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Tear Jerker / NieR

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"Fyra! No! Don't Leave! Fyra! FYRA! COME BACK!"
The equally depressing and heartwarming game know as NieR is essentially 50% genre/medium savvy humour and 50% undiluted tearjerker.

WARNING: Spoilers Off applies to Moments pages.


  • Whenever "Emil / Sacrifice" plays, you can expect there to be a sad scene.
  • After finding Grimoire Weiss and rescuing Yonah, 'Father' Nier breaks down when Weiss explains that there is no known cure for the Black Scrawl. Cursing the gods for this while on his way to meet Devola, Jamieson Price's voice acting makes it clear how enraged Nier is at being powerless to save his daughter. Made worse by the fact that in order to feed and keep Yonah alive, he can barely spend time with her already.
    Nier (Father): (cutscene) Dammit all! Why does it have to be Yonah? Why not me? Of all people, why my only daughter!?
    Grimoire Weiss: I would gladly help her, had I the means to do so.
    Nier (Father): (while the player is controlling him) Dammit! This isn't happening!
  • The Lighthouse Lady quest chain. At first, she appears to be a cranky, sickly old woman who puts Nier through hardships to pass the time, but as you progress through the story, you learn why she's been living in the lighthouse for the past 50 years. In order to keep Seafront's lighthouse lit, the people of the town have been sending her forged letters from her lover, deceiving her into thinking that he was recovering from an illness in a faraway land. Eventually, Nier and Weiss catch onto the hoax and extract the truth from the postman; he reveals that the Lighthouse Lady's lover died long ago, but they couldn't bear to tell her.
    • At this point, you are given a choice. You can either perpetuate the lie with one last forged letter from the Postman, telling her that her husband has embarked on a long journey to return and that she should wait for him at Seafront, or reveal the deception to her. If you tell her the lie, she acts overjoyed and passionately tells Nier to thank the Postman for the letter. But, if you tell her the truth...
    Lighthouse Lady: You don't have to apologize. To tell you the truth, part of me had suspected something like this. But it's hard to hear a secret thought finally spoken aloud. I...I think I should be alone for a while. But I want to ask you a favor. You must forget we ever had this conversation. The entire town has worked on this story, and they did so to make me happy. I don't want their hard work to go to waste, so I shall carry on as if I am none the wiser.
    • Really, the quest starts getting tragic when you discover she has the Black Scrawl.
    Lighthouse Lady: Oh. You. I suppose you want to tell everyone about my illness, hmm? Well, don't! I don't fear death! I've lived long enough, and I'm tired of it... And tired of being alone.
    • When you return to Seafront after completing that quest, you learn that the Lighthouse Lady had finally passed away.
    • Related to this is a quest you can do after the timeskip ("The Strange Fate of the Jewel") where a lady asks about a special gem she was looking for called the Mermaid's Tear. You find out that it was meant to go to the Lighthouse Lady but never arrived, forcing you to check with the Postman and the storage room. Once you find it, the letter attached reveals it was the last letter her love ever sent, and he died after he sent it. You can then chose to sell it, give it to the woman requesting it, or bury it with the Lighthouse Lady. If you bury it, the requester reveals that the Mermaid's Tear belonged to her grandfather, which was why she was requesting it. Regardless of if you gave it back or buried it, Nier feels sadness over it, as he feels bad for robbing the granddaughter of something that reminded her of her grandfather, but also feels bad that the Lighthouse Lady was never able to receive it.
  • Surprisingly enough, the Fisherman's Gambit quest chain turns into one of these. After watching Nier bond and learn from the Fisherman at Seafront, you are told once you finish the final quest by another NPC that the Fisherman died. Many gamers are surprised to learn that the Fisherman was actually an outcast in Seafront; he had been an old soldier, and the town had feared him for the actions he took in a battle long ago. The NPC who tells you this then goes on to say that the Fisherman's interactions with Nier seemed to make him happy after living alone for so long. Cue Manly Tears and/or Tender Tears.
    Resident: Oh, the old fisherman? Didn't you hear? He passed away just this morning. I guess that old war injury finally got the best of him. From what I understand, the guy used to be quite the mercenary. He supposedly did all kinds of terrible things back in his day. So truth be told, no one in town much cared for him. But he sure seemed to enjoy your company. I think you made his last days some happy ones.
