NIER (Zero Punctuation)

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This week, Zero Punctuation reviews Nier.
Fast-talking Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw reviews a new game each week in this animated series that combines informed critique with cutting humor. Watch the next episode of Zero Punctuation a week early, only on The Escapist.
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[@forestmanification]

"The next game will have the heroine go into battle in high heels" The prophecy has come true!

[@Disissid19]

Now for the making tape

[@reoden7546]

There's probably a mod for that

[@tchitchouan]

OMG 2B

[@TedWilder]

I immediately came to the comments lol

[@Sapheiorus]

"... high heels and 3 bits of masking tape." Yoko Taro: "WHO TOLD!?"

[@joethehero2]

He wasn't too far off. Technically, the only thing A2 wears are heels and booty shorts. Her "bodysuit" "gloves" and "stocking" are actually just exposed endoskeleton where her skin was burned off during the Pearl Harbor mission.

[@demoneon9527]

joethehero2 oh. Nice~.

[@156football]

@@joethehero2 shocking that her robot parts look exactly like lady parts, and ladies underwear..... fucking anime

[@DeadpoolX9]

@@joethehero2 damn that makes her even more feral and badass

[@cesarcampos8746]

​@@156footballlooks great, don't know what you complain about

[@nickdiggers7887]

"It's nice to see a Square Enix RPG where the main character isn't a skinny emo child whose balls aren't in his fucking neck" Shh, no-one tell him about Nier Replicant......

[@Drakon_Minaka]

Nick Diggers There were two Nier games?That or two versions of the main campaign?

[@legofreak18]

Drakkoniac Banderfield Nier replicant is the japanese version of the game. Gesalt is the english one that we got. In replicant, the protagonist is a young adult. gesalt gives us old man nier. There aren't many changes between both versions besides that.

[@Drakon_Minaka]

legofreak18 yeah. I just figured that out.

[@stevemcgroob4446]

Nick Diggers I wish he did knew about it. It would have been hilarious.

[@moooshroomdragonking1335]

+Nick Diggers ya only bat man or kids in there games or people whos hair would get them thrown off a plain

[@Rycluse]

Best subtle joke in all of ZP: "I asked everyone I knew but neither of them had heard of it either"

[@darkshot619]

***** Cormac perhaps?

[@thotmorrison2649]

DrRaklryja I wouldn't have said that was subtle, but I guess when you compare it to things like the abortion image and rabid puns, yeah.

[@krullachief669]

+DrRaklryja So Gabe and his mother

[@ToonedMinecraft]

I watched this for like the tenth time and I only picked up on it this time around... it is so smooth I never ealised it.

[@GuitarGuy057]

It's about as subtle as hitting somebody with a rock.

[@gameguy301]

funny he should mention that the main character isnt a skinny emo child, because the western release changed nier from yonahs brother to yonahs father, and changed his character model from a teenager with boy band hair, to a grizzled middle aged man.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

And now they rereleased NieR Replicant ver.1.something, that version of the game can be played played by everyone. Well, I say "can", more like "have to" since there's no way to play the original PS3 version now, and you can't switch back to playing Grizzled McDaddypants in the new version.

[@vasudean]

To be fair, I would rather play the dad as a parent there's a bit more emotional weight than playing as the sibling.

[@Rebellions]

I just got the subtle "Haha I'm lonely" joke with the "I asked everyone I knew and NEITHER of them had heard of it either" fuck I feel stupid

[@Orthanderis]

Best part of this game, if you beat it you unlock the enemies dialogues for your next playthrough, and it instantly becomes 1000% more interesting and heart-retching.

[@David_Axelord]

I can't believe Yahtzee doesn't mention that he voiced a talking book in this game.

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

He did WHAT

[@Shadethewolfy]

He didn't, Liam O'Brien voices Grimoire Weiss. Unless OP is talking about a different Grimoire. Which is possible, since iirc Weiss isn't the only talking book in NieR.@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231

[@daandriod]

Did Yahtzee really complain about the soundtrack? I don't think I have ever heard anyone complain about the music this game.

[@SilentTree12]

The music in this game is incredible, but it does tend to drone on.

[@nickdiggers7887]

It is pretty good, but problem is the overworld music does tend to loop after about 30 seconds which does get grating.

[@-na-nomad6247]

he always does what has never been done

[@Tamacat388]

daandriod It's great but he's right the music loops way too often to the point that I started muting the tv on the overworld and listened to podcasts during the second half. The first half only being bearable because my friend was staying over taking turns with it.

[@zacharyviii5495]

daandriod Play the Slaughtering Grounds and try not to complain about the music.

[@sailoritaly]

I will say this about Nier: It has a really beautiful soundtrack

[@semvision]

Shame you rarely hear it ingame.

[@RuneKatashima]

And Kaine (Salvation and Escape). And every version of Song of the Ancients.

[@pkbelly]

Yahtzee: "It's nice to see a SquareEnix RPG where the main character isn't a skinny emo child" 1:14 Nier Replicant: ...

[@shizuwolf]

This is before he knew that

[@pokemonique92]

"I asked everyone I knew, but NEITHER of them knew about it." Awww. XD

[@ShadowHawk180]

I have actually never heard someone complain about Nier's soundtrack before...

