In honor of Nier’s 10th anniversary, we knew a live stream was set for yesterday and there were plenty of rumors about a potential Nier remaster.
Well, the rumors turned out to be true! Square Enix has announced NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
(And yes, that’s the name they’re going with, “NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…” That number is the square root of 1.5, but I don’t want to see any Nier fans picking on Kingdom Hearts titles ever again.)
The remaster appears to be specifically Nier Replicant for both Japan and the west. For those of you who don’t know, when Nier was released in Japan, it had two versions: Nier Replicant and Nier Gestalt. The sole difference between these two is the protagonist and his relationship to Yonah. Replicant starred a young man who was her brother, while Gestalt starred an older man who was her father.
Only Gestalt was ever localized for the west, so this remaster will mark the first time the younger Nier has ever been playable in an official western release. It appears as though this will be the only version remastered.
Now, I’ve been calling it a remaster, but the official explanation translated by Gematsu leaves that slightly uncertain. It was officially described as “neither a remaster or a remake, but rather an upgraded version of the game.”
Voice-overs and background music have been re-recorded, and new elements have been added, including at least one new character, and the voice actors for 2B and 9S from Nier Automata will have small roles. However, it’s still undecided if there will be any new endings.
It still sounds like a remaster to me, but whatever it is, they hope it will feel fresh even to fans who have already played the game. I enjoyed Nier a lot when I played it last year, so I’m keeping my eye on this for sure.
But that wasn’t it for Nier news yesterday! They followed that announcement by revealing Nier Re[in]carnation, a new entry in the series for iOS and Android.
I’m not crazy about it being a mobile game, but additional details translated by Gematsu make it sound more promising.
According to producer Yosuke Saito, “at first glance, it doesn’t look like a smartphone title” and they’re approaching it as though it would be a multiplatform release, and he wants it to “cause a stir” even if it isn’t a profitable game. Director Yoko Taro described it as “a strangely startling type of game.”
This sounds like there’s a chance it won’t follow the usual free-to-play gacha model that turns me away whenever I see a mobile game announced. I’ll be interested in seeing more about Nier Re[in]carnation.
Meanwhile, I’ve gone back to my playthrough of Nier Automata and hope to make progress in that soon. Are you excited for the Nier Replicant remaster? What about Nier Re[in]carnation? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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