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Glory to mankind - NieR Automata turns two years old today

Raph64

Member
Last week we have celebrated the birthday of an amazing system ( the Switch ), but don’t you think that March can be symbolized as the month of the Switch only. Over the past few years, the month of March was also the opportunity to release new titles that has since then gained critical and commercial success, and reach a status of cult over the gaming community.

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And Nier Automata is clearly no exception. That’s right, it has already been two years since the game has released over European territories ( The Japanese release was two weeks earlier EDIT : and thanks to @daniel77733 for noticing me this, the American release was three days ago ). This thread is the occasion to once again talk about the countless amount of qualities the game have. The gameplay, as you’d expect from Platinum Games, is fast-paced, frenetic, and awesome, no surprise here. The music is God-like, to the point where this feels like Jesus Christ himself composed the music. And the story... enough said, it’s a blast. Not only you have a poignantly mature and dark story about the themes of death and war versus pacifism but you also have to serve the story this cute-ass waifu 2B, which just by looking on Deviantart or doing a 2B fan-art search on Google, feels like all the passion for this game can be summed up into one character. It may not be the best looking game for suresure, but who cares honestly ? Good graphics doesn’t necessarily make a good game, keep that in mind folks.

In the end, we can be thankful, for and to, Platinum Games for having delivered a great game who’s ongoing success is well deserved and have enabled them to come back on track after a concerning period following Scalebound’s cancellation. But in the end if there’s someone whom we should be even more thankful to... it’s, of course, Yoko Taro.

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A madman, a genius, a crazy, and a talented creator who’s games over the past have never really enjoyed commercial, and sometimes critical fame albeit having later on reached a cult following for titles such as the original Nier game and the Drakengard series. It was a damn shame, as he tends to be nowadays one of the most creative and interesting gaming figures out there. But seeing as Nier Automata finally gained for the first time both critical and commercial success, partly due to the notoriety of Platinum Games’ past work, I am gleeful that he obtained the fame his game and his genius deserved.

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We wouldn’t want to close this thread without mentioning one of the key staff members behind Nier Automata, Takahisa Taura. Even though he isn’t as famous than any other of the Platinum Games veterans that are Hideki Kamiya and Atsushi Inaba, he still should deserve a worthy mention for his contribution to the game’s success, and needless to say that thanks to Nier Automata he must have gained some recognition over at Platinum Games. Because right now he is currently finalizing work on Astral Chain, one of Platinum Games most hypest upcoming releases due on the Switch, marking at the same time his directorial debut. And with Based Kamiya to closely supervise the game, we wish him a ton of good luck and NeoGAF will be eagerly looking forward to its release !

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That closes this anniversary thread about the 2nd anniversary of Nier Automata ! Here’s to hoping in the future for a sequel or a brand new collaboration from Yoko Taro and the masterminds from Platinum Games ! In the meantime, happy birthday to an amazing game that has been a unique and memorable experience for most gamers here, and here’s to even more future owners of the game who will finally discover what kind of game Nier Automata truly is.

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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
It’s one of my favourite games this gen, just like original NIER was for last gen.
 

Mr Hyde

Member
Game of the generation for me together with Bloodborne.

Yoko Taro is a goddamn genius who writes brilliant and innovative scripts that pushes narrative storytelling in video games. And the soundtrack is indeed god-like, almost at par with the original. Keeichi Okabe is a phenomenal composer, and I consider his soundtracks for the Nier-franchise as some of the best ever made in video game history. Unique and atmospheric like nothing else.

I´m so happy this game even got made, considering the first game was a major bomba, and I´m even more happy that it became such an enormous success. Everyone involved in making this game should be proud of their work and Square Enix should be commended for reviving Nier from the dead. Looking at todays safe and cookie cutter industry it´s safe to say that it was a very risky and bold move. Thankfully it paid off and hopefully it opens doors for Yoko Taro and his crew so they can produce more groundbreaking games.

Glory to mankind.
 

angelic

Banned
Soon as I've played RDR, im hooking my ps3 up to play the original Nier for the 1st time. Purely because of Automata.
 
