A lot of this is inferred or just guesses you have to make. A lot of the story is intentionally left to interpretation. I assume at first 2B is just a straight up stone cold assassin. A professional. She is a hardened military veteran. She takes him out when he learns too much. The data he gathers is deemed worthy enough for him to continuosly die for. However, slowly but surely it is weighing on her. She's sick of it. Always killing. In fact its implied in the weapon stories that she even has growing feelings for him. At some point it goes from being her job to turning into a Shakesperian tragedy. We don't know the specifics but she has been killing him for a long time. Cycles are a big theme in Taro games. This is one of those endless cycles of violence.
NieR: Automata Spoiler Thread
- Thread starter BRSxIgnition
- Start date
A lot of this is inferred or just guesses you have to make. A lot of the story is intentionally left to interpretation. I assume at first 2B is just a straight up stone cold assassin. A professional. She is a hardened military veteran. She takes him out when he learns too much. The data he gathers is deemed worthy enough for him to continuosly die for. However, slowly but surely it is weighing on her. She's sick of it. Always killing. In fact its implied in the weapon stories that she even has growing feelings for him. At some point it goes from being her job to turning into a Shakesperian tragedy. We don't know the specifics but she has been killing him for a long time. Cycles are a big theme in Taro games. This is one of those endless cycles of violence.
ShockingAlberto
Member
If Nier is predicated on the idea of "a world where killing is not considered wrong," what is Automata predicated on?
"A world where killing is considered essential"?
"A world where killing is considered essential"?
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
The religion of war, kinda.
Heh, at the very least I thought Automata strongly conveyed the thought that loneliness is just the absolute fucking worst. 2B can't bear the thought of losing 9S. Neither could he. Eve also went crazy after losing Adam. Devola and Popola are so close to one another that they'd kill themselves if either one of them died. Pascal couldn't bear to continue living with his memories of his precious children committing suicide, so he wants to either die or "start over".
As for the war itself, the androids essentially need the machines around, otherwise it'd inevitably reach the point where the androids would question why they exist. The machines need the androids around in order to evolve further.
As for Ending E, you can't (easily) do it by yourself, you need to rely on others in order to obtain that happy ending.
A2 is pretty much the only prominent character that seemed fine with being a loner, and even she began warming up to the machines and Pod 042.
Maybe not so much that killing is essential but that life is cheap. Easy to kill when your victim is just an mindless machine or an android who can transfer their data to a new body.
ShockingAlberto
Member
And then goes right back to "Fuck machines and their useless bullshit."
To be fair, so did I after they flung me around all over the place during the virus part.
He always getting his brain wiped so it makes sense he can't evolve beyond his racist views. It's cool that later on he is changing for the better and is more sympathetic to the machines. I like that you are given the choice to go on the Ark. A little bit of redemption for 9S.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
I mean the logic virus did destroy everything he knew and loved and it is machine in origin.
ShockingAlberto
Member
No, his hatred is totally reasonable.
It might be the only reasonable thing he has left.
Both options during ending D are so appropriate for his character. Going to the ark gives him redemption and choosing to stay gives him the punishment he believes he deserves because he realizes he's become a giant douchebag that can't be saved. And seeing him squirm in pain as he dies, watching his and A2's lifeless bodies in a pool of blood as Weight of the World starts to play...man I love ending D.
Someone pointed out that Ending D, Chil[D]hood's End could be symbolic in that this is basically his first time getting to go past that reset point, where he'd get killed and have his memories be erased. So he gets to finally mature.
ShockingAlberto
Member
I feel like Nier Automata has the best depictions of pain I have ever seen in a game.
Emotional, physical, existential, etc.
Emotional, physical, existential, etc.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Look he's with 2E at the end he'll be fine.
A2 got the bum deal though. She had to go through all this trouble because she helped this chick she barely knew and then have to be left alone again while the other 2 go on mall trips or whatever.
A2 got the bum deal though. She had to go through all this trouble because she helped this chick she barely knew and then have to be left alone again while the other 2 go on mall trips or whatever.
I mean, it's not like she was doing much to begin with. Just roaming around, killing machines. Kinda tragic in that she knows her killing machines is completely pointless, yet she feels compelled to do it anyways due to her being vengeful.
ShockingAlberto
Member
It's not like the Resistance Camp is gone. She can go hang out with Anemone and talk about Survivor's Guilt for the next few hundred years.
The entire route c is basically the first time he makes decisions for himself and suffers their consequences if you exclude that temporary moment in the novella, so I think that's fairly apt.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Also another thing that I wasn't too sure of. Were the resistance groups dependant on the bunker for consciousness transfers? are they essentially perma-dead now with the bunker gone or is that only for YorHA?
ShockingAlberto
Member
Only YoRHa. Resistance groups, aside from being mechanical, are as close to humans as things get these days. That's why they had Devola and Popola around, they can still do deep android repairs.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
So they always never had cloud backup?
They're fine so long as their memory units stay intact. But no cloud backup for them.
Bet YoRHa didn't even share the wifi password.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Just finished endings C, D, and E a few moments ago.
Man, that sure was one hell of a game. Definitely going to stick with me for some time.
Man, that sure was one hell of a game. Definitely going to stick with me for some time.
Childhood's End more directly refers to the machine ark going into space, referencing the Arthur C. Clarke novel of the same name. In the novel, mankind gains psychic powers and merges into a single mass consciousness before abandoning Earth completely and taking to the stars. The machine network has engaged in a similar process of evolution, reaching a more profound level of intelligence beyond the petty cyclical conflict which had defined android/machine existence before. In unity, there is no misinterpretation, no conflict, no pain caused by the unfeeling other.
