NieR has a half-demon hermaphrodite, a book that floats and speaks, and the potential for a completely bizarre father/brother/daughter/sister relationship. What's missing? That's right, farming and fishing mini games! Those are in there too, according to the latest Famitsu.
In case you haven't been keeping up with the multiplatform Square Enix action title, a bit of explanation is in order. In Japan, PS3 and Xbox 360 will be getting slightly different versions of NieR. PS3's NieR Gestalt features a young Nier who's out to save his little sister, Yona. Xbox 360's NieR Replicant features an older Nier who's out to save his daughter, also Yona.
According to Famitsu, both versions share the same world, characters and battle system. But the story is told from the perspective of a different main character.
The similarities appear to outnumber the differences here. Aside from the differences mentioned above, every preview I've seen has been shared between the two games, presumably meaning the content, characters, beasts and locations mentioned in the previews will be shared.
This week's issue contains one pair of screens of particular note for those wondering about differences. One shot is from Replicant and one is from Gestalt. The two almost identical shots show Nier facing the camera, with Grimoire Weiss (the talking book) floating to his right, Kaine and No.7 (the dude that looks like Jack Skellington) to his left, and a few newly introduced characters (see below) in the background. The only difference between the two shots is that the Nier characters have been swapped between younger and older versions. The other characters and the composition of the scene look exactly the same.
Outside of this neat contrasting screenshot (which Square Enix will hopefully share online later this week), this week's Famitsu has details on the farming and fishing mini games, a look at a new location, and some additional details that suggest there's more to this game than just combat and story.
The new location is Kamen no Machi, or City of Masks. This desert city is surrounded by quick sand. It gets its name presumably from the fact that its residents all wear bizarre masks. They speak a language that Nier has never heard and live their lives in accordance with a seemingly uncountable number of laws and regulations (one of which is that everyone has to wear a mask).
Nier and his party arrives in the City of Masks in search of clues on how to find Yona. They meet two principal characters here: The Masked King and Fyra.
The Masked King is a young king who governs the City of Masks. He will often head off into danger on his own in order to ease the worries of his people, and in doing so he's become the number one breaker of the city's rules. However, he also cares for his people more than any other person, and has earned their trust.
Regardless of his name, the Masked King isn't totally masked. You can see his face. Fyra, however, appears to be entirely covered up.
Fyra is incapable of speaking. It's unclear if this is something from birth or if something happened to trigger it. Screenshots in the magazine show a sequence where Fyra is helped by Kaine. She ends up being kind to Nier's party in return.
Fyra appears to be one of those townfolk who has has placed her trust in the King. She keeps the following words from the king in her heart: "Rules are there in order to know freedom."
Nier and crew will visit the City of Masks multiple times during their adventure. At some point, the city will come under attack by a pack of wolves. This is a common occurrence in the area, but there's something different about this particular occurrence. The pack leader appears to be a demon.
You'll have to combat the attacking wolves alongside the Masked King and the city residents, making sure to protect the King from attack as you make your way to the pack leader. Defeating the leader will require more than just standard attacks. You'll also need to make use of magic from Grimoire Weiss.
The fishing and farming parts of the game don't appear to be directly related to the City of Masks. You access these once you've advanced to a certain point and fulfilled certain conditions. You'll earn the ability to fish at rivers and lakes and farm at Neir's house.
A screen of the fishing part shows Nier casting his rod on a pier. The fishing mini game requires good timing, according to the magazine. You're able to fish until a gauge shown at the bottom of the screen depletes. It seems that in addition to fish, you may end up picking up garbage.
A screen of the farming part shows Nier standing in a garden outside of his home. You can raise fruits and other crops. As for the actual labor, you'll be able to do such things as planting seeds and applying water to your crops. It will apparently take a long time for your plants to grow, so this is one part of the game that you'll want to approach leisurely.
Items that you earn from fishing and farming can be sold at a shop for money, which can be used to purchase new equipment. People in town will ask you to produce certain items for them. Famitsu suggests returning to Nier's home every now and then to care for your farm, and taking an occasional fishing break at the harbor town.
Also shown in this week's issue are some of the means of transportation you'll be able to access for moving about in what the magazine describes as a massive world. So far, only two such means have been revealed: boat and wild boar.
You'll find boars waiting for you outside of towns and villages. Nier mounts the boar and rides it across the field, killing off demons along the way by ramming into them. Screens in the magazine suggest that you'll have full control of Nier (and the boar) when exploring the expanses of the game's world.
As for the boat-based travel. The magazine doesn't have too many specifics, but it appears that you'll find boats waiting for you at harbors and other such areas. You'll be able to use boats to travel to new continents.
The usual process here is that Famitsu.com will follow up its print article with tiny screenshots some time this week and Square Enix will distribute full size media to the rest of the online media on Friday. If you don't have access to the print Famitsu, you'll hopefully be able to get a look at all of these newly announced features, characters and location shortly.
