REVIEW: ‘NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a’ Episode 14 — “mission [F]ailed”

With the stage set for the final battle, NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14 “mission [F]ailed” sees the ground assault against the weakened machine network begin. Despite early successes, 9S (Natsuki Hanae) quickly suspects something is wrong. Meanwhile, The Bunker sees a mysterious holographic red butterfly appear before some of the operators.

One of the few shortcomings in how the original Nier Automata delivered its story was in the final assault on Earth. While talked about as a monumental final battle, all the player saw was a couple of squads of androids battling against waves of machine lifeforms. Given the scope of the original game, this was a perfectly acceptable design choice, even if it was underwhelming. NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14 greatly expands upon the YoRHa assault. It lends scope and power to the forces YoRHa brings to bear, ultimately increasing the tragedy of how it all turns out.

Interspersed with the opening moments of the battle, we go back in time for a few moments leading up to the assault. We see YoRHa’s commander in contact with the Council of Humanity. Here, she is permitted to leverage satellite-based cannons to take out machine facilities and is authorized to lend advanced weaponry to the resistant androids. This later comes as a shock to the commander, as the Council has been staunchly opposed to extending extra support to the resistance. Once the discussion with the Council is finished, the commander gives a rousing speech to the assembled forces at the Bunker.

Meanwhile, on the ground, 9S coordinates the scout units as they disable the machine lifeforms’ AA guns in preparation for the full-scale assault. With each report of another location secured, 9S receives comments from the other scouts about how their partnered B units are behaving unusually closely. We see shots of S units reclining in comfort, supported by their counterpart B units. 9S is frustrated by his solitude and missing 2B.

This moment in NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14 takes on a different tone than it otherwise would’ve, thanks to the previous episode’s reveal. The B units are keeping a closer-than-usual eye on their partners in case one of them stumbles upon some information they aren’t meant to discover.

With the preliminary operations wrapped up, the main assault begins. From the first moments, long-time fans will know things will be bigger this time around. Before the YoRHa forces even get to Earth, we see a squadron of them take on a massive machine-flying fortress and a swarm of supporting units. From here, the viewer is shown machine factories engulfed by fire storms as satellite lasers pound their locations.

While the depictions of violence are delivered in shocking style, they don’t feel like they are there to wow. Watching machine lifeforms disintegrate under the extreme heat of the lasers calls to mind too many images of nuclear fire to leave the viewer with any reaction but dread. This tone is reinforced by a visit to Pascal’s village. Here, we see the pacifist hurding the children together, trying to keep them calm. As the blasts from the rapidly escalating combat are seen in the skies over the village, Pascal utters what feels oddly like a prayer that 2B and 9S will keep them safe.

The most epic of NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14‘s battle depictions come from the City Ruins’ outskirts. Here, Lilly (Atsumi Tanezaki, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) leads the city’s defense against a massive horde of goliath class machines. Volleys of searing energy beams are exchanged as the two sides tear at each other. While the initial exchange goes in the Resistance’s favor, Lilly can’t help but feel uneasy with the sudden generosity of the Council of Humanity.

Her concerns are not shared by her subordinate Jack Ass (Kaori Kawabuchi). Jack Ass’s glee at the raw power and destruction the Resistance is getting to dish out serves as an aptly timed release valve for the tension that is building within the episode. Jack Ass’s celebration is cut short, however, when more goliath class machines are spotted.

While the timely intervention of 9S and other scout units stops the enemy’s march, everything rapidly comes apart when an EMP attack serves as a smokescreen to infect all the androids exposed to it with a deadly virus. Driven mad by the alien programming, the viewer is taken across the battlefields of the offensive to witness the horrors it wrought.

While the scale of the battles in NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14 enhances the scope of the drama of the assault. The opportunity to depict how badly things go wrong when the virus hits is the true payoff of this increase in scale. How A-1 Pictures animates the twisting of android faces into the foul mockery of joy they become is truly haunting. Seeing units impaled upon the swords of those they trust, even as their attackers take their own lives with the same sword thrust in the process, is disturbing to witness.

As the world falls apart around him, 9s’ last thought as NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14 comes to a close is for the well-being of his comrade, 2B. At the heart of the assault, she is at ground zero to find herself surrounded by hostile machines and androids alike. Especially since a random choice by 9S earlier in the series guarantees that 2B, like himself, will be immune to the viral assault.

NieR Automata Ver. 1.1a Episode 14 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.