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Nyagato: Apr 6, 2009

ImpAtom posted:

Man, that does not look even a little good gameplay-wise.

I'm not really worried about this because I really don't expect games from the people at Cavia to actually have good combat so if it's tollerable then it's good enough for me.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 17:55

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 16:56

Cityinthesea: Aug 7, 2009

ImpAtom posted:

Man, that does not look even a little good gameplay-wise.

I thought the regular combat stuff seemed fine. At least Nier level, which is all I really expect.

Dragon stuff looked REALLY rough though.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 17:55

Artix: Apr 26, 2010; He's finally back, to kick some tail! And this time, he's goin' to jail!

Yeah, this doesn't really look that fun to play, but I'm not too worried yet. Nier wasn't exactly a slam dunk in the gameplay department, so if they at least manage to match that, I'll soldier through it. Those dragon segments do look really rough, though.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 18:03

Pesky Splinter: Feb 16, 2011; A worried pug.

ImpAtom posted:

Man, that does not look even a little good gameplay-wise.

Yeah, it doesn't look too great, but it is a Drakengard game after all - mash X til things die. Looks a bit more involved than Nier's combat, anyway - it resembles Drakengard 2's a bit. Either way it looks passable.

The Dragon combat however...that looked kinda...janky. The framerate coming to a grinding halt didn't help.

[e]: There's a new story up on the website.
[e2]: Eng subs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ElVD9RHvIM

Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jul 1, 2013

# ? Jul 1, 2013 18:06

see you tomorrow: Jun 27, 2009

The dragon's voice is too good. Played Drakengard 1 recently and had a fairly good time with it so it would actually have to play worse than that for me to be put off by the gameplay. Probably going to import it unless they actually announce that someone is publishing it outside of Japan before it comes out there.

e: the narrator at the beginning sounds like the one from the first Drakengard. Maybe I'm crazy.

see you tomorrow fucked around with this message at 18:41 on Jul 1, 2013

# ? Jul 1, 2013 18:33

Kaboom Dragoon: May 7, 2010; The greatest of feasts

It's a Taro Yoko game, if the gameplay's more than 'passable', we'll be impressed. Besides, is anyone actually here for the button-pressing bits?

# ? Jul 1, 2013 18:50

Renoistic: Jul 27, 2007; Everyone has a
guardian angel.

I thought the fighting in Nier was pretty satisfying. Slamming enemies into walls with a giant sword or skewering five at a time with the spear was pretty great. Loved the magic system as well!

# ? Jul 1, 2013 20:39

FutureCop: Jun 7, 2011; Have you heard of Fermat's principle?

I feel like I just found something special. Something very special.

Very late to the party, but I just completed this game and got all the endings: A, B, C and D. I have to agree with some of the views in this thread about how it is unbelievable that this game doesn't have as much acclaim as it deserves compared to more recent games that have traversed similar territory: Bioshock, Spec-Ops The Line, The Last of Us, etc. It's like watching Total Recall and Blade Runner and not giving Philip K. Dick any credit for his original stories. Not that we need to make this a contest or anything; they are all good in their own respects. I just feel like this flew completely under the radar.

In fact, the only way I knew of its existence was the soundtrack. My roommate who played the game and only got ending A would listen to the soundtrack a lot, despite his dislike for the game. I would constantly play devil's advocate and say that there is no way for a game to be bad with a soundtrack that good, despite having never played it. So, things came to a head and I ended up buying the game to prove my point (couldn't borrow it from the roommate, he had sold it out of spite). It was a hell of a ride and he has definitely changed his tune.

Would people recommend playing Drakengard again? I did play it a long time ago, but I don't feel like I gave it the attention it deserved, so I'd like to give it another shot. However, perhaps it simply wouldn't be fun if the gameplay mechanics are too archaic, like trying to play Assassin's Creed 1 after having played the newest ones. I did enjoy Nier's combat, as simplistic as some people would say it is. Also, it might be a bit pointless because I did read the Grimoire and do understand how the worlds connect. I also have Drakengard II but I think that is universally canned by everyone I talk to, so I've never played it.