[@phoenixchampion5069]

This guy has *way* too picky a taste of music, I let boss fights drag on just to hear the soundtrack longer (Except for Jack because rime limit)

[@darkartsdabbler2407]

The boring masses confuse mediocre with good, don't worry, it's normal. Carry on

[@maxmartinez2032]

Find it funny coming back to this, and him saying the game left quite an impression on him on the nier automata review but there's no mention of it here I guess the game really grows on you the more you think about it

[@nowhere6732]

"I asked everyone I knew and neither of them had heard of it either." Yahtzee you're just too good

[@Skeleton-chan]

I don't think Yahtzee ever played the other endings judging by this video's complete lack of mentioning how fucking psychotic Daddy Nierman is in playthrough 2. All I gotta say is... he missed out. That second (...and third... and fourth) playthrough helps re-contextualise a mediocre action RPG into a fucked up piece of work that only a weirdo like Yoko Taro could birth out of his child-bearing skeleton hips.

[@lc9245]

While I agree Nier is a good game I think the gameplay and filler is not good enough to push players to start new game plus and discover the world after new game plus. This is why it was hailed as getting better with age. When other aspects of the game seems ordinary nowadays and the only reason a game would be revisited is because someone already specifically told you to play through the new game plus, the hidden gem beneath second play though is discovered.

[@ThanatorRider]

I don't think he enjoyed the game enough to want to play it a second time, especially since the game had already recycled locations on one play-through.

[@noodleknight7924]

The first new game plus is just a half ng+ playthrough and it adds a lot of new twists and other bits to the game's story. I'm pretty much none of the reviewers bothered with it but it's pretty short and adds a lot of brilliant ideas to the game. It's a shame none of the revieweres bothered with it, thinking that it's a full playthrough from the beggining that only adds a new cutscene at the end.

[@dracocrusher]

+ThanatorRider Actually, to be more specific, Ending B is more like you're just playing through the second half of the game in Newgame + mode, which means you're completely OP with all your weapons, items, spells, etc. and you can just breeze through things to get the new cutscenes scattered throughout that give a lot more context to each fight.

[@genofreek]

This is the weirdest fucking comment, I think Yoko Taro would be proud of it.

[@TheNomad94]

The hell? The OST is awesome, I have no idea what Yahtzee is on about.

[@FhtagnCthulhu]

Yeah, it feels weird to specifically call out the soundtrack for an attack when it was basically the only bit of the game to get universal praise. This is literally the only complaint I have seen.

[@FF18Cloud]

I think its more, he kept hearing the same songs over and over

[@YorkJonhson]

That's true. I love Nier's soundtrack, but there is some recycling. The track that plays during sadder scenes was probably my favorite, but it sure sees some heavy use.

[@ProtosMerkabah]

Song by song Nier's sound track is amazing. But a lot of the time actually playing the game, sometimes the music does become overly repetitive.

[@cave_dweller6]

It's amazing but in some of the more repetitive levels the shorter tracks do tend to grate a little, mostly because they used actual human vocals.

[@NoobLord9001]

“wearing nothing but heels and three bits of masking tape” was the first draft of A2’s character design. this idea was scrapped, however, when the modeling crew couldn’t figure out how to make Berserk Mode sexier than regular mode.

[@repulser93]

Ironically enough Yahtzee, what Spec Ops: The Line did is what this game did two years prior.

[@KZrules]

Holy shit you're right :O

[@Wittemn]

Drakengard did it a long time ago on the PS2.

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

Drakengard was sadly BUTCHERED by a really horrible english adaptation which really did not help bring its point across, plus, it was mostly riffing on the psychotic nature of Dynasty Warriors characters, with some anime inspirations (mostly Berserk) here and there. Nier is way more on point by deconstructing the whole genre of JRPGs and is much easier to comprehend, especially since it came out of japan mostly intact and with an actually really good adaptation work. Good writing, almost no censoring (Kaine's story got a little buttfucked, but it got the point across) and also pretty good voice acting.

[@RuneKatashima]

Question; How was Kaine's story different?

[@t850terminator]

Then obviously Spec Ops definitely did it more competently.

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

"It's like all you have to do is walk into a tunnel and the sun goes supernova" ...it's funny, because, in the world of nier, there is no sun anymore.

[@archangel3561]

+Scrapjack how does that even begin to make sense? god that game was stupid...

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

+arch angel and yet it does make sense if you take like three minutes of your time to read what happened to the world.

[@archangel3561]

Yeah I beat that game 5 times. It doesn't make sense despite irrationally defended by its fans. It's a mediocre game at best.

[@NoTimeNoEffort]

arch angel your terrible opinion has been duly noted

[@archangel3561]

Actually it's more like the average opinion of the game... assuming anyone actually bothered to remember this discount bin dust collector

[@DeathrocketFilmCorp]

"I called everyone I knew and neither of them had heard about it either." It's this tiny subtle self-deprecative humor that makes his videos so much more awesome

[@xenoinaba7222]

The music in this game is phenomenal...even if you don't like the game like allot of reviewers, they still praise the soundtrack.

