Nier Replicant: The Beginning, Middle, and Hopefully Not The End.
Before I even write this blog post, my favorite game of all time is Nier: Automata. So you can see where we stand. With that said, I played Nier: Replicant as its own entity and with no expectations of it being anything on the level of Nier: Automata. So all is fair in love and war, with that being said I enjoyed Nier: Replicant. More so than others, probably but it was an enjoyable game. BY THE WAY, I'M SPOILING A LOT OF THINGS.
Quick Analysis:
I'm a big fan of the Nier and the Drakkengard series, at least lore-wise. The gameplay of the older games doesn't necessarily hold up well -- at all. Nier: Replicant involved a bunch of new improvements from its older PS3 form: New dialogue, expanded areas, reworked combat, etc. I have both versions the original one for the US Nier: Gestalt for the PS3 and the new one for the PS4 Nier: Replicant ver. 122 and I can confidently say it has some much-needed work that needed to be addressed in the original.
Though, with that being said the combat still feels mechanical, though smoother but still lacking. It works when you don't think about it too much, but honestly, it's annoying to deal with sometimes. As you go on about the campaign, your weapons get better which helps a lot it doesn't feel suffocating to use one type of weapon throughout. Once you get immersed into the game the gameplay feels more fluid, which is nice.
I'm going to try to offset the bad with the good, because I don't want to just sit here and constantly jab at the game (Though there are more jabs coming, so be prepared). However, Nier: Replicant acts as a prequel to Nier: Automata... sorta. While both games do take place in the same universe, the events that take place in Nier: Replicant are millennia apart from Nier: Automata.
Though Nier is simply more than just a hack and slash, you have many different mechanics in this game. From Over top action, side-scrollers, and text adventures you have a game that shows its elegance in a variety of ways. The one lacking thing is how seamless it isn't as opposed to its predecessor in Automata, I'm not hating on it because this is old-gen software so during the time this game was made it actually is very impressive. Nonetheless, the game offers so much more than just a simple JRPG.
Connection Between Both Games:
There is one particular character whose plot falls in line with both games, Emil. When playing Nier: Automata, Emil seems to be this character who just sells you things here and there, tending to be a mascot for Nier: Automata. Ending Y (a secret ending) in Nier: Automata reveals more about his past and how he had to create duplicates of himself to fight the impending invasion on Earth. This left his memories fragmented and scattered across his duplicates.
In Nier: Replicant, you get a much BIGGER backstory of Emil, all the way from before he took on his shape as a skull-like mascot for the franchise. Understanding Emil and his character is going down a road of sorrow and sadness, the character he is to who he becomes is unbelievably sad. Emil goes through a treacherous journey, he starts off as a young boy whose eyes are blindfolded solely because anyone he stares at becomes stone, he also doesn't age so he's stayed at the age of 10 since he was experimented on. To be able to see properly, he must confront his sister, Halua who was turned into a mechanical curse, in defeating his sister he becomes what he is now -- A character who's turned into a skeleton with powerful magic abilities. It's honestly sad, to give up one curse he is afflicted with another, just trying to find his place in the world. That's why he is very hell-bent on staying as a companion with Kaine and the protagonist.
This is going to be a loooong blog post because I have a lot to say on this game, so bear with me. The gameplay itself like I mentioned prior has a slightly archaic combat style, but that's fine you get used to it. To actually enjoy Nier: Replicant though, you need to have patience. A lot of it, the game doesn't really start until 10-ish hours in. What I mean by that is that everything prior is just a prelude. You play a younger "Nier" (This is what I'm giving the name of the protagonist as), which starts off as a human all the way when the White Chlorination Syndrome begins then after this quick sequence you fast forward all the way thousands of years.
Understanding The Plot:
Not the worst thing ever, as it begins building the story and characters for us, but after the fast-forward of a thousand years, you go back to playing as a young Nier. A little odd how the character hasn't aged throughout this time period, but fine let's go with it. During this portion of the gameplay, the player is presented with small tasks and quests to do which take up the time of the player. I get it, it's all for the sake of world-building, personally, I don't mind but I know 10 hours of just getting warmed up to a game may be brutal for some people.
So what do we really do during this prelude? Well other than the menial tasks, you do get an introduction of all 4 main characters Nier, Kaine, Emil, and Grimoire Weiss. You don't get much about them to begin with, which is to be expected, but you do get to know enough about them to be somewhat curious of their origins. Yonah, Devola, and Popula are also introduced, key characters that play a huge role in the story. Yonah is the younger sister of Nier and the story begins to turn from a prelude to the main act when she is seemingly kidnapped. After this event, we have another time skip to about 5 years to which Nier is a more grown individual and ready to bring back Yonah. I'm going to skip a couple of details here and there because if I didn't this blog would take forever.