Anyway, just glad to join the magical, depressing world of Cavia!

# ? Jul 1, 2013 20:47

Nyagato: Apr 6, 2009

FutureCop posted:

Would people recommend playing Drakengard again? I did play it a long time ago, but I don't feel like I gave it the attention it deserved, so I'd like to give it another shot. However, perhaps it simply wouldn't be fun if the gameplay mechanics are too archaic, like trying to play Assassin's Creed 1 after having played the newest ones. I did enjoy Nier's combat, as simplistic as some people would say it is. Also, it might be a bit pointless because I did read the Grimoire and do understand how the worlds connect. I also have Drakengard II but I think that is universally canned by everyone I talk to, so I've never played it.

Anyway, just glad to join the magical, depressing world of Cavia!

Read The Dark Id's LP. don't play Drakengard.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 20:49

Marogareh: Feb 23, 2011

Renoistic posted:

I thought the fighting in Nier was pretty satisfying. Slamming enemies into walls with a giant sword or skewering five at a time with the spear was pretty great. Loved the magic system as well!

I loved the magic system but the normal combat was pretty sub par.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 20:51

Barudak: May 7, 2007

Nyagato posted:

Read The Dark Id's LP. don't play Drakengard.

X

See the X above? Tap it every few seconds for the next 35 minutes and you too will have experienced the all the combat depth and variety Drakengard has to offer.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 20:53

Pesky Splinter: Feb 16, 2011; A worried pug.

FutureCop posted:

Would people recommend playing Drakengard again?

NO.

Read the LP of it, and save yourself having to suffer through the gameplay. Nier's combat maybe simplistic, but Drakengard's is basically "mash attack" or "use (mostly useless) magic". It's rather mindless in the gameplay sense.

Drakengard 2 on the other hand, mechnically it's more enjoyable - controls better, no obvious fog-of-war, better camera, slightly more depth to the combat (enemies have specific weapon type weaknesses), etc - but the story is another matter. Drakengard 1's story and cast are refreshing in how hosed up they are, Drakengard 2's (aside from the stuff involving Caim and the Dragon) are a massive letdown.

The music for both is pretty good - each for their own reasons - Drakengard 1's OST is a clusterfuck that perfectly suits the feel of the game, while Drakengard 2's is a more conventional score which sounds pretty solid.

[e]: The bells. The bells. i h e a r a s o u n d . . .

Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 21:39 on Jul 1, 2013

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:03

see you tomorrow: Jun 27, 2009

FutureCop posted:

I feel like I just found something special. Something very special.

Very late to the party, but I just completed this game and got all the endings: A, B, C and D. I have to agree with some of the views in this thread about how it is unbelievable that this game doesn't have as much acclaim as it deserves compared to more recent games that have traversed similar territory: Bioshock, Spec-Ops The Line, The Last of Us, etc. It's like watching Total Recall and Blade Runner and not giving Philip K. Dick any credit for his original stories. Not that we need to make this a contest or anything; they are all good in their own respects. I just feel like this flew completely under the radar.

In fact, the only way I knew of its existence was the soundtrack. My roommate who played the game and only got ending A would listen to the soundtrack a lot, despite his dislike for the game. I would constantly play devil's advocate and say that there is no way for a game to be bad with a soundtrack that good, despite having never played it. So, things came to a head and I ended up buying the game to prove my point (couldn't borrow it from the roommate, he had sold it out of spite). It was a hell of a ride and he has definitely changed his tune.

Would people recommend playing Drakengard again? I did play it a long time ago, but I don't feel like I gave it the attention it deserved, so I'd like to give it another shot. However, perhaps it simply wouldn't be fun if the gameplay mechanics are too archaic, like trying to play Assassin's Creed 1 after having played the newest ones. I did enjoy Nier's combat, as simplistic as some people would say it is. Also, it might be a bit pointless because I did read the Grimoire and do understand how the worlds connect. I also have Drakengard II but I think that is universally canned by everyone I talk to, so I've never played it.

