Introduced at this year’s E3, Square Enix’s new NieR game, developed by Platinum Games, now has an official name and new information on one of its main characters.
Officially titled NieR: Automata — because, sure — the action RPG takes place in a future where mankind has been driven from the planet by alien invaders and their mechanical creations. This week’s Weekly Famitsu introduced the game’s plot as follows:
遠い未来。
突如、侵略してきた異星人。
そして、彼らがくり出す兵器”機械生命体”。
圧倒的戦力の前に、
人類は地上を追われ月へと逃げ延びていた。
地球を奪還するために、
人類側はアンドロイド兵士による抵抗軍を組織。
さらに、膠着した戦況を打破するため、
新型アンドロイドである
戦闘用歩兵”ヨルハ”部隊を投入する。
人のいない不毛の地でくり広げられる
機会兵器とアンドロイドの熾烈な戦い。
やがてそれは
知られざる真実の扉を開けてしまうこととなる……
A rough translation to English reads:
A distant future.
A sudden invasion by aliens.
And their weapons, “mechanical organisms.”
Against their overwhelming power,
humanity was driven from the Earth and fled to the moon.
In order to take back the Earth,
humanity created a resistance army of android soldiers.
And in order to end the military stalemate,
a new android
the battle infantry, the “YoRHa” unit, was sent into the field.
In an uninhabited world,
a fierce battle between machine weapons and androids,
eventually,
opens a door of unknown truth…
Translation by Toshi Nakamura
Aside from the base story, details on one of the titular android warriors, the YoRHa 2 Model: B, designed by former Square Enix designer Akihiko Yoshida, have been released.
Called “2B” for short, the android is an all-purpose combat model android who uses swords for close-range battles and a support system pod for long-ranged attacks. (She is also a hermaphrodite).
While she was unmasked in the initial trailer, her profile description states that, “Because she wears battle goggles, she rarely shows her eyes.” Also that, “androids are forbidden to have emotions, but each model has its own distinct personality. 2B is a rather cool and quiet model.” Images in the magazine show her with a black cloth wrapped around her eyes like a makeshift blindfold.
Here is some gameplay footage that was taken at Paris Games Week… Platinum sure knows how to do their action. (Hat tip to fbh for the cleaner version video)
NieR: Automata is scheduled for release on the PS4. No word on an official release date yet.
Comments
18 responses to “The Story Of NieR:Automata Tells Of A Dark Future”
Wish the new FF game looked more like this than generic farmland.
Huh?
Does the new one have a talking book and a lady with a secret? That’s all I need to know.
The first Nier was the best “bad” game of the last generation in my opinion.
“The first Nier was the best “bad” game of the last generation in my opinion.”
I agree, minus the “bad”.
Loved the OST, but the fetch quests were unbearable. 🙁
Can you please change the word ‘hermaphrodite’ to a somewhat more sensitive and less demeaning term. Even in translation between cultures, it would hardly be the best term to use and it shows an ignorance towards LGBTIQ individuals.
I’m sorry what? Hermaphrodite is literally the scientific term for one who possesses reproductive organs of both sexes, which is what this character has. What other term are we suppose to use? How is it demeaning? Am I being trolled here?
I’m pretty sure hermaphrodite is the wrong term here – so far as I can tell, the character doesn’t actually have both sets of genitalia, but has traits of both genders in a form I’d guess is “genderqueer”. I’m not sure if the post is intentionally insensitive, but you don’t get to decide if someone else is offended or not.
It depends on a lot of things. An android is a synthetic human so if the creators designed them with reproduction or pleasure in mind then it is entirely possible that hermaphrodite is an applicable term from a purely scientific standpoint. If it is a case of merely not having a defined sex then Non-binary (or androgyne) would be the better term since “genderqueer” is a more specific gender definition.
So I did some research on this game just because of this weirdness and the hermaphrodite reference is actually for the bloody original game (linked article is 2009, which I didn’t check originally). The character we’re all fussing over? Is an android so yeah, let’s all go home and eat ice cream.
Yeah I am lost too. Hermaphrodite is a proper term. Transgender people don’t ‘become’ hermaphrodites…
The word has long since stopped being used. It is a horrible word that stigmatizes and associates to negative historic use. Intersex is very much the scientific term and has been used for quite some time in the scientific community and is not considered derogatory. The word is used to sensationalize which, if that was the intention of putting it in this article, then I have equally taken the bait from the author.
I am simply saying it is NOW a very much unused word.
lol go away
Go Platinum go!
How are Platinum still a smallish developer? How are they not some massive powerhouse? Everything they touch turns to amazing, actiony gold.
They even saved Metal Gear Rising from being terrible. Platinum owns.