The antagonists of the game are these Gestalts called Shades, that wander around the world and wreak havoc. I told you prior that Yonah was kidnapped right? Yeah well, that was by the Shadowlord. Kinda cliche right? The game does a good job of separating who are the good guys and who are the bad guys from the get-go. So as a typical hero protagonist, you need to do what? Save your sister from the big-bad Shadowlord and save humanity from the Shades.
Yet, things aren't exactly what they seem. Shades are actually the souls of the original humans, from way back in the intro of the game. They're a result of Project Gestalt which separates soul and body, the reason for this project was due to the fact of White Chlorination Syndrome which was incurable. The White Chlorination Syndrome threatened humanity with extinction at the time. Remember, when I told you, that you play as Nier then a thousand years pass and you haven't aged a bit? Yeah, that all happened around then, in the year 2053.
Gestalts were temporary, souls that became Shades were only supposed to last until they would be fused with Replicants -- living shells. However, that all began to change when Replicants began developing a subconscious, thus just rejecting Shades outright. In a sense, you're fighting the morality of things and are asked if something without a soul can develop self-awareness and consciousness.
In traditional Yoko Taro fashion, there are 5 endings - A, B, C, D, and E. Ending E is a brand new ending that was involved in the original but to get to it you need to get all the other letters prior. This is not an easy task, because you need to play the WHOLE game again post-time skip 4x before you get the new gameplay in Ending E. That's just rough man, every playthrough you do things slightly change. The overall story pretty much remains the same though.
Each ending is different, because of the choices you make at the end of the game. I believe Ending D used to be the canon ending up until Ending E was given in the new Nier. To get Ending E you need to delete your saved files and I believe have all 30 weapons in your inventory. SPOILER: You end up saving Yonah, but Kaine goes crazy because she's part Shade and the Shade in her is taking over. So to save her you have to sacrifice yourself which means deleting your saved files. Like totally gone, you (Nier) sacrifice yourself for Kaine, in doing so you agree to have all your saved files cleared. Nier is forgotten from everyone's mind -- his sister, Kaine, and Emil.
Where the game really shines is right here in Ending E, though. It starts off similar to how the game normally is, but all the way at the prelude. You kind of play like that normally until you wake up Kaine. That's when things really get crazy, Three years after Ending D Kaine goes to the Forest of Myth to stop a program that's meant to reset the Replicant program. Kaine rekindles with Emil after all those years and goes through the tree in the Forest of Myth, slowly recollecting her memories of Nier. Eventually, going through a place that looks very similar to The Tower from Automata she battles her way to have Nier reincarnated, and due to this, the players saved files are restored. Honestly, this is probably one of the closest you'll have to a happy ending in a Yoko Taro game.
Conclusion:
You know, I wanted to stop right there. I want to keep writing for some reason, Nier this game albeit not as good and impactful as Automata it still played a big role in me appreciating the story and learning from it. Drakkengard and Nier are very messy games especially when you try to connect the dots. I love them though, you learn a lot more when you look into them.
In Nier: Replicant, you go to several cities and meet several people and they always say something. Something that resonates with you, it sticks with you and makes you think. It's funny because a game is just a game, it's a form of entertainment. However, it can also be a form of education. During the game, you go to a place called Facade, a place where there are a million rules for any and everything. No, like really, there's a rule for everything, but the King of Facade says a quote that sticks with you.
"Rules do not exist to bind you. They exist so that you may know your freedoms" - King of Facade
This isn't the only quote in the game either, there are many. I may put one more to seal the deal at the end of this segment. It stands to me though, that you can take this game and play it as it is -- just a form of entertainment, or you can learn from it and view it as something more. I think that's why I was so moved by Automata originally, it taught me so much and I hope to actually do a real piece on that soon because I have so much to say.
Nier: Replicant though, as choppy as it may be gameplay-wise I enjoyed the hell out of it. Nier was a branch off of a Drakengard ending, but to me, it all started with Nier (the original from 2010) that was the beginning. Now, it's come back as a remaster after Automata so we're in the middle. Hopefully, this won't ever be the end.
Throughout the story of this game, if you've fallen in love as I have you'll see that Ending D & E are two different roads of emotions. There is so much more to this game than I could have ever explained, in fact, if I could take each level and Ending as a section I would, but this game is a rollercoaster of emotions and I love it. It'll never live up to Automata's level of success, but it doesn't need to. In fact, why should it? Enjoy it for what it is -- a beautiful, yet tragic poem that takes you for a spin.
"Our journey may have been meaningless. Our past may have been a mistake. But we’re not going back. Even if this world comes to an end. Because this… This is the world with the people we cherish" - Emil & Kaine
