NieR: Replicant is the Greatest Flawed Gem in Gaming

[@giuseppebiundo6356]

Humans, Replicants and Shades, Heartless and Nobodies... What was going on in Japan in the 2000's and 2010's that this concept of separating bodies, spirits, and souls to kill each other had such a grip on video game pop culture?

[@kylespevak6781]

It's a very common trope in Japanese fiction

[@silentlore2458]

Japanese writers take a lot of tropes from Christian and Gnostic texts. That's why theres so much emphasis on the soul and demonic creatures

[@SaltyChickenDip]

1997 Asian financial crisis

[@tommynobaka]

the lost decade; japanese work culture and grind, culture of collectivity and not standing out

[@jetforcejuno7166]

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed the similarities lol, Nier (specifically Replicant) does feel like the darker Kingdom Hearts

[@420Birkin]

Small correction: Emil was never a replicant. He was experimented on as a human during the early days of the WCS and was subsequently made immortal. His purpose was to keep his sister Halua in check with the petrification power in case she went berserk. Love this game! Attended the concert in Paris and boy was it something

[@jokerdony]

Yeah, funnily enough, Emil is the last human alive even if he doesn't look like one.

[@splairs]

@@jokerdony that's the irony of it. the only "monster" looking character is the only real human :C

[@baziworld]

NieR Gestalt was my second game in yokoverse for me, until this day, nier having one of greatest story for me...definitely first time experience is most shocking moment in my video game for me, even more surprising thant nier automata...although i cherish drakengard 3 characters and lore, nier was a story which truly broke me, with realization of story.

[@newlandpencilnut4754]

@@splairs >all of the gestalts

[@vi8799]

I never understood why all this noise with Gestalts and replicants was needed if people had already learned to obtain immortality at that time.

[@DirtyCasual36]

2:30 I also like to point out that Yoko Taro chose this ending because of the amount of people that hated that ending. YOKO TARO CREATED THE NIER UNIVERSE OUT OF *SPITE* AGAINST HIS HATERS.

[@Aranelyn]

SPOILER Max, small correction, you missed the point of the repetitive quests. If you read the short novels about Nier Replicant, which are canon and provide more info about the characters, you realize that Nier life has being always an endless chore. Everything he did, he did it for Iona, trying to get the means to sustain himself and his sister. Devola and Popola also play a big role in this, as they are the ones giving him all the tasks. Now, if you have played Nier Replicant and Automata til the end, you know that they had a task to keep Nier replicant in check in order for him to be ready for the real Nier to go back on his body. Hence the long, super tedious quests that even Grimoire Weiss calls out for being useless, are Devola and Popola attempt to keep Nier busy and distract him from the Shadowlord. Again, Yoko Taro purposely choose a poor design choice, to communicate something. Amazing video as always, tho!

[@diafenix]

Wow, nice catch. You don't play Yoko Taro games... Yoko Taro games play you.

[@SaltedMallows]

c o p e

[@HorribleNimbo]

@@SaltedMallowslmao

[@theoriginallurkalot]

I was goin to make the same point, but I would also add that the game trolls you as well, so as you do these tedious fetch quests you get to see snippets of Yonah's diary, and all she wants it to spend time with her Brother/Dad, she misses him and wishes to see the things he sees, to have him at her birthday, to cook him a meal... it breaks my heart every time, you are laterally wasting your time fetching tulip bulbs and the person most dear to you is sick and lonely. This is all by design and to subvert the RPG format. DAMN YOU YOKO TARO!

[@giuseppebiundo6356]

Not to mention the main character selling his body for the sake of his sister. ... Now that I think about it, is this supposed to be a metaphor for the interactions between video game characters and the players?

[@Alecs250]

9:01 the whole game actually in a whole parody/reference to rpgs in general. I noticed this because in japanese they call the shadow lord "Maou" (demon king) just like Dragon Quest and other rpgs

[@Alecs250]

14:57 Again, i feel like repetitive quests, even the farming element was done in such a bland way that for me it can only be some kind of parody of other games. Why are we doing these unnecessary things? Just because they're there and it feels like you should, but should you?

[@Tampaandrewful]

The mansion segment isn’t just paying homage to resident evil with the camera angle. That’s literally a remake of the Spencer mansion. The main hall, the side hall and the dining hall. And underneath it is a secret lab where they turn people into weapons…just like Umbrella did underneath RE1 mansion.

[@jetforcejuno7166]

The underground facility pays homage to FF7 as well, specifically the Shinra manor and the mako reactors.

[@webbrowser6454]

Yoko Taro is an evil genius and I love him for it. I cant wait for a continuation in the Nier series. Hard not to pick them as my favorite video game sound tracks too, so beautiful.

[@-siranzalot-]

Yes. Got into the Series wie Automata a year ago and just played Replicant and am now Replaying Automata for the additional insights after the first game. I hope there is going to be another NieR Game in the future

[@AngraMainiiu]

Playing Nier Replicant right after Drakengard is like how veterans must feel after a long war, the peace is somehow disturbing...

