Following straight after the successful release of Final Fantasy XIII in North America, Square Enix is up to it one more time offering gamers a new action-RPG to play this Spring. Let me say first that NIER is a weird action-RPG game. I’m saying weird because from the characters to the setting of the game, you’ll feel that something is amiss. In Japan, NIER is getting two versions of the game, NIER Gestalt for the Xbox 360 and NIER Replicant on the PlayStation 3. Unfortunately for North American gamers, only one version will be released and that is NIER Gestalt for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 under the new title NIER.
NIER is developed by Cavia, who is the same developer that brought us the likes of Bullet Witch on the Xbox 360, Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles and Darkside Chronicles for the Nintendo Wii. All are pretty decent titles but with NIER, can it also be considered as a good title being developed by Cavia despite its unorthodox approach? Let’s take a look in the HOTs and NOTs of the game.
HOT
Emotional Story
It is very rare to see a story of an RPG game about a father’s love for his daughter(normally its a pansy teen saving the world adventure). In NIER, you assume the role of a father aptly named as Nier who is willing to do anything for the sake of his dying daughter, Yonah after she gets Black Scrawl virus that is incurable. With his determination, you will set out in an epic adventure where you will tackle a lot of hardships just to find a cure even though there is no known cure in the records of history. The story will take you through an emotional ride where ,at various points, will start to sympathize with the father and his daughter as they try to seek the a cure to the virus. It is not the best story ever written in a video game but it is a lot better than the story told in Final Fantasy XIII. Aside from Nier, other characters such as Kaine will be joining the entourage. These characters are non-playable but they will help Nier fight monsters as they find the cure.
With the help of an ancient book that wields deadly magic called Grimoire Weiss, Nier and his companions will be given tasks to find the “Sealed Verses” as it’s the only known way to cure the Black Scrawl virus. These Sealed Verses will be unlocked as the story progresses and defeating certain bosses. Nier will be able to collect magics that will be beneficial for him later in the game.
Action-RPG Adventure & More!
NIER is just a typical action-adventure game blended with RPG elements. The main character will be able to wield weapons that are upgradable and dish out deadly magics that can potentially be deadlier. Fighting enemies will give Nier experience points to level-up. Just like in most other RPG titles, you can go into towns to buy equipments and healing items to aid you in your journey. To help Nier survive in his daily life with his daughter, he will have an opportunity to take a handful of quests from townspeople that will in turn help him earn a bit of money.
In the world of NIER, there are a plethora of quests that you can take. It is not necessary to do them all but it is the only way to gain money and materials for the weapons and items you are wanting to craft. Any quests can be acquired from the townspeople; once the quest is completed, you will have to report back and get your reward. If running around and doing a quest isn’t your thing, there are other things to do in the game to side-track you from the main story including Fishing, Cultivating plants, or gathering materials to forge more powerful weapons. The last part can be quite time-consuming and painful.
Powering up the magics in the game is quite unique. Instead of spending points to increase the parameters of the character or the magic, you will have to do it by combining words thanks to the power of the Grimoire Weiss. Fighting enemies will give you a chance to get a piece of a word. Each of the words has its own unique attributes such as one word will give you +2 on Magic while the other will give you +2% in Magic resistance. Up to two words can be applied in each magic and it is the only way to make it more powerful. If you think gaining materials to forge a weapon is a pain, you can just buy a weapon and strengthen it with words.
Exploring the dungeons in NIER is quite a unique experience in itself. You will be solving puzzles most of the time that will give you a nice challenge. Sometimes you be playing a platformer-style game where you can jump around to reach certain places. There will be crates and other things that can be smashed to give you medicine herbs in case you run out. The dungeons will be similar to the games such as the Legend of Zelda where as you reach the end, there’s the inevitable and mandatory boss fight.
Big Bosses
One of the things that makes NIER truly shine are the boss fights. If you think God of War III or Devil May Cry 4 are the only games with bosses that are big and impossible to defeat, NIER is also one of them. Throughout the game, there will be a lot of bosses that you will be fighting; they are big and nasty. Most of the bosses will take the whole screen but don’t fret, they are easy to take down as long as you find their weaknesses. For all you Trophy and Achievement whores out there, there are trophies and achievements that can obtained after finishing a boss at a certain time.
Multiple Endings & Funny Dialogues
Finishing a game once might not be enough in NIER as it offers more than one ending. Achieving different endings in the game varies from the quests you will be doing. Since there are numerous quests out there, it will be hard to know which one gives a specific ending without the help of a strategy guide. With so many quests to do, the only thing that will make it enjoyable is the funny dialogue that you will get to watch. With the characters such as Weiss and Kaine, you will get some entertainment out of it as you watch them always antagonize each other. You can get a glimpse of these conversations by just watching the opening scene of the game.
Impressive Soundtrack
Another area where NIER nails correctly is the soundtrack. The tunes that you will be hearing while fighting bosses or just watching cut scenes will help build up the emotions of both the gamers and the characters. The audio will give you an atmospheric feel of the setting and situations the characters are facing; the sorrow and hope.
NOT
Slow Pace & Repetitiveness
One of the things that ruins NIER is the pacing of the game. With so many quests that Nier can do, you will get really sidetracked from the main story. Sure, the dialogue can make it entertaining but the idea of doing it without any motivation from the characters will bore the hell out of you. The missions are not fun and they are repetitive as the quests are always either gathering materials, slaying a beast, or just doing a simple delivery. The quests would be enjoyable only if there is a story behind each one, but no there isn’t. You are doing it for the sake of prolonging the gameplay.
Bland Graphics
There are times NIER looks good graphically but most of the time, I find it very bland. The environments and character models are detailed but what makes it bad are the emptiness that you are going to feel when you play it. Comparing the graphics of NIER to other RPGs out there, NIER looks very outdated. The designs of the game looks like they were done a few years ago.
VERDICT
Overall, NIER is a game that is very hard to recommend. The slow pacing and repetitiveness are the big factors as to why it’s hard to recommend. If you can get past these two things, you can actually enjoy the game with its amazing cast of characters and well crafted story with multiple endings. The gameplay is what you would expect from games such as the Legend of Zelda nonetheless. I suggest to wait for a price drop or give it a rental via GameFly.
[Editor’s Note: NIER was reviewed on a PlayStation 3 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher]