The entire Nier & Drakengard storyline condensed and recapped in chronological order. From the first game to the novella's, anime, and books, this storyline Yoko Taro has made is quite the confusing world if you're not paying attention.
0:00 Intro
DRAKENGARD 3
5:14 The Beginning
14:40 A Rain to End and a Flower to Begin
23:32 One, Two, Three, Four, & Five
28:42 Utahime Five
43:59 Rise of the Intoner Empire
46:02 Disciples
51:25 Drakengard 3 Story Summary
DRAKENGARD
1:10:44 Between Years 1000 to 1099
1:15:51 Manah
1:18:11 Caim, Furiae, & Inuart
1:24:24 Drakengard 1 Story Summary
NIER REPLICANT
1:40:00 6/12 Incident
1:50:14 Red Eye & Legion
1:54:04 The Stone Flower (Emil's Backstory)
1:59:20 Red Eye is slain
2:00:03 White Chlorination Syndrome
2:02:02 Project Gestalt
2:03:23 Devola & Popola
2:04:21 Grimoire Project
2:06:04 And Then There Were None (Weiss' Backstory)
2:11:16 Nier & Yonah (human)
2:12:48 Kaine (human)
2:16:12 The Boy, The Girl, and the Weapon
2:22:41 The Perfect Gestalt
2:29:00 Project Gestalt Commences
2:32:57 Nier & Yonah (replicant)
2:37:27 The Red and the Black
2:43:12 NieR Replicant Story Summary Pt.1
2:48:00 Kaine Backstory (replicant)
2:55:54 NieR Replicant Story Summary Pt.2
3:02:41 A Little Princess
3:05:14 NieR Replicant Story Summary Pt.3
3:18:37 5 Year Time Skip
3:40:19 The Little Mermaid
3:49:07 NieR Replicant Story Summary Pt.4
4:06:08 The Lost World
NIER AUTOMATA
4:10:51 A World without Humans
4:11:54 Devola & Popola's Fate
4:13:58 Aliens Invade Earth
4:15:46 Emil vs Aliens
4:18:24 The Fire of Prometheus
4:21:42 Kingdom of Night
4:26:29 Machines
4:32:56 Androids
4:35:18 Project YorHa
4:47:58 Commander White
4:52:08 YorHa Boys
4:57:44 A2 Backstory (Pearl Harbor Descent)
5:22:57 2E & 9S (Memory Cage & Memory Thorn)
5:31:58 NieR Automata Story Summary
6:22:43 NieR Reincarnation
6:23:33 Outro
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It sucks that I have to reupload this video again!!! I know it's frustrating as a viewer to go through this but it's equally as frustrating as the creator to deal with copyright that takes the whole video. It's like a game of whack-a-mole with all these copyright issues, but I won't let my hard work go the waste!
Nice vid, even if: -Androids stopped being given fake memories after A2's squadron got rekt -Luciferase exist irl, and the fact that it wards off WCS was discovered on accident
Third time the charm! Appreciate the effort
No worries bud. Amazing video nonetheless
did you keep the "pdf file" word in the dod1 segment? idk if that's a thing you'd want to keep in a video if you want to get it monetised but there's probably more idk
Here we go again
DrakenNier's timeline is essentially the embodiment of the phrase: "And then it got worse."
Up until now, I kept thinking of all the philosophical messages and lessons of the story. Then, I saw this comment. ... ... And now I can't unsee it. XD
Very basic Japanese storytelling.
And at the same time, of the hope needed to go through this
lol
Something went wrong and something that wasn't supposed to happen, happened. That's basically it all
Yoko Taro be like: I will add a crusial part of my story's lore on this promotional pamphlet that will be used only once
That's like most the lore tbh
Dude added lore to PCs
"And will only be distributed in Japan 😉"
For 1 hour only and it's only part 1 of that part of the lore if you want part 2 you need to go play a random mmo
Crazy how All thats left oh humanity is a server on the moon and an immortal replicant Emil who's lost his memories.
Just had a lightbulb lore moment. In Drakengard 2, Legna mentioned an ancient war between the dragons and God/the watchers, and that the dragons were the natural enemy of the Watchers and things associated with them, i.e. the Flower. This is the the same war that occured between humanity and the aliens in Nier's backstory. Cathedral City was the headquarters of the Human war effort, and these humans created the dragons to specifically combat the aliens, with the Flower being one of their weapons. The aliens are described as being plant-like. Maybe the aliens were just another form of the Watchers sent by God to destroy mankind, and their weapon was the flower. Humanity, in Cathedral city, creates the dragons to defeat the flower, and they warred with the flower/Watchers for centuries until the event that sent Cathedral City to Drakengard's world in 856. The humans were advanced and knew about the multiple timelines, which is why they made Accord. After they captured the Flower, they probably tried to uses some technomagic to attempt to send it through time to oblivion, but screwed up and sent the city, the dragons, and the flower to 856 AD in another dimension.
You know, i wonder what if this entire series is just a cycle of one timeline doing some fucked up shit, influencing another timeline and just repeating over and over, not being a loop of only 2 timelines? For exemple, in an unseen timeline some event happened that sent Cathedral City/Dragons/Black flower to the Drakengard timeline, then the Drakengard timeline sent the Queen Beast/Angelus/Caim to the Nier timeline and next we will have another timeline where something bad will be sent from the Nier timeline?
@@angeltzepesh1 What if the memories of all the machines sent at the end of Nier Automata IS what is sent from this timeline to a new one. Idk how that could be a curse for the new timeline but it could be infected. I'm just wildly speculating.
@@JoseGonzalez-mx3nx it could be, but my bet is we gonna finally learn more about the Kingdom of the Night, something still so ambiguous in the lore.
One problem: humans were extinct soon after Nier (~4000), and they were essentially inactive and only existed as Gestalts after ~2100. So it would have had to be Replicants (unlikely) or androids (much more likely) to create dragons, build Cathedral city, and make Accord.
