Nier (video game)/Characters

A list of characters from Nie R, both the Gestalt and Replicant versions, and their associated tropes.

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Nier

The eponymous and only playable character of the game. Depending on which version, there are two separate renditions of him - 'Father' Nier and 'Brother' Nier. While very similar, there are some small differences between them.

Tropes associated with both versions of Nier:

• Badass Normal: Considering he gets the ability to use magic from Weiss. Everything else is just strength and skill.
• Berserk Button: Don't talk down to his friends, or get anywhere near Yonah.
• Character Title
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Has the habit of helping out anyone who needs him to earn some money. He sort of insists he does not have this, saying it's all for Yonah and nothing but Yonah, but Weiss comments otherwise.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He's suffered a lot of hardships due to the sickness and/or death of family members, and the steps he's had to take to eke out a living.
• Destructive Saviour: Nier blindly crashes forward into battle, heedless of any consequences so long as he gets Yonah back. By the end, he's pretty much screwed the entire human race thanks to his efforts.
• Determinator: Not even getting stabbed multiple times will stop this guy trying to defend his loved ones.
• Good Is Not Nice: In a harsh world there's little time to be nice. He falls short of being a Designated Hero however.
• Heel Realization: Hinted at occasionally.

Weiss (On Gideon): "Revenge is a fool's errand." Nier: "...I know."

• Hello, Insert Name Here: Which arguably makes the Character Title kinda unnecessary.
• Heroic Sacrifice: The final ending.
• Indy Ploy: Usually charges in without any plan other than 'kill the enemy', much to Weiss' exasperation. However he always manages to come up with a solution at the last minute, and gets pretty resourceful at using his magic too.
• I Will Protect Her: Although his overriding desire is to do so at whatever cost, it's eventually revealed to have gotten rather out of hand.
• Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds
• Murder Is the Best Solution: When it comes to Shades, there's never any other option considered. Helps that virtually all of them suffer a Cruel and Unusual Death.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Killing the Shadowlord was a big no-no in the grand scheme of things.
• Offhand Backhand: You know he's taken a few badass levels when you see him stab a Shade behind him in the face without looking!
• Plot-Relevant Age-Up: He's five years older following the timeskip. More noticeable in the younger version.
• The Power of Friendship: After assembling his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits, Nier seems to broaden his horizons and learn to care about something other than Yonah, until eventually he's practically running off this.
• Pretty in Mink: His outfit is lined with fur, including a fur collar and boots in Replicant, which is probably for practical purposes since he's nearly always travelling.
• Staking the Loved One: When he is forced to kill a possessed Kaine.
• Sticks to the Back: No matter the size or weight of Nier's equipped weapon, he can easily reach around and attach it to something on his back with an audible clink. Even more absurd in Gestalt, where the only thing he wears across his back is a few straps that hold his shoulderguard in place.
• Taking the Bullet: Almost gets himself killed defending Weiss.
• Tomato in the Mirror
• Took a Level In Badass: After the timeskip his abilities have increased greatly, so that he can now use various weapons and stronger magic. More obvious in Replicant since Nier has grown into a man.
• Too Many Belts: 'Father' Nier has no less than seven, whereas 'Brother' Nier's whole outfit is probably 50% belts.
• The Unfettered: He's gonna save Yonah. No matter what.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: The man called Nier will kill anything that stands in his way to save Yonah. Even if his enemies show signs of intelligence.

'Brother' Nier (Voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto & Koji Yusa)

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"I have something I need to protect. I have a reason to keep on living!"

Main character of Replicant, a driven young man forced to raise his sister Yonah after being orphaned. He generally keeps a sunny and optimistic outlook on life, even to a foolish extent considering the grim realities staring him in the face. He feels compelled to help people in need and repay any favours he is given, believing that doing so will make the world a better place.

After he crosses the Despair Event Horizon one too many times, he snaps. Following the Time Skip, he has grown into a ruthless Blood Knight who will kill as many Shades as it takes to rescue Yonah. Despite this, some traces of his former kindness still remain.

