@@JessesAuditorium There were quite a few VGMs on Tokyo Olympics, Nier, Mario, FF and a bunch of other famous Japanese franchises all had songs played on the opening ceremony.
11:02 "The world is crazy isn't it?" It's funny you mention that. In a book titled "The Strange Works of Taro Yoko," Yoko Taro was asked to write the foreword where he says "In the end, we find ourselves in the following situation: some eccentric wrote a book on games designed by another eccentric and played by people who are equally eccentric. Frankly, I worry about the future of our planet."
Quick tidbit - Song of the Ancients is a song that falls into the game's mythos and is a theme of two characters - Devola and Popola. Both of them have their versions of this song. Then there's a version where both of them singing the song, and then there's Fate, which is played at critical point in the story. Finally - there's Songe of the Ancients (Atonement) which is from Nier Automata and plays at a crucial moment in that game. Both Devola and Popola are incredibly important characters for both stories despite 7000 year gap between them. There's a good reason for that too, but I won't be spoiling that. Ingame footage is not from the scene where this song takes place and that's intentional due to MASSIVE spoilers for the plot. And plot in Nier is like... half of the reason why people love it. The other half is soundtrack. Let's just be clear - gameplay was never this game's strong point, Remaster added quality of life improvements, like ability to aim below the horizon (Yes, you couldn't do that in original), ability to use both attack and magic simultaneously (something that SIGNIFICANTLY improves combat pace) and ability to hard lock on target which means that now you can actually attack the target you want to attack and not only hope for the better. Oh, and now strong attacks are actually useful. But even with that game is still mostly button-mashing and running from town to town 10000 times to get a friggin letter delivered or something.
A sidequest reward is literally having this song sung as a duet by two of the central characters in Replicant. It's one that I just sit on for a bit to enjoy, it's just a really beautiful song. Best sidequest reward in any game, imo! One of the characters is always singing it in the center of the main town too, so your background music is diegetic for that area.
The twins that the player is fighting in the second half of the video (Devola & Popola) are the ones who are singing this song. I love how they brought in-game characters into the soundtrack. Not many games do that and it's a nice touch that gives even more personality to the song than it already had. It's definitely one of my favorite songs in the Nier series
Song of the Ancients, Weight of the World, Emil Sacrifice, and Grandma always make me super emotional man. You might also like some of the Drakengard music like This Silence is Mine
To answer your question about how one would make a game like this: Be Yoko Taro. One of the most insane and amazing game designers in history. Look him up. He's never shown his face and always wears a mask that looks like Emile from Nier Gestalt/Replicant/Automata. But he is, by most accounts, a genius. He designed the Nier raids for FFXIV, and was actually made to tone them down because of how difficult he designed them to be. Its just his style.
How do you come up with a game like this? direct quote from the director Yoko Taro: "That kind of uninhibited story writing only comes out when I'm drinking, so I definitely try to drink a lot more whenever I'm writing now." Guy's on record many times that he does his best work while tipsy.
This is a remaster of Nier on the PS3. There are 2 versions, Nier Gestalt which is the version we got outside Japan where the main character is the father of a little girl, and Nier Replicant, where the main character is the slightly older brother of the little girl. There's subtle differences in the dialogue depending on which version you play, because the main character's mental and physical states are different. And this remaster is of the original Replicant version, so we finally have BOTH versions in English. Also, Nier is a prequel to Automata. You don't need to play one to understand the other, but if you play this one and then play Automata, your world view will crack the fuck open when you come upon certain realizations. Game's freaking wild, man.
"Am I putting it together?" Sort of, actually! The characters in that fight are Devola and Popola who act as quest NPC's through the game up until that point, each of whom have their own version of Song of the Ancients (named after them) that they actually play in-universe. Devola sits near a fountain in an open field playing it on a lute that has her vocals fade in and out depending on how close you are to her, while Popola has it playing on a music box in her library office. I absolutely recommend checking those out as it kind of harkens back to the shorthand of JRPG's using character themes as a quick way to communicate a character's attitudes and values etc. and how their variations on the song informs their character and then how it culminates in Fate. Not necessarily for reactions, but for your own enjoyment. As for an actual request though, I'm going to go with Nier Automata's Amusement Park (Sequential Mix) as a good illustrator of how Nier uses dynamic soundtracks.
In that last battle, Devola is fighting you on the ground while Popola dances on stage to assist her with magic, then they swap later. I really loved that part and it goes with the theme of the song so well. Both NieR games are just unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Even the newest mobile game is surreal.
Devola plays a gentler laid-back version of this in the starting area accompanied by a lute. If you have a spare time outside of recording, give that a listen too. Also on the subject of drums, the original NieR's music leans more into tribal-like percussion with the same music.
I love this song so much. The way both sets of vocals come in and out from behind each other as reference to the twins is so mesmerizing. The whole tool shed of percussion they use is so interesting to listen to and the way all of the other instruments seem to pop up out of nowhere to give a gracious and beautiful "hello and goodbye" keeps me wanting more. Just from personal taste and aesthetics I think like Replicant's soundtrack more than Automata's, but they are both phenomenal. I'm certain people have already recommended "Grandma" (the original, not Destruction or Reunion), Kainé (Escape), and Shadowlord's theme. I definitely feel a lot of things when I start to think about the meaning of these songs when I'm listening to them.
