Like a lot of people, I overlooked this game at release in favour of Xenoblade - I'm glad I finally decided to play it now. It's now my favourite of the games Mistwalker has had a hand in - while having several prominent flaws, it still manages to do a lot of interesting things with its genre-crossing gameplay inspirations and tight focus, and crucially depict what is for the most part a very endearing and personable cast with believable and natural relationship dynamics. Unfortunately, as the game progresses, it becomes apparent that those flaws are seriously holding back its full potential, mostly in regards to its narrative - some of which are partially excusable, and one decision which utterly ruins things. It's a shame, because with a couple of tweaks, this could have been a great, cohesive RPG instead of a a pretty good game which tries its hardest to completely tank its finale.
So, starting with the gameplay; I generally felt like the game's experimentation with ARPG systems largely paid off. The options available to the player are simple, and the game generally tends towards the easy side of things, but it never feels overly mindless - the scripted, constructed set-piece like nature of combat encounters and conscious restriction of grinding constantly present new obstacles, and the similarly scripted puzzle bosses present a decent amount of variety around the basic core of gameplay - at times inviting comparisons to the original Nier, especially with how the Last Cocoon was handled. Critically, every instance of combat feels integrated into the progressing story, in that your characters will comment on and banter about their present situations and progress through each dungeon and setpiece - rather than just being handed a series of corridors and combat rooms interspersed with cutscenes, the characterisation feels naturally integrated into gameplay. Though there was a minor issue there in that it was very easy to override and cancel out conversations by progressing too far or performing certain actions in boss fights - the very lengthy conversation that accompanies the Berith illusion battle was a good example, especially since it could be cancelled out by NPC actions, while in the later Zangurak battle it was possible to simply refuse to attack so that the dialogue played out in full. Unlike a lot of ARPG systems, it also tended to feel like your allies contributed to the flow of battle and were under your more-or-less direct control - the system of diffusing magic circles and issuing direct commands allowed their abilities to comprise major parts of the battle system while still being under the player's control. The focus on Lazulis as a single hub city was also largely a success - it was a well-designed hub of a manageable size, with a decent amount of side content that didn't feel particularly boilerplate and repetitive - helped along by amusing details like the various ways you can cause citizens to slip and fall, banging your head into signs, the evolving economy, and Zael's hilariously enthusiastic reaction to having his fortune told.
Generally, the characterisation was a definite high point of the game. Zael and Calista may be exceptionally bland (but generally inoffensive) leads (however, they did sell the cliche romantic moments like the ballroom scenes, running away together after Calista slaps the Count; and the post-climax wedding - although I was constantly thinking about how much more powerful those moments would be if I liked their characters outside of them), but the supporting cast makes up for it with good-to-great voice performances and pretty naturally writtten interactions, considering the genre. Non-telegraphed missable conversations and events can make it a little tricky to get all of the important interactions and backstory details (like the source of Yurick's disfigurement and the crucial dick measuring scene), but I found them all to end up being likeable and well-rounded (to varying extents) individuals who bounced off each other really well, making use of the constant stream of conversation throughout gameplay and cutscenes to further establish their dynamics. Syrenne and Lowell's gimmicks came the closest to grating into overuse, but they still managed to be more than entertaining one-dimensional characters, with Syrenne taking the lead in the chapter in which the Lazulis knights looted the Gurak castle being a particular highlight. I'll wait until I go through my grievances with the story to go over it in greater detail, but the ways in which this aspect is undercut at times is largely tied in with those plot contortions.
The music I'm a little mixed on - it generally works with the game, and there are undeniably some strong pieces in there (such as all of Jirall's music, which can occasionally feel like refugees from a better soundtrack); but it doesn't quite elevate itself to the heights of Uematsu's best soundtracks with the exception of those handful of standout tracks. The atypical sound design choices - particularly the use of silence in dungeons and parts of the main city - were initially a bit of a surprise, but I mostly found them to be decisions that fit the game's atmosphere well. One thing that did work against the game in that regard, however; was the strange pacing of unique combat cues. Until the very last hour of the game, precious few scenarios play against anything but the game's standard combat and boss theme. It feels so needlessly repetitive, when the 'dam breaks' and suddenly Jirall, Zangurak, Zesha and Dagran have unique themes which play in succession (with Zesha and Zangurak having two); it only drives home how many opportunities there were to change things around throughout the game. It's ultimately not a huge complaint, but it was an odd choice.
