NieR: Automata director Yoko Taro is known for his eccentric style and obscure, profound narratives—a reputation unrelated to the large, round-faced Emil mask he often wears in public. This unconventional game developer is famous for his dark and twisted storytelling, prioritizing philosophical themes over giving characters happy endings.
The original NieR, released in 2010, featured dual protagonists: a rugged adult male for the Xbox 360 version and a teenage boy for the PS3 version. In Western markets, both versions used the adult protagonist. In a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Yoko Taro stated that this approach "didn't sell well," adding, "so we stopped worrying about it after that."
Things changed when this RPG sequel launched in 2017. Yoko Taro explained, "When making NieR: Automata, no one asked me to cater to a specific audience. I created it exactly as I wanted, avoiding Square Enix as much as possible and minimizing our interactions."
Clearly, this approach paid off. NieR: Automata became a massive hit, selling over 10 million copies worldwide and earning recognition as one of the greatest RPGs of all time. The game blends accessible action gameplay with Yoko Taro's signature cryptic storytelling, appealing to an audience far beyond the core niche RPG community.
Yoko Taro said, "Honestly, I think I make ordinary games for ordinary people. But in the end, these titles were embraced by fans of niche content as quirky masterpieces. Maybe that says something is wrong with me."
This self-deprecation seems to be another one of Yoko Taro's "masks"—perhaps just as much a part of him as the Emil mask he wears. He claims he became a director not due to any grand ambition, but simply because he always had opinions to share. He jokes that he is a "twisted person" and "annoying to work with," but perhaps that's the price to pay for making "ordinary games" for niche players.