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drat I love this story. This moment has so much interesting existentialist stuff going on that I could probably ramble about it for hours. This is the point at which I started to think about how A2 and 2B might, thematically, be best considered as the same person all the way through Nier: Automata. We see here how A2 really takes on the mantle of being 2B's post-existential-crisis self, acting on the basis of her inherited memories, in opposition to 9S's projected interpretation of her YoRHa identity, and the conflict this creates between them is sharp, beautifully constructed and terribly, terribly tragic.
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Dec 9, 2017 12:37
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 05:24 |
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Well they are the same model; A2 was the prototype for 2B. Other than the hairstyle, they're twins. Same face and everything.
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Dec 9, 2017 13:10
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A2 isn't acting on the basis of 2B's memories. She's acting of her own volition. 2B's not some parasite who's gone and hijacked the first usable body she's stumbled across. Her mellowing out is basically the Pod saying "hey, dingus, you're going to end up dead if you keep being a dumbass" and with that came her being all, yeah ok not all machines should be killed on sight, but I'm still going to sort all this poo poo out because I'm done with this bullshit. That said, A2 and 2B are largely the same person gone down two different roads at a cross road in life, they've got the same personality type and appearance. A2's pretty much showing what 2B could become if she weren't such a stickler for sticking to her duty and it's maybe trying to say there's an happy inbetween going murder hobo and murder drone. This is Yoko Taro so the murder is non-negotiable. Josuke Higashikata fucked around with this message at 13:21 on Dec 9, 2017 |
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Dec 9, 2017 13:15
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Was it established somewhere that the resource units are 9S Traumatizing Units? It seems like a spoiler, or is it something we've just agreed on?
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Dec 9, 2017 14:03
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Well he's certainly not coming out of them any happier than he was going in!
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Dec 9, 2017 14:51
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Kavak posted:Was it established somewhere that the resource units are 9S Traumatizing Units? It seems like a spoiler, or is it something we've just agreed on? No, so it's something we've just agreed on. After all, actually having to kill the Forest King's Son instead of just watching it happen, actually having to come to terms with 2B dying by fighting a digital version of her, and actually having to decide whether to kill 21O himself or embrace death by her corrupted form kind of makes it personal to 9S' story!
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Dec 9, 2017 15:01
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I imagine if 2B or A2 were the ones who were entering them, the machines would have had a "hey, 2B/A2, gently caress you" plan tailored to each of them too.
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Dec 9, 2017 15:10
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Nines fall, everybody cries Man I forgot just how often he gets dumped into a hole.
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Dec 9, 2017 15:11
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Kavak posted:Was it established somewhere that the resource units are 9S Traumatizing Units? It seems like a spoiler, or is it something we've just agreed on? Well, it might not be the machines but rather the universe itself that is doing this to him, but in practice it doesn't really matter.
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Dec 9, 2017 16:33
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The towers ARE making themselves suspiciously accessible.
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Dec 9, 2017 16:41
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you can't see it in-game but from above they spell out the phrase "9S IS WORST BOY"
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Dec 9, 2017 16:43
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Josuke Higashikata posted:I imagine if 2B or A2 were the ones who were entering them, the machines would have had a "hey, 2B/A2, gently caress you" plan tailored to each of them too. It'd be funnier if they went in there and the machines clearly had never even conceived of the idea that 9S wouldn't be the one that went in there, and so they get to be puzzled by the machines' bizarre fixation on their (possibly dead) sidekick/nemesis.
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Dec 9, 2017 17:02
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McDragon posted:Nines fall, everybody cries Yeah, I couldn't help at giggle at him getting dumped down yet another pit.
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Dec 9, 2017 17:34
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Josuke Higashikata posted:That said, A2 and 2B are largely the same person gone down two different roads at a cross road in life, they've got the same personality type and appearance. A2's pretty much showing what 2B could become if she weren't such a stickler for sticking to her duty and it's maybe trying to say there's an happy inbetween going murder hobo and murder drone. "Murder well-adjusted adult" kind of seems like a contradiction in terms.
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Dec 9, 2017 17:49
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Well, you still murder machines occasionally, but it's just a hobby. You don't let it define you. Same difference as going to a bar with friends once in a while, and being a raging alcoholic powered solely by vodka.
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Dec 9, 2017 17:58
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Poltergrift posted:"Murder well-adjusted adult" kind of seems like a contradiction in terms. I think Jackass is the closest it gets in this universe. She and the junkies (who she supplied) are the only characters having any fun, and the junkies aren't murdering anything.
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Dec 9, 2017 18:16
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McFetusBurger posted:I think Jackass is the closest it gets in this universe. She and the junkies (who she supplied) are the only characters having any fun, and the junkies aren't murdering anything. What about that one YORHA chick who hangs out by the oasis and (if I recall) likes fishing? She seems happy, and not high. I can have moments of... eccentricity and sometimes be quite curious about things. Please forgive me if I do something foolish or rude.
