NieR : Automata (PS4, Square Enix & Platinum Games) [2016]

[Ming Ming Hatsune]

The game will be exclusive to PlayStation 4.

 

Will update more shortly.

 

Square Enix has announced a new Nier game, the sequel to the niche game Nier.

 

Platinum Games is leading development.

 

[Dobkeratops]

I NEED THIS

 

I NEED IT OH MY GOD

 

BEST E3

[T-Min]

Guh, Nier was so disappointing. "Best story ever" my tail, the characters were flat with only one exception and the plot didn't even get all that interesting until, like, the last dungeon. Not to mention it hid pretty much everything that made the story intriguing behind a New Game+ and on top it all made you get all the weapons to see the full ending! The art and atmosphere were excellent, I'll give you that, and it had some neat parts here and there, but the combat was so weak that-

 

...oh my gosh that is gorgeous

 

And wait a minute, Platinum is working on this?

 

...Okay, count me intrigued. We'll see how this turns out.

[Dantemustdie00]

Platinum be busy this year....I'm interesting in this game.

[Dobkeratops]

 

this is me right now

[Teoskaven]

It looks so amazing already.

I mean, the original NieR was limited only by its restricted budget, but it's boss battles were still very intense against the huge shades. To know that not only the original Cavia team members, but also fucking Platinum Games are working on this solds me instantly.

 

Just one thing though:

How do you think the story will be? As we know, by the end of the first NieR, it was pretty much implied that humanity was screwed forever, so is this set in another continuity (i.e. one of the other Drakengard endings)?

[gato]

It looks so amazing already.

I mean, the original NieR was limited only by its restricted budget, but it's boss battles were still very intense against the huge shades. To know that not only the original Cavia team members, but also fucking Platinum Games are working on this solds me instantly.

 

Just one thing though: *spoiler*

 

There was a book released called Grimoir Nier that gives a bit of hope around this...

Where there is an ending E after D where Nier is reunited with Kainé once more, now fully alive but transformed into a little boy.

Can't remember the exact details but you can read it here..

 

 

On the other hand, there is an interview that states that:

 

Aliens arrive after the game and while they could do something with their technology they are just simply going to invade us instead. Which leads to the Shades and Replicants finally working together against the invaders

 

So they might be able to draw from that.

 

 

 

 

But really the only complains I had about NIeR is that it was grindy as hell and the combat was shit, the fact Platinum is on this already fixes one of those things so I could not be more hyped for this.

 

EDIT: Uuuuuuugh spoiler tags be derping, lets see if this fixes it.

[gato]

Teaser site is online. Only 1 more piece of art was added but at least 2 more will appear later on.
 

 

 
Hmmm this one looks a bit out of place compared to the rest of the places we've seen from this world, wonder what is it?
 

 
 
EDIT:
 
Also some info from Famitsu, those who had hopes of this following directly after the first game might be a bit disappointed.
 

 
Famitsu: Does this take place in the same world/universe as Nier?

Yoko Taro: It takes place in the same world as Nier, but in the future. If players start with this game, they should have no problems following the story. In fact, those who come into this expecting it to be a direct sequel might find themselves a bit lost.

Famitsu: Will characters from the last game appear?

Yoko Taro: Not everyone is going to pop up, but yes, some characters will be appearing. They won’t be in central roles though.

Famitsu: What’s going on with the CERO rating?

Yoko Taro: We had made Nier with the intent of getting a B or C, but we ended up with a D. We’re developing this new game in the hopes of getting an A, but…

There will be a New Game + of some kind. It’ll be different from the last game.
Drakengard’s Weapon Story system is set to be in the game.
The development is currently 10% done.
 

[CottonCandy]

New gameplay footage. I didn't know there was already a thread of this. 

[Junko]

Along with the trailer, we got some story and concept art.

What is the story in Nier: Automata?

Earth has suddenly been invaded by beings from another planet and mechanical life forms with overwhelming power were used as weapons of war which forced mankind to flee to the moon. In order to take back the earth, a resistance force of android warriors has been created by humanity to fight these invaders.

The world that you see in Nier: Automata is one where androids and mechanized weapons clash in ferocious combat in a barren and deserted wasteland. It’s set after the original game but the story is written in a way which means you don’t have to have played the first one.