Anyway, just glad to join the magical, depressing world of Cavia!

I'll be the one voice of dissent you'll hear and say sure, go for it. There's something to be said for experiencing it yourself. It isn't unplayable. The huge variety of weapons all with unique magic attached to them is a neat idea. The dragon stages can even be legitimately fun. The biggest problem by far is the grinding. To make all of those weapons actually viable you have to kill hundreds of enemies with each. There's no scaling for tougher enemies, it's just the raw number of kills, so you end up repeating the easiest stages with the most enemies again and again. It's quite bad. The best alternative is to cheat using something like a Codebreaker disc. You can pick one up on Amazon for like $30. If you rip the ISO you can even use it with an emulator. They include codes to unlock individual weapons and instantly increase them to max level. The game becomes much more bearable that way.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:08

Freak Futanari: Apr 11, 2008

I actually LIKE Drakengard, and i still wouldn't recommend PLAYING it. TDI's LP just adds so much to the game, it's basically the best way to experience it.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:14

LorneReams: Jun 27, 2003; I'm bizarre

I was sick with an ear infection and was bed-ridden for a week. I could not get out of bed without feeling incredibly dizzy and sick to my stomach. During that time, I played Drakengard basically 12 - 16 hours a day because that was all I could do (besides vomit).

This is pretty much the only way I can imagine playing Drakengard.

I didn't even get ending E; I was about 3/4 of the way there. This was with no internet/game faqs or anything of course.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:28

Kaboom Dragoon: May 7, 2010; The greatest of feasts

Dorroile posted:

I actually LIKE Drakengard, and i still wouldn't recommend PLAYING it. TDI's LP just adds so much to the game, it's basically the best way to experience it.

It's a wonderfully bleak story with an amazing soundtrack wrapped in some highly questionable gameplay mechanics and half-baked to wonky perfection. There's a lot to like, but sadly, it requires suffering through the gameplay.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:34

dazat: Nov 23, 2007

Pesky Splinter posted:

Oh boy, this manga.

The brown-haired girl is Furiae and she's all hot and bothered over Caim. After Nero attacks her and One chases him off, she tells him that if she can't give it to her brother she'll give it to anyone, even him. It really says something when you make the guy who's been wantonly slaughtering folks for the entire manga look that uncomfortable.

This chapter is a little much but I'm interested where the manga is going. Given the timeline/gender reveal I don't think the One in the manga is the same as the One from the game, although they might be related somehow.

Re: the new story up on the website, it's all about Five and her appetites. She says the world is made up of things she wants, and things she wants more. The only person she thinks she can't have is her father, whom she can't remember at all. It's also revealed that her apostle/boy-toy is Dito so I guess Zero must steal him from her by the time of/during the course of the game.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:49

jonjonaug: Mar 26, 2010; by Lowtax

dazat posted:

Re: the new story up on the website, it's all about Five and her appetites. She says the world is made up of things she wants, and things she wants more. The only person she thinks she can't have is her father, whom she can't remember at all. It's also revealed that her apostle/boy-toy is Dito so I guess Zero must steal him from her by the time of/during the course of the game.

Now I'm hoping that the entire game is just killing superpowered women and taking their boytoys.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 21:53

Pesky Splinter: Feb 16, 2011; A worried pug.

dazat posted:

The brown-haired girl is Furiae and she's all hot and bothered over Caim.

Well that's cleared that up for me, thanks. _{Jesus Christ Drakengard}

# ? Jul 1, 2013 22:28

Kaboom Dragoon: May 7, 2010; The greatest of feasts

jonjonaug posted:

Now I'm hoping that the entire game is just killing superpowered women and taking their boytoys.

Still not the weirdest version of Pokemon I've ever seen.

