History YMMV / NIER

* PanderingToTheBase: The existence of the older version of Nier is an example of this that proves that Administrivia/TropesAreNotBad. When Square Enix of America executives saw the game, they felt that western players wouldn't be able to take a young boy carrying a giant sword very seriously (at least as the tone of the game required) and asked that the devs create a version of the game with a grown man as the protagonist, leading to there being two versions of Nier (Japan had the original version of Nier on UsefulNotes/PlayStation3 and the older Nier on UsefulNotes/Xbox360, everyone else had the older Nier regardless of console). It turns out that those executives were right on the money, as the older Nier is beloved by the western fanbase, and some see him as the superior version of the character.

** Papa Nier's new model revealed in the ''Replicant'' remake pre-order theme, which makes him look younger and more attractive compared to his original appearance, leading to many cries of "OH NO HE'S HOT" and calling him a DILF.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Grimoire Rubrum, especially after reading ''And Then There Were None'' from ''Grimoire Nier''. Before her and Weiss became Grimoires, they shared a history, so one would think that it would illicit ''something'' of note from the latter (ex. An offhanded comment about Rubrum seeming familiar). And even if people didn't read ''Grimoire Nier'', the fact that there's another magic-wielding book and the revelation that she was created to serve a supporting role to Grimoires Weiss and Noir implies that she would have an interesting role. Instead, she's killed off as quickly as she's introduced and is only mentioned again when investigating her statue in Popola's trophy room.

** Devola's reaction to meeting Weiss, who she knows the legend behind, is to say "[[TotallyRadical Wow, so cool]]!" in a mildly excited manner. Its funnier than it was intended to be since it comes across as Devola being only a bit impressed that the supposedly legendary Grimoire Weiss is before her.

* DesignatedHero: It's revealed that Kainé, unlike Nier, is very well aware of fact that [[spoiler:Shades are sentient]], however she never drops a hint or tries to stop the merciless slaughter. It's revealed that she's trying to convince herself that they aren't human when Tyrann mocks her numerous times for killing innocent souls, and she yells at him to shut up. In her defense, the lizard Shade taunted her by pretending to be her grandma earlier, so she might not trust what the voices says. That, and she does feel some regret for attacking the larger Shades in the first place.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: The game was overlooked on the whole, selling poorly in the west and greeted with mixed reviews. However, a few critics and a number of the people in the game's small fanbase consider the game unusually well-written and interesting, not just for a JRPG but as a game in general. It's also easily one of the most depressing and oppressive games in recent memory.

* FandomEnragingMisconception: Referring to this game as ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'''s prequel would guarantee you the ire of longtime fans.

* BrokenBase: The game's fandom is split in two camps either considering the remake an improvement on the original in every possible way as well as restoring Brother Nier with his arguably better character and story while the other detests the remake, feeling that it tries too hard to appease the [[NewbieBoom newbie fans]] that only discovered the Drakenier franchise after ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'''s release.