gives how come you got an x and so many other people didn't get an x.

[ffc]

There had to be an X because the mandatory fishing part is a main story quest and those all have X's.  There is no way he would have known where to fish otherwise.

Edit: here is a clip of the the start of the fishing quest, the X shows you where to go.

[KallDrexx]

I never said it was a good reason, I'm just saying I never noticed the X and just assumed I had to fish from the pier where I got told how to fish.

[Segoris]

For those who were on the fence or waiting for a bit of a price drop: $40 gold box deal at amazon right now until 8pm est.

[Azazel]

Just ordered this. AU$20 with free shipping and a $2 voucher via CDWOW.

Expect my feedback to join this thread in about 2013!