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NIER
Developer(s)	Cavia[1]
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Platform(s)	Xbox 360 (Japan and North America) PlayStation 3 (North America)
Release date(s)	Xbox 360 JP April 23, 2010 NA April 27, 2010[2] PlayStation 3 NA April 27, 2010[2]
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: M
Media	DVD-Rom, Blu-Ray Disc
Input methods	Gamepad

NIER (known as NieR Gestalt in Japan and in that country a title exclusive to Xbox 360^[3]) is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix.^[1] It is scheduled to be released in 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. A separate game is also in-production exclusively for the PlayStation 3, known as Nier Replicant, the game will be based in the same world but will only be different in regards to Nier's appearance and his relationship with the girl Yonah.^[4] NieR Gestalt will simply be titled NIER in North America as it will be the only version released there. The game will be released in Japan on April 24, 2010 and North America on April 27, 2010.^[2]

Characters

• Nier

The main character of the game, he is an older man described as being an "unyielding protagonist" who is trying to find a cure for the Black Scrawl virus^[5] which has infected his daughter, Yonah by any means.^[5] He is voiced by Jamieson Price in the English version.

• Kaine

A scantily clad, NPC swordswoman accompanying Nier, she has drawn media attention for being a hermaphrodite.^[6] Kaine became intersex following possession by a demon, which also gave her a disposition towards swearing constantly.^[7] Though originally rumored to be a character exclusive to the Japan-only NieR RepliCant, the third trailer for NIER^[8] showcases an audio-only monologue of Kaine berating Nier's book companion, Weiss. She is voiced by Laura_Bailey_(voice_actress) in the English version.

• Grimoire Weiss

A hovering, magical tome, Grimoire Weiss serves as Nier's access to magical spells (known as Words in the NIER lexicon), new melee attacks and weapon upgrades.^[9] Though Nier rescues Weiss at the game's outset, his motives are suspect, a Square-Enix representative commenting that "Defining Grimoire Weiss as good or evil is a difficult question, and one that the player will only truly understand after playing through NIER." Trailers have revealed other sentient books in the NIER universe. He is voiced by Liam O'Brien in the English version.

• No. 7^[10]

A skeleton-like creature wearing a robe and wielding an enchanted staff, No. 7 is a demonic experimental weapon that joins Nier and his companions.

Development

The game was first teased in the Official PlayStation 3 Magazine and Official Xbox 360 Magazine, before being officially unveiled in June 2009 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2009 as simply Nier for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. On September 9, 2009 Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu , said that the version of Nier shown at E3 2009 was known as Nier Gestalt and would be released exclusively for the Xbox 360 version fueling speculation that the PlayStation 3 version of the game was cancelled. However on September 15, 2009 Famitsu unveiled Nier Replicant which would be a PlayStation 3 exclusive version of the game and that it would be different from Nier Gestalt only aesthetically.^[11] For now, Gestalt will be the only version of Nier to be released in North America and will be released on both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Square Enix announced that this was because they believe the younger Nier will appeal more to the Japanese audience, while they believe the older Nier will appeal more to Western audiences. In North America Gestalt will simply go by the title NIER. ^[12]

References

External links

• Official site (American/European)
• Official Site (Japanese)