The original Nier was a cult classic nobody expected to get a sequel, let alone one developed by Platinum. Against all odds, Nier: Automata released to critical acclaim and ushered in an actual future for the franchise. Since Automata’s release, the original Nier has been remade as Replicant and the series lives on in the upcoming global release of Reincarnation.
Nier: Automata introduced most audiences to the franchise, but the game’s story is so much better if you’ve played the original Nier. When it comes down to it, Nier: Automata is to Nier Replicant what Metal Gear Solid 2 was to the original Metal Gear Solid. Nier: Automata’s story carries far more impact when you’ve already played Nier. Spoilers for Nier: Automata and Nier Replicant.
10 The Route Split Twist
Nier Replicant’s Route split is the game’s big twist while also something of an open secret. After beating Nier Replicant once, New Game Plus will put you on Route B where Shades will have subtitled dialogue and new cutscenes are added in to flesh out the plot. Nier: Automata features a very similar twist that audiences tend to overlook.
Playing as 9S isn’t just some New Game Plus oddity – it’s the next part of the game. Anyone who’s played the original Nier will immediately understand that Automata’s just branched onto Route B and the story isn’t anywhere near over. What fans of the original might not expect is how different Route C is.
9 Facade Lives On In The Desert Robots
Nier: Automata shows off humanity’s lasting presence in many ways, the most impactful being the fact that Robots have their own culture. Without playing Nier beforehand, Robots in the Desert wearing capes, masks, and fighting with swords and shields is just a sign of higher life. With knowledge of Replicant, it’s an intimate connection to Facade. More importantly, the Trials of the Sand side quest outright shows that Facade’s Rules still live on in Desert Robot society.
8 Remixed Music
Although Nier: Automata features a mostly original soundtrack, the game’s score includes several musical references to Nier Replicant – outright remixing a few of the best tracks. Automata’s track placement for Replicant’s remixed music naturally carries more weight once you’re played Nier and understand the full weight behind Emil and Kaine’s personal themes, along with the Song of the Ancients.
7 The Emil Of It All
Emil is the only character from Nier Replicant who makes it to Nier: Automata. While Emil’s loneliness still translates if you haven’t played the first Nier, Replicant offers so much context that adds to his tragic fate in Automata. Emil has been alone for thousands of years, forced to watch everyone he loves die off.
Emil’s dedicated his life to protecting a planet that doesn’t so much as acknowledge him, essentially living out the rest of his life as a hermit. All the same, Emil holds onto his connection to the past and shines as a beacon of hope. In spite of how much he’s suffered since Replicant, Emil hasn’t lost his optimism. And he has every right to.
6 Mankind’s Fate
YoRHa’s entire motivation in Nier: Automata is to prepare the Earth for humanity’s return. The fact humanity’s survival is even being humored is something anyone who played Replicant beforehand will immediately catch onto. Nier dooms humanity at the end of the original Nier, killing the Shadowlord and thus preventing Shades from ever returning to their Replicants. Automata’s big twist is that humanity isn’t actually on the moon and has long been extinct, but this revelation is just a given for anyone familiar with Nier.
5 Kaine’s Home
Emil’s Memories is a late game quest that’s filled to the brim with Nier Replicant references, ultimately framed around Emil trying to recollect his past. The side quest notably ends with players stumbling upon a recreation of Kaine’s home from the original Nier. Observant players will recognize that the shack is exactly how it was, though it isn’t clear if Emil simply rebuilt the house in its original image or somehow managed to preserve it for all these years.
4 The Full Scope Of Devola & Popola’s Arcs
Devola and Popola are two of the most important characters in Nier Replicant, responsible for pushing Nier and Grimoire Weiss towards the Shadowlord so that the Gestalt process can begin. Unfortunately, Devola and Popola underestimate Nier and end up killed, ultimately unable to prevent humanity’s complete extinction.
The Devola and Popola in Nier: Automata are reviled for their predecessor’s actions – a fact which the game itself does specify – but knowledge of Replicant changes both how audiences twist the twins at first glance along with how they respond to their “redemption” near the end of the story.
3 Lunar Tears
The main objective behind Emil’s Memories involves players exploring to track down all the Lunar Tears on the overworld. Lunar Tears are a very important symbol in the context of the original Nier, representing hope in a dying world. Lunar Tears can notably persist for ages without withering and are an important motif in both Kaine and Yonah’s character designs. That the Lunar Tear would mean so much to Emil only makes sense and serves as a constant reminder of what’s been lost to fans of Replicant.
2 Project Gestalt
Players will get to access several files at the end of Nier: Automata that offer some insight into the game’s backstory, including some documents on Project Gestalt – an event intimately tied to humanity’s extinction. Those who played Nier already will actually have context for both Project Gestalt and Yonah while gaining brand new information on the series’ backstory. There’s just more impact to Automata’s ending if you’ve played Replicant.
1 The Final Dungeon
Nier: Automata’s final dungeon is a massive shout out to the original Nier and won’t carry half as much emotional weight if you haven’t played Replicant. Revisiting a recreation of the Library sets up a chilling finale that’s intimately connected to what came before. Nier fans will recognize that humanity’s cycle of extinction is only repeating while being pelted with fan service at every corner.