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[KO Traveling Hobo]

Does the girl in the red dress appear in Drakengard?

I bought it recently to experience the Shinjuku ending for myself but the gameplay is ATROCIOUS and I dunno if i can make it through...

Not directly. It's a recurring concept in Taro's games with a lot of baggage. To put it another way, no, she doesn't, but it will put the Automata character a significant amount of context.

The humor is a little heavy handed at first, but I suggest reading The Dark Id's LP if you can't bear the gameplay.

He has an uncanny grasp of the characters and appreciation for Taro.

 

[LotusHD]

Seeing as how 9S has two weapons, 2B has one, and they're both rocking the Beast I'm going to say this is shopped

True. I saw another scene where they met at the factory that was similar to this, but I guess they took it out or something. Weird.

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

True. I saw another scene where they met at the factory that was similar to this, but I guess they took it out or something. Weird.

I wonder if it was a cut scene from the sidequest where 2B and 9S have to scavenge data on A2 from the machines in the factory for Anemone.

 

[JayEH]

Seeing as how 9S has two weapons, 2B has one, and they're both rocking the Beast I'm going to say this is shopped

in early gameplay 9S had two weapons and I remember seeing this scene before but I can't remember where. Might be from that Nier concert where they showed gameplay.

 

[Inuhanyou]

I wanted to see the stuff I'd only read about in it's true form, but that gameplay is rough even by PS1 standards let alone 2. Nier Replicant is in another dimension by comparison

Well gestalt isnt bad either

 

[Nightengale]

So I've finished the game. And to my surprise, my feeling on this game has not changed.

An thoroughly amazing game that is also visibly perhaps the game with the most noticeable "yo, no more budget/time" that I've played this year. Or maybe even a long while. Maybe it's just me, but there are places I could feel the fringes where given more time and money, places like the Flooded City could probably be expanded better.

This is through-and-through a Yoko Taro game. As technically impressive and fun the Platinum aspects of the game are ( tight gameplay, fun bosses ), they are not the standouts of this game and honestly I'd probably forget about all the "fun-ness" of the game by the end of the year.

But the stories this game tells. The distinct elements of game + narrative design this game employs from time-to-time like the recording sequence, etc. The text adventure/visual novel sequences. The peak suffering. The peak hopefulness.

It's an experience that will resonate with me for a long, long time.

 

[LotusHD]

So I've finished the game. And to my surprise, my feeling on this game has not changed.

An thoroughly amazing game that is also visibly perhaps the game with the most noticeable "yo, no more budget/time" that I've played this year. Or maybe even a long while. Maybe it's just me, but there are places I could feel the fringes where given more time and money, places like the Flooded City could probably be expanded better.

This is through-and-through a Yoko Taro game. As technically impressive and fun the Platinum aspects of the game are ( tight gameplay, fun bosses ), they are not the standouts of this game and honestly I'd probably forget about all the "fun-ness" of the game by the end of the year.

But the stories this game tells. The distinct elements of game + narrative design this game employs from time-to-time like the recording sequence, etc. The text adventure/visual novel sequences. The peak suffering. The peak hopefulness.

It's an experience that will resonate with me for a long, long time.

This. The gamelay was amazing, but that's not the primary reason as to why I love this game.

 

[Wagram]

jUst a dAiLy rEmInDeR

BECOME AS GODS!

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

jUst a dAiLy rEmInDeR

BECOME AS GODS!

haw haw haw

 

[K.Sabot]

WE WILL ALL DIE TOGETHER AND BECOME AS GODS

 

[Moaradin]

One of the best tracks in the game

When the light goes out and the track kicks in...

 

[K.Sabot]

One of the best tracks in the game

When the light goes out and the track kicks in...

me too

 

[Son Of Sparda]

So, who were exactly behind the Yorha project? Androids or machines? And why couldn't androids just re-write their codes so they wouldn't feel the attachment to humans?

Also, after ending E, did pods restart the whole Yorha project (essentially making the game a loop), or did they just save the main cast?

