Should I buy NieR Automata?

[The Eupho Guy_v1legacy]

I am also getting a little bit of side-quest fatigue. Should I bother? (story payoff-wise?)

There are some quests with relatively important story information (mainly world building). However, when you complete the game for the third time you unlock a useful chapter select that lets you go back and complete any unfinished business so don't worry too much about point of no return and feeling the need to do everything before progressing.

Then I should probably just focus on the main quest since I seem to be in danger of falling into the open-world-side-quest-rabbit-hole and usually lose interest eventually when that happens.

That sounds like a good idea. I had that happen to me last week with Yakuza 0 trying to complete Majima's business sidequest. Got about half way through before starting to get bored of the game. I finally got around to finishing it off last night after burning through a couple chapters of the story.

 

[Zeraki]

I am also getting a little bit of side-quest fatigue. Should I bother? (story payoff-wise?)

There are some quests with relatively important story information (mainly world building). However, when you complete the game for the third time you unlock a useful chapter select that lets you go back and complete any unfinished business so don't worry too much about point of no return and feeling the need to do everything before progressing.

Then I should probably just focus on the main quest since I seem to be in danger of falling into the open-world-side-quest-rabbit-hole and usually lose interest eventually when that happens.

The only side quest I recommend doing is one called Amnesia in route B, which gives a relevation that happens later on more of an impact. Other than that you really can skip a lot of the side missions or save them for later since they mostly just serve as world building.

 

[jademunky]

Okay, so to update:

I have finished both the A and

Spoiler

G endings (G being a gag ending that I stumbled upon in the first 3 minutes of my second playthrough)

The A ending

Spoiler

just had me killing the twins without explaining much. Also the aliens are all dead, the machines killed them and have now run rampant over the planet.

Onto B: So far

Spoiler

playing as 9S, I just suck something awful at combat but can just end everything at any time by using the "hacking" ability. Also "hacking" means: activating the "self-destruct-explosives implanted in every machine for the lulz."

Anyhoo, this is kinda fun seeing the whole thing from the POV of the supporting character. 9S sees things that 2B does not about the machines and it makes something that was already pretty tragic a LOT moreso.

Also, whomever suggested the Auto-collect, dear-god-yes. That could not come fast enough.

 

[jademunky]

Well, I just finished C Ending and, um wow.

Spoiler

poor 9S, I seriously want to give him a hug right now.

Also those other redheaded twins

Spoiler

Devola and Popola, thats even sadder!

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

Having juuust finished it, yeah, it was pretty good.

Not quite the masterpiece some people say it is...But it's competent enough to be enjoyable, and it does enough weird and even unique things that it's one of those game you just HAVE to experience because of how transformative and unique it is.

 

[jademunky]

Having juuust finished it, yeah, it was pretty good.

Not quite the masterpiece some people say it is...But it's competent enough to be enjoyable, and it does enough weird and even unique things that it's one of those game you just HAVE to experience because of how transformative and unique it is.

It really is. Nier is one of those stories that can only be told with video games and genuinely makes me feel pity for those who do not play them. While I did not openly cry at any point, I did weep on the inside when it was revealed

Spoiler

that 2B had killed 9S countless times and that she was, in fact, created specifically to do so.

So did you

Spoiler

delete your content at the end? I wish I could say that I did but ultimately did not

I feel bad about my decision, like way more guilty than I should after playing a video game.

 

[jademunky]

And I've never heard anyone say that you should play it for the gameplay.

Gameplaywise Drakengard was absolute drek. Just a far shittier combination of Kingdom-under-fire and Drakan.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

So did you

Spoiler

delete your content at the end? I wish I could say that I did but ultimately did not

Spoiler: MAJOR SPOILERS DO NOT CLICK unless you're like, completely done done with the game

Yup.

I was like "I'm done with the game, so...Sure, why not? It seems like the right thing to do given how I needed help to finish the credits sequence".

