Leading the charge: What makes Nikke's titular gals narratively and mechanically compelling

In life, expectations have lots in common with rules: While they're intended to be abided by, that still doesn't stop folks from occasionally breaking them.

In the world of entertainment, expectations can take on a different meaning—either pertaining to how audiences perceive a specific genre or what they think they'll get out of a particular work of art. Where video games are concerned, there's no shortage of titles that are initially seen as one thing and end up being another. It's well-known, for instance, that players were taken aback by their controlling Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001). Likewise, few expected Demon's Souls (2009) to become the dark horse that birthed a subgenre.

And then there are games that market themselves as one thing and do indeed end up being the experience folks were looking forward to, only to realize that there's a lot more to it than meets the eye. Such was the feat that Shift Up achieved a couple of years earlier when the studio chose to take another whack at gacha gaming with a tactical RPG/shooter hybrid.

That hybrid title is 2022's Goddess of Victory: Nikke, or simply Nikke.

Set in the far future, during which extraterrestrial entities known as Raptures have invaded and conquered Earth's surface, Nikke puts players in the shoes of a commander tasked with issuing orders to the game's titular soldiers and seeing to it that humankind repels the alien threat and reclaims the planet as a whole. From the emphasis on cover shooting to having to terminate onscreen baddies before the timer or your Nikkes' HP bars are depleted, Nikke isn't shy about drawing inspiration from Gears of War (2006) and Time Crisis (1995).

What the title also doesn't shy away from is its, uh, fetching approach to character design. While the level of fan service on display did contribute to the image Nikke bears in the eyes of gamers, it also shares the spotlight with another facet of the titular heroines one only notices by playing the game or watching a playthrough of it: Their narrative and gameplay appeal.

Indeed, one of the reasons players stuck with Nikke shortly after getting a taste of its firefights is that Shift Up didn't merely stop at the heroines' appearances when it came to making them memorable. Whether it's the way they address the game's overarching themes or the manner in which they express themselves and deal with their personal woes, the Nikkes themselves boast a surprising level of depth that makes pulling them something to look forward to.

So what is it about the Nikkes that have gamers eager to get to know them on and outside the battlefield? What compels story-/gameplay-minded folks to pull and main as specific Nikkes?

NOTE: Because some story details will be covered in this post, expect some spoilers to crop up.

Striking A Pose

As with many a gacha game sporting anime aesthetics, Nikke makes no qualms about presenting characters that one would readily notice and recognize in the most crowded of settings. It thus behooved Shift Up to not only bedeck individual Nikkes with unique clothing items and tools of destruction, but also convey their personality via their demeanor and the way they bear themselves onscreen. After all, this kind of attention to detail is what can mean the difference between being eager to pull a Nikke and wishing to skip a character altogether.

Fortunately, this is one area the developers didn't cut corners in—with each Nikke getting a chance to shine onscreen and let players know what kind of person they are at their core.

One only needs to take a butcher's at the Nikkes in the stats screen and while they're activating their respective Burst Skill in combat encounters to get a clear idea of how they portray themselves. Helm, for instance, takes pride in adopting a steely facade meant to emphasize her regal and authoritative status as a naval commander who's eager to take back Earth's waters. This can also be seen in the quips she gives out when clicking on her model. Already, gamers know that Helm is a no-nonsense leader who strives for excellence in all military matters—something made all the more apparent in her bond story folks can explore.

On the other end of the emotional spectrum lies the Sherlock Holmes-loving and camera-wielding Novel. Her sparkling eyes, radiant smile, and fashionable nods to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character readily clue folks in on her love of mystery and her genki (i.e. lively) girl aura.

As with Helm, Novel's bearing, facial expressions, and lines give players a good idea of what they'll be getting out of her character in-game and during story events—allowing them to determine if she's someone they can see themselves investing resources into and maining as. It also helps that her Burst Skill animation—which shows her balancing a pen with her nose while deep in thought before she has a Eureka moment—reinforces her endearing nature as a detective with a hyperactive, if not always sharp, sense of intuition that has her find all kinds of leads that can beget risible misunderstandings. Her energetic quips also help sell her character.