The armour customisation was a fantastic system - it's been praised elsewhere frequently enough to the point it was one of the few things about the game I was aware of going in. The degree of control you get over colour and additional components, as well as the way they're tied to upgrading to keep sets relevant throughout the game while also allowing you additional visual progression as you progress; while at the same time keeping each armour piece its own item of equipment instead of a weightless cosmetic-only glamour, made it one of the best visual customisation systems - if not the best - I've ever seen in a RPG. It'd be a huge shame if no game ever tries to iterate on it. And of course, the mostly-equal male and female armour designs allow you to do this:
(I also quite like what I put together for Calista, Yurick and Syrenne; although it's not quite as...striking.)
However, although I loved the system, there were still a couple of ways in which it fell short - the degree of control over individual pieces of equipment was great, but the overall variety left something to be desired. It's understandable, given how much detail would have been put into making those pieces customisable, but at the same time there were obvious ways they could have expanded the selection using existing assets which they didn't take. The first is making clothing variations such as Dagran's concept art outfit usable - this is particularly strange, since they were fully modeled and appeared in cutscenes, but just don't show up as usable.
It's right there - modeled, textured, rigged, waiting to be used.
The other would be providing more NPC clothing articles as armour, like Zael's knight attire - things like the guardsmen's trenchcoat, the castle maids' uniform, Therius and Asthar's armour. With the same restrictions, it'd barely be any more work at all - they wouldn't have to be customisable, and the characters already use the same animation rig as the main cast.
Still, with all of that; I'd largely consider the game to be a success - those complaints are minor. Some more clothing options would be nice. It'd be good if Zael was a little more distinct. A couple more boss themes wouldn't be unwelcome. But my largest issues with the game lie in the mishandling of the story - particularly in its last act. Up until the final Gurak invasion, the game is a hamfisted but heartfelt take on well-worn RPG tropes, not doing anything particularly new but executing it decently with a likeable cast. After that point, the execution nosedives - at times, it shunts between otherwise decent set-pieces in a way which feels sewn together, and rushes toward a completely nonsensical conclusion in Dagran's sudden turn as the final boss.
While I feel like some more elaboration on the nature of the Outsider would have been nice in regards to thematic strength (having it be specifically the ark of a dying planet who constructed it as a world seed so that the wreckage of their world might eventually bring new life would make its use as a weapon of war all the more perverse, and having the Beriths and Cocoons be the corrupt remnants of that civilisation's uploaded consciousnesses warped into monstrous forms by the Outsider's split and subsequent exploitation would add some more tragedy to the proceedings while also contextualising those creatures' odd abilities, which frequently become the focus of story scenes.), but the real weakness of the main bulk of the story is the way the Gurak people are glossed over - the chapter where Zael and Syrenne bear witness to Imperial war crimes was a good start, but just a start. The game desperately needed some time spent on the Gurak continent among regular Gurak for its themes to land; even something as brief as Xenoblade's time spent on the Mechonis; and some named Gurak characters who aren't militaristic fanatics. Likewise, the frenetic pace of the last act kind of wastes what could have been some more powerful plot beats - for example, Jirall's corruption needed more than a single boss fight to breathe, despite still being a good scene on its own. But of course, that isn't the story's most significant flaw - that would be the ridiculous final plot twist and last boss.
Dagran as a morally dubious figure collaborating with the Count to do things like kill Asthar and frame Jirall worked really well - it grew out from his established characterisation and created conflict that naturally worked within the setting, Dagran as an omnipotent chessmaster with an absurdly far reaching plan trying to become God and remake the world is inane, boring nonsense. It cheapened the entire story up to that point, the characters themselves and their dynamics, and sacrificed any kind of thematic resonance in its final conflict for a cheap twist. It was undeniably the game's biggest mistake - especially considering how artificial it feels, with his sudden absence from the player party being completely unmentioned by the entire playable cast until he suddenly shows up to be the final boss - in a game which largely did a good job with the interactions between its characters, that incredibly odd decision felt all the more jarring.
The actual epilogue of the game I feel was handled very well, with the ability to freely explore the now peaceful city, walk among its now integrated residents of human and Gurak origin, and do a couple of nice climactic chapters which provide gentle closure for the cast and world, but they can't fully wash the taste of the endgame out.
