I was recently talking with a friend about DOD3 and got nostalgic for the old displays that various stores put together. Having a look at some of my old photos, I thought it would be nice to share them again for the folks who haven’t seen them yet.
▶︎ These photos were originally posted to The World of Yoko Taro Facebook page that I managed (started out as a DOD3 fanpage and later renamed).
▶︎ October 22, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Yokohama
▶︎ November 12, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Yokohama
“Went to buy Aoi Eir’s “Sirius” single CD and had to stop by the DOD3 display again!”
▶︎ November 25, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Shinjuku
“More displays! This time from Yodobashi Camera in Shinjuku. The tiny display on the bottom shelf at Yodobashi was depressing.”
▶︎ November 25, 2013 – Bic Camera, Shinjuku
“More displays! This time from Yodobashi Bic Camera in Shinjuku. The tiny display on the bottom shelf at Yodobashi was depressing.”
▶︎ December 9, 2013 – Bic Camera, Shinjuku
“Shinjuku displays. Nothing outstanding, really…”
▲ Regarding the last picture in the above gallery, this display marked the roughly 2.5 month delay with the original release. SQEX Producer Takamasa Shiba previously apologized for the delay in one of the live broadcasts (October 31, 2013 → December 19, 2013).
▶︎ December 9 & 10, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Shinjuku
▶︎ December 9, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Shinjuku
“Various spots in Akihabara! Found 2 Zero stand-ups!! thanks, Chris!!!”
▶︎ December 18, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Yokohama
“Yodobashi Yokohama!! I asked a sales rep what they do with the stands and they said that it’s put in the trash!!!!! AHHHHH THE HORROR!!!”
▶︎ December 23, 2013 – TRADERS, Akihabara
“大発見！Found a poster in TRADERS in Akihabara with signatures from Yoko Taro, Okabe Keichi, and one–nope, three–more person. Very nice find!!!”
▲ Signed pink DOD3 poster has autographs by 5 people, 3 of which I know and 2 that are alluding me at the moment… We have Yoko Taro at the bottom, Keiichi Okabe in the top right, and Kimihiko Fujisaka to the top left of Yoko’s name.
▶︎ December 23, 2013 – Yodobashi Camera, Akihabara
“More displays and another signed poster in Yodobashi Akihabara!!”
⚠️ Nothing overtly spoilerish is stated here, but you might want to be a little careful if you want to entirely avoid any and all spoilers — it’s the type that you won’t understand without the necessary context.
I have yet to read the chapters of the NieR 15th Anniversary Web novel in their entirety, but I found it interesting that the ending chapter included several of the backend string IDs to call up a specific scene. I wrote a whole thread about it, so it might be better just to read through them, but for those not on Twitter, I’ll summarize what I was talking about below.
▶︎ The Chapters
– 無ノ檻 – / Cage of Nothingness
NieR:Automata「廃棄ノ記録」Record of Disposal
– 花ノ庭 – / Garden of Flowers
NieR Re[in]carnation「覚醒ノ記録」Record of Ascension
– 禍ノ風 – / Wind of Calamity※
NieR Replicant「流転ノ記録」Record of Transmigration
※禍 may likely be a reference to recent usages such as「コロナ禍」as in the coronavirus pandemic, so the context is a little different from a general “disaster”.
▶︎ The Writers
Karin Harada (原田香林) – Square Enix - NieR Re[in]carnation scenario writer
NieR 15th Anniversary Web Novel ⚠️Discussion & Spoilers⚠️
We get a couple line callback codes from the game and are also listed in the scripts. These are the scenes that are meant to be called up at these branching points in the novel.#NieR#NieR15th#ニーア#ニーア15周年pic.twitter.com/LhujQ9w20v
I’ve edited the text in the image a little bit, as you can see below:
Chapter 6
NieR Replicant「流転ノ記憶」”Record of Transmigration”
日本語音声収録台本 ＜メインA（少年期）-1＞ Page 2
EID_0050_a0010
※ニーア（オリジナル）が雪の東京で凍える。
*Nier (original) is freezing in a snowy Tokyo.
