You know you're in for a rough ride when the prologue ends with the young protagonist cradling his deathly ill little sister, crying for help while stranded in an empty supermarket in a post-apocalyptic city on a dying world.
You think so, not for me, but maybe that's because I played on hard mode. Having to reach a 100 hit combo to defeat a single enemy really dulls the mood.
Grimoire Noire is just a trustful and helpful friend to Nier/Shadowlord as GW is to Replicant Nier. It just that, like the SL and Popola & Devola, he treated Replicants like nothing more than objects and that eventually led to the downfall of everyone involved.
That fact that his weapon is almost taller than he is compared to Father's in Gestalt shows that this Nier is a completely different character, that unlike Father, Brother isn't an experienced warrior. That adds new character development especially after the time skip (one of those the boy becomes a man scenarios).
I liked this one more than the Gestalt protagonist because of the drastic change in his character visually and mentally. While the older protagonist's timeskip had a "this is how my life ends" vibe, this one has a "this is my life now" air instead. He is the hunter, and his skills have become sharp as a blade
Food for thought: The Prologue takes place back during the 21st century when WCS destroyed human civilization, and yet there were still berserk, corrupted gestalts ("Shades") running around, killing people. So it presents the question: If the shades were this corrupted after only a few years, what made the human scientists who developed the technology think that the reintegration process of Gestalt and Replicant was ever going to be possible? Food for thought, remember. Drop your thoughts below of you can think of a better explanation...
The scientists made Project Gestalt as a last-ditch effort to save humanity. If it is considered a last-ditch effort, then they were probably already aware of the Black Scawl, but still felt that the minuscule chance that it succeeds and brings humanity back is worth the risk.
They needed a stable base. That's where Nier comes in. All the shades you see him fighting are the failed ones. Nier is the first successful one. By using him as a base (shadowlord), the new gestalts can have a similar result. It's not perfect, but it's better than 100% of them being corrupted.
@@salty7182 No the shades of the gestalts. The legions were already dead by now because of the replicants. The prologue takes place while WCS is being stopped from the project. The legions are still out there but you aren't fighting them, here. After the shadowlord was discovered/created then the replicants (who at this point were mindless warriors) wiped out the legion. The replicants didn't gain self-awareness for a good few hundred to thousands of years later, which is where the game picks up.
Scientist who developed the Gestalt project thought the transformation was stable enough to sustain the soul in stasis until the WCS is eradicated and the replicant reunited with their gestalt. Turns out the gestalt process wasnt as stable as it seems which is why people that comes into contact with Grimoire Noir becomes berserk, except for Nier who is deemed the first successful subject (hence how he retains sentience up to the main game's plot). The Grimoire Noirs (cause they have been mass produced) were supposed to force humans that it comes into contact with to become Gestalts and allowing a replicant to be made. Upon seeing how the Gestalt project was unstable, they worked toward developing Number 6 to counter it, then Number 7 as a failsafe to Number 6.
So the prologue is a secret for all ending in this game. Prologue happend > real NieR and Yonah was dead or become the Shadowlords or some kind of this > Rep NieR from the begining of the game when you woke up in NieR's village, do the side-quests for Devo/Popo > ending A > ending B to explains the prologue > ending C > ending D > ending E but after all it's the loops of a circle of life or humans like Yoko Taro explained. This stories, chars, skills, weapons, actions so good but the gameplay mechanics so boring to do or replay it again. I mean too lazy to do the side-quest and run around the maps. But I like this game, buy it with any price just to listen the ost also the story.
in the prologue, its just nier becoming the first successful gestalt, they never died at that point, same for yonah, but she was kept in stasis. And you can just ignore side quests that dont have weapons as rewards.
@@ags8507 I am a Witcher's fan so I got a habbit die hard to finish all the side-quest first then the main-quest. :D I was saying it's boring but I still do it with my soul of a gamer. Thank you for explains the story to me.
Man when I first started the game I didn't understood a single thing about the prologue but I felt the despair so hard. Now I finished ending B and after rewatching the prologue the pain is real. People didn't lie this game really hits you hard the more you complete the puzzle.