# ? Jul 1, 2013 22:43

NonsenseWords: Feb 17, 2011

I'll echo the general sentiment that if the gameplay is serviceable, it should be worthwhile. I'm really not here for the gameplay. The train wreck of crazy is more than enough.

Call Now posted:

What aliens

This got lost and that's a shame because the answer is pretty great.

Yoko Taro made a joke that, after the end of the game, hostile aliens invade and force Replicants and Gestalts to work together so they don't get killed by an extraterrestrial menace. Happy end!

It became official in the drama CD's "Great Space War", where 300 years later Emil tries to befriend a flying saucer and it responds by trying to murder him.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 01:34

Squallege: Jan 7, 2006; No greater good, no just cause; Grimey Drawer

I started Nier last April and finally gotten around to playing it. I've only gotten to the first fight with Kaine and the two kids upgraded my weapon. Does the combat get any better? Am I supposed to use something specific whenever the circle appears above a boss? Are sub quests required? All that aside, the music's great.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 01:42

Mahuum Aqoha: Jan 15, 2004; SHEPARD!
Do it for the universe!; Fun Shoe

NonsenseWords posted:

This got lost and that's a shame because the answer is pretty great.

Yoko Taro made a joke that, after the end of the game, hostile aliens invade and force Replicants and Gestalts to work together so they don't get killed by an extraterrestrial menace. Happy end!

It became official in the drama CD's "Great Space War", where 300 years later Emil tries to befriend a flying saucer and it responds by trying to murder him.

I knew about the aliens but didn't know about it being expanded on in the drama CD so I had to look it up:

http://orangeislands.net/forums/blog/81/entry-691-nier-drama-cd-the-great-space-war/

This is amazing. And it warms my heart to see that they stuck with the (giant NIER spoilers obviously) populations of merged replicants/gestalts in different areas of the world. They didn't get all destabilized by the death of the Shadowlord/Original Gestalt! I would've liked to see those people expanded on a bit - were their overseers a lot more forthcoming to their replicant populations than Devola & Popola were, or were they completely brutal and outright forced them to merge with the gestalts?

# ? Jul 2, 2013 02:12

Azure_Horizon: Mar 27, 2010; by Reene

Gaseous Snake posted:

I started Nier last April and finally gotten around to playing it. I've only gotten to the first fight with Kaine and the two kids upgraded my weapon. Does the combat get any better? Am I supposed to use something specific whenever the circle appears above a boss? Are sub quests required? All that aside, the music's great.

The answer to all these questions is a pretty big no.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 03:21

Xires: Jun 28, 2013

I've seen this before, and it seemed like a really watered down action RPG in terms of the battle system. Maybe not "Kingdom Hearts" simple, but I guess it's really relative. I might give it a go in the near future.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 03:23

see you tomorrow: Jun 27, 2009

I hope dragon drifting is the new boar drifting.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 03:33

Mazed: Oct 23, 2010

Vaudeville Dragon knows how to enter the stage. The only thing missing is a cane tucked under-wing and a stripey ragtime hat.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 04:13

dazat: Nov 23, 2007

You can vote for which old character the team will create a DLC costume for Zero based on here:
https://ssl.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/658/658392/index.html

The options are Caim, Furiae, Manah (DoD2 Version), Eris, Kaine or Nier. You can only vote for one.
You can leave the two text boxes blank (unless you speak enough Japanese to want to answer).
You're required to enter your user data at the end, though, which is as follows:

Handle Name
Email Address
Gender (Male, Female)
Age
Profession (The first four options are Elementary, Grade and High School Student so don't pick those if you've put your age in as 30 for example)
Where You Live (it's all prefectures in Japan, so just choose any)

Then hit the left-hand button to submit your vote.

I voted for Caim, of course.

