Square Enix has always been known for popular RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, but one video game series that has graduated from niche popularity to worldwide acclaim in recent years is NieR. A spin-off to the Drakengard games, the original NieR installment was released in 2010 but wasn't received that well due to some odd circumstances revolving around a few different reviews. However, seven years later, a sequel called NieR: Automata came out and is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time by many players.A new version of the first game was made, known as NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139..., and came with a lot of improvements. But is this remastered first entry better than the sequel that was a success, to begin with, or is NieR: Automata still the best game in the franchise?Updated December 19, 2021 by Jacob Buchalter: With Yoko Taro's next game, Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars, already out and the mobile game, Nier Reincarnation, doing quite well, it seemed like a good time to take another look back at his more iconic Nier games. Both Nier Automata and the remaster of the original Nier, Nier: Replicant ver.1.22474487139 are still seeing a lot of new players, and fans can't help but compare the two games.Granted, they're both very different titles, with one functioning as a relatively sort of basic-combat but fantastic story JRPG and the other being a complex character action game with way too many mysteries, but there's still a mountain of similarities between them. So, in good fun, let's take another look at their best aspects and make an argument for which of the two master-class games reigns supreme.
12 Replicant: World-Building
First of all, nothing really compares to Nier Replicant when it comes to its world-building and overall background. The fact that this whole Nier franchise spawned from the “joke” ending (ending E) of the first Drakengard game and took on this whole other life from there is so hilariously absurd but also fantastic happenstance.
Because of this origin story, there’s an incredible amount of lore to read up on regarding all the background aspects of Nier, such as the White Chlorination Syndrome, Replicants, Gestalts, the concept of Magic, the Red-Eye, and so much more. Meanwhile, Nier Automata has a lot of interesting concepts it introduces, and it, like Replicant, is the spawn of a funny aspect of something that happens in the canonical time passage between Nier Replicant and Nier Automata, but it doesn't quite have the same berth of intricate world-building.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t a lot of complex concepts in Nier Automata vs. Nier Replicant, but it doesn’t have nearly the amount of concrete “lore” about the world and aspects of its settings, just small hints at deeper aspects and nods to the previous game.
11 Automata: Atmosphere
It’s pretty much unanimously agreed upon by everyone who has touched Automata that the atmosphere and tone of this game is one of the most uniquely beautiful and yet incredibly depressing out there, right? This world has so many interesting aspects to it, despite possessing relatively small geographically compared to other open-world titles.
And, while Nier Replicant has fantastic story elements and a lot of eye-catching lore, the actual “atmosphere” of its world basically boils down to hard fantasy with a little cherry on top. Meanwhile, Nier Automata is so beautifully nihilistic in its sci-fi charms, as well as overwhelming mystery and cruelty. Regarding the tone for Nier Automata vs. Nier Replicant, it's pretty clear that Automata comes out on top.
10 Replicant: Fantasy
Both Nier games have a lot of fantasy and science fiction elements, making the franchise a great example of what a science fantasy series should be. However, when it comes to the original installment and its new remake, the plot is more enjoyable to "classic" fantasy fans.
The story follows a boy and his friends as he tries to save his sister from the illness that harms her. To do so, they go on an epic quest, fighting mysterious creatures called Shades and searching for a cure that could save the world. There's magic, the overall technological advancement of the society is quite low, and people farm, or hunt monsters for a living. Sure, more intricate aspects are introduced in the late game, but for the most part, Nier Replicant is placed into the fantasy genre. And, thankfully, it absolutely nails it.
9 Automata: Sci-Fi
On the other hand, science fiction fans will probably like NieR: Automata more than its predecessor. The story takes place far into the future in a time where aliens, robots, and androids all battle against each other for control of Earth.
This game has a lot of classic sci-fi elements that are tackled in new ways, such as machine sentience, what it means to be "human", and what immortality really means. It also makes sense for this installment to have a lot more similarities to sci-fi than fantasy as it takes place hundreds of years after the events of NieR Replicant. When looking at Nier Replicant vs. Automata, who both have pretty interesting sci-fi aspects, it's pretty obvious that Automata is the more sci-fi-centric game overall, with Replicant just integrating it at specific parts of the story.
8 Replicant: More "Human" Characters
One of the most important things needed to tell an interesting story is enjoyable characters, and Nier Replicant easily has more likable ones than its sequel. Nier, the main protagonist of the game, is everything a hero should be. He's kind, strong, and determined, regardless of whether it's the "father" or "brother" version of him.
It's also very hard to not like other characters like Yonah, Weiss, and Emil, all of which play an important part in the story. In the new version of the game, Kaine plays a bigger role than she did in the original, making it so fans can enjoy her arc even more than before. And all the intricate and complex emotional intricacies between Emil, Kaine, Nier, and even Yonah are all so painfully understandable to the average person.
