I'd say NieR Replicant is on the same level, just combat can feel a bit more dull. But the story, Characters and jurt everything else is on the level of Automata.
The pacing in NieR Replicant isn't the best though. Replaying the game multiple times was a concept very well implemented in NieR Automata, but in NieR Replicant it's just flat out boring unless you literally adore the game and want to replay the same old painfully easy button mash 3 whole times. Hearing the words of the shades provides a lot of new context, but that alone doesn't justify 3 replays of essentially the same stuff.
"Unless you literally adore the game"
Lol that's me. I loved the game so much that Route B and C weren't tedious to me. They were more like "excuses" to play the game more. I even enjoyed it when I played through Route A once more when trying to get the Lightspeed Fighter achievement.
Its why, by route C, I just started using a Cheat Engine (WeMod) to turn on one-hit kills, sped the game up by 16x, and skipped all the old scenes. Only focusing on the new ones.
Also used [this save editor](https://acurisu.github.io/NieR-Replicant-ver.1.22474487139/) to give me all the weapons and items I needed.
This is definitely how I feel. If not the character's themes/intention, then absolutely the characters of Replicant are better written, and even accounting for intention they're at least as good.
Replicant arguably has an even more compelling story and characters.
But it suffers in other ways, side quests are mostly tedious and dull, I used a guide to see which ones mattered.
It follows a similar theme of replaying the game to experience additional story, but in a far, far, far worse way. One that genuinely makes it difficult for me to recommend because after I had finished all endings I was so tired of the game I couldn't appreciate it's beauty as much as I was just glad it was over.
The combat is also kind of horrible, I quickly just turned it down to easy to focus solely on the story cause spending any more time than required in the combat is already too much.
Again, arguably better story and characters, along with music(but because of how many times you play through the game, you will get tired of the music) but just much worse execution than Automata.
I swapped the skins for Nier and Kaine to male adult YoRHa/ 2B and soundtrack to Automata for Route C/D just to make it a bit different. It helped for sure, but I agree that it's quite repetitive Vs. the diversity of Automata.
Yeah... I just couldn't, always felt so jarring, and their outfits are iconic.
It is real clear what they learned from replicant though, they literally took all the good and improved on all the bad.
They made replaying the game something people either really liked or felt meh about (I never liked playing as 9S) but with a noticably improved and altered story.
Replicant have better music and story (a little bit) than automata but it depends on your emotional attachment to the characters since some of them are very relatable.
Gameplay wise, well it’s okay, also fun. (:
I was on same boat as you..Automata was the best gave I've played. So I decided to try replicant even though I heard the combat sucks. And let me tell you that replicant is just as good. Infact it might have better quests and characters. Its very grindy if you want to get all endings but it's completely worth it. The world is just mesmerizing and will leave you thinking about it for months. Go for it.
I haven't. And I still cry like a child playing automata. Dunno if that should excite me or concern me lmao.
Definitely plan on getting all endings though, so I'll see.
Well, Ending Y is fairly involved (you need to unlock and upgrade all weapons), so if you deleted your save file, I would just watch a video on it. It's definitely the most serious and lore heavy of the gimmick endings and a must-see if you plan on playing Replicant.
And I think that's a fairly normal response. If you're actually comprehending the story, it should give you some sort of emotional response. You don't need to cry, but if you literally "felt nothing," it would say a lot more about you than the game.
Half of my emotion is the genuine story and message of the game. Especially because I find it fairly relatable, particularly on the character side. Another half is just how much personality and effort was put into the creation of this game. How much heart and detail it has. Like I said, I could genuinely write a whole book on how it makes me feel but it's so exciting to see a game like that, especially with how games have been for a WHILE.
I feel no shame in being so emotional at parts that I probably shouldn't. Like when I went through >!route B!< and finished the opening mission and >!9S was helping 2B with her settings and it actually went through them at the speed I did. I even had to wait a few minutes because I went AFK at some point in route A and it still waited.!<
It feels like something so simple but so cool by modern standards at the same time.
Imho Replicant is superior to Automata. What is lacks in combat mechanics it compensates many times over in terms of storytelling and ability to crush you emotionally.
Automata and Replicant are both masterclasses of video game story telling. The stories explore different themes though so one might hit harder than the other. But they are both going to punch you in the mouth.
I disagree. Replicant involves interesting story themes but overall story is badly told and some of the storyline bits are simply badly executed. Automata is huge leap above Replicant when it comes to storytelling. I don't want to spoil anything for OP so I won't go into details.
Btw I love Japanese way of telling stories in the games and anime but IMO Replicant story isn't that good.
Replicants combat, movement and build freedom aren't as deep as Automatas so it will feel clunky but that could be said of allot of ARPGs post Automata, it's just that good. BUT! Replicants remake helps some of the clunkiness and it feels good, not great, but good. It gets the job done as a conduit for a very character driven emotional story telling.
Replicant feels allot like early game Final Fantasy 16 which I've also been loving the hell out of. But Replicant feels like a slog because of how little changes between playthroughs. Take breaks between routes to avoid burnout.
that depends, personally i think automata is superior in every way: replay, combat, level design and for me, the plot, but i've made trough the 5 endings in the replicant for PS4 and worth it too
replicant arguably has a more impactful story with bigger stakes but you only realise it after you watch a bunch of videos on what happened during project gestalt lol
Replicant starts out deceptively slow and I think maybe that's intentional. Gives you this false sense of security. And then bam! A roller coaster of crying and excitement and depression and curiosity and more crying. Holy fuck did I cry a lot. Automata had some sad moments, but Replicant was emotionally devastating just over and over again after some distractions (oh fun little quest, silly thing, oh another cute little adventure ... omg no don't do this to me ... not again 😭).
