Zero Punctuation: Nier Automata

Erttheking

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zombiejoe said:
To be honest I don't really consider anything over five years old something that needs a spoiler tag. And to be frank, there's not much point now, considering everyone can see it in your quote. But...ok.

Well...I suppose that's something.
 

Quiotu

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Windknight said:
Onliuge said:
Hmm, genuinely surprised that Yahtzee didn't bring up that there's a fucking achievement for looking up 2-b's skirt.


I'm not even kidding with this shit..
Best part - at one point, 99% of the steam gamers had the achievement.

I wonder how many unlocked it 'accidentally' VS the people who saw it on the achievement walkthrough and went '(sighs) let's get this out of the way and never talk of it again'

(Side note: there's Gif out there where 2B will actually swat the camera away when you do look up, and there's also an achievement for making 9S walk around without trousers for an hour)
You know the best part of all this? That when you get to the third playthrough of the game, there's a shop that opens up, allowing you to basically pay in-game money to get any achievement in the game. So you don't really HAVE to do any of the achievements other than make enough money to buy them.
 

zombiejoe

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erttheking said:
zombiejoe said:
To be honest I don't really consider anything over five years old something that needs a spoiler tag. And to be frank, there's not much point now, considering everyone can see it in your quote. But...ok.

Well...I suppose that's something.
Thanks for bringing that up, I just edited out your quote to better hide it.

And considering that people new to the series might want to go to the original Nier before checking out Automata without spoiling anything for themselves, I think that in this particular situation keeping the spoiler tags would be nice for their sake.
 

Jburton9

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2B or not 2B, nice reference there. Another option is 2B future Waifu lol.

The lead dev is a trippy guy and he made a trippy game all in generally good fun. I watched TB's run with it and like Jim seemed to generally enjoy it but they also came away with "Hmmm still uncertain why it is I enjoy it.."

I plan to hold off on this one for a while that is until that naughty additional drm is taken off of it. Steam is plenty of DRM as it is for me and seeing how my network connection can get pretty wonky causes me to have to wait unfortunately.

Thanks for the post Yahtzee, so many endings and they are still not Neirly enough to explain the whole plot line. *cough*

Party Tank!
 

Steve the Pocket

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So this game approaches its "multiple endings" roughly the same way that Sonic 2006 did, is the impression I'm getting? Where you have to "play through the game three times" as different characters but in practice it might as well just be one game that randomly rolls the credits at the one-third and two-thirds marks instead of just at the end?
 

crimson5pheonix

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erttheking said:
Ok, can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on with it being a sequel to Neir and whatever the fuck Drakenguard is supposed to be? I don't know a whole lot about Neir, but I do know that humanity somehow being able to get into space after the first game is utterly freaking impossible considering the state they were in, IE,
turned into shadow monsters because spoiler warning, humanity were the bad guys all along and the people you thought were humanity were just bodies that the real humans were going to posses and got really pissy when they developed sentience.

EDIT: Also I just read a quick plot summary of Drakenguard and I'd like to know where summoning magical creatures and a little girl that will blow up the world if she dies come into the equation.
If you'd like to know the full plot, I can provide it, but it's long and convoluted. To your specific question:

While you ruin project Gestalt, there are pockets of humanity that successfully recombine (like the one village in Nier 1) and they have all their technical knowledge still. There are, after all, androids running around at the time of Nier 1.
 

The_State

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crimson5pheonix said:
Darth_Payn said:
Automata is a sequel to pretty much any of Nier's endings apart from maybe Ending D(it's ambiguous), Nier is a sequel to Drakengard's Ending E (the weird one), Drakengard is a sequel to a combination of endings A-C of Drakengard 3 (no one of the endings actually lead to Drakengard, it makes more sense in context but is still loopy). Drakengard 2 is the sequel to Drakengard ending A, but D2 wasn't directed by Taro Yoko so it's shit and nobody talks about it.
Ow. My brain. And people say the Metal Gear and Legend of Zelda timelines are convoluted. You know what would be a great retro-review episode? Drakengard. It would be worth it just to hear Yahtzee go completely mad.
It's actually much weirder and more convoluted than any other game's timeline, even Kingdom Hearts. This is due, primarily, to the fact that it goes well outside the realm of games to tell its stories. Short stories, drama CDs, and even stage plays all factor in to the Nier storyline. Seriously, stage plays. Automata is actually canonically the sequel to "YoRHa: Glory to Mankind", a stage play written and directed by Yoko Taro, which itself is the canonical sequel to Nier's ending D.
 

