Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Minor Automata spoilers, but only for a new gameplay mode officially introduced during the second playthrough
But before we talk about Nier: Automata, let's talk about Platinum's previous title The Wonderful 101. and Genre Shifts.
So, I'm relatively a Platinum newbie, having only played W101 and Nier (as well as past Kamiya-titles under Capcom, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami), but from my understanding Platinum loves mixing things up with their games by tossing in sudden genre shifts, glorified mini-games you could say that are usually required for base completion or significant completion, and this perhaps reached a peak with The Wonderful 101.
And not in a good way. You see, a genre shift in a game can be used for good if it allows the player to take a break from the normal rigamarole but there are three caveats I personally believe should be in place when a genre shift occurs:
* Does it make sense from the narrative/immersion aspect? The former is more important in games like Automata and such, but even games without deep plots should have their genre shifts still "obey" the rules of the game. Wonderful 101 actually obeys this for the most part, there's a reason for every genre-shift and you're still controlling the Wonderful 101, so it gets a pass here.
A negative example would be Donkey Kong 64's various mini-games---the ones where you directly play as a Kong are fine for the most part, they may be annoying but at least there's an explanation as to why they're happening, but the ones you often find in the Mini-Games Barrels are flagrantly "messed up" as quite a few of them have you nonsensically controlling a Kremling or even what is supposed to be the player I guess? Regardless of the quality of each genre shift, the fact you're suddenly no longer playing as your Kong makes them far less enjoyable and more egregious when they appear. If Beaver Bother let's say had the same exact mechanics (which aren't that bad when you learn the trick), but you actually were playing as say Tiny Kong, then I imagine it wouldn't be as notorious among players for how lame and unfitting it was.
* Does it forcibly overtake the main game? Now a lot of series end up facing this issue the longer they continue, especially Crash and Spyro suffering this in the third games of their original trilogies (Spyro more so), but in the case of most platformers the base game is simple enough and easy enough to learn that once the genre shift is over you can easily segue back into the main game without having to readjust your muscle memory. Wonderful 101 has genre shifts that occur quite frequently, and often at pivotal moments, and this problem is compounded by the fact that the base game is quite difficult and has a high learning-curve, and the continuous interruptions only hinder your ability to actually pull off what the main game demands of you.
I found myself continuously growing frustrated with the Wonderful 101 as every time I thought I got the hang of how the main controls work, I was flung into a sudden genre shift often with unique controls and found myself struggling to get my groove back once the main game resumed. The genre shifts only seemed to increase in frequency as the game progressed, culminating in a frustrating Punch-Out clone and a Button Mashing segment from hell, and it greatly soured the overall package.
* Is the difficulty balanced compared to the main game? Let's face it, when it comes to genre shifts you don't want something that's crazy difficult to the point it's almost impossible to proceed, but most players want some sort of challenge and said challenge usually should be in-line with the rest of the game. Donkey Kong Country for the most part does this well, as while the mine-cart levels are challenging they work more or less on the same reflex-based style as the main game does (the rocket ride levels less so perhaps, but they aren't that bad either). Then you have those difficult genre shifts in Spyro 2 and 3 that make you want to toss your controller aside. Wonderful 101 is all over the place though, with some genre shifts being so simple you wonder why they were included while other genre shifts seem just as complex as the main game. Thankfully Wonderful 101 is rather forgiving in terms of brute forcing your way through difficult parts of the game with low punishment for failing for those who simply want to get to the end of the plot, but for those looking to get a good score they really can fuck up your rank no matter how good you get at the actual game.
So, in summary, a genre shift must make sense narratively without breaking immersion, it must not overshadow the central game mechanics, and it must be balanced with the rest of the game---going too hard is usually more of an issue than too easy, the former being a roadblock while the latter might simply bore the player. That's how I see it at least, and some games perhaps don't need to follow this to the letter.
But, with those rules in mind, let's talk about Automata.