 

The world/universe is still linked between the two Nier games though so if you have played the original, you will no doubt recognize some of the locations and characters who may or may not be returning. The locations in particular will look different as they’re now more like ruins after the alien invasion but there will also be areas where you get the sense of a very advanced civilization.

Most of the story is still shrouded in mystery though so there’s more to look out for and discover further down the line.

Who is the female character in the gameplay trailer?

She’s not actually female, or maybe it’s more accurate to say she’s not actually human. Her name or serial number is 2B and she’s an android. In the world of Nier, there are strict rules meaning this kind of android is not allowed to have emotions. However, each different model has its own quirks and characteristics and 2B has a comparatively cold and level headed personality.

Keen fans and eagle-eyed readers might have noticed that at the end of the E3 announcement trailer there were three words that popped up — “doll,” “human,” and “machine” so there were hints from the start…

Edited October 29, 2015 by Kyoko Kirigiri

[gato]

Slightly higher quality version of the footage posted above. Dayum, Beepy doesn't mess around this time :v

Also, wow, that backstory. I wonder what are they talking about when they mention the humans?

 

Replicants? Or Shades? Or both? (which should be the case if what I posted a few months ago is to be believed)

Edited October 29, 2015 by Velvet Reindeer

[Radiant Hero Ike]

Since it's early development, I know it won't look the same by release, but the special effects (slashing, explosions, etc.) look very generic. The slight freeze when hitting really hard doesn't help.

Looks fun. Main character's design is cool. Saw a screen of this amusement park and that was pretty awesome.

[CottonCandy]

This story seems pretty interesting, it's a little odd though. I'm curious on how they will pull it off. Regardless, this game looks very fun and exciting. I can't wait. 

I'm already lovin' the ost. <3

 

[MegasonicZX]

I've never played the first game nor have I really looked at its story in complete detail but man does the concept for the story in this game seem like a complete jump from the last one, game looks really cool though and I can't wait to play it and knowing that we're getting both top notch gameplay (god bless you platinum) and an amazing story to boot is going to make this GOTY material for me.

[gato]

Since it's early development, I know it won't look the same by release, but the special effects (slashing, explosions, etc.) look very generic. The slight freeze when hitting really hard doesn't help.

Looks fun. Main character's design is cool. Saw a screen of this amusement park and that was pretty awesome.

I've read on GAF that they are using some default UE4 effects so that might explain a bit, remains to be seen if they are going to tweak or change them (I don't think they will, doesn't seem to be a very high priority).

 

I've never played the first game nor have I really looked at its story in complete detail but man does the concept for the story in this game seem like a complete jump from the last one, game looks really cool though and I can't wait to play it and knowing that we're getting both top notch gameplay (god bless you platinum) and an amazing story to boot is going to make this GOTY material for me.

Actually, Yoko Taro has stated that people who are new to the series will feel less confused than people who played the original, I'd guess it's because for a new player the story is "Oh, Aliens are attacking and humanity is in danger, we must stop them!" but for people who played Gestalt/Replicant it's more like "Wait, 8000 years has passed since then!? And how the hell did we get to this point!?" (especially since things looked kinda grim by the end of the first game).

 

Anyway, more info is coming up, but first lets rewatch the trailer again on 60FPS!

 

Eurogamer article summary:

- Nier was born out of Yoko pitching Drakengard 3, and Square wanting to do something different, so ideas were reworked into Nier. Yoko then wanted to do a second Nier, and was told instead to do Drakengard 3.
- Development on original Nier took longer than expected. Regret their low metacritic score, and feel by the time they got their engine working it was at a point where other devs had a better handling of then hardware, so they looked more dated by comparison.
- Yoko felt Nier was an experiment, and that while modern games had a lot of love and quality work put into them, he felt once you played each one for 30 minutes you got an idea of what they'd be like until the end. Nier was an attempt to always keep the gameplay mixed up and surprising.
- Nier: Atomata is similarly structured to the original. When Saito (SE) requested Nier 2 he wanted a more action orientated game. Yoko wanted something more like Ocarina of Time, with fields to travel, as a "natural, nice way" for a game to be. Yoko feels Nier: Atomata is more his way than Saito's.
- Will retain the experimental, surprising design philosophy of the original. But doesn't want to retread ideas.
- Jokingly suggested making a boring, tedious game. Because that would indeed be surprising.
- Also suggested the game give random endings as paid DLC. Nobody liked that idea.
- He feels his most popular stories were written while he was drunk.
- He spent a lot of time angry with the dev team for Nier, and is impressed at Platinum's efficiency. Which he says frees him up to drink more, and thus write good stuff for the game.
- Story trailer stuff will come at a later date. This trailer was mainly to show off that it's a successor to Nier, and Platinum's involvement for what they do best.

