Echoes of What’s Left of Us, and of Them

Mild spoilers to follow.

Keiichi Okabe (岡部啓一) and team MONACA had a great deal to live up to, namely their masterpiece that was the Nier: Gestalt & Replicant soundtrack from 2010. Theirs was already a titanic feat—finding the right thematic approach to the Yoko Taro’s insanity must have been immensely difficult. Despite that, the soundtrack to Nier was a runaway hit; it has become one of my top ten soundtracks ever.

So, does Nier: Automata’s OST deliver?

Packaging and Design

The 3-disc set is enclosed by the game’s fantastic artwork.

Disc One has Toobie 2B’s 2Bootiful form etched on its surface. Discs Two and Three are next to each other and are 9S and A2, respectively. Granted, there were “only” three protagonists, but I found it interesting that these two were put next to each other. I guess no-one dies alone, after all…

Artwork of the City Ruins in the case interior. Very nice.

The booklet is adorned by the early concept art of 2B meeting the Forest King.

Goddamn it, Yoko Taro

On the previous page, Okabe wrote an insightful paragraph about the creation of the original Nier soundtrack and writing for Automata in its legacy (more on that later). Here, Yoko Taro gave us…this. (Plot details so I won’t include the translation)

An interesting tidbit: the track names in Japanese were written without Hiragana, instead using Kanji and Katakana entirely. The use of this linguistic trope in Japanese pop culture is often associated with the formality of technical/academic jargon, giving the track titles a “technological,” “mechanical,” and “robotic” aesthetic. Very fitting, considering the game’s setting.

All in all, the physical copy of the soundtrack added more to its value.

Soundtrack Review

Spoilers ahead.

Upon landing in the first area (after the heart-pounding prologue), I knew I needed the soundtrack. The track is “City Ruins: Ray of Light”, which immediately set the tone of the game: seemingly desolate, yet teeming with life within. While the the first Nier OST featured mostly key pieces tied to specific characters/situations, the tracks’ in-game impact was somewhat lessened by their overuse in the game. Not so with Automata, as the soundtrack is punctuated with segmented key pieces that are amazing ambient themes, the permutations of “City Ruins” being one such example. Key pieces such as the later action themes were tied to key moments, giving them the impact and attention they deserve.

Okabe mixed acoustic instruments and synthetic sounds, bestowing each track an expansive soundstage best enjoyed on open-back headphones. Pieces like “City Ruins” were written in movements not unlike Bloodborne’s use of segments to delineate boss phases, but in Automata, the game used segments to transition between different areas in the same map. Though areas are revisited often in the game, this dynamic use of movements actually reinforced the strengths of both gameplay and music, avoiding repetition and fatigue.

Additionally, the composers wrote different variants for the motifs depending on the sequence of the game; for instance, “Significance” and the sweet, melodramatic “Vague Hope” had several versions, changing between A, B, C/D/E. Returning veteran co-composer Keigo Hoashi (帆足圭吾) composed one of my favorite tracks, “Vague Hope: Spring Rain.” The solo vocalist paired with the delicate strings delivers a highly emotional theme depicting a fragile hope…and love, or a memory thereof…

Is it OK to cry while writing a soundtrack review

One mark of a great composer is flexibility in creating diverse, memorable motifs. Okabe shows that, again, he is a master of his trade with Automata. Soft pieces like “Peaceful Sleep” have actually rocked me to restful dreams. And, befitting the soul-crushing, heart-wrenching writing under Yoko Taro’s pen, Okabe delivered the punches with genuinely disturbing tracks. “Mourning” is one such example: it began with a twisted, heavy male chorus slowly elevated by layers of female chorus, rendering the theme significantly more religious as it progressed. The female chorus briefly lessened the sorrow with major chords, only to be dragged down by the weight of the male chorus once more into a sorrowful minor key. The string quartet faded in with a solo session starting at 2:15 that reinforced the motif, and finally joined by the chorus once more at 3:18, rising to a mournful crescendo at 3:57 that was no less than an operatic processional. For the moments that warranted the use of “Mourning,”* the track absolutely killed it, and also killed my heart, hopes and dreams for the characters.



