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''Nier'' is an
action role-playing An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games emphasize real-time combat wh ...
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
developed by
Cavia ''Cavia'' is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as the guinea pigs or cavies. The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, ''Cavia porcellus'', a meat animal in South America and a com ...
and published in 2010 by
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
. In Japan, the game was released as for the PlayStation 3 with a younger main character, while an alternative version titled with an older main character was released for the Xbox 360; ''Gestalt'' was released outside of Japan as ''Nier'' for both platforms. A
remaster A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...
of the Japanese version, was released for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
, and
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
in 2021. The game is a spin-off from the ''
Drakengard ''Drakengard'', known in Japan as is a series of action role-playing video games originally developed by Cavia (company), Cavia and published by Square Enix. The Drakengard (video game), eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 ...
'' series, following the fifth ending of the first game, the events of which have left Earth in ruin. Set over one thousand years later, the story follows the unnamed protagonist attempting to find a cure for a terminal illness afflicting the girl Yonah—either his sister or daughter. The gameplay borrows elements from various
video game genres A video game genre is an informal classification of a video game based on how it is played rather than visual or narrative elements. This is independent of setting, unlike works of fiction that are expressed through other media, such as films ...
, occasionally switching between them and the main
role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing ...
-based gameplay. Beginning production in 2007, the game was directed by ''Drakengard'' creator
Yoko Taro is a Japanese video game director and scenario writer. Starting his career at the now defunct game developer Cavia, his best-known work is on the action role-playing video game series '' Drakengard'', and its spin-offs, '' Nier'' and '' Nie ...
, who was given a lot of creative freedom with the project. Its storyline drew inspiration from
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
and the War on Terror, while its gameplay was partly inspired by ''
God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheism, polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their ...
'' series. Due to feedback outside of Japan, multiple versions of the protagonist were created. The music was composed by Monaca, a music studio founded by
Keiichi Okabe is a Japanese composer and arranger, best known for composing music for the ''Tekken'' and ''Drakengard'' series. He started his career at Namco in 1994, where he primarily composed for arcade games. Outside of video games, he has composed for a ...
, with several albums being released. ''Nier'' was released to mixed reception; reviewers praised the story, characters and soundtrack and were mixed in their opinions of how well the disparate gameplay elements were connected. The execution of some gameplay elements was criticized, notably the side quests, and the graphics were regarded as substandard. Despite this, the game acquired acclaim among players over time, becoming a
cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
. The original ''Nier'' sold 500,000 copies, while the updated version shipped 1.5 million copies worldwide. A sequel developed by
PlatinumGames PlatinumGames Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. It was founded in October 2007 as result of a merger between Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc. Capcom alumni Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba, and Hideki Kamiya founded Seeds Inc. after ...
, titled '' Nier: Automata'', was released in 2017.


Gameplay

''Nier'' is an
action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...
in which players take on the role of an unnamed protagonist; the protagonist is a middle-aged man in ''Nier Gestalt'' and a teenage boy in ''Nier Replicant'', named by the player. The player directly controls the main character through a third-person perspective to interact with people, objects, and enemies throughout the game. The player can turn the camera around the characters, which allows for a 360° view of the surroundings. The three-dimensional world is divided into areas separated by loading screens, and the player can move freely throughout these areas by walking, running, jumping, and climbing ladders. In some rooms and buildings, the camera swings to the side and the main character is restricted to moving as in a two-dimensional platforming environment, while during certain battles the camera pulls up to simulate a top-down
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs) are a Video game genre, subgenre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain typ ...
or other video game genres. While traveling the player is frequently attacked by monsters, which include shadowy figures called Shades, large animals, and robots. Defeating these enemies gives the player experience points that can increase the main character's power, and money that can be used to purchase items. The player's weapons can be customized to have greater damage and abilities using materials that can be purchased, dropped from monsters, or scavenged around the world. Multiple varieties of each weapon type can be acquired. The player can also use magic spells, which require enough energy from a constantly regenerating amount to cast. These spells include projectiles and large shadowy fists, among others; new spells are acquired in the first half of the game by completing specific battles. In addition to the main plotline, ''Nier'' includes numerous sidequests, which give the player experience points and money, as well as fishing and farming segments.