[@Dukefazon]

Probably my favorite game on that generation. Next to Valkyria Chronicles.

[@Timster480]

Did...Did he just complain about the soundtrack?

[@gveltaine]

Arthur MC agreed. The soundtrack is a huge reason why i keep playing

[@cave_dweller6]

It's amazing but in some of the more repetitive levels the shorter tracks do tend to grate a little, mostly because they used actual human vocals.

[@TheTolnoc]

I think my favorite quote from a Lets Play of Nier was 'Nier is a good friend, but a bad person', shortly after that bit with the Aeiry, or however they spell it.

[@RegalRoyalWasTaken]

Very much so. The worst part is, I think he would have backed off if he had realized sooner what exactly he was doing. As soon as the Shadowlord broke the script and kidnapped Yonah, all bets were off, and humanity was doomed. Fitting that ultimately, "Nier ruined everything" is true of both Niers.

[@zingodoom]

Square Enix didn't make the game. They just published it. Cavia was the developing company

[@nukeclears]

the title is odd to me because Nier literally means kidney in my language. *"what have you been playing" "ow you know KIDNEY"*

[@TerrmediaReturns]

that's dutch right?

[@nukeclears]

yep

[@SuperMiracleMan]

I wonder if the game has a feature where you can have the guy drink booze until he dies.

[@GrayFalcony]

I was wondering if the name "Nier" might be some sort of reference. They use quite a lot of different languages in Nier (Grimoire Weiss or Noir e.g.). So maybe Nier has some meaning too. The only thing comming to my mind was, that Nier spelled backwards is "rein", which is the German word for "pure".

[@StakesofPurgatory]

GrayFalcony To be honest, I think you might be on to something. They live in a backwards world where nothing's pure, so maybe that's why the title is Nier (rein backwards)? Maybe? Although I did do some research and in French "nier" means deny or negate; I'm sure there might be some meaning there.

[@Timblesink]

It bothers me that no one in this comment section has mentioned that there are entirely different story points in subsequent playthroughs which is where the game is actually meant to have its wham moment(s).

[@math6844]

That's because most aren't completely mad.

[@phoenixchampion5069]

+Timblesink said wham moment are also the moments that make you feel like you're not truly the hero of the game

[@SERPENTONORTHAM1992]

+Timblesink Ok. You seem like you know the game. I heard this from other people too but noone explained. There is a point in the game where a 5 years timeskip happened and you then have to revisit the same ruins. Does this count as a 2nd playthrough or you have to complete the game another time after getting one of the endings? I just got to the timeskip but it was too easy so I decided to erase the save file and complete it in Hard mode for the 1st time (XD pride and stuff). Do I have to complete it twice?

[@redhood_dj]

If there's one thing you cant say about Nier is that the music is bad. The OST it's fucking glorious.

[@TS6815]

between this and MGRR I'm convinced Yahtz has awful taste in music

[@ryancarter2959]

"Hiroshima-fied" that's probably one of the funniest dark jokes I've ever heard on these videos

[@misterbin00]

The story is just above average....? He definitely missed the second playthrough.

[@misterbin00]

***** Guess that's the point. Square Enix didn't want a lot of people to find out how sick and twisted they were.

[@misterbin00]

deathpyre42 Didn't play either of the games, just read the spoilers. So I can't actually compare that. But I think the revelation in the second playthrough is a truly sick but clever way to deliver.

[@math6844]

+misterbin00 "He says the story was bad. He must not have played it twice!" "I actually haven't played it."

[@RTDFify]

+The Truth Exposed "Undertale"

[@LaydiNite]

+Randy Butternubs Misterbin was saying they hadn't played either of the FF13 games. They obviously have played Nier.

[@CodeAndGin]

"isn't a skinny emo child" lmao not in the JP and rerelease versions

[@No1Porkchop]

"Though it never gets as far as the 2nd bit." *LAUGHS IN FUTURE ALIEN INVASION*

[@KpopFreakMike]

One of the best stories on PS3 and awesome game with tons of stuff to do. Not to mention you can get it for 10-15$. Enough said, if you have a PS3 you MUST play this.

[@Sidewalkatlas]

Yea, I wish more reviewers would pay attention to the story, the message, and the feel or games. If they did Nier would be a 10/10. Instead, they just focused on mechanics like Yahtzee did in this video. It's a shame really. Nier is incredible. Best I've played since FFVI.

[@phoenixchampion5069]

The game is also on Xbox 360, I know because that's the version I have.

[@tendrilartist3609]

Yeah but that version sucks

[@ChampuStrike]

it's so fun how you say "next game will be on high heels" welp it is

[@Capcom2796]

that game is a side story basically that game originated from another game called Drakengard good game too

[@doubledamn2599]

I still find it really weird that he puts on a "eye patch" after the timeskip, only to reveal that there is nothing wrong with his eye in the final cutscene.

[@jackthompson7125]

I think that was a flashback.

[@Arunnejiro]

4:15 I could have warned you about those stairs...

[@urbanstahel6985]

I told you dog!

[@mrk45]

Oh man, I can't wait for the remake of this - Yahtzee will probably hate that one too though.