@@theshadowherself Or maybe some Replicants united themselves and became Human again, then went to the Dark Side of the Earth and started to think of "how do we stop this cycle that got 99.9% of us dead". That means that they could have gone to the route of making everything and sending it through time, but it diverged to space and time, which lead them to another timeline instead of their own. All of that can mean that the Cathedral city can go somewhere else in the universe, another place, another franchise, another part which can simply change the outcome of everything, but it all will depend on their different outlook on Human nature. Accord being there, an android, it could be a part of something bigger. Something that makes sure all timelines are in one real path that leads to at least ONE timeline 2 be triumphant.
just a quick video before the bed
Embrace the long
@@25meip *shlong
37 mins of sleep is how you know your a King
don't call me out lmao
You took roughly 2 decades of material from different sources and simplified it for cavemen like me. I can't thank you enough
And there are still some lore pieces he didn't cover, like Michael knowing Angelus (yes, Caim Dragon)
@@alanalb1449 and, Sinoalice
@@Gabriel-cs6wuSino Alice? The manga??
@@Lubble- both, game and manga
And still missed an entire portion of it given the raids in FFXIV.
I have studied the lore and timeline of this universe so much, and I still got way too excited to see a video over 6 hours long about it. Thank you for doing this! My favorite rabbit hole to keep diving into.
Can I ask you some stuff if you know all the lore?
I think draken/Nier is the only series that will make me watch a whole 6hr long video from start to finish. Excellent work! I have been enlightened
I’m definitely watching this soon. But there’s a guy that ranted about pl_badwater_basin for 12 HOURS!!! I watched the whole thing in one sitting……
And with reincarnation finished and the newest nier concert, yeah we can duplicate the time here
@@alrox9760 just waiting for this guy to make an update video for that again 😭
I think my favourite thing about this whole series is how God looked at humanity and went “Absolutely not.”
I can't really blame them
Its hard not to feel for the guy. On the 7th day you rest. And next thing you know, theres blood barf semen body parts pollution an ideological differences everywhere.
Self righteous wet dream.
That’s something I didn’t get from the Clemps videos. I love those videos, they got me into this entire franchise, but it’s awesome this video filled even more context in. The God blighting is something I totally missed from Drakengard
@@user-jo8kq5ed4j ........huh?
Emil is the last existing essence of humanity in the Nier world. He is the only hope.
That is probably the most Ironic part about the Lore
Right? The last "human" is literally a immortal skelington who now has almost no memory of the rest of us
He died btw
@@johnmills9954 He what now?
@@johnmills9954 Did he Die in Automata?
The Nier story really is a combination of "And then it got worse" as well as technology becoming indistinguishable from magic.
More the other way around no? Magic becoming indistinguishable from technology?
I get a “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” vibe too.
@Ezekiel_Johnson No, not really. If you look at it as a repeating loop, then Cathedral City would just be made of extremely advanced tech that the people of the time would perceive as magic. And it's where most of it comes from.
@@Ultra04channel I see it more as a bootstrap paradox with magic as the item that exists in the timeloop. Where did the darksiders get their magic? From the drakengard universe. Where did cathedral city come from? The nier universe. Even if it was the case that magic is technically some kind of technology incomprehensible to us, there's still the progress from blatantly magic-y looking magic of Nier 1 to Nier Automata's applied magic technology.
@Ezekiel_Johnson Honestly, either theory works just as well. But it's Yoko Taro, so we'll never have a clear answer. I guess my reasoning for it all being technology, is that it makes the most sense in the loop. Cathedral City is extremely advanced, nearly incomprehensible technology, with two androids designed to protect a bioweapon from being unleashed. The reason I would say for the more magic looking stuff in earlier games, is that it could be even more anomalous and unknown. It's been modified by people who have no idea what they're actually modifying. Think of it like the Mechanicus. The reason why their stuff looks so medieval and antiquated, yet is so advanced, is because they're modifying it and changing it while having no idea what's actually going on.
It's kinda refreshing how such epic story doesn't really have happy endings. In modern times, full of "good hero saves the world and wins the day" type of stories, having these epic tales of depression, sadness and misery is really interesting.
There are zero "good heroes save the world" stories anymore. We're all depressed now and you have to be a delusional person to think otherwise completely incapable of living in the world today.
The world these days are depressing enough, if I see another story full of misery, I might as well hang myself
I think they're a reflection of the viewer. I find them all really positive and wonderful. I've seen multiple people say they wanted to end it all, but found the power to go on living thanks to Nier Automata
I think whats even more interesting is how they managed to essentially make a happy ending without it being a happy ending
Automata has a good ending though?
I gotta hand it to you, compiling the timeline of arguably one of the most confusing RPG mythos ever created is not an easy feat to accomplish. The amount of time it took for you to make this must've been exhausting, so congratulations on your hard work! 6 hours of lore is exactly what I needed to watch for this week with work being absolute hell.
eh? I can follow this far easier than that mess called Kingdom Hearts.
@@Zeiss120 did you not read the ‘one of’ implying one of several?
@@lightaspected yeah I did, and pointed out that it's is lesser and easier to follow than another ONE of them with convoluted wack ass story telling.
@@Zeiss120 Good for you! Your elevated senses must make your family proud.
Lol skins a bit thin with you kids these days.
The machines having the same shape, design, and consistent head of Emil is something I never noticed - what an incredible piece of visual storytelling. Really tugs at my heart that all machines could have been based off of him.
I noticed that below the shell they have a machine smile too. So they're absolutely replicating Emil.
@@Utrilus yeah, I watched the anime today and that really stood out to me at the end of the second episode. It helps explain how they eat as well
For the Aliens to decide to imitate Emil and his lower level magic, honestly, is a testament to how strong he was during that war.
I never realized that, I wouldn’t think the aliens would try n copy Emil but it also makes sense to copy those who’re strong
@@idontplaygames3k296 I mean the higher end would have been the flower finding how / mutating to adapt to non-organic lifeform and absolutely wrecking havoc once more
The series that made a 22 year old guy who's rarely cried in life cry countless times all throughout. Simply hearing any of these scenes or soundtracks make me cry now. Yoko Taro is as cruel as a creator can be, but the most artful in his field as humanly possible. People say certain games make them feel a way no other game does but this applies most specifically to Nier and Drakengard. These are games like no other.