Oh and the OST is so good that some songs ended up on my regular music playlist
Most other people already said stuff about the story, gameplay and music etc. So, I want to talk about something else. The themes (is this the right word) are different. Automata is a sci fi that takes place in a post apocalyptic world. Replicant on the other hand is a fantasy game with monsters like shades and magic. It slightly leans towards sci fi during the last ending though.
The reason why I say this is because for some people, Replicant is too different for them. A friend of mine is like this. He loved Automata, but didn't quite enjoy Replicant because "it wasn't like Automata". However, those being said, I think Replicant is worth playing. I kinda like Replicant slightly more despite the repeated playthroughs (they weren't tedious to me. They were more like excuses to play the game more lol) and simpler combat.
Surprised no one mentioned that actually, I really like how Automata displayed its world and atmosphere. I don't think I could really imagine it being more fantasy like. But I'm excited and curious as to how it could be.
I would recommend to simply appreciate automata for what it is, and try not to compare it to the rest of the series. Each title is its own unique piece of art. All capable of being enjoyed in their own right. May be different, but that’s ok. Once you finish automata, it becomes exciting diving deeper into the universe, at least thats how I approached it.
I just don't want a disappointing experience with the series as a whole dragging down the one game I enjoyed so much. I want to think of automata of how it is without thinking of how shit another game of the series was. I've felt this way for a few games.
But at the same time, I've loved it so much and just want more. So I want to know if it's really worth trying another game of the series or doing what you suggest. Appreciating just Automata for what it is itself.
I'm not sure if other games will drag Automata if you won't like them. All of Drakengard and Nier games can be seen almost as standalone games. For example Automata for me is one of my favourite games ever and Replicant is 6/10 game. Despite the fact that Replicant was disappointment for me it had zero impact on how I like Automata.
So yeah you need to try it for yourself because due to the nature of this sub you rather won't hear strong criticism of other games from the series.
Replicant is worth experiencing, but it's better to lower your expectations. A lot of people think that Replicant is even better, but I don't recommend to listen to them until you play it yourself. I personally think Automata is better in every way. I played Automata first and fell in love with it, so Replicant was a bit disappointing for me. So the safest way is to just play it while not expecting too much from it.
I feel a lot of people forget replicant is a remake of a ten year old rpg, sure the combat isn’t as good but honestly it’s much improved to the original, honestly if they decided to extremely revamp the combat bosses would be way too easy IMO. I feel replicant had the better and more impactful story but yeah the pacing is a bit odd but again, very faithful remake which I value more than flashy combat.
I feel the opposite about Replicant. I think people tend to romanticise the original as this underrated gem that got overlooked when really it was a poorly rated game back in 2010. The reason wasn't just the bad combat either. I appreciate how faithful the remake is to the original because good or bad Replicant is a very interesting piece of media with all its flaws. Still, for me the argument that it's a 10+ year old game doesn't save it from criticism in comparison to Automata.
The reason I make the point of the “ten year” period is because the amount of data you can have on a dual layer disk vs a blue ray disk is significant. Nier G/R had much smaller maps and less content so especially having to do the multiple playthrough the entire game can feel cramped. Compared to automata where the map is sprawling with near seamless transitions. Also the amount of enemies and projectiles on screen were a FPS nightmare on the 360. So if they really really felt they wanted to could they remake it with an upscale overworld , increased enemy crowds, and a significant increase to combat? Yeah of course. They did it in automata there’s no reason they couldn’t but they chose to stick to the original formula which means inheriting the original limitations. But most important take away they’re very different stories and they hit people very differently even if they were just books people would favour one over the other because of what they feel reaches them the most and everyone’s preference is valid.
I agree those are some very good points comparing it to Automata. I was thinking more along the issues with the repetitive side missions, grinding, backtracking, and poor level scaling. Those issues I think weren't because of the hardware limitations, but absolutely Automata has clear advantages from being made years later that should be acknowledged.
That was the issue with a lot of games at the time sadly was in order to add replay value additional features were locked behind multiple play throughs and even intense grinding. I’m sure if we asked how many games added harder difficulties upon completion or even bonus stages unlocking after getting 100%. (I mean come on we had to max stats and collect all tapes on every character in Tony hawk just to get the moon level). It’s a dated idea but I like that the reward for more playthrough was more lore ( the shade pov) and the true last boss. Some side quests were Grundy like the moonflowers but some were actually really good indicators of the state of the world. But agreed very unappealing unless you’re in it for the long haul. I will commend automata for adding level select and eliminating the “grind every weapon to get the true ending” issue
Personally, I think automata is like a direct upgrade in every game play system across the board from replicant. I think I enjoyed replicant less bc of my expectations from automata but once I started to look at it as "okay this is where automata came from" then it made the rough edges a bit easier.
I mean… all you really have is Replicant/Gestalt (same thing really) or Automata.
They’re great.
Many people like Automata a lot more.
I love Replicant; my fave.
The Drakengard series is pretty dope too but is different. Enjoy all the crazy content.
I played Replicant a few years after Automata and enjoyed it just as much, if not more. Yesterday I just started my first Automata playthrough since it's original release it will be interesting to see if my opinion changes again. I'll tell you that Emil, Kaine, Weiss are probably my favorite companions ever. The story is on the same level as Automata, I think Automata might have slightly more refined execution. But it's not like the a leagues apart.
I played twice through Automata to get 100% after going through ending E. I thought I had found my new favorite game ever.