[@swedensy]

Man Drakaengard 3 was such a good time on ps3 emulator. But this crap replicant too slow full of invis obstacles and the music is just noise nothing emotional like they claim. And most of the picture in the game is actually a picture yo cant go there.

[@SomeGuyH3re]

​@@swedensycool story bro

[@Uberwenis]

As far as the sidequests are concerned, I feel like that's a lesson in itself. Not everything is going to have a profound meaning. Sometimes, you just have to do errands. But also, you never know what the people you're talking to have been through in their lives unless you take a chance or make the effort.

[@jmh8817]

also sometimes NPCs just scam you because they can tell you, the player, are an easy mark

[@PixelHeroViish]

I also feel like it's a tongue-in-cheek joke where Yoko Taro laughs at the people who expected legitimately good rewards out of every, or even the majority, of Quests, because very few would be "worth it" to most players, cuz most people who bother with sidequests tend to be completionists or get some sense of reward/fulfillment doing them, so they just made most of them "worthless".......but are they really worthless?

[@lunascomments3024]

@@jmh8817 REAL. got scammed by NPC is like my lowest IQ moment of all time

[@MrMartin27]

Yohan’s disease is the rampancy of her human soul becoming a shade. In order to find their Shadow Lord/Material donor they handed out copies of grimoire noir to find the one human who would not turn rampant. With Yohan starting to turn into a shade but kept on status to prevent her turning if nier agrees to become the stable genetic material donor for all shades. The continuing deterioration of her soul manifests itself as the black scrawl on her replicant body.

[@ValyEK]

The disease Yonah was suffering from at the beginning wasn't related to the Gestalt Project or shades, she was just very sick. Only after she touched the grimoire she started to relapse, because she wasn't the Original Gestalt (Nier). Nier agreed to become Shadowlord only if they managed to cure Yonah. She was put in cryogenic sleep while still being in the process of relapsing, hence why every Replicant Yonah would get the Black Scrawl everytime.

[@MrMartin27]

@@ValyEK yes she was sick before, but not with the same thing after touching noir

[@qwfp]

Someone in Facade (I don't remember who exactly) says something like "Rules are there to give you freedom". Basically, if you know what you can't do, then by subtraction you know what you can do. This line/mindset stuck with me ever since I heard it. Also, I expected you to at least mention having to replay the second-half of the game 3 times to get all the endings (which are required to understand the entire story). It's the biggest pain point for me. Maybe it was intended to be painful, but it doesn't make it any less painful. But it being painful doesn't exactly make the experience "worse" (if that was the intended experience)

[@Nabekukka]

Rules do not exist to bind you. They exist so you may know your freedoms. Fyra states this I think after you're done with the city tour

[@qwfp]

@@Nabekukka Yes, that's the one! Thanks

[@newlandpencilnut4754]

@@qwfp Why did that stick in your mind?

[@anarche4900]

Evangelion reference ?

[@VilleHalonen]

I loved Gestalt/Replicant until Ending B. But having to grind so much of it again with no new additions kind of soured me on it; forcing me to go through the same story again and again doesn't really sit well with me. Especially because I'd already collected most if not all of the weapons on playthrough B...

[@zaragachizanparo4948]

I think of how Kingdoms of Amalur subverts the "chosen one" trope by making the hero of the story the one guy who isn't bound by fate.

[@maowcat1587]

I found a lot of room to ponder learning that the whole Irish mythology angle was just symbolic dressing for the setting being the components of a personal computer. Tirnoch being a virus, the Fateless One being an anti-virus with SuperUser clearance, the mortals being loaded RAM data and the Fae Application Processes.

[@michaeloconnor5480]

I will NEVER forget ending E. Never. It possibly got me more than Automata's. Straight masterpieces.

[@matthewlugo2417]

Really? While i like endind e in replicant, automatas ending e is more meaningful and makes its player one of the characters, its an ending that brings everyone around the world together to help one another even complete strangers and even enemies. Cause even tho we are different we are still one people. Nier automata cannot be matched by any game created today

[@nhutminh9290]

it hits more for original player played the original without the ending E in the game

[@linkw6645]

​@@nhutminh9290Yeah, I imagine that the OG game without the E ending made the game depressing AF, I would've fricking thrown myself from a bridge. The E ending felt like Yoko Taro put a bandaid on my bruised heart lol

[@ThePewdsBro98]

small correction: the Aerie didn't start hating kaine because of the shades, they hated her from the moment she was born because she was "born" because she was a hermaphrodite

[@DaddyHensei]

Big reason why I still to this day after I 100% Nier Gestalt and Nier replicant and the remaster, feel no sympathy for that place. Feel bad for Emil though.

[@YassineFarah2423]

I would say that Drakengard and Nier demonstrate how bad choices will create harmful outcomes and how horribly difficult and permanent they are while others have to live with the consequences.

