Nier is an action role-playing game released in 2010. It was created by Cavia and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In Japan, the game was called Nier Replicant for the PlayStation 3 and featured a younger main character. A different version, Nier Gestalt, with an older main character, was released for the Xbox 360. Outside Japan, Nier Gestalt was renamed Nier and released for both platforms. A remastered version of Nier Replicant, titled Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, was released in 2021 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
The game is a spin-off of the Drakengard series and follows the events of the fifth ending of the first Drakengard game, which left Earth in ruins. Set over a thousand years later, the story follows an unnamed main character who tries to find a cure for a serious illness affecting a girl named Yonah, who may be his sister or daughter. The gameplay combines elements from different video game genres and shifts between them during play.
Production of the game began in 2007, and it was directed by Yoko Taro, the creator of Drakengard. He had significant creative freedom with the project. The storyline was influenced by the September 11 attacks and the war on terror, while the gameplay was inspired by the God of War series. To address feedback from players outside Japan, multiple versions of the protagonist were created. The music was composed by Monaca, a music studio founded by Keiichi Okabe, and several albums were released.
Nier received mixed reviews when it was first released. Critics praised the story, characters, and soundtrack but had mixed opinions about how well the different gameplay styles were connected. Some gameplay elements, such as side quests, were criticized, and the graphics were considered to be of lower quality. Over time, the game gained popularity and became a cult classic. The original version sold 500,000 copies, while the updated version sold over 2 million copies worldwide. A sequel titled Nier: Automata, developed by PlatinumGames, was released in 2017.
Gameplay
Nier is an action role-playing game where players control a character whose name the player chooses. In the game Nier Gestalt, the character is a middle-aged man, and in Nier Replicant, the character is a teenage boy. The player sees the character from a side view and can move the camera around to see all directions. The game world is divided into areas, and players must wait for loading screens to appear before moving between them. Players can walk, run, jump, and climb ladders to move freely within these areas. In some rooms and buildings, the camera moves to the side, and the character can only move in a side-scrolling environment, similar to classic platforming games. During battles, the camera changes to a top-down view, resembling other types of video games like shoot 'em ups.
While exploring the game world, players often face enemies such as shadowy figures called Shades, large animals, and robots. Beating these enemies earns players experience points, which help increase the character’s strength, and money, which can be used to buy items. Players can upgrade their weapons to deal more damage and gain special abilities by using materials that can be bought, found after defeating enemies, or collected from the environment. There are many different types of weapons available. Players can also use magic spells, which require energy that regenerates over time. These spells include throwing projectiles and summoning large shadowy fists. New spells are unlocked by completing specific battles in the first part of the game. In addition to the main story, the game includes side quests that give experience points and money, as well as activities like fishing and farming.
Synopsis
In the middle of the 21st century, during a summer snowstorm in a ruined city, the main character protects a sick young girl named Yonah—either his younger sister or daughter, depending on the story version. The character uses a magical book to fight off ghostly black monsters, but when Yonah touches the book, she is marked with black symbols, making her illness worse. The story moves to more than a thousand years later, when an ancient society is falling apart and the black creatures—called Shades—are becoming more dangerous. The main character and Yonah live in a village built inside old industrial ruins. The character works odd jobs for village leaders named Devola and Popola to pay for Yonah’s medical care. While rescuing Yonah from a temple where she searched for a rare flower, the character meets a talking book named Grimoire Weiss. Weiss suggests they team up to use its magic and find a cure for Yonah’s illness, known as the deadly Black Scrawl. During their journey, they meet Kainé, a hot-tempered swordswoman with a sharp tongue, and Emil, a boy who wears a blindfold and can turn people to stone with his eyes. After some time, the village is attacked by a giant Shade. The battle ends with Emil forcing Kainé to petrify him to trap the Shade, and Yonah is captured by a powerful Shade leader called the Shadowlord.