EDIT: Here are the costumes if you need some reference: http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/658/658595/

dazat fucked around with this message at 05:13 on Jul 2, 2013

# ? Jul 2, 2013 05:10

ImpAtom: May 24, 2007

Kaine's going to win, of course, because scantly clad.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 05:35

Artix: Apr 26, 2010; He's finally back, to kick some tail! And this time, he's goin' to jail!

Gonna be honest, I would be okay with either Caim, Kaine or Nier winning this, although the former two moreso than Nier. Basically anything other than Drakengard 2 characters.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 05:39

marshmallow creep: Dec 10, 2008; I've been sitting here for 5 mins trying to think of a joke to make but I just realised the animators of Mass Effect already did it for me

Voted Caim.

And the idea of the game being about stealing the boys as much as it is killing the girls is an amusing thought that kind of has a Mega-man feel to it. You beat the boss, you get her boyfriend as a power-up or special attack. That concept alone would make a fine video-game.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 05:58

dazat: Nov 23, 2007

I guess I'm on kind of a Drakengard roll today? I summarized Five's story:

quote:

Five's Story - My Favorite Things

"The world is divided in two: things I want, and things I really want."
This is the motto of Five. It's not that she actually loves everything in this world, like her sister Two. There are plenty of things she hates, in fact, such as: bad-tasting food, ugly clothes and boring people. But as she sees it, bad-tasting things can be made tasty if cooked in the right way, and ugly clothes can be improved with the right accessories. As for boring people, they have use as servants. So to Five, there's nothing in the world she might not have a potential use for.

She loves beautiful clothes, jewelry and shoes most of all, though. Her other sister, Four, often scolds her for her expensive tastes, saying one dress of hers could feed a poor family for weeks. Five doesn't quite follow that line of reasoning, though, since it's not like she bought any of her things with money; she got them by killing their previous owners.

Five sets about putting together an outfit when Dito, her apostle and lover, stirs in bed. He is one of her very favorite toys, and she spends a long time describing him in loving and very creepy terms, especially in regard to his doll-like, girlish face. When he scolds her for the time she takes selecting an outfit, she tries to seduce him instead. He sighs, but Five isn't sure whether it's out of passion or exasperation. Dito worms his way out of the situation but going to pick out a dress for her himself, a pretty blue one. Five hears him sigh again but thinks she must be imagining it; he's her loyal apostle, after all.

Five agrees to wear the dress but wishes she had three or four bodies so she could wear more than one at a time, and eat three times as much delicious food. Dito remarks that this would be a living nightmare and that she already eats enough for three people on her own. He asks why she is so greedy, but Five doesn't see herself that way. It's just that the moment she gets her hands on something she wants is almost orgasmic to her. She feels sorry for people who can only long for things, thinking how lonely it must be. She's never felt like that� or has she?

Five tries to think if she has. She lacks for nothing materially, and has servants and soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves for her aplenty. Sexually, she could have any man or woman she desired, as none would turn down her advances. Save her father. This thought gives her pause. Father? My father�?

She is snapped out of her reverie by Dito calling her name. For a moment she thought she had caught glimpse of a nostalgic face. But it couldn't be her father's, since he died before she was born. Five deems it a waste of time to think any more on it. Instead she decides to focus on what she wants: sapphire broaches, gold necklaces, silk dresses, lacy shawls� and her beautiful apostle.

Five reflects on her happiness. Yes, she is blissfully happy.
Isn't she?

# ? Jul 2, 2013 07:14

Mazed: Oct 23, 2010

I thought giving her a Kaine costume would be cool, but it didn't immediately register that Kaine wears next to nothing. Kaine is just awesome and Zero resembles her regardless.

So, Five sounds entertaining, in a shallow and debauched kind of way. I wonder how much screen time in the game these characters are really going to get, though, since undoubtedly Zero is going to murder them all.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 09:12

Renoistic: Jul 27, 2007; Everyone has a
guardian angel.

ImpAtom posted:

Kaine's going to win, of course, because scantly clad.

I'm pretty sure the outfit is going to be scanty no matter which character wins.

