Yoko Taro Talked About NieR Lore and the Mermaid Novella

NieR is now a series that covers two mainline installments and the spin-off NieR Re[in]carnation, as well as books and plays. In a new PlayStation Blog interview, series creator and Creative Director Yoko Taro spoke about how he approaches NieR lore and integrated The Little Mermaid novella story into NieR Replicant. In short, he said he doesn’t get too “strict” about lore, preferring to prioritize “player experience.” He also mentioned The Little Mermaid was implemented due to being planned to be in the original NieR.

Yoko Taro first spoke about adding The Little Mermaid to NieR Replicant. He mentioned it was meant to be in the original game. When they didn’t get it in, he noted, “I figured, ‘I did spend the time to come up with the idea, so maybe I can put it in as a bonus content in the concept book… Besides, unlike games, a novel doesn’t require you to think about budget’ and so I wrote it without thinking too deeply on it.’” He also said implementing it into the game was a “relatively smooth transition” because of its origins. He also relayed that the other Grimoire NieR novellas didn’t get in because they were never meant to be in a game.

As for the NieR lore, here’s what Yoko Taro had to say about handling and observing it.

I try not to enforce the lore so strictly. We’ve made it public that the world of Nier is a multi-dimensional universe, and I believe the story and characters should fit into each medium appropriately. What’s important is the player’s experience, and not protecting the lore. Oh, I just said something really nice here, so, could you note this in bold letters? What’s that? Yes, that’s right, where I said: ‘What’s important is the player’s experience.’ Thank you kindly.

In Yoko Taro’s holiday message, he joked that the series was finished.

NieR Replicant is available on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. NieR Re[in]carnation is available on Android and Apple iOS devices.