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[wesStyle]

I'm abit confused on something.

There seems to be an implication that 9S already knew 2B had been going on missions and killing him whenever he got too close to the real story but when did he find out if his memory kept getting wiped? How would he have put it together?

He is a highly advanced model, he somehow figured it out. Seeing how easy it was for him to hack main YoRHa server it is not that hard to imagine.

It was not stated exactly when but here I tried to figure it out and there are some interesting clues: https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/64rrvw/clues_towards_9s_knowing_spoilers/

 

[Ferrio]

I'm abit confused on something.

There seems to be an implication that 9S already knew 2B had been going on missions and killing him whenever he got too close to the real story but when did he find out if his memory kept getting wiped? How would he have put it together?

He's smart, he put the clues together. He didn't have proof, but as A2 pointed out he pretty much knew already. The whole "You're thinking about how much you want to **** 2B, aren't you?" shows that even through route A/B he already has his suspicions.

 

[Spirit of Jazz]

then I present my own contributions
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=233017955&postcount=3303

also Xander's view on the same thing in response to me
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=233026065&postcount=3355

That was my take on the situation, it's the reason Pascal's arc/character is the only thing in the game that really resonated with me. I generally felt the side mission plots were handled far better than the main narrative. I enjoyed stuff like Jean-Paul being the reason for Simone's madness and the hints to 2B being 2E in the red cloak and rogue YoRHa mission.

I just couldn't bring myself to care much about 2B/2A/9S because they didn't really have much going on beyond their single characteristics outside of the exposition dumps. I expect things would be a little different on a second play-through but when 2B died I had zero reason to care about her.

Though I feel there was some stuff I might have missed. Did they ever explain what A2 was doing in the factory before the game began or why she killed the Forest King where he was harmless and outside of the network? Or was there a reason that the android operators assigned to units seemed to be the polar opposite personality-wise?

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

That was my take on the situation, it's the reason Pascal's arc/character is the only thing in the game that really resonated with me. I generally felt the side mission plots were handled far better than the main narrative. I enjoyed stuff like Jean-Paul being the reason for Simone's madness and the hints to 2B being 2E in the red cloak and rogue YoRHa mission.

I just couldn't bring myself to care much about 2B/2A/9S because they didn't really have much going on beyond their single characteristics outside of the exposition dumps. I expect things would be a little different on a second play-through but when 2B died I had zero reason to care about her.

Though I feel there was some stuff I might have missed. Did they ever explain what A2 was doing in the factory before the game began or why she killed the Forest King where he was harmless and outside of the network? Or was there a reason that the android operators assigned to units seemed to be the polar opposite personality-wise?

Maybe the Commander thought 9S needed a parental figure, and 2B needed a friend.

 

[Golnei]

Maybe the Commander thought 9S needed a parental figure, and 2B needed a friend.

Maybe she drew on her own experience as a force of balance against Jackass' more eccentric impulses while managing her staff.

(Speaking of which, I really wish we had gotten to see the results of her horrifying experiment that stitched two living android bodies together. The Resistance member who reanimated the Scanner corpse should have gone to her instead of trying to hide alone.)

 

[Hubb]

Or was there a reason that the android operators assigned to units seemed to be the polar opposite personality-wise?

My best guess for 9S' operator is that she got hurt too much seeing her friend get their memory wiped.

 

[Jintor]

 

[wesStyle]

LOL

 

[OniBarubary]

I have become as gods

 

[Ruff]

I'm abit confused on something.

There seems to be an implication that 9S already knew 2B had been going on missions and killing him whenever he got too close to the real story but when did he find out if his memory kept getting wiped? How would he have put it together?

I took the fight in 9S's head against data 2B as a direct implication that his subconsciousness knows that she was the one responsible for taking his memories away and that he deeply resents that fact.

 

[Ferrio]

I took the fight in 9S's head against data 2B as a direct implication that his subconsciousness knows that she was the one responsible for taking his memories away and that he deeply resents that fact.

Yep, one of scenes that's way better once you've seen the end of C.

 

[ike_]

5 weeks later and I finally realize why I like Emil's dumb shop song so much. It's based on his original theme from Nier.

Spoiler

duhhhh

Kind of glad I went into Automata rusty on the original Nier for reasons like this though.