In fact, as I was running the final dungeon, I was thinking to myself: Man, I would LOVE if a villain told a hero "Mwahaha, your very existence has no meaning, everything is pointless mwahaha" and proved it to them...And the hero for once went "So what? I don't need meaning, I make my own" and proved it to the villain.

And then the credits happened and I was like "Oh hell yes, this is my jam". And then the question came up to sacrifice my save data to help other players and I stared in shock as I realized...I COULD BE THAT HERO. So I hit the button with no regrets.

It was honestly the most awesome sequence in the game, for me.

 

[jademunky]

So did you

Spoiler

delete your content at the end? I wish I could say that I did but ultimately did not

Spoiler: MAJOR SPOILERS DO NOT CLICK unless you're like, completely done done with the game

Yup.

I was like "I'm done with the game, so...Sure, why not? It seems like the right thing to do given how I needed help to finish the credits sequence".

In fact, as I was running the final dungeon, I was thinking to myself: Man, I would LOVE if a villain told a hero "Mwahaha, your very existence has no meaning, everything is pointless mwahaha" and proved it to them...And the hero for once went "So what? I don't need meaning, I make my own" and proved it to the villain.

And then the credits happened and I was like "Oh hell yes, this is my jam". And then the question came up to sacrifice my save data to help other players and I stared in shock as I realized...I COULD BE THAT HERO. So I hit the button with no regrets.

It was honestly the most awesome sequence in the game, for me.

Mine too, but it's funny because I failed that same test.

Spoiler

I selfishly clung to my save slot knowing that I would probably never play it again but unable to let go of my level 51 character, it now sits there mocking me. I am tempted to redo the ending again and this time do it right

 

[Schadrach]

But we all know that's bull shit and Yoko Taro just likes up-skirts. Pro-tip, climb the radio tower for primo viewing angles.

Bah, just self destruct. For 2B at least it blasts you down to ~15% HP and blows her skirt off. If you're trying to look at her ass, no-skirt is presumably better than up-skirt.

Funny you mention. The store page has DLC that charges 20 bucks just for skimpier outfits. The commenters are enraged, not by the cash grab, but by the fact that you still have to play to unlock them.

That's the arenas, right? 2B's outfit from those is called the revealing outfit, and it's literally Kaine's outfit from Nier. It shows less than just hitting self-destruct.

Just don't self destruct at the bunker, unless you are after a joke ending.

To be fair, Nier Automata is actually pretty easy in general with the right setup of ability chips. I didn't die once the entire game.

I died a couple of times before I got auto-heal and shockwave chips. I still need to get more optimal versions of my chips though.

(MINOR SPOILERS) there's a second weapon merchant in a secret room in the castle in the forest area who can upgrade your weapons to the maximum level of 4, as opposed to the regular one who can only go up to level 3. Level 4 weapons get extra abilities (like increased attack power when at maximum health, or automatically charging up power when not attacking), so they're worth gunning for.

I actually need to run back to him next time I play -- I've got the mats for one of my weapons to hit level 4, finally. Only one, but that's better than none. If I remember what I read, he also gives you a new weapon the first time you max one out, doesn't he?

Part of me want to max out Iron Pipe and Cypress Stick to see if they're secretly really good and the shitty level 1 isn't just to trick you out of upgrading them. Especially the stick, being a Dragon Quest reference and all.

Last thing (and more MINOR SPOILERS): If you have any sidequests you want to complete in the first chunk of the game, do them BEFORE going to the mission at the coast. Once you finish that bit, it's a point of no return for most of the sidequests.

I literally stopped at boarding the aerial units to launch from the Flooded City coast because I'd heard this. Up to 50% sidequest completion. I think the only ones I've found but not finished are the arenas and the race.

*Edit* Also, and I don't know why I even ask: Should I bother with the fishing mechanic? I mean, please dear god no, but if it really does yield results.........

At the very least, fish in the sewers leading up to the Amusement Park and off the coast at Flooded City until you get something...obviously unique at each. Not going to spoil it, but it's not fish, robo fish or sellable junk at either location. The sewer one is kinda crappy but the flooded city one is awesome.

