Heavenly Sword - Nariko Addresses The Audience

It's not fair to say that just Nariko breaks the fourth wall, her father does too. So does Kai.

Let's do the intro stuff. Heavenly Sword, developed by Ninja Theory was released September 2007 for the PlayStation 3. Heavenly Sword was supposed to be the AAA title that would make the PS3 the system to own. Sadly the PS3's high price point discouraged many gamers from the system. This is my first time playing Heavenly Sword. I'm playing on Normal mode.

The game is a third person action game very similar to the style of God of War. There are differences of course but the parallels are still there. The camera is fixed (you can slightly control it with R2/L2 but nothing significant), square is light attacks, triangle is heavy attack (also counters enemy attacks), right stick dodges. If you've played God of War you should feel pretty comfortable.

There are noticeable difference. Nariko can't jump. Instead X grabs objects which can then be thrown (more on this later). Circle is used to execute special attacks that have to be charged before they can be used. L1 and R1 can change her "stance" (again, more on that later). 

Heavenly Sword is about just that, the Heavenly Sword. Apparently the sword is cursed so that it may only be used by a God. If a mortal uses it, it will eventually drain their life force, killing the user. And that's where our story begins/ends. You see, you start at the ending, it's much more interesting that way. Out heroine, Nariko, has been wielding the sword for a few days now. She's battling thousands of enemies when the sword apparently decides that her time is up.

So the game starts with Nariko's death. Nariko complains about her life and how she doesn't want to die. I can only assume that she shows up in Heaven, or maybe Purgatory. Once she's there she directly address the player. I'm not quite sure who she's actually supposed to be talking to, maybe a God or maybe the sword itself. Basically she's begging for her life back. The whole talking to the camera is creepy. I personally find Nariko creepy looking, but when characters start talking to me directly it really takes me out of the game. This isn't Deadpool breaking the fourth wall type thing. She's actually talking to you in character, trying to make you part of the game. For me, it just doesn't work. Why can't she just talk to the sky or a rock or something?

To be fair, she has had a tough life. Her clan treats her as some sort of curse, her father blames her for her mother's death. She hasn't really had any reason to live, apparently she finds a reason during her quest. So she's begging the player to let her live. It's at this point that you get to get to know the backstory. Apparently some King Bohan wants the Heavenly Sword because he's determined that he's some sort of chosen one.

Gameplay commences. First thing you'll notice is the "cinematic" approach the game takes. The box for the game even brags that the cutscenes are directed by Andy Serkis. The guy was good as Gollum and King Kong, but he ends up being horribly mis-cast in this game. The cinematic feel is alright, the biggest problem I have is that the game wants you to immediately identify with Nariko and I can't. I don't know her yet, all I know is that she has issues.

I've already ripped a good way into the game so I have lots to talk about. I'm going to break things up a little bit. Maybe I won't play tonight so I can give more of my thoughts on the first two chapters of the game.