 

[spiritfox]

5 weeks later and I finally realize why I like Emil's dumb shop song so much. It's based on his original theme from Nier.

Spoiler

duhhhh

Kind of glad I went into Automata rusty on the original Nier for reasons like this though.

That's the reason why it's the best song in the soundtrack.

 

[darkwing-buck]

if A2 ever gets her own game or comes back, she needs to have her own Berserker armor

 

[Astrael]

5 weeks later and I finally realize why I like Emil's dumb shop song so much. It's based on his original theme from Nier.

Spoiler

duhhhh

Kind of glad I went into Automata rusty on the original Nier for reasons like this though.

There's something profound about a character singing along to their own character theme lol.

 

[Antiwhippy]

if A2 ever gets her own game or comes back, she needs to have her own Berserker armor

Her berserker armour is basically getting more naked though.

 

[Ferr986]

So just saw there's a boss fight against Emil...

Question for the ones that completed it..

Spoiler

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

I ain't going to fight my bro Emil. Never.

 

[Antiwhippy]

To be fair isn't the emil right now so split up personality wise and deranged that killing him is basically a mercy kill?

 

[Ferr986]

To be fair isn't the emil right now so split up personality wise and deranged that killing him is basically a mercy kill?

Yeah I know he's not true Emil and he's pretty fucked up but fuck that, I can't do it lol
I'll rather keep my happy Emil that appears at dramatic moments to mess with the mood with his music lol

 

[bone_and_sinew]

I haven't fought Emil in the desert yet but I already feel terrible for breaking into his home, taking his stuff, and beating him up. I forgot what item says he broke down in tears upon realization of the cruelty of the world...which I brought to him. Not the ten thousand years of war between androids and alien machines, but us the player dicking him over.


Screw you Yoko Taro I just wanted to see some extra content and get a Steam achievement

 

[Aizo]

Finally finished grinding those last few items for my last weapon upgrades. Here we go!!

Edit: the deed is done.

 

[Benzychenz]

Just finished the game and thought the story was kind of... weak?

Like the start of route C with the bunker being destroyed and 2B dying was amazing, but then nothing after that was all that interesting. Stuff happened and then the credits rolled. Was expecting some mindblowing revelations and stuff.

Gonna finish everything I missed and get the platinum now though.

 

[EdmondD]

Yeah I know he's not true Emil and he's pretty fucked up but fuck that, I can't do it lol
I'll rather keep my happy Emil that appears at dramatic moments to mess with the mood with his music lol

I haven't fought Emil in the desert yet but I already feel terrible for breaking into his home, taking his stuff, and beating him up. I forgot what item says he broke down in tears upon realization of the cruelty of the world...which I brought to him. Not the ten thousand years of war between androids and alien machines, but us the player dicking him over.


Screw you Yoko Taro I just wanted to see some extra content and get a Steam achievement

Finally finished grinding those last few items for my last weapon upgrades. Here we go!!

Edit: the deed is done.

"I guess power is the only thing that counts in this world anymore, huh?"

 

[LotusHD]

Just finished the game and thought the story was kind of... weak?

Like the start of route C with the bunker being destroyed and 2B dying was amazing, but then nothing after that was all that interesting. Stuff happened and then the credits rolled. Was expecting some mindblowing revelations and stuff.

Gonna finish everything I missed and get the platinum now though.

Did you get D and E too

Spoiler

I dunno how 2B is 2E ain't mindblowing enough, but ok...

 

[FlowersisBritish]

Just finished the game and thought the story was kind of... weak?

Like the start of route C with the bunker being destroyed and 2B dying was amazing, but then nothing after that was all that interesting. Stuff happened and then the credits rolled. Was expecting some mindblowing revelations and stuff.

Gonna finish everything I missed and get the platinum now though.

So I just finished the game yesterday and I felt the same way. Especially compared to Horizon Zero Dawn which had a pretty interesting setting and world history, but I also kept in mind that I felt the same way about the original Nier. I think why these stories are particularly good/better than something like Horizon, is how dense with things they are. This game isn't as grand, but there are a lot of small-scale literary things that do really elevate it. You can have three to five conversations about Horizon (which is good) you can have ten to fifteen about Nier(that's really really really good).

I'd recommend reading some discussions, see if people picked up on some details/themes you missed because just reading some of them definitely elevated the game for me by a couple points.

