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I just watched a friend beat Nier Automata's True Ending and it was the most incredible experience

UnluckyKate

UnluckyKate

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,626
I'll use spoiler tags.

I beat Nier Automata last year and go profoundly moved by the true ending. Today a friend was near the completion of the true ending and I stuck around to watch the event unfold. I have a vivid memory of my experience with the incredible twist both mechanical and narrative of the true ending, but I wanted to see it live, see someone react to it.

Now, my friend sucks at twin stick shooter so when that ultimate sequence happened, he laughed at the genius of it. I knew he was going to struggle, making the twist all the more effective.

He started to die. Again and again.

Would you like to give up ?

No ! Never ! He was so into it. The game got him perfectly where he needed to be.

He kept dying.

Do you think games are meaningless ?

No !

Then it started to pop up.

You are not alone, you can do it.

" Are these philosophers quotes ? " he asked. Oh no, they are much more than that.

He kept dying.

Then, it happened.

Mind you, if you did not played Nier Automata true ending, DO NOT go further. It's the most incredible gameplay and narrative twist I experience in 20 years of gaming. Do not ruin it for you, it's a pure moment of genius and bliss to discover it by yourself.

He received help, and a squadron of friendly ship swooped in to help. The music became a chorus and the fire power was in an instant, multiplied. This was the perfect POWER OF FRIENDSHIP x SUPER SAYAN x SHONEN SPIRIT moment and my friend was perfectly responsive to it. He still sucks at twin stick shooters so he kept loosing ship. " randomplayer data lost " kept poping on screen. He saw it, but didn't understood. I did. It was incredible he was having the time of his life after struggling so hard. He was going to be hit so hard by the final twist.

Square Enix division pop up, business analysis, marketing, CEO... The bullet hell was insane, he lost maybe 20, 30 ships... He made it through.

Then the game offered him to write a message... he understood : holy shit, were these player made ? Incredible

yeah...

And then the game, asked if he wanted to be of help to other struggling players. Of course, he just benefited from it...

But the cost, is your save data

What THE FUCK

He grab his head, half hysterical, half shameful. It just it him. He wasted the save data of dozens of players for this moment. Mind you, he's the kind of guy to hoard items, saves, in game and irl. He's very protective about his stuff... But he was cooked perfectly by the game. He had to give up. He couldn't be that selfish.

He didn't blink. He sacrifice it all and it was the most beautiful hour of gameplay I've ever witnessed

People, go and play Nier Automata, its probably the best, craziest, most ambitious game I played.
 
Heckler456

Heckler456

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,256
Belgium
Falconbox said:
It was an ok ending. I didn't think much of it really.
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Yeah, that was an amazing moment, OP. I went into that game with pretty high expectations, and came out of it thoroughly impressed.
 
Exentryk

Exentryk

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,238
Yoko Taro Magic™

Game is truly a masterpiece!

I am ashamed that I did not give up my save though. It's the cannon ending. :(
 
FiXalaS

FiXalaS

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,569
Kuwait.
That was truly... truly special.

It wrecked me and I also did the same as your friend, no regrets. In fact I become happier whenever I remember the ending.

Taro <3
 
Philly Cheesesteak

Philly Cheesesteak

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,297
Falconbox said:
It was an ok ending. I didn't think much of it really.
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Agreed. Compared to Nier Gestalt/Replicant's ending, Automata never hits the emotional rollercoaster that the original does. I don't want to spoil it, but something happens at the end of the game after completing the routes that had me sitting there almost depressed. I really wish someone would go back and remaster the first game.
 
Bufbaf

Bufbaf

Don't F5!
Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,768
Hamburg, Germany
I had no idea and chose to sacrifice everything as well. One of the best and most memorable moments I ever had in gaming, I feel almost bad for people who chose no.

The process afterwards was incredibly satisfying.
 
Static

Static

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
6,128
Beat this shit so long ago. I hear one song from it on a random video and now it all comes flooding back and I need to rave about it to everyone who will listen and listen to the damn soundtrack all over again. Game so good.
 