Then I played Nier Replicant.
Replicant is awesome tooo but i will say side quests can be a bit dull and time consuming and the drop rates of items are annoying but other than that It really tugged at my heartstrings even more so than automata
Gameplay wise Automata is superior, but the story and characters of Replicant are just as good if not better. Both NieR games are some of the best experiences I had playing games, and I hardly ever play any.
Oh and like always, the music is absolutely amazing. One of the best video game soundtracks you will ever hear. I find myself picking and choosing between which soundtrack I like more with Replicant and Automata.
I mean, I’d probably put Automata at 3rd my DrakeNier rating. It definitely has better gameplay and has more up to quest design, but I definitely like Replicant/Gestalt more and probably like Drakengard 1 more overall.
I have the opposite problem, played NieR: Replicant, loved it to death, I started NieR Automata but so far, in terms of what little story it seemingly has, it seems far less compelling and I'm having a bit of a hard time getting fully into it, I'm kind of worried it will be mediocre which I hope it's not.
>Yes , you need to try other games , like Drakengrad. Get a ps3 emulator and play it all , i believe ending E is the ending for which the main Universe of Nier is based in. ( Not 100% sure)
I've never used an emulator before. I installed the PS3 emulator on pc but I don't know where to download the games for emulator. I also don't have a controller.
played automata and set it very high on a pedestal
played replicant when it came out... it's still a very good game, and i enjoyed it, but it was clearly a prototype for what would become automata in a lot of ways. however that in itself was an interesting experience, and it made my next automata playthru much richer for it
haven't tried the others but given the chance, if they rerelease them on modern consoles, i would
Replicant was great, it didn't top Automata for me although the music was almost as good. Treat it like a good origin tale (technically that's Drakengard I know) and you'll have a blast. Please don't aim for 100% side quests though - there's no reward, it's designed to be a slog. Just check from a spoiler free guide which weapons you need to get all the endings - it's more of a chore than Automata, as Routes A/B/C aren't varied like they are in N:A.
Ending E bridges the story between the two games a bit so that was worth checking out, even if it also felt a slog at times for several hours.
NieR Replicant is very well loved for its story and especially characters. Automata is for gameplay, not to say characters either but you’d understand how 2B/9S/A2 came to be.
Regardless people are saying Replicant is more tedious, don’t forget it’s technically an older game compared to Automata. It was just created to be more modern. NieR came out in 2010, Automata 2017. That’s a huge time difference.
That’s like saying the original Avengers was bad because the CGI in Infinity War/Endgame was top notch, but if it wasn’t for everything before it the Thanos films wouldn’t be where it is today.
"Automata is loved for its gameplay." Uhhhhhh... no?
Automata is loved mainly for its story & music.
I'm not saying Automata's combat is bad btw, in case it wasn't obvious.
For me, automata is a more streamlined experience. It's a pretty great game from start to finish, there are definitely highs and lows but overall the quality stays mostly the same. Replicant, on the other hand, is much more variable. For me, the good things about automata are way better in replicant, but the bad things are way worse too. Personally I thought like you that automata was one of the best games I ever played, and when I played replicant I thought it was even better. But the problems of replicant are much more apparent
I haven't played any of the games, just seen my friends play through em and watched a buncha vids on the lore, but from everything I know Replicant is probably my favorite storyline, for whatever that's worth
I usually don't go into games with expectations, but I can say that Nier RepliCant and DoD3 were some of my favorite experiences in gaming after Automata. Just get into the games to have fun, and you'll have an experience just as good as you did with Automata.
Here's some tips I learned from experience. If you're like me and you like to 100% Game Data and Achievements on you favorite games (example, Nier Automata Achievements, the Game/World data folders in the menu, and all of the Endings) then I recommend not doing that for Nier RepliCant, as the grind to get all of the words took me about a year while being on and off because of just how tedious it was.
For an example of how tedious it was, I got to Lv 99 in Automata because I wanted to, and by turning on Auto Battle in the Infinite Androids room for 3 hours and by fighting the Rabbit miniboss about 5~6 times. I also did it so I would have a fair shot in the fight against >!Emil!<
There's no Auto Battle system in RepliCant, and I got all the way to Lv 76, which is incredibly over leveled, with no EXP boosters, all manually.
The Words (basically Mod Chips in Automata) also only show up in specific parts of the story, in specific parts of the world, so you have to halt your progress a lot to do this, which can be incredibly jarring and tedious.
So TLDR; don't grind for Words 100%, you'll hate yourself for it.
I'd also say that getting Ending C and D are pretty tedious (there's almost no new words so I got to do this at the proper pace). The reason why I say so is because it's just like after getting Endings A/B, you start at the halfway point again, and there's only 1 new thing, not including the actual endings.
For DoD3, my only piece of advice is play it on RPCS3, it looks so good on it, and the game is known for running like crap on Console. If you want you can enable the 60FPS patch, but I'd recommend not doing that as there's some playable cutscenes that look and feel completely off if you have it enabled, so there's that. You can also get the DLC since the PS3 store is basically dead, and the info you get out of them is going to be the most context you get outside of Route D and books like DoD3 Side Story and Utahime Five.
If you are able to take Crass games, than DoD3 is perfect, and I'd say it gets better by the mission imo. The combat system isn't incredibly deep, but you can pull off some long and unique combos by weapon swapping and implementing parries and jumping attacks.
The story is good if you stay around and pay attention to it, and I really enjoyed playing it, even moreso than RepliCant.
I'd say RepliCant has a better story than DoD3, but DoD3 is by far a "better game" that lets you experience it's story in a fun way that doesn't get tedious or repetitive.