 

[Benzychenz]

Did you get D and E too

Spoiler

I dunno how 2B is 2E ain't mindblowing enough, but ok...

Of course.

I mean, that's a cool little thing but not some big shock?

Overall I just think the first NieR had a much better story.

 

[Antiwhippy]

What about 9s's breakdown from learning the meaninglessness of his actions, the depiction of society broken down after surging most of the game learning why those societies are formed, and the revelations of of what the androids are fighting for?

 

[Jintor]

unlike a lot of videogame stories (and despite having a 'twist') I don't feel like Nier a story 'about' a twist, or about revelations as such.

That said I haven't really had the time to sit down and sort through my feelings on Automata yet, so I don't know how to speak about it.

 

[laaame]

Did you get D and E too

Spoiler

I dunno how 2B is 2E ain't mindblowing enough, but ok...

I feel if you don't go out of your way to do the side quests and read more into the lore in general, this revelation means nothing to some people. I totally missed the Amnesia side quest the first run through route B so I had no clue of the importance of E type models.

In general, to fully understand the story of Automata it feels necessary to fully explore every aspect of the world. Doing the content I missed and reading all of the text in-game after getting ending D (got this one first) made me retroactively appreciate the main story plot points way more (and I liked it the first time already). There are things happening in the story, but without the subtext of how it relates to the universe, the events happen but they might feel like the consequences have no weight (like how most of us probably didn't think much of route A since everything was so vague at the time).

After finishing the game and seeing posters in the OT say they thought nothing of the story left me confused. But if I put myself the shoes of someone who only saw the main story cutscenes and never played OG Nier, I probably wouldn't like the game all that much.

 

[OniBarubary]

Yeah. I think because of how video games are and the medium they inhabit that a game's "story" and plot and characters are often based on surface level reactions to emotions or experiences within the game and we are seldom trained to do any deeper reading of a story past whether a character is crafted or the story beats make sense in a "wow" kind of way. This isn't to say that people who don't like the game's story or plot or anything "don't get it" or aren't smart enough to; far from it, there are many reasons one could not like what the game is doing or prefer the way Nier told it's story and what it was telling. It's moreso that we simply don't get kinds of stories like Nier: Automata often in video games and as a result it's not something we read deeper on often.

For example, I would say that the plot and characters of Last of Us are fucking incredible and the interplay of character motivations and emotional moments spurred on by what we know of the people and the world they inhabit make it especially effective. It's also capable of some incredibly subtle storytelling as one might be able to tell from the end of it having some great interpretations.

...but all of that comes from very surface level stuff, no deeper meanings or anything, just A+B=C interactions where you can see characters emotions and characteristics work to make events happen. Everything that people love about the game is from events directly happening in the plot that you watch and see. There's no deeper reading involved.

Nier: Automata isn't like that. You have to put in work to really connect and extrapolate and thematically understand why things are happening that may not be an A+B=C interaction. It's more like...A(1+2)+B(3/4)=C to the tenth. It's just...there are...god, I hate using this term, higher functions that work behind the scenes that process the things that are happening.

I don't really care if people call me pretentious, I don't much put stock in anti-intellectualism that seems to sweep the community as if everyone dumping on plots and characters in games read Umberto Eco novels and complex essays on Heidegger's "dasein" existing within Portnoy's Complaint.

 

[Squire]

unlike a lot of videogame stories (and despite having a 'twist') I don't feel like Nier a story 'about' a twist, or about revelations as such.

That said I haven't really had the time to sit down and sort through my feelings on Automata yet, so I don't know how to speak about it.

Bolded because, yeah, that's really what you have to do with it. The twists are good, but to treat it like a typical mystery/thriller where they're the sole appeal doesn't do it enough credit.

 

[EdmondD]

What about 9s's breakdown from learning the meaninglessness of his actions, the depiction of society broken down after surging most of the game learning why those societies are formed, and the revelations of of what the androids are fighting for?

I believe that can be summarized simply and concisely as "stuff".

 

[Basileus777]

unlike a lot of videogame stories (and despite having a 'twist') I don't feel like Nier a story 'about' a twist, or about revelations as such.

That said I haven't really had the time to sit down and sort through my feelings on Automata yet, so I don't know how to speak about it.