Synopsis

In the mid 21st century, in the midst of a snowstorm in summer amid a ruined city, the protagonist fends off ethereal black monsters to protect the sick young girl Yonah—either his younger sister or daughter, depending on the version. The protagonist uses a magical book to fend off the creatures, but Yonah touches it and is covered in black markings, worsening her condition. The story moves to over a thousand years later, with the current feudal civilization in decline and the black creatures—dubbed Shades—becoming more hostile. The protagonist and Yonah live in a village built within post-industrial ruins, with the protagonist taking odd jobs from the village leaders Devola and Popola to earn money to support the sick Yonah. While rescuing Yonah from a temple after she wanders there looking for a rare flower, the protagonist meets the talking book Grimoire Weiss, which suggests that the two team up to use Weiss's magic and to find a cure for Yonah's disease, identified as the terminal Black Scrawl. In their search, they encounter
Kainé is a character from the 2010 video game ''Nier'', a spin-off of the ''Drakengard'' series developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix. She is a lead character and player companion in ''Nier'', and prominent in related media and merchandise ...
, a hot-tempered and foul-mouthed swordswoman; and Emil, a blindfolded boy whose eyes petrify anyone they see. After journeying for a time, the protagonist's village is attacked by a giant Shade. The battle ends with Emil being forced to petrify Kainé to seal the shade, and Yonah being kidnapped by a master Shade dubbed the Shadowlord. The game jumps forward five years, with the situation worsening. The protagonist and Emil successfully find the power necessary to free Kainé and kill the giant Shade, but getting the power transforms Emil into a skeletal being the villagers fear. Under Devola and Popola's guidance, the party seek out parts of a stone key that will unlock a pathway to the Shadowlord. After defeating five Shades and assembling the key, the team goes to defeat the Shadowlord. Devola and Popola then confront the party, revealing themselves to be allied with the Shadowlord in the name of a greater plan. 1300 years prior, humanity faced extinction due to an incurable disease. In an attempt to survive, they separated their souls from their bodies; the current humans are the artificial Replicants who developed their own personalities, while the Shades are human souls—dubbed Gestalts—who are slowly losing their minds through being unable to reunite with their bodies. The Black Scrawl is a side effect of the Gestalts' insanity degrading their Replicant counterparts. The Shadowlord is the prime Gestalt used to stabilise them, and Devola and Popola are androids who oversee the system. The party defeat them, with Emil sacrificing himself in the process. The remaining group then defeats the Shadowlord, revealed to be the Gestalt of the prologue's protagonist, with his actions driven by the wish to save his Yonah by reuniting her Gestalt and Replicant. The Gestalt Yonah dissipates to save her Replicant version's life, and the protagonist kills the Shadowlord after Grimoire Weiss sacrifices himself to weaken his power. If the player enters further playthroughs, events start just after Kainé is freed. Kainé's past is focused on, showing the discrimination she suffered due to her parents' deaths, being born
intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
, and later being partially possessed by the rogue Gestalt Tyrann. Through Tyrann, the player can understand the previously-garbled speech of Gestalts. New story sequences show the Gestalt antagonists' motivations and backstory, showing them to be sentient and fighting for their own beliefs and goals. The second ending shows the spirit of the Gestalt protagonist and Yonah reuniting in the afterlife, and reveals that Emil survived; further information confirms that the Shadowlord's death will lead to humanity's extinction as Replicants and Gestalts can no longer be rejoined. In a third or further playthrough, Kainé becomes overwhelmed by Tyrann, going berserk and forcing the protagonist to fight her. The protagonist can either kill her to end her suffering (the third ending), or sacrifice his life for her (the fourth ending). The latter choice erases memory of him from Kainé and Yonah, and deletes all of the player's save data. The updated version of ''Replicant'' adds a fifth ending after a new game is begun following the fourth ending, beginning following the defeat of Kainé's Shade nemesis Hook. Three years after the Shadowlord's defeat, Kainé continues having nightmares about losing something precious, and fights increasingly-hostile Shades. Investigating a settlement, she finds its people killed by robots emerging from its central tree, the control unit recording Replicant memories. Kainé, who is talked to by the control unit's AI through twin childlike avatars. Kainé is aided in fighting past machine duplicates of her by Emil, eventually entering the tree's mainframe and battling enemies drawn from her memories, culminating in a battle with a more-powerful Hook helped by the data remains of Grimoire Weiss. Kainé destroys Hook and the AI, restoring the protagonist in his young form; all of the player's save data prior to the fourth ending is consequently restored.