Sheo_Dagana

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Aeshi said:
And Drakengard itself is the sequel to Drakengard 3's first ending. And Drakengard 2 is a different sequel that takes place in an alternate timeline where Drakengard 1's first ending happened and oh dear I've gone cross-eyed.
So they went with the Zelda-style School of Continuity?

I liked Drakengard, and I liked Nier, so... I dunno. This game sounds weird, but awesome. I love shitty Japanese games, though, so I may be a bit biased. However, I will say that I don't like being forced to finish a game multiple times in order to get some kind of extra story out of it. I don't mind a "true ending" of sorts being locked behind a cavalcade of being at the right place at the right time, like Dark Souls III's Usurpation of Fire ending, but I'm not a fan of having to go back through a game several times because I rarely play through a game more than twice.
 

The_State

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Sheo_Dagana said:
Aeshi said:
And Drakengard itself is the sequel to Drakengard 3's first ending. And Drakengard 2 is a different sequel that takes place in an alternate timeline where Drakengard 1's first ending happened and oh dear I've gone cross-eyed.
So they went with the Zelda-style School of Continuity?

I liked Drakengard, and I liked Nier, so... I dunno. This game sounds weird, but awesome. I love shitty Japanese games, though, so I may be a bit biased. However, I will say that I don't like being forced to finish a game multiple times in order to get some kind of extra story out of it. I don't mind a "true ending" of sorts being locked behind a cavalcade of being at the right place at the right time, like Dark Souls III's Usurpation of Fire ending, but I'm not a fan of having to go back through a game several times because I rarely play through a game more than twice.
It only feels like the same game twice on a couple occasions. There is enough variety in the approaches to certain situations (the game cleverly peppers new content inside of what might feel like retrod ground) and new side quests only available to certain playable characters that it barely feels like doing the same thing twice. Plus, each playthrough is only about 15-20 hours, shorter if you don't worry about all the side quests.
 

Ima Lemming

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Arthain said:
Although... when it comes to sequels wasn't Nier the sequel to Drakengard's 4th ending while Nier: Automata the sequel to Nier's 5th ending or some convoluted BS like that?
I don't know which of NIER's endings Automata is a sequel to, but if it is the fifth, want to know what's really fun about that? NIER the game only has four endings; the "fifth" ending is from a Japan-only book.
 

KOMega

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Jburton9 said:
The lead dev is a trippy guy and he made a trippy game all in generally good fun. I watched TB's run with it and like Jim seemed to generally enjoy it but they also came away with "Hmmm still uncertain why it is I enjoy it.."
It kinda feels like he designed it to be that way, especially after I found this .gif of some interview with him.
 

Sheo_Dagana

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The_State said:
Sheo_Dagana said:
Aeshi said:
And Drakengard itself is the sequel to Drakengard 3's first ending. And Drakengard 2 is a different sequel that takes place in an alternate timeline where Drakengard 1's first ending happened and oh dear I've gone cross-eyed.
So they went with the Zelda-style School of Continuity?

I liked Drakengard, and I liked Nier, so... I dunno. This game sounds weird, but awesome. I love shitty Japanese games, though, so I may be a bit biased. However, I will say that I don't like being forced to finish a game multiple times in order to get some kind of extra story out of it. I don't mind a "true ending" of sorts being locked behind a cavalcade of being at the right place at the right time, like Dark Souls III's Usurpation of Fire ending, but I'm not a fan of having to go back through a game several times because I rarely play through a game more than twice.
It only feels like the same game twice on a couple occasions. There is enough variety in the approaches to certain situations (the game cleverly peppers new content inside of what might feel like retrod ground) and new side quests only available to certain playable characters that it barely feels like doing the same thing twice. Plus, each playthrough is only about 15-20 hours, shorter if you don't worry about all the side quests.
Hmm, perhaps I'll leave it in my GameFly queue, then. Sounds like something I could get through in a few weeks.
 

RobfromtheGulag

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"...was a lot less clever than it thought it was. Despite its lofty philisophical ambitions, the plot wasn't making any kind of actual point. It just dropped a lot of existential thematic elements on the garage floor..."

-see: Just about any edgy Japanese anime, game, or [probably] pop novel. (Evangelion, Elfen Lied, Ergo Proxy, Persona 3, etc.)