[@rouhee]

7:13 "What we do in the Shadows" reference huh, great movie, also has a great show. Definitely recommended.

[@Indi_51]

Thank you! :D also thanks for watching!!

[@LETIshNick]

The flawed one may be Drakengard 3, although brilliantly flawed, whereas Nier is pure gold.

[@newlandpencilnut4754]

Nier is an extremely flawed game

[@OmegaRejectz]

Do you know the definition of pure gold?

[@trevorveillette8415]

Automata is the flawlessly cut hope diamond. The crown jewel of all that gaming has to offer. Replicant is brilliant diamond but roughly cut. Made by the same master craftsman as automata but in his younger, less experienced years of his craft. It's beautiful but has some rough edges. Drakengard 1 was that same craftsmans first attempt at cutting a beautiful diamond. He hacked and sawed and drilled away at it mercilessly without refinement. When he was finished a lot of the diamonds original beauty that normally makes diamonds beautiful was gone, but was instead was replaced with a gnarly sculpture that offends some, but conveys a lot of the artists personality and vision to others. Drakengard 3 is that same craftsman cutting a diamond, but this time he's had the experience of cutting a beautiful but flawed gem we call NieR replicant/gestalt. He combines that experience and refinement he's gained, and combines it with his unapologetic enthusiasm for hacking away at his beloved gemstones until they take the shape of what he most viscerally wants to convey. It's the love/hate child of his experience with replicant/gestalt and Drakengard 1.

[@buttertoast1146]

Drakemgard 3 is dope what you talking about?

[@AscendantStoic]

When I first started playing this game several years back I wasn't ready for what I consider now one of the best gaming experiences I ever had ... and don't get me started on the heavenly OST that's almost impossible to match .. although I have to say I prefer the Gestalt version with the Dad main character, the story feels like it works better that way ... specially loved the fact that with New Game+ you actually learn new things and the shades language that was unintelligible mess now makes sense.

[@jmh8817]

This game also made me think of the silent hill 2 joke ending sequel idea and I'm glad to not be alone in having that stuck in my head for years anymore.

[@3rdStepStudios]

You made one error regarding the Replicants: Emil is not a Replicant, his official race is that of a "Weapon", which is a modified original human.

[@landop3320]

I mean yeah he's a weapon, but still the last human alive

[@slightlytwistedagain]

This is similar to the train conundrum where you have a switch to either let the train run over a bunch of people or run over a single person who is a loved one. The answer isn't which one is right and which one is wrong, the answer is what choice you're prepared to live with.

[@quillclock]

your dog ending explanation is my new head cannon. use to be aliens now its all the dog

[@ClockworkGearhead]

Yoko Taro's games have always been a "genre-blender."

[@LeoFalcon]

Releasing this so close after Reincarnation's ending is so sweet. Thank you

[@xupr4301]

Wait it ended already? I got lost on the lore and barely antibody uploads summaries of the newer seasons

[@deathsyrup]

Commenting again asking for a video about Thief the Dark Project. The esoteric lore has yet to be touched upon by anyone. The 3 religious groups in the game have a very strong dichotomy that I think a lot of games today still take inspiration from. Especially Dishonored and Deus Ex.

[@michaelhowell2809]

This your chance to put it on the Internet first lol

[@AL-lh2ht]

Plenty of people made videos about Theif. They just don't focus on the lore you are talking about.

[@winstonsmith3703]

I like how thief did a pagan themed enemy for the first game and an industrial enemy for the second while dishonored did the reverse.

[@W_W-f8y]

What I find more interesting about thief is its portrayal of relatively “modern” tech in a medieval setting…

[@anomitas]

Very good game, haven't seen any game with the depth of stealth as thief

[@thehater6189]

We can hardly fully accept that Nier was killing "humans". In the context of the game's story, the humans/shadows felt entitled to the Replicants who were meant to be shells for them. The shells become the more sympathetic group, imo, because they are trying to defend their existence instinctively. The shadows are no longer human, including shadow nier. The obvious parallel between the replicants and human souls addresses this quite well. "Humanity" as a concept had evolved to include another type of being capable of "humanity's" good and evil, the replicants. This is further elaborated on by a similar dichotomy between the androids and robots in automata. In the world of nier, humanity does not belong only to humans. Pascal from automata is far more "human" than Caim, despite Caim being an actual human. This is the central revelation to me of the series as a whole (at least until now)

[@TheBlueLink3]

Personally, I had no issues with the sidequests. They never got tedious and were mostly easy to do while playing the main story. I thought they all brought something to the table, even if that was just fun banter. I honestly had a blast going for the platinum trophy. The only time it truly got tedious was when I was fully upgrading all of the weapons. I guess I was just that much into the world. Also, if you do ever get a chance to play Drakengard 2, please don’t ignore it. I know it has its flaws, and Yoko Taro wasn’t really involved with it, but I do think it’s still important. It did also have the rest of the team that worked on Drakengard, NieR, and Drakengard 3 (minus the composers). Even if you don’t end up liking it, it’d still be interesting to hear your thoughts on it.