[@SmashTheBandicoot]

Who would win in a fight Twattycakes or Jeffery Cuddletrousers? XD

[@lyriclilac4650]

Jeffrey. Always Jeffrey.

[@intergalactichumanempire9759]

Jeffery. He has the guns

[@timebomb4562]

i would say that twattycake has magic spells that are as balanced as an orc in a cock fight having said that cudletroursers even scarier cookie monster voice may scare twattycake into giving up

[@skullkid325]

It's quite funny actually, in regards to the main character, in Japan the game was released with a much more stereotypical character for this kind of thing. Anyway, one of the ones I disagree with, even if I agree with quite a few of the points somewhat, I love the game.

[@Alforbia]

Amusingly enough, the game devs were told to make a character/game for the American audience. They agreed only if they could do a prettyboy version in Japan.

[@skullkid325]

Ha, that's interesting! Well, I'm glad they did it the way they did. I don't mind the prettyboy type in these kinds of things but the ugly-as-sin father figure has a lot more character to him, for me.

[@royfox2010]

Yeah you see artwork of him after the 5 year timeskip but look at Japan's NieR before the timeskip and he looks dumb as shit. Shorts and that hairdo really? I like father NieR better. It's more unique.

[@rodney2x48]

Alforbia Thank God, I hate the androgynous looking teenage guy in all these jrpgs.

[@Prophecyx01]

The Skull Kid Japan got both the version we have and the younger main character.

[@aldxbaran]

Yeah, Illbleed did that masking tape thing, as some sort of alternate costume I think.

[@SJLuis]

IHate GooglePlus It's at the end of his vid lol

[@Melgus]

Its a shame you didn't do a second playthrough, thus understanding what the fuck were you killing.

[@adamjenkins1510]

thank you for answering my question with clarity and in a mature way

[@vVAstrAVv]

ten seconds of repetitive music? he needs his ears checked niers soundtrack rocks lol

[@valsauramaa5817]

vVAstrAVv Oh man. Whatever you do, don't get me started on the music. You'll never hear the end of it.I literally wrote a paper on it for my music theory class in high school, & am currently retooling an early draft of it from a linguistic/code breaking perspective for the songs Evan's sang in the original language she created.

[@vVAstrAVv]

Lucie Gulick i kinda do want to get you started on it lol what was this paper about

[@valsauramaa5817]

Ok-- so Evans created this original language for some of the songs in Nier ('Kaine', 'Hills of Radiant Wind', etc.) & they have a few common words (or at least sounds) between them. She claims the language is based in Gaelic, & I've been spending the last three & a half months trying to find correlations between traditional Gaelic & her language. To put it mildly, it's been a migraine-inducing nightmare. Without asking her personally, it might not be possible to translate it. I'm working with purely phonetic translations rather than the actual words she used, & Gaelic is a bitch to to spell correctly in the first place. It's entirely possible that it's all gibberish anyway & that what I'm doing is utterly pointless. However, I'm a masochist & a total sucker for this shit, & with her using the same language in some of the pieces in Drakengard 3, I have a lot more material I can potentially use (provided I don't go bat-shit insane before finishing the new phonetic translations for them).

[@vVAstrAVv]

Lucie Gulick awww whyd you have to remind me nier is related to drakenguard ive read it was just a combination of several languages but i dont really know hasnt someone already translated it by now?

[@valsauramaa5817]

vVAstrAVv Not that i've been able to find reliably, no. A few have made guesses, but they're not similar enough to one another to be accurate.

[@DankLordDemaar]

Did anyone know that NIER is actually a spinoff of Drakengard? Really surprised me when I read it.

[@zhoupact8567]

+DarkLordDemaar ^.^ I loved the first drakengard. (Oh! You don't say *Caim* who got the profile picture of *Caim* and his dragon. Who would ever have guessed.)

[@JameboHayabusa]

+Salvatration Halex Huh, I thought it was just a spinoff from ending E from the first game. Well whatever, the story's outcome seems to be the same regardless.

[@wildroses2009]

I couldn't stop laughing when Yahtzee had his bluff called by the game and realised he DID have to maintain the back garden with his gold, although that might have been because he was putting up a target in desperate hope of his idyllic green grass starting village getting Hiroshimad was so soon after.

[@ryebred6470]

Psst Ben You can use a button to auto apply the best words to weapons and spells. Also get to ending B.

[@royfox2010]

To be fair Yahtzee I think the game's better without gardening, I never even found the garden the whole game...

[@BleachFan2588]

Roy Terada This might shock you, but it is in fact right next to his house. I know right, who'd put a garen next to a house? But seriously, don't bother with the damn garden.

[@phoenixchampion5069]

+BleachFan2588 Yeah because if you really need money, just go over to the Junk heap and kill everything, every enemy there always drops one item at least. Plus any quest that wants you to get a certain crop you can literally find it in a store somewhere.

[@royfox2010]

Phoenix Champion And why would you even need money XD

[@phoenixchampion5069]

Roy Terada to buy those weapons that you can only get at shops, after that, never again, unless you really like having a max supply of healing items

[@Jjdb8211]

+Roy Terada it's used for one sidequest in the game, and everyone agreed that sidequest is the worst in the entire game

[@Stantasio]

He left out that it's probably the only game that when you get 100% completion it gives you the option to delete all your progress for a cut scene.

