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

[REPROBEAN_CHILD]

I recently found something in FFXIV that was also in Nier, more specifically the first Nier from 2010. The Sahagin Theme "Battle Drums" in FFXIV and the song "Shadowlord's Castle - Roar" from Nier use the exact some percussion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPioMfNUP48 (Battle Drums)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST45EM6Mz2I (Shadowlord's Castle Roar)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBKf...6E706&index=26 (The percussion on it's own)

One thing to note is that Nier used it first. Nier and FFXIV 1.0 released the same year, but Nier came out in April, while FFXIV was released in September. Percussions/melodies recurring in different games has happened before, so it's not unique to FFXIV and Nier. It was fun to discover this, nonetheless. Nier (both the original and Automata) is known to have an amazing soundtrack. Admittedly, I enjoyed the Sahagin theme a lot more, after I discovered this lol

[Mchappy]

Not the first time someone's identified the two- makes me still wish they would have done a NieR event. I personally enjoy the Shadowlord's Castle rendition more with the added harmonies and slightly faster tempo.

[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.

[Mahri]

Nobody owes anyone anything because legal rights to both musical pieces is owned by Square-Enix. Doesn't matter if Uematsu and Okabe are even aware of one anothers' existence.

That said, hey SE! Look! Another thread about NieR! We like NieR. (we want a NieR event in-game) PLEASE

[Vanitas]

Baseless assumptions are always a fine way to derail a nice thread before it even begins.

[Maero]

SE would rather add tie ins to unrelated stuff like Yokai, Assasin's Creed or Half life then their own games, lol

[RiyahArp]

Kind of related. I thought the Azim Steppe part of the main storyline, especially gaining a mount and fighting in midair, was them giving a nod to Panzer Dragoon. Drowning in the Horizon reminds me a lot of Panzer-style songs like Sona Mi Arecti Santu, or Anu Orta Veniya.

[KisaiTenshi]

I think some of you are over-reaching with this.

Square-Enix does make references to previous FF games, but they do so by name. With music, they may simply be composers who chose instruments that happen to be their forte. Many of those 90's-era Square games use the same instruments. With SquareEnix's other properties, Drakengard/Nier are published by Square-Enix, not developed by them. So any overlap is purely coincidental except for in Nier:Automata where they explicitly made a DLC (3C3C1D119440927) to fight Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda and PlatinumGames CEO Kenichi Sato.