Squeenix NieR: Automata from Yoko Taro and Platinum Games

[Mr. Pink]

Also, I went through every route and i still never found enough material to upgrade my pod...

 

[Mr. Pink]

Which one? Power Part L (or something like that) and Elaborate Gadgets were the hardest to find for me and can't really be farmed.

Also,

Spoiler

I think ending E only looks good on the surface. It's actually terrible for all involved, because, the way I understood the story, 'droids aren't really capable of functioning without a purpose and can't really make up a purpose of their own. With the machines gone and humanity extinct, that purpose is pretty much gone, trapping them in eternal stasis, incapable of redefining themselves, forced to act out their programming, or, as pod 153 put it, repeat everything over and over again. Like Mcconaughey's character put it in True Detective, they're trapped in the same nightmare they keep waking up into.

Spoiler

But it's been proven over the course of the game that machines and androids of sufficient intelligence are capable of defining their own goals. the most obvious example is the pods at the end completely defying their programming and coming up with their own objective since yorha was gone. pascal and A2 are another example. Even the machines decide to fuck off and make up their own goals after killing the aliens. I think the end sets a hopeful message that the cycle CAN be broken.

 

[Jaedar]

We are perpetually trapped in a never ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse, or some kind of punishment? I often wonder about the god who granted us this puzzle, and if we'll ever have a chance to kill him.

There are no happy endings, only misery and jokes.

Spoiler

what do you mean ****=kill? P sure it's fuck.

 

[Nryn]

Finished the game a couple of days ago and I've been reflecting on the narrative. When I initially got the True Ending, I was lukewarm about the story as a whole. But after starting from scratch and going through Routes A and B again, I ended up loving what the game does with its narrative; it's not just the main quest scenes that take on a different meaning, but it's especially the side quests that are a great portent of the revelations to come:

(Heavy spoilers involving side quests and the main quest)

Spoiler

1. The Yorha Betrayers side quest is the game's main twist hiding in plain sight. It was devious of the devs to have this side quest be one of the first ones that a player can pursue. My first time through the game I barely had a grasp on the setting and its rules, and so thought nothing of the quest except that it was a cool combat encounter. On a replay though, it's the only quest in the game that openly asks the player to kill fellow androids, and in hindsight, it makes total sense for an E-Type model to get this kind of a quest.

2. The Amnesia side quest continues where the above quest left off. The quest is deliberately restricted to 9S' perspective, just so that 2B can nonchalantly remark, "ignorance is bliss" when 9S states that he wasn't aware of E-type executioner Yorha models.

3. The conclusion of the Wandering Couple side quest is a direct parallel to 2B and 9S. The female android in the quest repeatedly wipes the male's memory and keeps it a secret.

4. Finally, there's this scene from the end of the Stamp Collecting side quest:

I initially thought this was just a twisted Romeo and Juliet interpretation by machines. A deeper reading of the above play is basically a commentary on the Android/Machine war. But it's also yet another parallel to 2B's and 9S' situation.

Also, the "boss" fight in Ending E was ridiculous (in a good way):

Spoiler

1. It's the most intense credits sequence I've experienced.

2. It breaks the 4th wall and comes full circle with the first lines of spoken dialogue in the game, where 2B wishes she could confront her creators.

3. The source of the allied ships made me regret my actions. Especially because I intentionally got 4 of those ships killed just to see the names of the replacement ships. In my game, the first 4 ships all had standard everyday names that I thought they were just pregenerated ships. A ship named 2Booty then came to my aid and I figured it was some multiplayer aspect. But when the game revealed that the source of the ships was sacrificed game saves from fellow players, it was a real punch to the gut. Needless to say, that entire crazy sequence and its revelation is the reason I had to start the game again from scratch.

Overall, Automata is one of the more interesting games I've played recently, not just because of the nature of its content, but because of how my opinion of the game has changed significantly on reflecting on my time with it and connecting the dots. Automata has more than a few holes to poke at: a somewhat simplistic combat system (given it's Platinum) with not enough enemy variety, Boss fights that arguably peak with the 3rd boss, Route A and Route B are largely identical except for 15-20% of the content, fetch quests, and so on. But the game comes together as greater than the sum of its parts while never losing sight of its central themes, delivering a very deliberately designed and affecting narrative in the process. I hadn't played Nier, or many JRPGs for that matter, and so I went in with zero expectations, but ended up adoring the game all the same. Also, Nier 1 has shot up in my list of games to play, due in no small part to my expectations of its music, given how sublime Automata was in this regard.

 

[Mr. Pink]

We are perpetually trapped in a never ending spiral of life and death. Is this a curse, or some kind of punishment? I often wonder about the god who granted us this puzzle, and if we'll ever have a chance to kill him.

There are no happy endings, only misery and jokes.

Spoiler

what do you mean ****=kill? P sure it's fuck.

