This review contains spoilers
Having played the original release of this game, I enjoyed this remake/remaster. However, I feel it falls short in some places where the original didn't. Most people with this opinion will point to the fact that the playable character is different, and while I DO prefer the father version of the titular character Nier, playing as brother Nier is not one of my big issues with this game. If anything, it was more incentive to play it, since the original PS3 version of NieR Replicant was not released in the West, and instead Square opted to release NieR Gestalt featuring father Nier for both consoles the game released on.
My issues instead lie with a number of other more specific things, the first being the voice acting. Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey, and Julie Ann Taylor deliver a stellar performance in Replicant ver. 1.22, though all three of their performances feel a bit weaker and less emotional than in the PS3 version of the game. Despite liking his performances elsewhere, I was not impressed with Zach Aguilar's delivery while playing the younger version of brother Nier. Many lines lacked emotion and urgency where they would be appropriate. Ray Chase as the adult version of brother Nier, on the other hand, did a very good job with the character and in one instance even surpassed Jamieson Price's outstanding voice work as father Nier in the PS3 release. As a whole though, Price's voice work was irreplaceable and it saddens me to see him only get a single line of dialogue in this release.
Slight script changes were made, and I dislike a lot of them. I realize this is unavoidable as the protagonist is an entirely different character, but some of them are questionable and didn't need to be changed. Brother Nier as a whole seems to have a lot less personality than father Nier, which is strange as the game was originally written with only brother Nier in mind. I'm unsure of whether or not these script changes are more faithful to the Japanese dialogue, but if they are, the localization changes were minor enough that I feel they should have been left alone.
The gameplay, despite being "improved", is really no different and is even worse off in some cases. Combat is virtually the same outside of being flashier, which causes no real improvement in quality of the combat and makes attacks feel like they have less weight to them. Enemies seem to be spongier than the original release, and seem to abuse annoying attacks with the potential to stunlock the player way more often. Boar riding controls differ, and are less simple and efficient than they previously were. Bosses take significantly less damage than normal while dialogue is playing during boss fights, presumably to make sure you don't miss dialogue by killing a boss too quickly. Missing dialogue like this was an annoying issue in the original, but making bosses take almost no damage while characters are talking is a horrible compromise. This is especially irritating in subsequent playthroughs while trying to get other endings. Facade is also more difficult to traverse, as jump height and object heights differ between releases.
Graphics are an "improvement" but cause the game to lose the unique look the original release had. Lighting is less colorful and causes some objects to stand out awkwardly due to their colors. Character models (particularly Kaine, who even had a change in eye color, and Grimoire Weiss, who looks flatter and less metallic) look wildly different from the originals, Devola and Popola are much harder to tell apart. Grimoire Noir's magic is an odd Mountain Dew yellow-green color instead of its original gold. Text is also noticeably smaller in this release, which makes it difficult to read if playing on a TV as opposed to a computer monitor.
Most of the remade soundtrack is unnecessary and inferior to the original. Many songs feel exactly the same aside from the addition of new instruments that ruin the feel and flow of the originals.
The new content is a welcome addition, and what I was most interested in upon purchasing the game. However, some of it does break the flow of the game and as much as I enjoyed playing through Ending E as Kaine, I miss having the bittersweet/outright sad ending D as the definitive ending of the game. Being able to restore your save file gets rid of the weight that the decision to delete it in the first place held, and the connection to Automata felt more like cheap fanservice than actual interesting lore. Having Kaine playable in this ending also means the opportunity to have her playable in Route B, which the game tells you is "Kaine's Story", is wasted. Similarly, I feel an opportunity to have father Nier selectable whether it be in the base game or as DLC was missed considering they went through the effort to model him and bring in his voice actor for one single line.
As a whole, I realize this is an incredibly nitpicky and negative review. I enjoyed the game and recommend it to anyone whose only option to play it is this. I just prefer the original and wanted to make this disorganized ramble of a review explaining why. I strongly suggest playing the PS3/360 release first, though I recognize that this isn't feasible for everyone. Many of the original game's strengths are retained in this release, and much of my complaints likely come from my familiarity with the original, which is easily one of my favorite games of all time. If you actually took the time to read all this, haven't played either version, and have no way to play the PS3 version, pick this one up anyway. The story and characters are still excellent and you'll have a good time.