Development

The concept that would become ''Nier'' was first proposed following the release of ''
Drakengard 2 ''Drakengard 2'', known in Japan as is an action role-playing video game developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix in Japan and Ubisoft in all other territories for the PlayStation 2. It is the second entry in the ''Drakengard'' series, s ...
'' and the reveal of seventh generation consoles. The original concept was for a third entry in the ''
Drakengard ''Drakengard'', known in Japan as is a series of action role-playing video games originally developed by Cavia (company), Cavia and published by Square Enix. The Drakengard (video game), eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 ...
'' series. As the project evolved, the original ideas were reworked and the game eventually became a spin-off from the main series. Despite this, the game's director
Yoko Taro is a Japanese video game director and scenario writer. Starting his career at the now defunct game developer Cavia, his best-known work is on the action role-playing video game series '' Drakengard'', and its spin-offs, '' Nier'' and '' Nie ...
continues to think of it as the third ''Drakengard'' game. Different reports described its planned platforms. An earlier report stated it was intended as an Xbox 360 exclusive, then expanded onto the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
(PS3). Yoko later stated that the PS3 version was the original one planned due to the lessening importance of the
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, which ''Drakengard 2'' had been made for. Including concept planning, the total development time lasted three years, with two years spent actually developing the game. It was initially a small-scale project, but during planning it grew into a full-fledged role-playing game. Development was handled by
Cavia ''Cavia'' is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as the guinea pigs or cavies. The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, ''Cavia porcellus'', a meat animal in South America and a com ...
with help from publisher
Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, video game publisher and entertainment conglomerate. It releases role-playing video game, role-playing game franchises, such as ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', and '' ...
, who had previously provided development support for the ''Drakengard'' games. Square Enix had minimal input on Yoko's vision for the game's atmosphere and story, allowing him high creative control. ''Nier'' is intended to be set over 1000 years after the original ''
Drakengard ''Drakengard'', known in Japan as is a series of action role-playing video games originally developed by Cavia (company), Cavia and published by Square Enix. The Drakengard (video game), eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 ...
s fifth ending. In this scenario, the game's protagonists Caim and Angelus travel across a dimensional boundary to fight a monstrous beast. After winning the battle and killing the monster, they are shot down by a fighter jet and killed; their introduction of magic to the world leads to magical research that results in the Black Scrawl. According to Yoko, after the dark story of ''Drakengard'', Yoko focused on more positive themes of friendship and combined effort. Much of the game was inspired by the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
and the War on Terror. Yoko took from it the idea of a terrible event where both sides believed they were doing the right thing, and wanted to show the player multiple perspectives of the same events. The term "Replicant" was borrowed by Yoko from the 1982 science fiction movie ''
Blade Runner ''Blade Runner'' is a 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples. Starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, and Edward James Olmos, it is an adaptation of Philip K. Di ...
'', although Yoko did not cite a particular source for ''Nier''s name, passing it off as a codename that persisted through development. The characters were designed by an artist under the moniker D.K. Two character designs for the protagonist were created for ''Nier''. The developers believed that the Japanese audience would respond more strongly to a younger protagonist, while non-Japanese audiences would prefer an adult protagonist character. Other than changing the protagonists appearance and modifying a few lines of dialogue to fit with him being a father rather than a brother to Yonah, the developers made no changes between the two versions; it was initially believed that the older protagonist was the character's original design. Many characters underwent changes during development, and some needed to be cut. There were originally thirteen Grimoires, with all but three—Weiss, Noir, and Rubrum—being cut. Emil's character was derived from a female character named Halua, while Kainé was originally a far more feminine type who hid her violent nature. Yonah's original Japanese name was derived from the Biblical name
Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...
; this could not be taken verbatim into its localized form due to the name being associated with a man, so the name was changed to "Yonah". Yoko was initially shocked at Kainé's design, but warmed to it and had it kept. Kainé's character was made
intersex Intersex people are those born with any of several sex characteristics, including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binar ...
, since the team felt it fit in with many other aspects of her gritty backstory. Kainé's status as intersex caused some "commotion" in some regions outside of Japan, which is something the team did not actively intend. Yoko attributed the original suggestion to female staff members working on the game. The in-game cutscenes were created and directed by Studio Anima. The combat and action elements of ''Nier'' were inspired by the ''
God of War A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in polytheism, polytheistic religions. Unlike most gods and goddesses in polytheistic religions, monotheistic deities have traditionally been portrayed in their ...
'' series of games, which both Taro and Saito enjoyed. While the games had not been as popular in Japan as in North America, the two felt that the idea of having boss fights with different combat styles than the regular battles was an idea that would appeal to players in both regions. The changing styles, as well as the occasional changes in camera angle and movement, were meant to "accentuate hegap between real, modern scenery and the fantasy world" as a tie-in to the game's story. The game was designed to have gameplay that would appeal to non-Japanese players in mind, with producer Saito stating that they wanted to depart from menu-based combat. The game was meant to appeal to older players; it was intended as an action-role playing game (RPG) for an older market than Square Enix's action-RPG series ''
Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square) and owned by The Walt Disney Company. A collaboration between the two companies, it was conceptualized by Square employees, Japanese gam ...
''. This influenced the decision to have a main character in his 30s for the international version, as well as more blood and swearing than typical in a Square Enix RPG. The fusion of different gameplay styles was included as a homage to earlier gameplay styles and genres.


