Part 149: Episode CXLIII: Naughty Boy

Episode CXLIII: Naughty Boy



So who is ready to be a dick to Emil for no reason other than the true completionist’s sociopathic tendencies and utter lack of morals?



Well guess what? That’s exactly what we’re going to have to go do now. Emil mentioned he had burglars and had to lock up his valuables in a chest. Hence why 9S, our resident safe cracker android, is needed for this excursion. Thanks to that elevator shortcut we activated, we can pop straight down to the bottom level of these caves and quickly jog over to Emil’s House.



...Just carefully tiptoe past the increasingly worrying pile of android corpses.


Music: Emil ~ Sacrifice





Sure enough, a sealed chest has been placed in Emil’s House. Pod 153 has given up on dissuading 9S from his thievery. It’s aware of the dark path of completionism and self-destruction he is walking and that there is no way to stop him. No one stops. So it’s just a quick and dirty hack and we pilfer collect...







An Emil Head accessory. This is almost certainly just a hollowed out dead Emil clone 9S has decided to stick on his head like the disrespectful little shit he is...

Music: ENDS



That’s all there was locked away in Emil’s pad. I hope you’re happy, 9S. Now let’s just skip on past the android killing field and head back to the sur—



Gah! This isn’t what it looks like... OK... Maybe it is exactly what it looks like. But...





<pops a sick wheelie and barrels straight for 9S>


Music: The Sound of the End (Vocal)



Time for one of the two superbosses in the core game of NieR: Automata – Emil, Upset Top Boy. It wasn’t enough to go steal from him once. You had to go and double dip and now it’s time to face the consequences.





So if you were wondering why there are more android corpses here than almost any other part of the game, it’s that Emil is a Level 99 enemy and is NOT fucking about. It’s hard to notice in battle, but via the magic of screenshots we can see Emil has changed his store flag and truck decal to reflect he is now pissed at our android’s thievery.





Emil’s primary means of attack is tearing across the room either aiming directly for 9S or dropping scores of bouncing Emil heads. These are functionally identical to the bouncy energy orbs the machine lifeform tanks drop just lasting WAY longer and in enclosed space. Except they’re Emil heads. Also...



...they hurt! Even at Level 99, Emil heads will take off a fifth to a quarter of 9S’s HP on contact. Getting rammed by Emil can easily take off a third of our health bar. And again, we are at the level cap. If you come fighting Emil even ten levels lower... well... there’s a good reason why there’s dozens of dead player corpses in this room.



Everyone once in a while Emil’s car will run out of steam and spark for a while. This is a good time to lay on some damage safely. In fact, it's very important to beat the shit out of Emil during these times because he can potentially unleash a gigantic AOE attack that can potentially one-shot even a Level 99 character. Though it's fairly rare. That said, we can't be too close while attacking, because once he’s up and running again Emil will pop a few donuts before charging around the room again. If you’re wondering, yes Emil can be hacked. Though he is VERY resistant to hacking and it takes a good 10+ seconds to initiate a single hack.



Once Emil drops to 50% HP, he enters the second phase of the fight. Which... just makes him go faster. But it does get a music change!


New Music: Emil's Shop Theme (DEATH) (You should listen to this. Yes, it’s supposed to sound like that.)





That’s not to say Emil is without any new tricks in phase 2. In fact, he has one extremely powerful attack left at his disposal.





A room sweeping doom laser, naturally. Emil was always good with doom lasers. Remember that one time he nuked the Aerie? Good times. Getting hit with this laser will take off 35-50% HP on 9S at our currently levels. Anything less and it will straight up one shot him. I got real lucky during this fight and Emil was technically on higher geometry at the edge of the room so the laser swung harmlessly over 9S’s head.

Anyway, other the optic blast, that’s about it to the Emil boss fight. Once he’s defeated...



Well, go ahead and use this room for whatever you like. I don’t mind.


Music: Blissful Death



Our reward for stealing from Emil and then beating him up like a huge piece of shit is the final weapon in NieR: Automata – Emil Heads!



Emil Heads are combat bracers so 9S will be lobbing around Emil heads while A2/2B will just stuff hollowed out Emil Heads as gloves to punch machines to death. That’s one way to do it... Basic upgrades grant Stun Up making enemies easier to stagger... so functionally useless since almost everything is resistant as hell/immune to staggering at this point. At maximum level, Emil Heads gain Insanity which makes them talk every time they’re used to attack! O... K...?

Hey there!
Thanks, friendo!
Take this!
Step aside please, coming through!
Emil BEAM!
Emil BLAST!

Alright then... Well, let’s take a look at the very final weapon story to date in a Drakenier game...




So a reminder. NieR: Automata takes place in 11945 AD. This weapon story’s date give is 477-8 years in the future from now. Err... make of all that what you will... In any case, that’s 100% weapon collection. Now it’s just a matter of upgrading ‘em all to max to unlock the final sidequest. But that’s for another day...



So err... no hard feelings... Right, Emil? E-Emil...? Not feeling very chatty, huh? That’s understandable. Err...



We will just... go now... Take it easy, Emil. Thanks for the err... Emils...






Video: Emil Boss Battle (You should probably watch this.)





Emil Concept Art – Well... Top Boy could have been way more horrifying in his sequel appearance...