The game was amazing, but it left me with so many questions lol

 

[LotusHD]

So, who were exactly behind the Yorha project? Androids or machines? And why couldn't androids just re-write their codes so they wouldn't feel the attachment to humans?

Also, after ending E, did pods restart the whole Yorha project (essentially making the game a loop), or did they just save the main cast?

The game was amazing, but it left me with so many questions lol

Androids came up with it. I think the pods just saved the main cast, but acknowledged that the loop of war and what not could potentially happen all over again. I don't think they restarted anything, much less the YoRHa project.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

Androids came up with it. I think the pods just saved the main cast, but acknowledged that the loop of war and what not could potentially happen all over again. I don't think they restarted anything, much less the YoRHa project.

So the whole game wasn't a loop? If androids were the ones who designed project Yorha, then why didn't they let Yorha actually win the earth back? I know winning the war would've meant that the truth about humans extinction would be revealed but at that point, couldn't all androids just live peacefully on earth?

I mean it's not like all androids cared deeply about humans. Some of the soldiers in the bunker didn't want to fight and were saying stuff like screw humans or such. Even 2B at the beginning of the game (after coming back to bunker and realizing that 9S had lost his memory again), was hesitant to say "glory to mankind" and you could feel some anger in her words.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

Yona

Replicant

Hamelin

 

[Wagram]

So the whole game wasn't a loop? If androids were the ones who designed project Yorha, then why didn't they let Yorha actually win the earth back? I know winning the war would've meant that the truths about humans extinction would be revealed but at that point, couldn't all androids just live peacefully on earth?

I mean it's not like all androids cared deeply about humans. Some of the soldiers in the bunker didn't want to fight and were saying stuff like screw humans or such. Even 2B at the beginning of the game (after coming back to bunker and realizing that 9S had lost his memory again), was hesitant in saying "glory to mankind".

As I understand it the entire game was mainly around desire. Desire to exist, be beautiful, fight for something, believe in something, etc. Androids were losing motivation due to their creators dying out. If they were dead, why did they exist? What was there purpose now? That's why they created YoRHa. With the finalization of the lie that humans were on the moon they could engage in a never ending war with the machines. They would eternally have purpose. Not all Androids felt this way of course and we don't know what really separates Androids with Machine Cores vs. those with Standard AI's (they mentioned the later is inhumane for the doomed YoRHa units).

 

[LotusHD]

So the whole game wasn't a loop? If androids were the ones who designed project Yorha, then why didn't they let Yorha actually win the earth back? I know winning the war would've meant that the truths about humans extinction would be revealed but at that point, couldn't all androids just live peacefully on earth?

I mean it's not like all androids cared deeply about humans. Some of the soldiers in the bunker didn't want to fight and were saying stuff like screw humans or such. Even 2B at the beginning of the game (after coming back to bunker and realizing that 9S had lost his memory again), was hesitant in saying "glory to mankind".

I thought the whole point of Project YoRHa, which only a select few androids knew about btw, was that the ultimate goal was to self-sabotage themselves, meaning the ones who knew about humanity being extinct would be dead and then the rest of the androids would never be able to learn the truth, and fight presumably forever in a pointless war against the machines.

If I understand it correctly, I think some of the events in Automata regarding the war effort was a loop in the sense that they get to a point where they go all out against the machines, because they've come across this opportunity where they have the advantage against the machines, only to sabotage themselves and do it all again... I think. Project YoRHa was a more recent thing designed to make even more difficult (if not impossible) for the androids to know the truth about humanity's extinction.

 

[Slater]

I thought the whole point of Project YoRHa, which only a select few androids knew about btw, was that the ultimate goal was to self-sabotage themselves, meaning the ones who knew about humanity being extinct would be dead and then the rest of the androids would never be able to learn the truth, and fight presumably forever in a pointless war against the machines.

