Plague, Isolation, and Destruction, Nier Replicant, Part 1
Nier and Yonah hiding from a snowstorm in the beginning of Nier Replicant.
I loved Nier Replicant and I am excited to unveil a new format for posts. It might seem silly, but it took me a while to figure out a good system for taking screenshots on my PS5 and transferring the files to a drive where I can easily upload them on the website was much simpler than I thought. All posts will have video game content taken via the Screenshot function on my appropriate console.
Nier Replicant is a game where repetition gets you access to more knowledge and a greater understanding of the brokenness of the world. You play the first part of the story as a young teenager only once all the way through, but play through the second part as a young adult 5 years later, 3 times. You have to save the game before the final dungeon on ending C so that you can play part D by just going through the final dungeon. After these repeated playthroughs, you’ll get the option to access ending E, but I’ll explain that process when I get to that post. Based on this structure, I will be focusing on path A in this first post. All references to the main character will be “Nier” even though you have to customize your own character.
Nier watching over Yonah as she suffers from symptoms of the Black Scrawl in Nier Replicant.
The Black Scrawl and Shades
After the opening prologue, the main character awakens in a remote village house, where humanity is spread out in distant villages and a disease called the Black Scrawl decimates the remnants of humanity. The Black Scrawl is a disease which manifests itself as a glowing back mark on people’s arms which eventually spreads through their whole body. Victims get coughs and suffer extreme fatigue. Victims have good days and flare-ups which leave victims unable to move for days at a time.
This disease is a pervasive fear for everyone in the world. Another pervasive fear is the existence of shades, amorphus monsters who are like wispy puffs of smoke which have a form. These are aggressive monsters who attack anyone who leaves the village. In Nier Replicant, no one really knows from where the shades come, but they are a pervasive force. These two forces of fear have limited the growth of human knowledge and set knowledge back centuries.
Nier’s request to Emil to write to his sister, saying she appreciated his last letter and could use some more friends.
From Errandboy to Destroyer of Shades
To survive, Nier must do errands for the villagers to get money. These errands include monster hunts, fetch quests, and parcel deliveries amongst other odds and ends. Seemingly innocuous work. As you explore a robotic factory where shades are merging with machines, forests of forgotten memories, and a seaside ocean town, there is more than meets the eye. The best place to reflect on the effects of the Black Scrawl and the Shades is the Aerie.
On your journey, you meet Kaine, a mysterious young woman who is exiled from her village for “bringing the shades and causing the villagers pain.” Shades coming to the Aerie after someone is born is not a causation but in a world of fear every coincidence drives people to isolation and lunacy. Kaine survives because of her grandmother and they live just outside the village. The Aerie, a place where villagers rarely leave their houses, especially when anyone visits, is the worst case scenario for a world infected by plague. Isolation leads to stagnation and leaves the Aerie less prepared to deal with a Shade invasion when it comes. Shared knowledge is essential for overcoming challenges. The Aerie survives the first shade attack only because of Nier and Kaine because years of isolation left the village unable to deal with the situation head-on.
Kaine is frightening with a sword and has an intense, determined gaze. She quickly became one of my favorite characters. Who could be afraid of Kaine? She is intense, yes, but strong and resolved. Strong and resolved people have definitive goals so it is much easier to see what they hold as true.
In trying situations, it is very easy to isolate ourselves into tribes, interest groups, or nations. As situations like illness and societal breakdown move from temporary to more permanent conditions of life, the Aerie becomes a town built into a cliffside that cannot remember how it came to be. 5 years after the first Shade attack, Kaine, Nier, and Emil return to another Shade attack. The village is hiding in its houses as Kaine, Nier, and Emil combat a giant Shade. Eventually, Emil destroys the Aerie because there is no other way to combat the giant Shade. Emil is saddened by this decision but responds with his magical power without thinking.
The scourge of the Aerie is the appropriate name for this trophy given its destruction.
Attack on Nier Village
Nier Village gets attacked by shades multiple times. At the end of Nier’s childhood segment, shades attack the library and shades attack again when Nier is a young adult shades attack the whole town. Nier village is successful in defending against shades because of community involvement and communication. In the Aerie attack, the communication is hostile between the villagers and Nier’s party. Villagers scream “get out of our village”, “you’re a Shade”, etc. Communication in Nier Village is helpful because Nier has relationships with key villagers. Devola and Popola can feel comfortable saying, “we need help in the library”, or “the blacksmith needs your help” and feel safe that they will get a response. Nier can also respond by saying, “I can’t get over there now”, or tell Kaine, “go to the library”. Connecting with what remains of the world versus isolating one’s self was the key difference in Nier village surviving versus the Aerie getting completely destroyed.
Shadowlord Ending A
I love the colors in the fight with the Shadowlord. so many orbs can be hard to evade but fun to look at. Nier learns some troubling truths at the end of path A. His friend Emil dies and he learns that he is a shell whom Devola and Popola want to harvest for the Shadowlord. The shades invading the world are the remnants of the actual humans. This is a lot of trauma to encounter in such a short time. For ending A, in touching with the theme of isolation and destruction, by the end of the fight Nier is fighting by himself. Nier remains silent in this fight while the Shadowlord shouts his intentions at Nier. Path A is ultimately a failure. The black scrawl is not cured and while Yonah awakens and goes home and the Shadowlord is defeated, the world is still spiraling towards destruction.