[@sexyshinyashots]

we all know he didnt play the game.

[@AliceNano]

(probably a spoiler) The purpose of these useless and time wasting extras e.g farming and fishing is so that you spend more time on the game and make ending D even more painful, because it removes ALL of your data. All of your time and effort, completely wasted. It is very cruel, but extremely brilliant. Kinda cool.

[@roufaspentaghast1636]

Yahtzee, Nier was practically made for you. Seriously, get ending D. You'll either be like, Oh, I get it! Or you'll go into your bathroom, break the mirror and slit your throat with the glass. Also, Nier is technically Drakengard 2 as it is the spiritual successor to that mess of a game (picking up where that one ended) and was also the last in the series to be made by the original creators. Its got some pretty messed up things in it the deeper you look and paints the worst most convincing picture of player controlled protagonists I've ever seen. Bottom line: Nier hates you, its developers hate you, they would probably burn down your house or eat your children to let you know it, but legally, all they could do was make Nier.

[@greenchaos1903]

Roufas Pentaghast Do you like Drakengard 3? Drakengard 3 hates you. It makes you play as Kaine if she didn't have any good motivations, had a personal harem, and was an even bigger bitch. Drakengard 3 gives you AI companions that are purposely loud and useless. Drakengard 3 makes you do a boss fight so hard, many an lper who did the final boss fight couldn't beat it. And it's actually fucking made by Yoko Taro. It has a lot more comedy bits than the other games, but the humor is dark humor. And it has tons of nods to the first game. Also, it's a prequel.

[@AliceNano]

Green Sonic Drakengard 3 was only good for the Intoner babes. Especially One. Everything else was pretty much piss poor.

[@roufaspentaghast1636]

Green Sonic Heh, well I haven't played 2 nor 3 to be honest. Just Drakengard and Nier. I suppose it wouldn't be a "true" Drakengard game (which, imo, it isn't) at all though if the protagonists weren't the worst possible people in the whole game. Although, if Drakengard 3 has an ending requiring you to 100% the game only to delete all of your saved data, then it would still only be copying Nier. Good joke, or 3 story fall onto a Porsche? Depends on your sense of humor I guess. :p

[@greenchaos1903]

You do play as the worst person in the whole game in Drakengard 3. And Drakengard 3 has the final branch locked until you collect all the weapons, only for the final boss of Branch D to be so difficult, some people (not me of course) couldn't beat it. Imagine the Queen boss fight only you can't get hit once. And what's wrong with humor? I like it. It's not trying to be like the other games in the series, it's trying to do it's own thing. Although the nods the the first game are so obvious, it makes you want to shout "Wow! That's SOOOOO subtle! I'm not picking up on that at all!"

[@kurttemple1478]

I Nierly thought he wasn't going to do that last line.

[@TenkDD]

Coming back 10 years later with the remaster out it's fun to see how much games like this fly over the head of reviewers since they don't have time to pay attention.

[@Crawver]

I do think that's a little unfair. The game holds a lot of its' gut punches in the later endings, but also doesn't do a great job to show you that there even are other endings to get. When you're a reviewer, doing it as a full time job and need to churn out a review a week, you really don't have the time to plumb the very depths of a game to see if there's something that turns it all around or recontextualizes it. I agree that the review clearly did stop with ending A, and misses a lot of the nuance the game has to offer. But that could just as easily be held as a point against the game. It does and did do a poor job trying to keep people on. There's a reason automata had a part practically begging people to play it again to get more out.

[@Stryfe52]

@@Crawver True, but reviews like this(IGN, Angry Joe, ZP) aren’t ever really able to fully do game’s justice unless the reviewer really liked the game(Like Act Man’s why XYZ is so amazing videos), or if they are very thorough in their reviews(Joseph Anderson…).

[@Stryfe52]

@@Crawver It’s a shame, but understandable since like you said - weekly show

[@Ultracombogaming]

@@Stryfe52 don’t you dare use angry joe and our Yahtzee’s name in the same sentence lmao

[@Stryfe52]

@@Ultracombogaming I’m apologize… please forgive me for my ignorance.

[@dawsonsmusicplace]

i didnt know hiroshima could be used as a verb

[@TheDaddylongshaft]

A reference to my fightstick. I use a JLF extended shaft in my Qanba Q4RAF, making the shaft larger than most people are used to playing on, hence, "Daddylongshaft".

[@twaddle29]

I like that end note about Illbleed, just recently finished watching the Game Informer Super Replay of it and I know exactly what you are suggesting (not from said super replay, but through my own research)

[@pootisspencer9586]

3:26 Actually, StarFox did it first with Andross, then Windwaker, then Nier. :/

[@stevoridesagain]

There were a few complaints that were legitimate, but Yahtzee is WAY off base with this one. Nier is one of those games that you HAVE to play again to get the full story. And again. And again. Tedious? It might seem that way, but it's actually quite rewarding ... if depressing as all hell. That said, Nier has a fantastic storyline that needs to be experienced. Nier has been described as a flawed gem, and that is what it is. Average gameplay, utterly amazing story. One last thing ... he's complaining about the SOUNDTRACK? What the hell? Nier's soundtrack is generally regarded to be one of the best out there, period.