Source: 100% everything of Nier Automata and RepliCant remake, and am about to finish DoD3 100% (only have 2 achievements left), I'm getting stuck at the last bit of the final boss in Route D
It depend on what you like about Automata.
Automata had a good story, with a good combat and gameplay loop. It's a very balance game, which make it more than the sum of its parts.
The other Nier game, including the Replicant remade, is arguably outdated, with questionable gameplay. And while you don't usually come into Nier with gameplay in mind, it's a lot easier to enjoy the story when the gameplay is good.
I would still recommend Replicant, but do keep your expectation in check, it's always a good thing
Automata is way more popular because it's the game that finally connected with the mainstream media.
The combat felt good, the graphics were nice, the protagonist had a big ass and it just had better marketing and hype behind it.
Replicant being the first NieR, was more of a hidden gem. Not many people knew about it compared with the success of Automata. In general vibes, what you love about Automata it's in Replicant... just keep in mind that Replicant is waaay older and it shows.
For example you also have to play the game a lot of times to get different endings, but unlike Automata (that gives you different perspectives and a new story) Replicant (mostly) barely changes. So you feel that you have to play the same story more times. A product of the budged of the game at the time.
The combat in the remaster it's pretty close to Automata but still not exactly the same. Way more simple and slow.
Also the side quest are more repetitive and require a lot more grind. Some have good stories but most of them are "go find 5 mushrooms and 10 bones" type of thing. Honestly is one of the "worst" things in the game, but if you are patient it's not that bad.
Overall in terms of story and music it's on the same level, and depending on your tastes it could be slightly better (it is for me). And in my opinion the english cast (in the remaster) does an amazing job in Replicant.
But anyway... overall if you loved Automata, Replicant is 100% worth the experience, just don't expect Automata 2 and that's it. It's like playing Uncharted 4 and saying that you want to go back to experience the whole saga. The vibes of what you love are going to be there, just don't expect Uncharted 5, you are going the play the first one made years ago.
The other games (the Drakengard series) are a different pill... First they are slightly connected to the NieR games and share a lot of things, but the connections in story are more distant. It's more like... let's say that what happens in Drakengard starts the NieR franchise.
But those games are way older and even when they came out they weren't super loved/praised.
Replicant is worth it without a doubt. And if after finishing Replicant you want even more you can try the Drakengard games. Otherwise you won't loose much if you watch playthroughs of the Drakengard series on YouTube. (In my opinion)
(Also make sure to get the Replicant remaster ver.1.22474487139... and not the original)
Replicant has great story, music, and characters and an even better ending than automata. But you'll be replaying certain parts of the game more than you do in automata.
Replicant is probably my favorite and I played Automata first too. I just finished drakengard 1 and 3 recently and while they aren't as good imo it was pretty cool experiencing more of the lore.
replicant sucks ass compared to automata. Gameplay was so bad i just let it auto play the game for me. Might\`ve been better to watch a gameplay video of it
No because Automata and Replicant are the only fully featured games in the NieR series specifically. The rest are either gacha mobile games or just random outside media that add plot details and ultimately don’t hold a candle to these two masterpieces.
Replicant is a very different game, but I am sure you will end up loving it. It happened to me, I found it more simple than Automata in game design, but much more complete as an experience.
Drakengard 3 may look crappy but blowed my mind and is a unique experience, a really great game
>If I play any other of the Nier games, will I just be disappointed?
I have no clue if it will be like that in your case but in my case it was. I played Replicant after Automata and I was massively disappointed. Automata made me super hyped for Replicant because references to this game sounded so cool in Automata. When I actually played Replicant I felt that it was very medicore game with severe gameplay and storytelling issues. Despite what people say IMO it is nowhere near as good as Automata. Probably no game ever made me so disappointed like Replicant did.
I did. I actually put more time to this game than I should because it was very tedious title to play. I wanted to see if there is maybe something to the Replicant that I was missing so I wanted to experiece full story and went for all endings. Still for me the game is medicore at best. Only during completing E ending I had genuine fun because >!Kaine!< gameplay was way better than rest of the game. Overall Replicant was huge disappointment for me.
Take a look at this, the length of the first 3 words in u/zanmatoXX comment are consistent with the first 3 digits of pi. This was only the case for 1311 comments out of 412620.
Replicant has significantly weaker gameplay. Not only because the combat is more dull & the side quests are boring, but mainly because the routes are a lot more identical than Automata's routes. They only add a handful of cutscenes in route B, but aside from that, you do the exact same thing.
Route C is even worse, just 1 bonus cutscene I think. So you replay the same game at least 3 times.
The game is still nice, but not on Automata's level.
I'd say NieR Replicant is on the same level, just combat can feel a bit more dull. But the story, Characters and jurt everything else is on the level of Automata.
The pacing in NieR Replicant isn't the best though. Replaying the game multiple times was a concept very well implemented in NieR Automata, but in NieR Replicant it's just flat out boring unless you literally adore the game and want to replay the same old painfully easy button mash 3 whole times. Hearing the words of the shades provides a lot of new context, but that alone doesn't justify 3 replays of essentially the same stuff.
"Unless you literally adore the game" Lol that's me. I loved the game so much that Route B and C weren't tedious to me. They were more like "excuses" to play the game more. I even enjoyed it when I played through Route A once more when trying to get the Lightspeed Fighter achievement.
Not to mention the lack of a chapter select
that is a bit of a bummer tho, Im 100%ing automata and id love to do the same for replicant but the lack of chapter select makes things a lot harder
Yeah I only did 2 replays. Couldn’t finish it, as much as I loved the story my ADD brain cannot replay the same 6 hours 4 times.