I'd agree with you actually. Automata wasn't especially twisty and most of the revelations were pretty unsurprising. Hell I had part of ending E spoiled for me and it didn't diminish its impact because it wasn't really about the novelty of being shocked.

After finishing the game and seeing posters in the OT say they thought nothing of the story left me confused. But if I put myself the shoes of someone who only saw the main story cutscenes and never played OG Nier, I probably wouldn't like the game all that much.

I dunno, I don't think there is much from OG Nier that is really essential to the experience. In fact I've thought that I would have liked the game even more if I hadn't played the first game. The core of Automata's story and themes are standalone.

 

[EdmondD]

Yeah. I think because of how video games are and the medium they inhabit that a game's "story" and plot and characters are often based on surface level reactions to emotions or experiences within the game and we are seldom trained to do any deeper reading of a story past whether a character is crafted or the story beats make sense in a "wow" kind of way. This isn't to say that people who don't like the game's story or plot or anything "don't get it" or aren't smart enough to; far from it, there are many reasons one could not like what the game is doing or prefer the way Nier told it's story and what it was telling. It's moreso that we simply don't get kinds of stories like Nier: Automata often in video games and as a result it's not something we read deeper on often.

For example, I would say that the plot and characters of Last of Us are fucking incredible and the interplay of character motivations and emotional moments spurred on by what we know of the people and the world they inhabit make it especially effective. It's also capable of some incredibly subtle storytelling as one might be able to tell from the end of it having some great interpretations.

...but all of that comes from very surface level stuff, no deeper meanings or anything, just A+B=C interactions where you can see characters emotions and characteristics work to make events happen. Everything that people love about the game is from events directly happening in the plot that you watch and see. There's no deeper reading involved.

Nier: Automata isn't like that. You have to put in work to really connect and extrapolate and thematically understand why things are happening that may not be an A+B=C interaction. It's more like...A(1+2)+B(3/4)=C to the tenth. It's just...there are...god, I hate using this term, higher functions that work behind the scenes that process the things that are happening.

I don't really care if people call me pretentious, I don't much put stock in anti-intellectualism that seems to sweep the community as if everyone dumping on plots and characters in games read Umberto Eco novels and complex essays on Heidegger's "dasein" existing within Portnoy's Complaint.

I hope with the success of Automata, which has come as a surprise to pretty much everyone, that more developers go out on limb and try to tell deeper stories. I want them to take risk. Tackle subjects that we just don't see often enough in games. Realize that gamers are for the most part quite intelligent. Make me feel something. Make me think. Make me philosophize.

 

[OniBarubary]

Yeah, I'd agree that playing Nier doesn't really matter when it comes to N:A's themes and what it does.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Tbf i think nier:a isn't particularly new, it is just another take on yoko taro's fascination with exploring conflict and why it happens.

Drakengard was about the people who would gladly kill, nier was about the reasons why perks fight and how myopic petite can get for their causes, and nier:a is about the coded ways people view others to justify their war, but it's so very interested in exploring societies, their purpose, and how people find meaning through conflict and society.

 

[LotusHD]

Of course.

I mean, that's a cool little thing but not some big shock?

Overall I just think the first NieR had a much better story.

I mean, I guess in the moment when it happens, it's not something that will make you gasp, namely if you missed out on the Amnesia sidequest. In hindsight I realize I'm probably biased due to chilling in the spoiler thread for so long, so being able to easily remember all the little things in a new context due to her being 2E and what not just things so much more interesting. 2E relevation on its own didn't hit me immediately. But remembering all the little stuff about how 2B had acting being weird, and the beginning line about wanting to kill god, etc.

That's why Route C is so neat to me, because it took Routes A/B (which I already liked) and made it even better.

I feel if you don't go out of your way to do the side quests and read more into the lore in general, this revelation means nothing to some people. I totally missed the Amnesia side quest the first run through route B so I had no clue of the importance of E type models.

In general, to fully understand the story of Automata it feels necessary to fully explore every aspect of the world. Doing the content I missed and reading all of the text in-game after getting ending D (got this one first) made me retroactively appreciate the main story plot points way more (and I liked it the first time already). There are things happening in the story, but without the subtext of how it relates to the universe, the events happen but they might feel like the consequences have no weight (like how most of us probably didn't think much of route A since everything was so vague at the time).