Music

The soundtrack to ''Nier'' was composed by a collaboration of the studio MoNACA, directed by Keiichi Okabe and including Kakeru Ishihama and Keigo Hoashi, and Takafumi Nishimura from
Cavia ''Cavia'' is a genus in the subfamily Caviinae that contains the rodents commonly known as the guinea pigs or cavies. The best-known species in this genus is the domestic guinea pig, ''Cavia porcellus'', a meat animal in South America and a com ...
. Okabe served as the lead composer and as the director for the project as a whole. Okabe was brought onto the project when the concept for the game was first being devised, and worked intermittently on the soundtrack for the next three years until its release. The music for the game was generally composed entirely separately from the development of the game. The music was designed for different motifs to appear in various arrangements throughout the soundtrack, and also to convey a sense of sadness even during the "thrilling" tracks. Okabe was allowed a great deal of freedom regarding what the music was to sound like; game director Yoko Taro's main request was that he use a lot of vocal works. The soundtrack to ''Nier'' is largely composed of melancholy acoustic pieces which heavily feature vocals by vocalist Emi Evans (Emiko Rebecca Evans), a singer from England living in Tokyo. She is the singer for the band freesscape, and had previously worked on video games such as ''
Etrian Odyssey ''Etrian Odyssey'' is a dungeon crawler role-playing video game series. It is primarily developed and published by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. By 2016, the series had sold a combined total of 1.5 million copies worldwide. Each installme ...
''. In addition to singing, Evans was asked to write her own lyrics in futuristic languages. The composers gave her preliminary version of songs and the style they wished the language to be in, such as Gaelic or French, and she invented the words. Evans wrote songs in versions of
Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, English and Japanese, where she tried to imagine what they would sound like after 1000 years of drifting. Square Enix released a soundtrack album of music from the game, titled ''Nier Gestalt & Replicant Original Soundtrack'', on April 21, 2010. The soundtrack album reached number 24 on the Japanese Oricon music charts, and remained on the charts for 11 weeks. As preorder bonuses for ''Nier Gestalt'' and ''Nier Replicant'', two mini-albums, ''Nier Gestalt Mini Album'' and ''Nier Replicant Mini Album'', were included. An album of arranged music, ''NieR Gestalt & Replicant 15 Nightmares & Arrange Tracks'', was published by Square Enix on December 8, 2010. The arranged album reached number 59 on the Oricon music charts, a position it held for a week. Another album, ''NieR Tribute Album -echo-'', was released on September 14, 2011, and an album of piano arrangements, ''Piano Collections Nier Gestalt & Replicant'', was published on March 21, 2012.


