NieR: Automata, Release: 10/03/2017 | PS4 / PC / XOne

La storia è ambientata in una Terra del futuro devastata da una lunga guerra tra macchine senzienti e eserciti di androidi costruiti dagli umani, chiamati Yorha, con gli umani costretti a fuggire sulla Luna.

Durante la quattordicesima Operazione Drop la truppa di Yorha inviata a combattere viene decimata dai nemici e rimangono in vita solo i numeri 2, 4, 16 e 21, ma quando anche questi stanno per cedere succede qualcosa di inaspettato: vengono difesi da alcuni vecchi androidi sopravvissuti sulla Terra, i Resistance. Questi ultimi si uniscono agli Yorha per combattere le macchine senzienti.

The devastated Earth on stage, to come "mechanical life" by feeding the enemy of mankind, draw a fierce battle with the android troops "Yoruha" humanity sends out against it.

Stage of "Yoruha" is the distant future. Human beings that have been invaded Earth by mechanical life had fled to the moon. In defense base of humanity that exists on the satellite orbit, Android we had been fighting invaders on behalf of the human race.
Fourteenth-order drop new Android troops received the unexpected attack in strategy "Yoruha" is only four aircraft (two items, (iv) ten (vi) twenty, item) annihilated leaving ....
Yoruha who became destroyed brink is subject to attack by the machine life. But, the crisis is saved by older Android us "resistance" that had survived on Earth. Yoruha and resistance we cooperate, but he challenge the mechanical life to suicide of war ....

"The first game, it wasn't necessarily a massive success," admits Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito, a member of the original team who's returning for the sequel. "But we really did want to make a sequel right from the start, we'd always have liked to have done that. Unless we could get together a team and it makes sense business wise anyway then we really couldn't do it anyway."

Saito has done strong work in getting that team together. Composer Keiichi Okabe returns, while character artist Akihiko Yoshida - the man who penned the inhabitants of Final Fantasy's Ivalice, and more recently Eorzea - lends his own talents. Platinum Games is there to ensure the action's got a razor sharp edge and, most importantly, the eccentric, adorable Taro Yoko is back in the director's chair.

(...)

"It was a bit of an experiment really," says Yoko. "I remember at the time thinking modern games, they're really well made and they've got so much love and time put into making them expansive and great, but once you've played most of them for 30 minutes you get an idea what they're like right to the end, and that's a bit boring. You're not going to see anything new after that. I decided we're going to keep mixing it up and changing the gameplay styles and try to achieve that with Nier.

Nier Automata, of course, will carry on providing those sudden shifts "The basic framework of the game is similar to the first," explains Yoko. "You've got action bits and you've got adventuring and exploration as well. When I first got the request to set the game up from Saito-san, he requested a more action type of game, but I personally wanted to make something that was closer to Ocarina of Time, where you've got lots of field areas and you travel and do battle. I thought it was a really natural, really nice way for the game to be, so I tried to twist his brief to make it more of the kind of thing I wanted to make, and I think I've got it more of mine than his."

(...)

Even within the first ten minutes, the expectations of the audience are going to be radically challenged, and Yoko's keen to keep up that pace. "I really want to keep that turnaround of surprises for the player in Nier 2. I like doing new things, and I'm going try and experiment and add something new and different. It may fail, it may not be received well, but I really want to add that and create that uniqueness. Maybe I should make a really boring, tedious game. They'd be surprised by that instead!"

"There's one other idea I had recently to make the game a big surprise to people," he carries on, with a prankish smile. "That was to give you random endings as paid DLC. But they said no to that. The team really didn't like that idea." Yoko, as you can probably tell, is a mischievous sort. When asked what it is that defines Yoko's games, Saito suggests, simply, that it's drinking. "It's quite weird," says Yoko. "All the stories I write when I'm drunk are the ones that are really popular. It's probably the players rather than me though." It's that same mischievous spirit you can sense in the freewheeling madness of Nier, more of which is promised in Automata. While it will retain elements of the original, and some characters will return, it's essentially a new start with a new cast. Story details remain slim, with the newly revealed basic set-up being that humanity has been banished to the moon after an apocalyptic event on earth, with mechanoids being sent to the planet's surface to try and reclaim it. 2B, the one character that's been revealed so far who looks like she recently stopped over in one of Akihabara's maid cafes, is one of those androids.

