NieR Automata | Xbox One on June 26th, 2018

[OathkeeperRoxas XIII]

If your friend doesn't want to play the game or purchase a console for whatever reason, he doesn't have to, it shouldn't impact your experience with the game. If you want to play the game and enjoy it, then do that. Automata is getting a lot of positive reactions, so don't worry if your friend doesn't want to play it, that's his choice and his loss. Enjoy what you want to enjoy.

That said, Nier is definitely in my list of must-buys at some point this year. I still have so much to play and chew through that it'll be a while, but it went from me not being interested in the game at all to me really wanting to play it. I'm glad so many people are enjoying it, seems to be better than I initially anticipated.

But he takes the attention seriously, when he comments to me in the morning when he's angry about calling the 2B fans fanboys or complain it's the Savior. So was breath of the Wild But he's not bothering me about that yet.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Some thoughts about the story:

Spoiler Show

I think completing some of the side quests really benefits the main story experience. Especially the quest called Amnesia. I think in there the E-models were first mentioned, and overall the quest was very unsettling. When later on the twist happens and it`s revealed that 2B is actually and E-model, I think at least for me, it had a bigger impact since I already knew what the E-models were. Dam that was a cool twist.

With that in mind 2B`s rather cold personality at the beginning makes a ton of sense. It is from the fact that she is a combat android who is forbidden to show emotions, but from also the fact that she does not want to get close to the person she is supposed to kill. She really tried, but at the end she got attached to 95. The recorded message that you find from 2B flight unit, where she tells how much she enjoyed the time spent she had spent with 9S, almost broke my heart.

I have also been watching a tons of analysis videos about Drakengrad and the first Nier, and man Automata has a lot of nods and references to those games. Like, at first I did not even know that masked machine lifeforms at the desert wearing masks, were basically copying the behavioral patterns of of the desert kingdom that lived in Nier. I think also as you complete one of the side-quests to the person who is searching relics from that area, he basically confirms that the Kingdom of Facade was there in the past.

Also, I wonder if the red eye disease/virus that plaques some of the androids is a reference to the first Drakengrad? Also the human echo inside the system, or what ever it was, talked in a similar fashion as the Watchers. I also liked how in Automata Devola and Popola were the reason why you managed to get to the final dungeon, while in the first Nier they tried to stop you from entering. Their backstory that you get after that was also heartbreaking. Like god dam this game is depressing.

I alsor eally liked some of the meta moments in the game. The first lines 2B says about wanting to kill the gods who created this world is likely a nod to the folks who created the androids, but also to the game developers. Since in the eyes of their characters, they basically are gods. They created them and are in control of their destiny.

I think my favorite meta moment was when Adam is talking to 9S and he says: "I bet you just want to **** 2B." A clever nod to 9S own feelings, but a also likely to the players as well.

I really want to complete the Emil side-quest, but I just can`t make myself to do it. You gotta steal some stuff from Emil to fight him, but I just can`t. I don`t want to be mean towards him.

Does anybody here know about the mysterious doors that have machine lifeforms apologizing and then exploding? Can you access those areas or maybe they are unlocked trough future dlc?

 

[EchoFringe49]

I really enjoy the side-quests in this game, they all have at least one great moment that makes them worth it. It seems like I'm in the minority though, judging from comments on other forums/reviews. Favourite so far is the stamp collecting one.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

^ I agree! Most of them are fetch quests and "go there and kill these enemies", but they lead to great moment which makes the quest worth it. They are also a good way to level up and get resources, money and healing/buff items.

 

[EchoFringe49]

Well I've done all the main endings. What an amazing game, there are a couple things I wish would've been explained better but that didn't bother me too much. Also doing the "thing" at the end was such a beautiful moment.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Some further comments about the story:

Spoiler Show

All right so if I understood correctly the androids Black Boxes are created from the machine lifeforms cores. That makes it so that androids and machine lifeforms consciousness share a similar "structure". So does that imply that despite the machine lifeforms being painted as mindless killing machines, the androids are basically killing their own kind? I also find disturbing that they thought that using the cores would be a better method, since using a regular AI was seen to be too inhumane. The androids really are just tools. Also, since the cores are used to create the Black Boxes, I wonder if it explains why you can sell them in such a high price.