  • The sidequest that you do to find an old man's dog. His dog would go find leaves to help his master's medical problems and numb his pain, but he disappeared one day. So you go to a bridge in the Northern Plains, where you find the dog dead, holding the special leaves in his mouth. Shades appear and it was apparent that they killed the dog. You kick some Shade ass, and bring the leaves back to tell the old man what happened... Only, when you arrive, there is a young man there instead. You're told that the old man had passed away that morning, waiting for his faithful companion to come back.
  • In the Village of Myth sidequest, one woman's dream is that she's subjectively spent years in a oubliette, isolated from the world, then after Nier and Weiss rescue her, they end up in a labyrinth of horrors, including a massive pile of burned corpses and a grotesque dinner of corpses, tortured to death, whose blood soaked the carpet she was walking on. When she gets back to reality, she finds herself unable to overcome her traumatic experiences and constantly reliving them in her mind and in her dreams. She has no one to commiserate with, either, as her neighbors either disbelieve her story or shun her because she can't stop talking about it. Even Nier and Weiss are unable to help, and she's last described as breaking into tears of despair while they awkwardly back away.
  • Emil's backstory. He and his sister were first used for horrific experiments, and he was forced to watch her turn into a monster. He then had to live apart from people for well over 1000 years due to his powers. When Halua was defeated and he got rid of his petrification powers, he was turned into a skeleton. However, the way that Nier and Kainé accept him despite this is also touching.
    Nier: Welcome back, Emil. You've been through a lot.
    Emil: But my... my body...
    Nier: Yeah, I know.
    • If there's one thing Emil is deathly afraid of, it's losing his friends, as shown in the sheer desperation in his post-Kainé boss dialogue:
    Emil: We're always going to be together, Kainé. If you transform again, we'll just stop it again! As many times as it takes! I don't care how tough it is, we're gonna get you back! I like being outside because I'm with you, Kainé. I'm able to ignore my appearance and keep going because of you. I'm weak, and sad, and lonely, but somehow you make me strong! You're my friend, and I need you! So you can't go away!
    • The aftermath of the Wendy boss fight in the Aerie: Emil went berserk activating his powers and disintegrated not only the massive Shade, but the entirety of the Aerie along with it, including its human residents. Though they were xenophobic jerks who ruined Kainé's childhood, they were still people with families, and Emil is all too aware of that.
    Emil: ...What have I done? I killed innocent people... I killed them all.
    Weiss: I fear we're done for...
    Emil: It'll be alright.
    Kainé: Huh?
    Emil: You know, when I was young, I... I hated my eyes. And now that I'm older, I hate what my body has become. But there's something else there now. Something like... pride. You know? I mean... Without all this, I couldn't have become your friend. Goodbye, my friends. Thank you for everything.
    Nier: Emil?
    Emil: For so long, all I could do was destroy. But now, I have a chance to save something. [Emil splits the bubble in two identical copies, saving the party]
    Kainé: NO!
    Emil: Now get going, okay?
    Weiss: Emil...
    Emil: Don't worry about me. I'm gonna be fine. [Emil creates a magic circle that propels the other bubble forward]
    Nier: Emil! EMIL!
    Kainé: Emil, you jackass! Get back here! EMIIIIIL!!
    • As if the final goodbyes weren't bad enough, when the others are gone Emil drops his brave face and breaks down, thinking how much he wants to see them again and how he's terrified of dying. That was truly heartbreaking to watch, because no matter how heroic a sacrifice is, you're still staring death in the face. He ultimately survived thanks to a last-moment reaction, but it still doesn't take away from the dramatic moment that he was certain he would die.
    Emil: Oh dear. Kainé's so unstable, and Weiss can't stop arguing with people. I hope they can hold it together once I'm gone. Well, I guess they'll just have to learn. [Emil's bubble begins to crack]
    Emil: Nier... I... I want to... see you again. *sob* I want to see all of you again... Just one more time... *sob* I'm... scared. I don't want to... die... *sob* [Emil goes berserk one more time, destroying Popola's Sphere of Destruction, along with Popola herself.]
