Nier Catch-All

Stele wrote:

Anyway I understand I'm supposed to play at least one NG+ to complete this story, so I'll probably check back in a few hours if I'm close to, or finish, the first run tonight or tomorrow.

Worth noting that all the NG+'s start at a very specific point of the game roughly half-way through, so you're not going to have to play the entire thing from scratch each time.

BUt yes - you REALLY need to finish the first NG+ to get the full impact.

Stele wrote:

Also in the Southern Plain...

Spoiler:

I opened the gate of that mansion with spiders. When I walked inside everything turned black & white. I guess except for Kaine and me. Anyway no quest there yet or anything, I was just exploring a bit... and that was very odd.

I loved that stuff about the game.
It'll throw quite a few suprises at you like that

Stele, I really wouldn't try for the 15-hour achievement/trophy your first time through. There are a lot of beautiful things in the game and a lot of really poignant sidequests, and it's a shame to rush through and skip them all. And honestly, it's a very difficult mark to hit without skipping a lot of the cut-scenes. The game can be run in just under four hours on easy on a later playthrough with skipping all the cut-scenes. It's not worth it to try on round one.

.... and really, the music is just too beautiful not to play slowly and savor.

The music is awesome.

Today I finished

Spoiler:

The Forest of dreams, and went back to that mansion for an actual story event.

Some very cool stuff.

I've unlocked probably 8? magic spells now. But I keep using 2 of the first 3, the quick-fire/homing darts, and the big fist spell. Nothing else seems to be as effective as those. Especially the big fist, if it's something that is in close range. It just pummels everything, and most things it doesn't kill it knocks down so I can finish them. The little homing darts are weak but I can fire them and still be on the move dodging. They've helped on bosses a lot. I suppose the spear might work almost as well, but I haven't went back to try it.

Pushed through to Part 2.

Wow.

Spoiler:

Kaine into stone. Yonah taken. Noir and Shadowlord.

And then I did Emil's first quest.

Spoiler:

So Kaine is ok.
And now Emil is a monster, but was created in a lab under the mansion. And now I keep seeing more journal entries with dates on the loading screen. Dated like 3032 or something. Very near the date on the lighthouse lady's letters. Getting a very odd feeling about some things, and I am interested to see where this goes.

Sitting a little over 9 hours playtime, and I've watched all the cutscenes so far, but probably did skip a few side quests in part 1. Not sure how much is left, so speed run might not be doable anymore. But whatever, it's still a lot of fun.

Stele wrote:

Pushed through to Part 2.

Wow.

But whatever, it's still a lot of fun.

Nier is quite the ride.

This is one of my favorite games. Even after completing the game, I'm tempted to start up all over again for a quick run-through.

Hmm... I'm thinking I might declare this in the pile for this month... so tempting...

brokenclavicle wrote:

Hmm... I'm thinking I might declare this in the pile for this month... so tempting...

You could do a lot worse. It's one of 'those' games. I've played through it 3.5 times now, seen all four endings, and I'm still tempted to go back and finish some of the side quests I still have hanging around unfinished.

Plus, that awesome music

Nier is the only game in which I consider (most of) the side quests mandatory. Not the quests themselves, but the story surrounding them. So beautiful and full of pathos.

Finally got back to this tonight after a week break. Feels like I'm near the end.

Spoiler:

Collected all the fragments.

The last two main missions I did in Aerie and Facade were so sad.

Spoiler:

The whole town dead, absorbed by a shade, and then nuked by Emil.
And follow that up 10 min later with King marries Fyra, and then the damn wolves kill her. Man.

:(

It get's better, but that's all I want to say for now.

hehehe yeah. This game is a real wrist-slitter. Just wait 'til ending B.

Managed to get a few hours in... loving it. I really don't see how people didn't like this game when it came out. Shame on all the reviewers.

brokenclavicle wrote:

Managed to get a few hours in... loving it. I really don't see how people didn't like this game when it came out. Shame on all the reviewers.

It's pretty simple: reviewers don't like to use their brains. It hurts them.

Minarchist wrote:
brokenclavicle wrote:

Managed to get a few hours in... loving it. I really don't see how people didn't like this game when it came out. Shame on all the reviewers.

It's pretty simple: reviewers don't like to use their brains look at their mini-maps for quest markers after failing at something for an egregious amount of time. It hurts them. ;)

FTFY

Um... done.