Also one other thing, if you finish the side quest involving the scientist machine lifeform, he will send a rocket to space. Unfortunately the space craft hits Mars instead than the originally planned target. The stuff brings from Mars is quite fascinating, since one of them is an alien mask that resembles the aliens that created the machine lifeforms. Is this a hint that the aliens in Automata came from Mars?

Also, I guess it interesting symbolism at the end that after the explosion trap which from 95 recovers, the blindfold from his eyes is lifted. At that point as he progresses he gets all of the information about the world, so in sense the blindfold falling was symbolism for him finally seeing the whole disgusting truth.

A2 knew more about the machinations going around, so she already saw/knew the truth to some degree so that is why she is not blindfolded....or that`s what I think.

 

[kirabook]

Watched someone play it since I can't afford it myself (yet)
Wow, 2B9S otp

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

An interesting interview with Taro:

[video=youtube;L3wScHE28K8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3wScHE28K8[/video]


There are some bits in the video that might be slight spoilers about Automta so those who have not played it yet, do not watch this.

Yoko says some interesting stuff, don`t know if this has much new stuff for folks who have been following this guy for a long time.

 

[LightWithin]

Is this game worth it? I'm thinking about picking it up.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Is this game worth it? I'm thinking about picking it up.

It is! This game is freaking amazing. It presents an heartbreaking and depressing story, destroyed earth being the stage where this story of tragedy is played out. The characters are very interesting, and despite the story being sad, there is humor that balances it out a bit.

The combat is done by Platinum games so it`s smooth and looks cool as heck. You just want to use different weapons too see their cool movement and move sets. There are also bullet hell like sequences, so this game is pretty diverse.

The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal, I had a few songs stuck in my head for weeks.

EDIT:

They announced a new live stream: http://gematsu.com/2017/04/nier-aut...pments-commemoration-live-stream-set-april-17

I hope that they announce some new dlc on that live stream. The mysterious doors that have machine lifeforms talking in front of them, could be the starting point or something.

 

[Grizzly]

Coming off of a high from finishing Horizon, I wanted something else new to play to keep me going. Automata was $10 off so I decided to give it a go and see what all the hype was about. I put in a solid 13 hours this weekend and got just past the part in my first play through where 9S went missing, and I found Popola and Devola.

I haven't experienced much of the genius to the writing yet, although I've got a lot of questions that I hope and assume will be answered at some point. The graphics in all honesty are just okay, but aren't bad by any stretch. The world feels empty and lonely in a good way, as it is incredibly fitting and creates a super eerie atmosphere. I'm still settling into the characters, as while I like 9S, 2B is still taking me a while to warm up to, but it feels like it should. The game is surprisingly funny, too, and the stamp collecting sub quest was genuinely hilarious. The combat is so incredibly fun, and finding a way to combine all 3 pods, the plug in chips, and the different weapons to pull off all sorts of combos is nothing short of spectacular. There's definitely a deeper layer to combat than it first seemed, and after 13 hours I finally feel like I have the perfect combo going.

For reference, I'm using the Type 4O Lance in my first slot and the Machine Axe in my second, with both upgraded to level 2. Pod A is my favorite of the three, but Pod B is rad at times too. Having triple hammers is the best, but gravity is really useful as well. I have all my chip slots available, as I prioritized that pretty early on. I have a passive health regen when outside of combat, a health regen upon dealing damage, a health regen upon killing enemies and an auto item heal for when I drop below 30% health, among a few standard chips. The combo of those chips makes me feel nearly invincible in combat, and while I'm enjoying cutting down enemies, I might crank the difficulty up a bit now.

Aside from that, the music is absolutely outstanding, the voice acting is pretty solid, traversing the world is fun, and the whole multiple endings thing is super cool. I've managed to get endings K and U so far. Really enjoying the game at this point, and the story has me interested so far, but I'm still waiting for it to get to something truly exciting.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

2B seemed a bit cold to me too during the beginning, but you can see that she is... well how shall I put it... really thinking about stuff beneath the surface. She will open up thou when the game progresses, and her a bit cold behavior in the beginning is explained very well.

I am pretty curious to see you`r reactions to some of the end game story twists. The really good.

