A Non-FFXIV Spoiler Discussion about NiER raids

[BaroLlyonesse]

I just had a friend finish the storyline including the six extra weeks, and she had some questions about the ending. I explained as best I could about what I thought happened, and predictably she answered 'But is that what happened?' I explained what a lot of people think it implied, and the same question. So I became very long-winded about Yoko Taro and how he acts.

I came out to the forums, and I see a lot of hate for the ending, and the phrase that keeps showing up is that they are tired of hearing 'because Yoko Taro', like they're somehow not willing to explain or they're talking down. Honestly, people do that to a lot of things: 'You don't understand [X]? Then you don't really know do you?' and then they lift a wine glass and haughtily chuckle.

So I'm going to say 'because Yoko Taro' is a good answer, and an acceptable one, but for a different reason. It's his writing style to be ambiguous, nihilistic, and utter incapable of following the rules he laid out for you to understand. He will never explain himself fully, and you can't even tell if he's messing with you because he's wearing Majora's Moon on his head.

It's not snarky. Consider Stephen King, and that a lot of his stories have 'because Stephen King' answers to what happened. The Stand? The actual hand of God shows up at the end of his contagion book, and if you're not used to his writing, you're gonna throw the book out the window. The Langoliers? The crazy guy's abusive father was actually right, the meatballs are real, and no I won't tell you how he knew. Maximum Overdrive? Good luck explaining anything about how the living vehicles are capable of breaking the laws of physics; a vending machine doesn't have the ability to throw cans of soda hard enough to kill someone, for example. You just have to accept 'because Stephen King' and then enjoy the ride.

I think if you approach it like that, 'because Yoko Taro' makes more sense. He will be ambiguous. He will be depressing. He will not explain anything that could lead you to an actual ending that makes total sense. Heck, look at Ending E of Drakengard: it comes out of nowhere, makes zero real sense even if you accept that it's a setup for NiER being in the real world, and leaves the protagonist in an absolutely unwinnable situation. It's a Yoko Taro ending.

That's just how he is. 'because Yoko Taro' isn't arrogance or praising the auteur or anything, not in every case. Sometimes all you can do is shrug and say 'because Yoko Taro' and you can't argue or explain after that because... you can't. If it doesn't come straight from his mouth, you'll never be 100% you're right. He's treated like a fantastic writer that none of us understand and have no chance to, and on one level that's true, but honestly the best way to deal with his stories?

'Because Yoko Taro, and I'm here for the ride'.