I had a hard time choosing between Caim and Nier, but Caim's crocs won out in the end!

# ? Jul 2, 2013 09:53

Baku: Aug 20, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

I think she already looks a lot like Kaine. That's a pretty boring costume!

# ? Jul 2, 2013 09:56

Sex Beef 2.0: Jan 14, 2012

Renoistic posted:

I'm pretty sure the outfit is going to be scanty no matter which character wins.

I hope so, a kinky Caim outfit would be hilarious. As long as they keep the crocs.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 10:03

Namnesor: Jun 29, 2005; Dante's allowance - $100

At first I was thinking "why isn't anyone voting for Dadass outfit" then I realized that it's a japanese poll, which means BroNier

# ? Jul 2, 2013 10:04

dazat: Nov 23, 2007

Sorry to be such a spammer. I also translated Zero's story since I thought the translation that came out earlier was kind of unclear.
Watch out for the WALL OF TEXT!!!

quote:

Zero's Story - The Final Rain and the First Flower

I hate rainy days, I think as I stare out at the downpour.
But I can't help smiling when I remember clear days aren't much better.
"Are you crying?" A barley audible voice sounds from beside me. "Are you crying?"
"No." I reply. "I'm laughing."
It's little surprise the girl next to me mistook my expression. She can't see, after all.
As part of her torture, needle were stuck into her eyeballs� and that wasn't all. She also had hot irons pressed into the palms of her hands and soles of her feet, making her reek of burnt flesh. In addition, the tendons on her arms and legs were cut so that she couldn't even roll herself over.

This is standard as far as torture goes, however. This girl, along with her four friends, had plotted against the corrupt Lord of the land. But they were apprehended before they were able to mobilize, sold out by a traitor. They should have expected as much. There's no such thing as a human who won't double-cross you if given good enough reason to.

In any case, all five girls were caught and subject to torture. They'd been told they would be spared should they confess, but this of course was a lie. Whether they opened their mouths or not, the result was the same.

One thing that I wish he hadn't done was lump me, an indiscriminate mass murderer, in the same cell as these freedom fighters. I'm different from these girls. I have nothing to confess, no plots or partners-in-crime, so I wasn't tortured, just given a few lashes. The girls' bones had been broken, their fingernails had been ripped out; I got just a few marks on my back which had already ceased to ache. I was in no pain. I didn't even feel the coldness of the rain. This was strange, considering I was about to die.
"What a worthless life I've led�"

My first memories are of my mother yelling and hitting me. My stomach was always empty, and I knew how to steal before I knew how to talk. I don't resent my mother, though. After all, only the children of nobles could expect a hot meal and a warm bed. For most women, being conceived by accident, raised without care and growing into dysfunctional adults only to repeat the cycle with their daughters was the norm. I'm sure my mother was raised in much the same way as I.

When I hit puberty, my mother sold me to a brothel for what I now understand to be a trifling amount of money. There, women like her whored themselves to men. There were girls my age there, too, one of which I became friends with. She called me "Pink", and it was only then I knew what color my eyes were. I had never looked in a mirror. In return, I called her "Blue". I didn't care about my own face, but I found hers quite beautiful. Pink and Blue� we were inseparable.

One day Blue suggested we steal some money and escape. I agreed, thinking we could pull it off together. And we did. We slipped out of town and met with a man on a horse waiting by the gates. I recognized him as a regular customer of Blue's. I thought he was going to take us both away with him, but I was wrong. It turned out they had planned on killing me from the start. My role was to carry more gold for them to reaped.
"Don't hold it against me, Pink."
Blue said with her usual smile. If our pursuers had not arrived at that moment, I'm sure I'd be dead. The two ran off in a hurry, and I was caught. I didn't hate Blue for what she'd done. I hated myself, instead, for being tricked so easily. I decided that next time I wouldn't make the same mistakes.

