The storytelling in Nier Replicant is incredibly layered and nuanced, so much so that it’s hard to pick up on every little detail during one single playthrough. Fortunately, this is partially why Nier Replicant forces players to run through the last 40% of the plot multiple times just to experience the very ending.
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There are a lot of details that players will overlook during Nier Replicant’s story – not because the game’s narrative is poorly told, but because there’s so much going on at once. Characters are brimming with complex motivations, traditional JRPG tropes are introduced only to be subverted, and Nier is anything but the typical video game protagonist. Major spoilers for Nier Replicant throughout.
10 The Villagers Pity Nier
Nier Replicant’s side quests are often criticized for being mundane and at times even repetitive. Most of Nier’s busywork involves him running basic errands for his fellow villagers – often chores they could easily do themselves. But it’s important to recognize that this is deliberate on some level.
Nier’s Village is depicted as a tight knit community where most people know each other. The villagers are privy to how much Yonah is suffering and flooding the young protagonist with side quests is their way of helping him find consistent work. Remember, Nier doesn’t have a job – this is the only way he can make money for Yonah and everyone in the Village knows thi.
9 The Food Crisis
Taking place at the very end of the world, Nier Replicant deals with some fairly morbid concepts in plain sight. Multiple side quests make note of how much harder it’s becoming to find food and one of Kaine’s memories even shows that she regularly needed to forage even as a child.
Not just that, the time skip reveals the side effects of over hunting as Sheep, Goats, Bats, and Boars all disappear from the northern overworld. There’s also the matter of wolf overpopulation near Facade (in turn demanding their own food resources) and the fact Shades also hunt animals. Food’s becoming scarce.
8 Nier And The Shadowlord Are Foils
Nier and the Shadowlord are two sides of the same coin, but there are nuances to their dynamic that are easy to miss. Nier and the Shadowlord are classic foils in every sense, not just in primary motivation. Where Nier actively helps the people of his world, the Shadowlord holes up in his castle while Shades are slaughtered en masse.
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While Nier does anything he can to rescue Yonah, the Shadowlord sits on his thumbs for thousands of years before losing his patience. Ultimately, both characters are their own worst enemy. Nier defeating the Shadowlord seals humanity’s fate, but the Shadowlord sealed his death sentence
7 Emil Is In Love With Nier
Due to the wide age gap between Emil and Father Nier, the original Nier as it released in the west severely downplayed Emil’s feelings for Nier. As a remake should, Nier replicant retools the script to outright acknowledge how Emil feels for Nier. Throughout the game, he has a clear romantic attention to Nier that develops into full on love by the time Fyra marries the King of Facade. Emil’s dialogue during the last stretch of the story takes on a much sadder tone when you consider how much he loves the protagonist.
6 Kaine’s Influence On Tyrann
Tyrann is a fascinating character, in large part because your first playthrough doesn’t even so much as hint at his existence. Playing through Route B and actually being privy to Tyrann’s dialogue does wonders for Kaine’s character and makes some of her lines much easier to understand. Something that’s easy to miss since it’s relegated to Route C is how Kaine actually influences Tyrann. While Tyrann’s aggressive nature makes Kaine more violent, the emotions she experiences throughout the story soften his heart considerably.
5 The Real Devola And Popola
It’s easy to take Devola and Popola’s betrayal before the finale at face value. They are truly committed to their mission and will do whatever it takes to unite Nier with the Shadowlord – but they do genuinely care about Nier and each other. Devola and Popola are androids who gradually develop emotions.
Tragically, Popola tries to suppress these emotions and stay vigilant to her mission. The only time Popola lets her guard down is when Devola briefly reminisces about Nier before the final dungeon in Route C. And even then, Popola immediately scolds her for so much as sympathizing with him (something they both do).
4 Kaine And Nier’s Romance
There’s a method to Kaine’s madness and her antagonistic attitude is ultimately a defense mechanism (not too dissimilar to Nier’s idealism in Part 1). While she’s openly rude towards Nier, Kaine develops for a very deep love for him over the course of their journey – something Nier reciprocates.
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Aside from Ending E, Route C arguably shows off the romance between Nier and Kaine best. Nier outright says he loves Kaine during the final battle and even kisses her at the end of Ending C. Ending D has Nier outright sacrificing his life for Kaine, which is a deep act of love in itself.
3 Grimoire Weiss Cares More About Nier Than Humanity
During the final battle against Popola and Devola, the twins hands Nier a set of documents that detail the specifics of Project Gestalt, in turn reminding Grimoire Weiss of everything he’s forgotten – the true nature of Shades, his relation to the Shadowlord, and his ultimate fate to unite Replicants with their Gestalts. Despite this, Weiss refuses to merge with Grimoire Noir and even gives up his life so Nier can kill the Shadowlord, literally dooming humanity in the process. Weiss made a sacrifice for his friend, but at the cost of human life.
2 Nier Is A Subversion Of The Average JRPG Hero
Nier is ultimately a subversion of the typical JRPG protagonist. His arc is framed like a basic coming of age story with Nier rescuing Yonah and boldly exclaiming that he has something to live for at the end of the world. He hates his enemies with a burning passion, refuses to sympathize with the main villain, and goes out of his way to help others.
But he’s also a rampaging murderer who slaughters hundreds (if not thousands) of humans all because he never stopped to consider that the Shades might be more monsters. Nier has something to live for, but only after ruining the Shadowlord’s life before his eyes. Nier is a condemnation of self righteous JRPG protagonists who “know” they’re doing the right thing.
1 The Other Side Of Every Story
On that note, one of Nier Replicant’s major themes is that there’s another side to every story. Nier is a hero in many respects, but he’s a genuine villain to Shades. Route B is all about decontrusting your heroic victories from Route A. Every single boss now has dialogue and more often than not, they’re begging you to stop hurting them. When you stop to think about the Shades’ perspective, Nier is nothing but a monster.
But he’s also completely understandable. Nier doesn’t know that Shades are human until the very end of the game and he barely understands what’s happening. His sister – the last living family member he has – was kidnapped for five long years while he searched endlessly. Nier reacts how any human being would. Which is what makes Nier Replicant such a tragedy. There is no good or bad, right or wrong. Just reality.