(...)

Platinum Games' involvement is an attempt to sidestep the one main criticism aimed at the original Nier, namely its technical shortcomings. "I remember at the time we brought out the game, people were starting to know how to use the PS3 and 360 and get some good quality out of them, says Saito. "Development of Nier was delayed a little while, and in the first year when we were doing the base engine for the game, it didn't take shape for a long time. Maybe we came out a bit later than the other games that we started in development as our contemporaries, so we were against games that were really, really good. Maybe that linked in to why we didn't get a great Metacritic rating at the time. It's certainly one of our regrets."

To that end, Square Enix is announcing that the sequel is shooting for 60fps - and, beyond that, players can expect a game with the polish that's typical of Nier Automata's developer. "Certainly Platinum Games is renowned for making great games," says Saito, "They've got a very good reputation, and the games they produce people can be very confident that they'll have a good experience. Having them onboard for Nier was very important to this project. The other great thing about Platinum Games is because they're so talented it really frees up Mr. Yoko to do what his best and write the story, and get that weird stuff out of his head. It's really comfortable for him to work with them, because they're just so good."

"It's interesting," Yoko chimes in. "All the time I spent on the original getting angry at the development team, obviously Platinum's removed that by working so well, so I spend that time drinking. In the end it hasn't really changed how much work I do. But when I drink I make better games, so that's okay."

About YoRHa No. 2, Model B, “2B”

2B is an all-purpose battle android, deployed as a member of the automated infantry squad, YoRHa. She is equipped with a sword for close quarters combat, and can attack from range using the “Pod” support system. Her eyes are obscured beneath her standard-issue military visor, which she rarely removes.

Members of the YoRHa squad forgo names and are referred to only by their code numbers. Though the regulations forbid them from expressing emotions, each model has its own distinguishing personality, and 2B is comparatively cool, calm, and collected.

Story of NieR: Automata

Invaders from another world attack without warning, unleashing their secret weapon: the machines. In the face of this insurmountable threat, the human race is driven from the earth and takes refuge on the moon.

The humans develop an army of android soldiers to fight back against the mechanical horde, but succeed only in slowing its advance. To break the deadlock, a new breed of android infantry is sent into the fray: the YoRHa squad.

In the forsaken wasteland below, the war between the machines and the androids rages on. A war that is soon to unveil the long-forgotten truth of this world…

- There are two or three main characters (Saito-san and Yoko-san seem to differ on this point).
- Androids can be both female and male. YoRHa 2B is female.
- YoRHa 2B has a bot that follows her around, serving as a long range fire support. It can talk in simple sentences like a car navigation system and it even works as a glider for transportation. Customization for this bot may be a possibility, but it’s not confirmed for now.
- There’s a considerable amount of weapons available besides the two we saw.
- If Square Enix wants to implement DLC costumes, Yoko-san is ready to provide them. YoRHa 2B’s skirt will rip when she receives considerable damage. Under the black dress she wears a white leotard.
- There will be extremely huge machine enemies. The one shown in the trailer isn’t even close to the biggest. Some might even drive vehicles, and there will be a large range of variation among them.
- The game is set in the same universe as NieR, but the era is different, and there’s a very limited connection between the games story-wise. There will be references, but those who didn’t play the first game won’t have problems enjoying the new one.
- Development is proceeding smoothly.
- More info will come in the spring. Since we received news from E3 in the U.S. and Paris Games Week in Europe, they want the next reveal to be in Japan, but since there’s no big event there in the spring, they’re considering how to make the announcement.

daevious
+Rekka Alexiel Considering that the main character of Nier 2 is actually called "Yorha #2 Type B" there's a decent chance that this might appear in that game instead.

Rekka Alexiel
+daevious She's probably the same No2, just an upgraded version. She survives through the YoRHa play, same with No4 (although she sustains heavy damage). No2 doesn't remove her "visor" until the final moment of the play, so the moment that she does could be seen as a sort of "rebirth" of her character...and thus the "Type B" version.