I’m currently extremely confused. Never heard a thing about NieR before except that 2b’s ass is phat, and I bought automata and replicant to play through over a week while I’m pet sitting. Automata was absolutely brilliant and I’ve loved every second I’ve played so far (still have to get ending E, gonna do that tomorrow) , and the lore of it is fascinating. I can’t remember being this invested in a game’s story ever. But now I’m super confused cuz I just started Rep and these apparently humans (they need to eat cookies?) that look maybe kinda like 9S and 2B are fighting bad fellas in 2053 in a city, then just 1412 years later the same people are right there, except in medieval stuff. Oh, and Popola’s here too. Kinda just wanted to talk about that to anyone. But if the confusion I feel now is gonna be turned to understanding, I can’t wait to tear through this game too
@@bariumselenided5152 I learned the lore just from watching videos, also just got automata recently and just finished getting ending a. The lore is pretty crazy, once you finish nier automata and replicant look up drakengard, if you haven't heard of that series it's actually the events that lead towards nier replicant, or atleast the 3 and then 1st game from what I heard.
when i first played this game without any context, i thought grimoire weiss was the book at the beginning. i continued playing the game until the end not even paying attention to that final note about gestalt stuff and i thought the story didn't make sense until I recalled this scene. Wtf, the book color wuz black. Thats when the games twist devoured me whole. I LOVE THIS GAME
A dark music is playing and you are almost dead surrounded by enemies. And suddenly you get a power. Music starts to change from dark to a dark heroic theme as you get more and more powerful and rage gets bigger and bigger. You will destroy everything that gets in your way to protect the person you love the most. Its just amazing.
Certainly one of the most striking and captivating openings to a video game ever. Having played Nier: Automata and Drakengard beforehand while falling in love with Taro as a director, I knew Nier: Replicant was going to be an emotional ride. But man, the prologue really does hit you in the gut, especially if you know how it takes place after the whirlwind of events between Darkengard’s ending E and the 50 years which pass. Yoko Taro I’ve come to accept is truly the director of our time in the video game industry, blending crazy and bizarre characters, worlds, and concepts with heavy yet relevant themes relating to humanity. Even Drakengard, grim and ruthless as it may be, is still very much human in what it says through all the violence and insanity.
The Nier and Yonah you see on the start of the game are the HUMAN versions of them. The Yonah and Nier you control in the game are the REPLICANT versions of them, the final boss, Shadowlord, is the GESTALT Nier. Also, stable Gestalts are able to remember who they were as humans, so the Gestalt Nier and Yonah, despite not having a human forms, are the ones conserving their memories as a previous humans lifeforms, this is why Devola and Popola refer Gestalts as true humans and not the Replicants. A Replicant can become a human if they fuse with their respective Gestalt and vice-versa. Shadowlord was trying to kidnap Replicant Yonah the entire game so Gestalt Yonah could return to her human form... the problem here is that Replicants, who were created as a NPC vessels and wasnt supposed to have independence thoughts, started developing their own counsciousness and see the Gestalts as ghosts/monsters trying to posses their corpses. The true ending is Nier Replicant condemning the entire humanity killing Nier Gestalt and Gestalt Yonah giving up her existence so Replicant Yonah could live as an indenpendent individual. And the more you think about it the more it becomes strange because the only thing that remained in the world after that was Replicants and they arent able to reproduce, so they all slowly died till the population went to 0, remaining only androids
@@iyaajadah8703 Because she touched the Grimoire Noir and her soul started to relapse. Everyone who touches the Grimoire Noir gestalts in the process and their shades gone berserk... everyone but Nier, whose gestalt(known as Shadowlord) kept his human memories and by using the Grimoire Noir, he was able to purify most of the shades and preserve their conciousness. Shadowlord was convinced to not fuse Yonah Replicant with Yonah Gestalt yet because the WCS was still around and within a few thousand years, presumably when WCS and the Red Eyes disappear, he could do that. But then he lost faith in project Gestalt and Yonah relapsing gone worse, so he kidnapped Replicant Yonah and fused her with Gestalt Yonah. What he wasn't counting on is that Replicant Nier, that developed his own counciousness, grown stronger and decided to hunt him down. And there was the problem of Replicant Yonah and Gestalt Yonah , both with their own conciousness, sharing the same corpse and being mentally disturbed.
I can't help liking the original NieR (2010) soundtrack much better, but, damn, they did a beautiful job bringing a cult classic to massive audiences with this game.
