History VideoGame / NierAutomata

* ControllableHelplessness: [[spoiler:2B's final playable segment]] begins with her infected by the Logic Virus. Her systems continually break down as the virus spreads (meaning you lose the ability to fight back or even dodge attacks with progressively worsening InterfaceScrew), and all you can do is limp from the Flooded City all the way to the mall.

* PointOfNoReturn: Going to the Sunken City to initiate the "Missile Supply Mission" story quest in Routes A and B will lock the player out of any uncompleted sidequests [[spoiler:due to 2B and 9S being separated after the mission and only reuniting in time for the final battle against Eve]]. Fortunately, the player will eventually unlock Chapter Select near the end of the game and be able to go back and complete these sidequests.

* ShiftingSandLand: The areas the [=YoRHa=] can visit include a vast desert.

* RidingTheBomb: During the fight with Grun, [[spoiler:9S finishes it off by physically steering a cruise missile directly into its mouth.]] It doesn't work out as well as he hoped.

** Machines Friedrich, Auguste, and Grun after named after philosopher Friedrich Schlegel, Auguste Wilhelm Schlegel, and Karl Theodor Ferdinand Grun.

** During Route B's fight against Grun, [[spoiler:9S finds out that RidingTheBomb is a ''lot'' harder than it looks]].

*** Similarly, 9S can also be read as "nein ist", German for "is not", or, in this case, "not to be"; thus, when their names are put together, 2B and 9S's names complete the famous phrase.

** The designations of the [=YoRHa=] in the opening squadron are 12H, 11B, 7E, 1D, 4B, and 2B. Excluding 7E and the playable 2B [[spoiler:who is also an E-type, as revealed in the ending]], the model types of the remaining four members correspond to the default/recommended 4-man party in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': [[DamagerHealerTank one Defense unit, one Healer unit, and two Battle units]].

** [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare Furthermore,]] one protagonist's name is [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} "2B" (to be)]][[spoiler:, and another's is [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} "9S" (nein ist, German for "is not", a.k.a, not to be)]], and they have to contend with a [[EtTuBrute traitorous]] [=YoRHa=] whose name is [[Theatre/JuliusCaesar "A2" (et tu, as in Caesar's famous last words,]] "EtTuBrute").]]

** Type E: [[spoiler: ''Executioner'' Type. A secret model officially disguised as a Type B, created for the purpose of covering up [=YoRHa=]'s secrets by executing any non-Type E androids that uncover classified information, especially Type S models. This execution involves not only destroying the corrupted android's body, but deleting all of their memory data and resetting them to their base data]].

* FeministFantasy: It's subtle but undeniably present. [=YoRHa=] is [[ImprobablyFemaleCast overwhelmingly dominated]] by women who serve at all levels of combat, from the front lines to the highest leadership - in fact, the only male models are the Scanners, who are all {{Non-Action Guy}}s - who wear clothing that [[LadyOfWar emphasizes]] than [[RealWomenDontWearDresses downplays]] their femininity, and their gender is never treated as noteworthy, or even brought up at all. There are only three male characters of significance in the whole game, 9S and Adam & Eve (four if you count Pascal, and five if you count Emil, whose sidequest is entirely optional) and the machine brothers [[spoiler:[[DiscOneFinalBoss are removed from the story relatively quickly.]]]] Additionally, the entire back half of the game revolves around the playable female character undergoing immense CharacterDevelopment as she lets go of her hatred of machines [[spoiler:while the playable male character descends completely into insanity after the loss of the woman he loved and has to be stopped for his own good.]]

* DiscOneFinalDungeon: Played with. The ending of Route A features, rather than a dungeon, a full on [[TheWarSequence War Sequence]] against [[spoiler:the machine lifeforms under Eve's control]]. The preceding factory dungeon, while technically being the final dungeon of Route A, is more of a BigLippedAlligatorMoment than an attempt to fight through the antagonist's defenses. defense

* CreativeClosingCredits: The credits are actually [[spoiler:the game's FinalBoss in a ShootEmUp segment required to get the final story ending, with another variation of the Weight of the World song playing throughout- it starts with 8-bit notes followed by alternating English, Japanese and Chaos versions, and the development studio's staff all singing a chorus]].

** The ending of Route A has the subtitle "flowers for m[A]chines", likely a reference to the Science Fiction short story ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon''.

* VocalEvolution: [[spoiler:During her time with [=YoRHa=] as No. 2, [=A2=] had a fairly high-pitched voice to pair with her optimism, but by the time [=2B=] and [=9S=] encounter her, her voice has changed to reflect her bitterness. Not only that, a good 6 years had passed since Creator/CheramiLeigh originally recorded her lines for [=A2=] for the game, so, like with Creator/LauraBailey and Kaine in the remake of ''VideoGame/NieR Replicant,'' she sounds different than in the original game due to being older.]]

