2010 was a busy year for gamers. Huge releases and sleeper hits ornamented stores shelves with the likes of hack n’ slash darlings such as Bayonetta and Darksiders, and big name releases like Final Fantasy XIII, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Heavy Rain, and whatever “copy pasted” Call of Duty game managed to sell the most copies.
But like every year, there are always a few gems that manage to slip under the radar. Unfortunately, most of these games are lost in both time and the bargain bin. The purpose of this article is to immortalize one in particular that shined a tad bit brighter than the rest. This game, released in late April, is called Nier.
Nier had outdated graphics, some laughable voice acting, and tired gameplay that even the most dedicated JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) players would tire of after consecutive hours of playing. That’s the list of “bad things,” and coincidentally, the list of things that most highly respected game critics dwell on in their reviews. A detailed list of the “good” would culminate into a 4,000 word review from yours truly, so to keep things simple, here is what you may have missed, assuming you were one of the many who overlooked this instant classic:
Nier’s story is great. It’s a little incomprehensible at some points, in true JRPG fashion, but by the end of your second or third playthrough, there is a good chance that you will be brought to the brink of tears. The story revolves are a man named Nier (but more commonly referred to as whatever you choose to name your character at the beginning of the game) and the close relationship he holds with his sickly daughter.
The Black Scrawl is the affliction of Nier’s universe that threatens to turn the world’s last remaining (and seemingly “human”) inhabitants into amorphous, shadowy creatures called “Shades.” As you play through the campaign, your central mission to cure your daughter of this disease before she is completely overtaken by it and transformed into one of the aforementioned creatures.
By game’s end, the attachment you feel for the two characters, and the many you meet along the way, is far greater than any emotion you may or may have not garnered for “Colonel Shoot-a-gun Fast” in Call of Duty or the many robot-like companions thrown into most other games. And this is the appeal of Nier at its core.
All in all, Nier makes you feel like you’re a part of something special, and above all else: Real. The world crafted feels like something foreign, yet strangely familiar, and will leave your head spinning with questions and ideologies as the credits roll.
This is, sadly, something that eludes most games nowadays, which is why Nier deserves to receive such special commendation. From a technical standpoint, it may not be much when compared to some of the top gaming franchises, but it manages to evoke emotions from the player in ways that the original Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid both did in the late 90s. Something that most insanely high budget games fail to reciprocate today. And that’s just shameful.
Another noteworthy mention is Nier’s soundtrack. Nier contains an original score composed by Square Enix studios and is easily one of the greatest game soundtracks of all time. This is by far one of the most depressing aspects of Nier’s lonely fate, as the 30 or so original tracks created for this game will surely fade into time without proper acknowledgement.
So, if you find yourself starving for a timeless adventure in gaming, but find yourself short on cash, be sure to check your local game retailer for this little beauty. Like any unearthed gem, it may be rough around the edges, but inside is most certainly something spectacular that deserves your time.
Nier is owned and developed by Cavia (recently disbanded) and published by Square Enix. It can be found for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game systems. It was released on April 27th, 2010 (North America). Nier is rated M for mature.
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