- Saito-san admitted that NieR didn’t sell very well, but the franchise has a cult following of hardcore fans and it has a lot of potential.
- Combining Platinum Games and Square Enix is like having a dream team, especially adding the character design of Akihiko Yoshida.
- The coherence of the world between NieR and NieR: Automata is guaranteed by the work of Taro Yoko himself. The fans of the previous NieR won’t be disappointed or feel betrayed.
- The game is benefiting form the experience of PlatinumGames in action games, and from Akihiko Yoshida’s very personal art style. Saito-san feels the combination of those factors can result in a great game.
- Square Enix didn’t expect such a strong positive hype about the franchise. People keep buying the original soundtrack CD for the first game, talking about the story and they really like the world.
- At the beginning they wanted to name the game NieR: Androids, but there were trademark problems and “Androids” sounded too simple anyway.
- The first prototype for the game was completed on July 2014.
- A lot of attention was paid to the criticism received by the first game. Saito-san’s work as the producer is to assemble the best team to make the best game possible. According to him, with the team they have, the game is going to be great.
- Saito-san remembers that many foreign reviews of NieR mentioned that the graphics weren’t very good, but they weren’t able to stop playing, and that’s one the game’s trademarks.
- When PlatinumGames developed the prototype of NieR: Automata, it was also a test to see if Taro Yoko was compatible with Platinum, and it went very well. They also discovered that PlatinumGames has a lot of respect for the director, and there is no problem in them working together.
- In order for the game to be made, Yoko-san decided to live in Osaka (he normally lives in Tokyo), where PlatinumGames is located. He’s there to guarantee that the game remains faithful to the original game. NieR: Automata is going to be very faithful to the franchise’s universe because the same person is in charge.
- When Taro Yoko joined the team, he was the first one to ask himself if the game would become just an action game, but when he went to Platinum, he met Chief Planner Takahisa Taura, and he noticed that he had a lot of respect for the previous NieR. His ambition is to create a new NieR while keeping what made the first game unique.
- The story about NieR: Automata being originally a mobile game is just a rumor without any solid ground. A long time ago Taro Yoko considered a NieR adaptation for PlaySytation Vita, and that might be where the rumor came from, but it had nothing to do with NieR: Automata, and the project was canceled. There’s no NieR project for mobile.
- Emi Evans (that provided vocals and lyrics for the original NieR) isn’t working on the game. [ , NdWra ]
- Composer Keiichi Okabe and Taro Yoko didn’t expect the original soundtrack for NieR to be this popular, and they don’t even know exactly the reason why, so they can’t guarantee that they will repeat the same miracle, but Yoko-san is sure that he’ll do his best.
- Saito-san mentioned that as a producer his directive was for the music to remind of the previous NieR so that the fans of the previous game could enjoy it.
- In some levels there are places you won’t be able to reach with normal jumps, so you’ll have to use your gliding drone “Pod” in order to reach them.
- Between combat phases there will be exploration phases, and contrary to what the trailer might make you think, there won’t be only action. On top of the action, there will be adventure, dialogue with characters, puzzle solving and story progression.
- The Pod flies around you, but he won’t behave like the Grimoire Weiss. It won’t talk all the time and behave more like a car’s GPS. That said, he’s not just going to be an accessory.
- You can switch between weapons very easily, and also between close combat weapons and ranged weapons. The ranged weapons are all stored inside Pod.
- The gap between the dark universe and comedic elements is what makes NieR unique, and Yoko-san wants fans to feel it again in NieR: Automata. That said, he doesn’t like to do exactly the same thing twice, so that kind of unbalance is going to appear in an unexpected way. [basta che non mi fanno le battutine alla Alvaro Vitali di DOD3 , NdWra]
- For now the team is giving its all on NieR: Automata, so they’ll think about possible remasters of NieR after the release of the new game.
- Saito-san cannot promise that the game will have a demo, because he wouldn’t want to disappoint people, but it’s something they’ll consider in their planning, so there might be one if no problem arises.
- What looks like a bandage on YoRHa 2B’s eyes is actually not a bandage, but special glasses that display information for her. The glasses are part of her equipment right from the beginning of the game.
- The reason why you can’t see her eyes is a very important part of the story, so Yoko-san can’t reveal it. Saito-san mentioned that it has nothing to do with Emil’s petrifying gaze from NieR.
- Yoko-san mentioned that his iconic mask is four times hotter than what you’d imagine.
- It was confirmed that the game is only in development on PS4.
- The fact that YoRHa 2B’s weapons don’t touch her back but just float behind her has a very peculiar reason. Her swords have their own magnetic fields, and that’s important in the gameplay. They can be used as swords, but also thrown like shuriken.

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