Spoiler

the Japanese text is more ambiguous. I think the censored word is kill because of what 9s actually does to 2bs body (thrusting his sword in and out) this happens twice iirc. that is why his reaction is so extreme.

the word fuck is used several times uncensored too, so the censoring was intentional.

edit:
context:
You don't trust anything
You want to destroy everything
You have lost hope in everything
You want to obtain everything
You want to be loved by all
You're thinking of how much you want to **** 2B aren't you?
Reality stained by lies
Hatred pouring into you
Overflowing desire

looking at this dialogue, fuck and kill would both fit in perfectly. I think it's both now.

 

[Haplo]

Aaaand I got Ending A. Boy was the final boss fight shitty.
Seems like a happy end though, all things considered.
And I got to see the faces of the androids.
I wonder if I'll find the time/will for additional play-troughs.

On another note, I rarely pay much attention to this, but the soundtrack in Automata is phenomenal. Tracks like "Become as gods" are made of pure awesome.

 

[Mr. Pink]

Aaaand I got Ending A. Boy was the final boss fight shitty.
Seems like a happy end though, all things considered.
And I got to see the faces of the androids.
I wonder if I'll find the time/will for additional play-troughs.

On another note, I rarely pay much attention to this, but the soundtrack in Automata is phenomenal. Tracks like "Become as gods" are made of pure awesome.

The story isnt even close to over. The actual final final boss is quite good.

 

[Haplo]

Yeah, but that would require me to redo most of the content, right? It is very rare that I do such things.
With some minor variations, inferior combat moveset + shitty minigame to boot?

 

[AN4RCHID]

I'm on my second playthrough now. It's kind of funny how much of the combat you can just run past. I even noticed some parts (for example on the rollercoaster) where refusing to fight seemed to prevent the tougher waves from spawning in.

It goes way faster the second time.

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Got Ending A and the fucking save didn't work. Gonna have to play through that whole drawn out boss battle again fuuuuu

Alright, salvaged and restarted as 9S. What a great fucking game. In my opinion it's an all around improvement over the original.

Absolutely not. No, not even close.

 

[Nomad_Blizz]

NieR: Automata shipments and digital sales top one million

Total shipments and digital sales for NieR: Automata have exceeded one million units, Square Enix announced.

The action RPG launched for PlayStation 4 in Japan on February 23, in North America on March 7, in Europe on March 10, and for PC worldwide on March 17.

http://gematsu.com/2017/04/nier-automata-shipments-digital-sales-top-one-million#HKkTuAA5dPb8bK7l.99

Good for them! I'm expecting remasters of Yoko Taro's older games in the future.

 

[Jinn]

That's awesome. Good for Yoko Taro! I hope we get to see much more of his work in the future.

 

[Ivan]

as someone who gets 30-45 fps, is this still worth playing IF I'm going into it expecting a deep combat system a la Bayo? Or should I wait for my next rig (summer)

 

[Jinn]

I think it's worth it. I played with around that and had a pretty great time/no real problems or difficulties. Still hoping they release a performance or optimization patch soon. I'm kind of waiting on that before I start in on my second playthrough.

 

[Durandal]

as someone who gets 30-45 fps, is this still worth playing IF I'm going into it expecting a deep combat system a la Bayo? Or should I wait for my next rig (summer)

It depends on your curiousity and resistance to opening spoilers. If you haven't already, apply the FAR patch and disable Global Illumination for massive gains. You only need to set it to Medium or Low for increased improvements, turning it off might make some sceneries look rather weird.

 

[Ivan]

will try. I tried the patch but didn't disable Global Illumination. thanks!

 

[Haplo]

as someone who gets 30-45 fps, is this still worth playing IF I'm going into it expecting a deep combat system a la Bayo? Or should I wait for my next rig (summer)

Framerate should be fine. But don't go in expecting "a deep combat system a la Bayo" or you might end up dissapointed. This is more of a hybrid game, fairly unique in what it does. Some sections where the 3D environment goes flat and you move in metroidvania-style, sometimes overhead camera "commando" style. Some bullet hell sections which I'm not fond of. And if you go for additional alternate game routes (with different protags), you'll have to get trough even more annoying hacking minigames - while being seriously impaired in combat.
Character customization via Plug-In Chips and diverse movesets for the different weapon combinations is fun. So are the Pod Program powers. Lots of little side quests and fun challenges BUT an annoying amount of running forth-and-back like a delivery boy. Nice graphics and animations, particularly on the protagonists, obviously + phenomenal soundtrack.

 

[Ivan]

tried the patch, shmup sections are smooth 60 but traditional combat still under 50 (though above 40 usually). will wait for upgrade.

 

[Durandal]

tried the patch, shmup sections are smooth 60 but traditional combat still under 50 (though above 40 usually). will wait for upgrade.

Btw, did you disable GI in the FAR options and set the resolution to something low?

