The Answer to the Nier Raid Everyone has Discovered but No One has Realized. (Spoiler

[Tsukino]

I still don't like the whole thing existing because it has no reason to be here at all. With the Crystal Tower, as a counterexample, it was both better in that it was all reference to another game in the same series rather than something that doesn't fit, and that they took the elements and turned them into more than just a reference - Syrcus Tower, Xande, etc. all have their own backstories and purposes to allow them to fit in with the FFXIV world. With the Nier raid series, it's all self-contained and they're just visitors from their actual setting, making it feel like a waste of a plot we could have had for this expansion cycle.

That said, I actually like the ending with the dwarves pretty well. People don't have all the answers, they make tons of mistakes, and life goes on anyway.

[Eloah]

This is like trying to find deep introspective meaning of a porn, when in actuality it's really "It's just porn, man!"

That's the point I am making, the raid itself is meaningless, and thus by being meaningless does it have meaning. Sorta like the whole, "something is perfect if it's imperfect" thing.

Also for those wondering, I've never played any of Yoko Taro's works, honestly I never heard of him until the collaboration. My assessment is based purely on the raid itself, (I don't skip anything), and what I've heard people say about the raid and Yoko Taro's works.

[Alleo]

That's the point I am making, the raid itself is meaningless, and thus by being meaningless does it have meaning. Sorta like the whole, "something is perfect if it's imperfect" thing.

Also for those wondering, I've never played any of Yoko Taro's works, honestly I never heard of him until the collaboration. My assessment is based purely on the raid itself, (I don't skip anything), and what I've heard people say about the raid and Yoko Taro's works.

So we still should just be fine that bascially we got a bad story because Yoko Taro wanted it to be a bad story because we expected him to write something good? How many loops do we have to go through instead of just saying that its bad. Either because he did not have an idea how to write it better or because he simply did not care.

[Bright-Flower]

To the opening post's point: Even if it was unsatisfying on purpose it was still unsatisfying. So grats? Subverting expectations for its own sake doesn't mean something's good. The story feels more rushed and unfinished to me personally than purposefully meaningless anyway.

I still don't like the whole thing existing because it has no reason to be here at all. With the Crystal Tower, as a counterexample, it was both better in that it was all reference to another game in the same series rather than something that doesn't fit, and that they took the elements and turned them into more than just a reference - Syrcus Tower, Xande, etc. all have their own backstories and purposes to allow them to fit in with the FFXIV world. With the Nier raid series, it's all self-contained and they're just visitors from their actual setting, making it feel like a waste of a plot we could have had for this expansion cycle.

That said, I actually like the ending with the dwarves pretty well. People don't have all the answers, they make tons of mistakes, and life goes on anyway.

Even being from another series, they could have done what crystal tower and ivalice did and worked the nier stuff INTO the ffxiv world and story. The issue is they didn't and went for a lazy 'from another world from a portal' story instead of integrating it and making changes so it would fit better.

[Ath192]

Am I the only person who thought the guy killed himself in that room and that's why we see them walking away together at the end? In a shanty town they would've easily tossed the body away by the time we got there and its not like they're going to keep death records down there. He simply disappeared and it would explain why they got reunited. He even said he couldn't live without her.

Anyways that's my theory cause it makes all the sense in the world.

[Lateralus04]

The only thing I like about the raid was the boss aesthetics, the final boss of part 2 and 3 reminded me of Rei/Lilith hybrid in the EoE, other than that, the raid was meh, the gear looks atrocious.

[Eloah]

So we still should just be fine that bascially we got a bad story because Yoko Taro wanted it to be a bad story because we expected him to write something good? How many loops do we have to go through instead of just saying that its bad. Either because he did not have an idea how to write it better or because he simply did not care.

To the opening post's point: Even if it was unsatisfying on purpose it was still unsatisfying. So grats? Subverting expectations for its own sake doesn't mean something's good. The story feels more rushed and unfinished to me personally than purposefully meaningless anyway.

Even being from another series, they could have done what crystal tower and ivalice did and worked the nier stuff INTO the ffxiv world and story. The issue is they didn't and went for a lazy 'from another world from a portal' story instead of integrating it and making changes so it would fit better.

I'm not saying the story is good, honestly it's quite bland. It feels a bit rushed, there are several plot points that lead no where, there is too much deus ex machina happening, it's too niche for it's own good, and lots of other things. It basically is just one big easter egg for Nier/Drakengard fans.

But what I am saying is that the "deeper meaning" most people were expecting isn't there and that, in and of itself, is the deeper meaning. Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to suddenly claim "the story is good now" it's meh, but that based on everything I've seen/heard, this is my conclusion about the meaning behind this raid series.

[MaikoRaines]

I'm sure many people will claim that I'm just trying to give credit to a "bad" story, and maybe I am. But if you are a fan of Yoko Taro's and know how he likes to add in all of these little nuances, isn't this exactly something he would do?

I mean... I'm an FFXIV fan before a NieR fan. Does this raid change my mind about the NieRverse? Not one bit. I love them all the same. That doesn't change.

But YT I feel since he's never written a scenario for an MMO before he was more or less out of his element. I'm playing XIV for the story, for the resolves and to simply say "well maybe there's no ending that's satisfying and it's a YT thing" - You have to understand that for his games there's multiple endings. Automata even had a live concert with the voice actors reprising their roles on a stage with a conclusion post Automata Gameplay.

I'm grateful YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse happened. It gave me almost everything I wanted - Minus the Flight Unit Mount and an ending that was satisfying.

Tldr: Yoko Taro's storytelling works better as a single player game where you're focused on the world of it rather than an MMO where many are not invested in story rather than gameplay and rewards.

That was more or less the TL;DR version of my own post. I tried to find meaning and came to my own sort of conclusion. As much of a YT/NieR/Drak fan I am... this just didn't live up to my expectations. The raid battles themselves were amazing. Everything else basically but the story.

[Bright-Flower]

I don't disagree that it works better in a singleplayer game but...the problem here isn't that the gameplay and rewards were lacking IMO, the problem was the story. The gameplay was fun and the rewards were, while not perfet, all around pretty good. At least IMO.

It is specifically the story (and the overuse of the cyberspace boss arena aesthetics in the Tower) that I have to complain about.

[Listrella]

so you're saying he was tricking us into thinking it was good when it actually sucked? uh okay, at least it's over now.