(This is the start of the game)
日本語音声収録台本 ＜メインB（青年期）-2＞ Page 179
EID_9400_a0270
「大切な人」を取り戻す
Take back your “precious person”
(This is the end of the game, Branch E)
I don’t want to go as far as to translate 流転 as “reincarnation” at this point because it’s still many, many years prior to the events that lead into NieR Re[in]carnation, so I wanted to keep it a little unique and special even if the meaning is pretty much the same.
For greater context on the dev side, every single line of text has an ID that the game is able to callback whenever. This is also how scenes are loaded into the system. So, really, this sequence is playing out very much like a game and we’re seeing the backend code to do it.
Comparatively, DOD1 used slightly different callback codes, which we can see in the scripts that were included in the DOD 10th Anniversary Box.
The scenario voice recording script uses a pair of dual digits plus a two letter code to designate scenes. (ie. 01-01 MV). Other codes include EA, GA, AC, and GG.
Simple AI explanation…
Since the scenario recordings don’t require codes for every single line, the same is not true for the window message recordings. For these, each individual window will have a callback code (ie. 01-04WM01E that lives within 01-04 GG). Here WM likely stands for “window message”.
Depending on the game engine they’re using, the script callbacks will look different, so I’m not exactly sure what they were using for DOD1.
I get how people are translating 流転 as “transience”, as that’s the most common meaning, but this will change depending on the context, which is why I translated it as “transmigration” instead because this is literally the point when a certain person returns…
It may be important to understand the difference between these two words and you’ll understand why one is more appropriate to use here than the other. Because I’m lazy, this is a ChatGPT explanation:
“Transmigration” and “reincarnation” are very similar, so it could be possible to use them interchangeably.
So, “transience” generally means temporary, changing… something that will not last for long, where as “transmigration” is a form of reincarnation, so I don’t think we need any more explanation there…
Moving on, let’s take a look at these EID_ codes. If anyone remembers DOD3 at this point, you should recognize this from Accord’s timelines that we saw even within the game. Please take a look here for further reference (of course, beware of spoiolers): https://firesanctuary.com/branches.html
So, although I get why they probably used these codes in the new webnovel… but I can’t help but ALSO think of Accord at the same time, similar to how she is able to jump from place to place within time. It’s very much like how the game actually works on the backend.
Additionally, Haruto on Twitter also found similar string IDs that call up specific points along the story:
ARC is a lossless data compression and archival format by System Enhancement Associates (SEA). The file format and the program were both called ARC. The format is known as the subject of controversy in the 1980s, part of important debates over what would later be known as open formats. ーWikipedia
For those who are familiar with the backend of game development, you will know that each and every line of text also comes with a specific string ID so that it can be called up at any moment. This also helps to save space, so you can use a single string multiple times in different locations within the game.
What’s also interesting is that we’ve seen these specific string IDs before, in DOD3 as directly stated by Accord.
Click the image to view more information on the various branches in Drakengard 3 according to Accord.
▶︎ Please note that the numbers following “EID_” do not designate a year within the Yokoverse. This is specifically used within the coding of the game itself.
Although I see them dropping these string IDs in the Web novel as a clever way of showing a bit of the backend of game development, I also get vibes of Accord and how she easily jumps from moment to moment. It’s curious that she would actually use these string IDs, almost as if she were a developer herself.
As part of the NieR 10th Anniversary Livestream special events, the very final bit was broadcast to NicoNico Premium Members only, and it was in this portion in which Yoko revealed some very interesting tid-bits about Accord.
This section of the Livestream included the following members:
Yoko Taro – Director/Creator
Saito Yosuke – SQEX Producer
Akiyama Kaoru – Voice of Pod153, SS (YoRHa Boys stage play)
At one point, Yoko stated that the Accord that appears in YoRHa Ver.1.3a/aᵃ was never said to be male. The cast is male, so it’s easy to make that assumption; however, this was not a male version of Accord. That was a female Accord. He decided from the very beginning that there were only female-type Accord androids. No male-types exist.
He also apparently didn’t say anything about this to Suga or Matsuda, the director of the play. Matsuda mentioned that it would have been better if he had known more about the character, especially to give Suga more direction, but…
Yoko: No one asked me about it, so I didn’t say anything.
I can see from the director’s stand-point that it would have been nice to know everything about the character ahead of time in order to give the necessary direction and advice to the actor, but this is a sort of “if” story to begin with, so it doesn’t really matter either way.
