Support NeoGAF

[Snakethesniper]

yea, this is just the unecessary information they leave out. Its whoever built the current YoRHa, who we dont know. We do know that Jackass is looking for them, and she will find them, and she will kill them.

I don't remember, when is told that jackass is on the hunt?


Also, I don't remember, the yorha project starts after the alien invasion? Because I remember that there's a period after the popola's incident where androids are pissed because humanity is doomed, and since the will to go on is given by fighting the enemy, I guess it started after the invasion?

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I don't remember, when is told that jackass is on the hunt?

the last data entry from her.

 

[Baalzebup]

I don't remember, when is told that jackass is on the hunt?


Also, I don't remember, the yorha project starts after the alien invasion? Because I remember that there's a period after the popola's incident where androids are pissed because humanity is doomed, and since the will to go on is given by fighting the enemy, I guess it started after the invasion?

The alien invasion predates project YoRHa by several millenia. They arrived at the beginning of the 6th millenium.

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

I unironically think the original Drakengard's inaccessibility is a valuable part of the experience, but I also think that the Drakengard series would be a perfect match with Platinum. It's a much more focused series, which would allow them to be more deliberate with the moment to moment design and tailor it to the player's expected toolset and power.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

I unironically think the original Drakengard's inaccessibility is a valuable part of the experience, but I also think that the Drakengard series would be a perfect match with Platinum. It's a much more focused series, which would allow them to be more deliberate with the moment to moment design tailored to the player's expected toolset and power.

Drakengard 3's framerate problems feel less deliberate, but I agree that D1's constant assault on the player's senses is entirely intentional. It's like the world's only playable harsh noise album

 

[Jeffrey]

What happens if you don't pick a choice for pascal after kids suicide and just leave?

 

[HeelPower]

For those unsure.

wait,how is she blonde ?

That's different from all other yorha.

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

Drakengard 3's framerate problems feel less deliberate, but I agree that D1's constant assault on the player's senses is entirely intentional. It's like the world's only playable harsh noise album

Yeah, by original Drakengard I meant D1. Platinum would have fit D3 pretty well, I think.

 

[How About No]

wait,how is she blonde ?

That's different from all other yorha.

The Operators are all blonde as well

Some of the generic YoRHa's have red hair or other colors as well (ie the E-type in Amnesia or one of the druggies in the desert)

 

[XANDER CAGE]

wait,how is she blonde ?

That's different from all other yorha.

Nah, some operators and combat units have different hair colors

 

[dlauv]

I do have one more question. If 2B eliminates 9S due to knowledge, is it like a kill switch? She obviously remembers killing him, so I guess not. Does that mean 2B and A2 knew the truth?

Does that mean command knew? Or was it just the truth about humans?

 

[sonicmj1]

Beat Ending E and... phew. That was pretty awesome. Great use of the game's network features, and it does a really awesome job tying up all the thematic elements that built to that point. As a story, I think it beats Nier in ambition without sacrificing any punch, and mechanically... there's no comparison. I'm so grateful that this game exists and is as good as it is.

I tried really hard to wrap everything up before that point, but I realized after I wiped my data that I missed the Anemone novels. Can anyone give me a quick summary of those?

 

[Ferrio]

I do have one more question. If 2B eliminates 9S due to knowledge, is it like a kill switch? She obviously remembers killing him, so I guess not. Does that mean 2B and A2 knew the truth?

2B knows, you even hear the commander giving her the instructions when you go into A2's mind. Her memory isn't wiped in between, so she remembers each time she's killed him. I don't think A2 knew until the very end, or at least not the whole picture. She had 2B's memories but who knows how much access she had to them.

 

[Shifty]

galaxy brain: the ark launched from the tower fell through a timespace warp in an attempt to find a new world, where it appeared in the Drakengard universe as Cathedral City, the watchers/angels/dragons/flower/magic are just highly evolved machine lifeforms and the whole thing is a time loop

This is the theory that I settled on, right around the giant N2 sequence.

So many THEY'RE THE WATCHERS WHAT moments throughout this game.

 

[XANDER CAGE]

A2 gradually figured it out over the course of her route because 2B's sword has her memories. That's what that scene in the desert is all about.

 

[tuxfool]

I do have one more question. If 2B eliminates 9S due to knowledge, is it like a kill switch? She obviously remembers killing him, so I guess not. Does that mean 2B and A2 knew the truth?

Does that mean command knew? Or was it just the truth about humans?

They'd only know as much as the commander. They wouldn't know about the cycles or the backdoor.

 

[JackelZXA]

Beat Ending E and... phew. That was pretty awesome. Great use of the game's network features, and it does a really awesome job tying up all the thematic elements that built to that point. As a story, I think it beats Nier in ambition without sacrificing any punch, and mechanically... there's no comparison. I'm so grateful that this game exists and is as good as it is.