 

[Grizzly]

Finished Route A the other day. I really dug the latter third of the story. Some of the plot points were really cool, but I still have a million questions about. Dug the ending as well. I'm really looking forward to getting into Route B once I get through a little more of Persona.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Aand we are indeed getting some dlc, hooray! NieR: Automata original NieR costumes and Colosseum DLC set announced - Gematsu

The downloadable content, titled “3C3C1D119440927,” will launch on May 2 for 1,500 yen in Japan and is “coming soon” in North America and Europe. It will include three new colosseums to challenge, plus additional sub-quests. Upon completion of these quests, players can earn various rewards, including:

Costumes from the previous Japanese release, NieR: Replicant, for androids 2B, 9S and A2

• “Revealing Outfit” (in the style of Kaine) for 2B
• “Young Man’s Outfit” (in the style of young Nier) for 9S
• “Destroyer Outfit” (in the style of young adult Nier) for A2

Records that add special music tracks to the players’ jukebox
New equipment and cosmetic accessories such as hairspray that allows you to change the color of 2B and A2’s hair
Masks with unique “on equip” effects
Special bullets that change the appearance of enemy bullets

Read more at NieR: Automata original NieR costumes and Colosseum DLC set announced - Gematsu

You can enjoy the colosseum challenges by meeting various conditions, and clearing battles will allow you to acquire various rewards, such as the costumes and hairspray. The colosseum has scenarios in addition to battles, as well as considerably difficult battles for speedrun-style players.
Read more at NieR: Automata original NieR costumes and Colosseum DLC set announced - Gematsu

Enemies confirmed to appear in the Colosseum include Square Enix president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda, and Platinum Games president and CEO Kenichi Sato. Defeating them will get you significantly good items.
Read more at NieR: Automata original NieR costumes and Colosseum DLC set announced - Gematsu

[video=youtube;JZswV_piAeU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZswV_piAeU[/video]


[video=youtube;L4Ohdx9Fn9E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4Ohdx9Fn9E[/video]

I was trying to think of an excuse to go back to this game after finishing most of the story stuff, and now one has been given to me. Having the bosses of the companies be video game "bosses" sounds crazy and awesome at the same time.

 

[Recon]

OK the boss idea is hilarious! I can see everyone working at the company poking fun about beating the "boss."

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

I did not even notice it at first, but before you enter the boss fight, one of the resistance members warns that it might destroy you`r sense of immersion into the game. Brilliant!

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

Anybody else playing the dlc? I have been playing and it's pretty fun! While it is an arena battle thing the creators did not forget the depressing and cruel nature of Automata's world. Especially the arena you complete in the Flooded Citu is very depressing, like holy heck. The outfit I like most is The Destroyer outfit you get for A2. It's really cool.

Also, there appears to be a prequel short story about 2B and 9S, it has been translated and can be found from a link behind this link: https://yorha-squad.tumblr.com/post/160266285674 It has massive spoilers thou!


Man, I would like to write and talk about this game more but I feel like I am not smart enough to say anything meaninful, or something that adds any value to conversations that this game has already created.

 

[hemmoheikkinen]

I wrote these posts today. The first one has some minor similarities to one of my previous post, but a lot new ideas and overall I think it`s better worded and more... coherent I think? Since both have massive spoilers about the game I am going to but them behind a spoiler:

Spoiler Show

“Everything that lives is designed to end. We are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse? Or some kind of punishment? I often think of the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle… and wonder if we ever have the chance to kill him."

This is the opening quote that 2B says to herself during the very first minutes of of the prologue of Automata, and now after playing the game trough, these words describe the game, it`s world and story very well.

When we think about the machine lifeforms and androids, they truly are trapped in a never ending spiral of life and death. The machine lifeforms sole purpose, command, etc.. is to battle the enemy. They need an enemy to destroy, they need an enemy to crush. fighting and dying is their very nature. So in a sense they can´t win the enemy, since the would then lose their purpose.

The YorHa troops were also designed to fight a war, but what even more, they were designed to die to create and a lie, that the humans still exist in this world. The Bunker was designed to be destroyed, The data that was collected was then to be transferred to the next patch. Sacrificial lambs as 9S called this whole thing, fits pretty well don`t you think? They were truly designed to end.

I guess you could say that the game, NieR: Automata itself, was also designed to “end”. When you reach the final ending, the true credits, the game deletes all of you`r progress and save files. So by deleting you´r journey`s data in the finale, I guess you could say that game itself was designed to end too.