I didn't. If anything, things went smoother than with Blue. That was largely because I killed everyone in the brothel before I left it.

I waited until night, then killed the men employed as guards. I'd snuck poison into their liquor so by the time I reached them, they were already half-dead, enough so that even a girl-child like myself could easily do them in. As for the sleeping prostitutes, they died before they could even awake.

I pocketed all the money I could and left town at dawn. Unfortunately I met with bandits in the place of pursuers. They took all my gold, but I was able to escape before they could sell me back into a life of sex work. After this I decided carrying money was more trouble than it was worth. I'd just steal it when I needed it. That way I'd be less of a target. Unfortunately, my sex always kept me one. It was one thing I couldn't do away with.

I could have gotten a man to protect me, like Blue. But I'd rather live on my own.
Actually, though, I did live with a man just once. He was a patron of that sleazy brothel who recognized me when we met in a far away town. I was ready to kill him to keep my secret, but held off for some reason. Instead I ended up living with him in a corner of town, helping him work as a thief. The time we spent together was interesting� fun, even. Thinking this way of life wasn't so bad, I gave up on killing him.

But that didn't last long, either. I contracted an illness, a slow-acting but terminal one. It was also contagious; fearing for his life, the man abandoned me, but not before trying to sell me. The symptoms had yet to show, and he'd receive a handsome finder's fee. A foolish man.. I wasn't weak enough yet that I couldn't kill him. I cut off his head in his sleep and he died with a shocked look on his face. It was after that I realized I never really had given up on killing him� after all, I always slept with my blade near my pillow.

And so I was alone again. Stealing food and clothes whenever I needed them, I traveled the land aimlessly. From what I'd heard, my illness would take some time to progress. So I just wandered, waiting for it to kick in. I would always kill from those I stole from, be they women, children or the elderly.

"You can have all our food! Just please, spare us!"
So they'd beg. People all make the same face when pleading for their lives. I wondered if I had the same expression on that day with Blue. No� no, because I never begged.
"And if I did spare you? You'd be back for revenge in no time."
"No, we wouldn't, I swear�!"
"Sure you would. After all, I killed your mother right in front of you."
She seemed like a fine mother, too, not like mine. She'd died shielding her children from my blows.
"You can hold this against me. I won't tell you you can't."
And with that, I murdered that pair of shivering little sisters.

Among the many I've killed, there was only one who did not beg for her life.
She was a girl, just a few years younger than me, who beheld me with anger.
"Why do you do this?!"
"Because I'm hungry."
"That's ridiculous!"
"It is not. I'm starving, and I have no money to eat."
Before the girl lay the bodies of her father and brother, as well as the woman who served as their cook. This was my usual strategy. I'd kill the strongest first, always leaving the children for last.
"Why couldn't you just steal from us and run?! Why kill us?!"
"Now that you mention it� that's true. I wonder why not?"
In spite of my new found doubts, I still took the girl's head off her shoulders. Her open eyes retained their look of reproach even in death.
"Why do I do it this way? I'd like to know myself."
The girl's unblinking stare on my back, I took the bread of the table and began to eat. It was true, I was starving. That's why I made my way into this well-off house during dinner-time.
"Really� I wonder why�"
I ate food off the plates with my hands, drinking straight from the water pitcher. I paid compliments to the chef in my head. She was good.
"Why do I always kill? In spite of killing so many, I'm not sure."
I spoke to the girl's head on the floor. I couldn't remember any of the faces of those I'd killed in the past, nor could I recall their number. And yet this simplest of question had never even occurred to me.
Why did I kill? Why?
"Maybe I'm killing to find that out."
The girl's eyes continued to glare at me, unsatisfied.

After that I continued my way of life. I kept killing without questioning the reasons why. But as the number of my victims increased, so did the stories of me spread, though how they did so when I was so careful to kill every witness, I'm not sure. Tales of a young woman who kills indiscriminately traveled from town to town, even as far as other countries. Dubbed "The Witch with Pink Eyes", a price was put on my head that would set any man for life.

