I'm about 30 hours into this right now (Hard mode) and I must say that this game completely took me by surprise. I had almost no expections and almost completely written it off based on a few screens and some videos I saw. It's now pretty much becoming one of my favorite Action JRPGs this gen.
It's weird because despite all its imperfections I'm more drawn to wanting to return to this game's world than most other games this gen. It's probably because I see a certain charm in a game that tries to be an intentionally weird mix of things. Plus I get a little moist over games that have nice overworlds with catchy music.
(slight spoilers)
It's like all the genre that were mixed into this game were almost aimed to titulate someone like me. At times it's a Zelda-esque adventure, other times it's a bullet hell shooter, sometimes it is a side scrolling platformer, one time it's being a little like Resident Evil, and other times, strangley, a kind of text adventure. And while these things aren't as polished as they could be, the wild swinging from one genre to the next makes me eager to continue playing just to see what comes next.
Even the story is a little unconventional for jRPG standards. I like that the characters buck from the mold. Playing as a father who is caring for his daughter is a much more enjoyable protagonist than "whiney, teen boy destined to save the world". Kanye is also a, um, rather interesting girl (?). Emil was annoying me at first but the twist with him is making that character more interesting. NPC's can be a little forgetable but their quests at times usually end with a pretty downbeat note.
Also the soundtrack in this game is freaking amazing. It's definitely one of my tops of this gen. Nearly every track has been something I've loved listening to while slaughtering away at the Shades.
So yeah, Nier, I likes it.