I don't think that Meaningless [C]ode has such a direct cultural reference, but it seemed to me to refer to A2's adherence to the ethic of the conflict, even after she knew it no longer had meaning. Nothing is gained by destroying the tower or preventing the launch (even assuming the machines were aiming for the moon server), as humanity is already gone. But by sticking by this guiding ethic, and by saving the life of another, A2 avoided the diseased nihilism which nearly destroyed 9S, and faced her fate with pride. Is that truly meaningless?
Yup, that was only for the YoRHa androids. Like it was said, the androids operate with the same danger we face. If they get crushed/incinerated/shredded they're gone, just like us. It's why you see so many Resistance member quests and their various reactions to the deaths of their loved ones.
So... this isn't about the game but about one of the side stories. What is this "The Lost World" thing with Emil and Kaine and them finding some young person who could possibly be Nier. Is this a cannon story?
Reason I'm asking is because I'd actually like to see the titular character return to the game. I though Replicant Nier was such an awesome character design. It would be a shame to never see him again ; _ ;
Reason I'm asking is because I'd actually like to see the titular character return to the game. I though Replicant Nier was such an awesome character design. It would be a shame to never see him again ; _ ;
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Eh, they're better off without using their wifi. They haven't updated windows defender.
Yes it's canon. Replicant Nier was reconstructed. I think he was destroyed. Even if he survived he would relapse eventually without his gestalt.
Just read a rough translation of the story he wasn't destroyed but is envitably going to die. "Kaine fights her way into the depths of the Forest of Myth and discovers a mechanical tower at its center. This is the core computer system that is tasked with "resurrecting" or recreating new Replicant bodies from the initial copy in its databanks."
This is the end.
Kaine can't remember who he is because of ending E of Nier.
An Emil with a slightly different body, an older Kainé, and a younger version of him..
Yes His name is "
9s's voice actor really is astounding. He really sold the fuck out of what could have been really really cheesy.
The pathetic writhing on the floor right next to the still A2 is really striking to me even a few days later. I feel like it's really rare for deaths to be so futile and feel so pointless yet inevitable.
If there are voice acting awards he needs to win them all. every single one
on his stream he said its the most demanding role hes ever played
ShockingAlberto
Member
Eve's voice actor did painful screaming really well.
Which is all the more shocking because I thought he kind of sucked as Noctis.
CorgiSmiles
Banned
Pretty positive Automata is one of the best dubs this generation. And it shows when you make that Eve comparison, when his actor was the lead in XV, yet it was such a poor dub. On the other hand, the voice direction is clearly on another level in Automata.
I guess the bunker was supposed to be cloud backup
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
To be fair is not like eve had that many lines in the game.
And the two emotions he showed was either being bored or angry.
And the two emotions he showed was either being bored or angry.
Later on reddit there were a lot of discussions regarding the quality of dubs and this post straight up tries to imply that whole English translation quality is shit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/632l9h/my_thoughts_on_the_game_and_subtitles/ Too bad that no one really gives proper examples of such.
Do any of you who understand Japanese and play with English subs notice anything in translation that actually was off?
https://www.reddit.com/r/nier/comments/632l9h/my_thoughts_on_the_game_and_subtitles/ Too bad that no one really gives proper examples of such.
Do any of you who understand Japanese and play with English subs notice anything in translation that actually was off?
CorgiSmiles
Banned
It's more like dubtitles if anything. Just the usual liberties with more flavor text not necessarily bad or anything.
muetimueti
Neo Member
I played it in Japanese, but I only have a few youtube-videos and twitch-clips with the English dub as a basis for comparison. 2B might have sounded a bit flippant at times, which she basically never did in the original? Again, I only saw a few scenes and didn't have the direct comparison in the moment.
I could switch the text to English when I start my second playthrough (which I had hoped to have started a while ago already, but I can't find the time) and see if I spot anything but honestly I don't think it's something to worry about. The localization work seems to have gotten almost universal praise, and seeing how well every nuance came across (judging by this thread) I'm pretty sure they did a great job.
From what I understand, and this is the case for many localized games that retain the original Japanese VO track, is that the English subtitles are that of the English dub and not the Japanese one. The English subtitles, which many call "Dubtitles", are a localized version of the Japanese script, and not a 1:1 ratio. I played the game with Japanese VO/English subtitles, and while I don't know a whole lot of Japanese, I could tell more than a few words didn't sync with what I was hearing.
It's not a huge deal, as I've more-or-less expected it when Japanese VO are included in a game.
Does anyone know what the Yorha body storage records is trying to tell us? I couldn't see the meaning of the numbers at all other than a bunch of bodies are lost?
hmm I did that and he actually disappeared from the map after I used the transport, so weird, but I guess it seems to be doing something. I'll try again later.
edit: yay I got him to spawn outside resistance camp using that method but I did it on chapter 7-1 (the talk to pascal mission) and using 2B.
Well, he isn't exactly wrong in the sense that there are pretty big liberties taken with the translation and especially 2Bs lines have been altered in a way that actually makes her personality come out different between the two tracks. Has nothing to do with the dub quality though, as different people are responsible for that.
I'd very much compare it to Valkyria Chronicles in that sense. That game had some really wonky moments between the JP audio track and the dubtitles.
lordfuzzybutt
Member
I remember seeing this type of enemy for the first time and laughed about how cute it was. Then lots of them chained me to death. I popped on Anti Chain Damage chip and beat the hell out of them. Still cute though.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Please protect him. ;_;