My issues instead lie with a number of other more specific things, the first being the voice acting. Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey, and Julie Ann Taylor deliver a stellar performance in Replicant ver. 1.22, though all three of their performances feel a bit weaker and less emotional than in the PS3 version of the game. Despite liking his performances elsewhere, I was not impressed with Zach Aguilar's delivery while playing the younger version of brother Nier. Many lines lacked emotion and urgency where they would be appropriate. Ray Chase as the adult version of brother Nier, on the other hand, did a very good job with the character and in one instance even surpassed Jamieson Price's outstanding voice work as father Nier in the PS3 release. As a whole though, Price's voice work was irreplaceable and it saddens me to see him only get a single line of dialogue in this release.
Slight script changes were made, and I dislike a lot of them. I realize this is unavoidable as the protagonist is an entirely different character, but some of them are questionable and didn't need to be changed. Brother Nier as a whole seems to have a lot less personality than father Nier, which is strange as the game was originally written with only brother Nier in mind. I'm unsure of whether or not these script changes are more faithful to the Japanese dialogue, but if they are, the localization changes were minor enough that I feel they should have been left alone.
The gameplay, despite being "improved", is really no different and is even worse off in some cases. Combat is virtually the same outside of being flashier, which causes no real improvement in quality of the combat and makes attacks feel like they have less weight to them. Enemies seem to be spongier than the original release, and seem to abuse annoying attacks with the potential to stunlock the player way more often. Boar riding controls differ, and are less simple and efficient than they previously were. Bosses take significantly less damage than normal while dialogue is playing during boss fights, presumably to make sure you don't miss dialogue by killing a boss too quickly. Missing dialogue like this was an annoying issue in the original, but making bosses take almost no damage while characters are talking is a horrible compromise. This is especially irritating in subsequent playthroughs while trying to get other endings. Facade is also more difficult to traverse, as jump height and object heights differ between releases.
Graphics are an "improvement" but cause the game to lose the unique look the original release had. Lighting is less colorful and causes some objects to stand out awkwardly due to their colors. Character models (particularly Kaine, who even had a change in eye color, and Grimoire Weiss, who looks flatter and less metallic) look wildly different from the originals, Devola and Popola are much harder to tell apart. Grimoire Noir's magic is an odd Mountain Dew yellow-green color instead of its original gold. Text is also noticeably smaller in this release, which makes it difficult to read if playing on a TV as opposed to a computer monitor.
Most of the remade soundtrack is unnecessary and inferior to the original. Many songs feel exactly the same aside from the addition of new instruments that ruin the feel and flow of the originals.
The new content is a welcome addition, and what I was most interested in upon purchasing the game. However, some of it does break the flow of the game and as much as I enjoyed playing through Ending E as Kaine, I miss having the bittersweet/outright sad ending D as the definitive ending of the game. Being able to restore your save file gets rid of the weight that the decision to delete it in the first place held, and the connection to Automata felt more like cheap fanservice than actual interesting lore. Having Kaine playable in this ending also means the opportunity to have her playable in Route B, which the game tells you is "Kaine's Story", is wasted. Similarly, I feel an opportunity to have father Nier selectable whether it be in the base game or as DLC was missed considering they went through the effort to model him and bring in his voice actor for one single line.
As a whole, I realize this is an incredibly nitpicky and negative review. I enjoyed the game and recommend it to anyone whose only option to play it is this. I just prefer the original and wanted to make this disorganized ramble of a review explaining why. I strongly suggest playing the PS3/360 release first, though I recognize that this isn't feasible for everyone. Many of the original game's strengths are retained in this release, and much of my complaints likely come from my familiarity with the original, which is easily one of my favorite games of all time. If you actually took the time to read all this, haven't played either version, and have no way to play the PS3 version, pick this one up anyway. The story and characters are still excellent and you'll have a good time.
NOWITSREYNTIME17
1 year ago