Meanwhile, while Nier Automata does have fantastic characters in 2B, A2, and 9S, they're sort of constantly discovering their own identity and have a lot of emotional and physical concepts the average human may not understand.
7 Automata: Playable Characters
While Nier Automata's characters aren't as classically "human" as those from Nier Replicant, for obvious reasons, the game does allow people to play as three of them instead of just one or two. Throughout the majority of Nier Replicant, players only control the titular character, Nier, though Replicant does add a small section where players get to control one more character. In NieR: Automata, players get to control three androids: 2B, 9S, and A2.
2B is the main character during the beginning of the installment, with 9S being a party member that is with her for the majority of the first half. After beating that, players will get to control 9S, going through almost all the same levels they went through with 2B, before getting to learn what happens after that by playing as him more, and later A2.
6 Replicant: Soundtrack
Both Nier games have phenomenal music. Their soundtracks are some of the best in any media to date, hands down. For the new version of Nier Replicant, the soundtrack was rerecorded, making it even better. On top of that, players can decide whether to listen to these improved versions of the songs while playing the game or listen to the music from Nier Automata instead. It was enough to get the game recognized at the 2021 Video Game Awards, but it didn't receive quite as much recognition as the diehard fans likely expected.
Even those that prefer the soundtrack of the sequel can't deny that being able to choose between the two is better than only having one. Consequently, Nier Replicant is the best installment in the franchise when it comes to beautiful music since it's quite literally the best of both worlds.
5 Automata: Enemies
The Shades in NieR Replicant aren't really designs that are "unique" to gaming as a whole. In fact, Square Enix has made similar enemies in their other properties. Yes, there are quite a few unique variants of them, and their origins in-universe are heart-wrenchingly well-written, but they're sort of "basic" in their visual design. On the other hand, the machines in Nier Automata are almost always different from their peers in some way and incredibly fun to fight. Plus, the whole "add more machines" mantra of their different designs is always so hilarious to see.
There are machine enemies in Nier Automata that are just a bunch of robots stacked on top of each other, enemies that are meant to look like snakes are made from the "heads" of many different robots, literal golden tanks, and so much more.
4 Replicant: Bosses
Though the machines are fun to fight, the same can't be said for the bosses in Nier Automata. There are some intense bosses in the game, especially bosses like Beauvoir, but there are a good amount of bosses that boil down to "big machine" and it's a shame.
In comparison, while the Boss Shades in Replicant can wildly vary in the quality of their designs, they have far more "character" to them overall.
3 Automata: Safe Yet Incredible Environmental Design
The world of Nier Replicant isn't anything special, at least not until towards the end of the game. Nier Automata's setting, however, is a place that players absolutely want to explore. The amusement park and the Copied City are two great examples of this. They are unexpected areas to go to in a post-apocalyptic world, making them memorable even after beating the game, which unfortunately can't be said about the original installment.
While normally, seeing biomes like a desert, ruined city, or even amusement parks is all pretty commonplace, Nier Automata manages to reinvent them to feel fresh. Even with the remake, it is harder to remember the areas in Nier Replicant than it is to forget those from Nier Automata.
2 Replicant: More Experimental
Both games are great for fans of shoot 'em up as well as hack and slash games, with Nier Automata being the better one in many ways, considering that the well-known Platinum Games worked on the combat. However, Nier Replicant is a lot more experimental in its gameplay overall. There are times where Nier Replicant is more similar to a side scroller, a visual novel, and even an old horror game.
Nier Automata has moments like this too with the side-scrolling sections and shoot 'em-up parts, but a lot of the more experimental stuff is story-telling-related as opposed to gameplay-related. Both games have very interesting approaches, but Replicant is just a bit more experimental overall, plus it's the one that did it first.
1 Automata: Ending Route Diversifications
Both Nier Automata and Nier Replicant have a fair amount of endings. The original Nier had four endings, and the new remake added a very interesting fifth option. But, in comparison to Automata's twenty-six different endings (one for each letter of the alphabet), it just doesn't quite compare. Sure, to be fair, a good portion of Automata's endings are very short and comical in nature, but the ones that have unique content are more than worth the time investment. And, grinding out all the weapons in Replicant to get the last ending was always a pain, even if the weapons themselves are fun to use.
Plus, outside of the endings, Automata just has more side content to do with extra little enclosed stories that have their own special rewards. Sometimes it's escorting a parade of peace-loving clown robots, other times it's fighting in a gladiatorial arena, but no matter the situation, Automata has more extra stuff to do compared to Replicant. That isn't to say that Replicant doesn't have its fair share of side quests that fans tend to accidentally miss, but it's not quite up to the same quality as Automata's.