Square Enix revealed that Nier Replicant, the prequel to Nier Automata, will arrive on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC as part of the celebrations for the game’s 10-year anniversary.
The full name of the game is Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, and according to the official Nier account on Twitter, is it already in development. The accompanying trailer to the announcement, however, does not reveal much beyond some gorgeous artwork from the game.
Nier Replicant is being developed by Toylogic, in cooperation with Square Enix and Nier series developer Platinum Games. It will not be a remaster or a remake though, with Square Enix producer Yusuke Saito describing the new Nier Replicant as a “version up.”
Nier Replicant will be brought into modern gaming with new content, fully voiced lines, new music from the original composer, and the possibility of a new ending. Square Enix, however, did not reveal a specific release date for the upgraded game, and it is unclear if it will roll out this year in time for the original version’s 10th birthday.
Nier Replicant vs Nier Gestalt
While Nier Replicant is the prequel to Nier Automata, playing both games is not required to understand their stories. However, there has been some confusion on a major difference between Nier Replicant and Nier Gestalt, a different version of the game.
The game arrived in North America as Nier for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, but in Japan, there were two versions. One was Nier Replicant for the PlayStation 3, and the other was Nier Gestalt for the Xbox 360.
In Nier Replicant and the upcoming upgrade, the titular protagonist was a teenage boy who goes on a quest to cure his sister of a deadly disease. Meanwhile, in Nier Gestalt, the version on which Nier for North America was based, players took control of a middle-aged man who goes on the same quest for his daughter. The game’s director, Yoko Taro, though that gamers outside of Japan would relate more with an older character.
Outside of the characters and some dialogue, there are no other significant changes between the two versions.
Nier Reincarnation
In addition to the Nier Replicant upgrade, Square Enix also released the trailer for Nier Reincarnation for Android and iOS. Not much is known about the mobile game, though with the description of a free-to-play RPG, it is expected to utilize microtransactions.
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