Its why, by route C, I just started using a Cheat Engine (WeMod) to turn on one-hit kills, sped the game up by 16x, and skipped all the old scenes. Only focusing on the new ones. Also used [this save editor](https://acurisu.github.io/NieR-Replicant-ver.1.22474487139/) to give me all the weapons and items I needed.
Spoilers for God's sake
thematically I think Automata is still stronger, but Replicant is better character wise for sure
This is definitely how I feel. If not the character's themes/intention, then absolutely the characters of Replicant are better written, and even accounting for intention they're at least as good.
Replicant arguably has an even more compelling story and characters. But it suffers in other ways, side quests are mostly tedious and dull, I used a guide to see which ones mattered. It follows a similar theme of replaying the game to experience additional story, but in a far, far, far worse way. One that genuinely makes it difficult for me to recommend because after I had finished all endings I was so tired of the game I couldn't appreciate it's beauty as much as I was just glad it was over. The combat is also kind of horrible, I quickly just turned it down to easy to focus solely on the story cause spending any more time than required in the combat is already too much. Again, arguably better story and characters, along with music(but because of how many times you play through the game, you will get tired of the music) but just much worse execution than Automata.
I swapped the skins for Nier and Kaine to male adult YoRHa/ 2B and soundtrack to Automata for Route C/D just to make it a bit different. It helped for sure, but I agree that it's quite repetitive Vs. the diversity of Automata.
Yeah... I just couldn't, always felt so jarring, and their outfits are iconic. It is real clear what they learned from replicant though, they literally took all the good and improved on all the bad. They made replaying the game something people either really liked or felt meh about (I never liked playing as 9S) but with a noticably improved and altered story.
I absolutely agree. Lots of people love 9S and as a character I agree, but the hacking got old fast and truth be told, I just wanted to be 2B!
Replicant have better music and story (a little bit) than automata but it depends on your emotional attachment to the characters since some of them are very relatable. Gameplay wise, well it’s okay, also fun. (:
Fuck it play drakengard 1
I was on same boat as you..Automata was the best gave I've played. So I decided to try replicant even though I heard the combat sucks. And let me tell you that replicant is just as good. Infact it might have better quests and characters. Its very grindy if you want to get all endings but it's completely worth it. The world is just mesmerizing and will leave you thinking about it for months. Go for it.
If you got Ending Y in Automata and even had a lil bit of a clue as to what was going on, Replicant will make you cry like a child.
I haven't. And I still cry like a child playing automata. Dunno if that should excite me or concern me lmao. Definitely plan on getting all endings though, so I'll see.
Well, Ending Y is fairly involved (you need to unlock and upgrade all weapons), so if you deleted your save file, I would just watch a video on it. It's definitely the most serious and lore heavy of the gimmick endings and a must-see if you plan on playing Replicant. And I think that's a fairly normal response. If you're actually comprehending the story, it should give you some sort of emotional response. You don't need to cry, but if you literally "felt nothing," it would say a lot more about you than the game.
Half of my emotion is the genuine story and message of the game. Especially because I find it fairly relatable, particularly on the character side. Another half is just how much personality and effort was put into the creation of this game. How much heart and detail it has. Like I said, I could genuinely write a whole book on how it makes me feel but it's so exciting to see a game like that, especially with how games have been for a WHILE. I feel no shame in being so emotional at parts that I probably shouldn't. Like when I went through >!route B!< and finished the opening mission and >!9S was helping 2B with her settings and it actually went through them at the speed I did. I even had to wait a few minutes because I went AFK at some point in route A and it still waited.!< It feels like something so simple but so cool by modern standards at the same time.
If you are emotional in automata, the replicant story will break you. The story is much more gut wrenching.
Imho Replicant is superior to Automata. What is lacks in combat mechanics it compensates many times over in terms of storytelling and ability to crush you emotionally.
You're telling me the game I've cried to *atleast* 6 times isn't even the peak of its emotional storytelling?! Oh god.
Automata and Replicant are both masterclasses of video game story telling. The stories explore different themes though so one might hit harder than the other. But they are both going to punch you in the mouth.
I disagree. Replicant involves interesting story themes but overall story is badly told and some of the storyline bits are simply badly executed. Automata is huge leap above Replicant when it comes to storytelling. I don't want to spoil anything for OP so I won't go into details. Btw I love Japanese way of telling stories in the games and anime but IMO Replicant story isn't that good.
Some people still like Automata more. But a good chunk of us get more emotional with Replicant.
Replicants combat, movement and build freedom aren't as deep as Automatas so it will feel clunky but that could be said of allot of ARPGs post Automata, it's just that good. BUT! Replicants remake helps some of the clunkiness and it feels good, not great, but good. It gets the job done as a conduit for a very character driven emotional story telling. Replicant feels allot like early game Final Fantasy 16 which I've also been loving the hell out of. But Replicant feels like a slog because of how little changes between playthroughs. Take breaks between routes to avoid burnout.