[@GlatteisG]

+stevoridesagain (tl;dr at the bottom.) Please forgive me tearing into your comment. Soundtrack first: To be honest, other critics, myself, and many supporters of nier have noted that the soundtrack is repetitive. Liking it is one thing, disliking it is another. But, it is a fact that nier's soundtrack is repetitive. Not only that, almost every song fits into that same niche. There is some (little) variation, and it conforms to the world of nier, but is still repetitive with similar vibes. No ifs, ands, or buts, will change that. Again, I'm not saying it's bad, nor am I saying it's good, I am just saying it is repetitive.

[@GlatteisG]

The grammar Nazi in me wants to fix my comment. But after editing it once I refuse to edit it again. (I don't want to deal with KZbin hassles.) There is nothing more to this comment other than me expressing my irritation at KZbin. Carry on.

[@SERPENTONORTHAM1992]

Since I started this game on Hard difficulty on the first try, I wonder if it's possible to upgrade at least one One-Handed Sword before the 5 Years Timeskip. (I got there easily in Normal mode and it was a bit stupid so I deleted everything to redeem my pride as a gamer)

[@JollyJoshums]

I lol'd when he drew a mustache and the chick at 0:56

[@annienyan]

The intro of this game looks pretty awesome, and then it just cuts off into a completely different game...

[@KyuuStarr]

There was a very good reason for that though. It's in the story if you're paying attention.

[@Luciffrit]

Not sure if this has come up or not. But you have to play through the game twice to get the real ending as well. Kinda like Ghosts and Ghouls.

[@gordonpetten6553]

Ahem.. twice? Try 4 times, and that 3rd time you'd better get 100% of the weapons and collectables, or you don't get to play it a whole other time to get ending "D"... In all fairness though it does let you start each play-through after the first about half-way in, so it's not all bad.

[@Luciffrit]

Gordon Petten Never knew that, all sources I looked up said twice.

[@Luciffrit]

***** The real ending for GnG isn't even that good. I did it ages ago when I had more patience.

[@gordonpetten6553]

It's been a while, but I want to say ending "D" as they called it, was Nier being erased from space and time, your daughter getting cured, and the hermaphrodite now raising her as her mother. Like I said, been a while but I think that was it, all in all it wasn't bad. Just strange.

[@chrisherring1893]

Yeah, but he didn't give enough shits to do so :/

[@moonraven6145]

1:42 Well Bayonetta's clothes were just her Magically weaved hair, so that description is strangely close to what Yahtzee predicted.

[@Hysteria98]

One of the greatest soundtracks ever, Yahtzee ripped on it in a way that is saying "The music doesn't help the dull, idle environments", but mark my words, the soundtrack alone is just utterly incredible. 10/10 work, it's just unmissable!

[@3xchrisx3]

yahtzee talks about the bad parts of games specifically for comedic effect. though he has said that people find it hard to tell if he actually likes a game because people are too serious about everything. anyways you should definitely check out this game but if you won't at least check out the soundtrack. it's amazing. also it was published by SE but it's not made by them. wish people would separate developer and publisher already :/

[@TakoyaKyono]

If he doesn't mention the game is shit or about how he thought about self harming while playing then you can take it that he liked it.

[@BlookerG]

Apparently Square Enix is making a sequel to this Yaaaaaaaaay...

[@CousinRoman90]

Salvatration Halex you mean the ones behind revengeance and bayonetta? I can only pray it won't be another combo hell game. I'm more for story, not learning a whole sequence of buttons and skipping the story.

[@CousinRoman90]

Salvatration Halex just cause (get it?) Story will still be there, doesn't mean gameplay will be as nier is. The gameplay could turn into another over the top action crap involving press a 7 button sequence to pull off flashy moves and the combos are in a very odd pattern. I rather a simple gameplay and amazing story like the drakengard series has been. Yes, this includes drakengard 3 which granted the challenges were a but ridiculous, I still got my shiny platinum out of it after bashing my head against the wall countless times with challenges and final segment of the game. I just don't want to see another revengeance/bayonetta/god of war game. I like my simple hack and slash, not a test of button sequence remembering.

[@rocksteel9238]

+BlookerG Well I'm very happy for anyone who liked the first game but to be quite frank I'm surprised since it seemed that the reception for this game as a whole at release is identical to yahtzee's, "Nier"

[@QaRajhCreations]

+Salvatration Halex Nier 2? Nah, Twattycake 2

[@zxcasf]

It's mostly because you have to get to the time skip a decent amount of hours in before it's positive qualities begin to massively outshine it's flaws. Like ff13 but with less time needed to invest and a waaaay better pay off.

[@ashofoblivion]

Honestly, Knowing yahtzee and his reviews. This is a downright glowing review. For a game that had a budget lower than a 9 year olds piggy bank contents he had very little truly bad to say. Most of his comments were in the meh section and again. For a yahtzee review, that generally means you might want to check it out.