If I understand it correctly, I think some of the events in Automata regarding the war effort was a loop in the sense that they get to a point where they go all out against the machines, because they've come across this opportunity where they have the advantage against the machines, only to sabotage themselves and do it all again... I think. Project YoRHa was a more recent thing designed to make even more difficult (if not impossible) for the androids to know the truth about humanity's extinction.

Partly this, but also Yorha was meant to help upgrade the next generation of androids.

Remember the whole game is about trying to become more human. The machines and Adam, the Androids, Pascal there all emulating humanity. The androids ultimate goal was to use the data for the next generation and keep getting closer to there creators by becoming more like them.

 

[Soma]

man. this whole time i kept wondering in the back of my head how they would do the whole delete your save data thing again and I was not expecting that.

as the credits mini-game got progressively harder with the weird messages every time you die

and then when i realized what the game was doing with the assistance and the messages...

and the music building up...

fuck. i never knew a pixel shooting mini-game could make me that emotional.

 

[LotusHD]

Partly this, but also Yorha was meant to help upgrade the next generation of androids.

Remember the whole game is about trying to become more human. The machines and Adam, the Androids, Pascal there all emulating humanity. The androids ultimate goal was to use the data for the next generation and keep getting closer to there creators by becoming more like them.

Oh yea, that as well.

So to clarify, who knew about the true intentions of Project YoRHa exactly?

- Red Girl(s)
- A2 apparently, and I think she knew regardless of her basically fusing with 2B
- 2B (2E)
- 9S
- Other Type-E models?

Who else?

EDIT: Actually looking at this list, I'm just lost lol

 

[CorgiSmiles]

Oh yea, that as well.

So to clarify, who knew about the true intentions of Project YoRHa exactly?

- Red Girl(s)
- A2 apparently, and I think she knew regardless of her basically fusing with 2B
- 2B (2E)
- 9S
- Other Type-E models?

Who else?

I think only the Terminal, and A2 really. A2 was through the events at Pearl Harbor and interactions with the Terminals then. 9S of course thru the course of the game. I don't think 2B necessarily knew? But that her orders were simply to eliminate 9S if he ended up learning the truth.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

As I understand it the entire game was mainly around desire. Desire to exist, be beautiful, fight for something, believe in something, etc. Androids were losing motivation due to their creators dying out. If they were dead, why did they exist? What was there purpose now? That's why they created YoRHa. With the finalization of the lie that humans were on the moon they could engage in a never ending war with the machines. They would eternally have purpose. Not all Androids felt this way of course and we don't know what really separates Androids with Machine Cores vs. those with Standard AI's (they mentioned the later is inhumane for the doomed YoRHa units).

But if androids were capable of designing and improving themselves (like the SS class file from soul box suggests) then why didn't they simply change the programming code of newer models so that they wouldn't feel the need for human kind? It doesn't make any sense for androids to keep such code inside newer models and force this never ending war upon their kind.

I thought the whole point of Project YoRHa, which only a select few androids knew about btw, was that the ultimate goal was to self-sabotage themselves, meaning the ones who knew about humanity being extinct would be dead and then the rest of the androids would never be able to learn the truth, and fight presumably forever in a pointless war against the machines.

If I understand it correctly, I think some of the events in Automata regarding the war effort was a loop in the sense that they get to a point where they go all out against the machines, because they've come across this opportunity where they have the advantage against the machines, only to sabotage themselves and do it all again... I think. Project YoRHa was a more recent thing designed to make even more difficult (if not impossible) for the androids to know the truth about humanity's extinction.

So you are saying that Yorha project wasn't a loop but just a one time project that was meant to be destroyed? If so, then why would androids go through all this trouble to make Yorha such a big thing and have them fake the console of humanity and all that, and then get rid of Yorha and bunker permanently? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to make the entire Yorha project a loop? Especially with the backdoor which acts as a way to gather data for future models.

 

[CorgiSmiles]

But if androids were capable of designing and improving themselves (like the SS class file from soul box suggests) then why didn't they simply change the programming code of newer models so that they wouldn't feel the need for human kind? It doesn't make any sense for androids to keep such code inside newer models and force this never ending war upon their kind.