After finishing the game and seeing posters in the OT say they thought nothing of the story left me confused. But if I put myself the shoes of someone who only saw the main story cutscenes and never played OG Nier, I probably wouldn't like the game all that much.

I barely did the sidequests, and hell, I even accidentally did Amnesia literally right after getting Ending E. But overall, yea I agree in that this is the type of game where you're "rewarded" for digging more into the story/sidequests and paying attention to the dialogue that's being spoken. Not even just that, but stuff like Ending E and so forth.

It's just something you stew over.

Bolded because, yeah, that's really what you have to do with it. The twists are good, but to treat it like a typical mystery/thriller where they're the sole appeal doesn't do it enough credit.

Yea this basically.

 

[addik]

I had a dream where Nier: Automata crossed over with Elite Beat Agents. In the end, the pods asked for help from the Elite Beat Agents in reassembling 2B, 9S, and A2, and I was playing a stage set to "The Weight of the World."

Now, I want to play it in real life :/

 

[laaame]

I dunno, I don't think there is much from OG Nier that is really essential to the experience. In fact I've thought that I would have liked the game even more if I hadn't played the first game. The core of Automata's story and themes are standalone.

Of course playing Automata can be fully appreciated without playing OG Nier, but as a fan of the original, seeing all the nods and connections to the original made the setting feel familiar, despite being nearly 10,000 years later. It's the little things like how 9S references boar riding, seeing the remnants of Façade, seeing the Library remade inside the tower, discovering the fallout of Project Gestalt's failure, and probably some other minor things I can't recall at the moment.

I will say though, if I didn't play the original, the stories of the "returning cast" wouldn't hit me as hard as it did. When I first got to the Resistance Camp and seeing Devola and Popola in the distance, my first thought was how do I get over there and turn their bodies into scrap lol. But I felt Taro knew this might be some players instinctual reaction seeing them, so listening in on how they had to suffer due to the prejudice towards their model made me have to reevaluate my feelings towards them and force me to feel guilt. And for Emil's story, just entering into the elevator and seeing a replica of Kaine's shack with the chorus of Kaine's Salvation playing in the background was enough to make me feel like an emotional wreck. Emil telling the player that the memories of his journey was his greatest treasure and then realizing he recreated the hut in an attempt to cling on to those fleeting memories feels far more impactful playing the first game because you were there with him on his journey as papa Nier.

Maybe I'm just a sentimental fool who thinks too much about fictional stories, but that's my take on why I feel playing the first greatly enhanced my experience with Automata.

 

[LotusHD]

Yea, knowing about Devola and Popola's fate in the first game definitely helped bring the feels when you see them again in Automata. I dunno how people who didn't play the game reacted to the discrimination they faced, but it definitely lands harder if you experienced the OG game.

Even more so if you actually played it, since Devola and Popola fucking up is all your fault anyways, so ya get that extra pang of guilt.

 

[PBalfredo]

I had a dream where Nier: Automata crossed over with Elite Beat Agents. In the end, the pods asked for help from the Elite Beat Agents in reassembling 2B, 9S, and A2, and I was playing a stage set to "The Weight of the World."

Now, I want to play it in real life :/

2... B... Nines...

2 B Nines

2. B. Nines

2! B! Nines!

2! B! NINES!

2! B! NINES!

 

[KO Traveling Hobo]

Pulling this mostly out of my ass, but the way I see it is this: Automata is better if you've never played a Taro game, but playing Automata first weakens Nier more than Nier weakens Automata. So you should probably only play Automata first if you're dead set on never playing Nier, in which case you can just pillage Nier summaries for lore as a makeshift Grimoire Automata.

 

[Ferr986]

Yea, knowing about Devola and Popola's fate in the first game definitely helped bring the feels when you see them again in Automata. I dunno how people who didn't play the game reacted to the discrimination they faced, but it definitely lands harder if you experienced the OG game.

Even more so if you actually played it, since Devola and Popola fucking up is all your fault anyways, so ya get that extra pang of guilt.

#PopolandDevoladidnothingwrong

 

[black070]

I feel like you could make a drinking game out of the amount of times 9S says "don't listen to them 2B".

 

[Ferr986]

Btw, I see I'm like the only one that didn't really saw a romantic relationship between 2B and 9S.

