So far with this latest generation of gaming consoles, I have not been tempted to purchase downloadable content (DLC) for my games even once. Okay, so that isn’t true. I was tempted for Lost Odyssey, but I was so very poor at the time so it never happened. I completed the fourth ending of NIER, enjoyed it immensely, and then purchased the DLC available that tells the story of Nier’s wife: “The World of the Recycled Vessel.” I attempted to play it today, and dammit, I wish I had known to not play through the fourth ending first before attempting the DLC.
This was important to know for a few reasons. Upon viewing the fourth ending, all of your game saves are WIPED. There is a reason for doing so, and it’s kind of cool and yet not at the same time. I didn’t think this would be a problem because I honestly thought that the DLC was just another chapter of the game, and not something that you do mid-game. You can’t access this new quest until Nier has Grimoire Weiss in his party. Basically, I had to play for a little over an hour before I could even access my additional content. At least this time I knew what I was doing and it went by far more quickly and hey, I got a combo Achievement out of it.
However, another thing I did not realize was that Nier’s wife’s health, weapons, and abilities mirror Nier himself. So the fact that Nier at this point in the game is only level four with two crappy weapons and two magic attacks does not forebode well for his wife. The enemies in this World are HARD. It only takes two bat bites to kill her off, and I couldn’t heal her because Nier had no medicinal herbs on him. Not to mention, her sword is so weak that it hardly fazes anything.
ARRRRRRRRRRRGH!
By the time I got to the fourth ending, Nier was at level 40! I had all the magic and all the weapons!! I had so much gold from all the sidequests that I could buy anything I needed for upgrades or whatever. I am so very, very mad at myself for not doing any research about the DLC and blowing through all four endings just so I could see it all. I’m obviously going to have to get quite further in the game in order to have any fun with Nier’s wife’s story. Sigh. And CURSES!
So for anyone looking at the NIER DLC, ye has been warned! As for me, I’m tucking my tail between my legs in shame and will focus all efforts on Bayonetta now.
More proof that game saves should not self-destruct. I don’t care what the narrative reason is all about. If I work hard to build a character, I expect his data to stick around. I’m sorry to hear the DLC experience was a bust for you on this one. Not all DLC is so poorly implemented!