[@SmoothOthello]

Im not entirely sure there will be a replicant version for this video lol

[@sheepphic]

"I asked everyone I knew, and neither of them had heard of it either" Haha, Yahtzee hasn't got many friends. Of course, I guess those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[@sharkymcsnarkface6642]

You have zero subscribers and about 19 people who most likely have the amount trying to humiliate somebody who's reviews got him to near one million. You sir are throwing bricks made out of neutron stars at your grandmother's house made out of paper mache and chocolate wafers.

[@sheepphic]

I'm not trying to humiliate him; I was attempting to make a joke. The main point was not that he didn't have many friends, seeing as his statement already implies it, but rather to express my appreciation for his joke and to make (a bad) one of my own.

[@greyEAX]

+DartsTheMonkey You know, it's really embarrassing to read the comments and see all kinds of people pretending to talk like Yahtzee on almost every single one of his videos.

[@sharkymcsnarkface6642]

marmalade Pretending to talk like yahtzee? I talk like this all the time. If anything you should probably just read all the text I make in deep Russian accent and drink Kompot while you are at it.

[@lindholmaren]

neither means two, as in the two substitutes shown in the video, as in he already made the joke

[@AbstracktAlias]

"I asked everyone I knew and neither of them heard of it either." Haha, I love it when he pokes fun at himself.

[@MysteriumArcanum]

I lost it at the angsty leprechaun Jack Skellington bit XD

[@Valmillions]

This was uploaded on my birthday last year!

[@Sonacnights]

Tend to love these reviews and happened to see this one on the 'Watch Again' bar with no memory of what the result was. I can understand gameplay and graphic complaints. The graphics weren't pretty but that's usually the case in 'art style' games. Gameplay was dull.. The soundtrack and story, though... The Soundtrack, if compared to most other games, is a genuine fucking masterpiece even if you do hear the same parts more than a lot throughout the game. And while I agree the story is eh the first playthrough, it really is amazing when things fall into place the second time around. I ignore the "good games don't need a second playthrough for story" argument simply because cramming all the story in all in at once can be confusing to the younglings.. Either way, an opinion is an opinion. I've told a few friends about it and they came back saying they really liked it. But there will always be those that think otherwise. I loved it and still have it. All that matters.

[@SERPENTONORTHAM1992]

+Michael Myers Just got the game and I am after the 5 years timeskip. After I collect the pieces of the artifact and complete the game I have to replay it? Will it start before the timeskip, with all of my equipment and upgrades?

[@Sonacnights]

OneShallStandOneShallFall Endings B, C, and D will put you at different parts of the story for more details. I believe B puts you back fairly early, maybe even before the timeskip. That said, you never lose equipment, upgrades, or spell words. You keep everything. The extra endings and added story are worth the playtime though.

[@SERPENTONORTHAM1992]

Michael Myers Thanks :D I really like the game despite some flaws because of its age. I will replay it for sure!

[@user-ir8rd6oy4w]

Zero Punctuation re-uses the same theme over and over again.

[@MrJjjakey]

Checkmate

[@Guille2033]

CYNreviews there's a big difference between an intro-outro track (something you always hear at the beginning and *only* at the beginning) and a repetitive soundtrack which you have to listen *all the fucking time*

[@marknut9741]

Ding?

[@darkartsdabbler2407]

It's called a theme song. A ten second opening track is hardly equivalent to the background noise of an entire sodding rpg. Don't be stupid

[@GuyOnAChair]

Never would have thought that this would get a sequal.

[@Malarkyite]

"I asked everyone I knew and neither of them had heard of it either..." Yatzhee, I love you even more now.

[@paleknight1]

Twatty Cake that is a very errrr strange name!

[@heyman10987654321]

get over it, thats what he does

[@BFedie518]

It may be true that the game gets better on repeat playthroughs, but a) He's got about a week to play a game and make a review and has played a new game almost every week for the past nine years. He rarely plays through games more than once. b) If the game isn't good enough to make him want to play through the game again, that's on the game, not him. c) If the game's story only gets better after beating it more than once, then that just supports his complaint that the game is padded with unnecessary bullshit. I'll admit I haven't played the game myself. Maybe if I did I'd take back everything i just said and yell at Yahtzee instead, but until then, the points stand

[@demilembias2527]

Well, that's generally the problem with non self-employed game reviewers in general.

[@Guille2033]

Brandon F. in my opinion, making your consumers play the game over and over and over and over again just to unlock new important information about the story of the game and it's characters is basically story-grinding. And grinding is *bad lazy fucking bullshit game design*

[@SimplySwayze]

Arty23 You must really not be a fan of Yoko Taro's work then. Pretty much ALL his games are like that. Also, to be fair, the game only makes you replay through the second half (where all the good stuff is) in order to get the different endings, and only Ending B is necessary if you want the entirety of the plot. Endings C and D are just to wrap up Kaine's character arc.

[@Guille2033]

Strange Aeons not of Yoko Taro but of forcing players to replay your game again, and again, and again.

[@t850terminator]

This is why I tend to think “replay value” is BS, I rather a game pulls out its strongest cards on the first time thru, which always is going to be the most important.