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Dec 9, 2017 18:27
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Stephen9001 posted:What about that one YORHA chick who hangs out by the oasis and (if I recall) likes fishing? She seems happy, and not high. That's her. The One Happy Person. Let's call her 1H.
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Dec 9, 2017 18:34
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Jackass seems like a pretty happy person... at least when she's blowing things up.
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Dec 9, 2017 18:37
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Or berating her lacky for not blowing things up.
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Dec 9, 2017 19:45
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Poltergrift posted:"Murder well-adjusted adult" kind of seems like a contradiction in terms. It's part of the contract. No murder, you're not in the Yoko Taro show. 
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Dec 9, 2017 20:27
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Josuke Higashikata posted:It's part of the contract. No murder, you're not in the Yoko Taro show. I wonder, I tried to think of someone who could fit that description, and I thought of Simo Hayha (a Finnish sniper). Dude killed several hundred enemy soldiers and didn't seem to have any psychological problems. He became a moose hunter and dog breeder after WWII. I can have moments of... eccentricity and sometimes be quite curious about things. Please forgive me if I do something foolish or rude.
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Dec 9, 2017 20:40
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Stephen9001 posted:What about that one YORHA chick who hangs out by the oasis and (if I recall) likes fishing? She seems happy, and not high. what we don't see is her crushing existential despair about "The One That Got Away, And Seriously Guys It Was Thiiiiiiiis Big *stretches arms out wide*"
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Dec 9, 2017 20:48
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Ratoslov posted:That's her. The One Happy Person. Let's call her 1H. Uh, Machine on a Break seems pretty drat happy to me.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:04
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Episode CXXVII: Auguste.jpg)  Music: Song of the Ancients ~ Atonement .jpg) So I guess this is happening now. A2 is here and she can’t just walk off. She needs to have a boss fight too. So here is this goofy machine lifeform configuration to fill that hole. .jpg)  Analysis: YoRHa unit 9S is still alive. Query: Why would unit A2 be concerned with the status of unit 9S after turning on YoRHa?  Shut up!.jpg) C’mon, Pod. Were you actually expecting a straight answer out of A2? She’s goddamn awful at communicating with anyone. Did you just see her interaction with 9S in which she went about things in the single worst fashion possible given an already bad situation? The only way she could have handled that worse is if she teabagged 21O’s corpse after putting her down. .jpg) Like with 21O, this fight doesn’t officially begin until A2 fights back against the enemy. Meet Auguste, named after the 1800s French philosopher, Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (he just went by Auguste Comte.) Wikipedia on Auguste Comte posted:Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher who founded the discipline of praxeology and the doctrine of positivism. He is sometimes regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term. .jpg) Named after the dude that came up with the word altruism, huh? Well, you’re just loving done son. You don’t belong in this world. But let’s talk about the boss fight. His means of attacking is centered around a magnetic link with the linked sphere “arms” he’s sporting. This includes such techniques as extending them to make a bit electric fence or launching ‘em out to form a crude electric wall. .jpg) He can also quickly slam the linked spheres together for a slapping attack with a mild AOE effect from the impact. That’s neat, I guess. .jpg) Auguste is fairly easy to stun as far as bosses go. Any major hit, such as an evade to Pod Fire follow-up shot will send him flying and briefly disable his arms until Auguste hops back onto his feet to resume the fight. Despite being a comparable level to our A2, this boss has surprisingly low overall HP. I had to slow down a bit here because it can be curb stomped in about 30 seconds if we just went for it attacking. .jpg) Once Auguste falls below 66% health, something odd... happens. .jpg)  Big... brother! Big... brother...A bunch of Stubbies with buckets on their heads now begin jumping into the fray and attacking A2. These bucket Stubbies are called Friedrich after the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. You should probably know who Nietzsche is... I mean Pascal dunked on him earlier in the game already. .jpg) Anyway, Friedrichs are... just standard Stubby machines but with a bucket on their head and hollering about their Big Brother, Auguste. I like to think the machines panicked that 9S immediately marched over to the next Resource Unit and this is the best half-assed thing they could come up with to gently caress with him on short notice. That is until one machine, that earned himself a promotion, remembered they had the corrupted 21O to fill in. Alternately, this is all they had on hand in case anyone other than 9S ever showed up here looking for a fight.  .jpg) .jpg) After the Friedrichs show up, Auguste gains a couple more less than spectacular abilities. It can now drop its arm orbs turning them into dangerous bouncy balls that lazily boing around the arena. .jpg) Auguste can also extend its arms and utilize that old machine lifeforms tactical mainstay – spinning around like a dingus. Elite YoRHa models laugh at this kind of dumb thing but “Spinning Machine Lifeform” is actually the number seven overall cause of death among Resistance androids in an 11944 battlefield study. .jpg) That said, Auguste is probably one of the easiest bosses in the game. So you know how this ends. .jpg) Music: ENDS .jpg) Big brother! Biiiiig brother! BIG brother! Big... Brother....jpg) .jpg) The Friedrich Stubbies all begin to desperately revive their completely jacked Big Brother or else start begging A2 to show mercy. .jpg) We’re given control back to A2 here. This is actually a completely pointless morale choice! .jpg) .jpg) A2 can just turn around and leave at this point. The scene just fades to black and we continue on to the next scene completely unceremoniously. All this does is change the Unit Data entry slightly to say A2 spared them for some reason. .jpg) .jpg) But ehh... All the machines A2 liked are dead or whatever you’d call Pascal’s current morbid oblivious status. Plus there’s an extra cutscene if we off them. So... .jpg)  .jpg) And with that, Chapter 16 and the Resource Unit keycard collection story arc is completed. Tune in next ti— .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) .jpg) —me as we finally see what the deal is with The Tower as NieR: Automata’s final chapter begins! Except for all the stuff after the final chapter. And the actual final chapter. Look, it’s complicated...    Video: Episode 127 Highlight Reel (Probably worth watching.)   NieR: Automata Western Cover Art – A game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey goes horribly wrong.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:09