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• Big Brother Instinct: His devotion to his sister is all kinds of sweet, particularly in their younger years.
• Bishounen: Heck, in the backstory he's outright said to have a "womanly face".
• Despair Event Horizon: He crosses it at some point before the beginning of the game, which leads to drastic measures and more than a little insanity. Then he crosses it again at the end of Act 1.
• Dissonant Serenity: Nier's expression is often completely blank even as he carves up giant Shades left and right. It's pretty disturbing how such a nice boy can stand completely still and calm while getting showered with copious amounts of enemy blood. Maybe because his mind is fixed on other things...
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After five years he lets his hair down and grows it out, which makes him look older and more rugged.
• Expy: Of Caim from Drakengard. Much more noticeable after the timeskip.
• Gray Eyes
• He's All Grown Up: Just look at how much he's changed during the Time Skip! Kaine certainly notices when she's reunited with him.
• Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Brother Nier whored himself out to older men in order to get money for Yonah's medicine.
• Katanas Are Just Better: His default weapon resembles a katana, probably since it's more suited to his slender frame.
• Kid Hero: He's only sixteen at the beginning of the game.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: As specified, he isn't fighting the legions of darkness for something as feeble as "justice". He's fighting for his adorable little sister, and you had better not get in his way.
• Last Kiss: With the Shade-possessed and already dying Kaine in ending C. Was also their First Kiss.
• Mr. Fanservice: Gives him the advantage since it doesn't really work with older Nier.
• My Sister Is Off-Limits: Gets pretty protective once he thinks Yonah has a boyfriend.
• Oblivious to Love: He's far too busy thinking about revenge and Yonah to even begin to consider Kaine in a romantic light. That is until the ending...
• Parental Abandonment: Both his parents are deceased.
  • Promotion to Parent: He clearly struggles making ends meet in the difficult circumstances. Still does his absolute best though.
• Unwanted Harem: Word of God compares his friends to one of these, joking that every member of the band fell in love with him at some point.
• White-Haired Pretty Boy: Subverted as he's a decent guy. To some extent...
• Zettai Ryouiki: Technically doesn't have a skirt to go with it, but the novelist, Eijima, defines it as such regardless and is absolutely fascinated with it.

'Father' Nier (Voiced by Jamieson Price)

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"I swore to protect my daughter and my friends. If someone puts them in danger, they must stand aside or be cut down!"

The main character of Gestalt and Yonah's father. In contrast to Brother Nier, Father Nier's optimism has been steadily eroded over time to the point where he is achingly aware of how bad the state of the world is, and how pointless his actions are in the bigger picture. His one anchor of sanity is the innocent Yonah, for whom he loves dearly and devotes his entire life to protecting.

Like Brother Nier, he snaps after Yonah is taken from him, becoming a vengeful Blood Knight whose goal is to murder every Shade in existence.

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• American Kirby Is Hardcore: Was given an almost complete makeover to cater to the Western audiences, including making him older, grittier, more muscular and less altruistic.
• Axe Crazy: Because A Real Man Is a Killer.
• BFS: Even his default sword is massive. And he still uses it one-handed!
• Blinding Bangs/Hidden Eyes: In the opening.
• Cool Old Guy: Well, more middle-aged.
• Crusading Widower: His wife wasn't murdered so he's not out for revenge, but he still crusades for the daughter left behind.
• Dumb Muscle: Is stubbornly single-minded in his quest to save Yonah to the point where he reasons that simply killing Shades will get her back.
• Eyepatch After Time Skip
• Gentle Giant: He's a nice guy at heart, who's big on helping people and genuinely does the best he can.
• Knight Templar Parent: Insists that he will kill without hesitation anything standing in his way if it means saving his daughter.
• Mangst: Suffers from this a great deal due (usually to do with his inability to help Yonah), but can be a bit more open about his concerns than others.
• Overprotective Dad: He's less than happy when he finds out Emil and Yonah have been corresponding.
• Papa Wolf: To Yonah of course. It quickly extends to his close friends too.
• Scars Are Forever: Has scars on his shoulders, and suffers some sort of injury to his eye over the timeskip.
• Walking Shirtless Scene: Aside from a few bits of armour.

