While Square Enix licenses and puts out many pretty RPGs these days, I personally haven't made a really strong connection with any of them. Titles like Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant unfortunately failed to meet my expectations, and even though I have no plans to give up hope, let's just say my excitement for anything they do other than Final Fantasy has dwindled just a bit.
The Nier games seemed like they could possibly be a lot of fun though, and so once I got to TGS today I headed for the Microsoft booth to see if I could get my hands on Nier Gestalt. Sure enough, I got my wish, and if you'd like to read more about what the game was like, hit the break and I'll tell you.
The Nier Gestalt demo started very simply: with my character going up against a handful of golden skeletons and then two gigantic foes. I like this as it cut straight to the chase. By the way, my character refers to an older man who is apparently on a quest to save his daughter -- a nice twist from the usual amnesia and save the world business (although who knows, that may factor in later). I was surprised to actually hear him say "Give me back my daughter!" in this portion of the demo in English. Hey, at least I know what's going on.
The huge beasts in my way, which reminded me of bronzed versions of the hard shelled Garthim creatures from The Dark Crystal, were visibly blocking a young girl lying on a slab in an alcove. Okay, I get it, time to clear these guys out of the way. I ran in and started testing out my moves. I'm pleased to report that the main character is a lot of fun to control. He has your usual moves: basic sword slashes, a few special attacks, roll out of the way, leaping and the like, but something about the way they feel when you touch the buttons makes it satisfying. The way I kill things goes a long way for me in an action RPG.
After some experimentation, I learned these great armored foes could be injured in two ways -- either running around to their backs where they were vulnerable, or blocking their attacks, which threw them back and allowed me to jump in for some damage. It's worth noting here that the camera swung around wildly instead of staying over my shoulder, which I found disorienting and I hoped to see fixed in the future. It made the encounter significantly harder, especially when I got trapped behind one of the creatures and needed to extract myself.
After dealing enough damage to these guys, they would drop and a floaty clock would appear above their bodies, which is when you have to get in to deal the important damage.Don't do it in time, and they get back up again. Nothing majorly out of the ordinary, but it was fun to play. However, I did come away feeling as if the graphics needed some work: some segments looked fine, while others looked a bit rough around the edges. Cavla's action RPG won't be out until mid 2010 though, so I'd say they have quite a bit of time to work out the kinks.
I thought about trying to do a word play and work in Niero somehow. But I have no idea how to do it without coming off like an idiot.
Either way, how does the rolling work? Is it like God of War where you just tap the right stick, or something like Ninja Gaiden where you have to block and then roll? I know it's kind of specific, but the way Ninja Gaiden does it turns me off a little bit.
Either way, at the very least I'll rent this game with what I've heard so far, just to see how Square Enix handles a hack'n'slash action game.
@Zeta
It was a JRPG without anything that made JRPGs unique. It had no flair, and thus I subjected myself to the other thousand JRPGs that were more fun to play.
@Magnalon i dont care if its a JRPG a RPG or what ever as long as the game is fun to play and has a good story im over it. I thought IU had a great story that made you care for the characters and i love that free flow combat. Just run up to something and fight no battle music screen freezes and then you have this battle in a bubble. It was just awesome :D
I'm highly looking forward to this game. I tend to trust Cavia. I mean I've only really played Drakengard and the DBZ Supersonic Warriors series, but still, very good games.
This is looking awesome, and I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed it so far.
@Zeta Crossfire
I also really enjoyed Infinite Undiscovery, if that makes you feel any better. It wasn't anything super special, but it was highly enjoyable for me, if a little short.
I would imagine they'd work out the camera issues in the amount of time they have before release. Hopefully so because this looks like a good bit of fun.
Nope, SqEnix had no part in this game aside from Publishing it. I don't think SqEnix is capable of making a JRPG without a gender confused lead. At least not since the SNES days.
That's a good thing, dude. I'd rather have a middle-aged man who could credibly be an experienced fighter as a main character than another pretty-boy 17-year old with a sword. Seriously.
I've said it before and I'll say it again here because I agree with Colette; a man trying to save his daughter (and possibly saving the world in the process) is far more compelling than saving the world just for the sake of saving the world.
It adds layers of depth and meaning to the character you play. It makes you wonder "well what IF his daughter gets killed?" Will the character seek revenge or just give up and let the world end. OH, now thats a game I'd like to play. One with an ending where the person you try to save dies and your character just gives up and lets himself be killed because everything he loves in the world is gone.
But Nier Gestalt looks neat. I love the art direction. The combat looks frenetic and fast paced. It reminds me of Devil May Cry a little and I love me some DMC. I'm definitely interested in this game.
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Contest:
6:40 PM on 09.25.2009
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Either way, how does the rolling work? Is it like God of War where you just tap the right stick, or something like Ninja Gaiden where you have to block and then roll? I know it's kind of specific, but the way Ninja Gaiden does it turns me off a little bit.
Either way, at the very least I'll rent this game with what I've heard so far, just to see how Square Enix handles a hack'n'slash action game.
It was a JRPG without anything that made JRPGs unique. It had no flair, and thus I subjected myself to the other thousand JRPGs that were more fun to play.
At least SqEnix made a game that doesn't involve a male lead that looks like a chick. That alone makes me want to play this.
This is looking awesome, and I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed it so far.
@Zeta Crossfire
I also really enjoyed Infinite Undiscovery, if that makes you feel any better. It wasn't anything super special, but it was highly enjoyable for me, if a little short.
Nope, SqEnix had no part in this game aside from Publishing it. I don't think SqEnix is capable of making a JRPG without a gender confused lead. At least not since the SNES days.
That's a good thing, dude. I'd rather have a middle-aged man who could credibly be an experienced fighter as a main character than another pretty-boy 17-year old with a sword. Seriously.
It adds layers of depth and meaning to the character you play. It makes you wonder "well what IF his daughter gets killed?" Will the character seek revenge or just give up and let the world end. OH, now thats a game I'd like to play. One with an ending where the person you try to save dies and your character just gives up and lets himself be killed because everything he loves in the world is gone.
But Nier Gestalt looks neat. I love the art direction. The combat looks frenetic and fast paced. It reminds me of Devil May Cry a little and I love me some DMC. I'm definitely interested in this game.