So you are saying that Yorha project wasn't a loop but just a one time project that was meant to be destroyed? If so, then why would androids go through all this trouble to make Yorha such a big thing and have them fake the console of humanity and all that, and then get rid of Yorha and bunker permanently? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to make the entire Yorha project a loop? Especially with the backdoor which acts as a way to gather data for future models.

The thing that bugs me about all this still, remember the intro trailer says this is the 14TH Machine War. I suspect a loop is involved somewhere.

 

[SephLuis]

I posted this on the OT under spoiler tags, but I need to confirm a few things

1)Is ending E the last one in the story ? I know there's a bunch of smaller endings, but I want to know if there's more story beyond E.If yes, what should I do to go to it ?

About each ending and what they entail:

Ending C, from what I understood, 2A managed to defeat the machine's network and only 9S from the Yorha unit survived. So, in a way, the androids won the war (considering the only machine left alive was Pascal because it wasn't in the network).

Ending D and E, the machines are send their rocket with all their memories (and, I imagine, their network) and, essentially, leave the planet for the remaining androids. Humanities remains are still one the moon.

2) The Yohra project itself. Who designed it ? The humans or the machines ?
I first thought that the main objective for Yohra was to wipe out the machines and then use the remaining DNA data on the moon to recreate humans.

Then, at the tower, it seems that project Yohra was created by the machines. The machines orders was to defeat the enemy and they realized they needed an enemy to be defeated so they couldn't destroy all androids.
Yorha, I guess, was the project for latest model they build based on battle data from previous generations and that it's main purpose was to battle machines in order to force them to continually evolve.

Is this correct ?

3) If there a difference if you choose to stay in ending D ? I just picked up to go with the machines since 9S was going to die anyway.

 

[Inuhanyou]

The thing that bugs me about all this still, remember the intro trailer says this is the 14TH Machine War. I suspect a loop is involved somewhere.

its been a long time since aliens invaded, most of those machine wars didn't involve yorha, only in this cycle and this specific machine wr do we know that the androids have become so advanced as to have created the bunker and the organization known as yorha

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

Yona

Replicant

Hamelin

 

[Son Of Sparda]

The thing that bugs me about all this still, remember the intro trailer says this is the 14TH Machine War. I suspect a loop is involved somewhere.

Yeah. I think there has to be a loop somewhere. Otherwise some parts of the story won't make that much sense.

Maybe androids are doing the Yorha loop over and over again to make newer and improved models, until they can finally achieve complete independence and be rid of their desires for humankind?

 

[Inuhanyou]

Yeah. I think there has to be a loop somewhere. Otherwise some parts of the story won't make that much sense.

Maybe androids are doing the Yorha loop over and over again to make newer and improved models, until they can finally achieve complete independence and be rid of their desires for humankind?

which parts would not make sense?

 

[CorgiSmiles]

Yona

Replicant

Hamelin

OHHHHHHHHHH I JUST NOTICED.

You should have bolded the first letters. Whoa. . .

 

[SephLuis]

Since Inuhanyou is here, I will answer from the OT just to avoid anyone there opening the spoilers

the androids created yorha, it says it right in the game, in order to preserve their meaningless existence because other androids were giving into complete despair fightin the Aliens and robots, and they fooled resistance members on t he ground into beliving in it by faking radio signals from the moon in order to increase resistance morale. It is again explained in text documents you get in the game

This wouldn't explain ]why the project Yorha was designed to fail or why it keeps repeating and by who. The project is finished when all Yorha models die and then their battle data is used to create a new generation of models and it stays on this loop. It's also worth noticing that Yorha black boxed are made from machine cores which I don't think androids would have that kind of tech.

What you explained seemed the existence of the counsel of humanity which was part of the Yorha project that only the commander knew.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

which parts would not make sense?