*see the end of the Golden Machines sidequest

There is no lack of EPIC in Automata, and I am stoked to say that Okabe and Hoashi have written some of the best action pieces ever once more. Their flexibility came into play again, spinning a twist of action from slow, calm motifs. “War&War” was a pleasant surprise when I realized it was a battle-ready version of the obsessively calm “City Ruins” that might as well have been sung by the Red Orchestra. “End of Aliens” is almost lifted straight out of Tekken, considering the fighting-game showdown between Adam/Eve VS 2B/9S. “Alien Manifestation” by both Okabe and Hoashi is my second favorite action-track in the listing. A powerful collaboration between the two powerhouses, they employed vocals and percussion heavily influenced by Southeast Asian and South Asian music. A decidedly culturally-laden theme depicting something that was inhuman in origin yet becoming human…

See above for EPIC

But the star amidst the shining action-tracks was “Emil: Despair.” Hoashi stole the thunder in this one, carrying on the legacy of the previous soundtrack, other examples being Okabe’s “Faltering Prayer” and “Song of the Ancients (Atonement),” but “Emil: Despair” went full SSJ3 on its already superb predecessor “Emil: Karma” from Nier. The piece is at once filled with the familiar, somber chorus, tense with weight from the Trombone, and fraught with immense sorrow driven by strings and trumpets. A new interlude, starting at 1:20, introduced a new solo vocal that demonstrates Hoashi’s brilliance in composition: introducing new ideas congruent to existing ones, bringing both to a higher place. “Emil: Despair” was truly a prime example of thus; an immensely satisfying blend of percussion-backed action and sadness.

It didn’t take eternity to hurt me, Emil

Okabe worked with amazing vocalists again. The supremely talented Emi Evans returns in key pieces to reprise her excellent performance in the first Nier soundtrack. She is flanked by newcomers J'Nique Nicole and Marina Kawano who performed the English and Japanese versions of the ending theme “Weight of the World,” respectively. Nicole’s voice had nuance and strength and was complemented by Evans’ higher, softer approach. Kawano’s performance is fairly decent although the JP version of “Weight of the World” got a little weird towards the end. I don’t know if it was from overdramatization or if Kawano was trying to emulate Nicole’s deeper vocal range, but the last vocal segment of the song seemed forced for an otherwise good performance.

Nevertheless, the vocal work in Automata’s soundtrack was among the best in the industry. The diversity in the styles of chorus for the soundtrack was particularly noteworthy; you will hear everything from solo vocals to Latin-style hymns to a style close to temple chants in South/Southeast Asian cultures, a musical style rarely found in mainstream media. This tonal diversity somehow retained the thematic consistency of the entire soundtrack, yet bringing a fresh approach to every track.

All I wanted was Metal Gear Rising with Badass Goth Lolita Androids.

I did get what I wanted /and/ existential crisis, a torrent of tears, and the one of the best game soundtrack in years. Pretty good deal.

Okabe wrote in the soundtrack booklet:

[This soundtrack] is the result of spending time and thought on capturing the “essence of Nier” as well as introducing new themes to bring the new world of Nier:Automata to life.

His collaboration with Hoashi, Takahashi and Ishihama as well as the talented performers for both vocals and instruments have realized that vision and then some. Nier:Automata Original Soundtrack was yet another masterpiece befitting Yoko Taro’s madness—a bleak outlook on what it means to be human, brought about by deceit and despair, and the faint, blossoming hope rising above the carnage. The game asked if humanity could exist without humans, and the answer was a resounding “Yes.” I hope that music, being an intrinsically emotional creation, will be one of humanity’s enduring legacies in the vastness of existence. Perhaps in 10,000 years, a badass blindfolded goth lolita android will find a CD of Nier Automata’s soundtrack buried in the city ruins, and experience a glimpse of the emotions that defined us.

This soundtrack is a must own for all fans of Nier: Automata and those who enjoy action and ambient tracks. It is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon. I bought the physical copy from Amazon JP.

This review was not sponsored by Amazon, Apple, Square Enix, Platinum Games, or MONACA.