D

Deleted member 471617

Unconfirmed Member
The two year anniversary was three days ago as it released on March 7th, 2017. I played and completed Nier Automata last summer after watching Skill Up's review on it. Great 8.5/10 game for me but I had at least five other games from 2017 ahead of it in my personal rankings. Great game but it had a few major negatives for me that I simply didn't like.
 

Raph64

Member
The two year anniversary was three days ago as it released on March 7th, 2017. I played and completed Nier Automata last summer after watching Skill Up's review on it. Great 8.5/10 game for me but I had at least five other games from 2017 ahead of it in my personal rankings. Great game but it had a few major negatives for me that I simply didn't like.

True, I mistaken 10th March with the European release date, whoops my bad :messenger_astonished:
 

Iggzy

Member
Does Nier 1 adds anything to the story? I was interested in it after finishing Automata, but I thought it might be that Nier 1 didn't aged well.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Does Nier 1 adds anything to the story? I was interested in it after finishing Automata, but I thought it might be that Nier 1 didn't aged well.
Automata take place after original NIER.

You will find out why humans went completely extinct.

Original NIER has its own great story and absolutely fantastic casts and also to me original NIER still fun to play even if the combat is not as fast as Automata, so definitely worth playing the game.
 
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Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
Man, I wish Square would port Nier to modern Platforms and Drakengard 3 with it.
You and me both, I especially want to see Drakengard 3 because as much as I enjoyed the game, it has very shitty performance.
 

S77

Member
I played the original NieR and then Automata right after it and I can't say that I'm not a bit salty about the latter. The first game is far better than Automata, it had a far better story and the characters were so well done, music was better too and the world had alot more variety too. For me, Nier, Kaine, Weiss and Emil were the best characters combo that I found in a video game, the interactions were so well written and the voice acting was really top notch. Gameplay-wise Automata was a step ahead but it's basically the same combat system, just more refined.

I'm not here to derail the thread as Automata was an amazing game, but I just want to say that if you played it and you didn't play the original (before or after Automata), you are missing one of the most unique game of all times.
 

Verdanth

Member
Currently playing this and oh man is this game phenomenal.

Cast, gameplay, OST, Narrative...it has it all. Truly truly special. Easily on the top 3 of this generation for me.

So far only two routes made: A and G. Going in for route B.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
It’s one of my favourite games this gen, just like original NIER was for last gen.

I keep hearing more and more about this game again, and the more I hear the more interesting it sounds to me.

Do I need to play the first one in order to understand this one?
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I keep hearing more and more about this game again, and the more I hear the more interesting it sounds to me.

Do I need to play the first one in order to understand this one?
No, Yoko Taro doesn’t really do “direct sequel”. Original NIER takes place after one of the ending of Drakengard but between each game decade has passed, so you can just start with original NIER or Automata and still fully enjoy the story without playing Drakengard. It’s like how each Persona takes place in same world but still have their own contain story.
 
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DeepEnigma

Gold Member
No, Yoko Taro doesn’t really do “direct sequel”. Original NIER takes place after one of the ending of Drakengard but between each game decade has passed, so you can just start with original NIER or Automata and still fully enjoy the story without playing Drakengard. It’s like how each Persona takes place in same world but still have their own contain story.

Nice, I'm definitely adding this to my list.
 

A.Romero

Member
I've been wanting to play this but I've heard the PC version is not great and they haven't patched it. Is it still true?

Not a deal breaker but I would expect them to sell much cheaper than it is if there is no ongoing support.
 
My only complaint with the game is that it is a dodgy PC port that never got supported/fixed up by the devs. Theres a fan made patch at least. I ended up just playing it on Pro.

Probably a top 15 game all time for me. Loved it
 

JORMBO

Darkness no more
I bought it half off on PSN not expecting much and it’s my favorite game this generation. I love the soundtrack so much I bought the OST, orchestral version and piano collection. I also have the 2B figure by Flare preordered.
 
In order to fully understand Nier Automata you need to play Nier first. There are so many references and callbacks to it, characters, music, piece of lore scattered around... they go unnoticed if you didn't play Nier before. That game badly needs a REMAKE (not remaster , for tecnhically it is too low-budget). If you do it, bring tissues for there are some heart-breaking stuff in that game.

