Let's be frank, if you've played Nier: Automata (or any of the Nier games really), you'll know it's not what you would call a "conventional game". From its story to its gameplay, there is a lot of craziness to adjust to in this action role-playing title. Then again, if you're a fan of PlatinumGames' other titles, maybe you'll adjust just fine. But whatever your thoughts on the game's outlandish themes and presentation, you certainly can't deny its ambition.

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Not only does the game attempt to construct a complex, multi-layered story across multiple playthroughs with a gut-punch of a credit sequence, it also has a lot to say about the nature of humanity and what it means to live. As such, there's a lot of poignant Nier quotes scattered throughout the many chapters of the game that strike a sense of hope and melancholy in equal measure.

Updated September 14, 2021 by Stephen Morin: Nier has turned into an entire franchise at this point. 2021 saw the release of the Nier Replicant remake and Nier Reincarnation. Both new and old players are returning to the transcendental experience that is Nier Automata.

Fans are eager to see the connections between the games, though they might be more thematically linked than anything. Just reading Nier Automata quotes (from its many great characters) might want to make you replay and discover more and more of the nuances in the story.

15 "Do you think games are silly little things?"

Nier Automata Final Credits shoot em up

The Route E ending is often considered the true ending of Nier Automata. Players are required to see ending C or D before they can even access ending E. Instead of focusing on the game's main characters, Nier Automata breaks the fourth wall and puts the morality of the player in the spotlight. After Dying to the shmup-esque final credits battle multiple times (which is almost inevitable), the game will eventually ask the player, "Do you think games are silly little things?"

Even Albert Camus would be proud of the absurdist take this Nier Automata quote extracts from the player. By accepting defeat and saying Nier is just a game, the player is an accomplice to the belief that nothing really matters and nothing is worth fighting for. By not giving up, despite the tragedy of life and its level of unfairness, the player acknowledges that fighting for something better has meaning, personal meaning, and that alone makes life worth living.

14 "I taught the children what fear is. I felt they had to know so they wouldn't heedlessly run into danger. But... instead..."

nier automata pascal machine children

The Nier games have always been very good at turning the player's perceptions of things around or presenting very poignant points of view that you would not expect. The above quote is from an optional scene during Route C where the machine children have destroyed their own cores.

Pascal wishes to live in harmony with others and teaches himself and other machines all about human philosophy, history, and feelings. To this extent, he taught the machine children about fear, not realizing the consequences of his actions. Despite Pascal's best intentions, this resulted in one of the saddest moments in the game.

13 "I seek to learn and adopt all facets of humanity! Some desire love! Others family! Only then did I realize the truth...the core of humanity... is conflict. They fight. Steal. Kill. This is humanity in its purest form!"

nier automata adam copied city

The above quote is spoken by Adam, one of the two twin machines that serve as antagonists on more than one story route. His interest in humanity leads him to become obsessed with the idea of death, which he sees as one of the cores of what makes humans different from machines, who can reboot over and over.

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This quote is pretty interesting as it makes us question what makes humanity, and Adam has a fair point. We are always in conflict, we are always killing one another.

12 "We've destroyed machines beyond counting. Perhaps someone sees that as a sin."

2B Slicing Boss Nier Automata

This quote comes at the conclusion of the "Machine Examination 2" side quest, but to fully understand it, some context is required. After you complete the "Assault" quest, you can encounter a large Engels machine that is repairable. Upon finding the necessary components to do so, it identifies itself as Engels 110B, who you can talk to whenever you choose. Engels will often ponder the state of the world with you before he begins to contemplate the nature of sin.

Sin is a concept brought on by 9S when Engels first comes back online, which leads into "Machine Examination 2." During this side quest, Engels acknowledges the many androids he has killed. He says he must atone for this sin and offers up his parts as penance. Shortly after doing so, he passes away due to his system shutting down. 2B is the one who says the aforementioned quote upon his passing, showing a surprising moment of reflection for the usually stoic and pragmatic android.

11 "There's an important lesson here: The more of a fool people take you for, the more you'll learn of their true nature."

Nier Automata 9S Hacking Battle

During your second playthrough as 9S, you can find a character simply named the Weird Machine in Pascal's village. He's called the Weird Machine because older children keep offering him a cheap coin or an expensive coin, but he keeps selecting the cheap one. This gives the other children the impression that he is faulty somehow. However, upon hacking Weird Machine, you discover that he is actually extremely complex and intelligent. When you confront him on this, Weird Machine reveals that he only acts the fool so they'll keep offering him cheap coins, knowing that they'll stop giving him easy money the minute he picks the expensive one.

It's at that point that he says the above quote, which, while cynical in nature, does offer a very revealing glimpse into the nature of humanity. Or, at the very least, the things some people will do when they think that they cannot be seen or understood.

10 "What is it that separates machines from androids like us? The machines have grown emotions. ...Consciousness. The final screams they summoned on the edge of their death... They still echo within me."

nier automata ending a

This is a rather deep 2B quote toward the end of Route A when she contemplates what truly makes them different from the machines. It's probably something that players had begun to question themselves while playing, as both androids and machines are manufactured, so if they both possess emotions, what is the difference?

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It becomes increasingly difficult for players to keep slaughtering machines without a qualm while playing, as more and more often you are given examples of sentient machines who want peace.

9 "A future is not given to you. It is something you must take for yourself."

Nier Automata 9S and 2B on the rooftop

This quote from Pod 042 is actually the final line in the game at the conclusion of Ending E, or "the true ending." It comes shortly after the final confrontation between A2 and 9S, in which both are killed. Their pods, however, make it out of the conflict and are seemingly attempting to repair the fallen androids. Pod 153 and 042 spend some time debating whether or not they're just setting them up to repeat the same mistakes they made before their passing.

