Bonus Post - Helloween4545 Reviews Nier

Now, I realize this is pretty different, even for me if just for the fact that there is not a post before this one today, meaning that it is not quite a Bonus Post, but there is a reason.  Well, two reasons, actually, but the big one is going to be pretty obvious if you're a faithful reader of this blog.  Before that, though, I just wanted to say that the reason this is a Bonus Post is because I'm writing it to get it posted up before the review of Trails in the Sky that will also be going up tonight, hence the second post.  I want this first because, quite simply, I want my review to be the top post for at least a night, since I don't know how many casual browsers just check the first post and then move on.  I would suggest that it is a number that is more than one, however, and while this post is important to me, clearly, a review that I'm going to spend hours poring over whilst writing it gets higher billing than a post that will, in the end, take me about twenty minutes to write.

This isn't the first time I've talked about Helloween4545, nor will it be the last, I'm sure.  As I've mentioned, he's a fairly well-known horror-centric 'Let's Play'er and is rather funny and good at what he does.  And it just so happens that he is a man of good taste as well, as, not only has he been A-Ranking Valkyria Chronicles missions on his newly-bought (well, refurbished, YLOD got his first) PS3, but he just so happens to be a fellow enthusiast of a little game called "Nier" which as you know, is kind of one of my favorite games ever.  I've only prattled on and on about Nier and Drakengard (the first, with which Nier shares a bit of connection with) for countless posts including three posts dedicated specifically to tracks off of the OST (which is still fantastic, by the way), so yes, it is kind of obvious, and I make no motion to hide it or anything because, well, why would I?

Anyways, lately Helloween has taken to trying his hand at video reviews of games that he's either LPed already or, well, just games that he knows of in some way, enjoys, dislikes, what have you.  They're reviews, so, that pretty much tells you what you need to know.  Having just finished his Let's Play of Cry of Fear, a Half-Life mod (which, despite its many, man flaws, is a pretty comprehensive mod), he put out a call on his Twitter for game suggestions for review, to which I sort of jumped on.  He was pretty receptive and we chatted about it a bit before it was pretty much just set in stone that he was going to do up a little something for Nier.  Now, I'm not so egotistical to think that I had anything to do with his decision to do that (since he pretty much said he's wanted to do something like it for a while), but I do find it rather cool that I talked about it with him and, well, it happened.  (I'm being link-crazy tonight I realize, sorry about that)  Because it -is- pretty cool.

Unfortunately, Nier is a hard game to try and review because, as I've elaborated on several times here, there's just so much stuff that would actually spoil something about the game or the story, that it's worth it to try and dance around that.  Because the story in Nier is absolutely fantastic and definitely worth experiencing first-hand whenever possible.  However, that's not an option for everyone of course and while a Let's Play would be the next best thing, we can't really expect one from Helloween anytime soon as he simply doesn't have the hardware to capture Console video reliably.  At the same time, because it is honestly part JRPG, it would be a really hard game to LP (not to mention some of the parts in the game are....different.  Incredibly so.), but as a labor of love, it would be something to watch.  Maybe some day he'll get the shot at it, but only time will tell.

I strongly recommend that you watch the review/gushing (Yes, I'm linking it twice) because it is really enjoyable to listen to and Helloween does a good job of trying to skirt around the spoilers and the landmines thereof while broadcasting why the game is worth your time.  Because it certainly is, we are in major agreement of that.  Regardless, I strongly recommend watching any Helloween videos if you're a fan of Let's Plays as he produces some professional, quality ones while also managing to fumble around in the games like only a person playing the game blind can.  It's part of the charm of the whole set-up, however, and some of the games he plays are likely better experienced second-hand, rather than first since....well, not all Horror games are well known for their stellar controls after all.  So go on, watch the review if you haven't already, and if you like it, grab a snack and kick back with one of the playlists for his other LPs.  Particularly the ones of Dead Space and Dead Space 2 might interest some of you out there.