I tried really hard to wrap everything up before that point, but I realized after I wiped my data that I missed the Anemone novels. Can anyone give me a quick summary of those?

Theres a couple other things you might have missed that dont get marked on the map or quest log. Hint: Emile's story doesnt just peter out like i thought it did. (Also, those elevators...i think pg_saito commented that they'll be opening soon? It was a post on the reddit)

Question: what happens to ending E when you're offline?

 

[EdmondD]

small brain: the machines are being corrupted by whatever remains of the watchers, hence the drakengard imagery

large, lit up brain: it's merely symbolic that the machines too have met "God" and become warped, but through technology rather than magic. what happened once can happen again

galaxy brain: the ark launched from the tower fell through a timespace warp in an attempt to find a new world, where it appeared in the Drakengard universe as Cathedral City, the watchers/angels/dragons/flower/magic are just highly evolved machine lifeforms and the whole thing is a time loop

Yoko Taro brain: It's all just a joke to fuck with people.

The machines becoming the watchers made me remember that the watcher babies have "electric wings"

 

[Sumio Mondo]

This is the theory that I settled on, right around the giant N2 sequence.

So many THEY'RE THE WATCHERS WHAT moments throughout this game.

As Eve loses himself in his madness and turns all black with red marks around his eyes, it's like The Tower/The Watchers had to make some sort of imprint to keep their logo going like "yup, we're still around" or something. I wonder if the World Guide Book shines any light on any of this symbolism at all? EmCee had some good theories there though that fit in. Did the Aliens who built the machines in the first place get influenced by The Watchers or something? We know so little about the Aliens and why they suddenly started fighting the humans since there was that thing in one of the books (Grimoire Nier? Can't remember now) about how aliens just turned up out of nowhere, started a war with humans and Emil pretty much saving Earth by cloning himself millions of times and fighting them. Still so many mysteries regarding the timeline and how it all fits/works together (I prefer it that way, honestly).

 

[Bowlie]

God created all kinds of races to destroy humanity, aliens wouldn't be the weirdest one.

edit: Emil is my precious little boy that suffered for far too long to defend his home and went through more body transformations than Freeza, to the point that his memories were lost and became a friendly shopkeeper.

 

[Jeffrey]

How does Emil fit in all this.

 

[Mailbox]

How does Emil fit in all this.

His side quest and his "determination" battle answer this. He isn't some main character but rather a tragic fragment of the past

 

[XANDER CAGE]

*clears throat*

A2, Brute?

 

[How About No]

The real tragic loss in that scene is A2s long hair

 

[Tribes of Trusty]

It's also beautiful how the cover of the game changes of meaning, initially I thought it was 2B holding 9S as if she saved/recovered him. Now I feel like she's holding his corpse.

 

[JackelZXA]

God created all kinds of races to destroy humanity, aliens wouldn't be the weirdest one.

edit: Emil is my precious little boy that suffered for far too long to defend his home and went through more body transformations than Freeza, to the point that his memories were lost and became a friendly shopkeeper.

There's more to it, but its hard to find without hints.....

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

I love when kotaku compiles steam reviews
http://kotaku.com/nier-automata-as-told-by-steam-reviews-1793870352

 

[Eumi]

It's also beautiful how the cover of the game changes of meaning, initially I thought it was 2B holding 9S as if she saved/recovered him. Now I feel like she's holding his corpse.

Meanwhile A2 has no idea where the fuck she is or what the hell is happening.

 

[Bowlie]

what

are you kidding me?

Can't with a 360 controller on PC No touchpad

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarhghghhghghgh

 

[Ferrio]

what

are you kidding me?

Can't with a 360 controller on PC No touchpad

 

[LotusHD]

I love when kotaku compiles steam reviews
http://kotaku.com/nier-automata-as-told-by-steam-reviews-1793870352

"Came for the thighs, stayed for the cries"

How long before someone suggests this as the next OT title lmao

 

[Tribes of Trusty]

Meanwhile A2 has no idea where the fuck she is or what the hell is happening.

Girl just wants to blow up some robots she knows she will by following the pair !

 

[LotusHD]

Lol

 

[chrono01]

I just remembered something I saw in Ending E.

As Pods 042 and 153 are carrying the broken parts of 2B/9S away, to later reassemble and revive them, you see a shot of what looks like A2 sitting in the window of a tower (it looks like the Forest Kingdom). The thing is, I could have sworn that she had long hair which doesn't make sense, since she immediately cut it after executing 2B due to her being infected with the Logic Virus.

