I like this game overall but so much of the repetition could have been removed without detracting from the experience for me.
Route B felt like it justified its existence with the new scenes providing new perspectives for primarily the characters you’re fighting. Having this occur after Route A created a greater contrast and impact compared to if it all happened the first time around. However, what little was added in Route C and the C and D endings being locked behind it felt very arbitrary. I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if all the new Route C content had just been in Route B. If you’re going for all the endings without downloading someone else’s save file, you’ll play through the game’s second half a total of 3 times. Ending D also requires a 4th run through the game’s final level, which felt especially boring having just done it for ending C. Another issue with Route C is new players trying to figure out what is actually new. Players can skip most cutscenes if they (understandably) don’t want to watch them for a third time, but this risks missing out on actual new content. When I learned Ending E required repeating even more of the main game, I resorted to using someone else’s save from just before Route E.
But even if the game was just 2 routes, there’s a lot of my time that would still feel wasted. Most of the sections I found annoying in Routes B and C were ones I still found annoying back in Route A. The constant walking back and forth between areas takes up so much time, and the introduction of a fast travel system didn’t remove this as an issue for me. Not to mention things like the extremely slow ladder animations you’re forced to watch multiple times for every trip to the Junk Heap or the extremely slow door animations you’re forced to watch multiple times in the Lost Shrine. So much of this came across to me as padding and/or sloppy design, and I would have enjoyed the game so much more had my problems with the game been refined upon. I understand the tedium in NieR is why some people enjoy it so much, doing things like helping players relate to the characters/world. However I can’t say it was the same for me, regardless of whether or not these design decisions were intentional on the part of the creators.
What really sucks about my complaints is I really liked most of the story and dialogue you get once you’re past each tedious segment. The characters have a lot of fun interactions with each other and there are a lot of interesting plot points and reveals across the entirety of the story. It was all more than enough for me that, even if I did have all the issues I mentioned above, the game was still overall enjoyable and one I’m glad I’ve experienced.
Route B felt like it justified its existence with the new scenes providing new perspectives for primarily the characters you’re fighting. Having this occur after Route A created a greater contrast and impact compared to if it all happened the first time around. However, what little was added in Route C and the C and D endings being locked behind it felt very arbitrary. I would have enjoyed the game a lot more if all the new Route C content had just been in Route B. If you’re going for all the endings without downloading someone else’s save file, you’ll play through the game’s second half a total of 3 times. Ending D also requires a 4th run through the game’s final level, which felt especially boring having just done it for ending C. Another issue with Route C is new players trying to figure out what is actually new. Players can skip most cutscenes if they (understandably) don’t want to watch them for a third time, but this risks missing out on actual new content. When I learned Ending E required repeating even more of the main game, I resorted to using someone else’s save from just before Route E.
But even if the game was just 2 routes, there’s a lot of my time that would still feel wasted. Most of the sections I found annoying in Routes B and C were ones I still found annoying back in Route A. The constant walking back and forth between areas takes up so much time, and the introduction of a fast travel system didn’t remove this as an issue for me. Not to mention things like the extremely slow ladder animations you’re forced to watch multiple times for every trip to the Junk Heap or the extremely slow door animations you’re forced to watch multiple times in the Lost Shrine. So much of this came across to me as padding and/or sloppy design, and I would have enjoyed the game so much more had my problems with the game been refined upon. I understand the tedium in NieR is why some people enjoy it so much, doing things like helping players relate to the characters/world. However I can’t say it was the same for me, regardless of whether or not these design decisions were intentional on the part of the creators.
What really sucks about my complaints is I really liked most of the story and dialogue you get once you’re past each tedious segment. The characters have a lot of fun interactions with each other and there are a lot of interesting plot points and reveals across the entirety of the story. It was all more than enough for me that, even if I did have all the issues I mentioned above, the game was still overall enjoyable and one I’m glad I’ve experienced.
IgorSales
4 months ago