Five years later, the situation worsens. The main character and Emil find the power needed to free Kainé and kill the giant Shade, but this power turns Emil into a skeletal creature feared by villagers. With help from Devola and Popola, the group searches for parts of a stone key that will lead them to the Shadowlord. After defeating five Shades and collecting the key, they attack the Shadowlord. Devola and Popola then reveal they have been working with the Shadowlord as part of a larger plan. 1,300 years ago, humans nearly died from an incurable disease. To survive, they separated their souls from their bodies. Today’s humans are artificial beings called Replicants, while the Shades are human souls—called Gestalts—who are losing their minds because they cannot reunite with their bodies. The Black Scrawl is a result of the Gestalts’ mental decline affecting the Replicants. The Shadowlord is the strongest Gestalt, used to keep the others stable. Devola and Popola are androids who manage the system. The group defeats the Shadowlord, with Emil sacrificing his life. The remaining characters defeat the Shadowlord, who is revealed to be the Gestalt version of the main character from the beginning. His actions were driven by a desire to save Yonah by reuniting her Gestalt and Replicant forms. Yonah’s Gestalt form fades to save her Replicant version, and the main character kills the Shadowlord after Grimoire Weiss sacrifices itself to weaken the Shadowlord’s power.
If the player starts a new game after the first playthrough, the story begins just after Kainé is freed. This version explores Kainé’s past, including the discrimination she faced because she was born intersex and the loss of her parents. Later, she is partially controlled by a rogue Gestalt named Tyrann. Through Tyrann, players learn to understand the unclear speech of Gestalts. New story parts explain the Gestalt antagonists’ goals and show they are sentient beings fighting for their own beliefs. A second ending reveals the spirit of the main character and Yonah reuniting in the afterlife, and it is confirmed that Emil survived. It also explains that the Shadowlord’s death will cause humans to die because Replicants and Gestalts can no longer reunite. In a third or later playthrough, Kainé becomes overwhelmed by Tyrann and attacks the main character. The player can choose to kill Kainé to end her suffering (third ending) or sacrifice their own life to save her (fourth ending). This choice erases the main character’s memory from Kainé and Yonah and deletes all saved game data.
A newer version of the game adds a fifth ending if a new game is started after the fourth ending. This begins after Kainé defeats the Shade enemy Hook. Three years after the Shadowlord’s defeat, Kainé continues to have nightmares about losing something important and fights more dangerous Shades. Investigating a settlement, she finds its people killed by robots emerging from a central tree. The tree’s control unit records Replicant memories and speaks to Kainé through two childlike AI avatars. Emil helps Kainé fight robot copies of herself, and they enter the tree’s mainframe to battle enemies from Kainé’s memories. This leads to a final fight with a stronger version of Hook, aided by the remaining data of Grimoire Weiss. Kainé destroys Hook and the AI, restoring the main character’s young form. All saved game data from before the fourth ending is also restored.
Development
The idea for Nier began after the release of Drakengard 2 and the introduction of new seventh-generation video game consoles. At first, the plan was to create a third game in the Drakengard series. However, as the project developed, the original ideas changed, and the game became a separate story from the main series. Despite this, the game's director, Yoko Taro, still considers it a third Drakengard game. Reports about the game's planned platforms changed over time. Early reports said it would be an Xbox 360 exclusive, but later plans included the PlayStation 3 (PS3). Yoko explained that the PS3 version was originally planned because the PlayStation 2, which Drakengard 2 was made for, was becoming less important. The total development time was three years, with two years focused on creating the game itself. It started as a small project but grew into a full role-playing game.
Cavia, the development team, worked on Nier with help from Square Enix, the publisher. Square Enix had little influence on Yoko's vision for the game's story and atmosphere, giving him freedom to create. Nier is set 1,000 years after the fifth ending of Drakengard. In this story, the main characters, Caim and Angelus, travel to another world to fight a monster. After defeating the monster, they are killed by a fighter jet. Their introduction of magic leads to research that causes the Black Scrawl. Yoko wanted to focus on positive themes like friendship and teamwork after the dark story of Drakengard. The game was inspired by the September 11 attacks and the war on terror, showing how both sides in a conflict believe they are doing the right thing. The word "Replicant" was taken from the 1982 movie Blade Runner, but Yoko did not explain where the name "Nier" came from, calling it a code name used during development.
