Square Enix has always been known for popular RPGs likeFinal FantasyandDragon Quest, but one video game series that has graduated from niche popularity to worldwide acclaim in recent years isNieR. A spin-off to theDrakengardgames, the originalNieRinstallment was released in 2010 but wasn’t received that well due to some odd circumstances revolving around a few different reviews. However, seven years later, a sequel calledNieR: Automatacame out and is considered to be one of the greatest games of all time by many players.RELATED:The Best Weapons And Armors In VoC: The Isle Dragon RoarsAnew version of the first gamewas made, known asNieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…,and came with a lot of improvements. But is this remastered first entry better than the sequel that was a success, to begin with, or isNieR: Automatastill the best game in the franchise?Updated August 08, 2025 by Jacob Buchalter:With Yoko Taro’s next game,Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars,already out and the mobile game, Nier Reincarnation, doing quite well, it seemed like a good time to take another look back at his more iconic Nier games. Both Nier Automataand the remaster of the original Nier,Nier: Replicant ver.1.22474487139are still seeing a lot of new players, and fans can’t help but compare the two games.Granted, they’re both very different titles, with one functioning as a relatively sort of basic-combat but fantastic story JRPG and the other being a complex character action game with way too many mysteries, but there’s still a mountain of similarities between them. So, in good fun, let’s take another look at their best aspects and make an argument for which of the two master-class games reigns supreme.
12Replicant: World-Building
First of all, nothing really compares toNier Replicantwhen it comes to its world-building and overall background. The fact that this wholeNier franchise spawned from the “joke” ending (ending E) of the firstDrakengardgame and took on this whole other life from there is so hilariously absurd but also fantastic happenstance.
Because of this origin story, there’s an incredible amount of lore to read up on regarding all the background aspects ofNier,such as the White Chlorination Syndrome, Replicants, Gestalts, the concept of Magic, the Red-Eye, and so much more. Meanwhile,Nier Automatahas a lot of interesting concepts it introduces, and it, likeReplicant,is the spawn of a funny aspect of something that happens in the canonical time passage betweenNier ReplicantandNier Automata, but it doesn’t quite have the same berth of intricate world-building.
That isn’t to say that there aren’t a lot of complex concepts inNier Automatavs.Nier Replicant, but it doesn’t have nearly the amount of concrete “lore” about the world and aspects of its settings, just small hints at deeper aspects and nods to the previous game.
11Automata: Atmosphere
It’s pretty much unanimously agreed upon by everyone who has touchedAutomatathat the atmosphere and tone of this game is one of the most uniquely beautiful and yet incredibly depressing out there, right? This world has so many interesting aspects to it, despite possessing relatively small geographically compared to other open-world titles.
And, whileNier Replicanthas fantastic story elements and a lot of eye-catching lore, the actual “atmosphere” of its world basically boils down to hard fantasy with a little cherry on top. Meanwhile,Nier Automatais so beautifully nihilistic in its sci-fi charms, as well as overwhelming mystery and cruelty. Regarding the tone forNier Automatavs.Nier Replicant, it’s pretty clear thatAutomatacomes out on top.
10Replicant: Fantasy
BothNiergames have a lot of fantasy and science fiction elements, making the franchise a great example of what a science fantasy series should be. However, when it comes to the original installment and its new remake, the plot is more enjoyable to “classic” fantasy fans.
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The story follows a boy and his friends as he tries to save his sister from the illness that harms her. To do so, they go on an epic quest, fighting mysterious creatures called Shades and searching for a cure that could save the world. There’s magic, the overall technological advancement of the society is quite low, and people farm, or hunt monsters for a living. Sure, more intricate aspects are introduced in the late game, but for the most part,Nier Replicantis placed into the fantasy genre. And, thankfully, it absolutely nails it.
9Automata: Sci-Fi
On the other hand, science fiction fans will probably likeNieR: Automatamore than its predecessor. The story takes place far into the future in a time where aliens, robots, and androids all battle against each other for control of Earth.