Though to be fair, the junk from fishing is a pretty quick way to make money.

On a similar note, be sure to comb the desert until you find a thing buried in the sand. Both of these items are very useful in certain situations.

Ooh, I didn't know about this -- is it near any of the landmarks?

Also, the Dragon Quest reference Cypress Stick is near the castle, you know those big arches you go past on the way there (where the routes going to the rest of forest zone, to pascal's village, and to the castle intersect)? It's in a chest on top of one of the arches -- happy platforming!

Apparently in Draknegard, the first ending is kinda sorta happy while each ending after that gets more and more bleak, with each ending requiring more effort and completion to unlock. The final ending apparently requires 100% completion and leads to the apocalypse in Neir. And it's also pretty wierd.

I always took the lesson in Drakengard to be LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE.

*snip*

*snip*

To quote a TV series that was underrated in it's first 2 seasons, and rushed to conclusion in it's third, "It's not a sacrifice if it doesn't HURT."

 

[jademunky]

At the very least, fish in the sewers leading up to the Amusement Park and off the coast at Flooded City until you get something...obviously unique at each. Not going to spoil it, but it's not fish, robo fish or sellable junk at either location. The sewer one is kinda crappy but the flooded city one is awesome.

Though to be fair, the junk from fishing is a pretty quick way to make money.

I finished the game already and just completely skipped the fishing. Skipped almost all of the side-content on my second and subsequent playthroughs. A cursury google search on "Nier Automata sewer fishing" does not really yield much of an answer. What was there to find?

In fact, I missed out on quite a bit of side-content. Never found the LV4 weapon upgrader which is a shame because late-game enemies are huge HP sponges. Also skipped out on fusing altogether. Mostly just spamming 9S's hacking will kill anything.

 

[Schadrach]

I finished the game already and just completely skipped the fishing. Skipped almost all of the side-content on my second and subsequent playthroughs. A cursury google search on "Nier Automata sewer fishing" does not really yield much of an answer. What was there to find?

In fact, I missed out on quite a bit of side-content. Never found the LV4 weapon upgrader which is a shame because late-game enemies are huge HP sponges. Also skipped out on fusing altogether. Mostly just spamming 9S's hacking will kill anything.

The sewer had a weapon, Iron Pipe. It's a reference to the weapon you use at the very beginning of Nier. Minimum damage on it is low, but it gets Critical+ and High Stun, and like most weapons, the attached story is the best part.

Spoiler: Iron Pipe Story

Level 1
"Dad, if you're cold, I can give you my hat. You're the best father in the world, after all."

Level 2
"Dad, if you're hungry, you can have my cookie. You're my favourite person in the world, after all."

Level 3
"Dad, if you're scared, I can sleep by your side. You're my closest friend in the world, after all."

Level 4
"So please don't go anywhere. All right Dad? Don't leave your Yonah all alone. ...Okay?"

The coast had a Pod, which has a continuous fire laser that can penetrate enemies.

The LV4 weapon upgrader was at the castle. Straight east from the King's chamber there was a spot where you could drop to a lower level with a movable block blocking a door. Inside was the machine blacksmith Masamune. He says a bit about about legendary white and black weapons the first time you talk to him (Virtuous and Cruel weapon sets).

 

[Dalisclock]

absolutely yes, unless you find the sexualization off putting.

I find the costumes wierd but nothing offputting. I'm honestly more bothered by the fact 2B wearing High Heels into combat. Just....why?

I started the game today and played up till the point they had finished the first mission, downloaded back at the space station(bunker?) and you get to walk around a little bit before presumably going back down to the surface.

And while I'm vagualy famialr with Nier's story, am I correct in assuming that there's very little connection between the two games(Other then Devola, Popola and Emil)?

 

[Dalisclock]

I know it's a bit of a bump(or if not a necro) but I finally finished Route B(and started Route C) and wanted to throw a couple things out there. I'm having a blast with it despite it's flaws. Even Route B, which I dreaded, ended up being worth the time. The added context that came with the cutscenes helped a bit(the ones about the Opera Singer....that was creepy).

