The following contains spoilers for the NieR franchise. Games are available for purchase at local game retailers, and is available for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC. NieR Automata Ver1.1a is available for streaming onCrunchyroll.
So farNieR Automata Ver1.1ahas made numerous hints and references to previousNieRgames in the franchise. Most notably in episode 2, where we see a newscast from 2003 that shows Caim’s dragon impaled on Tokyo Tower, a reference to Ending E ofDrakengard.
In episode 3, when 9S hacks into one of the machines, he’s met with a memory of Fyra and Sech’s wedding fromNieR: Replicant. Moreover, veteran players will be able to pick up on the kinds of masks the machines are wearing - almost identical to what the people of Facade wore. Some even speculate that NieR and Kaine’s memories may have been recovered and placed into the machines.
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The Machine “Life"forms
In the playthrough through to get Ending E inNieR: Replicant, we follow Kaine entering The Memory Tree in The Forest of Myth. There, she fights twin androids who take note of her abilities and personality. As she travels further inside and reunites with Nier after retrieving her memories of him, the story ends with the original trio of Emil, Kaine, and Nier together in harmony. In the sequel,NieR: Automata, we find out that A2’s personality and combat style were taken and modeled from Kaine. Her records were probably stored and saved during her time in The Memory Tree. This means there is a possibility for all who have even entered The Forest of Myth to have had their own “data” saved.
If this is true, how can we be so sure thatSechs or even Fyrahaven’t visited The Forest of Myth during their time? Or perhaps they didn’t need to, and The Memory Tree was justoneway to “collect” data. This means that not only could YoRHa have access to the information, but perhaps the machines do as well - presumably by fallen android units. If 9S begins seeing data in the form of memories, maybe this could contribute to his eventual realization and exposition for anime-onlys.
Uncovering The Past
There’s a reason that we haven’t seen any humans; as veterans are aware thatNier inadvertently caused the extinction of humanity. But we only ever get an explanation on what the result was, not what actually happened. Perhaps when 9S comes to realize the truth, the data he’s shown consist of Nier’s battles with the Gestalts and the aftermath of the Shadowlord’s demise. He’d also witness the creation of the original Devola and Popola androids and learn their purpose. Seeing humanity’s plan to survive fail, as well as Nier and Kaine slowly dying off, 9S’s mental state deteriorates much more rapidly, and 2B will be faced with a much larger challenge. If that were to happen, the audience is placed in the same mindset as 9S, given they’re anime-onlys, that is. However, a second look at the realization 9S had in the original game, may hit different now that there are visuals.
Ignorance is Bliss
WhenNieR Automata Ver1.1awas announced, Yoko Taro stated thathe wanted viewers to have a new and unique experience. Since characters from other installments in the franchise have been making their debut (Lily, for example), it’s not too far off to assume that our previous main duo could make an appearance as well. And who knows? Perhaps there will be a different message this time.
