The original Nier released to relatively lukewarm reviews in 2010, but quickly established its cult status through an incredibly well written story, a magnificent score, and some of the most nuanced characters in the video game medium. Nier Automata would later firmly transition the franchise into a more mainstream position, ultimately leading to Nier Replicant’s 2021 remake for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
While Nier Replicant is a faithful remake all around, western audiences have to contend with one major change: Brother Nier. The original western Nier featured a father as the main character, but Replicant doesn’t suffer for this shift. If anything, Nier Replicant has a stronger core cast than the original Gestalt did and the remake only improves everyone’s characterization. Major Spoilers for Nier Replicant and Nier Automata throughout.
10 The Differences Between Brother & Father Nier
The differences between Brother and Father Nier go beyond just their ages or relationship with Yonah. Due to his age, Father Nier lacks an explicit romance with Kaine – who’s considerably younger. This isn’t the case for Brother Nier whose relationship with Kaine is an integral part of his coming of age journey.
Which in itself is worth mentioning. Since Father Nier is already a seasoned warrior and parent pushing 40 during Gestalt, his arc is less about growing up in a dying world and more about perservering at any cost (no matter the consequences). Brother Nier’s character arc plays out like a deconstruction of the traditional JRPG hero’s journey framed through growing up.
9 Yonah’ Age Changes Between Gestalt & Replicant
Interestingly, Yonah’s age isn’t consistent between Gestalt and Replicant. In Nier Gestalt, Yonah is 10 years old during Part 1 and then 15 by the end of Part 2. Being a father and a warrior, it only makes sense Father Nier would be able to take care of Yonah for a full decade before things went sour. This is not the case with Brother Nier. In Nier Replicant, Yonah is only 7 during Part 1 and 12 by the end of the game.
8 Kaine & Tyrann’s Subtextual Relationship
On a purely surface level, Tyrann seems to serve as shorthand for the fact that Kaine is intersex. While there is some element of that in play, Tyrann’s influence on Kaine’s character runs deeper and can be seen through her aggression throughout the game. It’s also easy to read Tyrann as a purely abusive and antagonistic figure, but he also genuinely cares about Kaine.
Tyrann also serves as a way to frame Kaine’s character arc in repeat playthroughs, in particular how she comes to turn her back on the excess violence she embraces throughout the majority of the story. Tyrann is more than just a nod towards Kaine’s identity – he’s a deeply seeded part of her personality.
7 Emil’s Crush On Nier
Due to how much older Father Nier is compared to his party in Gestalt, a lot of the subtext regarding his relationship with Kaine and Emil was downplayed. Notably, Emil actually has a crush on Nier in both versions of the game. This is a bit easier to see in Replicant since Brother Nier’s relationship with Emil isn’t so paternal. Ultimately, though, Emil’s crush on Nier is really just character dressing and has little to do with their actual arc.
6 Delova & Popola’s Relationship With Alcohol
The twins in charge of keeping Nier’s village together, Devola and Popola both have very interesting relationships with alcohol. According to Father Nier in Gestalt, Devola gets particularly friendly when drunk and once tried to put the moves on him.
Popola, on the other hand, is described as a violent drunk in ancillary material. Interestingly, a quest in Gestalt/Replicant involves Nier tracking down a special drink Popola needs before she can sing the Song of the Ancients with Devola. A Lizard & Mouse Tail elixir is seemingly the only liquor Popola can safely down.
5 Nier Was Set Up To Fail
At the end of the day, there was just no way Brother Nier was going to succeed. The very scenario The Shadowlord got himself into means Nier will always fail to save Yonah from the Black Scrawl. Worse, defeating The Shadowlord ultimately means the end of the human race (which Nier admittedly doesn’t understand) but it has to be done to rescue Yonah. Either Brother Nier fails, dying to rescue Replicant Yonah, or he succeeds, dooming all Replicants and Gestalts to a slow but sure death.
4 The Shadowlord Is Nier’s Foil
The Shadowlord is Nier’s shadow in many respects (both literal and metaphorical), but it’s important to recognize that he’s not just Nier’s mirror image. The Shadowlord is an explicit foil who does not share Brother Nier’s sense of idealism, optimism, or morality. This is justified in that The Shadowlord experienced a much more traumatic event with his Yonah, but it’s still worth pointing out.
Where Brother Nier does everything he can to save Yonah and help those around him, The Shadowlord sits around doing nothing for over 1,000 years – simply accepting his fate and hoping something will change. The tragedy of all this is that The Shadowlord’s patience would have ultimately bore fruit.
3 Popola & Devolva Care Too Much
Popola and Devola are right to try to stop Brother Nier’s rescue of Yonah (as cruel as it seems from his and the player’s perspective), but their fatal flaw is actually caring too much. They deeply care about Nier, Yonah, and the life they’ve built. Despite being androids whose sole task should be ensuring the Replicants are ready for Gestalization, both twins form emotional attachments that cloud their judgement. Neither one reasonably expects Brother Nier to succeed, but they care about him too much to drop the farce until it’s too late.
2 Grimoire Weiss’ Backstory
Anyone who’s played Automata should be able to figure out rather quickly that Grimoire Weiss is not actually a magical tome, but some piece of technology that Brother Nier simply doesn’t understand. In reality, Grimoire Weiss was a Hamelin Organization recruit who was forcibly turned into the book over 1,000 years before the events of Nier Replicant. The bigger twist here is that Weiss isn’t quite AI, but a human’s consciousness with a vast array of knowledge.
1 Nier Sealed Humanity’s Fate
Flash forward to Nier Automata and humans are nowhere to be seen on Earth. Animals have returned with more presence than in Gestalt/Replicant Part 2 and Robots & Androids have started taking on more human traits – deliberate forms of expression, culture, and and philosophy for instance.
Unfortunately, humanity is nowhere to be seen. Brother Nier’s actions at the end of Replicant seal mankind’s fate. With The Shadowlord dead, the Gestalt project can no longer work and Shades will never be able to merge with their Replicants. This also means every single Replicant will eventually die with no one to replace them.