Yonah (Voiced by Ai Nonaka/Heather Hogan)

File:Copy 2 of Yonah 1 7643.png

"Thanks for always being there for me."

Nier's fragile daughter/sister, whose illness provides the driving force behind the plot. She loves Nier more than anything and is extremely devoted and supportive, despite his long absences. She stays at home most of the time, frequently writing letters.

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• Adult Child: Due to being in a comatose state for five years, she still behaves like a 10-year-old after the timeskip.
• Break the Cutie: Stuck in bed with a painful disease isn't fun for anyone, let alone a little girl.
• Cheerful Child: Even knowing she may be dying, she's always upbeat around Nier and tries to keep him in good spirits. It's implied she may not be as cheerful as she seems though.
• Daddy's Girl
• Distressed Damsel: Brings about the events of the timeskip. She's absent for almost the entire second half of the game.
• Giant Waist Ribbon: After the timeskip.
• Ill Girl: Suffers from the crippling Black Scrawl disease, which Nier desperately seeks to find a cure to. There is none.
• Lethal Chef: Decided she wanted to make a stew for Nier, and asks him to collect mutton and wheat. He was already less than thrilled about the idea, but gathered them anyway. She makes it for him, and his first comment is that it "smells like someone pissed on a campfire", and immediately notices "black lumps". Then he tastes it, at which point he goes on to comment that it tastes like death. The kicker? He eats it anyway, simply because Yonah made it for him.
• Parental Abandonment: Depending on which version, either her mother or both her parents are dead.
• Plucky Girl: She has the determination to go all the way to the Lost Shrine by herself with only a vague idea of where it is and knowing the whole place is festering with Shades, and while badly ill.
• Protectorate
• She's All Grown Up: Five years later and she's turned into a gorgeous young woman.
• Third Person Person: Japanese version only.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: In Gestalt, many of Yonah's letters imply that she'd rather have her father home by her side even as he's out looking for a cure.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl
• Woman in White: Reflects her innocence and purity.

Grimoire Weiss (Voiced by Shinnosuke Ikehata/Liam O'Brien)

File:Copy of Weiss 2 2397.png

"You stand in the presence of great wisdom! I am a text of the darkest, most arcane type, and I could be of great assistance to you..."

Egotistical talking Spell Book that Nier picks up by accident and decides to take along with him. They find out he is part of a legend involving his counterpart Grimoire Noir, and that he is key in stopping the Shades. Possessing powerful dark magic and a dry sense of humour, Weiss guides Nier on his search for the cure in the hopes of recovering his lost memories and preventing the Endofthe World As We Know It.

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• Amnesiac Dissonance: Thanks to Nier breaking his seal quite violently, Weiss remembers nothing of his role in the Project Gestalt. And when someone tries to force him into it, his bonds to the main characters are strong enough that he outright rejects it. He's no less horrified by the revelation, however.
• Arch Enemy: He despised the man who became Grimoire Noir for what he did to his companion, so the first and last thing he remembers about his past is not liking him.
• Baleful Polymorph: He wasn't always a Grimoire.
• Exposition Fairy: Because he's, well, a book, he has the knowledge required to fill Nier in on any backstory or general information he may require about places, people or objects. Though Nier usually tells him to shut up.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Helps to give Nier a fighting chance against the Shadowlord.
  • Heroic RROD: Without Grimoire Noir he cannot exist.
• Insistent Terminology: You shall refer to the great book Grimoire Weiss by his full and proper name! Unfortunately everyone ignores his complaints.
  • However, his final words to Nier states that he's become fond of being called Weiss.
• Insufferable Genius: Constantly mocks Nier for his lack of brains and/or sense and acts incredibly arrogant whenever he's proven right.
• Jerkass
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ultimately, he's loyal as hell to his Nakama.
• Large Ham: Loves giving big dramatic introductions. Nier and co. tease him for it.
• The Mean Brit: In the English version, to make him sound more intellectual/stuck up.
• Power Floats
• Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: Has an endless supply of snark to keep the dialogue moving and provide endless comedy.
• Stop Helping Me!: Mostly averted. Weiss gives battle hints during boss fights, but it's rarely intrusive and comes off more as him coaching the more-muscle-than-brains Nier on how to beat the foe.
• Surrounded by Idiots: And hussies.
• Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Nobody seems to consider a talking magical book of legend to be worthy of more than a "Oh, neat" reaction. In fact most people take issue with his manners more than anything else.