Saw the song, was ready to read half the comments explaining the lore behind the song and stuff. BUT NO ONE TALKED ABOUT EMI EVANS ? So. The vocalist is a singer who lives in Japan and had already worked on Yoko Taro's projects with Keiichi Okabe on the Drakengard trilogy. I hope one day someone will request "The Final Song (Boss Theme)" from Drakengard 3 because it's the most beautiful piece of singing you'll ever hear.
On the topic of Drakengard 3, I hope he also reacts to the absolute bangers that are the individual intoner boss themes that 'The Final Song' brings together.
If there's one thing I've learned playing Yoko Taro games, it's that however bonkers the gameplay looks, the plot is always ten times more insane. The more you dig into Nier's lore, the more you realize how little you really scratch the surface on a single playthrough. And thanks to Nier Automata's true ending, I can now weep on command with only a handful of notes.
"How do you come up with a game like this?" Alcohol. Also the video you used has two separate boss fights in it. Yoko Taro, the creator of Nier, is a very interesting and smart person to say the least. To say more, well he's just fucking brilliant. The Nier series is such a wild trip of emotions and morals, what's right, what's wrong, who's right, who's wrong, what's real, what's not. It's a game that I'd say poses a lot of complex questions about humanity, life, etc. I've never really had to describe Nier before, just realized it's quite difficult to breakdown for me lol, there's just so much to it. The games gameplay-wise are also a huge mashup of many different types of genres, and makes it work so well.
That little nod to drummers is appreciated. Made my snare vibrate lol. I'm loving these videos and the FF14 and NieR music is some of my fave OSTs of all time. Persona series takes the lead, but NieR and Final Fantasy share the second place. Lots of good stuff in NieR, but my go to is Weight Of The World, because sometimes you just need to cry.
If you like percussions for this track I think you would really enjoy Final Song from Drakengard 3. Same composer, same vocalist, so much to analyze and listen to! One of the best tracks from Keiichi Okabe and Emi Evans
My personal favorite version as I had the chance to duet this with a friend during a karaoke party! I am surprised though that this new remastered Replicant version (2021) has a few more instruments than the original Gestalt version (2010) :D At first I thought I just didn't hear those woodwinds while singing, but the more I listened to it, the more I'm sure that they were added in the remastered version - might still be wrong, though 😂 But yes, I love how you're getting into the soundtrack of NieR; it's such a beautiful game! I'm just too bad to actually play it myself :D As for more NieR Soundtrack, I'm a big fan of "Amusement Park" in NieR Automata, especially how the vocals faded in and out depending on where you're running!
Just one small note, if you decide to listen to the Weight of the world since there are a lot of requests, you will see there's 3 different versions - English, Japanese and Chaos. I recommend going with the Japanese one because at one moment the singer started crying from how emotional she got in the song and basically ugly cried her way through the climax of the song. It packs such a punch and is in my opinion the best way to experience the song, even though I can't understand the lyrics.
*deep breath* ALL HAIL MY MAN KEIICHI OKABE! If you like the percussion I highly, highly reccomend Wretched Automatons. Its maybe my fave? Track? For no reason other than the percussion that is made on industrial metal and sampled from what sounds like an abandoned factory. (Which, considering you're in a Mechanical Factory, is so cool. It literally sounds like the music is bleeding from the walls and im just so in love with it) Dude I have too many recs I cant just have one a month XD
Fun fact: Grimoire Rubrum, the enemy in the first part of the video, was once Weiss' closest thing to a friend as they were both child soldiers. Neither of them remember each other, Rubrum can't speak anyway and Weiss assists Nier with ending her without even remembering that she once sacrificed herself to save him. Pointlessly, of course, since this is NieR. Game doesn't mention their backstory in the slightest as far as I recall. This is all secondary material stuff. Classic Yoko Taro, hiding backstory in secondary materials, like how he put A2's ENTIRE BACKSTORY AND MOTIVATION in a play and then just turned a synopsis of that in a text adventure and stuck it in Automata, easily missed. Or how NieR's ending E was published in a book originally... Or how NieR Automata's ending E is expanded in a concert. That he spoiled with the concert guide as a tragic ending. Except he didn't because it was all a prank and the ending he actually had in mind for the thing was only revealed in the concert itself to catch everyone off-guard. Honestly, the man is such a troll. I'm convinced the only reason people don't give him more money to make stuff is because they fear the chaos he can create.
One recomendation with similar style yet quite different since you mentioned chaos language, theres an classic rpg series from the psx called Ar Tonnelico they've also used a made up language like chaos called hymnos in the composition and it sounds quite unique the concept is that magic casters would use the language in the game to cast spells
I am going to make a surprise recommendation of Song of the Ancients/Popola (ver.1.22474487139...). I'd go so far as to make the claim its the most powerful track on the OST.
