Anarchic Fox on 1/4/2019 at 04:11
I had a nice discussion with a couple of friends about this game a while ago, let's see how many of the novel points I can remember.
While the game starts out framed as a conflict between the protectors of humanity and the would-be slayers of humanity, after the revelations of the end of B and the start of C it reorients itself into a struggle between nihilism on one side, and the desire to find new meaning after all external sources of meaning are gone on the other... and the protagonist of the first half, 9S, is on the side of nihilism.
There's the obnoxious wannabe philosopher robot from Pascal's village, recipient of the affections of three fangirl robots in various places. Interesting so far, but if you put together Part B's new clues about the past of the opera singer boss, you can discover that this same robot was the object of her obsession. The main clue being the distinctive hat in the silhouette, though if you're like me you finished the sidequest so long ago that the hat is forgotten (he disappears after its completion). This fourth relationship, in my view, changes him from an obnoxious pseudo-intellectual into a robotic emotional predator.
Another detail I missed is that the chiptune alternative tracks of the hacking subgames gradually transition, over the course of parts C/D, to including echoes of the vocal tracks of the main game's themes, and as C/D progress the vocal tracks became louder and more distinct. Echoing 9S's decline; he's starting to hear voices in his head. Er, more voices in his head. I found hacking so overpowered that I generally avoided it, though.
Bypassing the device of Part E by backing up your savefiles is entirely in keeping with the story. After all, that's what 9S did at the end of Part A.
I've been emotionally conditioned to expect that, if I have to limp, crippled, across a large map, then I will receive healing and recovery at the end. In Nier:Automata, I did so only to die at the end. All I accomplished was to die in one place rather than another. That was a powerful moment.
My favorite moment in the game is the baby king being stabbed, because of its utter emotional whiplash. I also think it's a deliberate echo of Aeris' death in FFVII.
scumble on 1/4/2019 at 07:55
AF - I've been listening to the soundtrack again recently and considering picking up a replay. I think I was less concerned with possible meanings in the story and more entranced by the audiovisual experience. I'd keep those comments in mind as I can't precisely remember how the story fitted together.
Anarchic Fox on 1/4/2019 at 21:16
I'm not sure all the pieces of the story do fit together, but they are often intriguing in their own right. I hope you have fun! :D
Thirith on 23/5/2021 at 16:23
Hooray for thread necromancy!
I’ve been playing this for a couple of weeks and am now in the forest area - and find that while I’m not hating it, I’m getting very little out of playing it. There are aspects and moments I definitely like: the music, obviously, the world and aesthetic (even if up close the game us often remarkably drab and even boring), ideas such as the robot village or the amusement park. But after the cool genre switching at the beginning I’ve found much of the game design repetitive and boring, and there’s too much of it for me to enjoy the story.
Is it worth sticking with the game? Have others had a similar experience but then this or that happened and turned everything around?
WingedKagouti on 23/5/2021 at 17:46
If I recall the story correctly, there are some fairly major plot twists ahead of you. And the credits roll is not the end until after you get to the point where the game warns you that your save data will be erased (and it will be erased if you go for the real ending). There are some mini-games ahead most notably when switching to 9S's side of the story after reaching the end as 2B (it may be revealed above, but still a spoiler if you're trying to avoid knowing what comes).
However, the core combat loop is very much the same over and over and it is a central element of the entire game, so if you don't enjoy that part it may not be worth sticking around to see the end.