[@richardgordon5362]

This is a great way to spend lunch. Chicken tendies, bottle of cola and one of Max’s gold-tier video game analysis

[@tiagocosmos]

i know all I know about this series from youtube. I missed out on it entirely during the ps2/3 eras, but the setting and worldbuilding is so fascinating to me, from Drakengard up to Automata.

[@FreyOdyssey]

Bro didn't mentioned the novels or the other endings at all... There better be a part 2!

[@garugan]

The people in the village at no point softened up to Kaine though... What?

[@saulothebebop2581]

Fun fact: Yoko Taro chose the joke ending of Drakengard as a way to distance his story from Drakengard 2 as much as posible.

[@jokerdony]

Man I hope you do that video about Lost Odyssey soon. I actually wanted this video to go on longer (in the same way I don't want a video game to end), and I also hope you do a video dissecting ending E with Kaine since it supposedly is the one that leads to NeiR Automata, somehow. Anyways, love the video. Always look forward to your uploads.

[@gmicaro]

Max, you misunderstood a fundamental part of the game that makes it way more horrifying. The shades you fight are NOT relapsed gestalts. They are mostly regular sentient people defending their kids and their homes. Once you start hearing the shades voices you realize at some points you were actually killing children. Excelent video though. Cheers.

[@cly7894]

i have never realized this... 13:21 the sword the woman was holding is literally a shrunk down version of kusanagi

[@emiliolopez2023]

I think your impression might be a bit colored by modern knowledge? At the time No one knew about the connection to Drakengard when NieR: Replicant / Gestalt came out. Yoko Taro was also not the household name he is currently and there were no expectations from fans. The Connection is a jumping off point but ultimately not important to the full narrative of the game. While I agree, the state of Drakengard is a statement on the mindless killing of a Musou game. I argue that it was intentionally made to play bad. No one ever goes out to make a bad game especially if it is your first Like Drakengard was for Yoko Taro. Especially, with his comments expressing disappointment with the technical prowess of his titles before NieR: Automata. I think he wanted to make a full on musou game and comment how mindless they were, so he thought of a creative solution to address the limitations he experienced. Kind of like in comics you have an amazing writer and they have a weak artis providing visuals. The writing does all the heavy lifting. One thing I do feel like may have gotten lost in your assessment of the gameplay is the fact you are not playing the original game. You are playing a revised version with quality of life improvements, graphical updates, added content and fully reworked combat. You say the combat isn't that bad, It is horrendous in the original. ;) That said Ultimately I feel the way you experienced the plot was not lost. I feel that the update takes away the burden of lackluster combat. Great video.

[@giuseppebiundo6356]

I've heard but cant confirm that Drakengard was originally supposed to be just the dragon flight missions and the ground combat was added later in the games inception or even development. I don't remember seeing a bunch of writing in reviews of NieR mentioning it was a spiritual successor or spinoff to Drakengard but there are some items in-game that allude to its predecessor, both accessible to the player and in the artwork/cutscenes.

[@jacobb3784]

@@giuseppebiundo6356you can’t argue tho that drakengards dragon sequences were actually very fun and in contrast to the very tedious ground combat

[@RelaxThruHeaven_RuleAllHell]

At 24:33 you mention Emil being a replicant... But, that is false. He was always human, but the experimentation done on him literally turned him immortal.

[@ryanpercival9823]

Nier Automata was able to run because Nier Gestalt crawled. My favorite parts of Automata, the soundtrack and story, are directly derivative of Nier Gestalt. While IU admit Automata is a better game, mainly because Platinum helped make the game more fun to play, Gestalt is higher up on my favorites list than Automata, and near the top of my favorite games list. No story and soundtrack are better than OG Nier in the gaming space, PERIOD, even Automata.

[@Ozzianman]

Yep. Automata did gameplay better, but Replicants story shreds my soul. I have Pavlovian responses to Replicants OST because of the emotions connected to that music.

[@ryanpercival9823]

@@Ozzianman "Grandma" is the song getting me back into playing piano single handedly, so I feel you on the music, bud.

[@ayeyuh6920]

I fully agree. It could just be nostalgia, but after playing both Replicant and Automata (then Gestalt again last year), Gestalt still holds the most weight to me. The story was presented better imo and "Dad" Nier was a lot more impactful than Brother Nier.