Yeah I'll bet you rarely cry.. surrrre
I get really emotional over many dumb things because I ruined my brain with drugs when I was younger. I cry at the simplest, dumbest things... and nothing in Nier made me cry once. Especially this video, just distracted by how cringy the play is. Sounds to me like you cry all the time, or just really needed to. One of those.
The comments above really say something about degeneracy on the internet
@@JK-ni1qeI'm in their situation, what makes you assume that they're lying. 💀
@@I_am_a_cat_Source: trust me bro.
I can't even imagine the amount of research, writing and editing that went into this. Man, NieR is *HEAVY*. Glad I played automata and replicant before watching though. I can now appreciate the Drankengard connections throughout NieR!
This story is ALOT darker than I had orginally knew and now it makes a lot more sense but it's still equally confusing and interesting and I enjoy this alot, Thank You
Yeah the range of the story is what makes it the most confusing. On paper the simple explanation of man and God/monster jump to another earth in another universe while fighting, man beats god/monster. Remains of the god/monster doom humanity, fast forward thousands of years and the only thing remaining is nature and advanced AI. Semi simple explanation. But you expand on it and start talking about watchers being giant floating babies, seeds of destruction, red eye disease, and then project gestalt, gestalt/replicant system, androids and machines having emotions and being just like humans, logic virus being linked to the red eye disease. It's just a really confusing course of transformation/metamorphosis that the franchise goes through, but it makes sense. The most confusing stuff is the crossover stuff of drakengard, but once you understand the basic idea of it, it's not horrible to grasp.
Playing Nier Replicant really made me question my thoughts on mortality.
I think it's more on the duality of the two most popular franchise. The Final Fantasy games usually tell a narative of heroes fighting against the odds and winning saving the world and giving hope. Meanwhile, the Drakengard/NieR series is a heavily dark contrast of how everyone dies at the end, so enjoy it while it last type of narrative.
Also they have strong anti-violence themes. Every playable character in these games enacts pervasive violence, and the world always ends up worse off for it.
This is my 3rd time coming back to watch the video im terrified it gets taken down. I feel like I'm understanding the DaVinci code
As quirky as Yoko Taro is, it is absolutely inspiring how he's been able to *physically manifest these masterpieces* . I, too, want to share my ideas with the world like him.
Read all of his manga, and ngl his work is beyond quirky, like its really friggin dark, like even if it was a manga for a mobile game about fairy tale characters turned into anime tropes, like my dumba55 thought it was just gonna be the average normal gacha game like fate, but he11 nah my man just went full on raep on all the characters, like tbh everything he makes has raep or some form of it, its certainly uncomfortable to read but I can't stop reading it, not to mention it always have short haired girls in it, just Yoko Taro subtly telling people his fetish
@Trap Himawari lol, wow I had no idea. "The author's thinly veiled fetish" meme must be accurate😅. Still I admire his grindset, and Automata saved his franchise
@@traphimawari7760 I don't know, I haven't dived into everything by him but so far it all seems more like trauma management than sharing a fetish.
You can do it!
I hope you know he is not the only one who writes the stories of the Drakengard franchise. Nier Replicant/Gestalt for example were written by 3 people.
Considering the implied cyclical nature of the parallel universes, it lends a whole new meaning to 2B's opening monologue from NIER: automata "We're trapped in a neverending spiral of life and death"
When i first played nier i had no idea the lore expanded across multiple games and manga andvarious other media, what a fantastic treat, and a beautifully comprised comprehensive guide.
The complete, unabridged, no nonsense, no alternate ending, no filler timeline *6 and a half hours long* Love it!
Hey if we can sit through 4 hours of justice league, this seems like a cakewalk in comparison 😂
@@ayaxmcgill635except this story is functional and enjoyable unlike the justice league movie 😂
I personally like to think A2 just left Pascal alone (which is something you can do). Robots always fail and never learn from their mistakes because they never GET to learn. Pascal has to learn from this to grow.
Like humans
Erasing pascal's memories is legit the worst outcome
@@DanKaschel That's what I did, and I can fully confirm that. If I knew it would've been so horrible I would've just killed him on the spot (since by then I didn't know you could just leave).
@@EnrocaLaRoca I can't bring myself to leave. Just feels so cowardly haha
@@EnrocaLaRoca Doesn't pascal commit suicide if you just leave?
Waiting for next Yoko Taro game upon: 1) Kingdom of Night 2) Aliens
"Hey Nier, if you kill the Shadow Lord you and everyone else in the world will contract the black scrawl and die horribly." There, I created another timeline.
After having played Nier Replicant and getting lost down the rabbit hole of the Wiki, I commend you for the titanic effort to gather so many sources into a coherent timeline! Simply outstanding! Thank you!
Yeah, I had a good idea of how Nier 1 (lazy) tied into 2, but this cleared up the parts where I'd go "not sure why this, but this is the result". Led to a funny interaction when 2 came out actually. 2 was the one that most people started with and a lot of people didn't even know it was 2. So when the store clerk was describing it to me, about how the androids are trying to save humanity, I went "but wait, I'm pretty sure humans were doomed in 1". He had no idea, so anyone how played 1 already new the "big" secret about humans already haha .
@@IKMcGweeyeah my friend is trying to keep me in the dark about automata now that I'm going through it but she didn't play replicant so she has no idea it's already known
@@Crowens hahaha nice
Just wanted to say, I’ve listened to this video essay at least a half dozen times all the way through and countless times in part while falling asleep, doing homework, etc. Your way of storytelling, along with Yoko Taro’s sheer madness, have made my objectively favorite video on KZhead. So, thank you!
