Back in 2012, a quint event of only 200 Square Enix Members was held for free on March 20, 2012 for the release in commemoration of the Piano Collections NieR Gestalt & Replicant, which was released the following day. Yoko Taro, Saito Yosuke, Okabe Keiichi, Hoashi Keigo, and Tanioka Kumi, who participated on the piano arrangements on the CD, appeared along with Kadowaki Mai (voice of Emil) as the MC. Live piano segments were performed by both Hoashi Keigo and Tanioka Kumi.

If memory serves, this was the first time Yoko used his Black Mannequin avatar in a live event. He has otherwise used his typical Yoko icon in other media prior to this.

Tickets to this event were based on a lottery system to anyone who was a Square Enix Member. Entries were just shy of 2,000, but it gave SQEX a massive wake-up call that there were many more NieR fans out there than they had originally estimated.

Kadowaki Mai appearing as the MC was actually a surprise!

Okabe Keiichi had asked Tanioka Kumi to participate on this album and event, so this was her first time to get involved in the NieR franchise. She was also involved on Final Fantasy XI, Chrystal Chronicles, and many more. She became a fan of the music in NieR when she purchased the soundtrack, so she was quite delighted to be able to participate on the piano arrngements.

Yoko appeared on stage as his Black Mannequin persona. Since the black doll was placed up-right on stage, creating a surreal atmosphere that made the audience laugh periodically during the talk segments.

Question Corner

(From IRUJIA)
Q: Were there any songs that were decided quickly?
A: Nothing was really decided on very quickly, but many went smoothly. Blu-bird was actually one that took multiple retakes along with additional requests from Yoko to make it have more impact.

(From *samaru)
Q: (To Tanioka) Did you feel any pressure to participate on the Piano Collections?
A: She felt quite a lot of pressure. She also mentioned she’s a fan of NieR music.

(From z*r_cradle)
Q: (To Hoashi) What do you keep in mind when you compose?
A: Okabe rejected many of his songs, so he was pretty desperate most of the time. But because of this, he believes he was able to come up with themes that were received really well.

(From mocrain)
Q: (To Tanioka) Were there any themes that were difficult to arrange for the piano? Or were there any that seemed more beautiful as a piano theme?
A: None of the themes were originally intended for a piano arrangement, so it was difficult to incorporate the same freshness without destroying the world view.

(From Famitsu.com ?)
Q: Were there any piano arrangements that changed your impression of the original theme?
A: For Tanioka, since this was her first time to compose NieR music, everything felt very fresh and new. She was also quite impressed with Hoashi, who tends to improvise with his own unique musical score or something.

(From Saito Yosuke)
Q: Who the heck is Yoko Taro?
A: Closing out the Question Corner was a funny question by Saito Yosuke in which Yoko once again introduced himself. He also told a story about how much trouble they had with the production of the game, especially when development began.

At the end, Saito Yosuke appeared on stage to give a comment. He said that he wanted to keep this particular event relatively small, but personally he wanted to aim for a “new NieR” in the future. Little did we know, this was likely the first few burning embers that eventually lead way to Automata.

At the end of the event, they had a autograph session with Hoashi Keigo, Tanioka Kumi, and Okabe Keiichi.

There was also a raffle drawing for attendees at the event. They gave away signed voice recording scripts from the game, a card set of Kaine and Emil from Lord of Vermillion 2. There was also a keyword giveaway on the official website for those who watched the event on uStream.

There was also a sales and exhibition corner where they conducted pre-sales of the new Piano Collections soundtrack and other NieR related merch. They had NieR Gestalt & Replicant posters, specially signed merch and panels especially for Ultimate SQEX Members on display. The displayed the posters with the scenic view of West Shinjuku and a bunch of skyscrapers as the backdrop, so the layout was pretty slick.

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Event: Piano Collections NieR Gestalt & Replicant Release Commemorative Event
“Distant, Small, Ephemeral Piano”
Date: Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Venue: Shinjuku I-land Hall

Set List

• Opening: MC Kadowaki Mai
• M-1 Song of the Ancients (Performed by Hoashi Keigo)
• Talk: Kadowaki Mai, Okabe Keiichi, Hoashi Keigo
• M-2 Emil (Performed by Hoashi Keigo)
• Talk: Kadowaki Mai, Okabe Keiichi, Hoashi Keigo, Tanioka Kumi
• M-3 Hills of Radiant Winds
• Talk: Secret Discussion on Music Production
• M-4 Gods Bound by Rules (Performed by Tanioka Kumi)
• Talk: Behind the Scenes Story on the Recording and Question Corner
• M-5 Grandma (Performed by Tanioka Kumi)
• Gift Raffle Drawing
• M-6 Kaine (Performed by Hoashi Keigo)
• M-7 Yonah, Shadowlord (Performed by Hoashi Keigo)

Here are a couple other photos that I took from home as I watched the livestream on uStream:

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Used Sources:

• Game Watch
• 2083 Web