[@beto8493]

I really enjoyed that video! I agree with you-I think Yoko Taro learned a lot from it, and Nier: Automata turned out much better. Yoko Taro is a genius in the gaming world. It’s fascinating how the Nier universe emerged from the joke ending of Drakengard, yet Yoko Taro managed to connect both universes seamlessly. The characters in Nier, especially Kainé and Emil, are incredibly well-written and deep. It’s hard to find similar character depth in recent games. The Nier universe dives into thought-provoking philosophical themes, and the battles are super fun. Plus, the music is amazing, and there’s plenty of fan service. I hope more gamers get to experience these games. Oh, and did you catch the easter eggs featuring 2B and 9S in Nier Replicant? They’re fantastic!"

[@qrowing]

Man, I hadn't realized just how much this game impacted me. Felt a legitimate pang of sadness being reminded of both the fisherman and the old lighthouse keeper. It's not often side-quest characters stick with you like that.

[@ilregiallo4151]

2:45 We all need "Silent Hill: Pet Therapy" right now.

[@TheBeird]

Nier Replicant? Should have called it Nier Depression. But I loved it. I love it and Automata equally, warts and all. Both firmly made me a Yoko Taro fan for life

[@michaeloconnor5480]

That's just it, hey? These aren't just good games and some of the best stories told, they've a tendency to some (or even most) that play it, that if it is in any way your jam, you are gonna be a fan for life. The story is SO affecting to the player and so effective in general....it just... it's masterful. Full grown men and women cry at this shit. Harder than normal. It's absolutely beautiful. Fan for life.

[@GarretDejiko]

2:59 better than ascension and short message

[@coachp7530]

The coolest thing that they did and iterated on in atomata was the perspective switching yet keeping the same controls. It was an awesome idea that no company takes advantage of advantage of.

[@OsokaOiv]

The DrakenNier Series has taught me so many lessons through playing games that lead me through life. And I am so happy that you also discovered those games and made videos on them. Even seeing beyond the not fun game design.

[@valide1]

What always gets me, and I think is the best use of the mechanic, is the inability to understand shades until you play through a 2nd time. Then the heartbreak starts and you realize the depth of how horrible the situations are. Like in Drakengard, then the question looms in your mind once again, "what kind of person are you, to still be playing this?" The only right thing to do is to stop playing because you know where this all leads, that it will only get worse and worse. The moral choice is to not play.

[@FunnyGorillaHaha]

This plot thread didn't really connect for me, I think the only case where I felt any pity for a shade was the one with the robot. Wolf shades? The desert didn't just appear, it would've taken hundreds of years to get that way. The girl in the boat? She eats innocent people, even if she wanted to just be normal she still lured in and killed people. They are almost always the aggressor and just cos they want their bodies back it's not justified imo

[@newlandpencilnut4754]

Having a lot of the small shades being non-combative was more effective than that entire playthrough. If you play the game again, watch, they just stare at you and back away. The dog chose to fight, the robot one was almost too guilt-trippy and started to feel silly, fuck the monster girl, Gretel was sad tho.

[@baziworld]

NieR Gestalt was my second game in yokoverse for me, until this day, nier having one of greatest story for me...definitely first time experience is most shocking moment in my video game for me, even more surprising thant nier automata...although i cherish drakengard 3 characters and lore, nier was a story which truly broke me, with realization of story

[@TimEasterling]

As I was playing through this game, I stopped and just kind of sighed. My wife asked me what was up. I said, "You can't feel good about ANYTHING you do." It's amazing, and it's devastating. The gameplay can be very tedious, but the story is worth it. Automata is, in my humble opinion, the pinnacle. The music in both is absolutely breathtaking. I just want to keep oozing fanboy over these two games. They are life-changing.

[@onthespiral4054]

15:35 I had fun. Farming for eagle eggs was not

[@SciFiMangaGamesAnime]

26:30 Its worth pointing that Replicants cannot reproduce (like certain other Replicants, from different franchise, come to think about it.. Huh). Which means, that all of them will perish (and they did), regardless of their actions, while Gestalts, if they succeeded, would restore humanity. This.. makes Yonah, the most selfish character in the game. She is willing to refuse to cooperate with her brother, who sacrificed all he could to save her, knowing that it will lead to death of everyone (other than sexy robots). 27:19 - I mean, when dying race is willing to destroy not dying race for sake of few more years of living.. I mean, come on. Obviously, Replicant Nier have no idea about all of it, because he is, well, just uneducated chum, with big sword, who is living in post-apocalyptic Truman show (androids are always watching.. and Watchers - they watch too).

[@YassineFarah2423]

Sadly in both cases of Yonah both didn't even know anything about Project Gestalt while indirectly keeping humanity alive and the other didn't want to live with the fact they were a stealing someone else's life.

[@SciFiMangaGamesAnime]

@@YassineFarah2423She spent few years with her brother while being reunited with her replicant body (not to mention her being with him as gestalt before that), so, how can we be certain that she did not knew anything?

[@YassineFarah2423]

@@SciFiMangaGamesAnime because it was stated that gestalt Yonah had already relapsed and was in that state while in stasis for a long time and the Shadowlord and Noir couldn't tell the truth because they were busy restoring Yonah while keeping her replicant alive.