This is the original game; replicant was the original, Gestalt was the "we need a buff character to appeal to west" and the second version. This is a remake of the orig version not gestalt
You know you're in for a rough ride when the prologue ends with the young protagonist cradling his deathly ill little sister, crying for help while stranded in an empty supermarket in a post-apocalyptic city on a dying world.
u so funny
Even in for a more wild ride when you figure out what this scene really means
@@LilT2o00 imagine, he said "protagonist" ohohohoho
Not the protagonist.
“Deathly I’ll” 💀
I gotta say, in almost all aspects, this is one of the best openings to any piece of fiction ever
You think so, not for me, but maybe that's because I played on hard mode. Having to reach a 100 hit combo to defeat a single enemy really dulls the mood.
@@sepusook8384 Jesus Christ
@@sepusook8384 that’s a pretty shit reason.
@@sepusook8384 then play on normal mode????
@@sepusook8384 lol who told u to play on hard mode then?
Grimoire Noire is the "Book that Saves The World" but Grimoire Weiss is the one that's not a pompous ass
Grimoire Noire is just a trustful and helpful friend to Nier/Shadowlord as GW is to Replicant Nier.
It just that, like the SL and Popola & Devola, he treated Replicants like nothing more than objects and that eventually led to the downfall of everyone involved.
I absolutely adore D. C. Douglas's evil voice for Noir.
That fact that his weapon is almost taller than he is compared to Father's in Gestalt shows that this Nier is a completely different character, that unlike Father, Brother isn't an experienced warrior. That adds new character development especially after the time skip (one of those the boy becomes a man scenarios).
It seems that he is experienced enough to swing some pipe and make the Gestalts bleed like he's using some sword.
I liked this one more than the Gestalt protagonist because of the drastic change in his character visually and mentally. While the older protagonist's timeskip had a "this is how my life ends" vibe, this one has a "this is my life now" air instead. He is the hunter, and his skills have become sharp as a blade
@@TVHead003 one more detail about gestalts "this is how my life ends" thing is that he seemed to lost one of his eyes during the 5 year gap
the father version was simply created for localization purpose to western audience. The true nier is the young one.
Food for thought: The Prologue takes place back during the 21st century when WCS destroyed human civilization, and yet there were still berserk, corrupted gestalts ("Shades") running around, killing people. So it presents the question: If the shades were this corrupted after only a few years, what made the human scientists who developed the technology think that the reintegration process of Gestalt and Replicant was ever going to be possible? Food for thought, remember. Drop your thoughts below of you can think of a better explanation...
The scientists made Project Gestalt as a last-ditch effort to save humanity.
If it is considered a last-ditch effort, then they were probably already aware of the Black Scawl, but still felt that the minuscule chance that it succeeds and brings humanity back is worth the risk.
They needed a stable base. That's where Nier comes in. All the shades you see him fighting are the failed ones. Nier is the first successful one. By using him as a base (shadowlord), the new gestalts can have a similar result. It's not perfect, but it's better than 100% of them being corrupted.
they're not gestalt, they're legions, people who got infected by maso and become mindless monster
@@salty7182 No the shades of the gestalts. The legions were already dead by now because of the replicants. The prologue takes place while WCS is being stopped from the project. The legions are still out there but you aren't fighting them, here. After the shadowlord was discovered/created then the replicants (who at this point were mindless warriors) wiped out the legion. The replicants didn't gain self-awareness for a good few hundred to thousands of years later, which is where the game picks up.
Scientist who developed the Gestalt project thought the transformation was stable enough to sustain the soul in stasis until the WCS is eradicated and the replicant reunited with their gestalt. Turns out the gestalt process wasnt as stable as it seems which is why people that comes into contact with Grimoire Noir becomes berserk, except for Nier who is deemed the first successful subject (hence how he retains sentience up to the main game's plot). The Grimoire Noirs (cause they have been mass produced) were supposed to force humans that it comes into contact with to become Gestalts and allowing a replicant to be made. Upon seeing how the Gestalt project was unstable, they worked toward developing Number 6 to counter it, then Number 7 as a failsafe to Number 6.
Snow in summer. That's salt, isn't it?
Yup
ash
So the prologue is a secret for all ending in this game.
Prologue happend > real NieR and Yonah was dead or become the Shadowlords or some kind of this > Rep NieR from the begining of the game when you woke up in NieR's village, do the side-quests for Devo/Popo > ending A > ending B to explains the prologue > ending C > ending D > ending E but after all it's the loops of a circle of life or humans like Yoko Taro explained.
