Warning: Contains spoilers for NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a episode 3 and Nier.Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… Playing Nier isn’t necessary for understanding Nier: Automata, but it does make it easier to understand certain parts of the game that are otherwise under-explained, such as why humanity died out and the entirety of Emil’s character.
Despite this, Nier: Automata is still filled with plenty of callbacks to Nier, and the NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a anime has managed to take that even further. In addition to referencing the moment from the original Drakengard game that kicked off Nier’s story, episode 3 fully animated an iconic scene from the original Nier. That’s a level of fanservice the anime didn’t have to do, and what sells it even further is how the scene in question is one of the saddest moments from Nier.
NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a Brings Back Replicant's Wedding
When 9S hacked into a machine lifeform in NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a episode 3, he found himself transported to a wedding ceremony in a long-gone human civilization. Said wedding was the wedding of the king of Facade and Fyra in the original Nier game. Unfortunately, the wedding ended in tragedy as it was attacked by a pack of wolves under the command of a Shade, which resulted in Fyra’s death. That part isn’t shown in A-1 Pictures NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a, but anyone who played Nier would be aware that it comes next.
NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a referencing Fyra’s death is far more explicit a reference to Nier than most of what the game did, and the anime didn’t have to force it into the story, either. Even in the original game, it was all but stated that the desert area featured in episode 3 was the ruins of the kingdom of Facade, with the machine lifeforms there even wearing the same masks that the people of Facade did. Thanks to that, there was a logical reason for the anime to include that scene, and the naturalness of it all helped to sell it even further.
NieR: Automata’s Prequel Game Reference Sets Up Big Changes For The Anime
NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a referencing such an iconic moment from Nier is a big change from the game, and it sets up big changes for the anime. While Nier: Automata was largely a standalone story, having such an explicit reference suggests that the anime will tie more heavily into Nier’s lore; going even further, the Drakengard reference in episode 2 suggests that the anime might explore elements of the Drakengard franchise, as well. All of that could mean that the anime will bring focus to all areas of the Drakengard franchise, and that would do a lot to make it more than a simple adaptation of the original game.
The idea of the anime exploring more of the overall franchise also makes sense when Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is taken into . That game included a new ending path that introduced two new characters called the s who look and sound exactly like 2B and 9S. That’s unlikely to be a coincidence, so if NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a expands on the original game, it would make sense for it to explain why the s look the way they do. It’s still too early to tell how the anime will tackle its story, but it’s bound to have more to offer than a simple retelling of the game.
NieR: Automata Ver 1.1a is available to stream now on Crunchyroll.