[@Grimdark_Replays]

Replicant Nier did know, his ignorance was lifed. Devola and Popola clearly spell out the stakes before their boss fight. Nier just didn’t care at that point, perhaps sunken cost fallacy.

[@neryleal5265]

Imo the idea of the sidequests gets overlooked because of the repetitiveness. It actually is the same point as the drakenguard combat to a degree. Imo it fits perfectly into the idea of you playing as Nier. In the lore it shows that nier took every single job he could to help look after yona, even selling his own body. And the villagers always took pity on their situation so they were more than happy to have Nier do things for them that a lot of the time (the most simple fetch quests) they couldve done themselves. It plays into the whole role playing element that really puts you in Niers shoes. No matter how many shades he kills. No matter how many jobs or how much money he gets, its still not giving him the help he really needs to save yona. The money bides him time. The quests and the fighting give him a purpose as well as saving yona. Its all there to help Nier find a sense of purpose, even if it really isnt doing anything to benefit their situation in an impactful way. It gives Nief a sense of confidence he can display for Yona.

[@sirnutaku7716]

Let's gooo, I'm glad we got another person hooked into the fanbase cuz ur about to fall into the weirdest most addictive deep dive ever

[@ElivTheMightyena]

The saddest thing is that by killing Shadowlord the replicant Nier has also doomed replicants to extinction. Since without gestalts there was no longer a way to create more replicant bodies (replicant bodies were infertile) and thus replicants would die out.

[@devilofether6185]

As an anarchist; I see power itself as an obstacle to Humanity. If we only had our fists to fight; we would get tired of fighting so inefficiently, we would be forced to communicate with our opponents to find a non-violent solution; preventing all of those dark moral decisions from ever being necessary. Since Power (over something else) begets violence, destroying systems of power is the only real path towards peace.

[@Lyu-Phy]

Yes and I would also argue the only solution for humanity is to stop depending on the external and to focus on the internal more and more. That and nonsensical greed are the "archenemy" of humanity. Remove them, and you would have a different species.

[@devilofether6185]

@@Lyu-Phy I would disagree with that actually; trying to solve external systematic problems internally is how to make sure those problems never actually get solved; just kicked down the road for someone who isn't as in control of their emotions or environment to deal with; it is not sustainable for human beings. Imagine a rainstorm, you don't want to get wet, but instead of finding or building a shelter; you decide that being wet isn't so bad, so you end up getting a cold in the process. This is an absurd example, but talking about politics; there are many groups that try to cope with the world in internal, ineffective ways. "new age" is an example of a culture that internalizes struggle; turns it into a commodity, and gets in the way of people actually trying to make a difference. The power "to do something" is a useful tool that cannot be overlooked, and defines freedom itself; there needs to be a balance between action and passivity

[@anomitas]

Too bad it isn't realistic.

[@devilofether6185]

​@@anomitas "doomerism" was my first example before I changed my mind. Pessimism prevents us from imagining a better world, which in turn prevents us from recognizing a solution when it presents itself. You criticize anarchists for being unrealistic; but we have tried hierarchies for thousands of years, and it still hasn't produced great results. Nobody knows what is possible until it is done, have a little faith in people who want to change the world for the better.

[@bleaftharuffneck1014]

Awesome reflected viewpoint. Right now, a big part of humanity, that wasn't at this point yet, is realizing this fact. Thank you. I'm struggling everyday, to remain calm against the machinery of hatred and violence.

[@Nyaatsume]

Great video, I can tell you did a lot of research and you have passion for the games. I respect how you feel about the quests. They are tedious, silly, and don't seem like they contribute to the story at a glance. I'd like you to revisit this idea though, in the light novels they go over more lore including the side quests. From my understanding the narrative direction of these annoying quests is similar to drakengard, and it works. Nier is willing to do anything, and by extension you the player are also determined to do anything to finish your goal of saving Yonah. Being a big brother doing everything by yourself isn't easy. Being a "hero" isn't glamourous. I feel like these fetch quests humble the player and test your spirit on if you are willing to do these for money to support your sick sister. It has the senseless killing vibe of DoD1, but the subquests are created to be thought provoking. In Nier Replicant ver 1.22 etc you get achievements for doing subquets like "go to guy" or "handyman" and the NPCs talk to you with familiarity and the game even makes fun of itself for making you do senseless tasks, which implies they ARE self aware these quests are tedious and almost mock you for doing them, that gesture alone I think speaks for how they aren't useless and they were made with intent. SPOILERS. The red bag couple, the fisherman, the lady in the lighthouse all make you question your morals. The sand temple quests provide world building and lore for their community. I think the most notable are the quests from seafront. In the light novel the lore gets dark (also expains why Nier ties his hair up when he is younger). So I really really ask you to check out the novels, reflect on some of the subquests again (especially the CHOICES they invoke) and reconsider if the mechanics do pull off having a narrative device or if they are truly as useless as what first meets the eye.

