Updated: March 16, 2023
A ton of vital information regarding Yoko’s works is often dumped in supplemental materials that are difficult to obtain or even access.
On this page, I’d like to showcase some obscure story-related information conveniently on a single page.
So, please read on if you’re interested in learning about more obscure Yokoverse knowledge!
And please beware of spoilers!
Table of Contents
- Famitsu – May 27, 2010
Nier’s birthday, date difference between both games, Grimoire Noir, Emil - Famitsu – April 25, 2016
Capitalization of the titles NieR & NieR:Automata - Dengeki PlayStation #617 – July 14, 2016
NieR is a curse - Dengeki PlayStation #638 – May 25, 2017
2B & A2’s personality data, 9S’s feelings toward A2, Kingdom of Day/Night, No9 & 9S, Zinnia & Pod042 - TSUKUMO Event – November 10, 2019
Dragon weapons, Singularities, YoRHa Boys, 2P’s name, white haired characters, Healer and Scanner YoRHa androids - Kingdom of Night / Nightlands / Night Kingdom
Location and initial mention of the Kingdom of Night, implications relating to Accord, the 856 incident, Dragon weapons
▶︎ Famitsu – May 27, 2010 (Issue No.1120 6/3 2010)
ーOne of the differences between NieR Replicant and NieR Gestalt is Nier’s birthday on 6/6 in Replicant and 9/11 in Gestalt. What were you intending with this difference?
Yoko: The 9/11 date comes from the release date of the first Drakengard. Regarding the 6/6 date, however… That was entirely a goof in the character setting. (haha) I forgot to change the temporary place holder (my birthday), and before I knew itー it had become reality. I saw some people online were speculating that it was meant to be a reference to the holiday “Brother’s Day” in Japan, so when I searched about it, I discovered there really was such a holiday on that day. So, please write that this was how the date became an official part of the setting. (haha)
ーWhy is the time between the opening and the main part of the games different? In Replicant it’s 1400 years but 1300 years in Gestalt.
Yoko: First of all, the foundation of the story lies with an incurable disease called the White Chlorination Syndrome that began to spread around the world. To fight this disease, a special treatment was developed that would extract the soul from the body and place it in a vessel called a “Replicant.” The soul itself is called a “Gestalt” whereas the process of extracting the soul is called “Gestaltification.” So in this sense, as long as you can continually reconstruct a new vessel, the soul can survive indefinitely, which is the basis for this story. The two games, Replicant and Gestalt, do not depict parallel worlds but rather a single world in which events repeat upon themselves. There’s a time gap between the events in both games.
ーI’d like to ask a little more about the more obscure points about the game. There appears to be two Grimoire Noir books in the opening of the game…
Yoko: Yes, many Grimoire Noir copies exist in the world at that time.
ーWhy are there so many?
Yoko: Grimoire Noir is necessary for Gestaltification; however, at that time, there hadn’t been a case of a successful Gestaltification; it was merely a series of failures. That’s why many people were given copies of Grimoire Noir, in order to locate a successful case. It was thought that the patterns from a successful subject could be used to Gestaltify all of humanity normally. In other words, human experimentation was being conducted on large numbers of people. In the prologue, Nier successfully transforms into a normal Gestalt for the first time. Gestalts that attack him are examples of failed Gestalts, those whose minds have collapsed, which are called relapsed Gestalts. Yonah wants to help Nier, and so she touches her copy of Grimoire Noir and… (the rest is omitted due to spoilers).
ーWhat do you mean by a successful Gestaltification?
Yoko: If those who undergo the Gestaltification process are able to retain their human personality, that’s a success. There’s a scene in the second half of the game that depicts a parent and child Shade talking to each other—that’s an example of a success.
ーThere’s a scene in which Emil seems jealous of Fyra at her wedding…
Yoko: Actually, it’s part of Emil’s setting that he’s “a boy who likes men.” I’m surprised more people didn’t pick up on that.
ーWhy is Emil’s mansion suddenly in monochrome?
Yoko: Emil and the butler aren’t human, so they don’t age. So, that’s why the mansion is in monochrome, to create the atmosphere as though time has stopped.
ーIn Roman letters, the R and H are capitalized. Is there any specific reason for this? Actually, the R in NieR is also capitalized. Perhaps there’s some meaning behind this?
Yoko: For NieR, it was just a design choice regarding the logo. I thought it felt a little light, which is why we decided to capitalize it. As for the YoRHa logo… that’s secret.
ーThen why did you decide to call this a NieR title? What exactly does “NieR” mean?
Yoko: What does “NieR” mean…… You’re really putting me on the spot, but there’s one thing I can say: It’s a curse.
ーA curse? Not a “prayer” or “hope”!?
Yoko: It’s a curse. Maybe I’ll elaborate on that another time.
ーAnother time……!? I feel like you’re avoiding the subject!