I've played through drakengard 1 and 3, nier gestalt, nier replicant and Automata multiple times. I thought I had a good grasp on the chronology but you have just blown my mind with this video. I am so impressed with how concisely and clearly you tackled this huge undertaking, I've listened to others try to do it over the years but no one comes close to your level of understanding and ability to convey that through a commentary. It's very impressive. Thank you for taking the time to put this out there, I hope it inspires and has inspired people to go and play the games for themselves because they are so worth it! The Drakengard/Nier storyline is a piece of art, Automata is one of the most incredible experiences gaming has to offer. I love it so much, the emotional journey it takes the player on, it's questioning psychological perspective. It can be so bleak (almost depressing) and yet there is a great deal of beauty to it too. The relationships between Nier, Kaine, Emil, Popola and Devola and then 2B, 9S and A2 give the player moments of warmth too. I can't express how much Nier means to me but thank you again for doing this. It has been really fun listening to the story with such clarity.
Long-form lore videos spanning multiple medias are my absolute shit and I want to show my appreciation for you making this video. The Nier series is a series I adore so, so much and this video is the exact thing I needed to scratch my Nier itch. It took me about four days to finish the video but after seeing clips of Drakengard in the end made me want to rewatch the video. Also, Automata's ending will never fail to make me teary eyed.
I searched for a similar video two months ago and found nothing. Glad we finally have an end-all be-all version to understand this series.
Seriously, I can only rewatch the Clemps videos so many time (the limit of which has not been reached yet!)
Still to this day no other game or series can make me feel like how nier automata has both throughout the game and in its ending.
Previously i knew absolutely nothing about the nier series, but as you so fittingly put it; "long-form lore videos spanning multiple medias are my absolute shit" as well. I'm also one to tear up and occasionally sob over a video essay should i find something particularly touching/moving, and i can definitely say that happened multiple times throughout the essay. It's just the tragedy of it all
Long form lore videos are my absolute shit too - I just wish they were easier to find! Usually it's just a case of hope they come across my recommended :') This was incredible though!
I love the massive amount of easter eggs throughout the games. The 6 doves at the end of nier automata, when A2 is seen resting, reminded me of Zero and her sisters. I wonder if that was done on purpose and if there's any greater meaning behind it, or just a silly little reference.
The final boss of the *incredibly lore-important* FF14 crossover event kinda-sorta implies there's a little more to it
Fnuk... if you put it that way...nothing is coincidence :D Yoko Taro, you glorious bastard...
I also kinda thought it was a nod to either them or the fact all the disciples turn into doves
@@MemoryMoriNaw dude is a mad genius when it comes to world building and story telling.🤯🤯
I DID NOT THINK OF IT THAT WAY! YOU'RE ON TO SOMETHING! :O
You told this story so coherent and beautifully that I watched this video twice. It feels like this entered my list of top tier story games and I've never touched one of the games.
Fantastic job on creating this video, people say that short videos are nowadays trend because they're easier to enjoy since they're quicker to get to the point and all, but man i love this long timelines explanation ones. Initially i was gonna watch just a bit, ended up watching the hole thing at once. Purely perfection.
The sheer dedication Yoko Taro had to keep pushing these games out despite all the odds and Square Enix is something truly worthy of admiration
Huge props to Yosuke Saito for fighting for it too.
@@FhtagnCthulhu Indeed
I am astounded by the amount of work that must have gone into this. I love DrakenNieR lore so much, and I don't think I've ever seen such a complete video chronicle of the timeline. I appreciate this work so much! I hope to see more when NieR Re[in]carnation's stories can be included as well!
You are so nice for this! And he’s amazing at these videos
You're an awesome person!
Creator doesnt even respond to a 25$ donation? Wtf?
@@thewitchertales Well, I mean, my donation was me saying thanks for putting so much work into something that entertained me for over 6 hrs. It would be like if you did something for someone and then they say "Thank you!" and then you say "Thank you!" and then it goes round and round. Lol! 😅 I just hope that the financial gratitude helps them to continue to be motivated to make this sort of content 😊💗
@cecimaree video was amazing i enjoyed it and watched the whole thing. You foing that as well generated alot of revenue for him, then you donated on top of that.. he could've at least said, "Glad you enjoyed it." Not saying he needed to thank you, but he could've at least acknowledged it. I feel that it's rude he didn't.
actually insane video dude, idk how you do what you do. I originally watched your zombies timeline video forever ago and loved it, but when i stumbled upon your channel again the other day i noticed this video and i could not have been more thrilled. the amount of time it must take for you to research all this information, compile it together, write an INSANELY long script, and personally narrate everything, i have an insane level of respect for your dedications to videos. nier is probably one of my favorite rpg stories ever and you absolutely did it justice in this video. there were a lot of things in here that i never actually knew lol. thanks so much for this video, i know myself and lots of other people really appreciate it.
I'm so glad you made this video. I've been passionate about Nier story but even by having read the book "The strange world of Yoko Taro" I couldn't understand everything. You put so much works into this video and the quality is really great. I can't imagine how much time you spend on this and I cannot thanks you enough. This will probably be one of my favorite video of all time. I absolutly don't know about Nier: Rehincarnation and if in the future you make a video explaining it I will be very happy to watch it.
I just love automatas ending E, the fact that the pods the things farthest from acting/looking or interested in humans are the ones who got closest to what makes us human special, hope and the will to fight against great odds. They became the closest to what encompasses the best of us
And in Drakengard 3, Zero was always betrayed by humans, but in the end succeeds thanks to disciples, an android, and a dragon who were totally loyal to her and had her back and even sacrificed themselves to help her ❤ The only people she ever smiled at in her whole life other than men in the brothel - probably - were Decadus and Mikhail, and she would have smiled at Octa too, if it were possible. And Accords interference with the timeline is akin the the player (you) interfering with the timeline in the ending E credits 🥳
Mmm tasty word salad
lol the video got privated while I was watching, time to continue
Same here I'm doing the most mundane work and it stopped lmao
same lmao
Bro same and I was about an hour or so to the end like what the hell
Looks like a party in here, mind if I join?
Yoooo
Just seen this now, somehow. Officially my new fav video on YT god bless you for bringing probably the most clear and concise version of the events of DrakenNieR. I can't imagine the amount of work put into this.