Old version of popola is SO much better than ver 1.22. Popolas theme in ver 1.22 is literally just devolas but with the library music behind it. In the original it sounded very ethereal and almost void-like. Otherworldly basically. I'm saying this as a non-nostalgic btw. Never played the original, only ver 1.22.
@@trevorveillette8415 what do you mean by "library music behind it" the old version and the new one are literally the same except bit of instrumental refining
" what a creepy setting " i like how you find the setting creepy because the game try to make you feel that way without being too obvious about it .. if you play the game you will understand why , i don't want to spoil :D ( and i hope because they're masterpiece , everyone who play video game should play the nier series it's not hard and the story if probably the best I saw of all time on all form of media ) And if you're really interested in the yoko taro universe you can take a look a Drakengard 1 and 3 All the soundtrack of the nier series are crazy , each music has it's purpose Okabe is another mad genius who see music not as " sound " or " noise who work together "but as a language he is incredible you should listen to all his music in the nier series
"How do you come up with a game like this?" the mind behind Nier and Drakengard is Yoko Taro, an eccentric not unlike Hideo Kojima, he wears the head of one of his characters every time he's seen in public (Emil, the Nightmare before Christmas guy)... this quote says it best To be honest, I think I am making normal games targeted toward normal people. But ultimately, when I release those normal games, weird people find them to be weird games and enjoy them. Which probably means there’s something wrong with me. ~ Yoko Taro. he makes weird games for people that vibe with his own kind of weirdness.
I got to know of this song because of the Tower at Paradigm’s Breach Alliance Raid in FFXIV. This song is the complete opposite of the fight with The Twins but it sets the mood.
No, the singers are the two red heads the characters are fighting. They are twins called Popola and Devola. In the original, they each have thier own variation of this song that plays at different times in the game as well as the original of this song.
For me it’s the staggered harmonies (only way I can put it) where they’re singing together and sometimes the same thing just slightly off in some places and perfectly harmonized in others
The comment and comparison you made with terminator is so meta. You are so close to a big twist concerning characters in this game. I was like “dude. You are almost there”
I think one thing that makes these songs sound a lot better naturally is knowing the context, of course there's nothing you can do about that since you haven't played the game and all but it's a shame because it really adds a lot to the experience. It's something very special to vgm and not a whole lot of other "normal" songs can do easily
Been watching your videos for a couple of weeks now and they've been a great joy. I'm so glad you're getting many wondrous recommendations from my favorites (DMC, NieR, MGR, Persona, etc) I'mma go with a more o b s c u r e suggestion that, i kid you not, it' will be worth every second of your time: "You're Mine" by Carpenter Brut, for the Furi soundtrack That game has a phenomenal, completely dynamic OST of pure synthwave adrenaline. I recommend the "Ultimate Furi Sountrack" version by El Bromo Hojo, since the game is all about boss fights with the dynamic ost changing depending of the phase, this one has the evolving beats in its entirety missing from just the regular song. Cheers man it's always a good time just vibing to your reactions and checking a buncha games OST's
The NieR Replicant remake is supremely awesome. I fully recommend playing it. And no need to worry about the other games with the same name. (Or not) It's a great starting point.
If you ever get to, on your own time or maybe as reactions, you should check out the original Song of the Ancients Fate and the Quite version from Voice of Cards- Dragon Isle Roars. I love what they did to Fate in the remaster but the original just hits harder to me for different reasons. The Quite version of Fate focuses more on the background instrumentals with the acoustic guitars (or whatever type of guitars they used) as the main emphasis leading the track and I absolutely love me some guitars! I've been listening to it so much ever since Voice of Cards came out and I don't think I'll stop lol.
Some game themes i'd love to watch your reactions bro: Kingdom Hearts 2 - Sanctuary Persona 5 Strikers - Blooming Villain Donkey Kong Country 2 - Stickerbrush Symphony The Legend of Dragoon - If You Still Belive Doom Eternal - The Only Thing They Fear is You Street Fighter x Tekken - Honest Eyes Killer Instinct 2013 - Main Theme V2 Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Battle Theme ( Battle!! ) The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim: Dragonborn
For me the closest thing to a underlying theme for Neir is, well best word I can think of anyway, is melancholy and I'm not quite sure if that adequately describes it.
Thing about nier is the music is peculiar on purpose, nier’s setting is supposed to look beautiful on the surface but still give you an unplace able feeling of unease giving a sort of uncanny valley feeling which all makes sense when you get to the point of the game this version of the song comes from and find out what’s really going on
The twins, Popola and Devola, are the ones who sang this song. The two girls who the hero band fought and killed which turned out to be a very bad mistake for the heroes actually since their deaths resulted in the heroes being able to confront and kill the Big Bad...who is actually the key component of a long running project to save the human race...and with his death, resulted in the total extinction of the human race.
I would say this a massive spoiler, but anybody playing the remaster of the original after Automata already had the truth of Devola & Popola's spoiled for them.