If the game is not a loop and if androids are behind project Yorha, then it doesn't make sense that they made Yorha such a big deal and faked console of humanity, just to permanently destroy Yorha, when they come close to beating machines.

If androids are gathering data to improve themselves (as the classified SS file suggests) then the entire game should be a loop.

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

OHHHHHHHHHH I JUST NOTICED.

You should have bolded the first letters. Whoa. . .

I was actually mentally reading YoRHa as "Yonah" for the first few days I played lol. Their being all women (except for the S models) seemed to reinforce that.

Or course who's to say...

The release of the art/setting book got delayed another month so it'll be awhile -_-

 

[Moaradin]

Since Inuhanyou is here, I will answer from the OT just to avoid anyone there opening the spoilers



This wouldn't explain ]why the project Yorha was designed to fail or why it keeps repeating and by who. The project is finished when all Yorha models die and then their battle data is used to create a new generation of models and it stays on this loop. It's also worth noticing that Yorha black boxed are made from machine cores which I don't think androids would have that kind of tech.

What you explained seemed the existence of the counsel of humanity which was part of the Yorha project that only the commander knew.

Project Yorha was designed to fail to keep the truth about humanity a secret. Once everyone and all information about it was gone, the remaining androids on earth would continue to believe the lie that humanity was still on the moon.

Though the machine network eventually gets this information as well and things get a bit more complicated.

 

[CorgiSmiles]

Project Yorha was designed to fail to keep the truth about humanity a secret. Once everyone and all information about it was gone, the remaining androids on earth would continue to believe the lie that humanity was still on the moon.

Though the machine network eventually gets this information as well and things get a bit more complicated.

Right, the Terminals figure out the truth to YoRHa during the Pearl Harbor incident. I think that if there was a loop, this current cycle with the tower and what the pods did represent the cycle breaking.

 

[Slater]

If the game is not a loop and if androids are behind project Yorha, then it doesn't make sense that they made Yorha such a big deal and faked console of humanity, just to permanently destroy Yorha, when they come close to beating machines.

If androids are gathering data to improve themselves (as the classified SS file suggests) then the entire game should be a loop.

Yorha was set to die so they wouldn't find out about humanity being gone, but the other Androids would still have the data to improve the next generation while preserving the lie and giving other non Yorha androids a reason to fight.

The council og humanity isnt just for Yorha, it sends you an email after 9S wakes up, the other androids still believe there on the moon.

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

I was actually mentally reading YoRHa as "Yonah" for the first few days I played lol. Their being all women (except for the S models) seemed to reinforce that.

Or course who's to say...

The release of the art/setting book got delayed another month so it'll be awhile -_-

The Yonah connection was obvious, but you blew my mind with the Hamelin part. It's not even just Hamelin, it's Hamelin.

I'm not totally sold on Replicant, though I don't have any better guesses.

 

[CorgiSmiles]

The Yonah connection was obvious, but you blew my mind with the Hamelin part. It's not even just Hamelin, it's Hamelin.

I'm not totally sold on Replicant, though I don't have any better guesses.

When you check the Gestalt files if I recall correctly, Yonah was referred to as the first subject right ? (Although I thought that was Nier)

Maybe there is some silly farfetched basis that YoRHa ladies are based off Yonah and etc(Or like Kaine for A2), while the S models are young Nier? I don't know. Crazy fanfiction at this point.

 

[SephLuis]

In my thoughts, I also got to the conclusion that the player is the main reason for extinction. Why ?

Humanity went extinct because of project Gestalt failure in Nier 1.
Project Gestalt was a counter measure for the black scrawl.
What brought the black scrawl ? The crazy persons (me included) who finished D1.

So I guess I can blame Cain and everyone else who finished D1 as the main reason we went extinct.

Project Yorha was designed to fail to keep the truth about humanity a secret. Once everyone and all information about it was gone, the remaining androids on earth would continue to believe the lie that humanity was still on the moon.

Though the machine network eventually gets this information as well and things get a bit more complicated.

This explains better the Yorha plan, but there should be a loop somewhere.