 

Also I've heard people saying Boar Drift Simulator is back but I'm not finding anything else to prove it.

[NoirSuede]

Whoops the swords are floating behind the model, that's never good.

[MegasonicZX]

Whoops the swords are floating behind the model, that's never good.

I think thats intentional, its shown in the screenshots too which would leave me to believe that since the main character is supposed to be an android (how advanced an android is a mystery right now) she probably has the ability to levitate things in her surroundings, hence why the weapon are floating behind her instead of just being sheathed somewhere on her body.

[T-Min]

 

- Jokingly suggested making a boring, tedious game. Because that would indeed be surprising.

Yeah, I was pretty surprised when that's exactly what Nier turned out to be.

BAM

SNAP

CRACKLE

POP

(sorry)

Anyway, yeah, game looks super cool. Combat's got that Platinum flare to it, and it looks like the art direction and soundtrack are going to match up to the original. Consider me cautiously optimistic. With that much talent at the forefront, hopefully nothing would go wrong.

Gotta be honest, when I saw the trailer, my first thought was "NieR May Cry"

Edited October 29, 2015 by T-Min

[PSI Wind]

Oh my god, a 60 FPS new reveal for Sony at the Paris Game Show? I am shocked I say! Seriously though, game already looks freaking amazing. I never played NieR, but this is definitely up there as one of my most anticipated PS4 games by far.

[Dobkeratops]

I still can't believe this is happening. Wow.

Special edition so I can throw all of my money pls.

 

Gotta be honest, when I saw the trailer, my first thought was "NieR May Cry"

 

Actually it's pretty much MGR2 down to the red eye sparkle  when enemies attack

 

 

[gato]

Well, considering Raiden also used high heels...

[Junko]

New trailer, gameplay and characters.

Character bios:

Quote

2B (voiced by Yui Ishikawa)
Official Name: YoRHa No. 2, Model B, “2B”

A blade of quiet determination.

2B is an all-purpose battle android, deployed as a member of the automated infantry squad, YoRHa. She is equipped with a sword for close quarters combat, and can attack from range using the “Pod” support system. Her eyes are obscured beneath her standard-issue military visor, which she rarely removes. Members of the YoRHa squad forgo names and are referred to only by their code numbers. Though the regulations forbid them from expressing emotions, each model has its own distinguishing personality, and 2B is comparatively cool, calm, and collected.

9S (voiced by Natsuki Hanae)
Official Name: YoRHa No. 9, Model S, “9S”

A soul of frail kindness.

9S has an attack function, but it is an android that specializes in investigative purposes—a member of the automated infantry squad, YoRHa, who triumphs in hacking-based information collection. Within the YoRHa infantry squad, he is the relatively more emotional and friendly type.

A2 (voiced by Ayaka Suwa)
Official Name: YoRHa Model A, No. 2, “A2”

A vortex of hatred and the past.

A2 is a prototype model android within the automated infantry squad, YoRHa, not currently in use that specializes in close-range attacks. It was in use towards the implementation of formal models, such as 2B and 9S. It doesn’t talk much and always acts alone.

A2 is hella cute, holy fucking shit

[Teoskaven]

Some gameplay from this year's E3 presentation:

Looks really good, and just as i imagined, Platinum's gameplay style perfectly complements Yoko Taro's team skills.

 

[CottonCandy]

Dat boss battle music. Amazing..

Gameplay looks really fun to play. Can't wait to play. 

[gato]

Dat everything...

I genuinely expected this game to have a soundtrack similar to Drakengard 3 since it reminded me of Rising but it seems like we are going with something more close to home.

As a little addon.

If you haven't noticed it already, Emi Evans is confirmed to return for this game!

This is truly a dream team. \o/