So, Automata has three central "genres" you encounter---there are some minor ones here and there, but they're all short, sweet, and mainly narrative driven. I'm not sure if you can even fail some of them as I never did.
* Flying Segments. The first one you're introduced to, and the only one that isn't optional---you HAVE to do all these segments if you wish to finish the main plot. In these segments you control a ship driven by the player character directly (it seems to function as a spinal cord of sorts) that shares their basic abilities in terms of being able to dodge and a weak/strong attack, but is far more maneuverable as a top-down "Bullet Hell" style game with heavy projectile use.
* Combat Segments. This takes the basic abilities part of the Flying Segments and is introduced second, and though you're now on the ground and have a different playing field to work with it's quite easy to adjust between the two when it first occurs at the beginning of the game---you already know how to do a quick dodge, light and strong attacks, and the general "flow" of the game thanks to the Flying Segments. The two flow into each other so well it's less of a genre shift and more of a way for the game to apply its basic fundamentals in different situations. I'd say THIS is the main genre.
* Hacking Segments. The last one you encounter, teased in Route A and becomes a prominent element in Route B, it ends up being perhaps THE most important genre to master of the entire game---and unlike the first two, there's no cheating through this with Chips. It's a Bullet Hell-style game like the Flying Segments with all the extras removed. You can't quick dodge, and you can't use any attacks other than basic projectiles, so it becomes all about learning patterns and avoiding the enemy's bullets. The basic elements of a Bullet Hell are picked up from the earlier Flying Segments, so it doesn't hit you too hard out of left-field, and the Hacking Segment distills the genre to its simplest form.
In a many games, such a genre shift like Hacking would be despised---but it works here, and part of that is due to how the game does such a good job at following the genre shift rules I laid out.
1. It works from a narrative perspective. Without going into too much spoiler territory, hacking is a fairly big characteristic of one of the main characters and using hacking as a way to deal with the enemy makes sense for them to do---furthermore, the way hacking is accomplished, as "Hollywood Hacking" as it may be, fits the tone of the game and the plot does some neat stuff with it. The final Hacking style-segment is perhaps one of the coolest narrative meets gameplay scenes I've seen in a game.
2. It doesn't forcibly overtake the main game, which most would consider to be the on-ground Combat Segments---nor does the Flying Segments. I never reached a segment where a genre shift occurred and thought "get me back to the main game!", as the main game is easy enough to learn that I never felt myself flustered once it was time to get back to sword-swinging. It also helps that the extended genre shifts are full of narrative prominence that you're entertained the whole way through.
Note I say "forcibly", and that's perhaps where Automata shines when it comes to hacking. When you first get the ability to do it full time, you really don't have to use it all that much till the plot pushes you to later on---but you quickly discover how useful it is at taking down enemies, stronger enemies having tougher Bullet Hell games, and thus the game trains you without forcing you. You'll likely get good at them way before you have to, because when you learn how potent hacking is you'll quickly pick up the basic patterns of each Bullet Hell game and how easy it actually is once you learn the fundamentals. And if you're having trouble picking it up at first, don't worry, the actual plot-relevant hacking segments have a nice steady progression in difficulty so if you don't get it right away you can take down enemies the old fashioned way with your sword.
3. The difficulty is balanced compared to the main game. Hell, I'd say the balance with the Hacking segments is perhaps the best since you can't cheat with Chips---the other two are perhaps too easy once you learn the right Chip combination, but in the end I'd say Automata does a good job at throwing you into each segment at the right time in-line with the difficulty so far, and the way the intro Flying Segment (which you do in both Path A, where combat is key, and Path B, where you use hacking more) basically splits into the other two genre shifts is a great idea that gives the game great cohesion you usually see lacking when games try to balance three styles like Sonic Adventure 2.
So, yeah, Automata is a pretty damn good game I'd say. I hope future Platinum games take the balance between genre shifts to heart, as do other companies, and developers think twice before throwing in genre shifts just to give the player "more to do".
