True Knightfall Protocol – Batman: Arkham Knight

By the end of Batman: Arkham Knight, everyone is aware that Batman is actually Bruce Wayne. As a result, the Dark Knight looks to initiate the Knightfall Protocol, which requires completing seven of the major side quests. Once that’s done, Bruce Wayne removes the cowl, enters Wayne Mansion – which explodes – and is seemingly dead. To get the true ending, you need to apprehend all of Gotham’s villains. So along with dismantling the militia’s Road Blocks, Mines and Watchtowers to eventually face off and defeat Deathstroke, you also need to collect all 243 Riddler Trophies to bring in the Riddler.

Once this is done, the same ending will play out and Batman is seemingly gone. However, it’s followed by a new epilogue wherein Jim Gordon becomes the new Mayor of Gotham and Timothy Drake looks to marry Barbara Gordon. Cut to a scene of criminals attempting to rob a family in a back alley but instead of Batman, a fiery version of the Dark Knight descends on the crooks, instilling a new age of fear.

The identity of this figure is unknown – perhaps we’ll learn more in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League since it’s set in the same universe – but at the very least, it does paint a much more positive picture for the future (for the non-criminally inclined at least).

Yoko Taro doesn’t seem to think NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is going to sell very well. At least, that’s what he’s said in a new message posted to series fans on Square Enix’s website. The message was originally shared with critics who would be reviewing the game.

In the message, Taro reminds fans that NieR Replicant is a “version upgrade” of the original 2010 game, not a remake of a remaster. He also predicted the game wouldn’t sell very well, because aside from NieR: Automata, none of his games ever do.

“In recent years, when I have been around Square Enix, they always give off this palpable aura of enthusiasm as if to say “Look! NieR:Automata (the previous thing I made) did well, so NieR Replicant will also sell now,”” Taro said. “I would like to take this opportunity to tell Square Enix to take a good hard look at reality. Only the names are similar and the content of the two games is completely different, so it’s not really going to sell all that well now, is it lads?

“I mean, come on, I made it! Automata selling was a fluke, and all my other stuff has hardly sold anything worthy of note. If you really do go ahead and manufacture all these discs and then store them in a big pile in a warehouse somewhere, the only thing we can do with that will be to have a good game of frisbee. Although, I mean… that does sound like fun and all…”

It’s a little unusual for a creative director to say things like this about his own game, but Taro is pretty well known for being outspoken and being kind of a weird guy, so it makes sense. Producer Yosuke Saito, on the other had, was a little more optimistic about the game’s prospects.

“We are calling it a “version upgrade”, but regardless of what Mr. YOKO says, I personally believe that moniker doesn’t do justice to the level of quality that the team has achieved!” Saito said.

“Having said that, NieR: Automata’s big success was honestly somewhat of a miracle, so I don’t think we will be selling quite that much… However, if we don’t shift a certain amount then Mr. YOKO and myself will be forced to travel the world, selling the game out the back of a van. Ah, and Mr. Okabe will have to come along too!”

Saito ended his message by asking fans to continue supporting the series, finishing by saying, “Please, anything but the van…”

The whole thing is very tongue-in-cheek and pretty funny, but Taro is correct that, outside of Automata, his games haven’t sold very well. Personally, we’ve enjoyed Taro’s previous titles. We liked Drakengard 3, loved NieR: Automata, and enjoyed Replicant. Still, if you’re a fan of the series, it might be a good idea to pick Replicant up, if only to keep Taro and Saito out of the dreaded van. The game is out now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

This month, fans of the NieR series will be able to go back to the first game with a remaster of NieR Replicant. We’ve been seeing a lot of the game lately, such as settings and boss fights that you can look forward to revisiting. Now Square Enix has seen fit to detail some bonus goodies that early adopters will be able to get a hold of.

Across all versions of the game will get a mini soundtrack. The PS4 version will get another set of bonuses, however, as you’ll get a dynamic theme based on the game, as well as a set of 14 different avatars, and you can see both below. Interestingly, the avatar sets have a pair of blurred out photos, both of which look to be ‘Papa Nier,’ an alternate version of the protagonist that is a father instead of a brother for when the game was released in the west. The remaster only has the option of the ‘brother Neir’ character which was from the original Japanese release. You can see more details, as well as some Japanese-only bonuses, at Square Enix’s official blog through here.

NeiR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… will release on April 23rd for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. You can also check out the PC requirements through here.

Ahead of its launch next month, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… has received some new pre-launch gameplay courtesy of various publications. It showcases the Junk Heap and The Aerie though the focus is primarily on the bosses that players will encounter in these areas. Check it out below.

Developed by Toylogic, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… is a remaster of the original PS3 release. It focuses on a young boy and his sister Yonah with the latter suffering from the Black Scrawl. As the protagonist ventures out to find a cure, he teams up with characters like the talking book Grimoire Weiss, the hot-blooded Kaine and the mysterious Emil.

Along with improvements to its visuals and combat, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139… also features full voice-acting, rearranged music and new tracks. It’s slated to release on April 23rd for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. Free post-launch DLC will also be released which adds new weapons and accompanying stories. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

WHAT EXACTLY IS IT?

