(Played with the Yakuza Restoration patch)
I decided to start with the first Ryu Ga Gotoku game on PS2 instead of starting with 0 like everyone else, for the sake of seeing how the gameplay evolves with each entry. I have to say, this isn't a bad introduction to the franchise.

Say what you will about the gameplay, but if you put all of that aside, you're left with an interesting crime drama about the lengths people go to for power, and how it affects the world around them.

I found it hard to care for some aspects of the story such as Nishikiyama and Kiryu's relationship because of the little screentime they had together, along with the deaths that are only there for shock value, but I couldn't help but get invested thanks to the story revolving around Haruka's value. If it weren't for her inclusion, I wouldn't have been as invested. I also appreciate the side characters like Makoto Date and Goro Majima for having their own fun relationships with Kiryu. Date is an intelligent detective who was willing to help Kiryu with his problems despite him being an ex-yakuza, and Majima is just batshit insane.

Of course, since this is the first game in the series, things are going to be rough around the edges. I've had some gripes with the combat being a little bit stiff, and the camera being uncooperative at times, but it's not as horrible as some people make it out to be. You should breeze through everything so long as you manage your healing items carefully and learn extra moves (which shouldn't be optional in the first place) from Komaki. I think the only real problems are how unreactable the QTEs are, the groups of enemies constantly pouncing on you, and how annoying it is to fight gun-wielding mooks—especially that one boss I nearly died to. How was I supposed to know where to get a bulletproof vest?

One last thing I want to appreciate is the general aesthetic of the game. The graphics aren't on par with the things we have today but it's not bad by any means. The lighting is great, alongside the characters looking realistic and expressive. Kamurocho's nighttime strolls full of civilians walking around, gangsters lurking, and interesting landmarks are quite immersive and makes the world feel like it's truly lived in. The soundtrack also has this grungy 2000's feel that I think is awesome, and it's also one of the reasons why I played this over Kiwami. That OST just doesn't hit the same.

Overall, I think the game is good, but flawed in most areas. I think this is a valid starting point if you've got an available way to play PS2 games. But I feel like I have to start BEGGING you not to play the original English version, because the dub is terrible and a lot of dialogue is butchered (or in some cases, enhanced) by gratuitous swearing. Or suit your fucking self and play it anyway. I'm not your fucking dad, motherfucker.

Pros:
+ Kratos is a one-note but badass, well-designed protagonist
+ cinematic presentation is excellent and was revolutionary for its time
+ story is simple but effective
+ combat areas are large and backgrounds are always busy
+ combat feels intuitive, quick and satisfying
+ meaty sound effects and mostly great voice acting
+ lots of secrets to discover in every stage
+ camera perspectives are smartly used to emphasize and hide secrets
+ upgrade points can be individually allocated
+ most enemies have specific weak points and demand individual approaches
+ enemies can catch friendly fire
+ plenty of post-game content and bonus features

Cons:
- only three, rather bland boss fights
- optional weapons are nice to have but unnecessary to use
- some areas like the desert are pretty tedious
- all the balancing challenges are clunky and out of place
- one hit death traps are just bad game design
- lack of a sprint button makes backtracking tedious
- even the standard enemies are damage sponges
- enemies blocking attacks ends a combo
- evade moves don't always register in time
- quick time events are not transparent and get pretty tough towards the end
- underwater stages are tedious and controlling them is difficult
- the low-poly, low-frame-rate cutscenes are jarring and not implemented well
- the final fight is a real letdown and not introduced well

Magic Moment: The penultimate boss fight, which combines Kratos' repressed guilt and destructive rage in a satisfying and smart way.

Playtime: 8 hours on Normal difficulty, plus roughly an hour extra thanks to countless deaths to the one-hit-kill traps. Played on the PS2 emulator on PS4.


Verdict:
This is it, the start of Kratos' journey and the initial spark to one of Sony's biggest IPs, and as a first timer 20 years late to the party, there is plenty of entertainment to be found here. While the action has aged pretty well and the setting and presentation are as hyperbolic as ever, it is really the Spartan's memorable design and characteristic, indiscriminite rage that elevates the game beyond its fun and varied mechanics. The story, which is told in a non-linear style, holds more surprises than expected, and the settings and areas offer new ideas and gameplay elements at regular intervals, even if some elements like the balancing challenges are huge design flaws that should have been excised completely.

Even though the unavailability of this game on modern consoles is a problem, any fan of the series should play this at least once to understand where the character came from and how it evolved over time. I'm looking forward to the second one.

Pros:
+ the overworld has a clean design and traversal is mostly seamless
+ the prologue is an intriguing counterpoint to the fantasy setting
+ very stable technical performance that vastly improves on the original
+ the character design is memorable, even if Kainé is hyper-sexualized
+ great voice acting by a fitting cast that is even better than the Japanese version
+ overworld dialogue is humorous and perfectly tailored to each specific event
+ items are limited to only useful ones and using them in combat is quick and easy
+ the camera changing to 2D in buildings is a great idea and well implemented
+ the changes in perspective and playstyles liven up the gameplay
+ combat is a unique combination of physical and magical attack options
+ missable side quests can be obtained from an NPC in the main hub town
+ boss fights are true highlights and range from bullet hell to puzzle challenges
+ the various endings recontextualise the story in sometimes revealing ways
+ the new ending in this version wraps up the plot in a creative and satisfying way
+ the voiced soundtrack is unique and most tracks will stay with you ...

