One of the finest video game remakes ever made, Nier Replicant has given new life to a cult classic. The original Nier in the west (otherwise known as Nier Gestalt) featured a grizzled father as the main character and a more simplistic combat system. While fans of the original will surely miss Father Nier, Brother Nier is a worthy successor with a stronger character arc and the gameplay on a whole has been greatly improved.
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What makes Nier Replicant such a great remake is how it respects its source material. The combat needed fixing, but everything else has been left relatively as is in order to preserve Nier as it was. Consequently, this does mean players are prone to making the same mistakes as in Gestalt. A confusing game that doesn’t always make it clear when the status quo is going to change, it’s easy to make mistakes in Nier Replicant.
10 Rushing Through Part 1
Nier Replicant opens up considerably in the second half thanks to the introduction of new weapon types, but it’s critical to take your time in Part 1. While Replicant eventually allows players to replay Part 1 on New Game Plus (something that was notably absent in Gestalt), it takes a lot of effort to get to that point. Part 1 has missable side quests, items you can’t find in Part 2, and generally has a more lighthearted vibe than Part 2. Rushing through Part 1 will get you to the meat of the game, but at the expense of the story’s set up.
9 Ignoring Words
Nier Replicant’s Word system isn’t exactly necessary to thrive in combat, but it’s where gameplay ultimately derives most of its depth. Unlike the Chip system in Automata, Words are balanced so players can only pick two buffs per Weapon, Magic, or Martial Art.
While most Words just improve Nier’s strength or MP properties, some add status effects. Paralyze is a very useful side effect, Nier can get HP Drain, increase the Item Drop rate, or even boost overall EXP awarded. Words are especially useful in Hard mode where Shades have had their health buffed to enormous levels.
8 Ignoring Side Quests
There are a lot of side quests in Nier Replicant and most are framed as relatively mundane affairs. This is justified in-universe in that villagers are giving Brother Nier work mainly out of pity so he can keep Yonah alive, but it does mean side quests aren’t exactly appealing most of the time. All the same, they’re worth biting the bullet on.
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A large chunk of side quests become permanently missable after Part 1, so it’s important to hit at least 50% completion before visiting the Manor. Side quests are also the best way to earn money fast. Completing every side quest before Part 1 ends can easily net you 10,000 Gold and more.
7 Neglecting To Farm Items
On that note, neglecting to farm for items and materials can also come back to bite players by Part 2. After the time skip, animals become much harder to find or outright disappear. This ultimately means the absence of several high value and easy to find materials. Don’t expect to sell Mutton for cash in Part 2.
Take the time in Part 1 to kill some Spiders on the way to Seafront. Giant Spider Silk sells for a high value and there’s a chance they’ll even drop Rainbow Spider Silk. Items like Venison and Wool are also very easy to come across and only necessary for a few quests, meaning you can sell most that you find. Similarly, Bats and Boars drop nothing you need for quests, so get selling.
6 Neglecting To Farm
On the other side of farming items is literal farming. Nier can unlock a plot of land for himself next to his house by completing the Shopping List and Return to Shopping side quests in the Village. Players can fertilize their soil, plant any seeds, and water them as they grow in real time.
Nier can grow all sorts of crops from vegetables to flowers. Wheat tends to grow the fastest while selling for a high amount of money, so it pays to drop down a few Bounty Fertilizers before planting Wheat. Beyond that, growing a rotating stock of crops will ensure you always have money.
5 Skipping Fisherman’s Gambit
Fishing was framed in such an odd manner in Nier Gestalt that a surprisingly large number of players never even made it past Seafront. It wasn’t clear where you needed to fish or what exactly you had to do. Nier Replicant makes it very obvious where to go and what to do, but most players still don’t care for fishing mini-games.
Which is a shame because Nier Replicant has great fishing. While simple, Replicant’s fishing is addictive. Fish bite fast and the Fisherman’s Gambit side quest actually improves your fishing skills, making it easier to catch valuable ocean life. Don’t overlook the Fisherman’s Gambit.
4 Stopping After Ending A
Just because you’ve seen an ending doesn’t mean you’ve seen the ending. Like with Automata, Nier Replicant’s first ending is simply one side of a much more nuanced story. Unlike Automata which shuffled the player character a few times, Nier Replicant mainly just adds some twists to the typical New Game Plus experience. Make sure to keep playing after Ending A, because New Game Plus actually changes things considerably. There are a total of 5 endings in Nier Replicant and they’re all worth seeing.
3 Skipping Ending D
Like Nier Gestalt, Nier Replicant offers players a rather sadistic choice after Ending B: either erase Kaine or yourself out of existence. Erasing Kaine leads to Ending C and simply triggers another New Game Plus cycle. It’s an ending that makes sense for Father Nier and allows players to keep their file.
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Ending D outright erases all your data to make Nier’s disappearance all the more impactful. While it is possible to reclaim this file in Replicant, Gestalt made this erasure permanent. It might be painful to lose so much progress, but don’t skip Ending D. It’s the single most important aspect of Nier Replicant’s story and should be experienced to resolve Brother Nier’s arc.
2 Missing Battle Banter
Nier Replicant is not a difficult game by any means and anyone who takes the time to do side quests will likely find themselves overleveled sooner rather than later. Due to this, it’s common to kill bosses before party members finish going through all their banter. While it might be annoying at times, take the time to listen to all the banter without fighting back. Most of the battle dialogue fleshes out the core cast, the story, and even enemies on repeat playthroughs.
1 Trying To Fix The Difficulty Curve
There’s really nothing you can do to fix Nier Replicant’s difficulty curve. Like with Gestalt, this is easily the game’s biggest flaw. While Nier starts out with a reasonable amount of challenge, it doesn’t take long for things to level off. Players might want to swap over to Hard for some more engagement, but enemies have so much health that it’s hardly worth it on a first playthrough. It’s better to just stick with Normal and go with the flow. If you really want some challenge out of Nier Replicant, ignore side quests on a fresh playthrough.