Overall, that's how I'm left feeling about the game - while I enjoyed a lot of what it did, a better-constructed last act, some additional worldbuilding and less contrived final conflict would benefit it enormously; and the shadow of the game it could have been with some relatively minor changes will always hang over it.
So, starting with the gameplay; I generally felt like the game's experimentation with ARPG systems largely paid off. The options available to the player are simple, and the game generally tends towards the easy side of things, but it never feels overly mindless - the scripted, constructed set-piece like nature of combat encounters and conscious restriction of grinding constantly present new obstacles, and the similarly scripted puzzle bosses present a decent amount of variety around the basic core of gameplay - at times inviting comparisons to the original Nier, especially with how the Last Cocoon was handled. Critically, every instance of combat feels integrated into the progressing story, in that your characters will comment on and banter about their present situations and progress through each dungeon and setpiece - rather than just being handed a series of corridors and combat rooms interspersed with cutscenes, the characterisation feels naturally integrated into gameplay. Though there was a minor issue there in that it was very easy to override and cancel out conversations by progressing too far or performing certain actions in boss fights - the very lengthy conversation that accompanies the Berith illusion battle was a good example, especially since it could be cancelled out by NPC actions, while in the later Zangurak battle it was possible to simply refuse to attack so that the dialogue played out in full. Unlike a lot of ARPG systems, it also tended to feel like your allies contributed to the flow of battle and were under your more-or-less direct control - the system of diffusing magic circles and issuing direct commands allowed their abilities to comprise major parts of the battle system while still being under the player's control. The focus on Lazulis as a single hub city was also largely a success - it was a well-designed hub of a manageable size, with a decent amount of side content that didn't feel particularly boilerplate and repetitive - helped along by amusing details like the various ways you can cause citizens to slip and fall, banging your head into signs, the evolving economy, and Zael's hilariously enthusiastic reaction to having his fortune told.
Generally, the characterisation was a definite high point of the game. Zael and Calista may be exceptionally bland (but generally inoffensive) leads (however, they did sell the cliche romantic moments like the ballroom scenes, running away together after Calista slaps the Count; and the post-climax wedding - although I was constantly thinking about how much more powerful those moments would be if I liked their characters outside of them), but the supporting cast makes up for it with good-to-great voice performances and pretty naturally writtten interactions, considering the genre. Non-telegraphed missable conversations and events can make it a little tricky to get all of the important interactions and backstory details (like the source of Yurick's disfigurement and the crucial dick measuring scene), but I found them all to end up being likeable and well-rounded (to varying extents) individuals who bounced off each other really well, making use of the constant stream of conversation throughout gameplay and cutscenes to further establish their dynamics. Syrenne and Lowell's gimmicks came the closest to grating into overuse, but they still managed to be more than entertaining one-dimensional characters, with Syrenne taking the lead in the chapter in which the Lazulis knights looted the Gurak castle being a particular highlight. I'll wait until I go through my grievances with the story to go over it in greater detail, but the ways in which this aspect is undercut at times is largely tied in with those plot contortions.
The music I'm a little mixed on - it generally works with the game, and there are undeniably some strong pieces in there (such as all of Jirall's music, which can occasionally feel like refugees from a better soundtrack); but it doesn't quite elevate itself to the heights of Uematsu's best soundtracks with the exception of those handful of standout tracks. The atypical sound design choices - particularly the use of silence in dungeons and parts of the main city - were initially a bit of a surprise, but I mostly found them to be decisions that fit the game's atmosphere well. One thing that did work against the game in that regard, however; was the strange pacing of unique combat cues. Until the very last hour of the game, precious few scenarios play against anything but the game's standard combat and boss theme. It feels so needlessly repetitive, when the 'dam breaks' and suddenly Jirall, Zangurak, Zesha and Dagran have unique themes which play in succession (with Zesha and Zangurak having two); it only drives home how many opportunities there were to change things around throughout the game. It's ultimately not a huge complaint, but it was an odd choice.
