In theory, it’s an M-rated Zelda, but then it’s a text adventure, then a puzzle game, then a bullet hell isometric shooter, and a platformer, and a Resident Evil homage, and I’m not actually done listing everything because oh my gosh this game is just packed with new twists.Īlthough, as a result, Nier is never hugely complex in terms of player engagement. As such, Nier is an incredibly agnostic game, never really conforming to a specific genre. However, this also means that he doesn’t obey conventions where traditional game design can do the same thing. It might be a base reason, like his designing 2B in Automata to be alluring because, well, he wanted her to be a hot goth robot woman. One of my favorite traits about Taro’s games is that he never does something without a reason. It brings your local community together and plays music you’d never have found otherwise. There’s an entire questline where you put together a strange drink to convince the local librarian to sing her heart out, and the reward is… you get to hear her and the local bard perform together. Yes, everyone’s dressed like only Victoria’s Secret and ren fairs were left after the collapse of society, but this never gets in the way of the very human stories at the heart of Nier. What’s remarkable is that for all the swordplay and magic hailfire, Nier can be incredibly chill and grounded. Recovering these verses requires hunting down massive beasts known as Shades and slaying them with Weiss’ magic. Each is seeking to achieve some personal end, as well as help cure Yonah by acquiring long lost “sealed verses” that will enable them to end a plague. Hmm.Īlong the way, Nier teams up with wise-talking book Grimoire Weiss, cranky intersex swordwoman Kaine, and a boy with a petrifying gaze who means well, Emil. Not to be deterred, our hero sets out on his quest with a loving determination that almost makes you forget the game’s opening prologue, where another Nier and another Yonah, during the fall of humanity, were in strikingly similar circumstances. Except it’s 1,400 years in the future since humanity fell apart due to a plague, and most of society has reverted to roughly feudal technology. On paper, Nier is, depending on the version, a tale of either a father or brother named Nier trying to save the life of his disease-ridden daughter/sister Yonah. It’s not a huge surprise, as Taro’s many works draw from classic folklore and fairy tales, including a recent mobile game directly harnessing iconic heroines like Red Riding Hood - albeit with characters like her turning psychotic, but therein lies Taro’s habit to twist everything just enough. Stories are whimsical and dark, with otherworldly yet oddly familiar creatures, sweeping tales of heroism laced with dramatic tragedy, a unique moral message that’s at times both hopeful and bitter, and lots of magic. So with Nier Replicant ver.1.22 about to bring things full circle, I figured now would be a good time to talk about the original Nier, the best game in 2010 that absolutely no one bought.įor the uninitiated, Nier is essentially a playable fairy tale, in the classic Grimms’ Fairy Tales sense. The original game received a rough initial reception, yet unexpected sequel Nier: Automata from PlatinumGames broke through and won over wider audiences to Yoko Taro’s wild, wonderful world of dystopian gothic sci-fi fantasy. It feels like a miracle that we have gotten to the point of a proper remake of Nier.
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