I've seen a lot of talk, both positive and negative, about how the existence of this new Nier renders the old ones obsolete; some despise it because it represents the mainstreamification of a cult classic with little regard for the westernized protagonist they fell in love with, others adore it because it finally gives non-Japanese audiences the intended narrative while also providing a smoother gameplay experience. Admittedly, I fell hard into the former category during much of the early game, but after some introspection, I realized that the question is not if this updated remakaster replaces the original Replicant/Gestalt, or even what parts of it are better/worse than its predecessors, but rather how it complements them. Upon finishing this one, I believe all three can exist in harmony.

First off, this seems to be a literal update, built on top of the old version instead of remade from scratch, so most of Cavia's work still remains intact. The original game had a lot of idiosyncrasies that helped make it special in my eyes, and most of them are retained here by virtue of it being the exact same game at its core. I have a few nitpicks regarding the old goofy animations being replaced by ones lifted straight from Automata, though I suppose the developers felt that was a necessary alteration to make the combat feel snappier (I disagree, but whatever, it's fine). There are really just two major sticklers for me, which are the only reason I can't give this game a 5/5:

1) None of the original developers appear to be credited at the end unless they also returned to work on this remaster. I didn't even see Yoko Taro's long-time co-writers Sawako Natori and Hana Kikuchi mentioned, which is absolutely criminal considering they were responsible for penning much of the script. The one exception is D.K., who designed the characters for the 2010 release, and I'm glad they included him, but it's disrespectful as hell that Toylogic didn't think the original developers, the people who actually made the game we're playing here, were worthy of crediting. Yes, I am probably the only person in the world who cares about this, and no, I am not going to just accept it. To me, this isn't right. If games are art, then we need to treat the people who make them as artists. Even the Spyro Reignited Trilogy, an actual 1:1 remake using almost nothing directly taken from the PS1 games, saw fit to credit the original developers.

2) The new soundtrack is... I don't want to say "bad," but I don't like it much at all. Most of the rearrangements sound fine, and there's even one I might actually enjoy more than its original counterpart, but I find the majority of it either bland or overproduced by comparison. Obviously this is all subjective, but when I walked into the Northern Plains and heard the new Hills of Radiant Wind for the first time, I actually frowned. This was the moment that made me fall in love with Gestalt back on the PS3, and the new rendition with its muted instruments and subtler vocals couldn't be further from what I adored about it. The fact that there's no option to use the classic OST, but you CAN switch to the Automata OST, is maddening. Easily my biggest disappointment with this re-release, and probably the entire reason I felt so down on it at first.

The rest of my complaints are nitpicks that stem from having way too many brain cells devoted to Nier, so I'll spare you from them. In general, this is probably the version of the game I would recommend people to play nowadays. While I do think certain iconic moments had better voice acting in the original, the vast majority of the new vocal performances are a huge improvement, especially from the actors portraying Emil, Yonah, Devola/Popola, and Grimoire Noir. Everyone is at the top of their game here, and the remaster boasting full voice acting means we get 100% more Grimoire Weiss dubbing, a true delight that is not to be missed. As much as I prefer Papa Nier and a lot of his game's altered party banter, going back to a world where only half of Weiss' lines are voiced simply feels wrong.

The new content is also pretty damn good; maybe not worth paying full price for if you were satisfied by the original game, but I liked it a lot. The "Mermaid" sequence is unnecessary and threatens to harm the pacing, but it gives Seafront more of a purpose and I genuinely felt like something was missing when it wasn't there in my Gestalt playthrough. The last segment of it is very cool, cleverly integrating gameplay and story via Nier's otherwise entirely pointless RPG leveling system. Ending E is fascinating and handled in a really neat way, much better than I expected from reading the short story version years ago. I was always against its inclusion in a potential remake, but I think they made it work. Whereas Ending D was the perfect conclusion for the original release, with it mirroring Cavia's demise and the expectation that Nier would be forgotten in a few years, Ending E functions as a similar parallel in a post-Automata world where people love Yoko Taro's games and can't get enough of them. Some will scoff at its sappiness and appeals to new fans who started with the sequel, but I thought it was quite sweet and just all around exceptional.

In general, I think there's a lot to be gained by playing both OG Nier and Remastered Nier, Replicant Nier and Gestalt Nier. Most of the characterization is only subtly different between versions, but it can't be understated how different they feel from each other through a combination of script alterations, the disparity between animation quality, and the presence (or not) of Ending E. Classic Gestalt Nier is about a dumb old man who regularly falls on his ass bumbling around in a world he's outgrown, tunnel-visioning past harsh truths staring him in the face, and trying to rescue his daughter by thoughtlessly killing anyone who gets in his way. Modern Replicant Nier is about an acrobatic young man who has his innocence repeatedly shattered by events beyond his control, deliberately turns a blind eye to harsh truths, and uses rescuing his sister as an excuse for murder. Both versions of the protagonist are helpful to a fault and repeatedly put themselves in harm's way to ensure the safety of those around them (despite the things they're doing not necessarily being good at all), but while the Father and young Brother do this out of the kindness of their hearts, adult Brother does it more because it's the only life he's ever known. In the end, both characters make the same final decision, but the outcomes are completely different due to their interpersonal relationships causing the same action to be done for entirely different reasons.

Two protagonists, two tragedies, two development studios; this differentiation may not have been intentional, but it's brilliant, and somehow makes playing multiple versions of a game you already have to play three times to finish a rewarding experience.