Nier Automata is my favourite game this gen, one of the best I have ever played and after the events of Nier it feels such a great tie-in. Simply wonderful.

So, Square Enix PLEASE remake the first one and prepare a sequel or whatever for Automata so we get a sweet trilogy.
 

Vlaphor

Member
One of my favorite games of the generation, so good that for a long time, I've been considering getting an Automata tattoo. Nothing too drastic, just the YORHA symbol.
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
I bought it half off on PSN not expecting much and it’s my favorite game this generation. I love the soundtrack so much I bought the OST, orchestral version and piano collection. I also have the 2B figure by Flare preordered.

I'm thinking getting this figure somehow.
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The detail on it is amazing!!!
 

Hudo

Member
I keep hearing more and more about this game again, and the more I hear the more interesting it sounds to me.

Do I need to play the first one in order to understand this one?
As Danjin44 Danjin44 already said, while Yoko Taro games are connected, they are not really direct sequels. Taro is more into doing a big "Meta Plot" in which he embeds his games. I can really recommend Drakengard 3! Yes, it has its flaws and it has clearly been made on a budget but I like Zero as a character very much and the combat is satisfying enough. The plot is ridiculous, which is nice as well. The whole package just is something that you kinda cannot help but like, even though you know it's heavily flawed. There's just something about it... Or maybe it's just me having a thing for Zero, lol.
 

Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
As Danjin44 Danjin44 already said, while Yoko Taro games are connected, they are not really direct sequels. Taro is more into doing a big "Meta Plot" in which he embeds his games. I can really recommend Drakengard 3! Yes, it has its flaws and it has clearly been made on a budget but I like Zero as a character very much and the combat is satisfying enough. The plot is ridiculous, which is nice as well. The whole package just is something that you kinda cannot help but like, even though you know it's heavily flawed. There's just something about it... Or maybe it's just me having a thing for Zero, lol.

The latest stage play in Japan outright brings Accord back. Nier Automata is directly connected to Drakengard 3 now :D
 

Danjin44

The nicest person on this forum
The latest stage play in Japan outright brings Accord back. Nier Automata is directly connected to Drakengard 3 now :D
Accord does gets mentioned in Automata by the weapon shop owner and how Accord bring most of the weapons for shop.
 
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Dr. Claus

Vincit qui se vincit
Accord does gets mentioned in Automata by the weapon shop owner and how Accord bring most of the weapons for shop.

Yes, but it was up to debate on whether that was the Accord that we knew or just another person with the same name. Thanks to the stage play, we know that it is the former.
 

Virex

Banned
NieR and NieR : Automata are 2 of the best games ever made. NieR had its faults. But it was still amazing. NieR also has one of the greatest soundtracks ever. I liked Automata’s soundtrack a lot. But NieR’s soundtrack is god tier
 

kraspkibble

Permabanned.
just bought it again on PC doing another playthrough.

probably would have avoided this as i'm not usually into games with huge crazy swords and characters showing a lot of skin. the game is one of my favourites of all time now. it's always good to try stuff you normally wouldn't ;)
 
Then please care to explain the point of your ( pointless by the way ) post on an « appreciation « thread ?
I played through half of this game, and dropped it. All I can remember is the world being empty as fuck, a very convoluted story and bosses that come out of nowhere (that naked one in the middle of the desert, just why). Too weird for me.
 

Raph64

Member
I played through half of this game, and dropped it. All I can remember is the world being empty as fuck, a very convoluted story and bosses that come out of nowhere (that naked one in the middle of the desert, just why). Too weird for me.

Well... Opinions are opinions, I guess ?

I sense though that since most of the members here will not agree with you at all, myself included, in the end your ‘ opinion ‘ doesn’t matter. And that’s rather ironic for someone who goes on and calls himself PhilipDoesMatter.
 
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Well... Opinions are opinions, I guess ?

I sense though that since most of the members here will not agree with you at all, myself included, in the end your ‘ opinion ‘ doesn’t matter. And that’s rather ironic for someone who goes on and calls himself PhilipDoesMatter.
Behold the mighty judge that decides which opinions matter! It's a gaming FORUM my dude. Don't try to make it another ResetEra.
 