It's said, more than once, that 2B kills 9S again and again and again. Even on ending A there hints of that when 2B says: Why does it always end like this ?

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

In my thoughts, I also got to the conclusion that the player is the main reason for extinction. Why ?

Humanity went extinct because of project Gestalt failure in Nier 1.
Project Gestalt was a counter measure for the black scrawl.
What brought the black scrawl ? The crazy persons (me included) who finished D1.

So I guess I can blame Cain and everyone else who finished D1 as the main reason we went extinct.



This explains better the Yorha plan, but there should be a loop somewhere.

It's said, more than once, that 2B kills 9S again and again and again. Even on ending A there hints of that when 2B says: Why does it always end like this ?

2B has been working with 9S for three years or so, and whenever he sticks his nose into something he shouldn't, it's her job to kill him so his memory can be reset. She's his handler, basically.

This is why the game really would have benefited from a montage of times in the past that 2B has had to kill 9S.

 

[SephLuis]

2B has been working with 9S for three years or so, and whenever he sticks his nose into something he shouldn't, it's her job to kill him so his memory can be reset. She's his handler, basically.

This is why the game really would have benefited from a montage of times in the past that 2B has had to kill 9S.

I truly feel that the second act of the game was rushed, especially the endings. It's a big dump of info and really fast, so it's difficult to put everything together.

Did the androids who designed Yorha even show in the game ? Or are they also long gone ?

Your answers now made me believe that the machines figured it out the purpose behind Yorha and wanted to hijack the plan to become stronger.

 

[Son Of Sparda]

Yorha was set to die so they wouldn't find out about humanity being gone, but the other Androids would still have the data to improve the next generation while preserving the lie and giving other non Yorha androids a reason to fight.

The council og humanity isnt just for Yorha, it sends you an email after 9S wakes up, the other androids still believe there on the moon.

Oh, so the entire Yorha members were sacrificial lamps just so other androids would believe that humans are well and alive on moon? Now that I think about it, I think I heard 9S say something like that to A2. Man, that's too cruel.

So, by the end of Route E, the only Yorha members who know the truth are 2B, 9S and A2? But wait a minute... if that's the case and there is no loop, then why did the pod say that they are probably gonna end up in the same place?

 

[LotusHD]

I think only the Terminal, and A2 really. A2 was through the events at Pearl Harbor and interactions with the Terminals then. 9S of course thru the course of the game. I don't think 2B necessarily knew? But that her orders were simply to eliminate 9S if he ended up learning the truth.

Yea, I edited that I'm actually confused by all this, but yea, I guess 2B didn't know everything. But if that's the case, how does 2B know when it's time to kill him? I'm assuming she just gets her orders that it's time, and that's that or something?

So you are saying that Yorha project wasn't a loop but just a one time project that was meant to be destroyed? If so, then why would androids go through all this trouble to make Yorha such a big thing and have them fake the console of humanity and all that, and then get rid of Yorha and bunker permanently? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to make the entire Yorha project a loop? Especially with the backdoor which acts as a way to gather data for future models.

I think so. The loop I thought was them self-sabotaging the androids whenever they get close to defeating the androids. From what I understood, I think Project YoRHa is just what they planned on doing this time around, which would have the added benefit of making it near impossible to discern that humanity is extinct.

I dunno if they got rid of YoRHa permanently, just that the whole project was destined to "fail" from the beginning. Part of it is to help perpetuate the lie, and then also it helps for data collecting for their next batch or androids or future ideas I guess, assuming there is someone up in space to pick up the pieces.

As for whether or not it would've made more sense if they just to having Project YoRHA be the sole loop, I dunno, maybe they were worried the information would eventually leak out if they didn't do this. I mean, if the plan succeeded and Jackass' report wasn't a thing, then the androids on earth have a stronger incentive to keep fighting the machines due to the massive setback. They'd still get dummy messages and what not from the "humans", which would presumably keep them satisfied for quite awhile. I don't know how long that would last though...

