Most video game protagonists are mass murderers. I mean think about it; take the run-of-the-mill action or FPS game and keep track of the player’s body-count. That number, especially when put into the context of real life, is likely staggering; the FBI defines the minimum number of victims for a mass murder to be four, which is probably way smaller than the number of enemies shot in any given Call of Duty campaign. We justify our actions as the player usually because we believe we are in the right; we are trying to do the right thing and if enemies have to die for that objective to be accomplished, so be it. However, how do we define what being “right” is, and does it justify violence? It is rare for mainstream video games to have the self-awareness to ask these questions, which is not necessarily a bad thing, because after all at the end of the day video games are meant to be entertainment, but this is precisely what makes the NieR games so incredible.
The series, and its director Yoko Taro, saw mainstream success with the release of NieR: Automata back in 2017, which ranks among some of the greatest video games I have ever played (in fact that is the very game that inspired me to start writing these blog reviews in the first place). The success of NieR: Automata resulted in renewed interest in its predecessor, NieR: Replicant/Gestalt. There were a few issues with the first Nier game, however; it was only available on previous-generation consoles (PS3/Xbox 360), and it was not known for its particularly compelling gameplay loop (this is just what I have read, as I did not play the original release). NieR Replicant 1.22 (not going to type out the full sequence of numbers) aims to solve that, by bringing the game to modern consoles including PC, as well as making various enhancements to try and make its combat feel more similar to NieR: Automata’s. The cool thing is that the developers also straight up added new content to the game, including a whole new ending that was not previously available in the original version.
The premise of NieR Replicant 1.22 is fairly simple; you control Nier (his “canon” name, as the player chooses his name), a fairly typical-looking anime protagonist who is trying to save his younger sister Yonah from a mysterious disease. The world is in decay; human populations are dwindling and there is an increase in shades, shadowy beings that seemingly pose a threat to the humans who are left. None of that seems to concern Nier and his ragtag band of friends though, which include a floating book, a blind kid, and a foul-mouthed, scantily clad woman.
Gameplay:
I will be honest; NieR’s gameplay loop is by far its weakest link, even when considering the enhancements the remastered edition added. That is not to say it is bad, as it is quite fun if not a tad shallow. The combat shares a lot of similarities with NieR: Automata’s combat system, with Grimoire Weiss replacing the pod, though Nier’s move-set is more limited than 2B’s as he can only use a single weapon at a time, and in the first half of the game he is limited to one-handed swords. It gets the job done, and overall I do not have too many qualms.
The main faults with the gameplay lie in the non-combat aspects, which definitely made parts of the game feel rather tedious to get through especially on subsequent play-throughs, which is probably the biggest issue with the game and is something NieR: Automata does significantly better. There is no chapter select option, and subsequent play-throughs feel very repetitive as a result (whereas NieR: Automata actually added substantial new content with each play-through as far as gameplay is concerned). I normally do not have issues with replaying parts of games as long as it’s fun, but NieR Replicant 1.22 does have a few parts of the play-through that were cool to experience the first time, but then just got annoying in subsequent experiences. There are sections of the game that are reminiscent of text RPG’s, where the player has to read through sections of text and make choices based on the passages. Now on my first play-through, I thought those parts were pretty creative and interesting, as I did not find those passages to be badly written at all. Unfortunately, that novelty wears off after the first time, and I was not pleased to have to experience them repeatedly when pursuing the other endings.
The other biggest issue I have is with how grindy parts of the game can be, when trying to acquire materials to either complete side quests or upgrade weapons. I don’t really have much to say other than that the gameplay design is (understandably) dated, and it’s not a surprise that a lot of these mechanics were greatly improved in NieR: Automata. Thankfully, the Internet exists and there is a pretty solid, spoiler-free thread on Reddit that outlines helpful details and gives general guidelines on what content should be experienced and so forth.
