The remaster of the prequel to Nier: Automata is the Japanese version unseen in the West. (And yes, that is its full title.)
2017’s wildly popular and critically lauded Nier: Automata is getting its prequel remastered for PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One on April 23, 2021. No word on next-gen consoles for the moment.
Complete with a risible subtitle, Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is the “modern re-telling” of one of the Japanese versions of Nier, which originally released on the PlayStation 3 in 2010 and was never released in the West.
You might be more familiar with Nier, which was the Xbox 360 version of Nier in Japan – called Nier Gestalt – and featured entirely different protagonists. Nier is itself a spin-off and sequel of the Drakengard series. Confused yet?
Whilst Nier Gestalt featured a father in his 40s and his daughter, Yonah, Replicant has Yonah repositioned as the sister to a teenage Nier. Apparently, despite some dialogue accommodations, the versions were more or less entirely the same. A baffling example of game localisation and console platform distinctions for sure.
Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is due to be a significant overhaul with visuals and designs from Nier: Automata character designer, Akihiko Yoshida, gameplay, and even the plot due a remaster treatment. Or as the studio itself refers to it, “more than a remaster,” but not quite a remake. More of a “version up,” apparently.
You can also expect a newly recorded soundtrack from the original composer, Keiichi Okabe. It fits my definition of a remake.
Although the action perfectionist studio PlatinumGames – known for the Bayonetta series, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and Astral Chain among others – isn’t fully involved this time, a senior game designer at Platinum will be “overseeing the action sequences,” at least.
Square Enix also confirmed Nier Reincarnation, a mobile game for both Android and Apple iOS devices, is coming to North America and Europe. No release date has been announced yet.
If you’re mad for everything Nier, you can also invest in the White Snow Edition, which sells for a mighty £149.99. Along with a pin set, two-disc collection of the soundtrack, steelbook case and a collectors box, you also get seven books of the complete spoken script of the game complete with cover art. That might just clinch it for you, eh?
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