-Does it ever explain how everything carries over between routes and even characters? It's great for not feeling like you're working your way up from nothing and having to reacquire all the good stuff you've collected(especially the chips) but I've yet to see any explanation for it.

-Wow, the start of Route C was quite the kick in the balls(repeatedly). Even knowing there was more beyond the Eve fight at the end of Route A/B and the hints/reveals that something isn't right(a lot of what 9S finds out), I wasn't it expecting it to get that bad that quickly.

-I am amused by some of the dark humor in the game. The bits with Adam and Eve debating why they're doing certain things(sitting in their underpants despite not having genitals, eating fruit despite not needing to eat) does add some interesting context to their previous appearances(and why Eve is so pissed at them at the end). The bits about the forest king were also funny("How do we make him bigger?" "We're not smart enough to figure that out").

-I am getting weird Metal Gear flashbacks from this. On one hand, it's trying to be super serious about it's philosophy and existentialism. On the other hand, it is so fucking anime and ridiculous that it's hard to take seriously at times. There's also the fact that most of the plot doesn't really work if you actually think about it for any length of time and a lot of how things work are pretty much "Because Yoko Taro says so".

-So, was anyone actually surprised by the reveal about the humans on the moon? Because it felt fairly telegraphed, honestly. With the reveal about the aliens, I can easily guess where all this is going.

 

[ChupathingyX]

There's also the fact that most of the plot doesn't really work if you actually think about it for any length of time and a lot of how things work are pretty much "Because Yoko Taro says so".

Such as?

-So, was anyone actually surprised by the reveal about the humans on the moon?

Anyone who finished the first game certainly wasn't.

 

[Dalisclock]

There's also the fact that most of the plot doesn't really work if you actually think about it for any length of time and a lot of how things work are pretty much "Because Yoko Taro says so".

Such as?

Such as....

-How 2B's(and to as lesser extent 9S) costume is in any way pratical for combat. The stormtrooper armor is probably the most practical battle gear I've seen yet and even that has a fucking corset on it.

-Pretty much any of the costuming in general(Why do the operators wear veils?).

-Why do they use operators in the bunker when interfacing directly with the bunkers comm system would be faster and involve fewer parts. Having an android standing there operating a console is completely inefficient. Ghost in the Shell actually brings up the same issue and at least there the answer is "So the humans feel more comfortable talking to a machine".

-Why Android use beds, eat and take showers when they don't need sleep, food or comfort.

-Why does throttling kill an android when they don't need air(and can survive the vacuum of space just fine)?

-What is the purpose of having an aircraft carrier when the android have flight units which appear to be able to go to and from orbit whenever they want and V/TOL capability to boot. Even as a missile ship it's way too big and costly for that role(Carriers have huge crew requirements).

-How did emil find a working truck 9000 years in the future and how is he driving it?

-How Yorha's battle strategy seems to devolve down to "Fly to the surface, kill robots" most of the time. Hell, the robot factory wasn't even taken out from the prologue, which seems like it would have been the point to that entire costly mission. There's some lip service to using S andriods to knock out the defenses before hand, but those just seem to be a prelude to "Land, Kill robots" as opposed to "blow up the infrastructure used to make more robots" or "Cut off the robots supply lines". It's basically the Starship Troopers movie all over again. No wonder this war has been going on for 6000 years nonstop.

-How is any of the city still standing? It's been 6000ish years since the last human went extinct and the world looks even more built up then it did in NIER. And that's not getting into the amusement park, which more or less still functioning. Apparently the machines have been greasing the roller coaster for millennia......

-For that matter, what's up with the castle? Because it's implied the machines didn't build it, it was there beforehand and yet it's also implied this game doesn't take place in Central Europe.

 

[Mikejames]

-How 2B's(and to as lesser extent 9S) costume is in any way pratical for combat.
-Pretty much any of the costuming in general.

It's a fantasy sci-fi setting where they decided that unique character design was more fun and memorable than stark realism.