Release

''Nier'' was officially unveiled in June 2009 at the
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 (E3 2009) was the 15th E3 held. The event took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. It began on June 2, 2009, and ended on June 4, 2009, with 41,000 total attendees. Majo ...
for both the PlayStation 3 and
Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...
, along with its developer and publisher. The localizations for the game—in English, French, and German—were produced during development so that all of the versions could be released at the same time, and so that Cavia and Square Enix could solicit feedback from North America and Europe on the game so that it would appeal to players outside Japan. Due to its high violence, the game was given a CERO D rating in Japan. In Japan, two versions of the game were released; ''Nier Gestalt'' for the 360 which would use the adult lead, and ''Nier Replicant'' for the PS3 which used the young lead. Outside of Japan, the ''Gestalt'' version was released on both platforms under the title ''Nier''. The PS3 version had a Japanese voice cast, while the 360 release used the English dub. ''Nier'' released worldwide by Square Enix in April 2010: it released on April 22 in Japan and Australia, April 23 in Europe, and April 27 in North America. A supplementary guidebook, ''Grimoire Nier: The Complete Guide + Cels'', was released on May 28, 2010 by
ASCII Media Works , formerly , is a Japanese Publishing, publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a Mergers and acquisitions, merger bet ...
. The guidebook included documentation of in-game elements, developer interviews, and novellas detailing both additional character stories and a post-game ending scenario. On May 11, Square Enix released a piece of
downloadable content content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain ad ...
for the game, titled "The World of Recycled Vessel". The small expansion features a series of fifteen battles with the incarnation of Nier other than the one in the specific version of the game. Nier enters the battles in a dream world accessed through a diary in his house. The expansion offers new costumes and weapons for the game. A CD drama, ''NieR Replicant Drama CD The Lost Words and the Red Sky'', was released on April 27, 2011. The CD covers additional stories related to the game's backstory and characters.