[@FF18Cloud]

It's so weird years later how... Funnily on point this was Especially with the Zelda reference

[@elliottevans2312]

I think you may have missed the second playthrough (also the soundtrack is really good what are you on about)

[@vlorenzosoleri]

"Zelda it's just one game with 50 different dresses" he heard, and finally realized that he wasn't alone anymore...

[@jacobridley1159]

The gameplay is pretty bad but music and story are phenomenal there's a lot of heavy hiitting character moments that are amazing

[@MenwithHill]

He's a model whose name I can't recall that was photographed as part of a series depicting mundane, everyday faces.

[@johnybazukata]

Goip! 'Insert name Hier' LOLLL, brilliant xD

[@sheridanmovieguy]

>Power of friendship Someone didn't play through the whole game...

[@caimisace]

but the music is great :(

[@Evnyofdeath]

That would be because while both versions of the game were released in Japan, each version was a system exclusive. The version with the Father version of Nier was 360 Exclusive, and the version with Brother Nier is PS3 Exclusive. There is almost no market for the 360 in Japan, thus fewer people to by the 360 Version.

[@BoBnfishy]

"i called up everyone i know and neither of them knew what it was either." funniest line in the bloody video. and that's not an insult!

[@madcatgr9701]

this was developed by cavia, not square :3

[@brandonmiller8123]

MadCatGr produced by square.

[@madcatgr9701]

Brandon Miller do you know what "producer" means? Cavia were the devs...

[@brandonmiller8123]

MadCatGr Your point? Square Enix payed for the game its their property, its a square enix game.

[@madcatgr9701]

Brandon Miller lol, that doesn't mean they get credit for the development of the game you moron...

[@brandonmiller8123]

MadCatGr In the video he said it's a square enix game. Never did he said square developed the game. Square owns the rights to the game its their property. You fucking waste of oxygen.

[@TheMightyPika]

As much as I love the Taro-verse... Eh, he's not wrong.

[@weaponizedpizza8825]

I saw the name Twattycake and laughed so hard I died, typing from the other side everybody!

[@siddbastard]

It's a weird game, but it's different from most J-rpg. dialogs and voice actors are interresting and the gameplay is quite unique. it's a good experience, if you're in the right mood.

[@NishiTheRat]

Well somebody obviously doesn't listen to soundtracks (yes I understand he isn't there for the soundtracks and just there to play the game, but seriously? 10 second loops.... that is just plain ignorance)

[@Asgard314]

To be fair, I love the plains music, but the chick singing the same bit over and over again did grate on the nerves a bit. The rest of the music was phenomenal.

[@XenoAlbedo]

I'm pretty sure Yahtzee is the only person on the face of this planet that dislikes the music in this game.

[@kasra8255]

1:39 Yep, that happened

[@zyad48]

anyone else read the title as NER? maybe its just my font but at first I didnt notice the "I" in the name of the game

[@r.p.7174]

Re-watching this after having played this game and Automata makes me wonder whether he regrets this review. It's hilarious how he completely ignored the majority of the game's story. Maybe Yahtzee will consider giving the game another shot in the future?

[@Imfphas20]

Haven't seen much of your stuff, but I'd assume this is probably not one of your best reviews. Spot on about the gameplay, but towards the lesser of objective aspects your focus falters a bit. Take for example, you mention the plot and characters are above average, but only go on to berate and poke fun at both then make no mention as to why you'd say that overall, making it seem otherwise. And the most acclaimed aspect of the game, its music, receives scarce mention, and the only mention is that of "10 second loops", which is far from the actual case. You're just being remiss there, mate.

[@TakoyaKyono]

He's a critic, not a reviewer.

[@Imfphas20]

PauseForGames They're almost entirely synonymous. The only noteworthy difference is that critiques are a more serious analysis of a work which is mostly intended to critically assess which helps the creator(s) more than anyone. Reviews are more so intended for general audiences and mostly tell of ones own experiences with the work itself, personal perspective stemming from it, etc. Which is far more the case with this video.

[@DILFDylF]

Imfphas20 A critic criticizes, a reviewer reviews.

[@Imfphas20]

Zachary Comstock A critic that does nothing but criticizes in only one sense (only faults and not merits) is not a very good critic. In a review that's fine though as the faults may have had a much more significant presence within the experience than the merits. Considering the video calls itself a review, I'd say it's probably best to regard it as a review, wouldn't you say? I'll just edit this and say (so I hope I don't have to keep doing this) that one can criticize in a review, so it's pointless to say it's not a review because he's criticizing. Or are you just trying to over-simplify my second post? (Also people can see it when you +1 your own comments)

[@DILFDylF]

Imfphas20 I wasn't simplifying your second post, I was directly contradicting it. You said criticizing something is synonymous with reviewing it, I disagree with that notion. I can criticize a colleague's work, someone's driving, or rap music, but I am by no means reviewing any of those things, just saying how shit they are. (Do you think you're the first clever, internet mastermind to point out that fact, sonny?)

[@CyrusBluebird]

There is a lot to say about the Drakengard series and Yoko Taro who directed them. And the comment on not being fun is deliberate design decision by the Moon headed man from E3 2015. Even hiding story, character developer and interesting bits in repeated playthroughs.

[@calespapi3620]

Well he was right about the high heels thing lol.