NIER User Review

Nier is the story of a father searching for a cure of the disease plaguing his daughter, Yonah. This disease is plaguing many people. The Black Scrawl causes black words to encroach the body leading to severe respiratory problems and, ultimately, death. To this day there is no cure.

However, that does not stop the Father. He travels with a magical book known as Grimoire Weiss, battling terrible beings known as Shades. Somehow, they are tied to the horrible fate of the Black Scrawl. But how? Search for the cure, Weiss’s nemesis Grimoire Noir, and the Sealed Versus holding back Weiss’s power. Perhaps, you’ll unlock the cure.

The gameplay of Nier is not unique to the video game industry, however, it is unique in that it employs various established styles to form its own style. An action RPG by classification, it uses a God of War style to the main battle system. The Father uses One-handed swords, two-hand weapons, spears, and with the aid of Weiss, magic. The controls are masterfully implemented with little to no flaws in the direct combat. Each type of weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses; its your job to determine what is appropriate and can change your weapon on the fly. The same goes for magic. The aiming system required for some of the magic is a little strange at times, leaving you frustrated at times and sustaining a bit of damage. But, this isn’t enough to distract from the pure fun of obliterating shades and wildlife.

Level up your weapons by using a synthesis like system. Bring in titanium alloy, some silver ore, and your weapon. BAM! stronger weapon. Some items needed are hard to get but definitely worth leveling up.

The world of Nier is vast and almost entirely open. Do what you want, pretty much when you want (this being an Square Enix RPG, of course the story is linear, but that’s what we love). Sidequests allow you to take a break from the main story and help your fellow villagers. These quests can be a little mundane and repetitive. A lot of them will have you gathering supplies or killing a fiend (killing is fun!!). Others will have you delivering items to others, which can often be difficult (some items are fragile and getting hit by an enemy will break it). But still quite entertaining and often necessary, especially if you are low on cash.

The graphics are pretty good. There are some issues with framerate and rendering. The water-visuals are lacking realism, but we can live with that because the vegetation is great and vegetation makes up a vast amount of the world. Dungeon layouts are well-done including traditional dungeon-crawler type layout, side-scroller, and at times looking like a tower-defense game. Well done, Square Enix!! I loved it. Well, actually, well done, Cavia, which was the company that really made the game.


Characters themselves are pretty awesome. I’m not sure I like the appearance of the Father, but his badass voice makes up for it. The voice acting is not short of amazing!! I loved everything regarding vocals. I can’t tell for sure but some voices I recognize. My favourite voice is that of Grimoire Weiss, who reminds me of Alan Rickman LOL. Second is Kainé, because she has THE best lines in this game. Every sentence has a swear and, let’s face it, she’s just angry and love her for it!

The soundtrack is top notch and reminiscent of SE’s recent title, Final Fantasy XIII. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the OST. I’m willing to fork over the cash to import it, too!

The story itself is riveting. I could not wait to see what happened next! And I still can’t. Why? Because the game has multiple endings!! The ending I got on my first play through, was one of the most memorable endings ever (alongside FFVII, FFX, and Xenosaga EpIII). There is a mode after the game is done that allows you continue the game at a particular point and see more of the story via multiple endings.

The game is only a couple of dozen hours long, but multiple endings and DLC will keep you coming back for more.
There are definitely flaws to the game, mainly in visuals but nothing major.

Overall, this is one of the best games Square Enix has published. I enjoyed this much more than other recent games and I am thrilled with this title. Rumors suggest that there may be a sequel if sales are good in North America. On that note, I implore you to buy this game or at least play it! You won’t regret it.

I am sure I have forgotten to include some aspects of the game, however, you will have to play NIER to find out.