Exentryk
Member
I hope the reviewers clarify in their reviews about how many endings they've gotten.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
NieR: Automata |OT| "I wouldn't expect too much from this game if I were you."
- Thread starter BRSxIgnition
- Start date
I hope the reviewers clarify in their reviews about how many endings they've gotten.
killatopak
Gold Member
I brought that up earlier in the thread and I fear western reviewers would encounter this problem.
I think the major outlets like IGN, GaneSpot etc will all have played through at least 2-3 routes of the game because SEs American/European PR branches will have directly communicated to them that they should.
Most of these reviews being linked now are people that just got this off of the HK/JP stores like everyone in the thread.
+Refined combat
+Peerless story with a strong philosophical foundation
+A spiritual successor to "Nier"
-Too many "shooting" components throughout the game (not sure if this is referring to the pod shooting or the hacking mechanics) Edit: Probably the flight unit sections.
-Getting around and having to do retries can be annoying
-Relatively boring boss battles in comparison to the original
More or less.
BRSxIgnition
Member
I wonder if we should calculate our own averages using only the reviews that are clear that they achieved all main endings?
Seems like a worthy endevour to me, at least to see its impact.
It's a damn obvious message though, so shame to those who don't follow through with it.
Could you translate the blurb over the pros and cons so that I can add it to the review thread?
Don't see how we could do that?
BRSxIgnition
Member
In general, it'd be possible to tell by playtime, whenever it isn't outright stated.
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
Having completed the game, I actually agree that the boss battles are a dramatic step down from the first Nier's, but in the game's defense, that was a very high bar to clear.
killatopak
Gold Member
Wait is this true?
I haven't played the game but since the game designer seems to be the same from the one who made Revengeance, I struggle to think how it could be less entertaining than the ones in NieR, granted I really liked NieR boss battles and the bullet hell sections is a large part of that.
In what context? Are they standard Platinum style bosses? I'm content with that.
NieR: Automata is an unparalleled "Action RPG" wonderfully born from the quirkiness of NieR and the craftmanship of Platinum games, which also happens to be plagued by the "shooting" segments throughout the game. Regrettably, it would have been better if not for those "shooting" segments.
This is a little liberal (and I'm making assumptions here), so don't take my translation for granted. Feel free to make corrections if someone points out any errors.
If this game is a gateway drug to get people trying out PG's other games (or other character action games in generals) then I will be happy. Worked the other way around for me, came for Platinum stayed for Taro 
I agree about bosses. There were a couple of really good ones but not up to the usually PG standard, best boss is the e3 one imo.
I agree about bosses. There were a couple of really good ones but not up to the usually PG standard, best boss is the e3 one imo.
I can kind of agree with the underwhelming boss battles. If you're used to Platinum's best boss battles like ones from Bayonetta 2 and The Wonderful 101 you may be a bit disappointed here. They're not bad by any means, but they usually are pretty quick and don't require a lot of effort to beat.
I think as far as the scope of the game is concerned though it wasn't really an issue for me, I still enjoyed them. I figured going in that they wouldn't be Bayonetta 2 or W101 levels.
Route C does get pretty action-y although.
Uhh, I'm not too familiar with NieR's boss battles, but if they're quirky as hell, then the review is saying that Automata's boss battles don't reach that level of quirkness, so it's relatively boring in comparison. So the first one set the bar a little high in terms of what kind of boss mechanics they were expecting to see.
Exentryk
Member
Why is that?
2nd time I've heard this. That's kinda disappointing.
But oh well, this is essentially my first Platinum game, so I don't have any big expectations like the rest of you anyhow. For example, just the mech from the demo was pretty tantalizing to me, in terms of what to expect.
Well it felt too standard stuff in most cases. The E3 boss battle was great, but there was nothing in the rest of the game (I didn't play the hidden boss stuff so I can't compare that) that was in that level.
Also bosses were usually very quick because their health is usually low and some of the chip/pod skills are way too OP.
Too much bullet stuff for bosses were also annoying factor for me.
to be fair i think they mean that boss battles are
Furthermore the boss battles themselves are generally against robots and other people and lack the setpieces of either Platinum's previous games and the diversity of the original game's bosses in terms of shade, robot and human design, i can see why some would think they are disappointing. Generally speaking though i think they are fine
spread across multiple routes, there aren't that many on each playthrough,
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
Overall, they feel much more mundane and rote than Nier's, and only a few of them really measure up to their predecessor.
killatopak
Gold Member
Does Automata boss battles incorporate story elements in it?
Because NieR did something amazing in the boss battles at the Junk Heap.
It was beautiful looking back.
Because NieR did something amazing in the boss battles at the Junk Heap.
Mainly on the first playthrough the boss flies up into the ceiling and starts trashing it and made debris fall, requiring you to dodge them and there was even a dialog between NieR and Weiss about it. On the second playthrough, it's actually because the robot wants to destroy the ceiling allowing the child shade to escape from NieR unabated slaughter since they were just caught up in a misunderstanding.
