Seems that FFXIV has a "reference" to the original Nier. Somewhat

[Enkidoh]

Personally I think the two tracks sound nothing like each other - the two don't sound similar in terms of actual leitmotif other than they use similar instruments. Also just because FFXIV 1.0 came out after Nier, doesn't mean the music was composed at the same time - Uematsu actually composed FFXIV 1.0's OST under contract at his own studio independently from SE, and had already finished most, if not all, of the OST by the time the game went up for Alpha and Beta testing earlier in 2010, around the time Nier was released (most likely he had already finished most of it by 2009). So it's highly unlikely he deliberately set out to plagiarize Nier's OST.

[Mchappy]

So it's highly unlikely he deliberately set out to plagiarize Nier's OST.

I don't think that's the intent the OP was trying to make.

[REPROBEAN_CHILD]

snip

Well yeah, the songs are different, but they use the same percussion. That's not even a negative.

I have no idea why you're assuming that I implied Uematsu plagiarized Keiichi Okabe (who composed the Nier soundtrack). Please don't put words in my mouth. I only stated that it appeared in Nier before it did in FFXIV. Not once did I say Uematsu owed Okabe compensation.