Honestly them being androids isn't a huge deal. I did play automata first but it honestly doesn't seem like too big of a deal that they are androids since them being androids was never an important part of replicant
Yoko Taro is the guy responsible for bringing NieR Replicant and NieR Automata to life. The gameplay isn’t really the focus so much as the story and the music, the latter of which you’ve no doubt noticed. He likes to poke fun at action game conventions, which is why there’s a lot of running back and forth between places. Some places change the style of game entirely, and multiple endings bring more nuance to the first playthrough where you’re just slaying monsters and running errands. It’s a really good series, especially now that the West has access to the same quality as Japan did for a long while in Replicant.
If you like Nier music a lot. You might want a deeper look into its music. Luckily 8-bit musician has a video titled "How to write NieR music" Its a really good video if you want to learn more about all the music nerdery behind NieR. And it might even be worth a react in itself.
The two red haired girls are named Devola and Popola. Popola is the one you thought the name was fate, while Devola is the one with the more unruly hair
I know this is super late, but Taro Yoko, the creator of the Drakengard and Nier series, explores themes of violence and killing in his games. For his very first game, Drakengard 1, he said a character that goes around killing hundreds or thousands of people isn't a hero and doesn't deserve a happy ending. And also that someone like that would need to have some internal issues. That idea developed by the time Nier came out. The events of 9/11 made Taro realize that you don't have to be insane to kill large numbers of people. You just have to believe you're right.
Stop? Now you want to stop? You think you have the luxury to stop? You cut down my sister like a god damn animal and now you want to stop!? No one stop! Its Way Too Late To Stop! NO ONE STOPS!
Very subjective opinion. I didn't like the remastered version's OST nearly as much as the original version of NieR Gestalt, especially this song. It's simply not as good to me.
@@Moody.Smiruai worst offender for me was wretched automaton, it's way too soft! While on the opposite end, i really like the new song of the ancient /devola and the Emil/sacrifice one! But as i said, those are exception, the majority is less impactful to me! The completely new songs though are amazing, like the mermaid one
I like the Remasters, but yeah I agree he should've definitely listened to the original! I wish the game had a way to toggle to the original soundtrack ala Xenoblade Chronicles Remaster, would've made it an undisputed 10/10
fun fact: song of the ancients came out as one of the songs used during the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
Good. VGM deserves it.
@@JessesAuditorium There were quite a few VGMs on Tokyo Olympics, Nier, Mario, FF and a bunch of other famous Japanese franchises all had songs played on the opening ceremony.
@@DakonBlackblade2 Ace Combat! Sacrilegious to not mention them, but yeah, Japanese Olympics...that was cracked.
They got the dragon quest opening theme
And final fantasy
11:02 "The world is crazy isn't it?"
It's funny you mention that. In a book titled "The Strange Works of Taro Yoko," Yoko Taro was asked to write the foreword where he says "In the end, we find ourselves in the following situation: some eccentric wrote a book on games designed by another eccentric and played by people who are equally eccentric. Frankly, I worry about the future of our planet."
5:55 Yoko Taro is his name, and he is the very definition of an insane genius.
Quick tidbit - Song of the Ancients is a song that falls into the game's mythos and is a theme of two characters - Devola and Popola. Both of them have their versions of this song. Then there's a version where both of them singing the song, and then there's Fate, which is played at critical point in the story.
Finally - there's Songe of the Ancients (Atonement) which is from Nier Automata and plays at a crucial moment in that game.
Both Devola and Popola are incredibly important characters for both stories despite 7000 year gap between them. There's a good reason for that too, but I won't be spoiling that.
Ingame footage is not from the scene where this song takes place and that's intentional due to MASSIVE spoilers for the plot.
And plot in Nier is like... half of the reason why people love it.
The other half is soundtrack.
Let's just be clear - gameplay was never this game's strong point, Remaster added quality of life improvements, like ability to aim below the horizon (Yes, you couldn't do that in original), ability to use both attack and magic simultaneously (something that SIGNIFICANTLY improves combat pace) and ability to hard lock on target which means that now you can actually attack the target you want to attack and not only hope for the better. Oh, and now strong attacks are actually useful. But even with that game is still mostly button-mashing and running from town to town 10000 times to get a friggin letter delivered or something.
Not to be that guy, but it definitely plays in the fight used in the video, although i still wonder why thats the case, even if it fits quite fine
You can't lock on?
@@novustalks7525 You couldn't in the original Nier Gestalt/Replicant, you can in the remake.
A sidequest reward is literally having this song sung as a duet by two of the central characters in Replicant. It's one that I just sit on for a bit to enjoy, it's just a really beautiful song. Best sidequest reward in any game, imo!
One of the characters is always singing it in the center of the main town too, so your background music is diegetic for that area.
Ballad of the Twins
The twins that the player is fighting in the second half of the video (Devola & Popola) are the ones who are singing this song. I love how they brought in-game characters into the soundtrack. Not many games do that and it's a nice touch that gives even more personality to the song than it already had. It's definitely one of my favorite songs in the Nier series
Song of the Ancients, Weight of the World, Emil Sacrifice, and Grandma always make me super emotional man. You might also like some of the Drakengard music like This Silence is Mine
To answer your question about how one would make a game like this: Be Yoko Taro. One of the most insane and amazing game designers in history. Look him up. He's never shown his face and always wears a mask that looks like Emile from Nier Gestalt/Replicant/Automata. But he is, by most accounts, a genius.
