
But what's key about Taro is that, even if his intentions seem impossible to divine, there always some kind of logic to it.ĭrakengard itself is a kind of warped commentary on videogame violence. That's just an infinitesimal slice of how fucked up, dark, and controversial Drakengard games can be. There's a cutscene where she explicitly tells one to prepare for sex by washing "front and rear," so you know she means business. Each time she kills one of her sisters, she forces their disciples to become her sex slaves. She also has a flower growing out of her eyeball and rides a dragon with the voice of a child. In Drakengard 3, the main character was sold into prostitution as a child but is also a divine songstress on a mission to slaughter her five sisters and bring about the end of the world.It's not clear if he reciprocates, but I doubt it because he's clearly in love with his pet dragon that also stole his ability to speak. In one alternate ending, the main character's sister commits suicide because it's revealed that she harbors incestuous feelings for him.In one of Drakengard's many different endings, she is eaten by a horde of giant celestial babies. She slaughters and eats children because she thinks she'll be able to "protect" them inside of her womb. Another main character is an elven mother driven insane by the death of her child.He tries to kill himself but a fairy shows up and manipulates him into forming a magical pact with her in exchange for his eyeballs.

Yup, he's a pedophile and is very torn up about it.

What's key about Taro is that, even if his intentions seem impossible to divine, there always some kind of logic to it. And his eccentricity isn't just a publicity stunt but something that is deeply woven into the games he makes. But it's that strangeness that draws people to Yoko Taro. Hell, just yesterday he released a statement chastising Nier Replicant's publisher, Square Enix, for being too enthusiastic about the game and suggesting it probably will be another commercial failure-just like all his other games. In an age where most public-facing game developers go through proper media training and are always on message, Taro is unpredictable and wild. To say that Taro is an eccentric is probably putting it too lightly. Why? Well, apparently Taro hates giving interviews or doing public appearances and so at some point he started wearing the mask to hide his true identity. He's a controversial Japanese game developer who is most well-known for hiding his face inside a giant, creepy mask. (Image credit: Square Enix) The man in the strange maskĪ big part of what makes Nier so endearing to people is the man who helped create it, Yoko Taro. Do you like games that make you question the meaning of your own existence? Then you'll probably love Nier. Its story sets itself up like a classic adventure similar to early Legend of Zelda games and then detours into shockingly dark, twisted, and macabre territory.

This became one of Nier's best and enduring qualities. The story and characters were compelling, bizarre, and deeply tragic. It was clear Nier was made on a lower budget than the popular action games it was up against at the time. Nier had a mostly bland and empty open world, rote sidequests and combat that never escaped feeling a bit clunky. What you need to understand, though, is that both of these versions weren't very good. This is the version that modern remake, ver. It featured a younger protagonist who was the brother of Yonah. Nier Replicant was released only in Japan.Nier Gestalt released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It featured an older protagonist who was the father of a central character named Yonah. Nier Gestalt was released globally, but in North America and Europe it was simply called Nier.

It's a little complicated, but that original Nier was actually split into two separate games that have different protagonists-though the story, gameplay, and everything else is pretty much the same. 1.22474487139… is an action RPG remake (or "version upgrade," as its creator Yoko Taro insists on calling it) of the original Nier that launched back in 2010 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. If you want to understand Nier, you're going to have to embrace the fact that you're going to be at least a little confused by everything.