This stories, chars, skills, weapons, actions so good but the gameplay mechanics so boring to do or replay it again. I mean too lazy to do the side-quest and run around the maps.
But I like this game, buy it with any price just to listen the ost also the story.
in the prologue, its just nier becoming the first successful gestalt, they never died at that point, same for yonah, but she was kept in stasis. And you can just ignore side quests that dont have weapons as rewards.
@@ags8507 I am a Witcher's fan so I got a habbit die hard to finish all the side-quest first then the main-quest. :D
I was saying it's boring but I still do it with my soul of a gamer.
Thank you for explains the story to me.
Man when I first started the game I didn't understood a single thing about the prologue but I felt the despair so hard.
Now I finished ending B and after rewatching the prologue the pain is real. People didn't lie this game really hits you hard the more you complete the puzzle.
I’m currently extremely confused. Never heard a thing about NieR before except that 2b’s ass is phat, and I bought automata and replicant to play through over a week while I’m pet sitting. Automata was absolutely brilliant and I’ve loved every second I’ve played so far (still have to get ending E, gonna do that tomorrow) , and the lore of it is fascinating. I can’t remember being this invested in a game’s story ever.
But now I’m super confused cuz I just started Rep and these apparently humans (they need to eat cookies?) that look maybe kinda like 9S and 2B are fighting bad fellas in 2053 in a city, then just 1412 years later the same people are right there, except in medieval stuff. Oh, and Popola’s here too.
Kinda just wanted to talk about that to anyone. But if the confusion I feel now is gonna be turned to understanding, I can’t wait to tear through this game too
@@bariumselenided5152 I learned the lore just from watching videos, also just got automata recently and just finished getting ending a. The lore is pretty crazy, once you finish nier automata and replicant look up drakengard, if you haven't heard of that series it's actually the events that lead towards nier replicant, or atleast the 3 and then 1st game from what I heard.
From what I understand the opening scene (this scene) features the real nier and yonah. 1400 years later you play as their replicants.
@@GK-lo4yd exactly
Yes dude. I didn't understand but I felt it completely
The most horrifying part about this intro... That isn't snow...
2:03 Oh yeah, that's right. Grimoire Noir...
when i first played this game without any context, i thought grimoire weiss was the book at the beginning. i continued playing the game until the end not even paying attention to that final note about gestalt stuff and i thought the story didn't make sense until I recalled this scene. Wtf, the book color wuz black. Thats when the games twist devoured me whole. I LOVE THIS GAME
A dark music is playing and you are almost dead surrounded by enemies. And suddenly you get a power. Music starts to change from dark to a dark heroic theme as you get more and more powerful and rage gets bigger and bigger. You will destroy everything that gets in your way to protect the person you love the most. Its just amazing.
Wow. That hit a little harder than I expected. Also, Yonah's coughing fit feels much more dire during these troubling times...
Certainly one of the most striking and captivating openings to a video game ever. Having played Nier: Automata and Drakengard beforehand while falling in love with Taro as a director, I knew Nier: Replicant was going to be an emotional ride. But man, the prologue really does hit you in the gut, especially if you know how it takes place after the whirlwind of events between Darkengard’s ending E and the 50 years which pass. Yoko Taro I’ve come to accept is truly the director of our time in the video game industry, blending crazy and bizarre characters, worlds, and concepts with heavy yet relevant themes relating to humanity. Even Drakengard, grim and ruthless as it may be, is still very much human in what it says through all the violence and insanity.
The music is amazing
That's not snow...
My Lord is back!
lol u so funny
Zach be saving sisters
1,412 Years Later... What a jump cut!🤗
After watching the whole timeline of the whole series these games are wild I can't believe Humanity got annihilated
Looks beautiful
I don’t understand. It’s been more than 1000 years between the prologue and the game. How are these two characters not aging
Ending B explains who these two really are
@@BassBeats it's kinda obvious too after Shadownlord abducts Yonah
The Nier and Yonah you see on the start of the game are the HUMAN versions of them. The Yonah and Nier you control in the game are the REPLICANT versions of them, the final boss, Shadowlord, is the GESTALT Nier. Also, stable Gestalts are able to remember who they were as humans, so the Gestalt Nier and Yonah, despite not having a human forms, are the ones conserving their memories as a previous humans lifeforms, this is why Devola and Popola refer Gestalts as true humans and not the Replicants. A Replicant can become a human if they fuse with their respective Gestalt and vice-versa. Shadowlord was trying to kidnap Replicant Yonah the entire game so Gestalt Yonah could return to her human form... the problem here is that Replicants, who were created as a NPC vessels and wasnt supposed to have independence thoughts, started developing their own counsciousness and see the Gestalts as ghosts/monsters trying to posses their corpses. The true ending is Nier Replicant condemning the entire humanity killing Nier Gestalt and Gestalt Yonah giving up her existence so Replicant Yonah could live as an indenpendent individual.