But before we talk about Nier: Automata, let's talk about Platinum's previous title The Wonderful 101. and Genre Shifts.
So, I'm relatively a Platinum newbie, having only played W101 and Nier (as well as past Kamiya-titles under Capcom, Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami), but from my understanding Platinum loves mixing things up with their games by tossing in sudden genre shifts, glorified mini-games you could say that are usually required for base completion or significant completion, and this perhaps reached a peak with The Wonderful 101.
And not in a good way. You see, a genre shift in a game can be used for good if it allows the player to take a break from the normal rigamarole but there are three caveats I personally believe should be in place when a genre shift occurs:
* Does it make sense from the narrative/immersion aspect? The former is more important in games like Automata and such, but even games without deep plots should have their genre shifts still "obey" the rules of the game. Wonderful 101 actually obeys this for the most part, there's a reason for every genre-shift and you're still controlling the Wonderful 101, so it gets a pass here.
A negative example would be Donkey Kong 64's various mini-games---the ones where you directly play as a Kong are fine for the most part, they may be annoying but at least there's an explanation as to why they're happening, but the ones you often find in the Mini-Games Barrels are flagrantly "messed up" as quite a few of them have you nonsensically controlling a Kremling or even what is supposed to be the player I guess? Regardless of the quality of each genre shift, the fact you're suddenly no longer playing as your Kong makes them far less enjoyable and more egregious when they appear. If Beaver Bother let's say had the same exact mechanics (which aren't that bad when you learn the trick), but you actually were playing as say Tiny Kong, then I imagine it wouldn't be as notorious among players for how lame and unfitting it was.
* Does it forcibly overtake the main game? Now a lot of series end up facing this issue the longer they continue, especially Crash and Spyro suffering this in the third games of their original trilogies (Spyro more so), but in the case of most platformers the base game is simple enough and easy enough to learn that once the genre shift is over you can easily segue back into the main game without having to readjust your muscle memory. Wonderful 101 has genre shifts that occur quite frequently, and often at pivotal moments, and this problem is compounded by the fact that the base game is quite difficult and has a high learning-curve, and the continuous interruptions only hinder your ability to actually pull off what the main game demands of you.
I found myself continuously growing frustrated with the Wonderful 101 as every time I thought I got the hang of how the main controls work, I was flung into a sudden genre shift often with unique controls and found myself struggling to get my groove back once the main game resumed. The genre shifts only seemed to increase in frequency as the game progressed, culminating in a frustrating Punch-Out clone and a Button Mashing segment from hell, and it greatly soured the overall package.
* Is the difficulty balanced compared to the main game? Let's face it, when it comes to genre shifts you don't want something that's crazy difficult to the point it's almost impossible to proceed, but most players want some sort of challenge and said challenge usually should be in-line with the rest of the game. Donkey Kong Country for the most part does this well, as while the mine-cart levels are challenging they work more or less on the same reflex-based style as the main game does (the rocket ride levels less so perhaps, but they aren't that bad either). Then you have those difficult genre shifts in Spyro 2 and 3 that make you want to toss your controller aside. Wonderful 101 is all over the place though, with some genre shifts being so simple you wonder why they were included while other genre shifts seem just as complex as the main game. Thankfully Wonderful 101 is rather forgiving in terms of brute forcing your way through difficult parts of the game with low punishment for failing for those who simply want to get to the end of the plot, but for those looking to get a good score they really can fuck up your rank no matter how good you get at the actual game.
So, in summary, a genre shift must make sense narratively without breaking immersion, it must not overshadow the central game mechanics, and it must be balanced with the rest of the game---going too hard is usually more of an issue than too easy, the former being a roadblock while the latter might simply bore the player. That's how I see it at least, and some games perhaps don't need to follow this to the letter.
But, with those rules in mind, let's talk about Automata.
