Part 141: Episode CXXXVI: Meaningless Code

Episode CXXXVI: Meaningless Code



Where were we...? Oh right... Picking who we were siding with for the final battle. This choice entirely dictates which ending we get. It’s entirely possible to get Ending D before Ending C. I did the first time I played. But we’re gonna stick with the proper order. Sorry, Nines. We’re betting on Team A2. She’s got the better Pod.



We’ve got to confirm this is the ending we want. No taker-backers. Yeah, we’re sure... I mean, until we unlock the Chapter Select right after this and could immediately do the other choice. Spoilers.


VIDEO: 9S BOSS BATTLE AND ENDING C (You should probably watch this.)




Music: The Sound of the End (Vocal)



Time to kick YoRHa No.9 Type S’s ass. It’s for his own good at this point. 9S is actually the way more interesting fight of the two options. He’d probably actually be kind of hard except for one weird dumb decision that makes both these final fights a joke...



He gets de-leveled down to Level 50 for absolutely no reason. It’s not some thematic leveling down due to 9S being all jacked by the Logic Virus. If we went with 9S then A2 would suddenly be Level 50 too. I honestly they just fucked up the numbers here considering both 21O and Ro/Ko-Shi were all a competitive Level 60 for their boss fights. I’ve talked enough about the level scaling disparity in this game that you should know a 12 Level advantage means 9S is turbo boned in this fight. Which is a shame since he’s got a bunch of unique abilities.



Chiefly, 9S can use a variety of Pod Programs (as well as Pod Gatling Fire) against us. Unfortunately, he isn’t just equipped with what we left him with while we were playing. He can swap between a decent amount of ‘em on the fly with seemingly no cooldown time. Cheater.



Messing around a bit and not instantly stomping his ass in under a minute, Boss Fight 9S seems to favor the Slow Pod Program for some reason, even though he never came remotely close to using it properly. With Wave being a second favored one. Though he also pulled out Hammer, Laser and Bomb.





There is a good reason as to why he favors the Slow Pod Program. You think Hackerman forgot how to Hack just because he was going insane even before the viral infection? If A2 stays in place or fails to move very far, 9S can instantly hack her body and inflict a variety of status effects. A few of these are unique to this fight outside of a random chance of occurring when taking E-Drugs. 9S does start off with simple stuff like disabling A2’s FCS (i.e. no melee attacks.)



Proposal: Destroy YoRHa unit 9S.
Damn it!



That’s ice cold, Pod 042. But then 9S starts pulling some real bullshit with hacking – such as screwing up A2’s hearing or pixelating the screen by damaging her aural and visual sensors. That’s just obnoxious.



If 9S is allowed to keep hacking A2, he’ll start being a real fucker with status effects. Movement System Abnormality reverses all of the movement controls. That’s cool, 9S. Nobody likes that gimmick. Especially when combined with All Systems Abnormal which... just randomizes all the button inputs completely. I think jump was like L2, heavy melee was O, light melee was god knows... L3 for all I know. These status effects all last for like 30 seconds and the controls persist in the quick menu. Good getting to that status ailment removing item when the controls are upside-down and you don’t know what button is confirm.





Not all of 9S’s hacking instantaneous. He will occasionally throw in some good ol’ fashion traditional hacking as well. If the sequence is failed, which it very well might be given the buggered controls persist in Hacking Space, then another status effect is inflicted and A2 takes some damage. Surviving it just briefly stuns 9S.





Thankfully, only two status effects can be activate at any one time. And also the part where you can clown 9S in about 45 seconds since A2 has a dozen levels over him now... So let’s just get to that part...

Music: ENDS



Gah!







9S everyone is creeped out by you grafting your dead partner’s clone’s arm onto your dismembered stump. Go look up the old human records about the fable of the Revolver Ocelot to learn why that is a terrible idea.



<sounds of having a very poor time>
Pod! Hack in!



At long last 9S literally gets dunked.



Affirmative.







Pod... We’re going to repair 9S’s logic circuits.
Acknowledged.


Music: Mourning



Tell me where to find the virus corrupting 9S.
Affirmative. YoRHa unit A2. Core data for 9S is stored ahead. Alert: Severe virus corruption. Probability of successful deletion extremely low.
I think I know a way...



The idea under consideration is not recommended. This Pod is a YoRHa Tactical Support Unit. As such, it cannot approve of actions that would damage its supported unit.
Heh. You’re not so bad, Pod. You know that?







There’s a whole labyrinthine structure of stairs to climb up and down, though it’s only a solitary path to our destination. Speaking of this representation of Hacking Space. You know we’ve seen inside 9S’s head a couple times already and how it’s represented when hacking.



...This ain’t it.



Music: ENDS





I’ll take care of everything...





Pod... Take care of 9S.





What of you, A2?
<tinny speaker voice> I’ve still got something I need to do... You go ahead.
Acknowledged. <flies away with 9S>







<happy children’s laughter>



<continued children’s laughter>
I’m sorry...



<silence>




Music: Weight of the World (Emi Evans Version) (Hey go listen to this, idiot!)









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



I’m coming, everyone... I’m... coming...







Welp... I mean, 9S might have made it... And at least Pod 042 was OK. That’s umm... pretty OK as far as survivors for a Yoko Taro game ending goes... Of course, there’s more after the credits.



Speaking of the credits, they’re in reverse this time. I mean, they still are displayed in the same order. They’re just coming from the top of the screen and scrolling towards the bottom. I’m sure there’s some deep lore reasoning behind that only Yoko Taro knows... Ya know, like what the hell YoRHa meant...

However, we’re not quite done. There is a post credits scene...



The machines have fallen. The androids are on their way out... The humans have long since vanished from this earth.



It’s time for a new party to step up and claim this dying world...



...At long last.



The eternally patient moose’s time...





...has finally arrived. See you in NieR 3! It’s about the evolved cyborg-moose species’ invasion into the Watcher’s home dimension to take the fight back to them after they ruined this planet. Coming Spring 2020. You heard it here first! LP Exclusive News!



This is, however, not the end of NieR: Automata or this LP. We’ve still got a couple of endgame sidequests to sort out, some supplementary material to cover, the DLC to burn through and two more proper endings to complete. Plus a whole bunch of junk that just unlocked with Ending C to go investigate.

Tune in next time as NieR: Automata continues. And have a happy holidays until then!






Video: 9S Battle and Ending C (It’s one of the last endings. Of course go watch it!)