Nier is an action role-playing game created in 2010 by Cavia and released 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, titled Nier Gestalt with an older main character, was released for the Xbox 360. Outside Japan, this version was named Nier for both platforms. A remastered version of the Japanese game, called Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, was released in 2021 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows.
The game is part of the Drakengard series and follows the fifth ending of the first Drakengard game, which left Earth destroyed. Set over 1,000 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 includes elements from many video game genres and sometimes switches between them and the main role-playing gameplay.
Production began in 2007, and the game was directed by Yoko Taro, the creator of Drakengard. He had much creative freedom with the project. The story was inspired by events such as the September 11 attacks and the war on terror, while the gameplay was influenced by the God of War series. Because of feedback from players outside Japan, multiple versions of the main character were made. The music was composed by Monaca, a music studio started by Keiichi Okabe, and several albums were released.
Nier received mixed reviews when it was first released. Critics praised the story, characters, and music but had mixed opinions about how well the different gameplay styles worked together. Some gameplay elements, such as side quests, were criticized, and the graphics were considered lower quality. Over time, the game gained popularity and became a cult classic. The original Nier sold 500,000 copies, while the updated version sold over 2 million copies worldwide. A sequel, Nier: Automata, developed by PlatinumGames, was released in 2017.
Gameplay
Nier is a game where players control a character they name. In the game Nier Gestalt, the character is a middle-aged man, and in Nier Replicant, the character is a teenage boy. Players control the main character from a third-person view, meaning they see the character from the side or behind. The camera can rotate fully around the character, allowing players to see everything around them. The game world is divided into areas separated by short pauses called loading screens. Players can move freely through these areas by walking, running, jumping, or climbing ladders. In some rooms or buildings, the camera moves sideways, and the character can only move in two directions, like in a side-scrolling game. During battles, the camera often moves upward to create a top-down view, similar to other game styles.
As players explore, they often face enemies such as shadowy figures called Shades, large animals, and robots. Beating enemies earns players experience points, which help increase the character’s strength, and money, which can be used to buy items. Weapons can be modified to deal more damage or gain special abilities using materials found by purchasing, defeating enemies, or searching the environment. Many different types of weapons are available. Players can also use magic spells, which require energy that slowly regenerates. These spells include throwing objects or 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 extra tasks called sidequests, which provide experience points and money. Players can also fish and farm as part of the game’s activities.
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, who may be his sister or daughter. The character uses a magical book to fight ghostly black monsters, but Yonah touches the book and gets black marks on her skin, making her illness worse. The story moves more than 1,000 years into the future, where a feudal society is falling apart, and the black creatures—called Shades—are becoming more dangerous. The main character and Yonah live in a village inside old industrial ruins. The character works odd jobs for village leaders named Devola and Popola to help pay for Yonah’s medical care. While trying to rescue Yonah from a temple where she was looking for a special flower, the character meets a talking book named Grimoire Weiss. The book suggests they work together to use its magic and find a cure for Yonah’s illness, which is called the 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 be turned to stone to trap the Shade, and Yonah is captured by a powerful Shade called the Shadowlord.