The armour customisation was a fantastic system - it's been praised elsewhere frequently enough to the point it was one of the few things about the game I was aware of going in. The degree of control you get over colour and additional components, as well as the way they're tied to upgrading to keep sets relevant throughout the game while also allowing you additional visual progression as you progress; while at the same time keeping each armour piece its own item of equipment instead of a weightless cosmetic-only glamour, made it one of the best visual customisation systems - if not the best - I've ever seen in a RPG. It'd be a huge shame if no game ever tries to iterate on it. And of course, the mostly-equal male and female armour designs allow you to do this:
(I also quite like what I put together for Calista, Yurick and Syrenne; although it's not quite as...striking.)
However, although I loved the system, there were still a couple of ways in which it fell short - the degree of control over individual pieces of equipment was great, but the overall variety left something to be desired. It's understandable, given how much detail would have been put into making those pieces customisable, but at the same time there were obvious ways they could have expanded the selection using existing assets which they didn't take. The first is making clothing variations such as Dagran's concept art outfit usable - this is particularly strange, since they were fully modeled and appeared in cutscenes, but just don't show up as usable.
It's right there - modeled, textured, rigged, waiting to be used.
The other would be providing more NPC clothing articles as armour, like Zael's knight attire - things like the guardsmen's trenchcoat, the castle maids' uniform, Therius and Asthar's armour. With the same restrictions, it'd barely be any more work at all - they wouldn't have to be customisable, and the characters already use the same animation rig as the main cast.
Still, with all of that; I'd largely consider the game to be a success - those complaints are minor. Some more clothing options would be nice. It'd be good if Zael was a little more distinct. A couple more boss themes wouldn't be unwelcome. But my largest issues with the game lie in the mishandling of the story - particularly in its last act. Up until the final Gurak invasion, the game is a hamfisted but heartfelt take on well-worn RPG tropes, not doing anything particularly new but executing it decently with a likeable cast. After that point, the execution nosedives - at times, it shunts between otherwise decent set-pieces in a way which feels sewn together, and rushes toward a completely nonsensical conclusion in Dagran's sudden turn as the final boss.
While I feel like some more elaboration on the nature of the Outsider would have been nice in regards to thematic strength (having it be specifically the ark of a dying planet who constructed it as a world seed so that the wreckage of their world might eventually bring new life would make its use as a weapon of war all the more perverse, and having the Beriths and Cocoons be the corrupt remnants of that civilisation's uploaded consciousnesses warped into monstrous forms by the Outsider's split and subsequent exploitation would add some more tragedy to the proceedings while also contextualising those creatures' odd abilities, which frequently become the focus of story scenes.), but the real weakness of the main bulk of the story is the way the Gurak people are glossed over - the chapter where Zael and Syrenne bear witness to Imperial war crimes was a good start, but just a start. The game desperately needed some time spent on the Gurak continent among regular Gurak for its themes to land; even something as brief as Xenoblade's time spent on the Mechonis; and some named Gurak characters who aren't militaristic fanatics. Likewise, the frenetic pace of the last act kind of wastes what could have been some more powerful plot beats - for example, Jirall's corruption needed more than a single boss fight to breathe, despite still being a good scene on its own. But of course, that isn't the story's most significant flaw - that would be the ridiculous final plot twist and last boss.
Dagran as a morally dubious figure collaborating with the Count to do things like kill Asthar and frame Jirall worked really well - it grew out from his established characterisation and created conflict that naturally worked within the setting, Dagran as an omnipotent chessmaster with an absurdly far reaching plan trying to become God and remake the world is inane, boring nonsense. It cheapened the entire story up to that point, the characters themselves and their dynamics, and sacrificed any kind of thematic resonance in its final conflict for a cheap twist. It was undeniably the game's biggest mistake - especially considering how artificial it feels, with his sudden absence from the player party being completely unmentioned by the entire playable cast until he suddenly shows up to be the final boss - in a game which largely did a good job with the interactions between its characters, that incredibly odd decision felt all the more jarring.
The actual epilogue of the game I feel was handled very well, with the ability to freely explore the now peaceful city, walk among its now integrated residents of human and Gurak origin, and do a couple of nice climactic chapters which provide gentle closure for the cast and world, but they can't fully wash the taste of the endgame out.
Overall, that's how I'm left feeling about the game - while I enjoyed a lot of what it did, a better-constructed last act, some additional worldbuilding and less contrived final conflict would benefit it enormously; and the shadow of the game it could have been with some relatively minor changes will always hang over it.