* VocalEvolution: [[spoiler:During her time with [=YoRHa=] as No. 2, [=A2=] had a fairly high-pitched voice to pair with her optimism, but by the time [=2B=] and [=9S=] encounter her, her voice has changed to reflect her bitterness. Not only that, a good 6 years had passed since Creator/CheramiLeigh originally recorded her lines for [=A2=] for the game, so, like with Creator/LauraBailey and Kaine in the remake of ''VideoGame/Nier Replicant,'' she sounds different than in the original game due to being older.]]

* VocalEvolution: [[spoiler:During her time with [=YoRHa=] as No. 2, [=A2=] had a fairly high-pitched voice to pair with her optimism, but by the time [=2B=] and [=9S=] encounter her, her voice has changed to reflect her bitterness. Not only that, a good 6 years had passed since Creator/CheramiLeigh originally recorded her lines for [=A2=] for the game, so, like with Creator/LauraBailey and Kaine in the remake of ''VideoGame/Nier Replicant,'' she sounds different than in the original game due to being older.

* DropTheHammer: One of the Pods' abilities is the "Hammer", which summons giant floating hammers. This is essentially Grimoire Weiss's "Dark Hand" move from the original game.

* RobotBuddy: The "Pod" Tactical Support System is one for the player characters. It can help with aerial stunts, grabbing hard-to-reach items, and attacking enemies. It also functions as the ''Automata'' counterpart to the original game's Grimoire Weiss, as it can shoot projectiles similar to Weiss's Dark Blast magic, along with other similar moves (e.g. the "Dark Hand" returns as "[[DropTheHammer Hammer]]").

* OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding: With the game having multiple endings, this is both played straight and subverted. Endings A and B have [[spoiler:the leads and the supporting cast survive]], then endings C and D have [[spoiler:two or three of the three leads killed (depending or whether you choose to have 9S leave Earth or die there), with most of the supporting cast having already died before that]]. The final ending, [[GoldenEnding Ending E]] shows [[spoiler:the Pods resurrecting the three leads, but almost all of the supporting android and robot characters are still dead.]]

* RobotClown: The Amusement Park machine life forms are dressed up as clowns and jesters.

* LivingStatue: You can attack the giant rabbit statue at the Amusement Park, at which point it comes to life and becomes a grueling BonusBoss.

** In the anime, the game's battle with Grün is merged with the battle against [[spoiler:Adam (who replaces Eve as the final boss of the first act)]]. Instead of fighting in a OneWingedAngel form like in the game, he [[spoiler:becomes giant kaiju who's defeated with YorHa's orbital laser, just like Grün.]]

* OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding: With the game having multiple endings, this is both played straight and subverted. Endings A and B have [[spoiler:has the leads and the supporting cast survive]], then endings C and D [[spoiler:have two or three of the three leads killed (depending or whether you choose to have 9S leave Earth or die there), with most of the supporting cast having already died before that]]. The final ending, [[GoldenEnding Ending E]] shows [[spoiler:the Pods resurrecting the three leads, but almost all of the supporting android and robot characters are still dead.]]

* OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding: With the game having multiple endings, this is both played straight and subverted. Endings A and B have [[spoiler:has the leads and the supporting cast survive]], then endings C and D [[spoiler:have two or three of the three leads killed (depending or whether you choose to have 9S leave Earth or die there), with most of the supporting cast having already died before that]]. The final ending, [[GoldenEnding Ending E]] shows [[spoiler:the Pods resurrecting the three leads, but almost all of the supporting android and robot characters are still dead.]]

* OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding: With the game having multiple endings, this is both played straight and subverted. Endings A and B have [[spoiler:has the leads and the supporting cast survive]], then endings C and D [[spoiler:have two or three of the three leads killed (depending or whether you choose to have 9S leave Earth or die there), with most of the supporting cast having already died before that]]. The final ending, [[GoldenEnding Ending E]] shows [[spoiler:the Pods resurrecting the three leads, but almost all of the supporting android and robot characters are still dead.]]

** A2 is a walking [[VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance Raiden]] reference. She's borderline edgy, talks in a gruff, almost perpetually angry voice, [[spoiler:acquires an ally's weapon after they die]], one of her taunts mentions turning off "pain circuits", and she even has [[SuperMode an overpowered Berserker mode that gives her way more strength than usual.]]