Kainé (Voiced by Atsuko Tanaka/Laura Bailey)

File:Copy of Kaine 1 7094.png

"It cannot be a sin to exist."

"I'll rip out your eyeballs and piss in the fucking sockets!"

Outcast from the Aerie at a young age, Kaine is a beautiful yet hot-tempered hermaphrodite swordswoman. She dresses skimpily and constantly uses foul language, but hides a tragic past with many insecurities. She was possessed by a Shade which allows her to use magic and provides enhanced strength, but also makes her a danger to others.

She joins Nier in his quest after they avenge her grandmother, to repay him for giving her the will to live.

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• Action Girl: To a ridiculous degree. She dual-wields a pair of serrated blades, hops around like crazy, and employs Full-Contact Magic.
• All of the Other Reindeer: She was bullied as a child from being a hermaphrodite.
• Badass: Undeniably.
  • Badass in Distress: While petrified; again, in the second visit to the Aerie, where a Shade knocks her out and Nier must take care of the Shade army by himself.
• Bird Run: Her default way of moving.
• Broken Bird: The amount of stuff that she hides behind that tough exterior is heartbreaking. She never tells the others about it either.
• But Now I Must Go: In ending A.
• Cannot Spit It Out: Her feelings for Nier, which she would prefer to express through fighting (and dying) for his sake rather than words.
• Cool Big Sis: For Emil, the only person she is unfailingly kind to.
• Cluster Bleep Bomb: In Replicant, Kaine's worst made-up swears are these, combined with Symbol Swearing in the subtitles. Joked with during the battle with the Knave of Hearts.

Kaine: "%&*#$)+%+^#?@!!" Weiss: "What the hell does "%&*#$)+%+^#?@" even mean?"

• Dark and Troubled Past: Ostracised for her body, abandoned, had to watch her grandmother die, mutilated, then possessed by a Shade, ostracised even more...
• Death Seeker: Wants to die and join her grandmother after Hook is finally defeated. Nier talks her out of it.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Kaine is at first aggressive, cold and mistrustful of the others, but starts to warm up to them after they save her life, joins the party, treats Emil like a brother and eventually falls in love with Nier.
• Demonic Possession: Is possessed by the bloodthirsty Shade Tyrann.
• Determinator: Considering the only reason she's even alive is due to her own willpower...
• Died in Your Arms Tonight: With Nier in ending C. It's actually by his sword, but same principle.
• Dual-Wielding
• Eyes of Gold/Gray Eyes: It varies.
• Hair Decorations: She braids her hair and wears a flower in it after the timeskip.
• Hermaphrodite: Due to the creators wondering how "the female lead being turned into a man" would affect things.
• Hyperspace Arsenal: Summons her swords out of nowhere.
• It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": Kainé, like you might reasonably assume, isn't pronounced like Cain, but Kai-ney.
• It Was a Gift: The Lunar Tear that Nier gives her, which later serves as Kaine's only reminder of him after he is wiped from existence.
• It Has Been an Honour: She thanks Nier after he kills her in ending C.
• Jerkass Facade: Her backstory reveals that Kaine forced herself to change due to her harsh lifestyle and not being able to trust anyone.
• Kuudere: Shows a much more thoughtful and caring side at times. She was pretty cheerful as a girl.
• Male Gaze: Granted, with her outfit it's a bit hard to know where not to look.
• Ms. Fanservice
  • Bandage Babe: Her left arm and leg. Stays like this the whole game.
  • Combat Stilettos: The heels are lower than many other examples however.
  • Hot Chick with a Sword: Make that two.
  • Sexy Backless Outfit: That nightdress bares it all.
  • Stripperiffic: Grimoire Nier attempts to justify this. "As a response to the harassment she received in her childhood for being a hermaphrodite, she had taken a liking to clothes that emphasize feminine characteristics."
• Neutral Female: Twice. First, against Wendy, but she's excused because she's knocked out. Then, in the Final Battle against the Shadowlord, where Nier explicitly asks her to stay back and protect Yonah.
• Parental Abandonment: Literally. She was Raised by Grandparents.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: When seized by blood-lust.
• Sharing a Body: With the Shade, who threatens to take over permanently if she lets her guard down.
• She Fu: Her moveset involves a lot of kicks, handsprings and backflips.
• Sir Swearsalot: Not one for subtlety. See the above quote.
• Super-Powered Evil Side: When her inner-shade Tyrann comes out.
• Taken for Granite: Allows this to happen so she can protect the village from Knave of Hearts. It lasts for five whole years, but she recovers.
• Tragic Monster: In ending C.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl
• Woman in White: With white hair and pale skin to match. Interestingly, she wears a Little Black Dress in the original concept.
• Younger Than They Look: Wait, wait, wait, she's seventeen?!