Cons:
- ... but their constant presence is tedious and the vocals can get grating
- the color palette tends towards brownish grey and the general look is washed out
- the story is good but told in a convulted and incomplete style
- characters have great moments but no arcs: conflicts are introduced and solved simultaneously
- character memories are walls of text that talk about instead of showing the action
- the urgency of the story is at odds with the leisurely gameplay and pacing
- dialogue during boss fights cannot be skipped and boss's health pools are artificially extended
- diary entries on loading screen are a nice idea but repeat too frequently
- side quests sometimes lead to moral conundrums but are mostly boring fetch quests
- dungeons and landscapes are incredibly boring and lack suprises, loot or secrets
- the general difficulty is far too low and no battle feels actually challenging
- the combat system is fluid but shallow and common fights drag on forever
- weapon types make no functional difference in combat
- leveling up has no baring on gameplay and allows for absolutely no customisation
- there are only three towns with mostly mindless inhabitants
- invisible walls are arbitrary and render navigation in towns confusing
- fishing is joyless but takes forever and is far too important for too many quests
- gardening is tedious and tied to a real-world countdown
- tutorials are two-line sentences that just appear randomly during combat
- party members are useless in combat, but at least they are invincible
- the mid-game time jump comes out of nowhere and makes solving early quests impossible
- time jump changes nothing substantial about the world (even the rubble in town is still there)
- not all dialogue, cutscenes and none of the credit sequences are skippable on later runs
- the more revealing endings are locked behind expensive and/or missable items
- there is no indication for what scenes and elements are new to each playthrough and ending
- taken as a whole, the endings offer little value for the amount of time they require
- some trophy descriptions spoil later parts of the game

Best Character: It has to be Kainé and her foul mouth, even if her design is blatantly sexist.
Best Setpiece: The haunted ship and the subsequent fight. Especially on later playthroughs.Magic Moments: The true ending. Entering the haunted ship for the first time and actually being surprised by the dense atmosphere and change in style. Entering the Junk Heap for the 10th time, questioning my life choices and feeling a single outstretched hand: "You already have optained the item Memory Alloy".

Blahgic Moment: Seeing the additonal scenes again and again on subsequent playthroughs and realizing that I need to learn how to effectively button mash.

Playtime: 26 hours at level 32 for all quests, all possible weapons, and some farming and upgrading for the first playthrough. Roughly 2,5-3 additional hours for each subsequent playthrough. 40 hours at level 40 combined for all endings and quests except that one shitty farming quest.


Verdict:
Like its lead designer, NieR has a reputation as an odd game, and rightfully so. In fact, it's perhaps one of the oddest that I have ever played and reviewed. At times, it feels like Yoko Taro and his team set out to make a modern epic but never found the time to play a recent Zelda; Ocarina of Time basically does everything better than this game, including the mid-game twist and its effect on the world, but that game came out 12 years prior. In many ways, Toylogic shot for the moon before working on the basics of their game; instead of designing progress around exploration, puzzle solving and increasingly complex combat options, they chose to design all elements of their game around mindless repetition and bland action. It cannot be overstated that the combat is shallow and wholly unsatisfying, the gameplay is limited to a handful of verbs, the quests are tedious and forgettable, the story is good but badly told and the overworld is quite possibly the most barren, unfun hub area created during the 2010s. And yet, the slow revelation of the story through the multiple endings, various heartfelt character moments, a dense atmosphere, and some incredible voice acting frequently converge into weirdly satisfying moments of awe and emotional depth.

However, all elements considered, the bad aspects sadly outhweigh the good ones, and it is very difficult to recommend anyone to sit through hours upon hours of running forwards for a few remarkable moments per playthrough (which can easily be looked up on online). The guys from "Watch Out For Fireballs" called the game a "gemmed flaw" instead of a flawed gem because of this severe imbalance, and that is why I argue against playing this.

If you feel like you have to play this regardless to spite me or because you are a fan of NieR Automata, this is my strongly recommended way of playing:

1. Ignore the trophies.
2. Avoid spoilers at all costs. There is absolutely no point in playing this if you know the twists.
3. Play on easy difficulty. It changes nothing about the story or the trophies but speeds up progress, and the game is far too easy at every difficulty.
4. Follow a guide to spend as little time as possible to get all endings. Shuffle around the save files for maximum efficiency.
5. Memorize which scenes to skip on subsequent playthroughs and develop a sense for whenever new elements are introduced.
6. Ignore most, if not all side quests. You need money for late game progress, but there are combat options available at a certain point.
7. Don't upgrade your weapons. Don't spend time on fishing or gardening. In fact, ignore everything not related to the main quest.
8. Memorize the quickest way through areas like the Junk Heap. Don't pick up collectibles aside from weapons. Look up their locations.
9. Use your items and edit your words as soon as get them to get through fights quicker. Memorize the answers and grasp the logic of the text riddles.
10. Seriously, ignore the damn trophies! Don't be the guy who farmed for materials for 20 hours on end for a blinking icon. Time is short and you will die one day.

A stark example that limited hardware doesn't necessarily mean a game can't be great by modern standards. This is still one of the best 2D Zelda games, thanks to its charming world, music, characters, and the story it tells outside the usual Zelda conventions. The dungeon designs are puzzling without being obtuse. Marin is such a charming character with many cute moments. Plus, all the other wacky cameos and crazy characters make for a fun world to explore. The hardware is the major thing holding the game back, with the constant switching of items being a massive hassle. Even though the Nintendo Switch remake is a straight upgrade, Link's Awakening DX is still special to me and so very fun that I can actually recommend this version in good faith.

yeah uhh... decided to drop this after the 3rd case bc i realized i've been playing this game for more than 6 months and everytime i played it i wish i was playing something else 😬
i didn't like how they implemented logic on this one, too damn obvious and boring. also didn't like how they stretched the 3rd case into NINE parts. like. what the hell.
maybe the next episodes will be better, but for now, i don't feel like playing them. maybe i'll pick it up again someday when i'm more in the mood for visual novels.