Remaster

An updated version of ''Replicant'' titled ''Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139...'' was announced in March 2020 as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for the series and was slated for a worldwide release for
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
,
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
, and
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
. It was released on console in Asia on April 22, 2021, and worldwide the following day. The Windows version released worldwide on April 23. The game came in both standard and a limited "White Snow" edition exclusive to the Square Enix online store. Pre-orders came with a digital soundtrack and platform-specific art-based bonuses. An updated version of ''Grimoire Nier'' was released in Japan in 2021, and for the first time in English in 2023. Yosuke Saito returned as the producer, Yoko Taro remained as creative director, and the role of game director went to Saki Ito. Development was handled by . The combat redesign was supervised by Takahisa Taura of
PlatinumGames PlatinumGames Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. It was founded in October 2007 as result of a merger between Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc. Capcom alumni Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba, and Hideki Kamiya founded Seeds Inc. after ...
, who had worked on the game's sequel '' Nier: Automata''. Toylogic was brought on board due to Yoko knowing its founder, Yoichi Take, from their time working together at Cavia. Kazuma Koda, who worked on later ''Nier'' projects, contributed promotional artwork. Ito described his work reworking the combat and graphical design as preserving as much as possible while matching his own idealised memories of the game and create something to please fans of ''Nier: Automata''. The characters were redrawn by
Akihiko Yoshida is a Japanese video game artist. Yoshida was born in 1967 and joined Square in 1995, before the company merged with Enix. He then left Square Enix in September 2013 and became freelance. In October 2014, he became the company director of CyDesi ...
, Toshiyuki Itahana, and Kimihiko Fujisaka; all three had contributed to the ''Drakengard'' and ''Nier'' series, and were brought in at Yoko's request. Yoshida worked on the redesigns of the young protagonist, Kainé, Yonah and Emil; Itahana redesigned Devola and Popola; and Fujisaka reworked the designs for the king of Facade, his queen Fyra, the father protagonist, and designed new character Louise. The game included new story content, content creating a narrative link to its sequel, and story content originally cut from the game. For the remaster, Yoko chose to exclusively use the brother version of the protagonist as he had initially wanted. As the father character had apparently seen mixed responses outside of Japan, Yoko decided to feature the brother in the remaster. The father protagonist was featured as the player character in the "15 Nightmares" content, originally released as DLC dubbed "World of Recycled Vessel". The Mermaid story, featuring new character Louise, was planned for the original game but cut due to budget and reworked into a later novella. Yoko decided to include it given the opportunity, but did not incorporate other novella material as those were original stories rather than cut content. Weapon Stories, a feature from the ''Drakengard'' series and ''Nier: Automata'', were also incorporated. The fifth ending, originally a backup plan in case the original save data deletion was dropped and later written into a novella, was included both due to Saito's request for fan service and having the budget to incorporate it. Tying into later developments in the series, elements of the fifth ending featured advanced technology. ''ver.1.22474487139...'' features new Japanese voicework to make the game fully voiced, and both new and rearranged music. The score was arranged by Okabe, Hoashi, Ryuichi Takada, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Shotaro Seo, and Oliver Good. Okabe and Hoashi composed the new tracks. Evans returned to perform vocals with Saki Nakae. The chorus work was done by Evans, Nakae, Okabe, Shotaro Seo, Yukino Orita and KOCHO. Most of the English original cast returned, including
Laura Bailey Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her voice acting debut as Trunks (Dragon Ball), Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and has since voiced List of Gunslinger Girl characters#First Generati ...
(Kaine),
Liam O'Brien Liam Christopher O'Brien (born May 28, 1976) is an American voice actor, writer, and director. He is a regular cast member of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' actual play series '' Critical Role,'' playing Vax'ildan ("Vax"), Caleb Widogast, and Orym. ...
(Grimoire Weiss),
Julie Ann Taylor Julie Ann Taylor (née Pickering, born January 29, 1966)Birthday references: * * is an American voice actress who is best known for her role of Ai Tanabe in '' Planetes'', Mutsumi Otohime in '' Love Hina'', Yukari Hayasaka in '' Paradise Kiss'' ...
(Emil), and
Eden Riegel Eden Sonja Jane Riegel (born January 1, 1981) is an American actress. She portrayed Bianca Montgomery in the daytime drama ''All My Children'', and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium. Nominat ...
(Devola and Popola). The protagonist had two voice actors;
Zach Aguilar Zachary Aguilar (born February 21, 1998) is an American voice actor who has appeared in various English dubbed versions of Japanese anime and video games. Aguilar's first major role was Genos in ''One Punch Man'', and has since appeared as Tanj ...
voiced the younger version, while Ray Chase voiced the older version after the time skip.