I'm only through this about 1/3 of the way but THANK YOU. This is the perfect summary of the complete story. I don't have access to the drama CDs, manga etc, never played any Drakengard game, so this helped so much to answer a ton of my questions I still had after trying to read up on info (so confusing!!!) or jumping from one Story video to another. I can't wait to watch the rest of this. On a side note, it's much easier to follow. For jr personally .Your voice and speech are very clear and you don't throw in puns or (wannabe) jokes that pull me out of my focus. Again, thank you!!!
Love how NieR has been the greatest symbol of subversion of expectations. Every side thinks they're right, but when you peel the layers you learn it's what leads them to doom.
Being a hero, but without the plot armor which make all the trials worth it.
So good. I think it a story that really needs to be played for the full impact. Playing NieR it is so easy to accept the story you are told and fall into NieR's sense of righteousness. When you learn the truth, you the player are being betrayed as well.
That’s what I love about the NieR franchise as a whole the main characters that we love aren’t essentially “the good guys” even if they might view themselves that way and are flawed individuals, it just makes them feel more real.
One note about replicant Nier's encounter with Kaine at the beginning. She doesn't attack. She tells him and Weiss to get lost. It's Nier who attacks, thinking she's a shade. In the game, if you don't attack her, she just stands there guarding. She never attacks first. EDIT: Just realized I only played ver 1.22. Maybe it's different in the original? But even after the first fight with Hook, Nier apologizes for attacking her.
Another things I realised during route E: the very first shades you ever find after the prologue... aren't hostile. If you stand there they won't attack you (I think even if you wack them they won't try to fight back).
@@EnrocaLaRocaSame with Adam in Automata.
I chanced upon this video and played this as my background sound while getting chores done around the house, but felt compelled to sit down once the narration got to start on draken 3's story. As if I thought that it wasn't possible to make me appreciate the lore more than I already do, Nier especially, your video totally gave me a newfound respect and adoration for the franchise. Thank you for putting so much love and research into making this video!
Now all we need is a lore summary of Nier Reincarnation, which unfortuantely barely has any videos talking about it on youtube. I heard a few theories and the lore seems to get even crazier
The most Yoko Taro thing about this entire series is that Drakengard 3's best ending is not the canon one. He really just has to do it to us.
I spent so much time beating that boss...
I mean...Accord herself confirms that all Branches still go on even after she abandons one for another. So in a way, Branch D's existence in the Yokoverse is canon because it leads off from the main Drakengard 3 timeline, similar to how Drakengard 2 leads off from Drakengard's Ending A. However, like Drakengard 2 with Nier Replicant, Branch D contradicts the events of the original Drakengard because the Flower is gone for good, which means the Watchers no longer exist, which means that the Grotesquerie Queen's absence keeps both the Drakengard world and the Nier world safe. Tldr: Branch D's existence in the Yokoverse is indeed canon, but it is not canon to the timeline that culminates into Nier Automata.
Yep, all the happier or more "wrapped-up" endings/branches are never the canon ones. Maybe canon isn't the right word though. The branches are canon, but just as that, timeline branches, in which they don't effect one another, but still happen simultaneously, and one is just the longest told continuity. The only thing that truly isn't canon is dod2, not that it matters, it might as well be too in that sense.
I think its kinda awesome Yoko Taro keeps adding to the lore. Like adding Reincarnations protagonist to the Red Eye lore was such a surprise. Also glad my footage of the story could be of use.
What??? I need to finish that game 🤔🤔
When I first played NieR Automata the only thing in my mind was "I'm going to play this game about a hot robot killing things". I wasn't even that interested in the game and I definitely wasn't prepared for what was comming, specially for what pod 042 said at 06:22:12. Now I have all the achievements on Steam, watched a six hour video about the lore of all games and I am also planning a tatoo on my left arm. One thing (that I think) you didn't mention is the amount of references of NieR Replicant in NieR Automata. If you only played Automata a lot of things will go unnoticed, but if you played Replicant before Automata, you will see Yoko Taro playing with your feelings from the beggining. Thanks for the video, I'm going to subscribe so I can see more videos like this.
This is probably the single best thing I have ever seen on youtube. You are insane for putting this together, but it is so, so much appreciated.
I love games that have a long running lore across different titles, which is why I love stories that have references, Easter eggs, cameos, and intertwined timeline/storylines. Having NieR be the first game series I played that has all of this, I've been seeking lore videos since I've only played automata and replicant. But with this, you've filled the void I had for the rest of the lore I didn't know. Now I want to play the drakengard games
Also man, reuploading sucks but it's worth watching every time
I assume you tried the "legend of heroes" games?
@@Hydus not yet, but if it comes to that then I'll have to pull a Gigguk and play every single one of them someday
Have fun in Drakengard 1 king
@Astral52 Do it. I started the first game in the Trails series almost 2 years ago. I'm wrapping up game 9 right now (which is as many that are localized). Single greatest video game franchise story of all time. An amazing experience. I think you'll love them. That said, this video is a fantastic format for a similarly deep and convoluted story. Great work!!
Yknow, as emotional as all of Nier was and even parts of Drakengard The saddest part of the entire series for me is Hullua's situation. She just wanted to protect her brother, even after becoming a monster. I'm just glad we put her out of her misery in Replicant, and I'm glad Emil was able to come to terms with it all.
I mean I assume she is still "alive" similar to how Tyraaan is in Kaine, she is also a passenger in the body she shares with her brother. At least, I think Yokotaro should gave Emil a mental partner which would probably have helped as he was splitting into his clones during the alien war.
It doesn`t matter that everything is designed to end huh. One of the most detailed and most intriguing videos on youtube, really absorbed me with the story telling and amount of details put in. It must`ve took so, so, so much time to make this video. And here i am finishing this in almost 1 sitting. Absoultely loved it. Nier universe is one of the saddest and most beautifull storiest that i`ve ever heard or played thru. It`s so surprising, the amount of connections and story between the games, and you put it all together perfectly. Will always be my favorite game, and most definetelly, story. Well, besides, we are perpetually trapped in a never ending spiral of life and death.
The only word I can use to describe this series is: wow. Excellent video - it must've taken an insane amount of time to compile and present these details with the eloquence in which you did. Hats off to you, EruptionFang; you've gotten a new subscriber.
