Nier

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Bloody, sexually charged RPG with an oddly touching story.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Nier is one of the bloodiest Japanese RPGs (role-playing games) to come along in some time. Huge gushes of crimson spew from fantastical enemies and wild animals when struck, and humans are shown gravely injured in the game’s cinematic cut scenes. There is also one character that is highly sexualized and wears skimpy outfits that reveal her posterior and excessive cleavage. Note, too, that the game features strong profanity, though the worst of it isn’t noticeably frequent. However, amidst all this potentially offensive content is a story with some surprisingly touching themes; specifically, a father’s tireless love for his daughter.

  • The game explores themes of fatherly love and desperation. However, it glorifies violence with its frequent battles and needlessly graphic depiction of blood. It also sexualizes one character.
  • Our hero is a father consumed with finding a cure for his disease stricken daughter. His love for her is at times surprisingly moving, as is her love for him. He also feels honor-bound and indebted to his friends and fellow citizens. He is a good man; however, he uses his strength, skills, and stature to engage in acts of bloody violence, but never against innocents and usually as a means of protecting or helping friends and family.
  • Three difficulty levels ensure that players of all skill levels will be adequately challenged and that even role-playing game (RPG) rookies will find the action accessible. The controls are simple, and plenty of text-based tutorials exist to help players through virtually every aspect of play.
  • Players use magic, swords, and other melee weapons to kill evil fantastical creatures and animals. Fights typically result in large gushes of blood flying through the air and crimson splattered across the ground, though there is no dismemberment. Humans are gravely and graphically injured in some of the narrative cinematics.
  • One female character is dressed provocatively in a skimpy outfit that looks more like a negligee than a practical costume. It shows most her posterior and generous cleavage. There is also flirtatious dialogue and discussions in which characters express romantic interests.
  • Profanity occurs off and on throughout the game and can at times be quite strong, with examples including: “f--k,” “s--t,” “bastard,” “bitch,” and “asshole.”
  • Not applicable.
  • Occasional reference to drinking, with characters talking about others being “hammered” and a building designated as a pub.

What's it about?

Set in the distant future, NIER, a surprisingly bloody Japanese role-playing game, tells the tale of a man trying to save his daughter from a terrible disease. He journeys across huge maps and through countless dungeons and battles a variety of mythical creatures on his quest find a cure. Along the way he meets up with some interesting characters, including a talking book and a foul-mouthed, scantily clad half demon/half human, and explores some imaginative locals, such as a village made of platforms suspended in a canyon. Note that, unlike publisher Square Enix’s most popular RPGs -- such as those in the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series -- this is mature game filled with adult themes, strong language, sexuality, and graphic violence.


Is it any good?

 

Nier has plenty of surface flaws. Despite some impressive vistas, its graphics are surprisingly bland, featuring flat, spartan environments and characters lacking much in the way of distinguishing details. And the battle system starts off as exercise in mashing a single button as players tap it to carry out repetitive attacks.

However, give it a few hours and the moving story, which is filled with quirky personalities, such as a world-weary, wise-cracking book, just might sink its hooks into you. And the fighting eventually becomes more engaging once players begin attaching “words” to their weapons to increase their attributes and learn to master dodge, recovery, and magic abilities. Plus, fishing, plant cultivation, and weapon-forging activities act as nice distractions when you want to take your mind of the main quest. It’s not the best role-playing game of the year by any measure, but there’s a good chance it will hit the spot for adult fans of Eastern-style action RPGs.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the relationship between the game’s daughter and father. Did it feel real? Do you think the game makers were trying to use it to legitimize the father’s violent actions?

  • Families can also discuss the game’s excessive violence, something not all that common in Japanese role-playing games. Did it help give the game a more mature vibe? Or was it distracting, given the emotional and sincere narrative?


This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Kid, 12 years old
April 28, 2011
 
This games is good if you like games such as Bayonetta and Castlevania : Lords of Shadow because the combat style is simular. If you are someone who likes Games that have a Good Story then this is the game for you. This game has enemies called Shades which are dark ghosts. This game is very unrealistic and it should not be too bad for kids because it is not too violent. There is some Bad Language though but not as bad as games like GTA and COD Black Ops the language is not as often. The Gameplay can get a bit repetitive as you are fighting the same enemies again and again. It also has a Sad story as they are forced to kill innocent people but in this world they turn into shades and you are forced to kill them. This is good for 11+ as it is not bad for an M. I would not give it to younger kids. I Rate 5/10 fun combat but repetitive.

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Adult
August 23, 2010
 
bad game
not that great of a game

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Teen, 14 years old
August 13, 2011
 
Game for mature teenagers
Personally, I think this was a good game, but it is defiantly not appropriate for immature children, and anyone who does not like heart-wrenching stories should stay away from this game. The game play is fairly simple, and is split into melee attacks and magic attacks. There is a good deal of blood, but it is just that-blood. The gore in this game doesn't get any worse than large amounts of blood, and one case of a monster having a limb severed. One character frequently uses profanity and dresses skimpily, but she does not accompany you for a good portion of the game. The plot does send strong messages about protecting people you love, and is generally up-beat until you reach the half-way point in the game. After that, the game becomes really depressing, especially when you play the game completely, doing side-quests and getting the second and third endings. One last thing- once you've played the entire game, you can see that surprisingly, this game is Anti-Violence, which is very hard to achieve for a videogame.. To get the second and third endings, you must play through the second half of the game again, but this time, you hear what the "monsters" are saying, and most of it is something along the lines of "Why are you doing this?". All in all, It's a good game, but you should seriously consider how mature your child is before letting them play.

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Kid, 12 years old
May 5, 2010
 
Never heard of it!
I'm always an anime finatic. They're INSANE!!! This game is a real nut job. And too much for japanese markets!

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Teen, 14 years old
May 5, 2010
 
Never heard of it!
I'm always an anime finatic. They're INSANE!!! This game is a real nut job. And too much for japanese markets!

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Kid, 11 years old
May 5, 2010
 
Never heard of it!
I'm always an anime finatic. They're INSANE!!! This game is a real nut job. And too much for japanese markets!

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Teen, 13 years old
March 2, 2012
 
Depends on the kid.
As I loved Bayonetta and play it everyday, when I heard about this game from GameStop,I knew I had to get it.And it wasn't a disappointing buy.The gameplay is 100%,and guaranteed to delight RPG lovers.However,there is loads of violence,language and sexual themes which is not surprising for a Japanese PS3 game.Very good for mature Castlevania lovers too.Also,if you love Kingdoms of Amaluar,get this!!

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This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Role Playing
Developer:Square Enix
Release date:April 27, 2010
Price:$59.99
ESRB rating:M for Blood, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence

This review was written by Chad Sapieha

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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