And eventually I was caught, surrounded on a night when my illness made me unable to move. It was finally catching up with me, and I could put up no resistance. As they chained me, I realized the end was near. Let me be punished for my crimes, then. I was whipped enough to draw blood, but hardly enough to kill me. I was told the exact number of people I'd killed, and it seemed smaller than expected. I spent the rest of my time in the dungeon listening to the five other girls being tortured.

Before long their voices grew weak. The girl beside me had held out the longest, on pure strength of will. I looked at her, knowing she could not see me. Even in this state, I could see she was a strong girl with a sense of justice� just the opposite of me. How strange it was then that we'd die beside one another.

At length she asked me my name. She must have realized I wasn't part of her group by my coughing.
"Who are you? What's your name?"
I replied that I had none. I had nothing. No money, no home, no loved ones, not a single thing. It was almost enough to impress. All I ever had was my life, and soon I'd lose that as well. Zero. That was my name. How stupid.
Yes, it was a stupid life. There was no meaning to it. It was empty. I could almost laugh.
Don't cry� the girl said again.
"I'm� laughing�"
Unable to breathe properly, maybe it sounded like I was weeping. I realized any breath might be my last.
"Really?"
"Really."
I head her sigh in relief, before realizing the downpour had grown lighter. The next moment, I knew she had died. In just a few seconds, all the life had left her body.
"Hey�"
No answer.
"So I'm the last one, huh�"
They had said the last one living would be burnt alive with the bodies of the rest. Hearing that, one bit off her own tongue. Another died while being dragged into the dungeon. Another passed away before the rain had started, and another while it poured. We were the final two.
It would be impossible to start a fire in this weather, so in the end I'd probably be buried with these five instead. At least it didn't have to be her. This girl who lived her life for others shouldn't have to die so miserably. It would be wrong.

�wrong? What's wrong? Who's wrong?
"We aren't wrong!" I remembered the girl's words. No, they weren't.
It was this world that was wrong. It was that monstrous lord who would do this to people. It was me, me who killed without a second thought. It was this world that punished the weak.
This is strange. It doesn't make any sense.
Suddenly anger consumed me. No, it wasn't sudden, I had always been angry. I just didn't realize it until now. But I've always hated, always cursed this world. Since before I could even remember�
I felt a shriek rising in my throat, but only warm fluid poured forth from my mouth. Blood. It was as if this hell hole of a world was trying to murder me itself. I wouldn't let it. I'd never let it. You die! You're the ones who should die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die�!

I noticed a flower before me. It was blooming in the space between me and the girl.
Had it always been there? I didn't notice it until now.
The flower swayed, stray rain drops hitting its petals. I didn't know what kind of flower it was, but I felt I had seen it before. Maybe it seemed that way because it was almost the same color as my eyes. Or because it was a floor of heaven. Was I already dead?

No. I wouldn't be in heaven if I were. I must be hallucinating before I die.
But it doesn't matter. I want to look at it mow. I want to touch it. I had never cared for flowers before� but I loved this one.
My field of vision bloomed with that flower. I gazed at it, unblinking.
How beautiful� my life had no meaning, but this wasn't a bad way for it to end.
My eyes caught in the flower, I silently smiled.

So are the five girls she died with in the dungeon the other five songstresses? The girl who died beside her being One, maybe?

After reading this, I have no doubt Zero and Caim are a match made in heaven. And this is all before she even gets any special powers!

# ? Jul 2, 2013 11:19

Mazed: Oct 23, 2010

Oh, you have no need to apologize. That's uh,

that's

somewhere in there, there's an omnipresent exclamation of "Drakengard!"

# ? Jul 2, 2013 11:42

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# ? Jun 7, 2024 16:56

Honest Thief: Jan 11, 2009

Nier was more than competent gameplay-wise, this looks, well, bad.

# ? Jul 2, 2013 11:53

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