The characters were designed by an artist known as D.K. Two versions of the main character were created for Nier. Japanese players might prefer a younger protagonist, while others might prefer an older one. Only the character's appearance and a few lines of dialogue changed between the two versions. Other characters were altered or removed during development. Originally, there were thirteen Grimoires, but only three—Weiss, Noir, and Rubrum—remained. Emil's character was based on a female character named Halua, and Kainé was originally more feminine but later became intersex to match her story. Kainé's intersex identity caused some reactions outside Japan, but the team did not plan for this. Yoko said the idea came from female staff members on the game. The in-game cutscenes were made by Studio Anima.
The combat and action in Nier were inspired by the God of War series, which Yoko and Saito, the producer, enjoyed. They wanted to include different styles of boss fights to appeal to players in Japan and North America. Changes in camera angles and movement were meant to highlight the difference between real-world settings and fantasy worlds. The game was designed to attract older players, with a main character in his 30s for the international version. It included more blood and swearing than typical Square Enix games. The mix of gameplay styles was a tribute to earlier game genres.
The music for Nier was created by MoNACA, a studio directed by Keiichi Okabe, and Cavia's Takafumi Nishimura. Okabe worked on the music for three years, starting when the game's idea was first developed. The music was made separately from the game and included many different arrangements to express sadness even in exciting tracks. Okabe had freedom to decide how the music would sound, with Yoko only asking for a lot of vocal music.
The soundtrack includes sad songs with vocals by Emi Evans, a singer from England living in Tokyo. She also wrote lyrics in futuristic languages like Gaelic, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, English, and Japanese, imagining how they might sound after 1,000 years. Square Enix released a soundtrack album called Nier Gestalt & Replicant Original Soundtrack on April 21, 2010. It reached number 24 on the Japanese Oricon charts and stayed there for 11 weeks. Two mini-albums were included as preorder bonuses. Additional albums, such as NieR Gestalt & Replicant 15 Nightmares & Arrange Tracks and NieR Tribute Album -echo-, were released later. A piano arrangement album, Piano Collections Nier Gestalt & Replicant, came out on March 21, 2012.
Release
Nier was officially introduced in June 2009 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, along with its developer and publisher. The game was translated into English, French, and German during development so all versions could be released at the same time. This allowed Cavia and Square Enix to ask for opinions from North America and Europe to help the game appeal to players outside Japan. Because of its high level of violence, the game received a CERO D rating in Japan. In Japan, two versions were released: Nier Gestalt for the Xbox 360, which used an adult lead character, and Nier Replicant for the PlayStation 3, which used a young lead character. Outside Japan, the Gestalt version was released on both platforms under the name Nier. The PlayStation 3 version had a Japanese voice cast, while the Xbox 360 version used an English dub. Nier was released worldwide by Square Enix in April 2010: Japan and Australia on April 22, Europe on April 23, and North America on April 27.
A supplementary guidebook titled Grimoire Nier: The Complete Guide + Cels was released on May 28, 2010, by ASCII Media Works. The guidebook included information about in-game elements, developer interviews, and novellas that described additional character stories and a post-game ending. On May 11, Square Enix released downloadable content titled "The World of Recycled Vessel." This expansion included fifteen battles with a version of Nier not featured in the specific game version. Players access these battles through a diary in Nier’s house within a dream world. The expansion also added new costumes and weapons. A CD drama titled NieR Replicant Drama CD The Lost Words and the Red Sky was released on April 27, 2011. The CD included stories related to the game’s backstory and characters.
An updated version of Nier, titled Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, was announced in March 2020 as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations for the series. It was planned for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. The game was released on April 22, 2021, in Asia and the following day worldwide. The Windows version was released on April 23, 2021. The game was available in standard and limited "White Snow" editions, with the latter exclusive to the Square Enix online store. Pre-orders included a digital soundtrack and platform-specific art-based bonuses. An updated version of Grimoire Nier was released in Japan in 2021 and in English in 2023.