Is that A2's original body, and if so, how did she transfer her consciousness from one body to the other without the support of the Bunker? From what I gather, A2 was abandoned by the Bunker on her first mission (she was deployed in the first set of YoRHa members, hence the Resistance not knowing anything about them), which means she never received a second body/data back-up.

 

[Ferrio]

I just remembered something I saw in Ending E.

As Pods 042 and 153 are carrying the broken parts of 2B/9S away, to later reassemble and revive them, you see a shot of what looks like A2 sitting in the window of a tower (it looks like the Forest Kingdom). The thing is, I could have sworn that she had long hair which doesn't make sense, since she immediately cut it after executing 2B due to her being infected with the Logic Virus.

Is that A2's original body, and if so, how did she transfer her consciousness from one body to the other without the support of the Bunker? From what I gather, A2 was abandoned by the Bunker on her first mission (she was deployed in the first set of YoRHa members, hence the Resistance not knowing anything about them), which means she never received a second body/data back-up.

It's probably a spare body or body made up of a bunch of spare A2 parts. I assume her memories were stored on Pod 042.

 

[Shifty]

How does Emil fit in all this.

He takes the integral role of Best Merchant.

Spoiler

He's been around since the events of the original Nier and at some point fought off the alien invasion by cloning himself thousands of times, losing his sense of individuality and most of his memories in the process. The Emil in this game is one of many, but still has a few notable recollections waiting to be uncovered. He's also been looking after Kaine's house.

Having him photobomb a serious plot dialogue by doing a sweet jump off a ramp in the background while blaring his EVERY DAY'S A SALE tune ranks among my top comedy moments in video games.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

I just remembered something I saw in Ending E.

As Pods 042 and 153 are carrying the broken parts of 2B/9S away, to later reassemble and revive them, you see a shot of what looks like A2 sitting in the window of a tower (it looks like the Forest Kingdom). The thing is, I could have sworn that she had long hair which doesn't make sense, since she immediately cut it after executing 2B due to her being infected with the Logic Virus.

Is that A2's original body, and if so, how did she transfer her consciousness from one body to the other without the support of the Bunker? From what I gather, A2 was abandoned by the Bunker on her first mission (she was deployed in the first set of YoRHa members, hence the Resistance not knowing anything about them), which means she never received a second body/data back-up.

A2's body is really confusing to me with that ending. Her memories and consciousness arent a problem, the pods are holding that data, they mention that. Her body though is whats confusing. They say they are rebuilding them from parts of the same models, however A2 doesnt have any others of her model as far as I'm aware, plus she has the exact same damage her old body had. So the only thing I can figure is they recovered most of her body from the crumbling tower but she lost her head, so they replaced that with one they got from ???

 

[chrono01]

It's probably a spare body or body made up of a bunch of spare A2 parts. I assume her memories were stored on Pod 042.

Thanks, sounds good to me.

Honestly, I know many were kind of hoping/expecting a "Bad End" when it came to this game, but I'm really thankful for the slight glimmer of hope. I love all three main characters (2B, 9S, A2), so the potential that I could possibly (eventually) see a sequel and/or DLC containing all of them is definitely appreciated.

A2's body is really confusing to me with that ending. Her memories and consciousness arent a problem, the pods are holding that data, they mention that. Her body though is whats confusing. They say they are rebuilding them from parts of the same models, however A2 doesnt have any others of her model as far as I'm aware, plus she has the exact same damage her old body had. So the only thing I can figure is they recovered most of her body from the crumbling tower but she lost her head, so they replaced that with one they got from ???

Yeah, I don't really understand it either.

The A2 you see in the tower was already assembled, so unless there's a time-gap between the Pods carrying the broken YoRHa members away and fixing them, it doesn't really make sense. I thought A2's damaged body was a sign that she was the only-created model (since she never repaired it after the Pearl Harbour explosions as the Bunker never responded to her pleas, with her being a beta-test unit), so the repaired head (with long hair) is a little confusing.

The only thing I can think of is that she went on a few "side-missions", not mentioned in the Pearl Harbour documents, in where she had her body destroyed and/or replaced, allowing more of her spare parts (such as more versions of her long-haired head) being available on Earth. But I thought she was kind of a one-and-done model, where she literally was the only one of her kind (Alpha prototype, they moved onto Beta afterwards), unless the Pods used scraps of the other YoRHa members that accompanied A2 on the Pearl Harbour mission (the ones that didn't make it) to reassemble A2. Given how all female models look alike, it's a possibility?

 

[EmCeeGramr]

My personal theory is that the machine lifeforms all have big bowling ball coverings for heads because the aliens fought Emil and assumed he was the dominant species on the planet and based them on him.

