Topic: NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition

@Solaine
Probably means Drakengard 1-3. Which was the series Nier came from before Automata, back on PS3.

There is a third Nier game, Reincarnation, for mobiles.

It's not terribly well regarded though.

This is certainly a game I'm interested in due to the premise and how well it was received on other platforms. However, it's releasing during a very bad month for me. Not so much due to the packed October release schedule, moreso because it's historically a crazy month IRL.

@Solaine NieR 3 is confirmed to be NieR Reincarnation, the mobile gacha game.

@VoidofLight @JaxonH Thanks! Although if you say mobile Gacha game... it doesn't really sound like a good game at all

Yeah, I haven't played anything in the series, but there's a lot of it from what I can gather.

First you have Drakenguard 1-3, which are all on PS3 & take place in the same world (not sure how deeply they connect to Nier specifically, though).

Then you have Nier Replicant & Nier Gestalt. The former was formerly exclusive to PS3 in Japan (and is the version the recent remaster was based on), while the latter was 360 exclusive(?) in the west (Gestalt made changes to appeal more to western audiences, like changing the hero into a gruff middle aged man, which had narrative impact as it changed his relationship to the female character you were supposed to be rescuing).

Then you have Nier Automata, and the mobile exclusive Nier Reincarnation.

Nier Automata is the good one. As Platinum developed it in coordination with Square Enix.

@Solaine The gameplay isn't really great, yeah. The story is supposed to connect to the other NieR titles eventually.

@JaxonH NieR Replicant is also extremely good. The combat isn't as good as Automata, but it's still a genuinely good game, and I love the vibes.

@RR529 Drakengard is mostly just connected to NieR because of a joke ending of the first Drakengard (Only Drakengard 1 and 3 are really canon, since Yoko Taro wasn't involved with 2). In the joke ending of(Drakengard and NieR entire series spoilers) Drakengard 1, the main character and his dragon end up in Modern day Japan, and fight this massive giant woman statue thing. The main guy gets shot down with the dragon after killing the giant, which ends up sparking the NieR games.

NieR Replicant and Gestalt are pretty much the same game, but Gestalt was only made because Yoko Taro was told that Americans wouldn't probably end up purchasing the game if the main protagonist was a young boy, and not a gruff adult man, so they ended up making the change. It takes place in (huge spoilers for NieR Replicant/Gestalt and Drakengard 1) [spoiler] the same Japan, but many years after the giant was killed and the dragon's corpse was taken to be researched. A mysterious illness wiped out the population, either turning them into salt or red eyed monsters, and scientists discover maso particles, which effectively cause the magic that's seen through the original NieR. Project Gestalt starts where they separate the soul from the body, in order to extend the dying humanity's lifespan. Eventually Replicant happens thousands of years later, as the replicant bodies gained consciousness of their own, and the souls started to relapse, going insane.

One week from Thursday, peeps!

And thus shall begin the October Massacre, which when looked back upon in the annuls of gaming history, will be regarded as the wildest, craziest onslaught of top rated video games for a single platform of all time.

Nier Automata
One of most well regarded games of the generation
No Man's Sky
A game which redeemed itself after launch through many years of updates and expansions, and is now beloved by countless fans
Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
Looking even better than the first, this game will surely be remembered as one of the finest Switch exclusives ever made
Persona 5 Royal
The infamous Persona 5, the game everyone said would "never come to Switch in a million years". One of the most highly praised JRPGs of all time
Bayonetta 3
It's predecessor was a GotY candidate (and frankly, should have won over Dragon Age Inquisition, as much as I did like that game), and this new entry looks even better.

The Fantastic Five. An October to long be remembered. And it all starts with Nier Automata a week from Thursday. And, we even get a little preliminary taster on Tuesday to whet our appetites, with Life Is Strange Collection, Trails From Zero and Tunic all dropping the same day. Just a small foreshadowing of what's to come.

I'll be honest, I'm really worried Nier and Bayonetta are gonna cause both of them to underperform. It's already bad having Platinum compete with so many other games, but having them compete with themselves feels like its gonna lead to most people having to choose one over the other.