Cult of Personality

Nikkes may technically be robots who happen to look human, but that still shouldn't stop Shift Up from imbuing them with the sorts of personalities that let one know what kind of person a particular Nikke is and how fetching they are from a behavioral standpoint. This can be all the more important if one comes for the looks and stays for (or leaves because of) the disposition.

As with their approach to character design, Shift Up spared no expense when it came to bringing virtual battle maidens to life via their words and the ways in which they express their thoughts. This can be visibly seen in the swordswoman Scarlet, for instance. Between her unending love of liquor and her use of Shakespeare's English to calmly describe her worldview, the Pilgrim Nikke's refined speech pattern and deportment paint a picture of a nomadic wise woman who isn't above speaking in jest when the situation calls for it. This helps make her character as attractive as her DPS combat chops, hence her popularity among Nikke players.

Another character whose demeanor (and weapon of choice) has won the hearts and minds of the fanbase is Diesel, the sweet-natured leader of the Infinity Rail squad. From her tendency to pop strawberry candy into the mouths of those she cherishes to the smile she perpetually puts on with everyone she meets, Diesel's traits and mannerisms make her stand out in a world where people have few to no reasons to look on the bright side of life. That obviously makes players want to spend more time with Diesel and even main as her, which in turn allows them to take a closer look at her backstory and better understand what kind of soul she truly is.

War Bonds

As colorful as a Nikke's personality can be, it wouldn't amount to much if the heroines didn't have a personal tale to lend depth to their characters and inspire empathy in players. Seeing as folks will spend lots of time with and resources on specific Nikkes, it only makes sense for Shift Up to provide narrative oomph that can match the playable characters' gameplay chops.

Thankfully, this is another area Nikke hasn't neglected. Upon acquiring a Nikke and after gifting them enough special items to boost their affinity level, gamers will get access to character-specific episodes that shine a light on their personal hopes and struggles. Not only does this incentivize players to delve deeply into Nikke's narrative facets and engage with its world-building, but it also reinforces the idea that the Nikkes' humanity isn't just skin-deep.

Take the cheerleader Bay, for instance. While initial impressions suggest that she has no issues wooing audiences with her performances, the story soon reaches a point where she develops a nasty case of scopophobia (fear of being stared at). This understandably proves bothersome given Bay's trade, prompting players to help her overcome her fears through some exercises.

Another noteworthy case involves Julia, a Nikke whose main function is the recording and preservation of human music. At one point, she took up violin-playing to get a firsthand feel of the musical arts. But the fact that she wasn't made to be a musician meant that her attempts always gave way to grating noise whenever she stroked her instrument's strings. Ergo, players were compelled to help her seek inspiration and take her mind off her obsession with playing the violin at a moment's notice—underlining the Nikkes' creative potential and hardships.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

With each character boasting their own personalities and backstories, it's reasonable for players to wonder how two different Nikkes interact with one another from a narrative and/or gameplay standpoint. Seeing as the game is a squad-based affair, gamers are encouraged to choose and upgrade Nikkes whose respective abilities enhance one or two other team members. Therefore, Shift Up was provided with an opportunity to double down on that front.

Given that relationships among Nikkes make up a big part of the story, it's not surprising to see that some playable characters give it their all when paired with one another. This is especially the case with two Nikke sets gamers are incentivized to recruit and place in a squad.

Take the bunny twins Noir and Blanc, for instance. From a narrative perspective, both of them team up at work to make casino patrons feel like winners—with the reserved Noir performing with her outgoing sister Blanc on the stage to forget about her insecurities. But what truly underscores the importance of their being together is the gameplay potential that arises when the two are on the same team, with Noir's very presence bringing the cooldown time for Blanc's ultimate skill from a glacial 60 seconds to a breezy 20 seconds. This can make a difference in tough battles where Nikkes are expected to mete out punishment without delay.

