Nier: Automata Ver1.1a: What to Expect From Part 2 (According to the Game) (2024)

The following contains spoilers for both NieR Automata, and its anime adaptation, NieR Automata Ver1.1a, now streaming on Crunchyroll.

NieR Automata Ver1.1a is finally back after a year. Last time, we finished off with 2B killing 9S to help him evade a virus that took over his body. After a lengthy battle between two android-like machine life forms, Adam and Eve, the YoRHa androids are one step closer to finding the truth.

New allies have been made, including a former comrade of the rouge A2, Lily, and a peaceful village led by Pascal, another machine life form. While the events of the anime roughly follow the same storyline as the original game, it has begun to slowly branch out into its own narrative, asking and answering new questions along the way. Perhaps this isn't just a unique adaptation of the game, but the franchise itself?

On the Road to Truth

In episode 12, Ending A of NieR Automata is reenacted, along with a short snippet of 9S hacking YoRHa's network afterward. There, he discovers a curious message left behind by a boy who looks exactly like him. We are also introduced to the Red Girls, who are linked to the Council of Humanity. From episode 1, we already knew that there was something more to YoRHa, but it's beginning to reach its peak.

When the player completes Ending A, their next playthrough is told from the perspective of 9S. Similar series of events take place while playing the game, but this time the viewer is meant to ask more questions about their mission. While working alongside the Resistance, YoRHa issues a message to the units on Earth, with news that the battle for humanity is coming to an end. Later on, a backdoor virus will take The Bunker by storm, leaving all remaining YoRHa units stranded on Earth. This means anyone connected to the network will be infected and need to be disposed of. However, this also means that YoRHa androids will not be able to revive or have backup bodies. If they die, they die.

Recklessness vs Bravery

In the original game, if the player runs out of health or "dies", they get a new body and can try again from where they left off. This made it easier to play, as it ensured low risk when fighting enemies. This is very similar to how wreckless the androids are when they fight in the anime. But in this new scenario, the player must be careful, because The Bunker is no more.

We already have a general idea of how 9S feels towards 2B, and with this new obstacle in their way, it can pose quite an issue for their relationship. In the original game, 2B is overcome by the logic virus and so asks A2 to kill her. While 9S is on his way with a cure, he arrives too late to see that the former two had taken liberties of their own. It's at this time that the game map gets an update and a mysterious building shoots up from the ground.

The game then switches the player's perspective to A2. Over time, the story lets the player piece together what's going on in the world of NieR, and with all the exposition episodes we've gotten so far, it's safe to say that what we'll see in the coming season, won't just be limited to animating gameplay.

NieR: Automata Ver1.1a

Based on the video game developed by PlatinumGames and Square Enix, NieR: Automata 1.1a is an adaptation that centers around members of a special android force created by Humanity in the distant future. In the year 5012, with Humanity at the brink of extinction and Earth all but claimed by Alien invaders with Machine Lifeforms, Humanity launches a counterattack to reclaim the planet. 9S, an elite attack unit, is sent to convene with an analysis unit known as 9S to eradicate the threat. But as the two learn about the world and themselves, they ponder the meaning of existence and whether they're more than just weapons of destruction.