And the more you think about it the more it becomes strange because the only thing that remained in the world after that was Replicants and they arent able to reproduce, so they all slowly died till the population went to 0, remaining only androids
@@rpv3378 well may i ask, sorry for the very late question. So, why original yonah in the prologue was sick. What kind of disease she has?
@@iyaajadah8703 Because she touched the Grimoire Noir and her soul started to relapse. Everyone who touches the Grimoire Noir gestalts in the process and their shades gone berserk... everyone but Nier, whose gestalt(known as Shadowlord) kept his human memories and by using the Grimoire Noir, he was able to purify most of the shades and preserve their conciousness.
Shadowlord was convinced to not fuse Yonah Replicant with Yonah Gestalt yet because the WCS was still around and within a few thousand years, presumably when WCS and the Red Eyes disappear, he could do that. But then he lost faith in project Gestalt and Yonah relapsing gone worse, so he kidnapped Replicant Yonah and fused her with Gestalt Yonah. What he wasn't counting on is that Replicant Nier, that developed his own counciousness, grown stronger and decided to hunt him down. And there was the problem of Replicant Yonah and Gestalt Yonah , both with their own conciousness, sharing the same corpse and being mentally disturbed.
I can't help liking the original NieR (2010) soundtrack much better, but, damn, they did a beautiful job bringing a cult classic to massive audiences with this game.
most KINO openings of all time
Cant wait for all bosses!
"I can't believe he didn't cry in Titanic"
"Do men even have feelings"
--------------------------------------
Men during this scene:
Just finished route b and i knew shadow lord was the original.
This man had the book when he came in the store. When he rounds the corner he doesn't have the book.
nier 3 could end up being a top 10 game of all time, the hype is already building
NieR 3 already exists.
Those the MC look much younger in this game than the original nier
Nier Replicant is about the Brother not the Father
This is the original game; replicant was the original, Gestalt was the "we need a buff character to appeal to west" and the second version. This is a remake of the orig version not gestalt
@@LilT2o00 Sadly, Gestalt Nier is the superior character 😔
@@shadowwarrior3444 After playing Replicant, i have to disagree.
@@elledy92 To each their own
Just like gestalt
Beautiful
Soo nier in the prologe is the shade lord
Is it explained later why Nier levels up so quickly in the prologue?
I always assumed it was just representing all of the power he gained and continued to gain by giving in to the book.
Its the same level that you need to be around in order to defeat the final boss
Someone PLEASE explain to me how tf these kids are alive so many years after the prologue?????
5:36 Vergil?
He also has white hair
I see what you did there
Well, young Vergil is suffering in the same position as NieR. You can see it in Vision of V manga. He directing his hand heading to his burned house
still waiting for the drakengard remake
Any day now...
I dont understand the 1000 years later are they humans? And how they never grow but nier grow in 5 years into the game
Did you even play the game?
PEAK
i am crying
does anyone know when this game will unlock on steam
Midnight tonight on PS4 so maybe it’s the same for steam?
Yonah's English voice sounds like a 25 year old rather than a little girl... Though it's less annoying that way lol
8:40 ost?
Snow in Summer
Great opening.
Sadly the game lost me after that...
Maybe I'll play it once it becomes more accessible ?
Anyone knows what kind of jacket Nier is wearing here?
yea
A little late but it looks like a black Japanese windbreaker jacket.
Just got into this game but i was confused by this prologue. Can anyone explain?
Just play the game and all will be revealed! Promise.
@@itallcomestumblingdown i just played it and it wasnt revealed):
@@jinko8081 did you play through all the endings?
hope now you understand everything
@@jinko8081 it was thought
Niceeeeee and first