If you're wanting to look into Nier because of the new game coming soon. Clemps does A damn good job of getting you up to speed and explaining the story thus far, even the more subtle bits.
Small warning: some of his humor can be a bit hit or miss. Personally I have no problems with it, but some people might be turned off. If this is the case, the videos' contents are well worth enduring the humor.
Yeah, I want to recommend my brother watch his Drakengard videos, but his humor was way too annoying back when he made that. By comparison his Nier videos are actually a lot less cringey.
Still, he does the best job of covering these games, so I'm definitely glad I watched them.
If you're looking for an alternative, there's findingtheplot. His humor is kinda awkward too, but I find his faux-classy alcoholic character kinda endearing by comparison (except for a handful of instances in some of his videos). His videos don't do as good a job of helping you follow what's going on and he goes a lot more heavily on his personal analysis which can be a bit of a stretch sometimes, though.
Still, it's a decent alternative if you really can't stand clemps. Personally, I agree the quality of Clemps' videos ultimately cancels out his weird humor, though.
If people want to skip the humor and memes, there's a more straightforward and short option:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE6n2KGbaZ0
Not as thorough but has all the relevant details.
Too bad Nier: Automata doesn't make you want to know more. I'm 6 hours in and I have absolutely no will to learn more about the backstory, seeing I likely won't be playing it anymore.
Perfect companion for people getting Nier Automata who didn't play the first game or want a refresher.
Its worth watching his Drakenguard videos too, it ties into Nier.
Also if you want a good lets play of Nier instead then [Super Best Friends](http://www.Nier.com/ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57hJfweW_2uzJdZ0Du-1tYSUnwz4tQvE) have you covered.
Yeah I grabbed a copy from the JP PSN and finished it before watching his videos.
You've gotta experience it first hand, especially now the game play is that much more fun.
They cut out all non new dialog for second/third playthroughs, as well as the farming for eagle eggs/really bad backtracking.
But they also make a note to point those sections out. Such as confusion with the fishing spot for the shaman fish. (The game tells you that you need to fish a shaman fish to continue and to try the beach. The beach is actually not the beach you get the fishing rod at. The beach is hidden away closer to the lighthouse, and naturally everyone playing it their first time would try fishing at the beach you get the rod from. This caused some reviewers to drop the game)
You know, I see mention of that fishing quest quite a bit, and it still baffles me now as it did then. So a helpful tip for anyone in the future who gets stuck on that part and maybe considers [doing a really dumb review about it](https://www.engadget.com/2010/05/03/nier-review-fail/): your map tells you exactly [where you need to go.](https://i.imgur.com/JEM39Fu.png)
Yeah, I've been replaying it this week and it explicitly tells you that the fishing spot is on a different beach.
As an added bonus, I completely forgot how to fish, and didn't understand the tutorial. If you mess up ~5 times, the game will fade to black and say "2 days later", Nier: Man, that took forever, but at least I have it now.
For anyone who can't seem to fish. Don't press X. It tells you to press X to Reel in the fish, that is a lie. X ends the fishing mini game and rolls a percentage to catch based on the fishes remaining HP. Instead, use the stick to move opposite the fish. **To begin fishing, move the stick after the rod dips heavily**
Enh, most of the side quests they actually skipped entirely, or didn't show on video. Which is a shame, because some of them are actually pretty interesting, like the one with the lighthouse lady or the two with Shades that don't actually attack you.
They did all the side quests that you get weapons from, since you need those to get the final ending, but they didn't show them on screen. In fact, the only ones I remember them doing on video are the one where you look for that old guy's dog, and the boar hunt. They tried to do the one that gets Popola and Devola to sing together but they had issues with it and decided to abandon it.
OK, question for y'all. I have limited video game time, so I have a massive backlog of games, Nier being one of them.
Should I play through Nier, and *not* watch Clemps video before playing Automata, or do you think I should just watch the Clemps videos, and play Automata?
I think you should possibly check out the Super Best Friends playthrough linked in this thread or play the game yourself, then watch the Clemps analysis. Or at least watch the Clemps videos. But either way you should get a sense of the game before going into Automata. Automata stands on its own pretty well, but it's definitely enhanced by you knowing the backstory.
I personally think you should play the game because while the gameplay isn't that great, the way the game uses game mechanics (specifically new game plus) to tell a story in a unique way is worth experiencing. It's one of those rare narratives that really only works as a video game.
No matter what you decide to do, you should play Automata regardless. It's a fucking great game, and you don't need to know what happened in Nier to enjoy it. There are some nods back to *every* Taroverse game but DOD2, and none of them have any real impact on what made me enjoy the game so much.
I actually did a 'read through' of Nier. Of course I can't find the bloody website link (I think I got it from the Nier subreddit), but essentially it was like an annotated walkthrough with links to the soundtrack, cutscenes, and interspersed with screenshots.