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Raph64

Member
Behold the mighty judge that decides which opinions matter! It's a gaming FORUM my dude. Don't try to make it another ResetEra.

Clearly not my intention mate. It’s just weird that you go on and criticize the game right on an appreciation thread.

I mean, not everyone can like the game for sure, but if you knew before you clicked on this thread that you would expect to hear a ton of praise around the game, why are you even here in the first place ?

It would have made more sense for your post to be on a global opinion thread rather than on an appreciation thread who’s sole purpose is to celebrate the 2nd birthday of the game’s release.

Don’t you think ?
 
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Not my intention mate. It’s just weird that you go on and criticize the game right on an appreciation thread.

I mean, not everyone can like the game for sure, but if you knew before you clicked on this thread that you would expect to hear a ton of praise around the game, why are you even here in the first place ?

It would have made more sense for your post to be on a global opinion thread rather than on an appreciation thread who’s sole purpose is to celebrate the 2nd birthday of its release date.
Agreed. And sorry about that then.

Even so, one shouldn't attack an opinion just because you think it is in the wrong place. Saying that it doesn't matter in the end is even more rude.

Peace.
 

Raph64

Member
Agreed. And sorry about that then.

Even so, one shouldn't attack an opinion just because you think it is in the wrong place. Saying that it doesn't matter in the end is even more rude.

Peace.

Yeah I’m sorry too that I’ve attacked your opinion and went on to be rude by saying that it doesn’t matter. I just felt like it wasn’t right criticizing a game on what was supposed to be an appreciation thread.

Anyway, at least we settled down in good terms, that’s the essential.

Have a good day mate.
 
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Nymphae

Banned
I'm not interested enough to read a ton on this game, but I am curious what exactly about it makes people put it on this high pedestal.

I like character action games and action/RPG games with really tight mechanics, but every time I look at videos or whatnot for this game, it looks boring and uninteresting visually, I can't get it up for anime stories either really - maybe this is a great one but if it is, it's not being sold to me very well.

Spoil the shit out of it for me, I don't care, but please tell me, what is it that makes people say this is like best game of the gen?
 

Raph64

Member
I'm not interested enough to read a ton on this game, but I am curious what exactly about it makes people put it on this high pedestal.

I like character action games and action/RPG games with really tight mechanics, but every time I look at videos or whatnot for this game, it looks boring and uninteresting visually, I can't get it up for anime stories either really - maybe this is a great one but if it is, it's not being sold to me very well.

Spoil the shit out of it for me, I don't care, but please tell me, what is it that makes people say this is like best game of the gen?

- The gameplay is what you’d expect from Platinum Games. A blast.
- The music is God-like
- The story is very mature and talks about death and pacifism vs violence
- and 2B... well it’s 2B, the hero we need but we don’t deserve.

To be fair, it’s a game where you need to dive in blind in order to fully appreciate it.
 
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Nymphae

Banned
To be fair, it’s a game where you need to dive in blind in order to fully appreciate it.

I see this a lot....and honestly that does not make me want to start a game that on the face of it appears bland and boring (I've even watched some reviews on YT and visually it does nothing for me and people avoid mentioning anything juicy that might sell me on the experience - it's just OMG you need to play this), that apparently I need to play through 3 times to see the actual ending. I want someone to tell me exactly what makes it amazing.
 
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Raph64

Member
I see this a lot....and honestly that does not make me want to start a game that on the face of it appears bland and boring (I've even watched some reviews on YT and visually it does nothing for me and people avoid mentioning anything juicy that might sell me on the experience - it's just OMG you need to play this), that apparently I need to play through 3 times to see the actual ending. I want someone to tell me exactly what makes it amazing.

I’ll lend this over to the expert Danjin44 Danjin44 who will tell you everything you need to know about this game, because if I was to try to explain everything on what makes this game special, it would go on for too long.

All I can say at this point is that you can’t just judge a game from the graphics or from someone else’s opinions, in the end you should make an opinion by yourself :messenger_winking:
 
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