He designed the Nier raids for FFXIV, and was actually made to tone them down because of how difficult he designed them to be. Its just his style.
How do you come up with a game like this?
direct quote from the director Yoko Taro: "That kind of uninhibited story writing only comes out when I'm drinking, so I definitely try to drink a lot more whenever I'm writing now." Guy's on record many times that he does his best work while tipsy.
Seems to be a thing with most excellent writers
This is a remaster of Nier on the PS3. There are 2 versions, Nier Gestalt which is the version we got outside Japan where the main character is the father of a little girl, and Nier Replicant, where the main character is the slightly older brother of the little girl. There's subtle differences in the dialogue depending on which version you play, because the main character's mental and physical states are different. And this remaster is of the original Replicant version, so we finally have BOTH versions in English. Also, Nier is a prequel to Automata. You don't need to play one to understand the other, but if you play this one and then play Automata, your world view will crack the fuck open when you come upon certain realizations. Game's freaking wild, man.
"Am I putting it together?" Sort of, actually! The characters in that fight are Devola and Popola who act as quest NPC's through the game up until that point, each of whom have their own version of Song of the Ancients (named after them) that they actually play in-universe. Devola sits near a fountain in an open field playing it on a lute that has her vocals fade in and out depending on how close you are to her, while Popola has it playing on a music box in her library office. I absolutely recommend checking those out as it kind of harkens back to the shorthand of JRPG's using character themes as a quick way to communicate a character's attitudes and values etc. and how their variations on the song informs their character and then how it culminates in Fate. Not necessarily for reactions, but for your own enjoyment.
As for an actual request though, I'm going to go with Nier Automata's Amusement Park (Sequential Mix) as a good illustrator of how Nier uses dynamic soundtracks.
Since you're listening to Nier songs, hope you get to listen to Kaine
coming!
@@JessesAuditorium the XIV version of song of the ancients is so much better imo.
Yes!
In that last battle, Devola is fighting you on the ground while Popola dances on stage to assist her with magic, then they swap later. I really loved that part and it goes with the theme of the song so well. Both NieR games are just unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Even the newest mobile game is surreal.
Devola plays a gentler laid-back version of this in the starting area accompanied by a lute. If you have a spare time outside of recording, give that a listen too.
Also on the subject of drums, the original NieR's music leans more into tribal-like percussion with the same music.
I love this song so much. The way both sets of vocals come in and out from behind each other as reference to the twins is so mesmerizing. The whole tool shed of percussion they use is so interesting to listen to and the way all of the other instruments seem to pop up out of nowhere to give a gracious and beautiful "hello and goodbye" keeps me wanting more.
Just from personal taste and aesthetics I think like Replicant's soundtrack more than Automata's, but they are both phenomenal. I'm certain people have already recommended "Grandma" (the original, not Destruction or Reunion), Kainé (Escape), and Shadowlord's theme. I definitely feel a lot of things when I start to think about the meaning of these songs when I'm listening to them.
Conflicting is something that discribes yoko taro's games
Saw the song, was ready to read half the comments explaining the lore behind the song and stuff.
BUT NO ONE TALKED ABOUT EMI EVANS ?
So. The vocalist is a singer who lives in Japan and had already worked on Yoko Taro's projects with Keiichi Okabe on the Drakengard trilogy. I hope one day someone will request "The Final Song (Boss Theme)" from Drakengard 3 because it's the most beautiful piece of singing you'll ever hear.
On the topic of Drakengard 3, I hope he also reacts to the absolute bangers that are the individual intoner boss themes that 'The Final Song' brings together.
If there's one thing I've learned playing Yoko Taro games, it's that however bonkers the gameplay looks, the plot is always ten times more insane. The more you dig into Nier's lore, the more you realize how little you really scratch the surface on a single playthrough.
And thanks to Nier Automata's true ending, I can now weep on command with only a handful of notes.
"How do you come up with a game like this?"
Alcohol.
Also the video you used has two separate boss fights in it.
Yoko Taro, the creator of Nier, is a very interesting and smart person to say the least. To say more, well he's just fucking brilliant. The Nier series is such a wild trip of emotions and morals, what's right, what's wrong, who's right, who's wrong, what's real, what's not. It's a game that I'd say poses a lot of complex questions about humanity, life, etc. I've never really had to describe Nier before, just realized it's quite difficult to breakdown for me lol, there's just so much to it. The games gameplay-wise are also a huge mashup of many different types of genres, and makes it work so well.
That little nod to drummers is appreciated. Made my snare vibrate lol. I'm loving these videos and the FF14 and NieR music is some of my fave OSTs of all time. Persona series takes the lead, but NieR and Final Fantasy share the second place. Lots of good stuff in NieR, but my go to is Weight Of The World, because sometimes you just need to cry.