[@thetalantonx]

3:05 - HIGH KEY, I NEED THIS

[@jarradbilliot3618]

What will really throw you for a loop is that Kaine probably heard the shades as you were killing them

[@sharynmorgan944]

She could only hear Tyrann and The beast one that was mocking her, posing as her grandmother

[@TNTITAN]

@@sharynmorgan944Then why during the robot fight does she yell “No! It’s a shade It’s a shade!” out of nowhere. Or her grabbing of the postman.

[@RektemRectums]

I have almost 4 hours in this game I'm falling asleep every 5 mins but I keep powering through hoping it gets better. It's exhausting I just want to give up.

[@venabre]

I feel the tedious sidequests need to exist in the game precisely because they have to break expectations. You are supposed to expect them all to be meaningless tedium, only to be surprised when you run into some of the side quests which go for something deeper. Had they just kept those they wouldn't be as impactful, as you would come to expect the twist or the gut punch.

[@restinginn9906]

That fisherman side quest you described hit me in the feels. The only good one apparently. The main story was incredible though. I love the voice actor of Weiss. The OST is just as fantastic as automata as well. Your analysis is spot on as always. Love your videos Max.

[@diafenix]

I'd be delighted to have a coffee talk with you Max. Thanks for your work and congrats for your channel.

[@juanma26m]

The thing is... The canonical endings of the silent hill saga are the alien endings

[@TasTheWatcher]

Nier: Flawed gem Drakengard: A flaw, with gems

[@Shane0622]

The Nier series is, and always will be, in my top series of all time. It's an absolute masterpiece, flaws and all. And that final battle, when you realize what it actually means, the Shadowlord OST in the background, it's tough to not cry for what you're doing and what has to be done to survive... This game is legendary.

[@kotenara10]

I think that's a pair of F-4EJ Phantom that shotdown Angelus not an F-2A Viper Zero

[@kayskreed]

No mention of the multiple playthroughs and endings, or why it's necessary to collect all the weapons? You certainly _subverted_ my expectations!😉(Hopefully we can get a Part 2.)

[@tomekm1804]

Ok, now I want a Silent Hill sequel that continues the dog ending.

[@Zyco178]

Gonna be honest it was kind of hard for me to focus on what you were saying with such an amazing soundtrack in the background lol. I played this game on the Xbox 360 when it initially came out (yes I played as Old Man Nier). I managed to convince my friend to buy it just because it was a Square Enix game. I did not own an Xbox 360 at the time so I was only able to play the game at his house, however I was able to get 3 of 4 endings over several weekends. I found the game to be alright. I remember liking both Kaine and Emil waaay more than the main protag. The soundtrack though has been in my top 10 game OSTs since than.

[@anomitas]

Play the remake, nier is best boy also the story works better as the original nier and not the father.

[@Tomorrowomari]

Love this game. It really is such a unique experience. Yoko Taro is one of the goats

[@Grei_Undyne]

19:07 Windwaker reference that 19:53 Bongo Bongo too!

[@guttgrinder1626]

What a good time to talk about this game because its ending "E" has connections to another Nier game called "Nier : ReINcarnation" (which sadly will be EOS this month). It maybe a gacha game but the character stories in that game is very much Nier-like. Its hard to recommend the game though due to the amount of grinding or time to finish it (I finish the game btw without spending any real money). I guess, just watch YT videos for the characters stories.

[@contrapasta2454]

I've long thought that tedium is the key to an RPG and especially a JRPG. Long traipses over the overworld and grinding for levels and mats to pointlessly upgrade things and check boxes has a weird transformative effect where it makes it feel more like an epic adventure than a shorter game with tighter play could possibly achieve. That's why the medium is suited to epic fantasy and endearing casts. Oftentimes all it takes to grow fond of someone in real life is time and proximity, not necessarily sharing important weighty things. Arriving at the end of a 100 hour game with your party is just a different feeling, often regardless of how much of that was quality gameplay. I happen to think Taro knows or believes this too, on some level. If he doesn't: joke's on him, I'm into that shit. (Edit: But I'm not growing pink moonflowers, sorry.)

[@thehater6189]

Dog as Jigsaw is neither too great, nor too bad. It is perfectly reasonable for some reason 🤔

[@ReleaseZeKrakken]

I'd personally argue the growing flowers side quest to cultivate the legendary flower is the worst thing about the game. I don't think it's actually a side quest but it's tied to a trophy and having to wait irl days for them is egregious.

