NieR: Been STEALTH PLAYING!!!! this and finished the A Ending about last week or so; may get to other endings later, etc. Won't get nito a Mega rant, just simple mentioning of thoughts.
Generally speaking, the game was decent. I wouldn't say its WOMG AMAZING or anything, but it was solid enough. Gameplay in the first half of the game is repetitive and kind of boring. One weapon class, enemy variety is low, lack of allies for half of it, and when you finally get an ally, she's consistently leaving during dungeons, etc. 2nd half of the game, it picks up notably here, since...well...it does work to alleviate a lot of those issues. Enemies are definitely more varied and some have actual gimmicks making you change your fighting style up, 3 weapon styles (even if Spears felt clearly the best for non-combo rating purposes, Spears are still more interesting a weapon class than 1H Swords), you have all your spells from the outset, and the game feels more balanced around "use what you feel works" rather than "Most of these boss fights rely on Dark Lancing shit", etc. I wouldn't say the gameplay is amazing, but it had something resembling substance I suppose.
Plot...hmm...I wouldn't say the plot is really all that good. Its basically Zelda Plot of "Find macguffins...now find a second set of macguffins!" to save Nier's daughter from 2 different crises. There's a twist at the end, but I felt it wasn't quite built up enough? It felt a little too phoned in relating it to the beginning without actual enough substance in between linking them. There were some attempts, but not enough for the reveal to feel like it answered anything beyond "No, the opening was not meaningless."
That said, I do like most of the cast. Nier himself (is that his actual name OOC, or just a fan name? Manual just calls him "The Father") gets props simply for being a middle aged dad whose entire incentive is acting for his young daughter. The fact that the PS3 version in Japan changed it to a young adult bishie boy brother taking care of his sister (as opposed to father/daughter) just annoys me because seriously, the relationship works better when its just a dad doing what he can to make ends meets, is actually experienced with the world, etc. Turning him in an attractive bishie just for JAPAN jRPG STEREOTYPING! ...yeah, ok, good thing I didn't play that version. Anyway, I liked how he was just an unconventional main, and wasn't turned into an anti-hero either; just a dad trying to juggle making an honest living by doing tasks no one else in the village is capable of and being there for his daughter.
Weiss...ok, I don't think I have to say anything other than he's great. Reminds me of ToS2 Tenebrae, only less trolling and more general snark with excellent dynamic between the characters. So yeah, really good job there!
Kaine...I wasn't a fan of. Dunno if the other endings say otherwise, but her entire character this game is "I'm a fucking bitch, eat shit and deal with it, asshole." The few moments she wasn't like that felt...kind of forced. Her entire dialog is just swearing a lot and basically making herself seem as tough as humanly possible, and she's just a walking trope. Granted, she DID open herself up constantly for Weiss to call her out on...well...everything, and Weiss was generally good on capitalizing on that!
Emil...ok, I'm just gonna be straight: Its impossible to take him seriously. Yes, I know he's suppose to look weird, and all that, but the impression I got from the game is he's suppose to look "frightening" kind of weird, not "5 year old drawing a skeleton given to a professional video game artist, adapted literally." It just completely clashes with all the other designs in the game, and in a bad way. The character himself wasn't too bad I guess, but just god damn did they need to, at very least, redesign the face.
Lastly, the MUSIC! ...ok, this was filled with good stuff, and I have no complaints.
Overall, 7/10 game I suppose. I can see it getting hyped if you liked the gameplay more, and were more a fan of the plot, I guess. Then again, gameplay stuff may be me being jaded since I feel so inclined to compare it to SPECTACLE FIGHTERS!!! like DMCs, Ninja Gaiden and Bayonetta, which just do combo flat out better in everyway.