Love this guided timeline. Thank you. In case anyone didn't know, NIER were always siblings. In Japan it was NIER Replicant as siblings and they didn't think the Western audience would get it and changed their version to Gestalt with it being a dad, daughter. When they did the remake, they remade it from the original which were siblings, so nothing got changed really in terms of the relationship of the main character and his sister. Also if I remember only the true ending was in Replicant right?
The mistake I see a lot of people are making is that NIER deals with cycles not loops. Nier Gestalt did happen but 100 years before Nier Replicant, it's a cycle a repeated event with few differences (think WWI and WWII). Like how the anime is a cycle of the game. Note at Ending E the game is finished, you have killed the Yorha (god) project and have ended the cycle. Also if you read the bible you can see some links and influences that were pulled from there as well. (The 2nd coming was the groestque queen, the god of drakengard world), food for thought.
@@luckydannumber2 Me when I understand history and think ww1 and ww2 are a repeated even with few changes
@@Ezekiel_Allium yeah, talk about a very poor understanding of history
The "true ending" was in Grimoire Nier, and was added to the Replicant remake. It wasn't, to my knowledge, in Gestalt or OG Replicant.
@@luckydannumber2 Bro you need to get a basic education before you start talking lmfao. WW2 isn't a 'repetition' of WW1 just because it has a 2 on the end. Automata also isn't cyclical aside from 9S dying and being repaired. Everything happens once. 9S dying and being brought back does not lead to repeating any missions or events aside from his death which happens in different ways each time.
I absolutely love the craziness of this series and appreciate the fact you took the time to piece this all together. I do have a theory about Red Eye being Caim and it’s simple; Angelus didn’t die. Dragons have a last wish. If she used it to save herself the Japanese may have recovered her while she was still weak and only declared that they had a dragon corpse. A corpse is far less scary a prospect than a living dragon after all.
I feel like the dragons lose their wish to make a pact, as losing the most precious thing is the cost. And it seems like the wish thing wasn't canon yet during the first Drakengard game, since it would invalidate the reason for a pact with the protagonist.
@@Utrilus Wasn't this stated otherwise with Michael into Mikhail during his time with Zero?
@@brightwallmusic2908 Michael and Zero were never pact partners. Zero made a pact with Mikhail at the very end of her story, because the dragon wasn't going to use his Last Wish to reincarnate, but it was very brief because they died together.
This was a phenomenal video and chronicled the nier universe extremely well. It really struck a chord in me more than you can know. Thank you for the time and effort you put into this.
Man this is probably my favorite video on KZhead LOL. I've just casually been going through it like 10 minutes at a time while I eat but often end up just sitting there listening for longer and longer. So much great lore in these games.
A star walks into a black hole but doesn't seen phased. The black hole then turns to the star and says, "I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation."
Quite accurate actually. From the POV of the star everything would be perfectly normal, it's from outside that we'd see the star disappear into the event horizon.
@@farfa2937 umm. No. A star approaching a black hole is a very violent process.
Jesus, I am a big NieR fan, and I started a couple years ago, and trust me when I say this, there's still a lot to learn, and this video can literally guide and aid all the fans out there! Thank you for putting this up for the world to see what a masterpiece Yoko Taro has brought upon this world.
Hey man, just wanted to give you a quick thank you. I get panic attacks from time to time where i struggle with breathing and barely can control myself. Everytime this happens i open this specific video from you because it always calms be down. Its your chilling voice and my love to nier which do the trick. You are amazing, keep doing what you do and take care of yourself
You are an absolute legend for making this video! You broke everything down that we needed to know and made it extremely easy to understand. I look forward to seeing more of your videos!
Even after playing the games twice, this series still brings a tear to my eye. Yoko Taro has without a doubt delivered one of the most emotional pieces of media in history. The fact that you went through the work to make this video is a blessing. Thank you for clearing up my favorite story in media.
a tear? this game makes me cry rivers every time i play it
The Kainé story hurt me soooo much. Kainé is one of my favorite characters in the game and so hearing about that sort of suffering… it hurts.
When she is forced to « pleasure » herself oof😢
I cannot express how impressive this explanation of this timeline was. I have been wanting to play Drakengard 3 for a long time and after this, my cravings for playing it grew even more. And it is hard to explain what the point of [Re]incarnation is since it's been around 2 or so years since it was released. I loved every moment of this documentary. Thank you.
damn. this was absolutely one of the best summaries of the entire drakenier story i've seen. i thought i pretty much knew everything but i still learnt a few things and on top of that it was super fun to listen to because it was so clear and well laid out! from someone who is very passionate about this story, thanks for making this!
Hi! Can you recommend other videos, articles etc similar to this one that you think are good? Thanks in advance
Yea, I can keep up with my friend's knowledge about the series Because I hate the style the games are in ( it feels like it plays like 2003 generic jrpg ) and I was never going to play any of the games, outside possibly maybe drakengard for the watchers. The watchers are creepy, but very interesting. The watchers and the music are the only reasons that I have any interest in this series at all because the music that I found out in ff14, is godtier. Otherwise, it's Yoko Taro trying to be an emo edgelord trying to destroy everything because he hates happy endings does not sit well with me.
Honestly the FF14 raid also gives some interesting ideas... and it apparently has some deeper meanings according to Taro himself, I'd love to see your takes on that as well!
Seconded, how did a seed of destruction get there, and could there be more of them? The raid left a lot of unanswered questions.
Still terrified of the prospect of Chlorination syndrome coming to the First or Source HEEHEE
@@aerypear2254fr. I can't think of any possible counter other than furthered research into the work of Dr Lugae of ripping out people's souls. Even then it's a long shot
@@aerypear2254imagine dealing with sin eaters for 100 years and then almost immediately dealing with white chlorination
Thank you for the video, this must have been a massive undertaking to played the games, summarised the lores and writing all these scripts 😊 let alone adding footage editing and soun mixing
This has to be my favorite video on KZhead now. I am a huge fan of the Nier series, and to see a complete timeline makes me happy. Now we need to wait for Re:Incarnation's story to end, and maybe, just maybe, the man himself, Yoko Taro, will make another Nier/Drakengard game. My thoughts on the setting would be the Kingdom of Night, the fights against the machines, the black flower, the creation of Dragons and Accord, and the events that led to Cathedral City ending up in Drakengard. But nobody knows what's going on in the head of Yoko Taro. However, the future story will be a masterpiece like the rest of the series. Please continue making such videos. They are extremely well-made, very informative, and you have a nice voice to listen to.