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It actually took a crazy long amount of time for people to figure out you could just walk away from Auguste without killing him, and it was thought be a glitch for a while.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:16
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Who wants to place bets on the pods either being the last survivors and 9S and A2 die, or if they sacrifice themselves in some manner? Or, if you really feel like betting on low odds, that both pods and 9S and A2 survive the final ending?
I can have moments of... eccentricity and sometimes be quite curious about things. Please forgive me if I do something foolish or rude.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:21
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I’m amused that the mechs named for Mr. “God is dead” refer to the founder of the church of humanism and the coiner of altruism as Big Brother.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:27
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Oberndorf posted:I'm amused that the mechs named for Mr. "God is dead" refer to the founder of the church of humanism and the coiner of altruism as Big Brother. I mean it kinda fits.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:40
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the best part is if you go back to the start of Route B, you're obviously controlling a Friedrich whose trying to revive an Auguste.jpg)
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Dec 9, 2017 21:43
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Freidrich, you have been summoned to court to answer for the crime of loving your big brother and being a good boy, how do you plead? Guilty. The punishment is death. Send in the next one.
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Dec 9, 2017 21:48
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Beefstew posted:It actually took a crazy long amount of time for people to figure out you could just walk away from Auguste without killing him, and it was thought be a glitch for a while. Think the first thing I did when that happen was actually walk away. "Uhhh wait, what's happening?" "...." "This is wierding me out. Oh hey the door is ooen." "Bye."
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Dec 9, 2017 22:10
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Josuke Higashikata posted:Freidrich, you have been summoned to court to answer for the crime of loving your big brother and being a good boy, how do you plead? Being in a Taro Yoko game with good intentions is kind of like being a mother in a Disney film.
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Dec 9, 2017 22:12
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Uh... I had forgotten about Auguste and the bucket stubbies. Still, at this point I was firmly in "gently caress the machines" mode so no way I didn't blow them up. Not after what they did to Pascal and village.
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Dec 9, 2017 22:19
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I spared them. For a number of reasons, but it was mostly that pang of remembered sympathy. ...what, was someone expecting more depth? This wasn't exactly a Pascal-class decision.
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Dec 9, 2017 22:55
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The little load screen hijack is neat.
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Dec 9, 2017 23:07
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If you have the shockwave chip installed it's really easy for this to bug out and lock you into the "kill Aguste" option because the shockwaves actually persist between cutscenes and as soon as you regain control of A2 they'll instantly start moving again and slam right into the guy. I had just enough time to process that you actually had an option here before everything blew up.
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Dec 9, 2017 23:14
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Beefstew posted:It actually took a crazy long amount of time for people to figure out you could just walk away from Auguste without killing him, and it was thought be a glitch for a while. It...did? Maybe I've just played too many games but the fact that you get control there makes that seem extremely obvious. I mean I didn't walk away my first time but I definitely thought about it (and figured it was an option), but if you hesitate for too long to make the choice, A2 just makes it for you. She chooses murder, of course.
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Dec 9, 2017 23:28
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BlackFrost posted:It...did? Maybe I've just played too many games but the fact that you get control there makes that seem extremely obvious. I mean I didn't walk away my first time but I definitely thought about it (and figured it was an option), but if you hesitate for too long to make the choice, A2 just makes it for you. Huh, neat. Didn't actually know that she went into autopilot like that if you took too long. Were there any other instances of that in the game? ...Man, when do we get the Umlaut ending?
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Dec 9, 2017 23:42
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McDragon posted:The little load screen hijack is neat. I have seen multiple people say that they never noticed this event because they tuned out load screens. Meaning there were people who got this far into the game and still just didn't give a gently caress, even when they had to jam on the button.
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Dec 10, 2017 00:21
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