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Nier RepliCant
Official Logo of Nier RepliCant
Developer(s)	Cavia[1]
Publisher(s)	Square Enix
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	JP April 24, 2010[2]
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Media	Blu-ray
Input methods	Gamepad

Nier RepliCant is an upcoming action role-playing video game developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix.^[1] It is scheduled to be released on April 24, 2010 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.^[2] A separate game is also in production for the Xbox 360 (Japan and North America) and PlayStation 3 (North America), known as Nier Gestalt, the game will be based in the same world and two will differ only in the lead character's design and their relationship with the character of Yonah.^[3]

Characters

• Nier

The title character of the game, he is described as being an "unyielding protagonist" who is trying his best to find a cure for the Black Scrawl virus^[4] which has infected his little sister, Yonah. He is younger and slimmer than the character Nier of Nier Gestalt.^[5][6]

• Kaine

A scantily clad, NPC swordswoman accompanying Nier, she has drawn media attention for being a hermaphrodite.^[7] Kaine became intersex following possession by a demon, which also gave her a disposition towards swearing constantly.^[8] Though originally rumored to be a character exclusive to the Japan-only NieR RepliCant, the third trailer for NIER^[9] showcases an audio-only monologue of Kaine berating Nier's book companion, Weiss.

• 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.^[10] 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 the presence of other sentient books in the NIER universe.

• No. 7^[11]

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.

Gameplay

Players take control of Nier who uses his sword to perform combo attacks on his enemies; he is also able to use a magical book to shoot projectiles at enemies for a short period of time. As the player advances through the game, more powers as well as a variety of different weapons will be at the disposal of the player.^[12]

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.^[13] 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. ^[14]

References

External links

• Official Site (Japanese)