Reception


Initial release

''Nier Gestalt'' sold over 12,500 copies in Japan the week of its release, while ''Replicant'' sold over 60,000 and was the top-selling video game in Japan that week. ''Replicant'' sold over 121,000 copies in Japan by the end of May 2010, and ended the year with over 134,000 copies sold. In 2019, Yoko estimated that ''Nier'' had sold around 500,000 copies worldwide. According to Yoko, "we weren't really in the red, but it wasn't exactly a success either". ''Nier'' received mixed reviews. Reviewers criticized the graphics, with Ryan Clements of ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
'' saying that "one of Nier's greatest flaws is its visuals," while ''
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' Kevin VanOrd bemoaned the "flavorless visuals" and "lifeless environments". Dustin Quillen of ''
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'' said that the game "looks downright primitive", while Adriaan den Ouden of ''RPGamer'', who awarded the game a higher score than most, said that "the environments are bland and poorly rendered". The music and voice acting, however, were praised; Clements said that "both are quite excellent", den Ouden called the soundtrack "absolutely fantastic", Chris Schilling of ''
Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...
'' said that the music was full of "memorable themes", and one of the four reviewers for the Japanese ''
Weekly Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the form of special top ...
'' termed it "a cut above". Reviewers were divided in their opinion on the effectiveness of the multiple styles of gameplay presented. Seth Schiesel of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' said that while "there are plenty of games that surpass it in each area," that ''Nier'' pulled all of the styles together into a "coherent, compelling whole" instead of feeling "disjointed"; he especially praised a section of the game that is presented entirely through text. Patrick Kolan of IGN Australia, however, said that while the different styles were "interesting" and one of the game's biggest strengths, they suffered from poor execution and cohesion and left the game "with split-personality disorder". Clements said that "the developers' ideas sometimes outshine the actual implementation", while highlighting the gameplay elements as part of what made the game fun. Adriaan den Ouden called out the variety as the best part of the game, likening it to a buffet table, while also acknowledging that none of the sections were "amazing" on their own and could easily be looked upon poorly. The regular combat was reviewed as solid, if not exceptional, and the sidequests were seen as repetitive, with Quillen saying that "the side quests in ''Nier'' are about as numerous as they are totally mindless," VanOrd calling them "a series of monotonous events, often connected only by long stretches of nothing," and a ''Famitsu'' reviewer saying that they "didn't see much purpose" to them. Clements said that the combat had "a fair amount of satisfaction", though players should "not expect anything too extraordinary", and Kolan termed the combat as "moderately deep". Critics gave a generally positive review to the plot and characters; VanOrd liked most of the characters but thought Nier was bland and the story "soggy", while Schiesel called the story "provocative" and "profound", saying that it "succeeds at fostering an emotional investment in its characters and in its world". Quillen said that the plot "takes some fascinating and truly original turns" and that ''Nier'' has "a supporting cast of genuinely interesting folks," and Schilling said that the story made the game "difficult to dislike". The ''Famitsu'' reviewer that viewed the game the most favorably said that he was "blown away" by the multiple endings, and that "nothing like it's been done in gaming". In 2015, Jeffrey Matulef of ''Eurogamer'' characterized ''Nier'' as "the rare game that gets better with age". Despite "poor sales and tepid reviews", he wrote, the game had acquired a cult following, which he attributed to its "sense of wonder" due to its cryptic storytelling, mashup assortment of game mechanics and melancholy mood.


''Replicant ver.1.22474487139...''

By June 2021, ''Replicant ver 1.22474487139...'' had shipped over one million copies worldwide in both physical and digital sales, noted as being double the estimates for the original version. As of November 2022, ''Replicant ver 1.22474487139...'' has shipped 1.5 million copies worldwide. ''Famitsu'' lauded the gameplay improvements and visual upgrade, though one reviewer noted the lack of fast travel and another said some players might be thrown off by "quirks" in the design. ''
Electronic Gaming Monthly ''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews. History The magazine was fou ...
'' Mollie L. Patterson enjoyed the remaster, liking the young version of the protagonist better than the earlier adult version and praising its reworked gameplay and additions. Jason Guisao of ''Game Informer'' felt the visual upgrade was inconsistent and disliked the side quest structure, but lauded the overall narrative and improvements to the game's mechanics. ''GameSpot'' Michael Higham was generally positive about the game, praising its narrative, new elements and music while finding its gameplay and world held back by archaic design. Mitchell Saltzmann of ''IGN'' negatively noted the repetition in later areas and the side quest design, but praised the graphical and gameplay updates along with the new story content. Julie Muncy of ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' positively noted the improvements to combat and general movement, and praised the story's tone and additions, but highlighted that the original's pacing issues were also retained. Chris Plante of ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'' enjoyed the slow pace of the narrative and the combat, but disliked the archaic design and was uncomfortable with some of Kainé's storyline. Malindy Hetfeld of ''Eurogamer'' did not like the game as a whole, but enjoyed its later narrative and noted that the graphical and gameplay improvements had made it playable for modern audiences and series fans. ''Replicant ver 1.22474487139...'' won the "Best Score/Music" category at
The Game Awards 2021 The Game Awards 2021 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2021. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on D ...
. It also saw nominations at the 2021 NAVGTR awards in "Outstanding Animation, Technical", "Outstanding Game, Franchise Role-playing", "Outstanding Original Dramatic Score, Franchise", and "Outstanding Song, Original or Adapted".


