meaningless [C]ode & the [E]nd of YoRHa - NieR: Automata

Channel:

Shin FTW

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Published on September 27, 2019 6:00:04 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsinclxXI4g

Game:

Nier: Automata (2017)

Duration: 37:28

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6

Finally, after so long, after so many unnecessarily countless hours of wasting time (and a few of actual progression), we've reached the final FINAL battle, and the conclusion to this story... for a game I had never originally intended to record ANY videos for when I got it.

Was it what you were expecting? Did you think that the credits would be the final boss, all along?

I know one thing, and I've said it before in this video, but it was an INCREDIBLY powerful sequence and just... really well executed in how it conveyed its message. This was the first time this game has driven me to tears of genuine JOY, instead of pain or sadness. Seeing everyone's encouraging words on the screen, as the music played in the background, overwhelmed me even when watching this finished video (as I do before uploading, to make sure it looks right).

But I was already taken aback when I heard the pods' (mostly 042) heartfelt words. HEARTFELT words. As in, he'd actually developed a heart, his own will. Even 153 was affected. They KNEW how Project YoRHa was supposed to end, and were tasked t help carry it out and repeat the cycle. They were so cold and did not care. But we see them slowly develop their own thoughts and emotions over the course of the story, and that's what leads to them defying their programming and forging their own future by saving 2B, A2, and 9S, and breaking the cycle of sadness.

It just... the prospect of having a happy ending in this game never crossed my mind as something within the realm of possibility. Yoko Taro doesn't do happy endings, but this... I know Emil is still gone, and that the rest o YoRHa is too, and likely the Twins, and Pascal's memories...

But the main characters have another chance at life! They have a chance at it, while free from the painful cycle they were trapped in, which forced them into that awful situation in the first place. Now they have a chance to forge their own meaning in life, their own purpose and future.

And I know the pods weren't copying the message of my earlier video (the "This video has a purpose"" video). At that point, I pretty much figured out at least what PART of this game's message was, so I made that video to try to convey that message in my own way. Nothing was really accomplished in the video. It didn't need to exist, but it could still be entertaining for what happened along the way, regardless.

Pod 153 said that "Life is all about the struggle within that cycle", and Pod 042 said "A future is something you must take for yourself". It's not about how the story ends, but what you do with the journey of your story. YOU are the one who forges that story, and ultimately you determine where it ends (for the most part). You may feel alone, and like you don't matter, and to the universe itself (not discounting the existence of God, as I'm a believer of an intelligence behind our universe's design) you might be insignificant, but you still have the choice to DO something with you life, and you CAN matter to someone. You can matter to a lot of people, and together you can help give your lives meaning.

9S lost all of that, and he was set down an opposite path - a path of nihilism, where life had no meaning to him anymore. I can't blame him, even if the message was for us to not follow that path, and to see the horrible effects such an idea can have on people.

The ending made it clear, that it was about uplifting us and making us feel like we DO matter in some way.

So, I hope my own message that I picked, also conveys that idea.

As for the others, thanks to the Emil Heads weapon story, there's entry dates of Emil in the future - the year 12,000+ - so I can only hope that he's still somehow alive, or comes back somehow. I can also hope that, if the Twins are gone, that they could be restored just like 2B, 9S, and A2. Even Pascal - we can forge a friendship with him again, completely free from corruption.

And perhaps, if the deletion of a YoRHa data was halted, maybe 21O, 6O, and even the Commander can be restored? We will never find out, but that means that we can also believe as well.

Also, something that's interesting is that 2B's name is actually a reference to "to be", but also, 9S' name is a reference to "nien es", which is German for "not be". So, combined, the two have the message of "to be or not to be". It has a bit of relevance to the game's message as well. To be or not to be, your life and your future are determined and given purpose by YOU, despite how meaningless your small existence may feel.

Anyway, the story may be over, but my time and journey with this game are not. There's still more to do, so I'll see you then!

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