 

[Jeffrey]

No I get how he works in this game. I mean in the huge drakengard metaverse.

I mean at this point in the time line he is basically the strongest magic user and pretty much the last thread to humanity left lol.

There is still so much more taro can do to make him suffer

 

[How About No]

Can't with a 360 controller on PC No touchpad

smh steam preorder cancelled I don't care if I already put 50hrs into it they can take their valve accessories back

Or is it symbolism for PC gamers being cold and heartless to their machines who can just swap prices they don't like anymore Willy nilly

My personal theory is that the machine lifeforms all have big bowling ball coverings for heads because the aliens fought Emil and assumed he was the dominant species on the planet and based them on him.

This was my assumption as well

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

smh steam preorder cancelled I don't care if I already put 50hrs into it they can take their valve accessories back

Or is it symbolism for PC gamers being cold and heartless to their machines who can just swap prices they don't like anymore Willy nilly

you can still pet him though if you grab your mouse

 

[How About No]

you can still pet him though if you grab your mouse

:OOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Bowlie]

you can still pet him though if you grab your mouse

One more reason to replay this game, damnit.

---

I think Emil is also the *only* magic user alive??

 

[Jeffrey]

Why was Emil head in a robot anyways? I thought the game was gonna go down the direction that the machines were all just Emil and humanity just thought he was an alien.

 

[Veritigo_X]

I think Emil is also the *only* magic user alive??

I assumed the Pods used magic. Their pod programs had similar effects to magic in the first Nier.

 

[Mailbox]

One more reason to replay this game, damnit.

---

I think Emil is also the *only* magic user alive??

If we're talking about "old world magics" as the pods say, then yes.

I assume that (whatever magic was used in Nier's bullet hells) is still being used in machines and something similar is being used by pod programs.

edit (i may have been mistaken over what Maso actually did in Nier )

 

[Shifty]

As Eve loses himself in his madness and turns all black with red marks around his eyes, it's like The Tower/The Watchers had to make some sort of imprint to keep their logo going like "yup, we're still around" or something. I wonder if the World Guide Book shines any light on any of this symbolism at all? EmCee had some good theories there though that fit in. Did the Aliens who built the machines in the first place get influenced by The Watchers or something? We know so little about the Aliens and why they suddenly started fighting the humans since there was that thing in one of the books (Grimoire Nier? Can't remember now) about how aliens just turned up out of nowhere, started a war with humans and Emil pretty much saving Earth by cloning himself millions of times and fighting them. Still so many mysteries regarding the timeline and how it all fits/works together (I prefer it that way, honestly).

The logo on the chest was quite something. I interpret that scene as either:
A. This is post-Drakengard and there is no time loop. It's evidence of the watchers' influence, either as a simple machine imitation or as entities that still exist and are interfering with them.
B. This is still post-Drakengard, but it's also the start of the timeline loop: Eve creates the symbol that goes on to represent the watchers in Drakengard. I like this idea better.

I feel like the aliens stuff is just Yoko having a bit of fun and playing with the old Alien Invasion trope. The throw-away nature of the dead-all-along reveal felt like something of a "well what did you expect?" moment to me.

If we're talking about "old world magics" as the pods say, then yes.

I assume that (whatever magic was used in Nier's bullet hells) is still being used in machines and something similar is being used by pod programs.

edit (i may have been mistaken over what Maso actually did in Nier )

Maso is the source of the red magic, so yes it's the source of the bullet hell in the original.

The presence of the rune letters in the pod program effects makes me think the same, though the fact that it's not red makes me think that it's either an imitation or some altered form of it. 'Filtered' if you will, like argent energy in Doom.

Either that or it's all a big time loop, pod programs are proto-Maso, dragons (and fuck it, every living thing in Drakengard) are machine lifeforms so advanced they don't know they're machine lifeforms, and I'M A CRAZY PERSON OH BOY

 

[Bowlie]

I took the pods' programs as "super advanced, 8 millennia in the future tech", not exactly magic. But I *is* kind of magical, indeed.

---

Either that or it's all a big time loop, pod programs are proto-Maso, dragons (and fuck it, every living thing in Drakengard) are machine lifeforms so advanced they don't know they're machine lifeforms, and I'M A CRAZY PERSON OH BOY

I thought the alien ship shown to you when you go to the alien cave was a dragon wing ;~

 

[EdmondD]

No I get how he works in this game. I mean in the huge drakengard metaverse.

I mean at this point in the time line he is basically the strongest magic user and pretty much the last thread to humanity left lol.

There is still so much more taro can do to make him suffer

He is Taro's favorite character so I think he is going to be alright. When asked if Emil would die Taro said, "He has no reason to so he won't die." or something like that. He's still suffering though