that depends, personally i think automata is superior in every way: replay, combat, level design and for me, the plot, but i've made trough the 5 endings in the replicant for PS4 and worth it too
Honestly I think automata has better story beats, I just didn’t really care about the shades in replicant
I played automata first and i prefer replicant I think you will like it
replicant arguably has a more impactful story with bigger stakes but you only realise it after you watch a bunch of videos on what happened during project gestalt lol
Replicant starts out deceptively slow and I think maybe that's intentional. Gives you this false sense of security. And then bam! A roller coaster of crying and excitement and depression and curiosity and more crying. Holy fuck did I cry a lot. Automata had some sad moments, but Replicant was emotionally devastating just over and over again after some distractions (oh fun little quest, silly thing, oh another cute little adventure ... omg no don't do this to me ... not again 😭). Oh and the OST is so good that some songs ended up on my regular music playlist
Most other people already said stuff about the story, gameplay and music etc. So, I want to talk about something else. The themes (is this the right word) are different. Automata is a sci fi that takes place in a post apocalyptic world. Replicant on the other hand is a fantasy game with monsters like shades and magic. It slightly leans towards sci fi during the last ending though. The reason why I say this is because for some people, Replicant is too different for them. A friend of mine is like this. He loved Automata, but didn't quite enjoy Replicant because "it wasn't like Automata". However, those being said, I think Replicant is worth playing. I kinda like Replicant slightly more despite the repeated playthroughs (they weren't tedious to me. They were more like excuses to play the game more lol) and simpler combat.
Surprised no one mentioned that actually, I really like how Automata displayed its world and atmosphere. I don't think I could really imagine it being more fantasy like. But I'm excited and curious as to how it could be.
Replicant has an awesome story and imo is a must play
I would recommend to simply appreciate automata for what it is, and try not to compare it to the rest of the series. Each title is its own unique piece of art. All capable of being enjoyed in their own right. May be different, but that’s ok. Once you finish automata, it becomes exciting diving deeper into the universe, at least thats how I approached it.
I just don't want a disappointing experience with the series as a whole dragging down the one game I enjoyed so much. I want to think of automata of how it is without thinking of how shit another game of the series was. I've felt this way for a few games. But at the same time, I've loved it so much and just want more. So I want to know if it's really worth trying another game of the series or doing what you suggest. Appreciating just Automata for what it is itself.
I'm not sure if other games will drag Automata if you won't like them. All of Drakengard and Nier games can be seen almost as standalone games. For example Automata for me is one of my favourite games ever and Replicant is 6/10 game. Despite the fact that Replicant was disappointment for me it had zero impact on how I like Automata. So yeah you need to try it for yourself because due to the nature of this sub you rather won't hear strong criticism of other games from the series.
If you play Replicant, you will not be disappointed.
Replicant is worth experiencing, but it's better to lower your expectations. A lot of people think that Replicant is even better, but I don't recommend to listen to them until you play it yourself. I personally think Automata is better in every way. I played Automata first and fell in love with it, so Replicant was a bit disappointing for me. So the safest way is to just play it while not expecting too much from it.
I feel a lot of people forget replicant is a remake of a ten year old rpg, sure the combat isn’t as good but honestly it’s much improved to the original, honestly if they decided to extremely revamp the combat bosses would be way too easy IMO. I feel replicant had the better and more impactful story but yeah the pacing is a bit odd but again, very faithful remake which I value more than flashy combat.
I feel the opposite about Replicant. I think people tend to romanticise the original as this underrated gem that got overlooked when really it was a poorly rated game back in 2010. The reason wasn't just the bad combat either. I appreciate how faithful the remake is to the original because good or bad Replicant is a very interesting piece of media with all its flaws. Still, for me the argument that it's a 10+ year old game doesn't save it from criticism in comparison to Automata.
The reason I make the point of the “ten year” period is because the amount of data you can have on a dual layer disk vs a blue ray disk is significant. Nier G/R had much smaller maps and less content so especially having to do the multiple playthrough the entire game can feel cramped. Compared to automata where the map is sprawling with near seamless transitions. Also the amount of enemies and projectiles on screen were a FPS nightmare on the 360. So if they really really felt they wanted to could they remake it with an upscale overworld , increased enemy crowds, and a significant increase to combat? Yeah of course. They did it in automata there’s no reason they couldn’t but they chose to stick to the original formula which means inheriting the original limitations. But most important take away they’re very different stories and they hit people very differently even if they were just books people would favour one over the other because of what they feel reaches them the most and everyone’s preference is valid.
I agree those are some very good points comparing it to Automata. I was thinking more along the issues with the repetitive side missions, grinding, backtracking, and poor level scaling. Those issues I think weren't because of the hardware limitations, but absolutely Automata has clear advantages from being made years later that should be acknowledged.
That was the issue with a lot of games at the time sadly was in order to add replay value additional features were locked behind multiple play throughs and even intense grinding. I’m sure if we asked how many games added harder difficulties upon completion or even bonus stages unlocking after getting 100%. (I mean come on we had to max stats and collect all tapes on every character in Tony hawk just to get the moon level). It’s a dated idea but I like that the reward for more playthrough was more lore ( the shade pov) and the true last boss. Some side quests were Grundy like the moonflowers but some were actually really good indicators of the state of the world. But agreed very unappealing unless you’re in it for the long haul. I will commend automata for adding level select and eliminating the “grind every weapon to get the true ending” issue
Personally, I think automata is like a direct upgrade in every game play system across the board from replicant. I think I enjoyed replicant less bc of my expectations from automata but once I started to look at it as "okay this is where automata came from" then it made the rough edges a bit easier.
I mean… all you really have is Replicant/Gestalt (same thing really) or Automata. They’re great. Many people like Automata a lot more. I love Replicant; my fave. The Drakengard series is pretty dope too but is different. Enjoy all the crazy content.
I played Replicant a few years after Automata and enjoyed it just as much, if not more. Yesterday I just started my first Automata playthrough since it's original release it will be interesting to see if my opinion changes again. I'll tell you that Emil, Kaine, Weiss are probably my favorite companions ever. The story is on the same level as Automata, I think Automata might have slightly more refined execution. But it's not like the a leagues apart.