    • Immediately after Emil's sacrifice Kainé vents her frustration by beating and kicking the crap out of Nier, and he just...takes it. Keep in mind that he's probably just realized he got a kid who was also one of his closest friends killed, and probably thinks he deserves all the hurt Kainé is unloading onto him.
    • The Ending B post-credits sequence, where Emil's disembodied head survives the explosion, lands in the desert, and cheerily bounces/rolls off to find some legs and then see his friends again, only serves to twist the knife even further since he'll only be able to see either Nier or Kainé, depending on which ending you choose to go with. Worse still, if you choose to sacrifice your save file for Ending D, Emil will never realize Nier existed in the first place when he comes back! PS4/Xbox One remaster's Ending E does rectify this somewhat, but even then Nier and Kainé remain mortal meaning Emil will be the only person left when everyone else dies either from old age or (in the case of all other replicants) the Black Scrawl. That's...not much of an improvement...
      • Made WORSE in Automata, where Emil is the last (former) human in existence, and for a while singlehandedly fought against the entire Alien/Machine army. it's little wonder he hits Despair Event Horizon in ending Y, wanting to destroy the Earth as a Mercy Kill.
  • Kainé's backstory. All of it. From being abandoned, to being ostracized, to her grandmother's death, to Tyrann, to being ostracized even more...
    • She was happy to die as soon as she avenged her grandmother, but Nier accepted her and convinced her to live, while she in turn gave hope to Emil. She sacrifices herself and is petrified to save her new friends, but thankfully wakes up again and finds them all there, if a little different to how she remembered. Then her hometown of the Aerie is wiped out, she loses Emil whom she had protected and loved like a brother, and to top it all off her inner-Shade is seriously threatening to take over her mind and force her to kill the man she loves. Depending on which ending you get, she either dies at Nier's hand and is allowed to finally rest, or is cured and able to live on in peace with a rebuilt Emil, at the cost of completely forgetting about Nier. It takes until the ver 1.22 re-release for her to finally Screw Destiny and resurrect Nier, allowing them to spend the rest of their lives together.
  • While getting ready to "avenge" Jakob. You slowly find out that the abandoned child Shade Kalil befriends a military defense robot that after learning what "crying" is and finding out that both their parents (creator in Beepy's case) died, which gives the robot emotions to the point where his sole mission now is to protect Kalil. Later you find out that they were teaching each other about what they knew. Interested in the outside, both Kalil and Beepy decided to leave the Junk Heap to explore the wonders of the world as friends. Once you face them to fight with Nier being oblivious as always, Beepy grows wings and flies to the ceiling of the building in an attempt to escape the fight and protect Kalil and itself from death.
    Beepy: Beepy... alone... Beepy... cry?
    • The kicker for all this, though? Beepy and Kalil weren't responsible for Gideon's death at all. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Kalil even says to Beepy that the two boys seemed nice and he wanted to be friends with them...
    • Hell, let's talk about Gideon for a second here. His father abandoned their family when he was little (you can potentially meet him in a sidequest, where he asks how Gideon is doing), and his mother abandons him and his brother to run off with her lover (she and the man get killed as they try to leave, and a later sidequest reveals the man to be a con artist who was in all likelihood going to leave her as well). A year later, his brother gets killed protecting him from falling debris (which only happened because of Gideon's own recklessness), and he goes completely insane from the trauma of losing his brother, and dedicates his life to destroying all the robots in the Junk Heap, lost in vengeance and madness.
  • On your second visit to the Lost Shrine in playthrough B, you see how Gretel has been coping with Hansel's death in the very first (actual) boss fight of the game. In two words: not well. He's been sitting in that same room, focusing on how he failed in his task to protect Grimoire Weiss and how he failed to protect his brother. As you progress through the shrine, Gretel begins bonding with several small, regressed Shades, finding a new purpose in protecting his friends. And then you show up and slaughter them all. You really start to feel sorry when Gretel is screaming at his body to move right before he dies, desperately wanting to save his newfound friends.
    • And that's when you realize without a doubt that every single boss you face in the second half are all Tragic Monsters.