The god that 2B mentions in the quote is very interesting. It could refer to so many things, going even to some meta levels. In a basic level, I think it could mean the humans who created the androids in the first place. Since they are they`r creators I think it fits with the category of “a god”. God created humans to be his own image/reflection or something along those lines, and the androids indeed look and act very much like humans. They also try to mimic and imitate their creators, by acting and looking similar(I think they were build that way, at least the YorHa models), which is ironic since copying the humans also means repeating their mistakes.

The god could also refer to the android who created the YoRha project.

Going on a meta level and also thinking about the line I often think of the god who blessed us with this cryptic puzzle… , I think the god could also be a nod to the players and the creators of the game. Since in a way we are gods to 2B and the rest of the characters. By pushing the buttons in our controller, we make them move, do as we say, we basically command if they live and die. We truly are in 100% control of their lives, like puppet masters pulling the strings of marionettes. By starting the game and playing it, by making 2B and the rest of characters to fight, we lock them in a spiral of death.

But even greater than the players are the developers. The writers, the coders, artists and etc… made that world, that cryptic puzzle. They have even greater control of the characters lives, since how they created the world, story and etc.. dictates how the characters live. Of course the “top god” being, no other than Yoko Taro himself, who came up with this characters and story ideas.

That opening quote is so heartbreaking, but so fitting to NieR: Automata. I love it.


---------------------

Different yet so similar

Thinking about how must the androids and the machine lifeforms see the opposing faction as the enemy, it`s rather ironic since when you really start to think about it, they have a lot in common.

Both`s outlook and appearance is based on their creators. If you look closely at the dead aliens in the alien mother ship, you see that they have a big round heads. This is very similar to the head and the overall outlook of the machine lifeforms. The androids when they were first created were based and designed to look like humans. The androids and the YorHa mimic and imitate their “noble human creators”, in their appearance and behavior, even their bodies having red blood like liquid in them.

Despite being created for war, some of the machine lifeforms and androids seem to be more interested in other things. Some want to have a peaceful life, go home or just to ordinary things.
One of the biggest twist`s of the game is that the YorHa models use recycled machine lifeform cores as their base, which makes their consciousness share a similar structure.

The dlc also had an interesting secret scene which further linked the machine lifeforms and androids together. Like the androids have the Bunker, the machine lifeforms have an HQ at a factory. It even has a mixture of 2D and 3D levels, like the Bunker! When you walk in the main halls in both places, you view it in 2D, when you enter a room it switches to 3D. The machine lifeform HQ even has a and command center/operation room, which`s appearance looks very similar to the one in the Bunker.

Furthermore, the manner how you play the segment as machine lifeform named Plato mimics the beginning of the Bunker with 2B. You wake up, walk around, do check ups(in 2B`s case 9S goes trugh you`r system, and in Plato`s case you go trough a training program).

In the end, when you put on a mask, you aren`t so different, aren`t you?

EDIT:

Got the platinum trophy from this game today. I got most of the trophies by just playing and grinding, but at the end I got bit lazy and just unlocked the 4 remaining trophies trough the shop. One of them was the pod upgrade one, I did not want to grind that one needed part. The collect 100 bodies one, ain`t nobody got time for that when you have only died like 1 -2 timed during you`r 60 playtrough. And lastly get all of the endings. Then I just finished

Spoiler Show

got ending E and the true credits. I deleted my save, but before I did that I uploaded them to the PSN cloud.

 

[Grizzly]

I never actually commented since I beat the game, but I finished it a few weeks ago. I'm considering double dipping and playing though again at some point over the summer, a rare task for me. It's fighting Horizon for my GOTY and my game of the generation, as it wowed me far more than I expected, especially in the gameplay and storytelling department.

Route C was incredible, and the way Routes A and B were set up to almost serve as a sort of prologue to the third route was something I haven't really seen in a game before, and was a really intriguing way to tell a story. It's a format I'd be curious to see in other storytelling mediums.

 

[Chill]

So I finished this a couple of hours ago. I feel like my heart's been torn out and stomped on, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
This is absolutely one of the best game's I've played and has definitely earned its place as one of my favourites. I've gotta get a new PS3 and get my hands on NieR, because if the plot's anywhere near as much of a wild ride I'll absolutely love it.

Such an excellent game.