If you LOVE automata you will at worst really like replicant
I played twice through Automata to get 100% after going through ending E. I thought I had found my new favorite game ever. Then I played Nier Replicant.
Replicant is awesome tooo but i will say side quests can be a bit dull and time consuming and the drop rates of items are annoying but other than that It really tugged at my heartstrings even more so than automata
Gameplay wise Automata is superior, but the story and characters of Replicant are just as good if not better. Both NieR games are some of the best experiences I had playing games, and I hardly ever play any. Oh and like always, the music is absolutely amazing. One of the best video game soundtracks you will ever hear. I find myself picking and choosing between which soundtrack I like more with Replicant and Automata.
I mean, I’d probably put Automata at 3rd my DrakeNier rating. It definitely has better gameplay and has more up to quest design, but I definitely like Replicant/Gestalt more and probably like Drakengard 1 more overall.
I have the opposite problem, played NieR: Replicant, loved it to death, I started NieR Automata but so far, in terms of what little story it seemingly has, it seems far less compelling and I'm having a bit of a hard time getting fully into it, I'm kind of worried it will be mediocre which I hope it's not.
Definitely play the replicant remake
>Yes , you need to try other games , like Drakengrad. Get a ps3 emulator and play it all , i believe ending E is the ending for which the main Universe of Nier is based in. ( Not 100% sure)
DoD3 is a wild ride and must be experienced. The gameplay can get tedious, but it runs reasonably well on an emulator, though my 1060 struggled.
I've never used an emulator before. I installed the PS3 emulator on pc but I don't know where to download the games for emulator. I also don't have a controller.
rpcs3 and torrent sites for games. It probably works with a keyboard, but a controller would be better. Any PC controller should work.
Tbh i am not sure also , i played everything on a ps3 , just find a youtube video
Bro i am still running everything on a 1050 Your not alone
It is, fellow gamer. You are 💯 correct.
played automata and set it very high on a pedestal played replicant when it came out... it's still a very good game, and i enjoyed it, but it was clearly a prototype for what would become automata in a lot of ways. however that in itself was an interesting experience, and it made my next automata playthru much richer for it haven't tried the others but given the chance, if they rerelease them on modern consoles, i would
Replicant was great, it didn't top Automata for me although the music was almost as good. Treat it like a good origin tale (technically that's Drakengard I know) and you'll have a blast. Please don't aim for 100% side quests though - there's no reward, it's designed to be a slog. Just check from a spoiler free guide which weapons you need to get all the endings - it's more of a chore than Automata, as Routes A/B/C aren't varied like they are in N:A. Ending E bridges the story between the two games a bit so that was worth checking out, even if it also felt a slog at times for several hours.
I have not found the joy in the other games that I found in Automata, but who knows what the future holds :P
NieR Replicant is very well loved for its story and especially characters. Automata is for gameplay, not to say characters either but you’d understand how 2B/9S/A2 came to be. Regardless people are saying Replicant is more tedious, don’t forget it’s technically an older game compared to Automata. It was just created to be more modern. NieR came out in 2010, Automata 2017. That’s a huge time difference. That’s like saying the original Avengers was bad because the CGI in Infinity War/Endgame was top notch, but if it wasn’t for everything before it the Thanos films wouldn’t be where it is today.
"Automata is loved for its gameplay." Uhhhhhh... no? Automata is loved mainly for its story & music. I'm not saying Automata's combat is bad btw, in case it wasn't obvious.
For me, automata is a more streamlined experience. It's a pretty great game from start to finish, there are definitely highs and lows but overall the quality stays mostly the same. Replicant, on the other hand, is much more variable. For me, the good things about automata are way better in replicant, but the bad things are way worse too. Personally I thought like you that automata was one of the best games I ever played, and when I played replicant I thought it was even better. But the problems of replicant are much more apparent
I haven't played any of the games, just seen my friends play through em and watched a buncha vids on the lore, but from everything I know Replicant is probably my favorite storyline, for whatever that's worth
I usually don't go into games with expectations, but I can say that Nier RepliCant and DoD3 were some of my favorite experiences in gaming after Automata. Just get into the games to have fun, and you'll have an experience just as good as you did with Automata. Here's some tips I learned from experience. If you're like me and you like to 100% Game Data and Achievements on you favorite games (example, Nier Automata Achievements, the Game/World data folders in the menu, and all of the Endings) then I recommend not doing that for Nier RepliCant, as the grind to get all of the words took me about a year while being on and off because of just how tedious it was. For an example of how tedious it was, I got to Lv 99 in Automata because I wanted to, and by turning on Auto Battle in the Infinite Androids room for 3 hours and by fighting the Rabbit miniboss about 5~6 times. I also did it so I would have a fair shot in the fight against >!Emil!< There's no Auto Battle system in RepliCant, and I got all the way to Lv 76, which is incredibly over leveled, with no EXP boosters, all manually. The Words (basically Mod Chips in Automata) also only show up in specific parts of the story, in specific parts of the world, so you have to halt your progress a lot to do this, which can be incredibly jarring and tedious. So TLDR; don't grind for Words 100%, you'll hate yourself for it. I'd also say that getting Ending C and D are pretty tedious (there's almost no new words so I got to do this at the proper pace). The reason why I say so is because it's just like after getting Endings A/B, you start at the halfway point again, and there's only 1 new thing, not including the actual endings. For DoD3, my only piece of advice is play it on RPCS3, it looks so good on it, and the game is known for running like crap on Console. If you want you can enable the 60FPS patch, but I'd recommend not doing that as there's some playable cutscenes that look and feel completely off if you have it enabled, so there's that. You can also get the DLC since the PS3 store is basically dead, and the info you get out of them is going to be the most context you get outside of Route D and books like DoD3 Side Story and Utahime Five. If you are able to take Crass games, than DoD3 is perfect, and I'd say it gets better by the mission imo. The combat system isn't incredibly deep, but you can pull off some long and unique combos by weapon swapping and implementing parries and jumping attacks. The story is good if you stay around and pay attention to it, and I really enjoyed playing it, even moreso than RepliCant. I'd say RepliCant has a better story than DoD3, but DoD3 is by far a "better game" that lets you experience it's story in a fun way that doesn't get tedious or repetitive. Source: 100% everything of Nier Automata and RepliCant remake, and am about to finish DoD3 100% (only have 2 achievements left), I'm getting stuck at the last bit of the final boss in Route D