    Gretel: Move... Move... Come on, you stupid arm, move! We are incomplete. But our friends make us whole! We are mocked, abused, and hated. But our friends keep us strong! That is what keeps us going! Do not stand in the way of our lives! Those... are... my friends! Come on, move!
  • After the first playthrough it's revealed that before he became a Shade, Roc had an owner who grew old and died, but told the wolf to keep living so he could remember him. Through Roc's memories, we realize that he wanted the killing to end and was only trying to help his pack survive to keep his promise with his master.
    • This simple exchange about revenge and survival that life in the desert has brought.
    King of Façade: Foul beast! Die! We'll never know peace until all of you are dead!
    Roc: Those were my own words, human!
  • Fyra being attacked by wolves on her wedding day provides a shocking Mood Whiplash. One minute it's a happy celebration, the next she's lying covered in blood in her husband's arms while he begs her not to die. The King's tearful speech at her grave afterwards, about how hard her life had been and how close she had come to knowing happiness, is made worse when he has to ask Nier and co. to leave him alone, since a ruler can't show weakness.
  • Grimoire Weiss being zapped and permanently damaged by the Twins, to the point that he can barely keep himself afloat during the confrontation with the Shadowlord. Especially when he goes and pins down the Shadowlord at the cost of his own physical existence, finally admitting that he has grown fond of being called just "Weiss."
  • When the King and his warriors stay behind to buy time for Nier's group in the Shadowlord's Castle. After they're gone, it shows the King (who is still a kid for crying out loud!) trembling but still trying to stay calm in front of the others, then asking his advisor how many rules there are about what battle cry to use before dying.
    • Nier's reaction to Sechs and his Men of the Mask's sacrifice is quite saddening. He bangs on the door when they seal it, knowing that despite the King saying they'd see each other again, Nier knew they wouldn't be able to survive against Goose. Kainé has to slap him to bring him back to his senses.
    King of Façade:(Now, go! Rescue the one you hold most dear!)
    [The Men of the Mask push Nier and his party through the door]
    Nier: Hey! Stop! Let me go! Grr, Stop it! Dammit! KING, NO!!
    King of Façade: We'll meet again, you and I, once this is all over. Until then.)
    [The door closes. Nier runs towards it and bangs on it]]
    Nier: NO! Open the door! YOU CAN'T FIGHT THAT THING ON YOUR OWN!
    King of Façade: (It's alright! You have to keep going! Defeat the Shadowlord and get your sister back! You must once again know the joy of having one you love by your side!)
    [Goose grumbles, and the King turns to face her.]
    King of Façade: (Now then. Say... how many rules are there about what to shout before dying in battle?)
    Advisor: (Eighty-eight, my liege.)
    King of Façade: (Amazing! How do you remember all these things?)
    Advisor: (Do not despair, my liege. We are with you.)
    King of Façade: (...I know. Let's try this again... For the honor of the Mask!)
    Men of the Mask:(For the honor of our King! For the honor of our Queen!)
    Nier: OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!! [Kainé grabs his shoulder and slaps him]
    Kainé: Knock it off already. Let's go.
    Emil: Kainé...
    Kainé: He's fighting for you. And for Fyra. Don't let him die for nothing.
    Nier: My friend...
    • The King finally bleeding to death after killing Goose, surrounded by the bodies of his warriors, and promising Fyra that they will be together again soon.
  • The boss fights with Devola and Popola are some of the game's most tragic moments. They were good friends of Nier and company throughout the whole game, and now they have little choice but to fight them, as their task to protect the Shadowlord is above all else. It's painful for both the Twins and Nier and his party.
    • The last fight starts with the twins revealing the truth to Nier and his friends in the harshest way possible.
    Nier: Devola! Popola!
    Devola: Oh, look. You made it.
    Popola: We've been waiting for so long.
    Nier: Why are you doing this?!
    Devola: It began thirteen hundred years ago.
    Popola: Humanity, finding itself on the brink of extinction, undertook a last-ditch rescue plan called Project Gestalt.
    Weiss: Ges... talt...?
    Popola: Do you still not remember, Grimoire Weiss?
    Devola: Then let's give you a refresher. [Project Gestalt's documents are transferred to Weiss' mind, restoring his memories.]
