A World With Those We Love: Nier Replicant Part 3
For those who have not read parts 1 & 2 yet, please see the links below.
Part 1: https://www.phenomenagaming.com/blog/plague-isolation-and-lost-knowledge-nier-replicant-part-1
Part 2: https://www.phenomenagaming.com/blog/finding-new-hope-social-acceptance-and-empathy-nier-replicant-part-2
Heavy Spoilers for the end of Nier Replicant, ending E! If you do not want to be spoiled, please do not read ahead!
Ending E’s mechanics are unique. After you watch your record get deleted from ending D, the gamer has to start a new file and play through the childhood scenes under a different name until you get to the first major attack at the Aerie where you defeat the giant shade. At that point, Kaine gets the twinge of memories for someone being missing in her life. Remember at the end of ending D, Nier sacrificed himself in a way where there would be no memory of his existence. However, Kaine has a Lunar Tear and this Lunar Tear keeps spark memories slowly of a missing life. 3 years pass and on her way to visit Yonah, she gets interrupted and detoured into the Forest of Myth. (Also, you finally get to play as Kaine and I like her playstyle a lot.)
Kaine as she enters the Divine Tree in the Forest of Myth
The Simulated World
This image is one of the first things Kaine sees when she enters the Divine Tree. A digital world which uploads information from the world into the Tree that serves as memory storage through its roots. Kaine learns about recording and data storage in a way which leads to a lot of confusion. She also learns about the true nature of the Shadowlord through dialogue with the twins who manage the forest.
This is a great example of a worldview changing conversation. Defeating the Shadowlord doesn’t fix the problems of the world and it sets up a situation where many more shades will be created. Remember shades are created when they are unable to return to their appropriate shell and they go Gestalt. The Shadowlord was the originator of Gestalt and with his death anything he helped to create now has no place in which to return. This is not revealed in the gameplay. I read a plot overview for Nier: Replicant here to tie up the loose ends and I’ll leave it to Mr. Marusic, the author of the linked article, to dive deeper into the actual meta-story of Nier: Replicant. He does a very good job and this article helped me think a lot about the bigger pieces in Nier, though admittedly I have kept a narrow focus in this Nier series for pedagogical reasons.
For this article, it suffices to say that Kaine is on a journey in the Forest of Myth to find what she knows she has lost but just cannot remember. Our mementos and memories may seem insignificant but sometimes are trinkets truly are the only thing which can help us remember the stories of our lives. I live my life where I try to remember kindnesses fully and forgive wrongs quickly. Life is hard enough for me without adding extra weight by holding grudges. However, the positive memories I have with those I love drive me to dive into challenging situations because ultimately I want a world where people are less burdened by world constructions which are abusive.
Corrupted Data really can be frightening, even more so when it is a giant lizard.
Self-Discovery and Our People
Kaine continues her descent into the Divine Tree and the creepy twins want to test her abilities. She fights through machines, robots, shades, and multiple copies of herself. Unfortunately, to build a world together with the people we love, there is often a long journey of self-discovery which needs to happen in order to be well-grounded. Kaine fights through her nightmares and has support from those who have been on her journey. Emil and Grimoire Weiss reappearing made me tear up, especially given Emil’s death scene and floating head reappearance after ending B. In dialogue with Emil and Grimoire Weiss she remembers that they used to have another person who fought with them. Memories come back in bits and fragments, as our own memories do when we have forgotten them over a long time.
Kaine gets to the bottom of the Divine Tree and passing all of the tests she is able to be reunited with Nier. The image below was a screenshot taken exemplifying Kaine’s sentiments about why she made the choices she did. At the end of the day, building a world with people we love is sometimes the best we can do, especially when the world is as broken as the world in Nier is. Our people are the ones we come across while journeying and the best of those connections are people who become chosen family. Kaine and Nier are chosen family and this deep compassion affects her choices on path E.
A Lunar Tear with Kaine and Nier resting on it. I took this screenshot about 3 seconds later than I wanted.
Conclusion
Nier Replicant is a game of longing, loss, strife, and shocking knowledge changes at several key points in the game. It is also a game of limited knowledge. In writing this conclusion, I still feel lost about much of the greater plot in the game. I got to play through the game 4 times with a special ending and there is still so much I don’t understand. However, the progression from the world’s destruction, thinking about a journey of acceptance, and choosing an existence to be with the people Kaine loves is similar to our own journey. This has become more prevalent in the last 5 years as more education about the deep corruption and the lack of safety net truly exists in much of the world. There is often very little we can do to protect the common good, especially as the forces of power are trying to consolidate resources. We are seeing a new rebuilding coming forth.
My challenge for all readers is to work more each day to think about how do we build a world with the people we love and not have our relationships cause harm to the common good. In other words, how do we contribute positively to the rebuilding happening in all facets of society? Kaine’s choices lead to a destructive ending because when she learns of the simulation in the world, she chooses to have her love. However, Kaine knowing that her world is a simulation is to be commended for taking a stand which prevents further abuse through the simulation. It is not Kaine’s intent to destroy the world, but when faced with the choice of having a simulation which she knows is fake versus having a love which is real, she chooses what is most real and that is her love for Nier. Now our world is not a simulation, and we do not get multiple retrys to learn about the world, as far as we know, so we will not have these same parameters. Can we make the choice to disrupt the brokenness of the world and be rebuilders like Kaine? And who do we have in our individual corners to make those hard choices with us? Leadership is always hard, and sometimes we will be making hard decisions alone like Kaine’s decision to restore Nier, but leadership is better when we can learn and share the journey together.
I would love to hear about your hard leadership choices and how you resolved nuanced conflicts with limited knowledge. Find me on Patreon or Twitter (@whatcouldbeingb).