Now that he mentioned this, I’m really curious if there were other characters who were likewise female but appeared male merely because the actors were all male. This is especially important in the earlier versions of the stage play, such as Ver.1.1, in which several apparently female androids confessed their love for each other, which seemed like a really great nod to the LGBTQ community. I would be kinda sad if all of a sudden one of them turned out to be a male android.
This is shocking to us male-Accord fans and fans of the actor Suga Kyosuke, but really this realization doesn’t change much. Accord has always been an interesting character, and Suga brought new life the character in a new and interesting way. Although I am personally a little disappointed to hear this, since the “male Accord” was my favorite part to Ver.1.3a/aᵃ, it doesn’t mean much in the long-run. We’ll always have Suga’s awesome performance to look back on and enjoy whenever we feel the need to see a male Accord android. xD
Accord was first created by “Humans” in the Kingdom of Night.
Yoko revealed that Accord was originally created along with Dragons by “something like humans” in the Kingdom of Night, but he wouldn’t explain this in any detail. According to the official timeline, the “Army of Humanity” created the so-called “Dragon” weapons to fight in the war against the aliens in 6230. He also mentioned that Accord’s creation may have something to do with the Dragons, but he didn’t elaborate on this point either since it would get overly complicated (and he probably couldn’t discuss it even if he wanted to).
The definition of what is considered “human” during this time is unclear. In other words, the “Army of Humanity” androids are often labeled as the current figureheads of Humanity, so it could be possible that the faction of androids currently fighting the war against the aliens in the Kingdom of Night were the ones to initially create Accord.
Additionally, Yoko said that the details about the Kingdom of the Night were not vital to the story of Automata, so nothing was ever discussed about it, saying that “Discussing it has no purpose.”
Saito: As long as it has nothing to do with the narrative of the game, he doesn’t like discussing it.
Yoko: It has no purpose.
Saito: So, whenever this next NieR game comes out, I think we’ll probably end up over there.
Matsuda: Will you ever reveal any of this?
Yoko: Who knows…?
Matsuda: Whaat? You’ve gotta reveal this at some point!
Yoko: I’m not making games to reveal a clear setting, but rather drama and experience. I’m always thinking of the setting and how things fit together, but as far as each individual game goes, there’s a lot of information that isn’t necessary to tell the story.
Yoko: I always think that each story is its own thing and there’s no need to know anything more than what’s told within that singular story, even if other details do in fact exist. For example, Automata is just Automata, Replicant is just Replicant, and the same is true with YoRHa Ver.1.3aᵃ. I think they are complete as they are.
Saito: That’s not the end! C’mon, we were just talking about how Accord seems to be somewhat similar to Emil, how even though there are so many of them, they always have an Original. What about the Original Accord? Does she exist?
Yoko: She does.
Saito: Okay, so in Emil’s case, he replicated himself in order to fight the aliens, so what was the case with Accord?
Yoko: If I were to discuss that, I’d be in big trouble with the law, so…
Saito: Check out this awesome question I’m asking!! haha
Matsuda: So, Suga Kyosuke is amazing to play a character like this!
Yoko: Yeah, this is a huge secret, so I can’t talk about it.
Matsuda: But, he must know about it, otherwise he couldn’t play the role accurately.
Sekiya: Yup.
Matsuda: I’ve asked so many times about why Accord seems to come back to life all the time, but he’ll never tell me.
What is Accord’s connection to the Kingdom of Night?
Apparently, sometime before Replicant, there was a huge accident that caused the planet to become tidally locked, so that one face of the planet is enshrouded in eternal darkness. But as far as Replicant and Automata is concerned, those stories take place in the Kingdom of Day, where night never comes.
Matsuda: So, Accord’s in the Kingdom of Night?
Yoko: She’s actually in both, but she was created in the Kingdom of Night.
Also a super important aspect to the character of Accord is her ability to seemingly replicate herself endlessly. The only other characters that we know can do this in some shape or form is Emil during the initial invasion of the aliens in 5012 and N2. Yoko mentioned that there was a reason for this, but wouldn’t say why there are so many versions of Accord.
Saito: So, Accord was out there somewhere, watching what was going on in Replicant.
Yoko: Yes, she was always there, watching. She’s always there.