Emil No. 7 (Voiced by Mai Kadowaki/Julie Anne Taylor)

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"We were really human once. Just normal human children you could find anywhere else."

A polite young boy who lives with his butler in the mansion on the hill. He cut himself off from the outside world due to his ability to turn people to stone merely by looking at them. After Nier arrives at his home, Emil offers to help in their quest and becomes firm friends with Nier and Kaine.

After the timeskip his terrible past is revealed, which leads to him gain new powers.

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• Bad Powers, Good People: He's a lovely boy - he even willingly isolates himself because he doesn't want to hurt anybody.
• Break the Cutie: Over and over and over. Prime examples being his past, his sister, the Aerie incident and his death.
• Creepy Child: Before you get to know him.
• Cross-Dressing Voices: In both Japanese and English.
• Cute Shotaro Boy: His sweetness and naivety are adorable. He's also very pretty.
• Dark and Troubled Past
• Dead Elder Sister: Halua
• Dem Bones: After the defeat of No. 6 he absorbs its body and becomes a skeleton.
• Evil Eye: Which causes Taken for Granite.
• The Heart version of The Face: Cares equally about everyone, tries to stop them fighting and maintains a cheerful atmosphere.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Depending on the ending, he survives.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: After living alone for so long who can blame him? He'd gladly die for any of them too.
• Literally Shattered Lives: In gameplay this happens to his victims after they're petrified.
• Power Limiter: The bandages around his eyes.
• Purple Eyes
• Nigh Invulnerable: It's revealed that the Ultimate Weapon lives up to its name when his head survives Popola's explosion.
• Older Than They Look: He was alive before the great calamity when Shadowlord was created.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Considering all of the horrors he goes through, it's a miracle that he still presses on with his optimistic attitude. And tops it off with a Heroic Sacrifice.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: He forgot all about the experiments and his sister due to this. The experiments themselves probably didn't help.
• What Have I Done: After he accidentally causes the deaths of innocent people by destroying the Aerie.
• Word of Gay: He's in love with Nier. It's only really noticeable in Replicant though.

Devola and Popola (Voiced by Ryoko Shiraishi/Danielle Judovits)

Twins who manage the village Nier lives in. Popola seems to do the actual work at the library while Devola can be found singing either near the fountain or in the local bar. The two help Nier by informing him about Weiss and the cure to the Black Scrawl, and by directing him to several different locations. They also regularly supply him with sidequests.