NieR Replicant’s existence is as complicated as you’d expect something coming from the mind of Yoko Taro to be. The original NieR released back in 2010, coming out in Japan as NieR Replicant, featuring content that was exclusive to that version of the game, which, incidentally, was never released in the West. This new NieR Replicant is a cross between a remake and a remaster of that Japan-only release, all of which is a long-winded way of saying that it’s a remake/remaster of an alternate version of the original NieR.

SETUP

NieR Replicant is set on the same post-apocalyptic world as NieR Automata, only thousands and thousands of years before the latter’s events take place. Players play as a young man living in a remote village with his sister Yonah, but when Yonah comes down with a terminal case of a disease called the Black Scrawl, he has to set out to look for a way to save her. Teaming up with a talking book known as the Grimoire Weiss, they must find a way to save his sister’s life. It’s a story that spans thousands of year, and one that goes to some really surprising places, as those who’ve played the original will tell you all too happily. If you haven’t played the original but enjoyed Automata, you’re gonna want to check out this remake.

VISUAL UPGRADE

So let’s get the obvious stuff out of the way first. Given the fact that this is a remake, it’s obviously going to be updating and improving a lot of stuff from the original release, and that, of course, includes a visual update. And it’s a pretty hefty visual upgrade, honestly. While the camerawork and cutscene direction of the original game have been retained almost exactly as they existed back in 2010, this new NieR Replicant has completely new and significantly more detailed looks for environments, characters, enemies, and more.

RWROEKD COMBAT

NieR Replicant is also making some notable changes where the gameplay is concerned, most notably in the combat area. Essentially, the battle system in this version is going to be a cross between the battle system of the original release and the combat of NieR Automata, with director Yoko Taro having set out to revise it in a way that appeals to fans of both. The mechanics of the original are, of course, being retained, but they’re going to be brought more in line with Automata in terms of style. That said, NieR Replicant’s combat is going to be slower than Automata’s- which makes sense, since you’re playing as humans in this game, not as androids.

EXPANDED AREAS

It’s clear that NieR Replicant isn’t going to stick to the original game as strictly as some remakes often tend to do, and that’s going to be true for the in-game locations as well. Environments from the original release are, of course, being brought over into the remake, but Square Enix and developer Toylogic are taking this opportunity to expand upon them. Several returning areas from the original game will be much bigger in scope, allowing for greater freedom of traversal and exploration.

NEW SCENARIOS

NieR Replicant is also going to have plenty of new story content, which will entail both expansions to existing stuff and entirely new content. As far as the former is concerned, it’s been confirmed that weapon stories from the original game have been expanded upon for the remake. Meanwhile, director Yoko Taro has also confirmed that NieR Replicant also has completely new scenarios as well, fleshing out the original game’s story and adding greater context to its events. It remains to be seen exactly how substantial these will be and whether or not they will have any larger impact on the story, but fans of the series nonetheless have reason to be excited.

FULLY VOICE ACTED

NieR Replicant is going to be a pretty significant upgrade over the original game in the audio-visual department. We’ve already touched on this a little bit, and another example of that is voice acting. Unlike the original game, the remake is fully voiced, with voice overs provided for every line in the game. On top of new voice lines being recorded, voice lines from the original game were also re-recorded from scratch rather than updating them and bringing them over for the remake.

ORIGINAL VOICE CAST RETURNS

If you were a fan of the voice work done for the characters in the original release, you don’t have to worry- it’s been confirmed that the voice actors for most of the characters from the original game will be reprising their roles in the remake. There are going to be a few changes here and there though, with the most significant being the recasting of Grimoire Weiss’ voice.

DLC WEAPONS

Square Enix haven’t really talked about what their plans are for post-launch content for NieR Replicant, but we do know that at least some DLC is planned. We already spoke about weapon stories being expanded upon for the remake, but you can expect further new content here as well, with the developers having confirmed that new weapons and weapon stories will be added to the game following its release as DLC. Specific details on this have yet to be shared, but we can at least be assured of more content for the game post-launch.

PC REQUIREMENTS

If you’re playing the game on PC, exactly what kind of a setup are you going to require? All things considered, nothing too demanding. On minimum requirements (which will run the game at 720p and 60 FPS), you’ll need 8 GB of RAM, either an Intel Core i5 6400 or an AMD Ryzen 3 1300X, and either GeForce GTX 960 or a Radeon R9 270X. Meanwhile, on recommended settings (which will run the game at 1080p and 60 FPS), you’ll need 16 GB of RAM, and either a GeForce GTX 1660 or a Radeon RX Vega 56, with CPU requirements staying the same. Storage requirements, meanwhile, will be 25 GB of free space across the board.

The upcoming NieR Replicant, a remaster of the first game of the series, will be looking to double down on the popularity the series has found thanks to NieR: Automata, and it’s a pretty safe bet that a large number of people are going to be diving into the RPG. If you’re planning on doing that on a PC, you can now check out the system requirements.