    Weiss: Ngh...!
    Nier: Weiss!
    Weiss: Rrrrrrgh! My... mind... GAAAGGHHH!! I... I remember... Devola... Popola... You are not human... In fact... Oh, no...
    Devola: Heh heh heh heh... Yeah, sometimes the truth can be a real bitch. You wanna finish that thought for him, sister?
    Popola: All of us, every person standing in this room, are mere shells created by the true humans.
    Nier: What are you saying?
    Devola: You still don't get it?! You aren't human!
    Emil: So then, humans -I mean, the true humans- are extinct?
    Weiss: No. They still live on. You know them as Shades. Each Shade is a twisted remnant of what was once a human being.
    Devola: Crazy, huh? Now let's skip the part where you stand there with your mouths agape and just get down to business.
    Nier: Wait... Wait!
    Devola: Sorry, but, we're gonna be needing that shell of yours. The rightful owner has been waiting for a very long time.
    Popola: Please don't be angry with us. We are only doing our duty.
    Devola: Our endless existences have a single purpose: To control the lives of others, in accordance with the will of the true humans.
    Popola: You have your own motives. Your own desires.
    Devola: And we have ours. I fear it really is just that simple.
    Weiss: Don't speak such foolish... ness!
    Devola: *sigh* ...Sorry.
    • Devola's death and her last words towards her sister:
    Devola: Ugh! Agh... Urgh...
    Popola: Devola? Devola!
    Devola: Popola... are you crying?
    Popola No! Don't die!
    Devola: You know, Popola, I understand now why we're twins... It's because... Because we were born without souls.
    Popola: *gasp* Devola, I can't stop the bleeding! Oh God! I can't stop it!
    Devola: This world is too... agh... too lonely for one without a soul. There's too much... emptiness... [caresses Popola's teary face] Our souls are missing... And yet somehow our tears still work. It's kinda weird. Sorry, Sis. I love you... [dies]
    Popola: Devola? *sob* Devola! Don't you go! No! No, I can't be alone! DEVOLAAAAA!! [cries]
    • Popola's breakdown immediately afterwards makes the whole scene that much worse. And as they begin their Last Stand, the music changes from "Song of The Ancients / Fate" to Devola's version of the song.
    Nier: Popola... Let's stop this now.
    Popola: Stop? Stop? *sob* Now you wanna stop?! You think you have the luxury to stop? You cut down my sister like a goddamn animal and now you wanna STOP?!
    Emil: Popola, wait! It doesn't have to-!
    Popola: No one STOPS! It's way too late to STOP! NO ONE STOPS!! EEYAAAGH!!!
    • While Father Nier is saddened by killing Devola and driving Popola mad, Brother Nier is utterly devastated.
    Nier (Brother): Please! Don't do this, Popola! You and Devola were like parents to me!
    Grimoire Weiss: Those two have watched the world wither for time immemorial. The cruelness of such a fate is difficult to imagine.
    Nier (Brother): I don't wanna do this! I DON'T WANNA FIGHT HER!
    Kainé: Stop bitching and start fighting! It's the only way!
    • In the original version, after Popola's health runs out, she says "Devola... No..."
    • Once Popola is beaten, what little sanity she had left finally evaporates and she degenerates into a mad, cackling beast out for the party's blood. Her suicide attack is what forces Emil to do his Heroic Sacrifice.
    Popola: No stopping! No stopping ever! AAAAAAAAH!!!
    • The kicker? No matter which ending you take, Project Gestalt will fail. Centuries of pain-stalking effort get destroyed, and humanity as the twins know it will cease to exist.
  • The Shadowlord and his Yonah have two scenes that are both heartwarming and tear-worthy. In the first ending, the final shot is of them together, with Yonah pulling playfully on his arm. The second has the Shadowlord sitting alone remembering his former life and regretting his failure to protect Yonah, before she suddenly appears at his side looking like she did in the prologue and gives him his half of the cookie, thanking him for always being there for her.
    • Watching the Shadowlord react... poorly to his Yonah's sacrifice is pretty heart-rending. Coming back for Ending B kicks it up, of course. It's simply depressing seeing him kneel down before his Replicant, completely given up any desire to exist, accepting his death right then and there. Even Nier seems to hesitate for a moment before delivering the killing blow to his own Shade.