If you like percussions for this track I think you would really enjoy Final Song from Drakengard 3. Same composer, same vocalist, so much to analyze and listen to! One of the best tracks from Keiichi Okabe and Emi Evans
My personal favorite version as I had the chance to duet this with a friend during a karaoke party! I am surprised though that this new remastered Replicant version (2021) has a few more instruments than the original Gestalt version (2010) :D At first I thought I just didn't hear those woodwinds while singing, but the more I listened to it, the more I'm sure that they were added in the remastered version - might still be wrong, though 😂
But yes, I love how you're getting into the soundtrack of NieR; it's such a beautiful game! I'm just too bad to actually play it myself :D
As for more NieR Soundtrack, I'm a big fan of "Amusement Park" in NieR Automata, especially how the vocals faded in and out depending on where you're running!
Thanks Rena for the requests!
Song mentioned in this video;
Terminator 2 theme
th-cam.com/video/pVZ2NShfCE8/w-d-xo.html
Just one small note, if you decide to listen to the Weight of the world since there are a lot of requests, you will see there's 3 different versions - English, Japanese and Chaos.
I recommend going with the Japanese one because at one moment the singer started crying from how emotional she got in the song and basically ugly cried her way through the climax of the song. It packs such a punch and is in my opinion the best way to experience the song, even though I can't understand the lyrics.
*deep breath*
ALL HAIL MY MAN KEIICHI OKABE!
If you like the percussion I highly, highly reccomend Wretched Automatons. Its maybe my fave? Track? For no reason other than the percussion that is made on industrial metal and sampled from what sounds like an abandoned factory. (Which, considering you're in a Mechanical Factory, is so cool. It literally sounds like the music is bleeding from the walls and im just so in love with it) Dude I have too many recs I cant just have one a month XD
Your descriptions are so magical
@@JessesAuditorium thank u so much!! I will keep the happy brain chemical this makes for the rest of the day 💕
I'm surprised nobody has recommended Shadowlord to you. Probably my favorite battle theme from NieR
This. A million times this.
One of my favorite boss themes ever along with Slave Knight Gael and First Hunter.
@@maximiliansinigr3505 Though, if he were to do it, I'd want him to do the full version (the one with the music box at the beginning).
Fun fact: Grimoire Rubrum, the enemy in the first part of the video, was once Weiss' closest thing to a friend as they were both child soldiers. Neither of them remember each other, Rubrum can't speak anyway and Weiss assists Nier with ending her without even remembering that she once sacrificed herself to save him. Pointlessly, of course, since this is NieR.
Game doesn't mention their backstory in the slightest as far as I recall. This is all secondary material stuff. Classic Yoko Taro, hiding backstory in secondary materials, like how he put A2's ENTIRE BACKSTORY AND MOTIVATION in a play and then just turned a synopsis of that in a text adventure and stuck it in Automata, easily missed.
Or how NieR's ending E was published in a book originally... Or how NieR Automata's ending E is expanded in a concert. That he spoiled with the concert guide as a tragic ending. Except he didn't because it was all a prank and the ending he actually had in mind for the thing was only revealed in the concert itself to catch everyone off-guard.
Honestly, the man is such a troll. I'm convinced the only reason people don't give him more money to make stuff is because they fear the chaos he can create.
God there are so many good versions of this track. Its worth it to actually go and explore the other ones.
This is my favourite nier song. It's incredible
Good visuals + good music can be a killer combination, and you can even mix and match music with different visuals and it can give a different flavor.
One recomendation with similar style yet quite different since you mentioned chaos language, theres an classic rpg series from the psx called Ar Tonnelico they've also used a made up language like chaos called hymnos in the composition and it sounds quite unique the concept is that magic casters would use the language in the game to cast spells
I am going to make a surprise recommendation of Song of the Ancients/Popola (ver.1.22474487139...).
I'd go so far as to make the claim its the most powerful track on the OST.
Old version of popola is SO much better than ver 1.22. Popolas theme in ver 1.22 is literally just devolas but with the library music behind it. In the original it sounded very ethereal and almost void-like. Otherworldly basically. I'm saying this as a non-nostalgic btw. Never played the original, only ver 1.22.
@@trevorveillette8415 they are both good in their own way i personally like the 1.22 more because the instrumental are more refined
@@trevorveillette8415 what do you mean by "library music behind it" the old version and the new one are literally the same except bit of instrumental refining
They're a lot more version of this song. The guitar version is one of the best relaxing song.
" what a creepy setting " i like how you find the setting creepy because the game try to make you feel that way without being too obvious about it .. if you play the game you will understand why , i don't want to spoil :D ( and i hope because they're masterpiece , everyone who play video game should play the nier series it's not hard and the story if probably the best I saw of all time on all form of media )
And if you're really interested in the yoko taro universe you can take a look a Drakengard 1 and 3
All the soundtrack of the nier series are crazy , each music has it's purpose Okabe is another mad genius who see music not as " sound " or " noise who work together "but as a language he is incredible you should listen to all his music in the nier series
"How do you come up with a game like this?"
the mind behind Nier and Drakengard is Yoko Taro, an eccentric not unlike Hideo Kojima, he wears the head of one of his characters every time he's seen in public (Emil, the Nightmare before Christmas guy)... this quote says it best
To be honest, I think I am making normal games targeted toward normal people. But ultimately, when I release those normal games, weird people find them to be weird games and enjoy them. Which probably means there’s something wrong with me. ~ Yoko Taro.
he makes weird games for people that vibe with his own kind of weirdness.