Gotta sleep on that one for a bit. A whole chunk of stuff in the last half hour or so.

Stele wrote:

Um... done.

Gotta sleep on that one for a bit. A whole chunk of stuff in the last half hour or so. :?

Now go start NG+. And don't skip any cut-scenes. Trust me on this one. You start right at

Spoiler:

the battle where Emil un-stones Kaine, with all levels and gear intact,

so it doesn't take too long.

Minarchist wrote:
Stele wrote:

Um... done.

Gotta sleep on that one for a bit. A whole chunk of stuff in the last half hour or so. :?

Now go start NG+. And don't skip any cut-scenes. Trust me on this one. You start right at

Spoiler:

the battle where Emil un-stones Kaine, with all levels and gear intact,

so it doesn't take too long.

NG+ is required. It's amazing.

BNice wrote:
Minarchist wrote:
Stele wrote:

Um... done.

Gotta sleep on that one for a bit. A whole chunk of stuff in the last half hour or so. :?

Now go start NG+. And don't skip any cut-scenes. Trust me on this one. You start right at

Spoiler:

the battle where Emil un-stones Kaine, with all levels and gear intact,

so it doesn't take too long.

NG+ is required. It's amazing.

NG+ =

Oh yeah I meant to mention I did get the speed achievement. Finished in like 13.5 hours. And I didn't skip any cutscenes. I also did I think all but the fishing sidequests in part 1. But in part 2 I just did a couple of sidequests that were either in the first town or on the way to other towns. Like the one for killing that big shade in the northern plains.

So you can easily get this game done in under 30 hours, probably even with both ending A and B, for whoever was asking a couple pages back. Although that post was like a year ago. But if anyone else is interested in picking it up this year.

About six hours in, now (slow, I know!), and it's really growing on me. The game has subtle touches that tug at the heartstrings. The different scenarios one is presented with, like

The old man's dog being dead, only to find out that the old man himself has died upon one's return to one's village. The two boy's in Junkheap whose mother has died because she ran off with her lover into the nearest dungeon...

Nevermind that Yohna is such a sweet little girl - those journal entries smart.

I know I won't finish soon, but it will be finished in October, this I vow!

brokenclavicle wrote:

About six hours in, now (slow, I know!), and it's really growing on me. The game has subtle touches that tug at the heartstrings. The different scenarios one is presented with, like

The old man's dog being dead, only to find out that the old man himself has died upon one's return to one's village. The two boy's in Junkheap whose mother has died because she ran off with her lover into the nearest dungeon...

Nevermind that Yohna is such a sweet little girl - those journal entries smart.

I know I won't finish soon, but it will be finished in October, this I vow!

Don't rush it, take it all in. It makes the N+ that much more effective/evocative.

I just started the game. It's magical. I can't wait to see where they take the story. I started it on normal and almost died on the first boss where they power level you really quick. They sort of throw you into deep water there at the beginning. It seems like the combat should be okay although, at this point, I'm more interested in the story. The soundtrack is incredible. I've got the window open with falling rain in the background, and it's cozy. What a wonderful way to spend a day.

How long does the game take, approximately? I sure hope it's no more than 30 hours.

http://howlongtobeat.com/gamelist.ph...

Main 17h 08m
Main+ 35h 04m
100% 43h
Average 31h 04m

Sweet! I like the sound of that. Does NG+ add new story elements?

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Sweet! I like the sound of that. Does NG+ add new story elements?

Yes. This is the one that you haven't really finished until you play NG+ once.

And to 100% it's NG++, twice, I think. Haven't done that bit myself.

But you do start NG+ part-way through the game, so it's not a complete repeat.

Thanks!

I only NG+'ed it once myself. I didn't do the other two endings, so I'm not sure what they add. But the fourth ending results in wiping your save file empty, so FYI.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Sweet! I like the sound of that. Does NG+ add new story elements?

It's not a traditional NG+; you start halfway through the story and can pretty quickly end the game again (just a few hours). You have to play through ending B. C and D are less necessary, but still worth it IMO. And yes, upon reaching ending D

Spoiler:

your save will get wiped. You can back it up beforehand via USB (it's what I did), but there's a really cool story reason that they do that. I thought it was a great touch on a truly intriguing plot.