Yoko: For the longest time, we’ve said that Accord isn’t supposed to get involved, but with YoRHa Ver.1.3aa, she sort of over did it. That was Suga-kun’s curse.
Saito: Why are you blaming that on the actor?
Yoko: Yeah, watching Suga-san performing, it made you want to see more.
Matsuda: I suppose it’s okay, though, since this is a separate possibility.
Yoko: That’s right. It makes you wonder what could be possible in a separate timeline. So, further down this path, there are no more Red Girls/Boys. The story of NieR has always been about the thought of history repeating itself, so even without the Red Girls/Boys, the war with machines still manages to happen somehow.
Saito: So, throughout the whole Yokoverse, whether it be with Drakengard or NieR, do you have a particular goal in mind, like no matter how far apart the timeline might split into different directions that it still somehow reaches the same goal.
For example, in Doraemon, there’s a part of the story where they’re going to Osaka, so they think about all the different ways to get there, whether it be by car, or shinkansen, or whatever, but eventually they reach their goal in the end: Osaka.
So, regarding the whole Yokoverse, with Drakengard, NieR, and whatever else, you must have a specific goal in mind, right?
Yoko: If I were to answer accurately, no.
Saito: No?!
Yoko: It’s more about the search for that goal.
Akiyama: Like searching for Osaka.
Yoko: It’s similar to that. Or maybe more like “What happened to Osaka?”
Saito: So, no matter how hard you try to change things, sometimes you still end up in the same place.
Yoko: That’s right. That’s actually what Accord’s trying to figure out.
Taura (on LINE chat): Osaka is right here.
Yoko: I don’t know how many people are watching right now, but I never thought we would be having this conversation about Accord.
Matsuda: During the auditions, I had absolutely no idea for the image of Accord, so I left all of that up to Yoko-sama.
Yoko: Yeah, Matsuta originally wasn’t interested in selecting Suga-san for the role.
Matsuda: (haha) Well, of course. I mean, he brought a guitar to the audition, and you’d think that if he brought a guitar, he’d sing but… all he did was a bunch of technical fingering.
Yoko: The thing with Suga-san was that he did fit a sort of image I had for the role, and even though he didn’t have much experience as a performer…
Saito: Yeah, Ver.1.3a was actually his first performance, right?
Matsuda: Yes, that was his first performance. So there was a lot of stuff he was unfamiliar with.
Yoko: The role of Accord is pretty important within the story, so there was a little worry about thatーbut it wasn’t like I thought everything would work out; I just thought that it was Ichida’s job to deal with whatever might happen.
Apparently, some of the only things in Suga’s portfolio were a bunch of photos of him playing golfー Yes, he absolutely loves golf! That and just playing golf. No singing. Just playing the guitar. It also seems as though Suga has become the producer of an idol group as well, so it’s really unclear exactly WHO HE IS! lol He’s doing so many unrelated things, it’s hard to know!
Yoko: But there was definitely an aspect of mystery about him that I felt that just maybe he could pull it off.
Matsuda: Then I think we were right in choosing him.
Yoko: Ah, so… “Fall Down” (大崩落・フォールダウン) refers to the event in which every single timeline disappearsーis annihilatedー so, she’s actually working to prevent that from happening. The end.
So, Accord continues to be a huge mystery in the Yokoverse, but I am exponentially beginning to think that the new NieR Reincarnation is going to focus more on Accord and her uncanny ability to replicate over and over again. We’ve seen in the YoRHa Ver.1.3a/aᵃ stage play that Accord absolutely can “die”, and that each and every iteration of her is unique, but the mere fact that they share the same memory bank of sorts links them all togetherー much like a Borg collective. I’m beginning to think we’ll get more story on Accord, the Original Accord, and the events happening in the Kingdom of the Night during the initial conflict with the aliens.
Related Links
There’s also considerable discussion about Accord in SINoALICE, so if you’re not worried about spoilers, you can check that out here.
Also, reviewing the DOD3 collaboration with SINoALICE also might prove to be important. You can read about that here.
Although this is a rerun of the same collab as before, there are some new additions! We can expect the other Utautai sisters to be recruitable this time around! Two, Three, Four, and Five!
Additionally, if anyone is curious about the song in the official SINoALICE x DOD3 collab trailer, it’s Ine’s battle theme, which I translated the lyrics way back in the day here.