Flandy

Flandy

Community Resettler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,445
It was such an amazing moment
too bad giant bomb spoiled it for no reason on their podcast shortly after the game came out :(
 
Owlowiscious

Owlowiscious

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,491
ah yes, typical brad "this is an amazing moment that was great to experience firsthand here let me spoil it for you all"
 
Flevance

Flevance

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,561
Yeah, it was really strong message. What make it really that great was how the game started with questioning our existence and the meaning of life.. just to hit you in the spot with this ending! Honestly, it makes me feel positive whenever I hear the song
 
UsoEwin

UsoEwin

Banned
Jul 14, 2018
2,063
Twas' a good one. The quality jump after route A to the end was amazing. One of the only gatekeeping methods I have seen done right.
 
JCG

JCG

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,549
Philly Cheesesteak said:
Agreed. Compared to Nier Gestalt/Replicant's ending, Automata never hits the emotional rollercoaster that the original does. I don't want to spoil it, but something happens at the end of the game after completing the routes that had me sitting there almost depressed. I really wish someone would go back and remaster the first game.
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In my experience, it's a very different type of emotional resonance yet both are ultimately fitting for each respective game.

The original Nier can make some of the final events feel relatively more effective in terms of character focus, vaguely speaking, but Nier Automata frames is true ending in another way with implications that are, arguably, far more transcendent. It's less directly about the characters, though that angle is still present there, and interrogates players about their own mindset(s) instead.
 
Yasumi

Yasumi

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,594
I still need to delete my data. I was waiting on the DLC, beat the DLC, and now I just want to keep on going. Still need to beat the secret bosses.

Loved my time with it so much. Such a powerful ending.
 
Kanann

Kanann

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,170
Original Nier was bitter sweet.


Automata, since you gear toward last duel between 2 protagonists to the true end credit = pure awesomeness.


It's freaking right call that they choose Platinum games.
 
Aters

Aters

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
7,948
You know what's even better?
When your friend played the game on your machine and he progressed further than you because you were busy. And then that magic moment happened, and he made the right decision, and your progress is gone.
 

Normal

Member
Oct 26, 2017
6,296
I disliked the shooting the credits sequence. Just give me the ending cutscene without wasting 10-20 minutes on this crappy galaga clone.
 
Bricktop

Bricktop

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,847
Falconbox said:
It was an ok ending. I didn't think much of it really.
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Agreed. It was just blah. I was hyped for some amazing ending and it was basically me
deleting a save file
, like whatever.

A thouroughly overhyped, overrated ending. I haven't given it a second thought since the moment it happened. And the amount of people who cheated it
by backing up their save
and still claimed it was amazing, utterly not even understanding the point of it all, was significantly large. I'd wager more people chose yes because they didn't care about it than because they were being selfless.
 
SephLuis

SephLuis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,343
Taro's games always have something of a surprise for the ending. Nier Automata, the original Nier, Drakengard 1 and 3 are all memorable.
 
Yog-Sothoth

Yog-Sothoth

Member
Oct 1, 2018
3,225
One of the best experiences I've had in gaming. I do feel bad for the people who didn't make the right choice.
 
Dr. Mario

Dr. Mario

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
14,042
Netherlands
You don't really sacrifice anything, that would mean that for every 20 he sacrificed, 20 people would've made it through the bullet hell, which, I doubt even one person did.
 
Mechaplum

Mechaplum

Enlightened
Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,972
JP
Literally couldn't see much due to choking up, was my first Taro game and I rarely if ever cry in games.
 
AkimbOb-omb

AkimbOb-omb

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,505
The game is the best thing that happened to videogames for at least a decade. It deserves all the praise.
 
Hage

Hage

Member
Mar 15, 2018
179
I had some issues with my connection that day and started the game in offline mode. Which totally ruined the experience for me.