Yosuke Saito returned as the producer, Yoko Taro remained as creative director, and Saki Ito took over as game director. Development was handled by Toylogic. The combat redesign was led by Takahisa Taura of PlatinumGames, who had worked on the game’s sequel, Nier: Automata. Toylogic was chosen because Yoko Taro knew its founder, Yoichi Take, from their time working together at Cavia. Kazuma Koda, who worked on later Nier projects, created promotional artwork. Ito described his work on combat and graphical design as preserving the original while creating something to please fans of Nier: Automata. Character designs were redrawn by Akihiko Yoshida, Toshiyuki Itahana, and Kimihiko Fujisaka. All three had contributed to the Drakengard and Nier series and were brought in at Yoko Taro’s request. Yoshida redesigned the young protagonist, Kainé, Yonah, and Emil; Itahana redesigned Devola and Popola; and Fujisaka redesigned the king of Facade, his queen Fyra, the father protagonist, and created new character Louise.
The game included new story content, material linking it to its sequel, and story content originally removed from the game. For the remaster, Yoko Taro chose to use only the brother version of the protagonist, as he had initially wanted. The father protagonist was featured in the "15 Nightmares" content, originally released as DLC titled "World of Recycled Vessel." The Mermaid story, featuring new character Louise, was planned for the original game but cut due to budget constraints and later rewritten into a novella. Yoko Taro included it in the remaster but did not add other novella material, as those were original stories. Weapon Stories, a feature from the Drakengard series and Nier: Automata, was also included. The fifth ending, originally a backup plan and later written into a novella, was added due to a request from Yosuke Saito and the budget to include it. This ending included elements of advanced technology connected to later developments in the series.
ver.1.22474487139… includes new Japanese voice work to make the game fully voiced and new or rearranged music. The score was arranged by Okabe, Hoashi, Ryuichi Takada, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Shotaro Seo, and Oliver Good. Okabe and Hoashi composed the new tracks. Evans returned to perform vocals with Saki Nakae. The chorus work was done by Evans, Nakae, Okabe, Shotaro Seo, Yukino Orita, and KOCHO. Most of the original English voice cast returned, including Laura Bailey (Kaine), Liam O'Brien (Grimoire Weiss), Julie Ann Taylor (Emil), and Eden Riegel (Devola and Popola). The protagonist had two voice actors: Zach Aguilar voiced the younger version, and Ray Chase voiced the older version after the time skip.
Reception
Nier Gestalt sold more than 12,500 copies in Japan during its first week of release. Replicant sold over 60,000 copies in Japan during the same week and was the most popular video game in Japan that week. By the end of May 2010, Replicant had sold more than 121,000 copies in Japan. By the end of 2010, Replicant had sold over 134,000 copies in Japan. In 2019, Yoko estimated that Nier had sold about 500,000 copies worldwide. Yoko said, "we were not losing money, but the game was not a major success either."
Nier received mixed reviews from critics. Some reviewers said the game's graphics were not good. Ryan Clements of IGN said, "one of Nier's greatest flaws is its visuals." Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot said the visuals were "not very colorful" and the environments looked "lifeless." Dustin Quillen of 1UP.com said the game "looks very outdated." Adriaan den Ouden of RPGamer, who gave the game a higher score than most, said the environments were "bland" and "poorly made." However, the music and voice acting were praised. Clements said, "both are very good." Den Ouden called the soundtrack "excellent." Chris Schilling of Eurogamer said the music had "memorable songs." One of four reviewers for Japanese Weekly Famitsu said the music was "very good."
Reviewers had different opinions about the game's variety of gameplay styles. Seth Schiesel of The New York Times said the game combined different styles into a "clear and interesting whole" instead of feeling "disconnected." He especially liked a section of the game that used only text. Patrick Kolan of IGN Australia said the different styles were "interesting" but were not well executed and made the game feel "inconsistent." Clements said the developers had "good ideas" but sometimes the execution was not as strong. Den Ouden said the variety of gameplay was the best part of the game, comparing it to a "buffet table," but also said none of the sections were "amazing" on their own.