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• Acting for Two
• Angsty Surviving Twin: Popola does not take it well being left all alone without her beloved sister...
• Apologetic Attacker:The Twins genuinely like Nier, apologizing for what they have to do.
• Cool Big Sis: Often take care of Yonah when Nier's away. Sometimes behave this way toward 'Brother' Nier too.
• Different As Night and Day: Devola seems to be the more outgoing one compared to Popola.
• Drunk Personality Change: According to Nier, Popola doesn't drink because it sends her into a violent rage, whereas Devola tends to get a little too friendly.
• Empty Shell: The game refers to them as soulless automatons, though they subvert this in their final moments.
• Green Eyed Red Head
• Hot Librarian: Popola apparently lives at the library.
• Magic Staff: They each gain a staff when you fight them.
• Miko: Their outfits resemble this.
• The Mole
• Mr. Exposition: They're the ones to tell Nier about how to cure the Black Scrawl. They also give him the truth near the end.
• Mythology Gag: Their names are derived from a weapon in Drakengard.
• Please Wake Up: Popola, to Devola, who dies in her arms after failing to kill Nier.
• Really Seven Hundred Years Old
• Robot Girl
• Spell My Name with an "S": Debol vs Devola and Popol vs Popola, from Japanese to English.
• Threshold Guardians: At the Lost Shrine.
• Teleportation Spam
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Devola and Popola to some extent, respectively. It's more obvious in the Japanese version.
• Unrealiable Expositor
• Villainous Breakdown: NO ONE STOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPSSSS! EEEEEEEEEYYAAAAAAAAAAAGHGGHHHH!
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: By the endgame, it's revealed that they are manipulating events in order to force the resurrection of humanity even at the expense of the newly-sentient Replicants.
  • The fact that Replicants can't reproduce and will die out in a generation if there are no Shades around explains why the sentience of the Replicants wouldn't matter.

The King of Facade

"Rules do not exist to bind us; they exist so that we may know our freedoms."

A boy who inherits leadership of Facade when his father dies of The Black Scrawl, despite his tendency to break the rules. Nier visits his kingdom to learn if they have found a cure so he can save Yonah. He's friendly and helpful to the main characters, but also shows great care for his citizens.

He is friends with Fyra despite their difference in status. His real name is Sechs.

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• A Child Shall Lead Them: He's around the same age as Yonah when he takes the throne, and still just a teenager after the timeskip.
• Badass: In the second half of the game, at any rate.
  • Badass Normal: Holds his own in combat as well as the main characters, despite having no magical powers to back him up. He even manages to take down the nigh-immortal boar Shade that Nier was unable to, albeit at the cost of his own life...
• Bishounen: He's described in the novel as very beautiful, at least in Fyra's eyes.
• Blade on a Stick: Like the other warriors, this is his main weapon.
• Bratty Half-Pint: He's rude and irritable in his first encounter with Nier, although he gets a lot nicer quickly.
• Cool Mask: He's willing to almost get himself killed to attain it.
• Determinator: Despite being covered in wounds, he still manages to make one last fatal attack on Goose. He himself dies minutes later.
• Distressed Dude: At the beginning of the first Facade arc, he goes by himself to the sealed temple to find his father's mask. Naturally, he gets in over his head and Nier has to rescue him.
• Heroic Sacrifice/Hold the Line: Stays behind with his men to fend off Goose while Nier and friends get the Shadowlord, knowing full well they'll go down fighting.
• No Name Given: His real name only appears in external sources. He's always referred to as the Prince/King of Facade in-game.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy
• Real Men Don't Cry: He tells Nier to leave him alone at Fyra's grave, so they don't witness a king's tears.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Even when he was younger, he was still prepared to listen to Nier.
• Rebel Prince: He breaks a lot of Facade's rules as a child, simply because he feels like it. The citizens say they wouldn't tolerate it if he wasn't so popular.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Against the wolves after they kill Fyra.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Despite being so young and living in such an oppressive society as Facade, he is determined to help his people and not only puts his life on the line for them when they get attacked by wolves, but also cares about things like public morale and food shortages.
• Serious Business: He uses these exact words to describe... twirling his mask?
• Shout-Out: When he finds his father's mask, he does a dance and holds it up while a cute little tune plays, calling Majora's Mask to mind.
• The Wise Prince: So much. He's kind and friendly, determined and devoted to his people and their cause, a good fighter, and wise beyond his years. However the universe seems to hate him and wants to make his life a misery.
• You Gotta Have Purple Hair: It can look silver at times.