Another example is the Tia-Naga pair, with Tia always having to rely on Naga in daily matters to ensure that the former's forgetfulness is kept in check. Where gameplay is concerned, however, Naga also finds herself doing the relying on her partner-in-crime—with Naga's attack buffs lasting for longer if she has Tia at her side. The reverse is also true for Tia, with the triggering of her combat buffs being simpler and brisker if she's paired with Naga.

All in all, players may be compelled to dabble in the title's meta and/or get a closer look at the team-focused Nikkes' respective tales if they wish to get the most out of their potential mains.

Business Is War

While it's true that Nikkes can get along swimmingly under the right set of circumstances, it's also true that the world of Nikke is full of folks engaged in cutthroat schemes and bitter rivalries that can overpower the mutual need to eradicate the Rapture threat. Such dynamics serve to add a layer of depth to the relationships shared within and between the different squads and corporations seeking to assert themselves in whichever battlefield they enter.

On a corporate level, Nikke sees three major manufacturers—the militaristic Elysion, tech-savvy Missilis, and entertainment-focused Tetra—reluctantly partnering with one another in the face of overwhelming Rapture forces. Not that it stops the likes of Syuen—Missilis's egotistical and immature pipsqueak of a CEO—from partaking in some shady R&D and engaging in blackmailing just to further her interests. This can be indirectly seen in the way she uses the members of her pet squad Matis as model Nikkes tasked with bringing glory to the Missilis name—even if it means making life more complicated for Tetra and Elysion Nikkes.

Such animosity isn't merely limited to corporate tomfoolery, however. Even Nikkes within the same manufacturing umbrella aren't impervious to feeling the need to pick a bone with one another. Take Squad Absolute, for instance. Their allegiance to Elysion doesn't keep its members—specifically their leader Eunhwa—from upbraiding their former comrade-in-arms Rapi for abruptly deserting them in the past and not providing a credible reason for doing so. This serves to underscore the fact that even though they're technically robots, Nikkes possess the capacity for human error and irrational thinking—further highlighting the idea that the kind of body one has doesn't matter as much as their soul in terms of gauging one's humanity.

Oh, The Humanity

Speaking of gauging one's humanity, perhaps one of Nikke's defining narrative traits is the way Nikkes are treated as little more than humanoid weapons meant to serve humankind's interests—with little to no regard for how the Nikkes themselves feel about their subservience to their creators. When one takes into account the fact that Nikkes possess human brains (i.e. the same capacity for hopes, dreams, fears, and justice that folks embody), the gap in (mis)treatment between Nikkes and humans becomes all the more apparent and unsightly.

Throughout the campaign, gamers will catch hints of misgivings on the Nikkes' part. Some will praise the player avatar for treating their troops with the kind of respect they never got from more bigoted folks, while others have grown so jaded and garnered so many scars that the difference between a good human and a bad one is whether they're standing on their two feet or six feet under. This can be chalked up to the fear of the unknown people embody with regard to Nikkes: That is, what will their creations do if they are granted equal rights? What if said creations have had the parts of their brain that make them doggedly loyal to humans removed? Would they keep serving humankind, or would they take up arms and revolt?

While many are eager to kick the can down the road, others believe that to ignore the double standards Nikkes are saddled with is to paint a target on one's back. Such is the mindset that Squad Exotic embodies, with their extremist leader Crow eschewing tact in favor of raw words and deeds that put the player avatar and their allies in harm's way. Even if Crow and co. were the only ones who wouldn't think twice about making life hard for those living a comfortable life at Nikkes' expense, the fact that this kind of thinking is possible to harbor means it can haunt even those who hardly or don't pay attention to existential matters. It presents players with a question: How is one to approach the Other, specifically in light of (perceived) injustices?