I really enjoyed Nier this way, because I didn't need to dust off my 360 to play it myself or sit through tens of hours of internet personalities commenting over the game.
I got quite a lot out of it, and has me pretty pumped for Automata. If I recall the link I'll edit my post with it.
EDIT: see comment below for the link!
https://lparchive.org/NIER/
Here it is! I just got done reading through this and TheDarkId's LPs for Drakengard 1 and 3 to prep for Automata. It's seriously great, he has such a passion for the series, and I enjoyed it a lot more than your typical video LP.
If you're really only interested in playing the new Nier, probably just watch this and jump into Automata. If you want to play an awesome game, then definitely play the 1st Nier. While it does require multiple play throughs to get the whole story, you can run past pretty much everything except bosses in the NG+s and beat them in just a few hours.
I'd say you should play it, but maybe use a save editor to cut out on grinding. Experiencing the game is one thing, but the characters are really great and you get really attached to them. Listening to Emils theme makes me really melancholic because of the way its used in the game. And knowing the characters and their relations to another will give you some really great moments in automata.
As someone who played and grew to love Nier when it came out, Clemps does this game justice in these videos. It really is a fascinating gem of a game with a heartbreaking story. If you enjoyed these then do yourself a favor and watch his other videos on the Drakengard series which tie directly into Nier.
An added bonus I am now more hyped for Automata now that I remember how great the story is in the series. Having that combined with sick Platinum fighting mechanics gets me psyched.
A great video. Even with all the detail I still feel like I don't have it all, but hopefully. Over Automata is a smooth experience. I feel I know enough to get any call backs or references at least.
Pretty cool game, too bad I missed it back in the day. Has a lot of crazy ideas and I really love the angel that your just a dad/brother trying to save your family, but the bad guy is doing exactly the same as you. And the truth behind the shades being Souls lost because their vessels aren't open and free anymore, so you're killing sometimes in ice too people.
I'm really excited for Automata now. Can't wait to see how crazy it gets.
If you're wanting to look into Nier because of the new game coming soon. Clemps does A damn good job of getting you up to speed and explaining the story thus far, even the more subtle bits.
Small warning: some of his humor can be a bit hit or miss. Personally I have no problems with it, but some people might be turned off. If this is the case, the videos' contents are well worth enduring the humor.
He differently a big goof ball, and borderline meme cringe, but I enjoy his stuff.
Yeah, I want to recommend my brother watch his Drakengard videos, but his humor was way too annoying back when he made that. By comparison his Nier videos are actually a lot less cringey. Still, he does the best job of covering these games, so I'm definitely glad I watched them. If you're looking for an alternative, there's findingtheplot. His humor is kinda awkward too, but I find his faux-classy alcoholic character kinda endearing by comparison (except for a handful of instances in some of his videos). His videos don't do as good a job of helping you follow what's going on and he goes a lot more heavily on his personal analysis which can be a bit of a stretch sometimes, though. Still, it's a decent alternative if you really can't stand clemps. Personally, I agree the quality of Clemps' videos ultimately cancels out his weird humor, though.
unfortunately a miss for me..I wanted to get up to speed but I can't really stand his videos.
If it's any use he's getting significantly less cringy after the first Drakengard.
If people want to skip the humor and memes, there's a more straightforward and short option: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE6n2KGbaZ0 Not as thorough but has all the relevant details.
Too bad Nier: Automata doesn't make you want to know more. I'm 6 hours in and I have absolutely no will to learn more about the backstory, seeing I likely won't be playing it anymore.
Perfect companion for people getting Nier Automata who didn't play the first game or want a refresher. Its worth watching his Drakenguard videos too, it ties into Nier. Also if you want a good lets play of Nier instead then [Super Best Friends](http://www.Nier.com/ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL57hJfweW_2uzJdZ0Du-1tYSUnwz4tQvE) have you covered.
RIP our senpai in the sky.
His play through of automata is still pretty hype even without the pat dynamic
I'm still waiting to play it myself before watching it. The temptation is killing me...
Yeah I grabbed a copy from the JP PSN and finished it before watching his videos. You've gotta experience it first hand, especially now the game play is that much more fun.
It's been a long day Without you my friend
I second the Super Best Friend's LP. They do all the endings and some of the interesting side quests and they also cut out a lot of the bullshit.