    Shadowlord: No! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
    Shadowlord: Yonah... I cannot live... in a world without you...
  • The ending credits, by which time you are probably already inconsolable, is set to "Ashes of Dreams", a tragically beautiful song that pretty much sums up the plot and will provide you with no comfort whatsoever.
  • In the third ending, where Nier is forced to kill Kainé before she turns completely into a Shade. With the woman he loves impaled on his sword, gazing up at him, Nier gives her one Last Kiss before she fades away. Afterwards, Tyrann relays her final thoughts: "thank you".
    Nier: Kainé... let's go home together.
  • And in the final ending, where Nier gives up his own life in order to save Kainé and bring her back. This means that neither Kainé, nor Yonah, nor anyone can remember he ever existed. After all he went through trying to rescue her, Yonah believes that it must have been Kainé. And Kainé starts crying after finding the flower Nier gave her, because she knows it's special but can't remember why.
    • It gets more depressing when you look at the situation from Nier's perspective. Leading up to that point, Nier had to watch Emil and the King of Façade (along with his army) sacrifice themselves to help him reach his goal. And then he had to kill Devola and Popola even though he really didn't want to fight them. Being forced to fight Kainé after he finally completed his goal was the final straw. Poor Nier would rather give up his existence and part ways with his beloved daughter/sister than be forced to lose another friend by his hand.
  • By the second part of the game even generic bystanders are heartbreaking. Talking to the old lady by the fountain who went insane after the death of the kids she used to watch, the young woman uphill who lost her lover to the Black Scrawl, and Seafront got its own Shade invasion that left hundreds dead.
  • After the final ending, when Nier has sacrificed his entire existence to save Kainé, seeing all the pages of your menu interface (as if "printed" on Grimoire Weiss,) containing all your accomplishments, your experiences, erase into nothingness one by one. Then the save files themselves are deleted, one by one... and the final Player Punch: upon returning to the title screen, a Lunar Tear appears.
    • The first prompt you see after choosing to sacrifice Nier's existence tells upfront that all of your save data will be deleted. Not only is it a massive Wham Line, but it immediately sets in the realization that in order to see everything the game has to offer, to achieve 100% Completion...you must lose everything you've earned.
    • The devs clearly take total save deletion seriously, as it takes four prompts to completely confirm your decision to go onward. And then, in a dark case of Book Ends, you're then shown a name entry prompt just like the one given in Ending A.
    • And to put the cherry on top the cake of tears, try starting a new game with your deleted profile's name. One final snip at the heartstrings...
  • Yonah's letters and journal entries. She's very lonely and just wants her dad to come home. The last letter you can receive is especially sad because she talks about her birthday and finishes off the letter with this:
    Yonah: I don't feel sick at all today. In fact, I almost forgot I had this disease! So maybe you can forget about it too and come back home now?
  • The "Mermaid" extra episode DLC, originally released in Grimoire Nier a decade ago. As if the base game wasn't depressing enough, this story will leave you dead inside.
    • It begins when a postman finds a Cute Mute ill girl named Louise in a shipwreck, starving and alone. He enjoys her company and she enjoys his kindness. The problem? She's the Shade boss whose issue is that she can't communicate in her Replicant body, succumbing to the Black Scrawl as she tries to become human, eating Replicant bodies and fusing with other Shades all to no avail.
      • As she fights Nier and his party, Louise is trying to protect the postman and become human any way she knows how, only for him to denounce her as a monster who has been lying to him the entire time, cursing her existence. This causes her to lose all motivation, resigning herself to be killed by Kainé, who is even distraught once she reads a letter written to the postman thanking him for being kind to her.
      • In the game proper, the entire party fights Louise instead of just Kainé, and the only reason they survive the fight is because of the Postman's breakdown and desperate attempt to stop Louise from killing Nier and the others, as just when she was about to finish them off, he grabbed a plank off the ship and started hitting her hand, breaking her heart. Later runs reveal that the Postman was able to understand her Shadespeak, and that he didn't hate her until she tried to kill his new friends. He tries to tell her to stop, but when she doesn't, he calls her a monster and lets the party finish her off, heartbroken over the fact Louise lied to him about her true nature. Yuri Lowenthal's voice acting is heartbreaking.