 

[Ivan]

GI off, didn't touch resolution. it's fine, bro. i'll wait until I upgrade my rig (670gtx)

 

[SumDrunkGuy]

Gonna say for the record I have no prob with people liking this game. It 'ight. But fuck you if you if you think it even 1/8th on the level of the original you mainstream cock sucking faggot POS.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XTbluLDyE

You see that? has more humor, emotion, and all-around charisma packed into it's first 3 minute intro video than all off Automata's story. Hell, Kaine has more personality in her pinky finger than the entire fucking cast of Automata.

Long story short, fuck you. Game aint better.

 

[Ivan]

cool story, faggot

 

[sullynathan]

everyone on the internet says the first game isn't even a good "game" so how could it be better than this one? Is this another case of the first game had a better story but bad gameplay so it was better?

 

[Haplo]

Gonna say for the record I have no prob with people liking this game. It 'ight. But fuck you if you if you think it even 1/8th on the level of the original you mainstream cock sucking faggot POS.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XTbluLDyE

You see that? has more humor, emotion, and all-around charisma packed into it's first 3 minute intro video than all off Automata's story. Hell, Kaine has more personality in her pinky finger than the entire fucking cast of Automata.

Long story short, fuck you. Game aint better.

Do I see correct? Is the main protagonist limited to a measly single blade?

 

[Durandal]

Gonna say for the record I have no prob with people liking this game. It 'ight. But fuck you if you if you think it even 1/8th on the level of the original you mainstream cock sucking faggot POS.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XTbluLDyE

You see that? has more humor, emotion, and all-around charisma packed into it's first 3 minute intro video than all off Automata's story. Hell, Kaine has more personality in her pinky finger than the entire fucking cast of Automata.

Long story short, fuck you. Game aint better.

I think this is more of a case of different strengths (and weaknesses). Yoko Taro doesn't like making the same game twice, something that also manifested itself in the differences between direction music if you look at Nier, Drakengard 3 and Automata. Automato relies more on mystery and worldbuilding for the first half before paying off with the second half where you (might) even grow attached to the Pods. However, it's also where YT's backwards photo-whatever style of writing shows its constraints when applied to a longer game as it is an 'the signs were always there, but it only really starts to make sense around the end' kind of story, but having it drawn out by doing sidequests tends to make the pacing feel fucked. It still shares the READ NIGGA, READ mentality of the first where a lot of crucial plot information and character backstories are tucked away in supplemental material, but this time around most of it is included in the game at least.

I don't think that makes Automata better or worse, just different, and those differences might hit different beats depending on who you ask. I do miss the banter, but there's a lot more to a story than just that. YT's games would start to feel formulaic if they kept revolving around parties of misfits who get involved in unspeakable tragedies (DoD1, DoD3, NieR). Here the story is comparatively less personal and character-focused in order to focus more on greater concepts as opposed to most YT games, which I believe does more to justify Automata's existence in the franchise, but unfortunately makes Automata also easily handwavable away as 'meaningless philosophical bullshit'.

everyone on the internet says the first game isn't even a good "game" so how could it be better than this one? Is this another case of the first game had a better story but bad gameplay so it was better?

The first definitely has some stronger individual moments, though whether the story as a whole is better than Automata's rather comes down to personal preference. Kind of like saying that DoD1 and DoD3 have better stories because they were darker or whatever. There's more involved to a story than just 'stronger characters', Alpha Protocol and VtMB had great characters and writing, but plot-wise I didn't find them all that interesting. Some people played through the first NieR entirely but didn't feel quite drawn in as much either. But I'd say that in nearly every other aspect Automata is a noticeable improvement, even if it isn't excellent on a grand scale despite what one might expect from Platinum and it brings its own set of issues. There is a great varied roster of enemies, but the open world nature of the game rarely allows for any challenging handcrafted encounters, as the leveling system fucks over the difficulty balancing for boss battles greatly depending on what you do, and IMO leveling should have been dropped entirely in favor of chipsets and weapon upgrades. Like with most Platinum games, the mentality of "it's only as fun as you make it" still largely applies, though a lot of scripted events and mechanics tend to throw dirt on that idea.

It deserves some KKKodex points for having you beat up the co-author of the Communist Manifesto in a massive giant robot duel, though.

Gonna say for the record I have no prob with people liking this game. It 'ight. But fuck you if you if you think it even 1/8th on the level of the original you mainstream cock sucking faggot POS.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=P8XTbluLDyE

You see that? has more humor, emotion, and all-around charisma packed into it's first 3 minute intro video than all off Automata's story. Hell, Kaine has more personality in her pinky finger than the entire fucking cast of Automata.

Long story short, fuck you. Game aint better.

Do I see correct? Is the main protagonist limited to a measly single blade?

You get different weapon types like spears and heavy swords halfway through the game when the MC decides it's time to get SWOLE.