Nier Replicant is coming out tonight. I first heard of the series when Automata was announced; I remember my first thought was “Maid Dresses and Robots lol”, then my second thought was “wow, Platinum Games RPG” and when I finished it I loved it. For years I’ve been saying I’ll replay it, but now what Square is calling “the prequel to Nier Automata” is just about here.
I want to make this thread to talk about Nier, the game when it’s out and just get some pre-release thoughts out before we dive in.
@arauz#27474 I’m excited! And bummed that in another thread it was pointed out I can’t buy it until tomorrow even though I thought I could get it today.
I‘m excited to play it but I heard the ost was changed and I’m really on the fence. I will wait for your impressions since this is one of the games I want to play the most for a long while.
I feel very petty about the whole “Prequel to Nier Automata” thing. I was just talking to someone who was like "oh wow I didn‘t know they were releasing a sequel?? and then after learning it was actually a remake of the first one seemed surprised that there even was a first one! Of course I get why they’re doing it. Automata is an almost 6 million seller now. I just feel like it‘s sorta shitty to the legacy of the first game. Also Kaine’s new face looks bad, which I'm unreasonably upset about.
That said I am also really glad that it'll have a bigger audience this time around and I hope it resonates as much as Automata did for some. It's a rougher game all around. The story has more grit and terror to it. The gameplay isn't Platinum smooth and most likely will continue to not be in the remake. The characters are a whole other thing. It's gonna be interesting to see what opinions develop for people for whom Automata is their only point of reference.
I‘m interested in it too, although I’m not positive my PS4 still works! We'll see.
I can't remember for sure where I heard about NieR in the first place though-- it might have been Insert Credit the First? Although I was also a fan of Drakengard 3 at the time. Which feels like a 1000 years ago! Anyway, who knows. I'm looking forward to playing it before crumbling into dust.
@xhekros#27476 I got my copy in the mail today, some of the soundtrack changes are… I‘m not 100% onboard? They’ve made some changes to Snow in Summer that I feel undercut some of the tension of the opening segment a little.
Somehow I got through university with only a PSVITA as a gaming machine, so I essentially skipped a whole console generation (PS3 / 360). Automata has been on my list of games to play for a long time, though I'm always sceptical of anything that Square Enix puts out… Anyway, finally got around to playing it last year and was hooked.
Created a Japanese Apple ID to download Re[in]carnation and couldn't really warm up to it. Love the ママ character and the environments look lovely and all, but It plays like a visual novel with gacha sprinkled on top and I don't see how those "stories" connect to the main storyline at all, since I haven't played the original. Plus the UI is a bit overwhelming for how little there actually is to it.. anybody else on here who has an opinion on it?
Gah! I really shouldn't buy this right when it drops but I most likely will. Nier is so special!
the first time I had heard about Nier was the original on PS3, I never played but I wanted to for a long time. Finally caught up with the series when Automata released. It's now one of my favorite games!
I used to post on Jeremy Parish's forum, Talking Time, and I remember somebody talking about NieR there. The guy kind of went through some of the crazy stuff that happens in the second playthrough and I thought it sounded really cool. And it was!
I haven't been following stuff about the remake too closely, I tend to stop looking at stuff for games after a certain point when I know I'm definitely going to play them. What I've seen of the visuals and new models certainly looks a little different but it doesn't seem too far enough removed from the aesthetic of the original to really bother me. Certainly doesn't look changed to the extent of like, the recent Bluepoint remasters. I'll check back in once I play it. I preordered but I might not get to it right away cause I'm replaying Resident Evil 7, lol
@sabertoothalex Automata sort of is my only reference, though I’ve seen video of the original. I read that the gameplay lifts a few things from Automata just to speed up combat but the gameplay is at its core based on the original.
@bloomingbridges I’ve been looking forward to the English localization of this game just to try it. I was hoping it would be a fun game, but maybe it’s moreso gonna be something someone who is already a fan would enjoy more.
@GigaSlime I’m really excited. I don’t know anything about this game other than one detail about the ending. but it doesn’t detract from my anticipation. I am curious to see how the one thing I know is worked in to the overall picture. I’m also excited to hear that there is _some_ kind of trickery with starting the game over again. I was wondering if Automata did it first or if it was something else borrowed from the original!
I’m gonna update again when I start playing it later
I’m excited to say that I’ve played Automata and enjoyed it (while being appropriately concerned about the outfits) and know literally nothing about OG Nier except that the main character used to be an old guy but now he’s a young guy and no one seems to care why.
It‘s 4am here and I should really go to sleep but I want to say I’m super pissed at the fact I preordered this on Steam and for some weird reason the game won't unlock until 4pm tomorrow. Fuck that!
@CidNight#27607 I remember when Nier Automata was coming out someone asked Yoko Taro if we needed to have played Nier to understand Automata's story, and he replied that actually having played Nier would probably just make people more confused
Can anyone recommend playing Replicant before playing Automata? I already have a copy of Automata in my pile of games to play.
I have heard that I might be disappointed with Replicant if I play Automata first. However I have fallen into a related trap before and subsequently not played a sequel because the first was so bad. *cough* Persona Q *cough*
I feel I should probably just play Automata. If I become a rabid fanboi, then I'll eat that Replicant up. Opinions?
@matt#27633 I could see people saying going back and playing the original might be disappointing because Automata is much more polished but…probably not if we’re talking about the remake. I feel like we’re gonna see a lot of people finally appreciating this game.
As for any story stuff. There are explicit references in Automata you will appreciate if you play Replicant first and I don’t think the same is true the other way around. That said they’re both fairly standalone.
@matt#27633 Please for your own sake play the original game first, either this remake or the Dad Nier version. People talking about how you should play Automata first is something I have been seeing a lot lately and I‘m 1000% sure it’s something that comes from people that have ONLY played Automata and are just pushing other people to make the same mistake.
Playing both in order will just enhance your experience. There are so much things in the sequel that iterate or follow up and add nuances to what happened in the first game. Not only in terms of actual events, but as a on going discussion over a set of very specific themes and ideas.
Recommending to play Automata first makes as much sense as someone telling you to watch the new Twin Peaks season without seeing the original series because potato.
After last night I started thinking about some of the soundtrack changes, not coming up with anything interesting I decided to look over the old games discography and actually it blows my mind that a game that did not great at the time has SO MANY soundtracks
You've got:
Original OST
15 Nightmares OST
Piano Collection
Jazz Arrange
Tribute -Echo-
I've been listening to the Tribute one again at the moment, it's one of the few that seems to be 100% out of print at this point - which makes me glad I got a copy - and it's got some stinkers on there but I'll never get over the cover of Shadowlord that turns it into a Polka song.
My first impression of Nier Replikant v1.22 based on the first two hours or so is… well, it‘s definitely a Japanese game from like 10 years ago? Apart from the smooth movement, it reminds me of the opening of a less refined 3D Zelda. Now I’m really wondering how much has actually changed xD
