Final Fantasy 14's next Nier: Automata crossover is a story Yoko Taro has "never really written"

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"I'm honestly very happy about the opportunity," Taro said

(Image credit: Square Enix)

The next Final Fantasy 14 x Nier: Automata crossover, Yorha: Dark Apocalypse, will deliver a story that Nier: Automata director Yoko Taro has never been able to tell until now.

Taro discussed the story of the content in a new developer diary with Nier: Automata producer Yosuke Saito and Final Fantasy 14 director Naoki Yoshida (AKA Yoshi P). "Now that the initial introduction's been made, the content is going to shift toward exploring a narrative about humanity, which is kind of a struggle to be honest," Taro says. "I'm writing this for FF14, but I feel that the story is going to be something that I've never really written or has even been depicted before. I'm honestly very happy about the opportunity. 

"But that being said, I'm expecting at least half of the players will be mad at the direction I'm taking the story, but that can't be helped," Taro jokes. "Goodbye everyone."

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Later in the video, Taro teases that while the term humanity may give the story positive connotations, he is in fact looking to explore "the elements of humans that are a little more dirty, more dark and dingy, elements that people would typically not want to look at." He also joked that he "wrote something crazy, and [the FF14 team] told me, 'Oh yeah, you can't let the Warrior of Light do something like that.'" 

"Why do I want to depict things that people don't want to look at?" he asks. "Maybe I'm stupid?" 

This is the second wave of Final Fantasy 14's Nier: Automata content, and after the stunning launch of the crossover, we can safely say that it's sure to be a spectacle. Based on Taro's story ambitions, it may also be a tear-jerking, lore-expanding bit of story. It may also serve as a foothold for even grander content still to come. 

"I feel like we're still testing the waters," Yoshida says of Yorha: Dark Apocalypse. "But through this test, we wanted to make sure we were offering a sense of stability and reassuring people that a merge between the FF14 universe and the Nier universe is possible." 

A remake of the original Nier is coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One later this year. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.