So, Automata has three central "genres" you encounter---there are some minor ones here and there, but they're all short, sweet, and mainly narrative driven. I'm not sure if you can even fail some of them as I never did.
* Flying Segments. The first one you're introduced to, and the only one that isn't optional---you HAVE to do all these segments if you wish to finish the main plot. In these segments you control a ship driven by the player character directly (it seems to function as a spinal cord of sorts) that shares their basic abilities in terms of being able to dodge and a weak/strong attack, but is far more maneuverable as a top-down "Bullet Hell" style game with heavy projectile use.
* Combat Segments. This takes the basic abilities part of the Flying Segments and is introduced second, and though you're now on the ground and have a different playing field to work with it's quite easy to adjust between the two when it first occurs at the beginning of the game---you already know how to do a quick dodge, light and strong attacks, and the general "flow" of the game thanks to the Flying Segments. The two flow into each other so well it's less of a genre shift and more of a way for the game to apply its basic fundamentals in different situations. I'd say THIS is the main genre.
* Hacking Segments. The last one you encounter, teased in Route A and becomes a prominent element in Route B, it ends up being perhaps THE most important genre to master of the entire game---and unlike the first two, there's no cheating through this with Chips. It's a Bullet Hell-style game like the Flying Segments with all the extras removed. You can't quick dodge, and you can't use any attacks other than basic projectiles, so it becomes all about learning patterns and avoiding the enemy's bullets. The basic elements of a Bullet Hell are picked up from the earlier Flying Segments, so it doesn't hit you too hard out of left-field, and the Hacking Segment distills the genre to its simplest form.
In a many games, such a genre shift like Hacking would be despised---but it works here, and part of that is due to how the game does such a good job at following the genre shift rules I laid out.
1. It works from a narrative perspective. Without going into too much spoiler territory, hacking is a fairly big characteristic of one of the main characters and using hacking as a way to deal with the enemy makes sense for them to do---furthermore, the way hacking is accomplished, as "Hollywood Hacking" as it may be, fits the tone of the game and the plot does some neat stuff with it. The final Hacking style-segment is perhaps one of the coolest narrative meets gameplay scenes I've seen in a game.
2. It doesn't forcibly overtake the main game, which most would consider to be the on-ground Combat Segments---nor does the Flying Segments. I never reached a segment where a genre shift occurred and thought "get me back to the main game!", as the main game is easy enough to learn that I never felt myself flustered once it was time to get back to sword-swinging. It also helps that the extended genre shifts are full of narrative prominence that you're entertained the whole way through.
Note I say "forcibly", and that's perhaps where Automata shines when it comes to hacking. When you first get the ability to do it full time, you really don't have to use it all that much till the plot pushes you to later on---but you quickly discover how useful it is at taking down enemies, stronger enemies having tougher Bullet Hell games, and thus the game trains you without forcing you. You'll likely get good at them way before you have to, because when you learn how potent hacking is you'll quickly pick up the basic patterns of each Bullet Hell game and how easy it actually is once you learn the fundamentals. And if you're having trouble picking it up at first, don't worry, the actual plot-relevant hacking segments have a nice steady progression in difficulty so if you don't get it right away you can take down enemies the old fashioned way with your sword.
3. The difficulty is balanced compared to the main game. Hell, I'd say the balance with the Hacking segments is perhaps the best since you can't cheat with Chips---the other two are perhaps too easy once you learn the right Chip combination, but in the end I'd say Automata does a good job at throwing you into each segment at the right time in-line with the difficulty so far, and the way the intro Flying Segment (which you do in both Path A, where combat is key, and Path B, where you use hacking more) basically splits into the other two genre shifts is a great idea that gives the game great cohesion you usually see lacking when games try to balance three styles like Sonic Adventure 2.
So, yeah, Automata is a pretty damn good game I'd say. I hope future Platinum games take the balance between genre shifts to heart, as do other companies, and developers think twice before throwing in genre shifts just to give the player "more to do".
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