Legacy

''Nier'' was the last game that Cavia made; the company was absorbed into its parent company,
AQ Interactive AQ Interactive, Inc. was a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. AQ stands for Artistic Quality. It was the parent company of the developers Artoon, Cavia (company), Cavia and feelplus, and most recently the U.S. pu ...
, in July 2010. Square Enix executive producer Yosuke Saito later commented that "a number of things" related to ''Nier'' were in progress, and that an announcement could be due in 2011. The only announcement ended up not being for a new ''Nier'' video game, but instead for a live evening concert for Nier's music titled "Nier Night ~ Evening of Madness" which took place on October 28, 2011. In March 2011, there were plans made between Yoko and Takuya Iwasaki, one of the original producers for ''
Drakengard ''Drakengard'', known in Japan as is a series of action role-playing video games originally developed by Cavia (company), Cavia and published by Square Enix. The Drakengard (video game), eponymous first game in the series was released in 2003 ...
'', to develop a port of ''Nier'' for the
PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...
at Iwasaki's company Orca. The port would have incorporated material from both versions of the game. When Orca was chosen to help develop ''
Dragon Quest X ''Dragon Quest X: Rise of the Five Tribes Online'', also known as is a 2012 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) by Square Enix. It is the tenth mainline entry in the ''Dragon Quest'' series. It was originally released for the ...
'', the project was shelved. A number of key staff from ''Nier''s development, including director Yoko and Okabe, would later reunite to work on a new entry (''
Drakengard 3 ''Drakengard 3'', known in Japan as is an Action role-playing game, action role-playing video game developed by Access Games and published by Square Enix exclusively for PlayStation 3. It is the third main game in the Drakengard, ''Drakengard'' ...
'') in the ''Drakengard'' series from which ''Nier'' was spun off. A sequel titled '' Nier: Automata'', developed by Square Enix and
PlatinumGames PlatinumGames Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. It was founded in October 2007 as result of a merger between Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc. Capcom alumni Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba, and Hideki Kamiya founded Seeds Inc. after ...
for the
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
, was released in Japan on February 23, in North America on March 7 and worldwide on March 10, 2017. The PC version of ''Nier: Automata'' was released on March 17, 2017. The
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
version was released on June 26, 2018. The
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
version was released on October 6, 2022. Yoko, Saito and Okabe returned to their previous roles. Other staff members include Yoshida as lead artist and producer
Atsushi Inaba is a Japanese video game producer and businessman. He was the former Chief executive officer, CEO and producer of the Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio, who developed the games ''Viewtiful Joe (video game), Viewtiful Joe'', ''Ōkami'', and ''God Ha ...
. A mobile game, '' Nier Reincarnation'', produced by Applibot, with Yoshida returning to design the characters, was released on February 18, 2021. Owing to the success of ''Automata'', ''Nier'' was reprinted for the
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
in
PAL territories Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25& ...
in April 2017.


Notes


See also

*
Celestial Alphabet The Celestial Alphabet, also known as Angelic Script, is a set of characters described by Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa in the sixteenth century. It is not to be confused with John Dee and Edward Kelley's Enochian alphabet, which is also sometimes ca ...


References


Further reading

* *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nier (video game) 2010 video games Action role-playing video games Cancelled PlayStation Vita games Cavia (company) games Drakengard Dystopian video games Extinction in fiction Fantasy video games Open-world video games Fiction set in 2049 Fiction set in the 4th millennium Hack and slash role-playing games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation 4 games Post-apocalyptic video games Postmodern works Single-player video games Square Enix games Video game spinoffs Video games about skeletons Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Keiichi Okabe Video games set in the 2040s Windows games Xbox 360 games Xbox One games Video games with multiple endings