I mean, it's a Yoko Taro game, so everything it's possible lol But I didn't see any romantic. Of course they care between each others a lot, but that also possible in a friend relationship.

9S is a loner, he's always alone, with only his operator (who's kind of an ass) to talk. He's also a very friendly guy so of course he's glad to have finally someone on his side. Pretty much goes the same way with 2B.

 

[wesStyle]

Btw, I see I'm like the only one that didn't really saw a romantic relationship between 2B and 9S.

I mean, it's a Yoko Taro game, so everything it's possible lol But I didn't see any romantic. Of course they care between each others a lot, but that also possible in a friend relationship.

9S is a loner, he's always alone, with only his operator (who's kind of an ass) to talk. He's also a very friendly guy so of course he's glad to have finally someone on his side. Pretty much goes the same way with 2B.

I am not going to try and convince you or anything because, to be honest, the story works either way and it doesn't really matter whether they love each other romantically or not. You can also check these reddit posts with people arguing:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/620bnq/so_how_far_in_the_minority_am_i/
https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/63i20o/2b_x_9s_consensus/

But there is plenty of stuff in the game which can be used to justify 2Bx9S and corresponding arts/comics/fics/etc.

 

[Philippo]

Is there a comprehensive list of all the little details, lore bits and sidequest links and their meanings? I'm talking things like Amnesia, Jean-Paul and Simone, the zombies and the dev, 2B dialogue revisited, the Cruel Oath (?) description etc.

I'm trying to compile everything for a friend for when he finishes the game so he doesn't miss on the new Interpretations the game offers you, but i'm sure i'm missing things myself.

 

[Baalzebup]

Btw, I see I'm like the only one that didn't really saw a romantic relationship between 2B and 9S.

I mean, it's a Yoko Taro game, so everything it's possible lol But I didn't see any romantic. Of course they care between each others a lot, but that also possible in a friend relationship.

9S is a loner, he's always alone, with only his operator (who's kind of an ass) to talk. He's also a very friendly guy so of course he's glad to have finally someone on his side. Pretty much goes the same way with 2B.

2B leaving a message to 9S, referring to the time they spent together as memories akin to light, is a pretty straightforward confession of love. I dunno, maybe some of the subtleties are lost in the English track (I played exclusively with the JP track), but there are a few places where her choice of word indicate more than friendship. It is quite reserved, but still there.

 

[Ferr986]

I am not going to try and convince you or anything because, to be honest, the story works either way and it doesn't really matter whether they love each other romantically or not. You can also check these reddit posts with people arguing:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/620bnq/so_how_far_in_the_minority_am_i/
https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/63i20o/2b_x_9s_consensus/

But there is plenty of stuff in the game which can be used to justify 2Bx9S and corresponding arts/comics/fics/etc.

Of course, I don't think I'm on the right and people in the wrong. 9S and 2B relationship is ambiguous and complex enough to be interpreted in diferent ways. I mean, it makes sense, android relationships are hard to understand looking through basic human conceptions, because you can think aren't "true" in the sense that it's something that keep learning from human history, and don't understand 100%. This comes even from Nier 1.

[/QUOTE]

2B leaving a message to 9S, referring to the time they spent together as memories akin to light, is a pretty straightforward confession of love. I dunno, maybe some of the subtleties are lost in the English track (I played exclusively with the JP track), but there are a few places where her choice of word indicate more than friendship. It is quite reserved, but still there.

[/QUOTE]

It is? I dunno, I don't see it. It's like saying I love you to someone doesn't mean it's a romantic expressions.
Same with the date scene, btw.

As I said, I think 9B and 2S relationship is kind of diferent to just plain love or friendship, because of their nature.
But as I said I understand people that see romantic connotations, of course. I do wonder if it's intentional to have this dilemma on what's behind their relationship compared to how we humans exprese those emotions.

 

[wesStyle]

I do wonder if it's intentional to have this dilemma on what's behind their relationship compared to how we humans exprese those emotions.

I suggest reading Creator's Interview from here (Ctrl + F "Kaine's love scene") it is about original Nier but parallels with 2b/9S are quite clear.

That said, I don't actually remember last time I saw a game that wasn't forcing needless romance to me with bs sex scenes or weird interactions.
The story of 2B and 9S is so tragic(and it gets even worse the more you try to analyze it) that I can't help but wish them true love after ending E.