As confirmed via the game’s Steam page, the requirements aren’t too demanding. On minimum settings, you’ll need either a Ryzen 3 1300X or an i5-6400, along with either a Radeon R9 270X or a GeForce GTX 960. Meanwhile, on recommended settings, the processor requirements aren’t the same, but on the GPU front, you’ll need either a Radeon RX Vega 56 or a GeForce GTX 1660. Minimum settings will run the game at 720p and 60 FPS, while recommended settings will bump the resolution up to 1080p.

NieR Replicant is out for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 23. You can check out the full system requirements below.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1300X; Intel Core i5-6400
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD Radeon R9 270X; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• Additional Notes: 60 FPS @ 1280×720

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 1300X; Intel Core i5-6400
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 56; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card
• Additional Notes: 60 FPS @ 1920×1080

The NieR franchise is a bizarre one, as it started from a very niche title and then seemed to randomly explode in popularity due to its sequel, NieR Automata. It also has a unique focus on replaying the game’s campaign multiple times with each playthrough providing more and more story, often turning what you just did on its head plotwise. Now, it’s time for some news across the entire scope of the series come TGS.

A livestream has been announced to coincide with the event in question. The series has had a lot of these, but interestingly, this one seems like it’ll be pretty substantial as it will apparently have news for all three known titles in the NieR series: the currently available NieR Automata, the upcoming remaster of the first game NieR Replicant and the upcoming mobile title NieR Re[in]carnation. Replicant was recently rated in Taiwan so it’s possible a date could be coming, and we still don’t know much about Re[in]carnation. Automata is something of a wild card, so it’ll be interesting to see what they have for that game.

TGS 2020 will run from September 23rd to the 27th this year with digital events. The NieR livestream will be on the 24th. You can check out the full list of Square Enix’s planned show for the event through here.

本番組は、スクウェア・エニックスの各チャンネルでもサイマル放送を予定しております。

YouTube↓https://t.co/C0RyWqBZ8y

ニコニコ生放送↓https://t.co/N73G6tp8FM

— NieR公式PRアカウント (@NieR_JPN) September 10, 2020

NieR Automata is one of those games that shows you can never 100% predict what will and won’t be a hit. The game was a strange one, spawned from a largely niche first title, but yet, it managed to become a huge hit for Square Enix. Now, we’ll be able to go back to the beginning with NieR Replicant (or, if you want to be technical, NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139), and it seems we could be seeing it soon.

The upcoming title is a remaster of the original title that came out on the PS3 and Xbox 360, with reworked gameplay and new material. The game has now been officially rated in Taiwan, which you can see through here. While there is no date attached, a rating generally means an announcement or release isn’t too far off. We know Square Enix will be at TGS later this month, though NieR Replicant was not listed in their line up.

NieR Replicant will release at some point for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. The game’s eccentric director has also warned that the game could betray your expectations, so it’s also possible it may not be exactly what fans are expecting. We just have to wait and see for when it will be officially announced.

While NieR: Automata created an unlikely franchise for Square Enix, it wasn’t the first game in the melancholy series. We will get a chance to revisit that first game with an upcoming remaster, NieR Replicant. What can you expect from that remaster? Well, it seems that you may not know what to expect. Or maybe you’ll know exactly what to expect. It’s hard to say with a Director like Yoko Taro.

In an interview with Dengeki, the Director was asked about the upcoming title. If you are you familiar with Taro at all, you know he’s an odd one and his answers to the various questions were suitable odd. But when it came to potential changes to the game, he got decidedly coy. When asked if this new game was in the same timeline as the original, he simply said, “I’m really not sure.” But maybe the most eyebrow raising answer was when he was asked about new endings, he had this say about what to expect: “You’re all free to expect whatever you want. And we’re also free to betray those expectations, however we want. Everything is free… long live freedom…” (thanks to Siliconera for transcribing and translating the talk).

We’ve already heard that the game will rework key things from the original PS3/360 release, so expectations being ‘betrayed’ probably isn’t too far out there in the end. NieR was never remotely as popular as its followup, so I imagine for a lot of fans NieR Replicant will be their first real exposure to the game anyway. Can you be betrayed if you never knew what was being betrayed? Ponder on that one for a bit.

There’s a lot to say about the NieR series, and I do mean a lot. From unique storylines, to even more unique gameplay structure where endings and playthroughs are prologues more some than anything, they have constructed some very bizarre experiences. That has resonated with a lot of people, and the series is in an unlikely great position. Two new titles are on the docket to release, and today we got some new art and screens from both.

NeiR Replicant is set to be a remaster of the first game, promising a reworking of its gameplay as well as a host of new content. NieR Re[in]carnation is a mobile title where you…run up stairs, I guess, or at least that’s all that we’ve seen from it so far. Some new concept art and screenshots were released via Japanese magazine Famitsu, showing off some nice looking areas, and giving us our first glimpse into locations for both titles. Check them out below.

NeiR Replicant is slated to come to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, while NeiR Re[in]carnation will release to mobile platforms. As of now, there is still no dates or time frame for either.