Five years later, the situation worsens. The main character and Emil find the power needed to free Kainé and defeat the giant Shade, but this power changes Emil into a skeletal creature that the villagers fear. 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 go to fight the Shadowlord. Devola and Popola then reveal they have been working with the Shadowlord as part of a bigger plan. 1,300 years ago, humans nearly died out from an incurable disease. To survive, they separated their souls from their bodies. Today’s humans are artificial beings called Replicants who have developed their own personalities, while the Shades are human souls—called Gestalts—who are slowly losing their minds because they cannot reunite with their bodies. The Black Scrawl is a result of the Gestalts’ mental decline affecting their Replicant counterparts. The Shadowlord is the main Gestalt who helps keep the other Gestalts stable, and 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 goal was 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 right after Kainé is freed. This part focuses on Kainé’s past, showing the discrimination she faced because she was born intersex and lost her parents. Later, she was partially taken over by a rogue Gestalt named Tyrann. Through Tyrann, the player can understand the unclear speech of other Gestalts. New story parts explain the Gestalt antagonists’ reasons and history, showing they are sentient beings fighting for their own beliefs. A second ending shows the Gestalt versions of the main character and Yonah reuniting in the afterlife, and it is revealed that Emil survived. More information explains that killing the Shadowlord will cause humanity to die out because Replicants and Gestalts can no longer reunite. In a third or later playthrough, Kainé becomes overwhelmed by Tyrann, goes crazy, and the main character must fight her. The player can choose to kill Kainé to end her pain (the third ending) or sacrifice their own life to save her (the fourth ending). This choice erases the main character from Kainé and Yonah’s memories and deletes all save data.
The updated version of Replicant adds a fifth ending if a new game is started after the fourth ending, beginning after Kainé defeats the Shade enemy Hook. Three years after the Shadowlord’s defeat, Kainé continues to have nightmares about losing something important and faces more dangerous Shades. Investigating a settlement, she finds its people killed by robots coming 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 her memories. The final battle is against a stronger version of Hook, helped by the remaining data of Grimoire Weiss. Kainé destroys Hook and the AI, restoring the main character’s young form. All save 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 seventh-generation 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 spin-off instead. Despite this, the game’s director, Yoko Taro, still considers it the third Drakengard game. Reports about the game’s planned platforms changed over time. Early plans included an Xbox 360 exclusive, but later expanded to the PlayStation 3 (PS3). Yoko Taro later explained that the PS3 version was the original plan because the PlayStation 2, which had been used for Drakengard 2, was becoming less important. Including planning, the game took three years to develop, with two years focused on actual game creation. It started as a small project but grew into a full role-playing game.
Cavia handled the game’s development with help from Square Enix, the publisher. Square Enix had little influence on Yoko Taro’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, cross a dimensional boundary to fight a monster. After defeating the monster, they are killed by a fighter jet, and their introduction of magic leads to the creation of the Black Scrawl. Yoko Taro wanted to focus on 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 term "Replicant" was borrowed from the 1982 movie Blade Runner, but Yoko Taro did not explain the origin of the game’s name, calling it a codename used during development.
The characters were designed by an artist known as D.K. Two versions of the protagonist were created for Nier. The developers believed Japanese players would prefer a younger protagonist, while non-Japanese players might prefer an older one. Only the protagonist’s appearance and a few lines of dialogue changed between versions; the older protagonist was initially thought to be the original design. Many 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, while Kainé was originally more feminine but later became more violent. Yonah’s Japanese name came from the biblical name Jonah, but it was changed to "Yonah" for the international version. Kainé’s character was made intersex to match her backstory, which caused some discussion outside Japan. The in-game cutscenes were created and directed by Studio Anima.
The combat and action elements of Nier were inspired by the God of War series, which Yoko Taro and producer Saito enjoyed. Even though God of War was more popular in North America, the team believed the idea of different boss fight styles would appeal to players worldwide. Changes in combat styles, camera angles, and movement were meant to highlight the difference between modern and fantasy settings. The game was designed to attract non-Japanese players, with Saito saying they wanted to move away from menu-based combat. It was intended for older players, unlike Square Enix’s Kingdom Hearts series. This led to a 30-something-year-old protagonist in the international version and more intense content than typical Square Enix games. The mix of gameplay styles was meant to honor older game genres.
The music for Nier was created by a team from MoNACA studio, including Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, and Takafumi Nishimura. Okabe was the lead composer and director, working on the soundtrack for three years. The music was created separately from the game’s development and used different themes throughout the soundtrack. Okabe was given freedom to decide the music’s style, with Yoko Taro asking for many vocal pieces.