This is such a cliche for me at this point it's really annoying.
 

Sleepy Sol

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I finished all of the main endings of the game. If you think this game just drops philosophical inquiries on you and doesn't try to answer them in any capacity then I think you're just not playing the same game. Or you didn't play to the end. Which is entirely fair considering the point that the combat can undoubtedly become repetitive.

Something something Japanese games suck (as per Escapist tradition).
 

Vigormortis

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Can't say much about the quality of the game. Haven't played. The demo was cool but that's about as much as I've experienced, and that only made me mildly interested in buying the game. And even then, only when it gets a hefty price drop.

What I can say is: THANK FUCK someone finally pronounced 'automata' correctly. I've lost count of the number of friends, associates, LPers, and reviewers who've pronounced it 'auto-mah-tah'.

Makes me cringe so hard I think I chipped a tooth. It's like hearing someone pronounce 'chasm' as 'chaz-um' instead of 'kaz-um'. Or hearing someone say 'defibrillator' as 'dee-fib-u-lay-ter'. Or 'nuclear' as 'nuke-u-ler'.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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Vigormortis said:
Can't say much about the quality of the game. Haven't played. The demo was cool but that's about as much as I've experienced, and that only made me mildly interested in buying the game. And even then, only when it gets a hefty price drop.

What I can say is: THANK FUCK someone finally pronounced 'automata' correctly. I've lost count of the number of friends, associates, LPers, and reviewers who've pronounced it 'auto-mah-tah'.

Makes me cringe so hard I think I chipped a tooth. It's like hearing someone pronounce 'chasm' as 'chaz-um' instead of 'kaz-um'. Or hearing someone say 'defibrillator' as 'dee-fib-u-lay-ter'. Or 'nuclear' as 'nuke-u-ler'.
I just see it as "near a tomato" now. That part of my mind broke a little.
 

postblitz

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Sleepy Sol said:
I finished all of the main endings of the game. If you think this game just drops philosophical inquiries on you and doesn't try to answer them in any capacity then I think you're just not playing the same game. Or you didn't play to the end. Which is entirely fair considering the point that the combat can undoubtedly become repetitive.

Something something Japanese games suck (as per Escapist tradition).
I was going to say the same thing but then I realized my definition of "the point" may be different from Yahtzee or anyone else's. What SHOULD a video game do once it highlights a particular theme?

Nier:Automata for example does dabble, as Yahtzee said, into existentialism and there is a concert of side-quests literally throwing facets of the human condition at you through machine-reenacted fables where you may be the hero or the villain in. The true ending doesn't contribute as much to this as it does giving you the perspective of a benevolent god should you find it within yourself to become one. What DOES contribute however is 9S's character arc. 2b is the pretty face and arse that sold the game butt the sole point when she peels off her icy-queen dejected attitude is the first ending while 9S just piles on the emotional baggage and aversion toward their condition. The unmentioned character from the review represents a sort of fusion between the two that is as likeable as she is barely present.

Could the game have done more to the main characters to highlight their plight? Probably. I felt that the great undirectly mentioned OTHER main character of the game were the enemies : their origin, their development, their faults and their future - and in them humanity is mirrored and shown for our true faces. If anything I'd have desired the game to go even darker but it was still a triumphant showcase of the human being.
 

RaikuFA

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Aeshi said:
Not sure there's enough meat to this one to justfying paying full price or not, but I definitely intend to pick this one up once the price drops a bit.
Arthain said:
I heard a lot of good things about Nier: Automata, but I'm one of those weird individuals that can't jump into a game without first playing the prequels. Even if Nier: Automata is largely disconnected from Nier and Drakengard, the fact that I know I'll be missing hidden meanings by not playing those two first would drive me bonkers.

Although... when it comes to sequels wasn't Nier the sequel to Drakengard's 4th ending while Nier: Automata the sequel to Nier's 5th ending or some convoluted BS like that?
And Drakengard itself is the sequel to Drakengard 3's first ending. And Drakengard 2 is a different sequel that takes place in an alternate timeline where Drakengard 1's first ending happened and oh dear I've gone cross-eyed.
You know that whole thing where giving a robot a paradox makes it explode? Yeah it's easier to just ask them about the Drakenguard/Nier story.
 

shrekfan246

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Not sure if joke on the site's part because of Yahtzee's opening or honest typo, but I just noticed that the title for this episode (and subsequently the name of this comment thread) has misspelled the name of the game.