It's confusing, and I'm positive I'm forgetting shit, so here's to this thread slowly helping me remember what I just beat lmao

 

[Vazra]

The loop exists basically to kill the revelation of 9S potentially exposing the truth to the androids who would lose their sense of purpose and stop doing their work and lose against the machines. 2B only knows that her mission is to stop 9S from learning some things since his technology is advance and could possibly reach it by his own but she doesn't know the whole picture since otherwise she wouldn't see a reason to do it. In the story they say how some androids heard rumors in the past that humans were extinct and their morale went down and could not perform as well as they should and lose their sense of purpose since that seemed to be the only thing they were believing in. Humans were kinda like gods to them I suppose even if they didn't mention it. Afterall their sole purpose was to defend humanity and losing that only purpose might likely end up giving up on fighting or with them going haywire. That is at least how I interpret that aspect.

EDIT: Also the plan of the war being neverending was pretty much a reason for them to keep existing since vanishing the machines would mean them expecting humans to come back to earth to take what is theirs once they have taken over.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Oh, so the entire Yorha members were sacrificial lamps just so other androids would believe that humans are well and alive on moon? Now that I think about it, I think I heard 9S say something like that to A2. Man, that's too cruel.

So, by the end of Route E, the only Yorha members who know the truth are 2B, 9S and A2? But wait a minute... if that's the case and there is no loop, then why did the pod say that they are probably gonna end up in the same place?

he's talking about androids in general feeling the need to create another lie of circumstance to cause much suffering and the androids and machines continued fight

 

[Son Of Sparda]

he's talking about androids in general feeling the need to create another lie of circumstance to cause much suffering and the androids and machines continued fight

I don't know, the pods seemed pretty specific. After all, they said that in regards to bringing back 9S and 2B. It wasn't a general conversation about androids. Also, the last scene with A2 having a long hair once again really made me think that the whole game was a loop.

 

[Slater]

I don't know, the pods seemed pretty specific. After all, they said that in regards to bringing back 9S and 2B. It wasn't a general conversation about androids. Also, the last scene with A2 having a long hair once again really made me think that the whole game was a loop.

nah the pods mention that it's possible everything could repeat again but there not trying to cause a loop

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

I don't know, the pods seemed pretty specific. After all, they said that in regards to bringing back 9S and 2B. It wasn't a general conversation about androids. Also, the last scene with A2 having a long hair once again really made me think that the whole game was a loop.

It's a little bit ambiguous - it would not be completely out of left field if Taro reveals that it is a pseudo time loop - but the restoration of A2's hair could be seen as her no longer having 2B's memories. She and 2B are separate individuals again, so the 2B-like haircut is no longer fitting. It doesn't necessarily imply that the events are looping.

 

[Nightengale]

From what I remember, there are basically two loops.

The 9S/2E loop of the inquisitive little shota constantly finding out too much for his own good, and has to be killed/mind-wiped by Command/2E every time. Everyone's aware of this loop, even 9S himself.

Then there is the master-loop of the Yorha lie where only the creators of the programme are aware of it and the Pods are programmed to clear all data once all Black Box signals are lost, where there is always a system in place to reset their progress in the machine war by destroying themselves; presumably as machines are declining or have suffered major losses to revert to status quo. Another version of Yohra is secretly being created in the shadows, waiting for machines to rise up again before reappearing to reset the war cycle, creating the never-ending loop.

Machines know of this master loop, but they've historically entertained and allowed this loop to continue because they themselves need a purpose to keep on existing.

What we don't know, is whether or not the Ark would've broken the loop. Since the Ark programme would've blasted the machine network into space, if that happens, there would be no more machines (technically).

 

[Shandy]

Yona

Replicant

Hamelin

Honestly, I was expecting way more of a conspiracy about the humans and YoRHa. That, like, Nier had found a way to be immortal (probably involving artificial bodies) and that it was all to do with Yonah.

Gotta be honest, I was a little disappointed that the conspiracy ended at "It was all a lie."