Saito: He’s sticking with his favorite line, I guess. But anyway, I think you’ll understand how everything fits together once you get a chance to play. ……Isn’t that right, Yoko-san?
Yoko: It’s a curse.
Q: In the game, we see YoRHa units fighting each other multiple times, but in the event 2B, 9S, or A2 had to fight one-on-one, which model do you think would be the strongest?
Yoko: The E Type is the strongest. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
Q: A2 and 2B are the same “No2” type, but do they have different “Personality Data”? Would it be possible for A2 to install her “Personality Data” into 2B?
Yoko: A2 and 2B have different “Personality Data,” however, it is possible to install A2’s Memory Data into 2B. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
Q: Even though they are the same “No2” type, when 9S first encounters A2, his reaction was pretty benign. Why was this?
Yoko: Because he didn’t realize that fact. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
Q: At some point when 2B is attacked right in front of him, why did 9S harbor such extreme hatred toward A2?
Yoko: Did he look like he hated her? I must be brief, so I’ll leave out any further details.
Q: There’s a curious mention of the “Kingdom of Day” and “Kingdom of Night” in the World Guide and the recitation dramas. Are you able to divulge any further information about this?
Yoko: According to an event which caused the planet to stop spinning in “NieR”, there now exists a world in daylight as well as a world in night. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out any further details.
Q: Within the “Project YoRHa” recitation drama, it turns out that No9 discovers this plan, but is it accurate to assume that this No9 and 9S are the same model?
Yoko: Their names are different, so they are different models. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
Q: Originally, if No9 felt so indignant about the whole thing, why did he go along with Zinnia’s plan?
Yoko: There’s a misunderstanding here. No9 wasn’t indignant toward Project YoRHa but rather with the creation of the YoRHa android (in relation to the Black Boxes). I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
Q: Is there a reason why Zinnia and Pod042 share Yasumoto-san for their voices?
Yoko: Pod042 possess the Personal Data of Zinnia. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
Q: We don’t see the depiction of A2 awakening within the recitation dramas, but is it safe to assume that she’s still out there somewhere?
Yoko: As with anything, you are always free to “think” what you will. I must be brief, so I’ll leave out the details.
▶︎ NieR:Automata x TSUKUMO 2nd Mini Event
- Do the “Dragon weapons” mentioned in the year 6230 have anything to do with Drakengard?
Yoko said they are related but didn’t elaborate.
- A “Singularity” also exists in NieR:Automata.
- How does the all-boys version of the YoRHa Ver.1.3a stage play fit into the timeline?
Yoko didn’t necessarily say that it’s NOT canon but that it’s more like a parallel world, more likely a separate timeline.
- What does the “P” in 2P’s name mean?
Yoko mentioned that it has another meaning besides merely “2nd player”, which was first used for the SoulCalibur VI collaboration, but he’s not able to discuss it at this time because YoRHa:Dark Apocalypse hadn’t concluded at the time.
- Why do the main trio in Automata all have white hair?
Yoko said it was purely a design choice. The white hair seemed balance the best with the black YoRHa outfits. Koda Kazuma also mentioned that he remembered 9S originally being blonde…
- How are the Healer and Scanner types different?
Yoko said it’s much like changing the OS of your computer. It still basically does the same things, but it’s equipped better to handle specific tasks. The same is true for when Operators switch over to Battler type units.
▶︎ Kingdom of Night / Nightlands / Night Kingdom
- The Kingdom of Night is a general name for the area of the planet that’s shrouded in darkness due to a huge accident that occurred sometime in 26XX (ie. North and South America).
- The first mention of the “Kingdom of Night” was in the timeline printed in the NieR:Automata Strategy Guide that was originally released in Japanese on April 28, 2017.
- I had originally translated this as the Kingdom of Day/Night in homage to DOD3.
- It was then featured in the YoRHa Boys stage play teaser video from November 2017 and also referenced in said play later in February 2018.
- This term was then translated into English as the Day/Nightlands by Stephen Kohler for Square Enix in the YoRHa Boys novel on October 27, 2020.
- This term was then translated into English as the Day/Nightlands by Stephen Kohler for Square Enix in the YoRHa Boys novel on October 27, 2020.
- With the release of the World Guide Vol.2 in English, Dark Horse translated 夜の国 yoru no kuni as the Night Kingdom.
- This was again translated as the Kingdom of Day/Night by aniplex for the NieR:Automata anime after Episode 7.
- Accord was created in the Kingdom of Night sometime with the “Dragon” weapons in 6230. Since then she has been working to prevent the “Fall Down,” the collapse of ALL timelines.
- Events that happened in the Kingdom of Night may be directly related to the event in 856 concerning the Cathedral City, dragons, magic, and the Flower.
- The Dragon weapons deployed against the aliens in the Kingdom of Night were fighting puppet like beings, suggesting a possible connection to SINoALICE.