The soundtrack includes sad acoustic songs with vocals by Emi Evans, a singer from England living in Tokyo. Evans, who is part of the band freesscape, also wrote lyrics in futuristic languages like Gaelic, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, English, and Japanese. She imagined how these languages might sound after 1,000 years.
Square Enix released a soundtrack album titled 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. An arranged music album, NieR Gestalt & Replicant 15 Nightmares & Arrange Tracks, was released on December 8, 2010, and reached number 59 on the charts. Another album, NieR Tribute Album -echo-, came out on September 14, 2011, and a piano arrangement album, Piano Collections Nier Gestalt & Replicant, was published on March 21, 2012.
Release
Nier was officially announced in June 2009 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, along with its developer and publisher. The game’s translations into English, French, and German were completed during development so all versions could be released simultaneously. This allowed Cavia and Square Enix to gather feedback from North America and Europe to improve the game for players outside Japan. Due to 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, featuring the adult lead character, and Nier Replicant for the PlayStation 3, featuring the young lead character. Outside Japan, the Gestalt version was released on both platforms under the name Nier. The PlayStation 3 version used 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 features, interviews with developers, and novellas that expanded on character stories and a post-game ending. On May 11, Square Enix released downloadable content titled "The World of Recycled Vessel." This expansion added fifteen battles against a different version of Nier, accessible through a diary in his house. It also introduced 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 additional stories related to the game’s background and characters.
An updated version of Nier, titled Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, was announced in March 2020 as part of the 10th anniversary celebration for the series. It was planned for release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. The game was released on console in Asia on April 22, 2021, and worldwide the next day. The Windows version was released globally on April 23. The game came in standard and limited "White Snow" editions, with the latter available only through the Square Enix online store. Pre-orders included a digital soundtrack and platform-specific art bonuses. An updated version of Grimoire Nier was released in Japan in 2021 and in English in 2023.
Yosuke Saito returned as producer, Yoko Taro remained as creative director, and Saki Ito became the game director. Development was handled by Toylogic. Combat changes were overseen by Takahisa Taura of PlatinumGames, who had worked on Nier: Automata. Toylogic was chosen because Yoko Taro knew its founder, Yoichi Take, from their time at Cavia. Kazuma Koda, who worked on later Nier projects, created promotional artwork. Ito described his work on combat and graphics as preserving the original design while aligning with his idealized memories of the game and creating content to please fans of Nier: Automata. Character designs were redrawn by Akihiko Yoshida, Toshiyuki Itahana, and Kimihiko Fujisaka. Yoshida redesigned the young protagonist, Kainé, Yonah, and Emil; Itahana redesigned Devola and Popola; and Fujisaka reworked the king of Facade, his queen Fyra, the father protagonist, and designed new character Louise.
The game included new story content, a narrative link to its sequel, and story elements originally removed from the game. Yoko Taro chose to use the brother version of the protagonist in the remaster, as she had initially intended. The father protagonist was featured in the "15 Nightmares" content, originally released as DLC. The Mermaid story, featuring Louise, was planned for the original game but cut due to budget constraints and later reworked 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 budget and fan demand. It included elements of advanced technology tied to later developments in the series.
ver.1.22474487139… features new Japanese voice acting to make the game fully voiced, along with new and 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 top-selling video game in the country that week. By the end of May 2010, Replicant had sold over 121,000 copies in Japan. By the end of 2010, Replicant had sold more than 134,000 copies in Japan. In 2019, Yoko estimated that Nier had sold about 500,000 copies worldwide. Yoko said, "we weren’t really in the red, but it wasn’t exactly a success either."
Nier received mixed reviews from critics. Some reviewers criticized the game’s graphics. Ryan Clements of IGN said, "one of Nier’s greatest flaws is its visuals." Kevin VanOrd of GameSpot said the visuals were "flavorless" and the environments were "lifeless." Dustin Quillen of 1UP.com said the game "looks downright primitive." Adriaan den Ouden of RPGamer, who gave the game a higher score than most, said the environments were "bland and poorly rendered." However, the music and voice acting were praised. Clements said, "both are quite excellent." Den Ouden called the soundtrack "absolutely fantastic." Chris Schilling of Eurogamer said the music had "memorable themes." One of the four reviewers for Japanese Weekly Famitsu called the music "a cut above."
