Yoko Taro's NieR first released in April 2010 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. While there is some debate as to whether the newly-released NieR Replicant is a remake, remaster, or simply a version upgrade, there are numerous changes and content additions to the overall game.
Whereas the original game's sequel, NieR Automata, played with gamers' emotions and made them think of the world differently, Replicant's story tugs at its players' heartstrings with its story, and the characters in the game all have their own personal demons and tragic tales. Whether it be through cutscenes or looking deeper into these characters' backstories, there is much to unfold.
10 Solitude & Sickness — Even The Beginning Is Tragic
There is a parallel between the two Niers taking care of their sick sister. Each one has to fight and survive while being pursued by Shades. Yonah continues to get worse and worse, with seemingly no way of curing her illness. Both men are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of their loved ones, and the entire story of NieR Replicant shows how far they'd be willing to go.
While the story initially gives no major information, it feels bleak because of how helpless Nier feels. Desperately trying to do what he can for Yonah, Nier gets closer to finding out how to cure her at the end of Act 1, only for her to be taken away by the Shadowlord.
9 The Grimoires — Bound To A Book
Grimoires are magical tomes possessing powers called Words that aid in combat. In the game, they are used to upgrade skills, weapons, and provide bonuses for the player. The first Grimoire introduced is Grimoire Weiss, a sentient magical tome with a rather egotistical attitude. There is more to Weiss, however, as he was placed in the Hamelin Organization at the age of 10, and by age 19 was forced to be part of an experiment with 12 other people.
Working for the organization, he had to kill Legion until offered a way out of the life chosen for him. In the experiment, all participants were forced to fight each other until only Weiss, and the person who would become Noir were left. Both were then turned into their respective Grimoires, and some 1,300 years later, Weiss would meet Nier.
8 Grimoire Rubrum — She Has No Voice
Rubrum had a fate similar to Weiss in that she was in that same experiment. Growing up in the organization, Rubrum was tasked with the same things as Weiss and even met him before the experiment. The two became close with one another and when the time came, both were then turned into Grimoires.
Years later, Nier and Weiss would meet Rubrum, only to have to fight her. Unlike Weiss and Noir, however, Rubrum wasn't programmed with a voice and only existed to support the white and black books. Nier kills Rubrum, but only Weiss knows just who they were forced to put down.
7 Kainé's Childhood — Hated For Being Different
Kainé is a loud and foul-mouthed character when first encountered and quickly becomes part of the main cast once Nier and Emil find that their goals all intersect. Her vicious personality isn't all it seems to be, as Kainé's past is that of an outcast. Born half Shade, she covers her left arm and leg in an attempt to hide who she really is.
Kainé was often harassed and abused as a child for being intersex, only able to rely on her grandmother, Kali. Kali's home is eventually attacked by the Shade known as Hook, killing Kali and leaving Kainé mutilated. In an attempt to have a body of his own, the Shade Tyrann made a deal with her to save her but if she shows weakness, even just once, Tyrann promises to take over completely. Her chosen attire shows off the feminine parts of her body, and even as an outcast, still remembers the abuse she suffered.
6 Emil's Curse — Forced To Avert His Gaze
The child revealed to be number 7, the ultimate weapon, lived his life unable to look at anyone. His gaze petrifies everyone he looks at, and as a result, he blindfolds himself to protect innocent people. The boy only got this ability through experimentation from scientists of the National Weapons Laboratory to create the ultimate weapon to fight against the Legion.
His sister Halua initially tried to stop Emil's experimentation as number 6 and volunteered to take his place. After becoming the skeletal creature, Halua is forced to be locked away after losing control, still unable to change Emil's fate as number 7.
5 Halua — Final Petrification
During one of the encounters in the game, Emil is forced to use his magic to stop a powerful Shade. During this moment, he has no choice but to turn Kainé to stone as well. While searching for a way to undo this, he and Nier travel to the same underground labs only to find ultimate weapon number 6 locked away.
The boss battle lasts until poor Halua is weak enough for Emil to petrify her. His older twin sister regains consciousness and accepts her fate, fusing with Emil. He gains the ability to heal while in his sister's previous form, but at the cost of having to put her down. Her rage was fueled by her determination to keep her brother safe and in the end, was able to help him undo his mistakes.
4 Sacrifice — Emil Doesn't Get A Break
In the Shadowlord's castle, Emil sees what many believed to be his final moments. The boy that voluntarily blindfolded himself for the safety of others continued to be selfless by sacrificing himself when facing Popola. Emil didn't die, however, and lived for thousands of years as a decapitated head.
In NieR Automata, it is revealed that the original Emil made countless copies of himself, fragmenting his memories across them in an attempt to fight the aliens invading. When 9S and 2B grant Emil access to his memories, he thanks them and acknowledges both the good and the sad times he spent over the years. What he does with the other Emils isn't clear, but he claims that they all need to come to an agreement.
3 Shades — The Fate of Humans
The main enemy force of the game has a horrible reveal of their true nature. Shades are all humans that have been transformed to prevent more contractions of the White Chlorination Syndrome. The disease plagued the prologue Yonah, and becoming a Shade was a way of transferring one's soul into a being that could not become part of the Legion.
Shades were only supposed to be temporary forms for souls to take until the disease ran its course. Because of an error during the transformation process, however, the body of each human began to have its own consciousness. These were known as Replicants, whereas the soul, or the Shades, were known as Gestalt.
2 Endings A & B — Happy Ending?
Defeating Shadowlord/Gestalt Nier at the end of the game prompts one of 5 different endings. Replicant Nier has a rather happy ending in ending A— Showing him and Yonah go back to live together in the village. Grimoire Weiss dies during the conflict, and Kainé goes her separate ways from the two siblings.
Yonah is shown to have been reunited with Gestalt Nier as an adult in the ending, but things are a bit different in ending B. In ending B there is more focus on the Shadowlord. He is sobbing alone in a white void after his defeat, regretful of all he has done to Yonah thus far. The only memories he has to comfort himself are of times he spent with his sister, years before either of them changed into Gestalts.
1 Endings C & D — Kainé's Fate
Kainé loses control in endings C and D, undergoing a change into her Shade form. Nier has two choices that trigger these subsequent endings. Kill Kainé, the person he's grown so attached to in search of his sister, or sacrifice himself to save her, leaving his sister.
Both endings are bittersweet in that in ending C, Nier kisses Kainé before killing her, spending the rest of his and Yonah's remaining life together. In ending D, Nier gives up his entire existence, making it so no one remembers him. Yonah thanks Kainé for saving her, and a Lunar Tear falls before the young woman. With it, she remembers Nier briefly and is the only one in the world to do so.