Bruh I didn't even finish watching the first upload before this re-upload btw, nice vid, I'd like to add that; -Androids stopped being given fake memories after A2's squadron got rekt -Luciferase exist irl, and the fact that it wards off WCS was discovered on accident
Same
Lol let’s try this again
How do we know they were given fake memories? It's not been mentioned in the game or manga as far as I've seen
This entire video was phenomenal and I cannot BEGIN to imagine how hellish editing this was let alone exporting it 😭😭😭 sending this to every Nier fan I know!!! Thank you for all the effort put into piecing everything together into something coherent and understandable!!
I appreciate this video a lot. The Drakengard stuff was quite hard for me to follow as I never played the games nor have seen gameplay, but it helps add some really interesting context to NieR events. Thanks for the video
Wow i cant even imagine how much work went into this. Loved every second. It was so complete and well told and as easy to understand as it could have been. Thank you so much for this!!! Im probably gonna watch it again and again. Im obsessed with this lore.
You know the thing I love about the writing style especially of Nier is that because Taro doesn't why away from darker aspects of life it really makes the more wholesome and sad moments in the games also feel more impactful
The God of Yoko Taro's mythos believed humanity was a mistake big enough to deserve to be completely wiped off of every timeline. He kinda needs to show the darker aspects of humans for that God's belief to be uhhh "reasonable."
@@t.k.5088 Well drakengard showed us how bad humans can be. NieR doesn't show us that. It shows the tragedy of being human. Replicants, gestalts, androids, and especially YoRHa androids. We see them live and suffer like we do, and usually in the worst ways. Or we watch them be a part of a tragedy. Drakengard makes you see the gods point. NieR makes you go "hey no wait, this isn't right, they don't deserve this" The NieR games emphasize so much on HOW people suffer and HOW they cope with that suffering. Replicant has kaine with her past bullying and abuse, causing her to have self image issues and a tough persona. How emil loses his body and becomes a freak, and copes eventually thanks to kaines sympathy. Then there's automata, which is basically a game entirely about how people cope with their existence. 9S loses everything that kept him going. How does he cope? He goes mad with hatred and grief, and his mental state declines sharply into insanity as he becomes more depressed and eventually resolves to die after avenging 2B. Basically going on a suicide mission, where suicide is the intention. Meanwhile the machines are shown throughout the entire game to cope with their existence by mimicking humans and trying to be like us. Failing in the process, and end up adapting some of our worst traits. They cope with a lack of meaning in their existence by perpetuating the war they fight that has no point, because they were made to fight the "enemy". A2 copes with her immense survivors guilt by swearing to kill every last machine she can, as long as she can. She finds atonement in her living because her living is painful and filled with regret. Eventually she's able to fully cope, and grows beyond her blind contempt for machines, and is able to accept them even. She dies ready to meet her friends again. (Until ending E of course). 2B copes with her existence by relying entirely on 9S for her emotional well being, even though 9S is the direct cause of horrible mental state. So she essentially copes with her grief and sorrow for killing him over and over, by keeping her promise to him that they'll see each other again after every death. Her coping is the saddest I think since what she does to make herself and 9S happy, is directly what causes all of her suffering, and she can't escape this cycle on her own. TLDR: drakengard series is the worst of humanity, NieR series is humanity put through the worst.
@@t.k.5088 bro even god in real life in abrahamic religion still doomed humans. i dont think Taro does it for the sake of being reasonable, its just doomsday the classic, don't really need any reason it's just a style and genre
Yeah that is definitely one of my favourite aspects in this series is that we see the main characters that we follow in each game aren’t essentially the “good guys” and can be viewed as the antagonists especially with the some of the actions they pulled it just makes them feel like actual people.
@@t.k.5088 that's some fucked up religion and I thought Baldur's Gate cult of Bhaal was bad.
brings tears to my eyes. yoko taro doesn't hold back some stories that other writers won't even touch. but the medium is so spread out that normal acquisitions is very hard to aquire.
The amount of work that had to go into a 6-hour video like this is outstanding and making sure it's interesting throughout the whole thing without causing the watcher's attention to slip is even more amazing. Truly, well done with all the work you put into this, I really enjoyed learning about everything from the Legion to the Replicants and Androids, you've reignited my interest in the whole series.🥳
Just finished the video and I have to say this was an amazing way to view the story, I can tell the amount of work that was put into this video and I truly think it paid off.
I believe firmly that Yoko Taro is truly a man of unique standards. Though his saga throughout drakengard and nier barely makes any sense in the framework of the modern video game narrative, you can see that he has his values stored and displayed elsewhere. I just hope more people like him surface in the modern gaming era.
I believe there are a ton of creative people like him out there, just waiting for the chance to do something on this scale. The guy is so fortunate to have 4 big entries like this, especially since Automata made so much money. Can't help but feel extremely happy for the guy, honestly. More companies need to take a chance and let artists get weird.
@@Miriam_J_ All thanks to 2B's booty
My god that outro message is just what i needed to hear. I thank you for making this video and especially for that ending message.