I always love the way the vocals mix and separate in this song
I got to know of this song because of the Tower at Paradigm’s Breach Alliance Raid in FFXIV. This song is the complete opposite of the fight with The Twins but it sets the mood.
No, the singers are the two red heads the characters are fighting. They are twins called Popola and Devola. In the original, they each have thier own variation of this song that plays at different times in the game as well as the original of this song.
For me it’s the staggered harmonies (only way I can put it) where they’re singing together and sometimes the same thing just slightly off in some places and perfectly harmonized in others
This is the remake version of the song. I also recommend listening to the original version because they give off different vibes.
The comment and comparison you made with terminator is so meta. You are so close to a big twist concerning characters in this game. I was like “dude. You are almost there”
I think one thing that makes these songs sound a lot better naturally is knowing the context, of course there's nothing you can do about that since you haven't played the game and all but it's a shame because it really adds a lot to the experience. It's something very special to vgm and not a whole lot of other "normal" songs can do easily
Been watching your videos for a couple of weeks now and they've been a great joy. I'm so glad you're getting many wondrous recommendations from my favorites (DMC, NieR, MGR, Persona, etc)
I'mma go with a more o b s c u r e suggestion that, i kid you not, it' will be worth every second of your time: "You're Mine" by Carpenter Brut, for the Furi soundtrack
That game has a phenomenal, completely dynamic OST of pure synthwave adrenaline. I recommend the "Ultimate Furi Sountrack" version by El Bromo Hojo, since the game is all about boss fights with the dynamic ost changing depending of the phase, this one has the evolving beats in its entirety missing from just the regular song.
Cheers man
it's always a good time just vibing to your reactions and checking a buncha games OST's
The NieR Replicant remake is supremely awesome. I fully recommend playing it. And no need to worry about the other games with the same name. (Or not) It's a great starting point.
There are so many varieties of this song (and the version also featuring in FFXIV) and they're all fantastic.
But... But.... The atonement version ;-; In the atonement is more a drama and sad music and is sooo goooood
If you ever get to, on your own time or maybe as reactions, you should check out the original Song of the Ancients Fate and the Quite version from Voice of Cards- Dragon Isle Roars. I love what they did to Fate in the remaster but the original just hits harder to me for different reasons. The Quite version of Fate focuses more on the background instrumentals with the acoustic guitars (or whatever type of guitars they used) as the main emphasis leading the track and I absolutely love me some guitars! I've been listening to it so much ever since Voice of Cards came out and I don't think I'll stop lol.
The vocalist Emi Evans is who invented the chaos language.
fun fact: this is canonically 2 characters in the game singing this, in general when you hear emi evans' voice it's canonically one of the characters
Emi Evans Sama Legendary Voice!
With the amount of Nier music here, I am surprised no one seems to have requested any Panzer Dragoon music yet. They are both very unique series.
How effing good is this game man. Best ive ever played. Got hundreds and hundreds of hours in it.
Some game themes i'd love to watch your reactions bro:
Kingdom Hearts 2 - Sanctuary
Persona 5 Strikers - Blooming Villain
Donkey Kong Country 2 - Stickerbrush Symphony
The Legend of Dragoon - If You Still Belive
Doom Eternal - The Only Thing They Fear is You
Street Fighter x Tekken - Honest Eyes
Killer Instinct 2013 - Main Theme V2
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Battle Theme ( Battle!! )
The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim: Dragonborn
Some of those are coming :)
@@JessesAuditorium Yeeeah! Hahaha, thank you!!
Man, i gotta say: You just NAILED the list! WOW JUST WOW, amazing list for an amazing reactor!
Haven't heard this version yet and... Why did they add all this orchestra? Original version was more touching and lyric as for me.
There is also NieR’s song called shadowlord, which is really amazing. Don't miss it^^
For me the closest thing to a underlying theme for Neir is, well best word I can think of anyway, is melancholy and I'm not quite sure if that adequately describes it.
Just a small thing. The part were you see the 1 v 3, the music changes to reflect only one vocalist because, well… the other is died during the fight.
I'm not gonna lie I would love to see you play through the nier series
Nier series's music is phenomenal. If you can, please react to Shadowlord from Nier Replicant ! It's one of my absolute fave! 🥺
Thing about nier is the music is peculiar on purpose, nier’s setting is supposed to look beautiful on the surface but still give you an unplace able feeling of unease giving a sort of uncanny valley feeling which all makes sense when you get to the point of the game this version of the song comes from and find out what’s really going on
This is the song that sold NieR to me a long time ago, it is fucking amazing.
The twins, Popola and Devola, are the ones who sang this song. The two girls who the hero band fought and killed which turned out to be a very bad mistake for the heroes actually since their deaths resulted in the heroes being able to confront and kill the Big Bad...who is actually the key component of a long running project to save the human race...and with his death, resulted in the total extinction of the human race.
you should also listen to nier replicant ver1.22 - shadowlords theme. and nier replicant wretched weaponry theme, among others
Nice! my like was the 666th one...