      Postman: STOP! NO!
      Louise: Don't be scared... Soon I'll... Soon I'll become human, and we'll be able to...
      Nier: What are you doing?! You're gonna get yourself killed!
      Postman: [whales on her hand with a plank] Stop! Don't hurt these people!
      Louise: Don't you... want to see the sea together?
      Postman: So you've been lying to me this whole time?!
      Louise: But, you told me to sing...
      Postman: You... You're a monster! [keeps hitting her with the plank, sobbing while he does..]
      Nier: It stopped?
      Weiss: Focus on the source of its magic... Aim for the head!
      Louise: I... want... to be human... I want us... to be together...
      Postman: We can NEVER be together! You DISGUST me!
      • To say nothing of what happens if you manage to stun Louise before she can knock out the party with her song. Instead of accepting her impending death, she remains Defiant to the End, desperate to survive and be with her beloved postman. Even Kainé feels bad about her, as she can understand her.
      Louise: WHY DO YOU TRY TO STOP ME?! ALL I WANT IS TO BE WITH HIM!!
      Kainé: Shit!
      • Regardless of what happens at the end of the fight, Louise ultimately dies, horrified over what she became. She stares at the sea one last time before dissolving completely.
      Louise: How could I end up with such a... hideous... body? *sigh* And yet... This world... *sigh* This world is so full of beauty...
      • At the end of the quest, Kainé finds a letter Louise wanted to give to the Postman. If Louise managed to stun the party, Kainé destroys the letter, not wanting to break the Postman's heart further, but if Louise was stunned and knocked down, she gives it to the Postman. He tells Kainé that he knew the things Louise did, but he still cared for her.
      Postman: It's like I was stuck in some kind of dream...
      Kainé: Hey. Letter Guy.
      Postman: You're that... Um, I mean, how can I help you?
      Kainé: :Got a letter for you.
      Postman: Wait, YOU have a letter for ME?
      Kainé: Yeah, it's from that thing on the ship.
      Postman: Louise?! Let me see! [opens the letter] Oh. It says, "Thank You". Hah hah... Wow, look at this. After all that time I spent trying to teach her to write, she actually managed to string together a few ugly little letters... Dammit... Why can't I stop seeing her smile? Or hearing that song she used to sing? I know she ate people... I know she was a monster...
    • Before the quest, you end up befriending a couple who wears similar red bags with the husband being helpful as your ferryman. You spend the game up till then watching them argue and then go back to being Sickeningly Sweethearts, eventually leading to Nier developing a sort of fondness for them. As a catalyst for the quest, his wife tells you to find him after he left for one week. As you explore the ship, you end up finding him dead, devoured by the Shade inside the ship. To add further pain, you can either tell his wife what happened to him or lie. Regardless of the choice, she doesn't take it well.
    • In a sidequest you can do involving the couple, Nier and Weiss get invited to dinner with them, and in Nier's inner monologue he comments on how the mundane happiness of a family meal is something he hasn't experienced in years, and he stuffs his face full of food to keep himself from crying.
  • The supplementary material Grimoire Nier contains some doozies, especially combined with Nightmare Fuel.
    • One example is the short story And Then There Were None (translated here). Picture this: You are a 19-year-old orphan who's been in combat since 10, fighting hoards of Legions with other child soldiers in a wasteland infected with WCS. You agree to one last 'special mission' out of desperation to retire. Cue waking up with 12 others and told to kill until only two remain. You reunite with a girl you saved on the battlefield years ago and agree to fight together. Suddenly she's dying in your arms because she pushed you away from an oncoming attack; getting sucked into a magical red book for her troubles. Enraged and grieving, you instinctively protect yourself with a magic barrier, and now the asshole that stabbed her is the only one else alive. You think you're free? Nope, the organization lied; he's sucked into a black book, and now a white book starts to glow...
    "Ah, I see. White. The white book – Grimoire Weiss. What a ridiculous name. I can’t hold my laugh. So from now on a new farce begins. Now that we are given new faces, what roles are we to perform? I just kept on laughing."

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