Here’s what reviewers are saying about our work on Square-Enix’s Nier:
“Nier’s story is, to put it bluntly, one of the best videogame narratives I’ve had the pleasure to experience. The cast of bizarre, wonderfully depicted, surprisingly deep and poignant characters, not to mention the interspersed moments of genuine humor contrasted with shockingly sad and emotional moments makes this one of the most beautifully written games of the generation. When it goes for laughs, it often succeeds, and when it goes for tears, it very nearly gets them. Most importantly, the relationship between the player-named protagonist and his daughter is surprisingly touching, helped along with loading screens and letters that reveal a little girl absolutely besotted with her father, and dialog that demonstrate the lengths a man can go to in order to help his little girl.
The supporting cast is fantastic, with Weiss stealing the spotlight more often than not. His brilliant voice actor lends sublime arrogance to a character that evolves from a hateful and condescending misanthropist to a loyal and genuine friend. Kaine’s expletive-littered diatribes and violent disposition make for a great humorous offset while some of Emil’s scenes in the latter half of the game are absolutely tragic. All in all, Nier’s cast is outstanding, and the story takes some astounding twists and turns along the way in order to help craft the best story I’ve seen this year. ”
—Destructoid
“A lot of credit should go to … the team at 8-4 Ltd for putting together a fantastic translation. …I loved my time in the game world, laughed out loud a lot at the writing…”
—Electric Spectre
“It’s an impressive localisation effort all round, particularly during a brief but exceptionally well-written sojourn into text adventure territory – no, really – with Weiss offering a fourth-wall-breaking admonishment of the unseen narrator. Incidental dialogue is mercifully brief but often amusing, and if some of the colloquialisms feel a little anachronistic (it’s not often RPG barkeeps great the hero with a casual “‘Sup”), the rest of the game is so determinedly bizarre that you simply accept them as yet another of its eccentricities.”
—EuroGamer
“They interact constantly as a big ol’ dysfunctional family, spouting off enjoyable banter that is wonderfully written, well-acted, and just plain fun to listen to.” “PROS: Utterly bizarre and engrossing story; great dialogue and character interactions; very cool boss fights.”
—Gamepro
“The voice work for the main cast is exceptional…”
—Gametrailers
“The voice acting, on the other hand, is top-notch. It’s hard to say if the real star of the show is Laura Bailey’s foulmouthed Kaine or Liam O’Brien’s snobby Weiss, but both are a delight. Most of the characters pull off their roles amazingly well, and in many ways, Nier’s dub is superior even to higher-quality productions like Final Fantasy XIII or Tales of Vesperia. A big part of this is that the localized script is extremely well done, and all the voice actors sound very natural in their parts.”
—WorthPlaying
“Some of the game’s most powerful moments are presented simply as white text on a black screen. In the context of a medium in which almost everything is displayed visually, these prose segments in the form of memories and dreams ignite the imagination and lend the overall experience a rare depth. No game I have played since 1999’s Planescape: Torment has made such effective use of textual storytelling.”
—New York Times