Regular combat was described as "solid" but not "outstanding." Side quests were criticized as "repetitive." Quillen said the side quests were "numerous but boring." VanOrd said the side quests were "monotonous" and "unconnected." A Famitsu reviewer said the side quests "lacked purpose." Clements said combat had "some satisfaction" but was not "extraordinary." Kolan said the combat was "moderately deep." The story and characters were generally praised. VanOrd liked most characters but said the story was "weak." Schiesel called the story "thought-provoking" and said it made players "care about the characters and the world." Quillen said the story had "original and interesting turns" and that the supporting characters were "interesting." Schilling said the story made the game "hard to dislike." A Famitsu reviewer said the game's multiple endings were "unlike anything else in gaming."
In 2015, Jeffrey Matulef of Eurogamer said Nier was "a rare game that gets better with time." Despite "low sales and average reviews," he said the game had gained a "cult following" because of its "sense of wonder," "unique storytelling," and "melancholy mood."
By June 2021, Replicant version 1.22474487139… had sold more than 1 million copies worldwide, double the original version's estimates. By November 2022, the version had sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. As of February 2026, it had sold over 2 million copies.
Famitsu praised the improved gameplay and visuals, though one reviewer said the lack of fast travel was a problem. Another said some design choices might confuse players. Mollie L. Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly liked the remaster, saying the younger version of the main character was better than the older version. She praised the improved gameplay and additions. Jason Guisao of Game Informer said the visual upgrade was "inconsistent" and disliked the side quest structure but praised the story and gameplay improvements. Michael Higham of GameSpot was generally positive, praising the story, new elements, and music but said the gameplay and world design were "outdated."
Mitchell Saltzmann of IGN said later areas of the game were "repetitive" and the side quests were poorly designed but praised the graphical and gameplay updates and new story content. Julie Muncy of PC Gamer said the combat and movement were improved and praised the story's tone and additions but said the original game's pacing issues remained. Chris Plante of Polygon liked the slow story pace and combat but disliked the outdated design and was uncomfortable with parts of Kainé's storyline. Malindy Hetfeld of Eurogamer said she did not like the game overall but enjoyed the later story and said the graphical and gameplay improvements made it playable for modern audiences and fans.
Replicant version 1.22474487139… won the "Best Score/Music" category at The Game Awards 2021. It also received nominations at the 2021 NAVGTR awards for "Outstanding Animation, Technical," "Outstanding Game, Franchise Role-playing," "Outstanding Original Dramatic Score, Franchise," and "Outstanding Song, Original or Adapted."
Legacy
Nier was the final game created by Cavia before the company was taken over by its parent company, AQ Interactive, in July 2010. Square Enix executive producer Yosuke Saito mentioned later that several projects related to Nier were being developed, and an announcement might happen in 2011. However, the only announcement made was not for a new Nier video game, but for a live concert called "Nier Night ~ Evening of Madness," which occurred on October 28, 2011.
In March 2011, Yoko and Takuya Iwasaki, who was one of the original producers of Drakengard, planned to create a version of Nier for the PlayStation Vita at Iwasaki’s company, Orca. This version would include content from both versions of the original game. However, when Orca was chosen to help develop Dragon Quest X, the project was put on hold. Later, some of the main staff members from Nier’s development, including director Yoko and Okabe, worked together again on a new game called Drakengard 3, which is part of the Drakengard series from which Nier was originally created.
A sequel titled Nier: Automata was developed by Square Enix and PlatinumGames for the PlayStation 4. It was released in Japan on February 23, 2017, in North America on March 7, 2017, and worldwide on March 10, 2017. The PC version came out on March 17, 2017. The Xbox One version was released on June 26, 2018, and the Nintendo Switch version was released on October 6, 2022. Yoko, Saito, and Okabe returned to their previous roles. Other team members included Yoshida as the lead artist and Atsushi Inaba as the producer. A mobile game called Nier Reincarnation, designed by Yoshida, was released on February 18, 2021, and produced by Applibot. Because of the success of Nier: Automata, the original Nier game was reprinted for the PlayStation 3 in PAL regions in April 2017.