In RPGs of Japanese origin, there seems to be an unwritten rule in which a game of this genre must take (at least) an hour to start until it can be played as such. Or a few more hours until it just took off, both with its history and its combat system. The NieR de Cavia of the year 2010 is more in line with the second statement, as it takes time for him to “click” us.
On the occasion of the launch of NieR Replicant ver. 1.2247448713 (from now on, NieR Replicant for short ), a remake of that cult PS3 and Xbox 360 game, I wanted to give the original one more chance to compare it with this update, and that’s when I really discovered how great it is, despite not achieving the same consistency from start to finish as in NieR: Automata. And now, after last month’s impressions, it’s time to analyze it in depth .
Ten years of difference can be seen in this remake
Things as they are: when the original NieR , a spin-off of the Drakengard saga , was released, it did not have them all with it, lacking in certain aspects. In the fighting, without going any further, a set button was missing. In addition, the messenger missions and the empty scenarios, with a lot of walking at the beginning and too many laps between the NPCs of the main story, made the process a bit tedious at times until it showed its potential.
This NieR Replicant , as we anticipated weeks ago, has polished the entire main core of the game, while respecting the original adventure as much as possible. Or at least, that eponymous version that came out exclusively in Asia. And there is a significant difference between the protagonist who came to the West and the one who had that version: from Yonah’s father we become his brother. The latter, which is shocking at first, has its explanation later in the story , achieving a greater impact in a certain scene and coherence at a global level.
We are not, on the other hand, before an RPG that follows the traditional canons, but, as we saw in 2017 with the superb NieR: Automata , it pecks not only with different perspectives depending on the situation, but also embracing different genres and with some not so evident beyond the usual danmaku of ship games thanks to the power of Grimoire Weiss, the book that accompanies us.
Nor is it an excessively long role-playing game, since if we go to pinion we can complete it in less than 15 hours (yes, the achievement / trophy of the 2010 original is maintained), although obviously its duration shoots up if we want to complete all its secondary missions , apart from unlocking their endings , which are again numerous and with surprising consequences in some.
The first hours are warm-up, yes, because as we have already said, it takes time to take off until we fall in love completely, especially when the secondary characters begin to gain more relevance and the most challenging combats arrive. And the best of all is that in this remake everything is more fluid , noting a noticeable improvement compared to the original, both in terms of mobility and when it comes to enjoying new movements, such as one to perform counter-attacks if we block at the moment just. In addition, now we can fix the enemy and it does not take forever to pick up objects.
These are little details that spoiled the experience in NieR and that we do not have to worry about here, being very grateful, in turn, that it finally arrives translated into Spanish in its texts. As more than one person will know who has played the original, there are scenes with quite a few conversations, like the one about a certain dream …
NieR Replicant gets the treatment it deserves
Anyone who has enjoyed NieR: Automata, will end up feeling devotion to this NieR Replicant , apart from understanding where many of the ideas that surprised in that jewel of 2017 come from. It is, above all, an action RPG, yes, but with great weight for the “shots” that come out of Grimoire Weiss, complemented with magic of great power that we will get from the bosses.
But it is also an RPG that surprises us with moments of survival horror with the most cinematic fixed cameras, or with an isometric perspective as if it were a Hades on duty inside a secret laboratory. You cannot blame him for not being original with the way he tells his story, nor for not offering scenes that will leave us in check with their spectacular nature. Now, sometimes it will sin from the typical Japanese woman on duty who can either make us smile or make us feel a little embarrassed. But no indifference, of course.
Its soundtrack is fascinating , one of the points where everyone agreed with the 2010 classic. It has sung melodies that exude sweetness and good taste, with an epic on certain occasions that will make our hair stand on end. to sing them later without realizing it by staying in our subconscious. Because a good RPG has to have good music .
The adventure goes from less to more within a small territory for what is usually seen in RPGs. This also has an explanation, as our village is at the neuralgic point on which the rest of the regions branch off, which we will discover little by little until we find a compelling reason to revisit them all.
Yes, at a certain point in history we will unlock fast travel between them, greatly facilitating the development of secondary missions, of course. In addition, there will be no shortage of other types of tasks to keep us busy, such as growing vegetables on the land of our home or even fishing, an activity closely linked to role-playing games. All this has been respected in relation to the original NieR , but now it is much more comfortable and enjoyable thanks to these improvements or the increase in its refresh rate on the screen, reaching a stable 60 fps .
It is a golden opportunity to (re) discover a cult game in the best possible way and with an audience more dedicated to the work thanks to the boom that NieR: Automata meant, that Drakengard was not a trilogy that was particularly popular with Western audiences. . I want to give it another chance, go.
A fascinating and more complete RPG than ever
NieR Replicant simmers , going deeper than the opening bars of the story suggest. Without going any further, the combats will not be so simple in the second section, forcing us to use with greater success the movement of dodging or blocking and looking better what magic to use, apart from worrying more strongly in the use of “words” to weapons and magic, which confer passive bonuses, such as increasing damage, reducing MP cost, or causing altered states, such as confusion, paralysis, or poison.
If you have played the original NieR , everything will be very familiar, except for the change of protagonist, logically, being the main change between “Gestalt”, the version that was launched in the West and the so-called Replicant. But the Toylogic studio, in charge of this remake, has not stayed on its surface, by implementing an additional ending (E) and with content that had remained exclusive to the Japanese territory, such as the World of empty receptacles , with a series of dungeons with much more demanding challenges. It is a very complete Nier .
It is still not perfect, in any case, when slackening in certain sections, especially at the beginning of the story, especially if we show interest in its secondary missions, where one of the most insufferable remains (that of taking an object to another town without that we break), or with certain 2D platform transitions (they have been improved and are no longer so clunky, but still do not shine), but those “impurities” are more than compensated by seeing the overall result of the adventure.
In short, NieR Replicant is an excellent remake of the NieR from 2010 and with more than one surprise inside, being a much more playable and satisfying experience than the one developed by the Cavia studio in its day. Now it is better understood what is called the cult game. Wonderful .
NieR Replicant
| Platforms | PS4 (analyzed version), Xbox One and Steam |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Not |
| Developer | ToyLogic |
| Company | Square enix |
| Launch | April 23, 2021 |
The best
- His story goes in crescendo
- The weight of the secondaries
- How the fighting has improved
- The soundtrack is a delight
Worst
- It takes time to take off at first
- A lot of errand mission
