Topic: NieR:Automata The End of YoRHa Edition

@StarPoint The trouble with talking about Nier: Automata is that you can only get so far before you're into wild plot twists that you're probably not going to want to spoil for people who've yet to play it.

@Matt_Barber Definitely. If I ever post about it more I will make sure to avoid spoilers.

This game looks like it has the potential to go completely off the wall, more than it already has for me lol

This game won't be launching with Denuvo, like PC version did, will it?

So, I've heard that the game has up to 3 playthroughs, so to speak, to get the true ending. And I'm having mixed thoughts on whether that's worth committing to, or if one is sufficient.

Can someone who's finished the game share their opinion on the matter? Is it worthwhile repeating all 3 times? Is enough of the experience different to warrant that, or is it better to just run through once and move on to the next game?

Maybe @Ralizah has some input on this?

@JaxonH A credit roll will trigger throughout the game at various times, but it's all really one big experience. The first two 'routes' are a bit similar (same timeline from different perspectives), but the entire second half of the story happens afterward.

The game actually has numerous endings, but the true ending, and I realize this sounds hyperbolic, is one of the most emotional and awe-inspiring I've ever seen in a video game. It elevates an already great game into a truly special one. And it only took me 40ish hours to reach it on my first go, so it's not some gigantic time investment.

Just keep playing until you can't anymore. You'll know when you hit the true ending, I guarantee it.

@Ralizah
Well, if it's that good then I have to play it all the way through. 40 hrs isn't bad for the whole thing. I'm over 110 hrs on Xenoblade 3 and now just pacing myself at 1 ascension quest per day (including requisite Quests to unlock first). It'll be 130 hrs before I finish, I think. I don't have time for another game that long, what with all the other games releasing soon. 40 hrs sounds doable. Let's see... releases Oct 6th... I could beat it in 2 weeks before Persona 5 Royal drops. I'll be finishing Xenoblade ch 7 after 2 more ascension Quests (since I don't have the final 4 classes ranked up to 10 I'm not gonna bother with those). Which means I may be able to get back to Monster Hunter and catch up before Nier drops.

Good. Thank you. At least now I can plan accordingly.

@JaxonH Checked my file. It was at 46 hours by the time I was done. So, closer to 50, but still not bad. I did most of the side-quests, but didn't bother hunting down every last bit of content, which probably helped bring the time down. Still, my playthrough felt fairly complete. HLTB puts it at 37 hours, on average, for main story plus some side-quests.

I'm also doing one or more Ascension quests per day. I have all of the classes unlocked and maxed already, and only four such quests are left to complete. Also want to clean up some of the other quests that are left over (not bothering with that nopon thing). After that, it's off to finish the story. Currently 104 hours in, so I'll probably be at around 115 hours or so, at least, by the time I'm done. I plan on doing this all before Splatoon 3 releases on Friday. The rest of September will probably be spent playing that.

This game's release is fast approaching, and multiple gameplay videos and impressions are dropping. One site called it one of the finest Switch ports they'd ever played.

So many killer games coming over the next 90 days, from Nier to Persona to Bayonetta to Final Fantasy, and all of them are reportedly 1080p with rock solid performance. But the rest will get their time in the spotlight soon enough. Right now, Nier Automata is the one on deck

@Ralizah wait… how were you able to check your file? Did you not help a stranger in need? Can you do that and get the E ending? And you didn’t tell JaxonH that there are technically 26 endings lol.

There are 26 endings but 21 of them are fails, often quite entertaining ones, that you won't need to do a specific run just to get to. You'll probably come across a couple of them just through playing the game normally but the rest are worth looking up.

As for the fifth ending, I'd suggest backing up your save file first if you can; it's definitely possible on the Steam version but I'm not sure about consoles. I'd agree with the philosophical thrust that you should be willing to give up things you value if it'll help others, but it's not like deleting your save file really does that.

@Matt_Barber in part because the giving up something is Nier tradition but it does help others as the final part of E is pretty hard alone. At least for me and I love shumups. I’m aware that the endings are fails (well a bunch of them are) outside of A-E… I was making a lighthearted observation because I speak to those two users somewhat often. It was alluded to anyway in the post I was talking about.

@Ryu_Niiyama Sacrificing your local save data while also maintaining a backup on USB or the cloud is having your cake and eating it, too.

I don't think your choice at the end impacts anything about the ending otherwise, though. It's completely optional.

@Ryu_Niiyama @Ralizah
Twenty what now... 👀

Is this something I should plan for- does the game offer copying saves with multiple slots to attempt different endings from various branching points?

Gosh dang it Platinum, I wanna eventually play Bayonetta 3 also ya know 😀

@JaxonH The game features a ton of optional joke/gimmick/bad endings to unlock, but the five main endings, the ones that actually matter to the story, can be obtained by continuing to play the game. Just maintain your normal cloud save and don't look anything up about the endings: you don't want to spoil this game's biggest surprises for yourself.

Yeah, any normal person would have just said it's a four part game with an epilogue, plus a bunch of ways to fail in the process, but this is Yoko Taro we're talking about. 26 endings it is.

Seriously, it's his writing and concepts that make the game stand out over everything else Platinum have done, and on their part they finally delivered him a game where they could truly shine. It's a partnership I'd like to see more of, although it's obviously opened a lot of other doors for both parties.

My recent foray into shmups has made this game more appealing to me, with its shmup like gameplay sections. Same for Returnal, which suddenly appeals to me more (except that game is rogue like and I just get bored dying and redoing everything over and over, especially with no save points if you want to put the game down during a run).

I kind of wish we'd also get NieR Replicant on Switch. It's weird they didn't bring it over, since that's the original game... but I guess Automata's the more popular and better received one, so that's probably why it's coming to switch first. Either way, both games are great, and I wish I could play them both all over again without my memory of them. Hopefully NieR 4 isn't too long away from now.

@VoidofLight Unless Automata bombs on Switch, I'm now fully expecting Replicant to make the jump. It'd be weird for it not to.

It's currently #540 on Amazon in video game category. Not exactly as high as I'd like. The Switch fanbase are sticklers when it comes to IP they're not familiar with. It takes a lot to convince them to buy into something different.

Hopefully after it reviews well word of mouth will spread.

@VoidofLight I am confused, what is Nier 1 2 and 3? I thought there was only Nier Replicant and Automata. What am i missing?