Chris Gebauer
NieR: Automata Leads Talk Protagonists, Gender, and More
They also talked about skirt destruction....cause reasons.
11.10.15 - 3:57 PM

For those that have been excited to learn anything new about the upcoming NieR universe game called NieR: Automata, well get psyched. New details on the Platinum developed game have been revelaed through Dengeki Online and Famitsu interviews with Yoko Taro and Yosuke Saito.

The new information on NieR: Automata can be read below.

NieR: Automata

Thanks to Games Talk and Gematsu for what follows:

  • YoRHa 2B is one of the main characters. (Question: How many main characters are there?) Saito: "There are really only two 'true protagonists.'" Yoko: "I get the feeling that there are three."

  • (Question: What's YoRHa 2B's gender?) Saito: "She's a female-type, right?" Yoko: "It's a secret."

  • (Question: What's the reason behind making her a female-type?) Yoko: "Because I like girls." Saito: "[Character designer] Akihiko Yoshida ordered 'a costume with a definite quality for cosplay.'"

  • (Question: Other than YoRHa, what other squadrons are there?) Yoko: "Other squadrons exist, but do not appear during the game. Androids that do not belong to a certain squadron will appear aplenty."

  • (Question: Are those Androids differentiated by gender?) Yoko: "Their genders are secret, but there are both males and females." "Each Android has different functionalities."

  • (Question: What's the meaning behind the YorHA squadron's name?) Yoko: "No meaning, particularly. The kanji is '寄葉' (approach, leaf), but there is no particular meaning behind this."

  • Only the Androids go to war to recapture the Earth. Humans will not participate.

  • There is still a large number of unannounced weapons. (Question: About how many?) Yoko: "A nice amount."

  • YoRHa 2B has a "Pod" device that travels alongside her, which will take charge of long-range attacks while the player concentrates on short-range attacks. The Pod can also be used as a glider to get from one side of a stage to another. The Pod can speak, but is not verbose. It has a car navigation-like systematic way of speaking. It doesn't have emotions.

  • Pod customization is an idea they currently have, but they're not sure if it'll be there in the final game.

  • Costume downloadable content for YoRHa 2B is a possibility.
  • When YoRHa 2B receives a certain amount of damage, her skirt will rip. Underneath, she wears a white leotard.

  • While machine life-forms might have the same base, their parts, color, and textures are all different, they might be riding on vehicles, etc. There is a significant amount of variation.

  • In the trailer, there was a biggish machine life-form that appeared who's not a boss, but rather a "somewhat strong Zako." Its size is also relatively small compared to the unbelievably huge machine life-forms that will appear in the game.

  • (Question: Can you ride the boar that appears in the screenshots?) Yoko: "Someone at Platinum Games said that they want to be able to ride a boar."

  • A deer-like creature will also appear. It might be ridable.

  • NieR: Automata is set in the same world as NieR, in a different era, but there is little story connection. Square Enix wanted to prevent users who haven't played the original NieR from not being able to enjoy NieR: Automata. But if you have played NieR, there will be some characters and events that reference the first game.

  • Yoko: "Although Platinum Games is known for their high take on action, I want everyone to be able to enjoy and everyone to be able to play this, so we'll be making adjustments accordingly."

  • Saito: "When I first saw Yoko’s plot, since it has such a wonderfully happy ending, I was a bit worried if having such a happy ending would be okay, but it is a good story."

  • Yoko: "Development is going well, but because of the amount of resources, I don't really know everything that's happening." Saito: "Since the development team consists of young people with a 'let's do it all' attitude, our old men hearts are pounding."

  • More information is due out around the spring. The information will likely come from Japan next (this time it came during Paris Games Week).



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