Source: Andriasang
In case you haven't been keeping up with the multiplatform Square Enix action title, a bit of explanation is in order. In Japan, PS3 and Xbox 360 will be getting slightly different versions of NieR. PS3's NieR Gestalt features a young Nier who's out to save his little sister, Yona. Xbox 360's NieR Replicant features an older Nier who's out to save his daughter, also Yona.
According to Famitsu, both versions share the same world, characters and battle system. But the story is told from the perspective of a different main character.
The similarities appear to outnumber the differences here. Aside from the differences mentioned above, every preview I've seen has been shared between the two games, presumably meaning the content, characters, beasts and locations mentioned in the previews will be shared.
This week's issue contains one pair of screens of particular note for those wondering about differences. One shot is from Replicant and one is from Gestalt. The two almost identical shots show Nier facing the camera, with Grimoire Weiss (the talking book) floating to his right, Kaine and No.7 (the dude that looks like Jack Skellington) to his left, and a few newly introduced characters (see below) in the background. The only difference between the two shots is that the Nier characters have been swapped between younger and older versions. The other characters and the composition of the scene look exactly the same.
Outside of this neat contrasting screenshot (which Square Enix will hopefully share online later this week), this week's Famitsu has details on the farming and fishing mini games, a look at a new location, and some additional details that suggest there's more to this game than just combat and story.
The new location is Kamen no Machi, or City of Masks. This desert city is surrounded by quick sand. It gets its name presumably from the fact that its residents all wear bizarre masks. They speak a language that Nier has never heard and live their lives in accordance with a seemingly uncountable number of laws and regulations (one of which is that everyone has to wear a mask).
Nier and his party arrives in the City of Masks in search of clues on how to find Yona. They meet two principal characters here: The Masked King and Fyra.
The Masked King is a young king who governs the City of Masks. He will often head off into danger on his own in order to ease the worries of his people, and in doing so he's become the number one breaker of the city's rules. However, he also cares for his people more than any other person, and has earned their trust.
Regardless of his name, the Masked King isn't totally masked. You can see his face. Fyra, however, appears to be entirely covered up.
Fyra is incapable of speaking. It's unclear if this is something from birth or if something happened to trigger it. Screenshots in the magazine show a sequence where Fyra is helped by Kaine. She ends up being kind to Nier's party in return.
Fyra appears to be one of those townfolk who has has placed her trust in the King. She keeps the following words from the king in her heart: "Rules are there in order to know freedom."
Nier and crew will visit the City of Masks multiple times during their adventure. At some point, the city will come under attack by a pack of wolves. This is a common occurrence in the area, but there's something different about this particular occurrence. The pack leader appears to be a demon.
You'll have to combat the attacking wolves alongside the Masked King and the city residents, making sure to protect the King from attack as you make your way to the pack leader. Defeating the leader will require more than just standard attacks. You'll also need to make use of magic from Grimoire Weiss.
The fishing and farming parts of the game don't appear to be directly related to the City of Masks. You access these once you've advanced to a certain point and fulfilled certain conditions. You'll earn the ability to fish at rivers and lakes and farm at Neir's house.
A screen of the fishing part shows Nier casting his rod on a pier. The fishing mini game requires good timing, according to the magazine. You're able to fish until a gauge shown at the bottom of the screen depletes. It seems that in addition to fish, you may end up picking up garbage.
A screen of the farming part shows Nier standing in a garden outside of his home. You can raise fruits and other crops. As for the actual labor, you'll be able to do such things as planting seeds and applying water to your crops. It will apparently take a long time for your plants to grow, so this is one part of the game that you'll want to approach leisurely.
Items that you earn from fishing and farming can be sold at a shop for money, which can be used to purchase new equipment. People in town will ask you to produce certain items for them. Famitsu suggests returning to Nier's home every now and then to care for your farm, and taking an occasional fishing break at the harbor town.
Also shown in this week's issue are some of the means of transportation you'll be able to access for moving about in what the magazine describes as a massive world. So far, only two such means have been revealed: boat and wild boar.
You'll find boars waiting for you outside of towns and villages. Nier mounts the boar and rides it across the field, killing off demons along the way by ramming into them. Screens in the magazine suggest that you'll have full control of Nier (and the boar) when exploring the expanses of the game's world.
As for the boat-based travel. The magazine doesn't have too many specifics, but it appears that you'll find boats waiting for you at harbors and other such areas. You'll be able to use boats to travel to new continents.
The usual process here is that Famitsu.com will follow up its print article with tiny screenshots some time this week and Square Enix will distribute full size media to the rest of the online media on Friday. If you don't have access to the print Famitsu, you'll hopefully be able to get a look at all of these newly announced features, characters and location shortly.
Source: Andriasang
All being said, it'll probably make a nice option to focus on away from the main storyline, much like the crafting and such like in Fable II.