It was beautiful looking back.
That's discouraging. I hope I still have fun with them though. Demo's boss battle scale really wowed me so I hope scale can make up with the lack of complexity.
Exentryk
Member
I was worried you'd say the bosses have some annoying QTE or gimmicks, lol. Phew!
I like being OP and killing things efficiently and quickly, so this won't bother me. The shooting aspects might, but let's see.
I actually kinda wish some bosses had QTE or gimmicks like MGR tbh lol
Exentryk
Member
I mean it is still opinions and all that, but the setting def does not lend to a huge variance of boss encounters. OST and Story wise i just have to say they are around the same level.
YOu can tell this game is a more budget Platinum title and some sacrifices also had to be made for the open world design too in terms of the types of setpieces they are traditionally known for. But as this is not an action game, i dont see it as an issue with not including setpieces or QTE's into the combat
I remember that now! It's been a while since I played the original Nier, back when it came out.
Yes there is one part in the game where the boss changes the landscape in an area on the map, but it isn't too unique or out of the ordinary.
There were a couple moments during some where I thought it was gonna happen then didn't. It's the Platinum DNA in me.
Bruh... you're testing our friendship here
The QTEs in MGR and Bayonetta are pretty thrilling and I say that as someone that doesn't typically care for that design choice any more than most other people. You'd be surprised.
Pros and cons from the Polish review:
Pros:
+ Varied post apocalyptic world
+ Great story
+ Great music
+ Immersive gameplay
+ With a deep message
Cons:
- Too short (sounds like the reviewer played only the first playthrough)
- Few enemy types
- Camera problems here and there
- Long loadings
They've always been known to somehow make QTEs thrilling, between the camera angles, rumble and feeling of impact, Platinum somehow always makes it feel fresh. I think it's just that there's usually pure epicness happening during their QTEs so it makes it thrilling compared to other games with boring QTEs.
Evil Monkey DTT
Banned
So now that nier is a success
are we going to see more yoko taro x platinum support. A man can dream........ or I'll settle for og nier ps4 edition it's all a dream so far.
in japan
Bruh... you're testing our friendship here
I mean I am generally against QTEs in general but there are some nice QTEs that add spice to boss battles. MGR was one of those games where I felt QTE was done right in boss battles, so I wanted something similar in Automata considering MGR team was working on it.
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
KO Traveling Hobo
Member
There was a certain sense of desperation and energy in all of Nier's boss battles that I just didn't get from Automata, even when the writing was clearly trying to make me feel that way. Like look at the Jack of Hearts or Hook or Wendy(Giant Eyeball) or the desert temple golem or basically any boss in Nier. Every fight has a sense of weight and purpose to it, and not only are all the battles distinct from one another, but the battles themselves all have multiple phases or a forward motion that makes them individually varied.
I agree with the Pros, but I don't agree with the Cons. The load times are fine for a big open world game like this (playing on the Pro). There are actually a ton of enemy types, but sometimes they just look the same. Didn't have any issues with the camera.
My only con was performance issues (don't know if some of them are Pro specific). It doesn't ruin the game though, combat is mainly smooth. I only had issues when traversing the world.
killatopak
Gold Member
kingdom hearts is fine. Nomura makes a good job making the action good starting from KH2.
Parasite Eve, now we're talking.
Parasite Eve x Vanquish x Platinum Games.
Exentryk
Member
Alright alright, I'll take your words for it then. Will try to get my hands on MGR during some gaming lull if possible. I did enjoy the gimmick of Automata's demo boss at the end though
(beating it with his own arm was great, lmao)
Honestly it's not a great review.
As for the pros and cons themselves, I thought that the game could use a bit more variety with regular enemy types, but the loading times never bothered me.
Won't comment on the "game is short" con, because the review makes it sound like the reviewer didn't understand that you MUST play through the game more than once and that the second playthrough won't take you another 20 hours.
People still expecting this as a Platinum balls-to-the-wall-crazy game? This is a Yoko Taro game first with your basic P+ combat engine.
Did the 9s ending... :O But
.
Debug mode is fun. MGR should've got this mode. :/
Edit: I'm going to place Automata above Nier. This game didn't make me sad and depressed like the last one.
Did the 9s ending... :O But
I think I'll backup my save first
Debug mode is fun. MGR should've got this mode. :/
Edit: I'm going to place Automata above Nier. This game didn't make me sad and depressed like the last one.
That's kinda sad. What difficulty did you play on? Maybe it'd be worth pumping up the difficulty to hard for my first play through.
On the same note, are there any difficulty related trophies?
Didnt notice any.
Nope.
plasmawave
Banned
So what's the general consensus of the game? Great, Good, bad, disappointing?
killatopak
Gold Member
great with some flaws so maybe good?
ULTROS!
People seem to like me because I am polite and I am rarely late. I like to eat ice cream and I really enjoy a nice pair of slacks.
Great so long as you don't expect it to be crazy-ass-Platinum-stylish action game but rather a competent and decent action RPG game with Yoko Taro craziness.