Reviewers had different opinions about the game’s variety of gameplay styles. Seth Schiesel of The New York Times said the game combined the styles into a "coherent, compelling whole" instead of feeling "disjointed." He especially praised a section of the game that used only text. Patrick Kolan of IGN Australia said the styles were "interesting" but suffered from poor execution and left the game "with split-personality disorder." Clements said the developers’ ideas sometimes outshone the actual gameplay. Den Ouden called the variety the best part of the game, comparing it to a buffet table, while noting that no section was "amazing" on its own.
The regular combat was described as solid but not exceptional. Quillen said the side quests were "numerous" and "mindless." VanOrd called them "monotonous events" with "long stretches of nothing." A Famitsu reviewer said the side quests "didn’t see much purpose." Clements said the combat had "a fair amount of satisfaction" but warned players not to expect "anything too extraordinary." Kolan called the combat "moderately deep." Critics generally praised the plot and characters. VanOrd liked most characters but thought the story was "soggy." Schiesel called the story "provocative" and "profound," saying it "succeeds at fostering an emotional investment." Quillen said the plot had "fascinating and original turns" and praised the supporting characters. Schilling said the story made the game "difficult to dislike." A Famitsu reviewer called the multiple endings "blown away" and said "nothing like it’s been done in gaming."
In 2015, Jeffrey Matulef of Eurogamer said Nier was "the rare game that gets better with age." Despite "poor sales and tepid reviews," he noted the game had gained a cult following due to its "sense of wonder" from cryptic storytelling, varied game mechanics, and melancholy mood.
By June 2021, Replicant version 1.22474487139… had sold over one million copies worldwide, double the original version’s estimates. By November 2022, Replicant version 1.22474487139… had sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. As of February 2026, it had sold over 2 million units.
Famitsu praised the gameplay improvements and visual upgrades but noted the lack of fast travel and some design quirks. Mollie L. Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly liked the young version of the protagonist and praised the reworked gameplay. Jason Guisao of Game Informer disliked the visual upgrades’ inconsistency and side quest structure but praised the narrative and mechanics. Michael Higham of GameSpot was generally positive, praising the narrative, new elements, and music.
Mitchell Saltzmann of IGN noted repetition in later areas but praised the graphical and gameplay updates. Julie Muncy of PC Gamer praised combat and movement improvements but said the original’s pacing issues remained. Chris Plante of Polygon enjoyed the narrative’s slow pace but disliked the outdated design and some parts of Kainé’s storyline. Malindy Hetfeld of Eurogamer did not like the game overall but appreciated the later narrative and noted the upgrades made it playable for modern audiences.
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 developed by Cavia. In July 2010, Cavia was taken over by its parent company, AQ Interactive. Square Enix producer Yosuke Saito later said that several projects related to Nier were in progress and that an announcement might happen in 2011. The only announcement made was not for a new Nier video game but for a live concert titled "Nier Night ~ Evening of Madness," which happened on October 28, 2011. In March 2011, Yoko and Takuya Iwasaki, who worked on 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 game. However, when Orca was chosen to help develop Dragon Quest X, the project was put on hold. Later, some key staff from Nier's development, including director Yoko and Okabe, worked together again on Drakengard 3, a new game in the Drakengard series.
A sequel called Nier: Automata was made 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. The Nintendo Switch version was released on October 6, 2022. Yoko, Saito, and Okabe returned to their roles in the game. 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 was made by Applibot. Because Nier: Automata was successful, the original Nier game was reprinted for the PlayStation 3 in PAL regions in April 2017.