Writing (possible minor spoilers regarding themes of the game):
Considering the gameplay is not exactly the greatest in the world even given 1.22’s enhancements, the writing must be next-level to make it worth it. Is it? It absolutely is. The world-building is great, and the various locales Nier visits are varied and fascinating, including a village located in a ravine where the buildings are all built off the mountain walls, and a city in the desert where the citizens are subject to thousands of oddly specific rules, yet still seem to be happy living there. The core cast of characters is not big, but each of the characters is well-written with their own difficult struggles, and by the game’s various conclusions I have grown to be very fond of each of them. I particularly loved Nier and Grimoire Weiss’s various interactions, as they usually provide commentary when completing different side quests, and that commentary is frequently hilarious. The side quests themselves are also generally well-written too, if only to offset how tedious it may be to complete some of them.
The beauty in NieR Replicant 1.22’s writing is in its narrative structure, very similar to what made NieR: Automata incredible. The first play-through starts out feeling like a pretty standard JRPG, but progressively gets darker as the story develops, and even more so in subsequent play-throughs when more details/perspectives are shown. From the player’s perspective, Nier is justified in killing all those shades, robots, etc. because they are aggressive combatants opposing his quest to save his sister. However that’s just factoring in a single perspective; it takes two to fight, and for every victor in battle there is a loser (or consider the perspective that there are no true winners in war). The result, as the player acquires more story/world details, is a tragic conflict in which everyone is desperately fighting to achieve their own goals without truly beginning to understand the other side. The world is not entirely depressing however, and there are plenty of light-hearted moments in the game which show that not everybody has given up regardless of how bleak the situation may be. Also, without spoilers, I think the newly added ending is brilliantly done and heavily changes the tone/context of the original game’s true ending, though I strongly recommend reading the previously linked Reddit thread as it is unintuitive to unlock.
Misc Thoughts:
Having played NieR Replicant 1.22 on PC, I can say that this game wouldn’t be a NieR game if it weren’t for some kind of technical issue with the port. Now this game’s port is not nearly as bad as NieR: Automata’s PC port was, but there is still a pretty big technical flaw in which the game’s speed is somehow tied to frame rate, and players who have frame rates exceeding 60FPS will find that their game feels like it is on cocaine. Thankfully there is an unofficial fix, but this is frankly kind of inexcusable (also considering the fact I played this game more than a month after release). However the mod works like a dream, so the experience should be smooth for PC players once it is installed.
Just like with NieR: Automata, NieR Replicant 1.22 has a top-tier soundtrack, and I honestly feel that top-tier may be selling it short. Both games have some of the best music to be found in all video games; they are currently the only games where I actually went ahead and purchased the soundtrack because of how good the music is. The interesting thing for NieR Replicant 1.22 is that as part of the remaster, a lot of the tracks found in the old game were also “remastered” and given slight flavor changes, and one can listen to a side-by-side comparison to see where they differ. I think the music team (led by composer Keiichi Okabe) did an excellent job with updating the new tracks, as it is difficult to improve on something that is already amazing to begin with. Personal favorite track? “Shadowlord” and it is not even close; easily the greatest boss theme I have ever heard.
The ultimate question basically is: is NieR Replicant 1.22 worth it? Is the writing worth enduring the dated gameplay that I have somewhat harshly criticized? I personally think so, and this is coming from someone who generally values gameplay (considering the majority of my previously reviewed titles). At the very least, it is definitely worth it for those who have already played and enjoyed NieR: Automata, considering it is literally its prequel. NieR Replicant 1.22 is the textbook definition of a flawed masterpiece, with emphasis on the masterpiece part, and should be experienced by anybody who appreciates good storytelling in video games.
Rating: The game, considering the whole experience, is extremely good, though considering it is a remaster of a game from 2010 (albeit a high-effort one considering the new content and overhauled combat system), I can see why one might be unwilling to pay retail for it. At the very least it is definitely worth it on sale.