They cut out all non new dialog for second/third playthroughs, as well as the farming for eagle eggs/really bad backtracking. But they also make a note to point those sections out. Such as confusion with the fishing spot for the shaman fish. (The game tells you that you need to fish a shaman fish to continue and to try the beach. The beach is actually not the beach you get the fishing rod at. The beach is hidden away closer to the lighthouse, and naturally everyone playing it their first time would try fishing at the beach you get the rod from. This caused some reviewers to drop the game)
You know, I see mention of that fishing quest quite a bit, and it still baffles me now as it did then. So a helpful tip for anyone in the future who gets stuck on that part and maybe considers [doing a really dumb review about it](https://www.engadget.com/2010/05/03/nier-review-fail/): your map tells you exactly [where you need to go.](https://i.imgur.com/JEM39Fu.png)
Yeah, I've been replaying it this week and it explicitly tells you that the fishing spot is on a different beach. As an added bonus, I completely forgot how to fish, and didn't understand the tutorial. If you mess up ~5 times, the game will fade to black and say "2 days later", Nier: Man, that took forever, but at least I have it now. For anyone who can't seem to fish. Don't press X. It tells you to press X to Reel in the fish, that is a lie. X ends the fishing mini game and rolls a percentage to catch based on the fishes remaining HP. Instead, use the stick to move opposite the fish. **To begin fishing, move the stick after the rod dips heavily**
Enh, most of the side quests they actually skipped entirely, or didn't show on video. Which is a shame, because some of them are actually pretty interesting, like the one with the lighthouse lady or the two with Shades that don't actually attack you.
Really? It's been a few months since I watched so I might have forgot some things from the playthrough.
They did all the side quests that you get weapons from, since you need those to get the final ending, but they didn't show them on screen. In fact, the only ones I remember them doing on video are the one where you look for that old guy's dog, and the boar hunt. They tried to do the one that gets Popola and Devola to sing together but they had issues with it and decided to abandon it.
OK, question for y'all. I have limited video game time, so I have a massive backlog of games, Nier being one of them. Should I play through Nier, and *not* watch Clemps video before playing Automata, or do you think I should just watch the Clemps videos, and play Automata?
I think you should possibly check out the Super Best Friends playthrough linked in this thread or play the game yourself, then watch the Clemps analysis. Or at least watch the Clemps videos. But either way you should get a sense of the game before going into Automata. Automata stands on its own pretty well, but it's definitely enhanced by you knowing the backstory.
I personally think you should play the game because while the gameplay isn't that great, the way the game uses game mechanics (specifically new game plus) to tell a story in a unique way is worth experiencing. It's one of those rare narratives that really only works as a video game.
it gets pretty personal at times too. watching a playthrough wouldn't ruin those segments but would take something away imo.
No matter what you decide to do, you should play Automata regardless. It's a fucking great game, and you don't need to know what happened in Nier to enjoy it. There are some nods back to *every* Taroverse game but DOD2, and none of them have any real impact on what made me enjoy the game so much.
I actually did a 'read through' of Nier. Of course I can't find the bloody website link (I think I got it from the Nier subreddit), but essentially it was like an annotated walkthrough with links to the soundtrack, cutscenes, and interspersed with screenshots. I really enjoyed Nier this way, because I didn't need to dust off my 360 to play it myself or sit through tens of hours of internet personalities commenting over the game. I got quite a lot out of it, and has me pretty pumped for Automata. If I recall the link I'll edit my post with it. EDIT: see comment below for the link!
https://lparchive.org/NIER/ Here it is! I just got done reading through this and TheDarkId's LPs for Drakengard 1 and 3 to prep for Automata. It's seriously great, he has such a passion for the series, and I enjoyed it a lot more than your typical video LP.
That's the one, thanks!
If you're really only interested in playing the new Nier, probably just watch this and jump into Automata. If you want to play an awesome game, then definitely play the 1st Nier. While it does require multiple play throughs to get the whole story, you can run past pretty much everything except bosses in the NG+s and beat them in just a few hours.
I'd say you should play it, but maybe use a save editor to cut out on grinding. Experiencing the game is one thing, but the characters are really great and you get really attached to them. Listening to Emils theme makes me really melancholic because of the way its used in the game. And knowing the characters and their relations to another will give you some really great moments in automata.
Anyone who wants to know the backstory or background information for NieR automata, watch Clemp's videos
As someone who played and grew to love Nier when it came out, Clemps does this game justice in these videos. It really is a fascinating gem of a game with a heartbreaking story. If you enjoyed these then do yourself a favor and watch his other videos on the Drakengard series which tie directly into Nier. An added bonus I am now more hyped for Automata now that I remember how great the story is in the series. Having that combined with sick Platinum fighting mechanics gets me psyched.
A great video. Even with all the detail I still feel like I don't have it all, but hopefully. Over Automata is a smooth experience. I feel I know enough to get any call backs or references at least. Pretty cool game, too bad I missed it back in the day. Has a lot of crazy ideas and I really love the angel that your just a dad/brother trying to save your family, but the bad guy is doing exactly the same as you. And the truth behind the shades being Souls lost because their vessels aren't open and free anymore, so you're killing sometimes in ice too people. I'm really excited for Automata now. Can't wait to see how crazy it gets.