Good choice of music btw. NieR's soundtrack is really cool and peculiar.
I would say this a massive spoiler, but anybody playing the remaster of the original after Automata already had the truth of Devola & Popola's spoiled for them.
Honestly them being androids isn't a huge deal. I did play automata first but it honestly doesn't seem like too big of a deal that they are androids since them being androids was never an important part of replicant
@@trevorveillette8415 I meant more the heel-turn/betrayal.
Also, that Devola and Popola in Automata did nothing wrong.
Yoko Taro is the guy responsible for bringing NieR Replicant and NieR Automata to life. The gameplay isn’t really the focus so much as the story and the music, the latter of which you’ve no doubt noticed. He likes to poke fun at action game conventions, which is why there’s a lot of running back and forth between places. Some places change the style of game entirely, and multiple endings bring more nuance to the first playthrough where you’re just slaying monsters and running errands. It’s a really good series, especially now that the West has access to the same quality as Japan did for a long while in Replicant.
I think this song can be considered as kindof diegetic during that second boss fight.
NieR music really is just out of this world.
Terminator and Nier are both about androids and Artificial life forms so that’s kind of a weird coincidence.
: o
But different since Terminator Machines Hates humans but Nier Machines Loves Humans and even Worship them as literal Gods.
@@fg009letyrds8 yeah it’s kind of a flip of the narrative
Now check the version in Automata of the same song, but version called Attornment : th-cam.com/video/ciJAWo4DLKI/w-d-xo.html
A rly big reccomend would have to be final fantasy X - baraskas final aeon theme such a cool song
Great video! Please consider reacting to the live version of "The Divine Spirit of Language" from Star Ocean 3. A real banger!
You asked who comes up with this type of game, the man who made the nier series is a mad man named Yoko Taro
If you like Nier music a lot. You might want a deeper look into its music.
Luckily 8-bit musician has a video titled "How to write NieR music"
Its a really good video if you want to learn more about all the music nerdery behind NieR. And it might even be worth a react in itself.
Nier replicant definitely has a vibe and it will make you feel it the way I’d describe it is idyllic decline
The two red haired girls are named Devola and Popola. Popola is the one you thought the name was fate, while Devola is the one with the more unruly hair
"How do you come up with a game like this?"
Ha.
Hahahaha. It takes some time, that's for sure. Several times, actually.
has anyone asked him to do the metal gear rising bosses soundtrack?
React to "Time has come" from DMC4 please!
I know this is super late, but Taro Yoko, the creator of the Drakengard and Nier series, explores themes of violence and killing in his games. For his very first game, Drakengard 1, he said a character that goes around killing hundreds or thousands of people isn't a hero and doesn't deserve a happy ending. And also that someone like that would need to have some internal issues. That idea developed by the time Nier came out. The events of 9/11 made Taro realize that you don't have to be insane to kill large numbers of people. You just have to believe you're right.
Stop? Now you want to stop? You think you have the luxury to stop? You cut down my sister like a god damn animal and now you want to stop!? No one stop! Its Way Too Late To Stop! NO ONE STOPS!
Ahh yes, the bullet hell rpg. The music for this series is amazing
The music in Yoko Taro games follow the plots logic, do whatever the fuck they want
Thanks!
Hope you listen to Song of the Ancients (Atonement) next, from Nier Automata/FFXIV Nier Raids.
Is this the remake version of the song? It sounds a bit different from what I remember
No idea. I just check out the link the requester sends.
I still think the original version is better the percussion is just so good there. I still like the new version but the old one hits better
I saw you did xenoblade 2. I dearly suggest mechanical rhythm from the first xenoblade. Or from the definitive edition, even better.
thats coming!
Please react to blu-bird from nier replicant and birth of a wish from nier automata.
song of the ancients is one of my favorite songs in a video game of all time, this isn't the best version of it though
Hopefully you can react on the Musics of Genshin Impact
i am soon!
The visuals in this song are major spoilers btw.
I am new i dont know how u do requests but I would like to request dmc5 subhuman please
It's coming regardless :)
@@JessesAuditorium ohh can't wait
I honestly like the original version better.
dude try listening to pentakill-mortal reminder its one of League of Legends music
song of ancients (atonement) Is waaaay better.
Very subjective opinion. I didn't like the remastered version's OST nearly as much as the original version of NieR Gestalt, especially this song. It's simply not as good to me.
i wish he would listen to the original, not a fan of the remaster arrangements overall (aside a few exception)
I personally like the remaster but some instruments in the org are more pronounced..
@@Moody.Smiruai worst offender for me was wretched automaton, it's way too soft! While on the opposite end, i really like the new song of the ancient /devola and the Emil/sacrifice one! But as i said, those are exception, the majority is less impactful to me!
The completely new songs though are amazing, like the mermaid one
Yeah the remakes music was, in comparison, really awful
I like the Remasters, but yeah I agree he should've definitely listened to the original! I wish the game had a way to toggle to the original soundtrack ala Xenoblade Chronicles Remaster, would've made it an undisputed 10/10
this is a remake of that song. the original Song of the Ancients Fate version is alot superior to this one.
Please play this game