It's obviously a matter of personal preference, but it honestly doesn't bother me in the way that a design like Quiet's from MGSV would bother me. In Automata all the Yorha units match a general stylish aesthetic that doesn't make 2B feel grossly out of place compared to the rest of the main cast, while a character like Quiet is the only person wearing frilly underwear and torn tights in an army of gruff realistically dressed soldiers. It's kind of a lazy character design on MGS's part and just looks silly standing next to every other character.

But again, personal preferences.

-Why do they use operators in the bunker when interfacing directly with the bunkers comm system would be faster and involve fewer parts. Having an android standing there operating a console is completely inefficient. Ghost in the Shell actually brings up the same issue and at least there the answer is "So the humans feel more comfortable talking to a machine".

So the player and character could have a support specialist to talk to and exchange general information with?

-Why Android use beds, eat and take showers when they don't need sleep, food or comfort.
-Why does throttling kill an android when they don't need air(and can survive the vacuum of space just fine)?

They don't need things like food or real sleep, but they do it because they want to. Everything that's unnecessarily similar between androids, machines, and humanity is part of their desperate desire to emulate humans more closely.

2B even points out how things like that are inefficient, but 9S says it doesn't matter if it feels good.

What is the purpose of having an aircraft carrier when the android have flight units which appear to be able to go to and from orbit whenever they want and V/TOL capability to boot. Even as a missile ship it's way too big and costly for that role(Carriers have huge crew requirements).

The flight units are limited, and aren't really fit for carrying huge amounts of supplies. The overall android resistance is much larger and less advanced than just Yorha, which is basically a small special ops group, so I guess they make do.

Though I guess you could say it's just an excuse to have an ocean-based boss fight.

-How did emil find a working truck 9000 years in the future and how is he driving it?

Emil's an immortal magical being that existed way before the machine war ever started. All of his clones took on different roles at the start of the war with the aliens, and the one we meet was set up to carry supplies to and fro. But his role in the conflict, as well as a lot of his memories, have long since faded. So he re-purposed his cart to become a roaming vendor.

-How Yorha's battle strategy seems to devolve down to "Fly to the surface, kill robots" most of the time. Hell, the robot factory wasn't even taken out from the prologue, which seems like it would have been the point to that entire costly mission. There's some lip service to using S andriods to knock out the defenses before hand, but those just seem to be a prelude to "Land, Kill robots" as opposed to "blow up the infrastructure used to make more robots" or "Cut off the robots supply lines". It's basically the Starship Troopers movie all over again. No wonder this war has been going on for 6000 years nonstop.

The pointless battle of attrition is a big part of the theme and later plot revelations. The machines vastly outnumber the androids, and no matter how many of their facilities are destroyed more just keep cropping up.

I guess it could be a story about the androids endlessly carpet bombing the planet's surface, but there wouldn't be much of an Earth left to reclaim for humanity afterwards. Or much of a game to play.

And the fact that it is a game counts for a lot. Katanas sure as Hell aren't going to be more efficient than a tactical missile strike when fighting a giant robot, but whatever. It's fun.

 

[ChupathingyX]

snip

A bunch of these points boil down to the androids being created by humans ans trying to emulate the 'beauty' of them as much as possible. The maid/butler style uniforms represent their subservience to humanity, while the blindfolds and veils represent their inability to both see and speak the truth.

What is the purpose of having an aircraft carrier when the android have flight units which appear to be able to go to and from orbit whenever they want and V/TOL capability to boot. Even as a missile ship it's way too big and costly for that role(Carriers have huge crew requirements).

To perform the roles a flight unit can't.

-How is any of the city still standing? It's been 6000ish years since the last human went extinct and the world looks even more built up then it did in NIER.

There could have reconstruction efforts at any point by various androids or rogue machines.

Apparently the machines have been greasing the roller coaster for millennia......

Why not?

-For that matter, what's up with the castle? Because it's implied the machines didn't build it, it was there beforehand and yet it's also implied this game doesn't take place in Central Europe.

Probably built by humans or any other possible group.