Fyra

"Oh, screw the rules!"

A young girl who lives in Facade. She was rescued by Kainé, which gained Kainé the acceptance of Facade. Fyra is not yet a formal citizen, and as such is not allowed to speak. She helps Neir and Grimoire Weiss learn the ways and language of Facade, then leads them to the sealed temple so they can rescue the wayward prince.

After the timeskip, she and the King are engaged to be married, and Nier and company get an invite to the wedding.

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• All of the Other Reindeer: First due to her scars, and then due to being a stranger in Facade.
• Cheerful Child: Pre-timeskip.
• Cute Mute: Not actually mute, but the rules forbid her from talking until she receives a citizen's permit. Instead she uses sign language to communicate.
  • She does eventually get to speak after marrying the King, but these are her dying words.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight
• Dub Name Change: Her Japanese name is romanised as Vier, but pronounced like "fee-rah", hence why it was altered for the English version.
• Parental Abandonment: Quite literally, her parents were disgusted with her so sent her to Facade.
• Pimped-Out Dress: By Facade's standards, her wedding dress appears very rich, decorated by hundreds of gold medallions.
  • Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress
• Plucky Girl: She braves the dangers of the desert to help save the King.
• Scars Are Forever: She has burn scars on her face which she is sensitive about. The King and Weiss still find her beautiful, and because of her mask the player never sees them anyway.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: When the Prince goes missing, she decides to go look for him anyway, even though it's against Facade's rules for commoners to enter the temple he disappeared into.
• Unsound Effect: Makes a peculiar sound when she runs.
• Victorious Childhood Friend: Sadly it doesn't last...

Jakob and Gideon

Two brothers who run a blacksmith shop outside the Junk Heap. Jakob is the elder, more levelheaded and professional one, while Gideon is younger and more emotional. Both siblings are the only characters who can upgrade your weapons.

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• Axe Crazy: Jakob's first thought when Nier and Weiss, his first customers since mother left, come to visit, is how to kill them.
• Bratty Half-Pint: He's had to go through a lot, but Gideon is still a very difficult kid.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: Jakob, after their mother left and Gideon was still worried about her even though he did most of the work.He convinced Gideon that robots killed his father, and even boarded up the windows to their home so he only had to worry about Gideon leaving through the front entrance. Not only that, but he even considered the notion of breaking his legs so he wouldn't try and find their mother!
• Cross-Dressing Voices: Gideon is voiced by a woman in Japanese.
• Domestic Abuse: Their mother was abused by their husband, and she in turn abused the children.
• Dub Name Change: Jakob's name is Jiminy in the Japanese game.
• Freak-Out: Gideon once the robot is defeated starts beating it and laughing maniacally, screaming that it makes him feel better.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Jakob pushes Gideon out of the way of some falling debris, and gets crushed himself.
  • An Arm and a Leg: ...then Gideon frantically tries to pull Jakob's body free by the hand. We hear a sickening crunch, and... Direct cause for Gideons Self -Harm.
• Mad Scientist: Post-timeskip Gideon ends up this way, creating special weapons to destroy Shades.
• Misplaced Retribution: There was a robot nearby when Jakob was crushed. Gideon opted to blame that robot for Jakob's death, instead of facing up to the fact that it was Gideon's own recklessness that killed Jakob.
  • It wasn't Gideon who came up with the idea of thinking all robots are evil...
• Nice Guy: Jakob is a rather pleasant and polite individual, despite the circumstances. Brutally subverted in Grimoire Nier, where it's revealed he was far worse than his brother, who was just hopelessly naive.
• Parental Abandonment: Their father died when they were young, and their mother abandoned them to be with the man she loved, who is later implied to have been a con man. Both the mother and her lover were killed in the Junk Heap. It's later implied that their father is alive and now runs the tavern in Seafront.
  • Promotion to Parent: Jakob takes a great deal of care for his younger brother. Weiss suspects that he even gives Gideon both their shares of the food.
• Please Wake Up: Gideon to Jakob. Followed by a Big No.
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Gideon against the Shades, and specifically Beepy.
• Self -Harm: Gideon begins cutting his arm after Jakob's death. He eventually damages it so baldy that he has to amputate it and replace it with a mechanical one.
• Trauma Conga Line: Those poor poor kids.