Still liked the ending, regardless, but I feel like I missed out on it.
 
Yasumi

Yasumi

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,594
Someone posted a really nice comment on my ending E video. Not 100% correct, but still great.

What I love so much about Nier is that it gives you something it doesn't need to give; a happy ending.

It could easily end with Route C or D, leave the player feeling sad and empty at the end. Either A2 dies at the hands of 9S, who dies as well, or A2 dies while 9S has little chance of surviving. But it doesn't end like that.

The Credits of the game were never the Credits, they were a memory leak the whole time. In this final bullet-hell sequence, you, the player, fix that memory leak as Pod 042.

And after you win, if you choose to not save your data, you get your happy ending. 2B, A2, and 9S are all rebuilt with their memories intact.

They let you have a happy ending, and thats amazing because no one else would give you one. Nier:A was content to rip out your heart time and time again, but unlike something akin to Dark Souls, it doesn't leave on a sad note or leave you with a feeling of emptiness inside, it gives you one last shot, one final boss to fight, and if and when you succeed, it gives you something very few games of this emotional caliber will give you.

Closure.
 
aiswyda

aiswyda

Member
Aug 11, 2018
3,093
I ended up getting annoyed doing the actual sequence to get there to the point where I happily sacrificed because I never had any desire to play the game again.

I do think it was an interesting concept, it just sort of sucked for me because I went into it expecting an action game which I can do (not well but okay) and ending up getting a whole lot something I wasn't good at and didn't like.
 
IHaveIce

IHaveIce

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
4,797
Yep it is truly amazing.

Also funny seeing people calling the ending boring in this thread but if you recognize the name of the posters and which games they frequentöy call awesome lmao.
 
rochellepaws

rochellepaws

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,476
Ireland
It was the greatest ending I've ever seen from a game. The plot slowly breaks you down to despair then puts you in a situation where you feel you can't go any further, it seems impossible before finally giving the ray of hope. It was so moving and so perfect, I've never seen a game orchestrate my emotions so well.
 
Ferrs

Ferrs

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
18,831
I liked it a lot and was a great idea but I wish it was something else than another shoot'em'up minigame. At that point I was utterly tired of the constant shooter sections the game had.

A better vocal track would also helped too :P
 
Gradon

Gradon

Saw the truth behind the copied door
Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,536
UK
Taruranto said:
Yeah, I actually went "That's it?". I thought there was actually going to be more to the story. Definitely underwhelming compared to the original Nier.
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This. Ending E wasn't as mind blowing as everyone made it out to be.

The original requiring you to delete your save made way more sense as well.
 
Lotus

Lotus

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
106,861
Ferrs said:
A better vocal track would also helped too :P
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It was literally the best version of the song tho

Actually it's really amusing, because when I first heard it way before the game came out, I didn't particularly care for it. But seeing it in its full context as an alternate version helped massively.

Gradon said:
This. Ending E wasn't as mind blowing as everyone made it out to be.
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Sure it was. Clearly many people felt that way. You just happened to not be one of them. That happens sometimes.
 
SublimeAnarky

SublimeAnarky

Member
Oct 27, 2017
813
Copenhagen, Denmark
Thanks for sharing OP.

Nier Automata was easily one of my most memorable games this year. And that ending had a lot to do with it. Fantastic experience and twists to what otherwise might have been just a super slog of a game.
 
Ferrs

Ferrs

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
18,831
Lotus said:
It was literally the best version of the song tho

Actually it's really amusing, because when I first heard it way before the game came out, I didn't particularly care for it. But seeing it in its full context as an alternate version helped massively.
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I give you that, the part when everyone chants it's pretty awesome even if I don't care about the song.
 

Deleted member 8593

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Oct 26, 2017
27,176
My girlfriend watched me play through most of Automata. It's too difficult for her because she can't deal with 3D cameras but she was into the narrative and the characters.

When I reached the ending and it hit both of us we were like
gladbron.png
gladbron.png


Incredible game.
 
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