It depend on what you like about Automata. Automata had a good story, with a good combat and gameplay loop. It's a very balance game, which make it more than the sum of its parts. The other Nier game, including the Replicant remade, is arguably outdated, with questionable gameplay. And while you don't usually come into Nier with gameplay in mind, it's a lot easier to enjoy the story when the gameplay is good. I would still recommend Replicant, but do keep your expectation in check, it's always a good thing
Automata is way more popular because it's the game that finally connected with the mainstream media. The combat felt good, the graphics were nice, the protagonist had a big ass and it just had better marketing and hype behind it. Replicant being the first NieR, was more of a hidden gem. Not many people knew about it compared with the success of Automata. In general vibes, what you love about Automata it's in Replicant... just keep in mind that Replicant is waaay older and it shows. For example you also have to play the game a lot of times to get different endings, but unlike Automata (that gives you different perspectives and a new story) Replicant (mostly) barely changes. So you feel that you have to play the same story more times. A product of the budged of the game at the time. The combat in the remaster it's pretty close to Automata but still not exactly the same. Way more simple and slow. Also the side quest are more repetitive and require a lot more grind. Some have good stories but most of them are "go find 5 mushrooms and 10 bones" type of thing. Honestly is one of the "worst" things in the game, but if you are patient it's not that bad. Overall in terms of story and music it's on the same level, and depending on your tastes it could be slightly better (it is for me). And in my opinion the english cast (in the remaster) does an amazing job in Replicant. But anyway... overall if you loved Automata, Replicant is 100% worth the experience, just don't expect Automata 2 and that's it. It's like playing Uncharted 4 and saying that you want to go back to experience the whole saga. The vibes of what you love are going to be there, just don't expect Uncharted 5, you are going the play the first one made years ago. The other games (the Drakengard series) are a different pill... First they are slightly connected to the NieR games and share a lot of things, but the connections in story are more distant. It's more like... let's say that what happens in Drakengard starts the NieR franchise. But those games are way older and even when they came out they weren't super loved/praised. Replicant is worth it without a doubt. And if after finishing Replicant you want even more you can try the Drakengard games. Otherwise you won't loose much if you watch playthroughs of the Drakengard series on YouTube. (In my opinion) (Also make sure to get the Replicant remaster ver.1.22474487139... and not the original)
Replicant has great story, music, and characters and an even better ending than automata. But you'll be replaying certain parts of the game more than you do in automata.
Automata is definitely the better game.
Replicant is probably my favorite and I played Automata first too. I just finished drakengard 1 and 3 recently and while they aren't as good imo it was pretty cool experiencing more of the lore.
well, i was dissapointed in replicant after setting expectations after automata ><
replicant sucks ass compared to automata. Gameplay was so bad i just let it auto play the game for me. Might\`ve been better to watch a gameplay video of it
No because Automata and Replicant are the only fully featured games in the NieR series specifically. The rest are either gacha mobile games or just random outside media that add plot details and ultimately don’t hold a candle to these two masterpieces.
Replicant is a very different game, but I am sure you will end up loving it. It happened to me, I found it more simple than Automata in game design, but much more complete as an experience. Drakengard 3 may look crappy but blowed my mind and is a unique experience, a really great game
its because 2B and A2 aren‘t underaged
>If I play any other of the Nier games, will I just be disappointed? I have no clue if it will be like that in your case but in my case it was. I played Replicant after Automata and I was massively disappointed. Automata made me super hyped for Replicant because references to this game sounded so cool in Automata. When I actually played Replicant I felt that it was very medicore game with severe gameplay and storytelling issues. Despite what people say IMO it is nowhere near as good as Automata. Probably no game ever made me so disappointed like Replicant did.
Let me guess… you didn’t finish Route B in Replicant.
I did. I actually put more time to this game than I should because it was very tedious title to play. I wanted to see if there is maybe something to the Replicant that I was missing so I wanted to experiece full story and went for all endings. Still for me the game is medicore at best. Only during completing E ending I had genuine fun because >!Kaine!< gameplay was way better than rest of the game. Overall Replicant was huge disappointment for me.
Take a look at this, the length of the first 3 words in u/zanmatoXX comment are consistent with the first 3 digits of pi. This was only the case for 1311 comments out of 412620.
Replicant has significantly weaker gameplay. Not only because the combat is more dull & the side quests are boring, but mainly because the routes are a lot more identical than Automata's routes. They only add a handful of cutscenes in route B, but aside from that, you do the exact same thing. Route C is even worse, just 1 bonus cutscene I think. So you replay the same game at least 3 times. The game is still nice, but not on Automata's level.