@kkslider5552000
That's a legitimate concern.

I saw a Twitter poll asking fans what their most hyped October game was, and Bayonetta 3 and Persona 5 Royal actually were in the lead, followed by Mario Rabbids and lastly, Nier Automata.

Persona 5 Royal is currently in the top 50 on Amazon so I'm not worried about that one. It'll easily be the best selling version.

Mario Rabbids looks like pure gold, and the recent info dump has hyped a lot of ppl, myself included. Coming off the success of the last game, I'm not too worried about it either, even if it polled 3rd place.

As for Bayonetta 3, it actually polled 1st place. However, polls can be misleading when in a bubble due to a biased sample. On Amazon it's ranking between #200-300 atm, which, I'd like it to be higher. But it's also the last game to release in October. It makes sense it would be a bit lower until these other games release. Then, after Mario Rabbids and Persona drop, that final week leading up to release should see a massive spike in interest.

It's Nier Automata I'm worried about most. Not only did it poll last, it was by a significant margin. Furthermore, it's ranked at #323 despite releasing a week from Thursday. With Bayonetta 3 at #232 I can kinda understand- it's still over a month out. But Nier? It's right at the door. That game should be top 100 right now. People are sleeping on this game hard.

I understand it's a port from like 4 years ago, but even so, we've seen late ports do insanely well on Switch. Look at Persona 5 Royal. Top 50 on Amazon despite being a month out. With such a crowded lineup, there's bound to be at least one loser in all this, and right now, Nier Automata seems to be that game.

Which is partly why I'm trying to talk about it and bring some discussion to the table to get some attention on this game- one, so ppl don't miss out on a quality game, but two, so the game doesn't flop and throw a wrench in future AAA ports from Square Enix. We've seen massive AA support from them. But only recently are we starting to see higher tier games (in terms of graphical demand) start making their way over. With a game as well received and successful as Nier Automata, if it can't do well on Switch, what chance do 95% of other games have? That's the question SE will be asking, no doubt.

Hopefully reviews put it on the map. If it scores highly (and it should- by all accounts this is top 1% of best Switch ports to date, and we already know it's a banger), perhaps that will drive interest at the eleventh hour. A push at the tape, so to speak. On the other hand, with so many October games releasing, many may simply say, "already allocated my budget for October, so I'll put this on the wishlist until a sale". Which given the already low $39.99 MSRP, could be a while. And the train doesn't seem to be slowing any time soon. It'll likely just be forgotten as most games are after launch.

On the plus side, it's a game that's long outlived its initial hype and still seems to have remained popular five years after release on other platforms in a way that even the Bayonetta games haven't really come close to.

I'd reckon that SE are probably counting on just being able to drop it out there, with very little promotion, and have it become a similarly evergreen seller on Switch.

Meanwhile, Bayonetta 3 gets all the hype and the day one sales, and people who want a little more Platinum goodness once they're done with it won't have to look too hard to find it.

My copy is now ordered so all I need to do is create my cosplay of 2B so I can make a fortune from people watching me play it on Twitch!

@jump That reminds me that I once saw a video of someone in full 2B cosplay, complete with sword, playing selections from the soundtrack on piano.

She was a pretty good pianist, I thought.

Just preordered!

Previews dropping are absolutely glowing over this Switch release.

"Miracle port"
"Best Switch port of all time"
"Near perfect"
"Exceeded expectations"
"Fantastic port"
"Plays like a dream"

@JaxonH That is awesome to hear! I'm glad it's a great port, considering the game isn't too graphically intensive overall.

The first reviews are in and by all accounts it's a great port of a great game, so have at it.

Hearing these good receptions and reviews about the game, I'm more hyped for it. Probably even more so than the initial release. Regardless, it's a really good step in fanning the flames for the series as a whole. And if this port is really as good as these claims are, I'd say they'd possibly be able to pull off a NieR Replicant port as well.

Was always going to be getting this some day, but what's the point on missing Day 1 when you're talking a £5-10 saving if you wait, like... 12 months or more.

I've had the PS4 version for a couple of years but never played. Switch is where it's at, people.