While 042 acknowledges that it is a possibility, he also doesn't see it as a certainty. With this quote, 042 offers up some hope for what's to come by saying that the future is a choice, not preordained. So while they can absolutely make the same mistakes that led them down this path, they should be allowed the choice to do so.

8 "The time I was able to spend with you. It was like memories of pure light. Thank you... Nine... s"

Nier Automata 2B infected

This is hidden dialogue you can discover upon finding 2B's crashed flight unit as 9S. Upon discovering the crashed machine, you'll find a recorded audio log with a final message for 9S. It offers one last look into just how much 2B had changed before she succumbed to the Logic Virus. When they first met, 2B was very careful to remain pragmatic and detached from 9S, knowing she would have to kill him if he got too close to discovering the truth.

Despite this, 2B eventually came to care about him to the point where his influence permanently changed her perception of the world. Thus, this final message reveals that while she lived her life resenting her given role and the world that forced it upon her, she died finally able to see the light once more. This effectively concludes her arc in the game and leaves a lasting impression not only on 9S but the player as well.

7 "My brother was everything to me... My life was contained in our moments..."

nier automata eve fight

On your playthrough as 9S, you get given some extra dialogue and scenes in many places. One example is during the boss fight with Eve, with 9S bearing witness to more of Eve's grief as he hacks into him.

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The above quote comes from Eve, heard by 9S while inside his system, and it really makes you realize that at the end of everything, we are defined by the memories of us that live on in others and in all the moments that we shared.

6 "It always ends like this."

Nier Automata sad 2B

This quote holds more meaning the more you learn throughout the game. It comes at the conclusion of Route A (your first playthrough) shortly after 2B is forced to choke 9S to death after he becomes corrupted by a virus. As 2B is holding his body, she openly weeps as she says this line.

As has been previously mentioned, 2B has a secret directive to kill any scanner android that starts to uncover classified information, which leaves 2B deliberately cold towards 9S in fear of getting too emotionally attached. This 2B quote reveals, however, that not only has she done that exact thing multiple times, she has also had to kill her partner over and over again.

5 "I‘m not quite sure what it means to mourn, or even if we have a soul to concern ourselves with. But I hope you’re at rest 2B. Sweet dreams. I’ll be with you before long."

Nier Automata 2B Grave 9S

It's 9S's turn to mourn this time around if you seek out the "Gathering Keepsake" side quest, which takes place after the death of 2B. After collecting the necessary components, you can return to Emil's home where 9S will recite this monologue before planting a grave marker for 2B.

Of all of the 9S quotes, this one really denotes 9S's ultimate fall into darkness. Unlike 2B, who started the game cold and detached, 9S started out as bright and optimistic. But over the course of the game, 2B would learn to embrace her emotions and find light of her own, while 9S would slowly become more hopeless and, as this quote clearly demonstrates, suicidal.

4 "I never quite realized ... how beautiful this world is."

nier automata a2

This sad A2 quote is said during the ending of Route C just before she dies. It's a very touching moment as A2 finally lets go of all of her revenge and hatred and can finally see the world for what it is, yet tragically it's just before she dies.

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This quote is perfect at reminding us that we should not take things for granted and that we should appreciate what is right in front of us, while not letting ourselves be consumed by our past.

3 “Why do I long for humans like this?! Why do I desire the touch of something that no longer exists?”

9S battles A2 Nier Automata

During the game's final confrontation between 9S and A2, 9S has clearly lost his mind from pain and grief, leading him to spout out this particular quote. And in that quote, you can see the culmination of 9S's entire character arc. His continued curiosity about humanity, the world, and everything both had to offer is a big part of what drives him throughout the story. However, what drives him the most is his connection to 2B.

Once that connection is severed through tragedy, all that's left is an android who no longer finds joy in the world he once found fascinating. He only finds a cold, cruel world that infects and destroys everything it touches. Despite this, he can't seem to stop longing for a connection with humanity, forever feeling like he lost something he never had.

2 "Do not feel bad about it. We are alive, after all. And being alive is pretty much a constant stream of embarrassment."

Pods Talking to each other in Nier Automata

This one is certainly less serious than some of the other entries, but still poignant nonetheless. This quote comes from a conversation between Pod 153 and Pod 042 during Ending E. Pod 042 admits to some embarrassment over what he labels a "suicide attempt" at the end of the game's climax, to which Pod 153 responds with the aforementioned quote. Pod 042 admits the concept is too "abstract" for him to understand at that moment, but anyone alive can understand this concept pretty easily.

It is interesting to consider what exactly they're defining as "embarrassing" in this case, because there's a lot of different emotions that can be tied into embarrassment. In many ways, this line actually tries to paint a majority of the game's events in a darkly humorous way, reflecting on the pointlessness of it all. And it does so right before painting the possibility for a brighter future.

1 "Everything that lives is designed to end. They are perpetually trapped in a never-ending spiral of life and death. However, life is all about the struggle within this cycle. That is what 'we' believe."

Nier Automata A2 in window

It seems only appropriate to end this list where it began. Once again during Ending E, Pod 153 offers these words of insight as a callback and as a closing statement to the game as a whole. It's simple, and it doesn't say all that much on its own, but unlike the intro, which was dripping with resentment over life's constant give and takes, this quote tries to find hope and beauty in that same cycle.

And that seems like an appropriate sentiment to end this journey on. To end with the expressed belief that a better future is possible. Even if everything that lives is designed to end, life is still worth living and exploring despite its perceived cruelties.

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