Tyrann (Voiced by Showtaro Morikubo/Spike Spencer)

"Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!"

A Shade that possessed Kaine when she was young. Despite giving her superhuman strength and healing powers, he threatens to take over her completely someday if she ever "goes soft". He's also insane.

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• Axe Crazy: It comes with being a regressed Shade.
• Blood Knight: The above quote should be enough to convince you.
• Evil Laugh
• Evilly Affable: He may be a Complete Monster at times, but he's also a smooth-talking wise guy with a sick yet hilarious sense of humour.
• Grand Theft Me: Tyrann shacked up in Kaine's dying body and will take over the other half of her brain if she comes close to death.
• In Love with Your Carnage: He gets very... excited when Kaine kills other Shades.
• Heel Face Turn: In Ending C & D, Tyrann helps Nier save Kaine, even going so far as...
  • Heroic Sacrifice: The two options that he gives Nier all result in his death.
• Meaningful Name: It's German for 'tyrant'.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He goes through this in Ending C & D. Turns out that he actually did care for Kaine after all.

"Wait... No. No, no, no! It wasn't fun at all! I turned you into a killing machine! I spread evil and chaos around the world! But it all feels so empty now! Why!? I don't understand!"

• The Symbiote: Inhabiting a human body makes his powers stronger.
• Terms of Endangerment: Calls Kaine "Sunshine" and various other lewd nicknames, just to get on her nerves.

The Shadowlord

The mysterious main villain, who has power over all other Shades. He is accompanied by Grimore Noir and looks almost identical to Nier; he also has a connection with Yonah that leads him to kidnap her.

Mainly because he is Nier, the original one, who became a Shade like the rest of humanity. He wanted Replicant Yonah so that the Gestalt version could possess her, as was intended.

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• Big Bad: According to legend. But he's not.
• Big No: After Gestalt Yonah voluntarily leaves her Replicant's body. Complete with appropriate camera angles.
• Cosmic Keystone: His existence is what lets the Shades, or, rather, the non-relapsed Gestalts, keep their sanity and human awareness.
• Cry for the Devil: His only wish was to live together with Yonah, just the same as Nier. Most of the evil goings-on were the fault of Grimoire Noir or the Twins.
• Dark Is Not Evil
• Death Seeker: He becomes this once his Yonah destroys herself for good, only continuing the assault on Nier in hopes of dying by his hand and reuniting with her.
• Eyes of Gold: Like other Shades.
• Fisticuffs Boss: The third phase of his battle, he puts Weiss out of commission, stealing your magic.
• Jekyll and Hyde
• Living Battery/Sentient Phlebotinum: His successful transformation into into a Gestalt means that the Project can continuously "harvest" his unique essence in order to prevent the relapse of other, less refined Gestalts.
• Orcus on His Throne: Was willing to wait for 1300 years, believing in Project Gestalt's promise that it would one day restore his Yonah to him. When he finally loses patience and kidnaps Yonah, he then goes back to doing nothing, even as Nier comes ever closer to finding him.
• Super Prototype: Not only was he the first and only 100% successful Gestalt subject, he also gained superhuman powers that go beyond his contract with Grimoire Noir.
• Supervillain Lair: Lives in a hidden castle somewhere that can only be located using the Keystone. He rarely leaves, so Nier and co. decide to go to him.
• The Unintelligible: Talks in Shadespeak, natch.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: He's the original incarnation of Nier. Thus, nothing stated in Well-Intentioned Extremist above is any less true here.
• Villainous Breakdown/Despair Event Horizon: When Gestalt Yonah is destroyed.
• Winged Humanoid: Has four moth-like wings capable of flight.