NieR Replicant Review

There is no escape from Yoko Taro's wild ride

 Perhaps a gold standard for remasters. NieR Replicant v1.22etcetc is a long awaited port of the cult classic Nier to most modern machines. That is, now that Automata finally got the series popular enough that the suits at square saw such a port as financially viable. But maybe that's cynicism talking.

The original Nier is an utterly unique action game that delibrately melds and blends genres, influential references, an obscured story and marvelous ending(s) into an absolute classic. Telling the simple story of a Father/Brother trying to save his daughter/sister who is infected by a strange black scrawl. The game is more of a mixture of character arcs and individual setpieces than any lengthy epic. Most adventures end up being fairly standalone, with the late game peppered with revisits or rather significant moments when the otherwise disconnected world starts to overlap and grow with the players experience of it.

But, there's not really any point in reviewing a game like Nier. Not only because trying to summarize it's qualities and the worth of playing it is a fruitless effort that at best will be only mildly helpful and at worst will spoil the best parts. But because the history of Drakennier as a series might as well be subtitled "reviews are fucking bullshit anyway."

What I will say, is to clarify what I opened with. That as a remaster, this is an absolutely stellar piece. Not only are all the voice actors back, including at least a small cameo by the otherwise absent Papa Nier in what was the original games DLC content. But content cut from the original game due to behind the scenes issues has been finished and re-added. Offering a glimpse into the actual experience that was previously limited to artbooks and interviews. Not only that, but retranslations and new content have only strengthened the games lore as it connects to the other games in the franchise. Making for a new definitive experience for those seeking to play the "entire series" as it were. Let alone the sheer accessibility of the port compared to the somewhat expensive and hard to come by original.

I may be biased, but I still recommend Drakengard, Nier Replicant, Drakengard 3, and Nier Automata as a gameplay experience akin to something like Metal Gear Solid. So utterly unique and tied to the mind(s) of it's creator(s) that it's a must play for those who appreciate games as an artistic medium. For good and ill. So having this remaster be so good is only a positive in my eyes, meaning so many more people can truly play all of them properly.

So now we get the Drakengard trilogy collection, right?

...Right?...

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