[@Franzolly]

I see what you did here. I assumed you were taking a route of explaining the whole philosophy and all that typical max derrat video and yet this video is so different, albeit a couple of hooks here and there to confuse us. This is so different from like, your xenogears video..like i was making expectations that you d say that subquests are just there to make you feel more and more miserable, as to make you feel that the more you pry on others life the more damage you can do to get your quest prize...i wonder if i am right and you took all of us out for a loop

[@happysmilesworldandgames8755]

Also gestalt yonah was kind of the opposite of everyone else, since since she sacrificed herself for her replicant

[@yordimedina8879]

I'm not sure if you'll read this Max. But thank you so much for all of your work and this video. And respecting the Nier series as a whole so much. This game means the world to me and it changed my life back when I played it 10 years ago so I have no words to express my gratitude. Keep it up! I love all of your videos.

[@daviddu4948]

Have you ever read the manga Land of the Lustrous (houseki no kuni) ? I believe it's exactly something you will love knowing the philosophical aspect deeply rooted in buddhism. It's also ending next chapter (ch.108 for 108 wordly desire heh)

[@disturbedrebirth]

I'm so happy to see more and more videos about this beautiful game.

[@battleon81]

Maybe the worst part is that it's all pointless either way. Yonah dies shortly afterwards from the Black Scrawl no matter what. It isn't even a fight to save her. It's a fight to spend a few more months at best with her before she dies as either a complete human or a replicant. There is not a single scenario where either brother ends up happy.

[@MelancholicGuts]

Max, do you have any updates on the fan made shadow of the colossus game?

[@frdveloz]

That grand Turismo cameo xD

[@splairs]

this is so far the best nier replicant synopsis/ analysis video i've seen

[@ekadria-bo4962]

And also: if they fused, it will collapse Possesion to gestald, lead to black scrawl, so yeah, Humanity still perish

[@Chloroxite]

The black scrawl is a replicant disease, not a human disease. And it is only caused by the death of the original souls. In this sense, killing off humanity doomed all replicants.

[@GamingWithSpoons]

Nier is a rough game for sure replicant made it better but it's also very rough with side quests. It doesn't necessarily exuse it but it does reflect the mundane, nature of taking odd jobs and doing them every day to make a living and provide for the ones we love. On a note to I think it's heavily insinuated the replicants will die out just like the humans of the humans can't re integrate with there human souls.

[@FriendWithADemon]

The side content was done like this on purpose, most likely. In my opinion they were trying to emulate real life to some degree, because let's be honest, life is a multitude of tedious tasks that by the end of them we forgot all the hard work that was put in them and we cherish the result.

[@marcelosillero]

I dropped this game after the delivery side mission where you couldn’t roll or be hit because it would damage the goods. For the first 2 hours, it had 10 good minutes of fun and combat, with the rest being constant walking and talking nonsense. Because so many people say that this game is a masterpiece and all, I wish that someday we can get a remake of it

[@averagesoul8256]

a yes nier one of the greatest pieces of art ever created, i put it on the same pedestal as automata

[@TamaatoSauce]

le rouge et le noir, the red and the black~ nier is the greatest literary triumph in gaming that there ever will be, as Stendhal was to writing.

[@aerrae5608]

Yoko always makes the games make you FEEL what the protagonist feels even if that is boredom. I've played OG Drakengard through at least 5 times, even 100%'ed it once. That is a tedious game, but you feel what Caim feels, the endless cutting of flesh of armies of enemies over and over and over and over. You almost start to feel a satisfaction from it over time, doing it without taking a hit, dominating enemy groups. There's a map with literally 1500 enemies to cut down. That's where if you are the type to immerse yourself his games start to transcend the medium a bit and you really feel like you're that character. You're really in the moment.

[@camelbro]

Getting and upgrading all the weapons gives the best ending so it's worth it

[@Alwyn2112]

Even though Drakengard 2 is kind of mixed in terms of how it’s regarded, doesn’t Drakengard 3 & it’s handling of different endings also subtly imply that it’s kind of a Schrödinger’s Cat for the DrakenNier canon? (As in both Nier Replicant/Gestalt & Drakengard 2 simultaneously are both the canon follow ups & noncanon, via alternate timelines)

[@RavusNox-z5i]

Basically the entire reason the plot happened is because shades & replicants cannot speak to one another. If the Shadowlord (NieR) could speak to replicant NieR, everything could have been averted.

[@ajmercer6691]

Hey man, I've been doing a project at Uni that involves explaining Game Themes and I used this game as an example. Your video was a huge help and I wanted to thank you for taking the time to analyse this amazing game.

[@Lord_Deimos]

Very few games impacted me like Nier, simply listening to the soundtrack is enough to water my eyes. But man, fuck the flowers sidequest with the power of a thousand suns... It is impossible to complete without a guide and manipulating your system's clock.

[@ghazad1660]

music at 11:30?

[@roperaustraman4445]

His next game after Drakkengard with Caim was not Nier, that is a weird thing to say at the start of the video.

[@n0ctiz456]

NieR Gestalt/Replicant is one of my favorite games I replay it every year around April like a ritual

[@luizalexandreazevedo1435]

Ah I wanted your input on Drakengard3's story, which is another whole convoluted and dark tale

[@Tullerman]

Whoa, that is one awesome plot twist there