So just for the record there has been another bit of lore as of February 2024 in the NIER Orchestra (I just saw last night!) So I'll try to summarize it for those who can't get tickets. After 2B and 9S are brought back to life they just end up wandering and living their lives. Until 2B realizes her black box is damaged. Whether this is from faulty parts or from the logic virus is unknown. They both end up looking for anything that can help repair 2B. This eventually leads them both to a copied city like area but it is shown to be a copy of the bunker. In this area they find an artificially made shade. A direct copy of the girl the Postman made friends with in NIER Replicant. They also stumble across several vending machines like transporters. Each one holding small amounts of data about project Gestalt and the replicants. Even NIER himself and Yonah are mentioned in these files! After this encounter they both continue further into this city, encountering numerous machines that they both cut down. This whole time 2B is getting weaker and weaker. Eventually they come to an alien ship, the inside has been remodeled to resemble a church or chapel. They both see several machines praying, a pile of YorHa corpses, and a floating cracked black sphere. 9S scans the sphere learning it is either the ship's power reactor or a control module. Before 9S can find any use for it 2B collapses, finally succumbing to her damaged black box. 9S crying and screaming just wishes he could do anything for them to trade places. In the middle of all this all the YorHa corpses start floating, and eventually 2B's body as well. All of the Corpses have their Black boxes pulled from their bodies and slowly start to be shredded into glittering black particles around the room. They circle the black sphere and eventually flow into 2B's black box repairing it. 9S crying with delight Hugs 2B not knowing fully what happened. While 2B slowly hugs 9S she also does not see the floating Black orb. From this point on they both decide to wander the wastes again. (I didn't quite catch what their goals were after this. Why they continue to wander the wastes. But I believe it was something to the effect of looking for a way to break a curse. I believe it was referencing the curse of mortality but I'm unsure.)
no news on A2 ?
@@TheVanishedWolf sadly there was no mention of A2 at all in the Orchestra :/
@@Arowsrevenge oh too bad, thanks man !
I wonder how this will play in Nier: Reincarnation. Right now the memories of humans are being transported back to earth, I wonder if they'll run into this 2B and 9S
Thank you for sharing love
one of the most insane but somehow cohesive timelines in gaming
Oh wow the doves at the end of automata really have a whole new context that i never realised. I'll never get tired of this story. Can't wait for yoko taro to add more someday.
Dude!!!! I played Drakenguard and one of the older Neir game, but this is an absolutely amazing piece of lore work. Superior work here, man. Thank you for all the hard work.
Amazing! you've explained everything I wanted to know about the timeline of NieR, appreciate your work of this masterpiece
4:40:00 Okay... so based on THIS information about "machines do not get to have names", it puts SO MUCH SINISTER FORESHADOWING on 9s asking 2b to call him "Nines."
Yeah, VERY sinister foreshadowing
A masterpiece of a video. I got "into" Nier when I played Automata a while after it came out. It blows my mind how much has gone into this story.
Finally got into this series because of you and wanna just thank you for your comprehensive, thorough explanation. It was easy to follow, and your effort really shined through. Really appreciate it, and looking forward to more content
i think this is the first youtube video i’ve come back to after multiple days to watch all the way through. thanks my friend. good work.
This series.. there will probably be nothing else like it in my lifetime. Absolutely amazing
I'm 40+ now, and the Nier Series ist only the second one that I can think of. The first one was Xenosaga, also very epic and philosophical, but not as dark.
At 1st I thought to myself, I am not watching a 6 hour video... Then I watched it. Amazing work from start to end. Probably will rewatch. I love NieR
Amazing video man anyone can tell how much work you put into this and thank you for doing so. As someone who has only played replicant and automata I did not know much about the side content and the older games so it feels great to have a cohesive timeline in my head thank you. 11/10 video and 11/10 game story.
Found this video after watching the Nier anime, I had no idea about the extensive backstory, and it took me forever to finish this video but I'm really glad I did. Well done to you, and thank you for making this masterpiece!
Duno man only took me about 6:24:42 don’t know how it took you forever (Sarkasm)
I felt the same when I finished Nier Replicant. It is pretty annoying that a lot of useful information is contained in other media or games. I understood that humanity went to almost extinction because of a virus (WCS) and then humans separated their souls from their bodies. But yet enough. Their relation with the Drackengard E Ending was never mentioned except for some hints here and there.
I can't fathom how much time, effort and passion went into making this, but I'm so glad it exists. The NieR series is truly special and this video highlighted a lot of why so many people think that, and does a great job covering parts of the story/stories that many people likely miss out on. I will say, though, I'm a bit surprised the presence of Emil in Automata didn't come up beyond the initial war! I guess it isn't really important to the cannon for YorHa and 2B/9S, but it does put an end to his story.
Was 4h.42 into the vid when you just privetded the other realease, was so scared I wasn't going to be able to finish. Absolute masterpiece, thank you.
your comment just made me realize this video’s 6 hours long 🗿 anything for NieR
9 mois plus tard, j'ai enfin fini cette vidéo. Bravo pour ce travail, l'une des meilleure vidéo que j'ai vue. Merci !
Thank you so much for this video. I love this game series and lore and I’ve watched this video in its entirety five times now. Please continue to do this with other games. Your storytelling and narration skills are truly a gift
Really well made video. Honestly the result of this Nier & Drakengard recap is waaay better than I expected. Just to add on a little note: the factory in Nier: Automata is in fact the same factory where P-33 was created. This is proven by the pod assigned to 9S when you visit this location while on his playtrough.
Played the original Drakengard and loved how weird the story was, especially with such questionable characters. Wasn't too interested in androids and robots, so had skipped out on Nier, but I'm glad a video exists like this to fill in the lore that I had started with way back when. Gotta say, the flower blooming at 4:10:00 is a nice touch to show God was successful. At least in that world.
I highly recommend Nier. Almost nothing about it is "my kind of game", but it still managed to be one of my favorites.
This video is really well made, easy to follow, everything is super clear. There's a cause and reason to everything in the story and no gaps. Thank you for making this!
This isn't a time-line this is story time. It's wonderful.
And I thought Sophie's summary was long... though i suppose that video is gone now. Incredibly well done, i might say this is the most comprehensive coverage of this absurd tale. Yoko Taro is an absolute mad man and we love him for it.
Actually, her channel is back up now. It's not active though, just as an archive.
Yes my favorite video game creator. Because he is the first to make video game mechanics that immersive in the story. Genius.
@@Miriam_J_ Anyone care to say who Sophie is? People will find this comment years from now, and you can't expect them to all be the same age as you and remember
@@christiantaylor1495 I'm pretty sure they're talking about ValkyrieAurora
I think this is actually my favourite youtube video. Good job especially the outro I come back to listen to it often.