This game has a lot of classic sci-fi elements that are tackled in new ways, such as machine sentience, what it means to be “human”, and what immortality really means. It also makes sense for this installment to have a lot more similarities to sci-fi than fantasy as it takes place hundreds of years after the events ofNieR Replicant. When looking atNier Replicantvs. Automata,who both have pretty interesting sci-fi aspects, it’s pretty obvious thatAutomatais the more sci-fi-centric game overall, withReplicantjust integrating it at specific parts of the story.
8Replicant: More “Human” Characters
One of the most important things needed to tell an interesting story is enjoyable characters, andNier Replicanteasily has more likable ones than its sequel. Nier,the main protagonist of the game, is everything a hero should be.He’s kind, strong, and determined, regardless of whether it’s the “father” or “brother” version of him.
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It’s also very hard to not like other characters likeYonah, Weiss, and Emil, all of which play an important part in the story. In the new version of the game, Kaine plays a bigger role than she did in the original, making it so fans can enjoy her arc even more than before. And all the intricate and complex emotional intricacies between Emil, Kaine, Nier, and even Yonah are all so painfully understandable to the average person.
Meanwhile, whileNier Automatadoes have fantastic characters in 2B, A2, and 9S, they’re sort of constantly discovering their own identity and have a lot of emotional and physical concepts the average human may not understand.
7Automata: Playable Characters
WhileNier Automata’s characters aren’t as classically “human” as those fromNier Replicant, for obvious reasons, the game does allow people to play as three of them instead of just one or two. Throughout the majority ofNier Replicant, players only controlthe titular character, Nier, though Replicant does add a small section where players get to control one more character. InNieR: Automata, players get to control three androids: 2B, 9S, and A2.
2B is the main character during the beginning of the installment, with 9S being a party member that is with her for the majority of the first half. After beating that, players will get to control 9S, going through almost all the same levels they went through with 2B, before getting to learn what happens after that by playing as him more,and later A2.
6Replicant: Soundtrack
BothNiergames have phenomenal music.Their soundtracks are some of the best in any media to date, hands down.For the new version ofNier Replicant, the soundtrack was rerecorded, making it even better. On top of that, players can decide whether to listen to these improved versions of the songs while playing the game or listen to the music fromNier Automatainstead. It was enough to get the game recognized at the2021 Video Game Awards,but it didn’t receive quite as much recognition as the diehard fans likely expected.
Even those that prefer the soundtrack of the sequel can’t deny that being able to choose between the two is better than only having one. Consequently,Nier Replicantis the best installment in the franchise when it comes to beautiful music since it’s quite literally the best of both worlds.
5Automata: Enemies
The Shades inNieR Replicantaren’t really designs that are “unique” to gaming as a whole. In fact,Square Enixhas made similar enemies in their other properties. Yes, there are quite a few unique variants of them, and their origins in-universe are heart-wrenchingly well-written, but they’re sort of “basic” in their visual design. On the other hand, the machines inNier Automataare almost always different from their peers in some way and incredibly fun to fight. Plus, the whole “add more machines” mantra of their different designs is always so hilarious to see.
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There are machine enemies inNier Automatathat are just a bunch of robots stacked on top of each other, enemies that are meant to look like snakes are made from the “heads” of many different robots, literal golden tanks, and so much more.
4Replicant: Bosses
Though the machines are fun to fight, the same can’t be said for the bosses inNier Automata. There are some intense bosses in the game, especially bosses like Beauvoir, but there are a good amount of bosses that boil down to “big machine” and it’s a shame.
In comparison, while the Boss Shades inReplicantcan wildly vary in the quality of their designs, they have far more “character” to them overall.
3Automata: Safe Yet Incredible Environmental Design
The world ofNier Replicantisn’t anything special, at least not until towards the end of the game.Nier Automata’s setting, however, is a place thatplayers absolutely want to explore. The amusement park and the Copied City are two great examples of this. They are unexpected areas to go to in a post-apocalyptic world, making them memorable even after beating the game, which unfortunately can’t be said about the original installment.
While normally, seeing biomes like a desert, ruined city, or even amusement parks is all pretty commonplace,Nier Automatamanages to reinvent them to feel fresh. Even with the remake, it is harder to remember the areas inNier Replicantthan it is to forget those fromNier Automata.
