Let's take a detour from usual collaborations which include a Record story, and take a look at one of the collaborations the game had: a crossover with SINoALICE , Yoko Taro's other gacha game! This will be the final crossover we look over (other crossovers will be under extra content, such as the Final Fantasy XIV or Persona 5 events).
For context, let's actually explain what SINoALICE was in the first place since most probably weren't aware of it or did not ever play it while it was active.
SINoALICE was a gacha game that was published by Square Enix back in 2017, with its end of service for global in late 2023, and early 2024. Its end of service marked the first of the deaths of all three Yoko Taro gacha games, with 404 GAME RE:SET (a SEGA-owned and themed gacha with human personifications of SEGA classic arcade games fighting to overthrow SEGA, as SEGA has taken over the world) closing its doors shortly after and then a few months later, NieR Re[in]carnation following its footsteps.
What a lovely introduction from our good pals Parrah and Noya . They both puppets who are the mascots for the game.
In a place known as the Library, "where all worlds converge," puppets Parrah and Noya are your observers and guides. The most basic premise is that characters from fairy tale books and stories are forced to slaughter and compete so that they may have a chance to make a wish come true, being the revival and resurrection of their authors. For their wish to come true, every other character must die. Along the way, all sorts of peculiar things occur and you'll find that the story isn't as simple as it makes it out to be.
The Library awaits.
One particularly odd and important question about the game is whether or not it's connected to Drakengard or NieR as whole, and the answer is a weird case of "yes" but just barely. Magic still uses Angelic symbols, and the game had a collaboration with Drakengard 3 as well that implied that the two puppet observers are related to Accord in that they are derivative of her, or "Group B." The puppets outright refer to her as their "progenitor" in the crossover event, but the game itself has no other major connections within it that imply they are part of the same series. Accord also states that the Library has a high amount of Maso within it. There are a few other things that are speculated on as to being a potential link (a character having a similar last name to Tyrann's last name, the job "Alice / Grandioso" saying "I hear a sound" but in the context of music rather than Queen Beast, etc.) but a lot is much looser than direct.
It can be somewhat considered a spinoff of the franchise as a result, but it's so loosely connected that it's hard to count them as being part of the same series whereas NieR has so many direct ties to Drakengard as a whole.
So, that takes us to this event! The SINoALICE crossover did not have any playable characters from the original game and it did not have any event story, but it did have a few costumes and unique things we can take a look at.
While there was no actual story event you could do, you could fight against Parrah and Noya yourself with your team! Let's enter the Library and beat up those rude puppets!
From beating our puppet "friends" up, we can also get them as little companions, much like the Weiss, Pod 042 and Pod 153, and Mikhail companions!
And now, here's a quick look at both the original characters from SINoALICE as well as the costumes based off them in NieR Re[in]carnation .
- Job: Breaker -
Even if this world
Is rife with curses,
I refuse to give up.
Bondage \ bän-dij \
noun: being bound by or subjected to external power or control; physically restricting others
- Job: Breaker -
True to my name,
my purity shall not be tainted.
I shall let my conscience guide me,
and live a life as pristine as the driven snow.
Justice \ ˈjəs-təs \
noun: administering of deserving punishment or reward; a system whereby those who break the law are strictly punished
- Job: Crusher -
This red hood is pretty, isn't it?
And it looks great no matter how much
blood you get on it!
Brutality \ brü-ˈta-lə-tē \
noun: savage physical violence or cruelty toward others; reckless abuse of power
And on the other side, there was a point in time that SINoALICE had a crossover with NieR Re[in]carnation and let one of our friends from The Cage into the Library!
- Job: Crusher -
"On that day, my life suddenly changed. For starters, I had to wear a collar on my neck. No one laughed with me anymore, whether it was on the streets or at school. Laughing with my family and dancing ballet with my friends are now distant memories. I closed my old diary and stifled my voice while crying in bed. Now, the only thing I look forward to is seeing Mr. Monster in my dreams. After seeing my nightmares, Mr. Monster would eat them all. I wonder if Mr. Monster and I will become friends someday..."
That girl... in order to make her happy, Mama's itching to try my hands at doing my best! ....but then again, I wonder where are Mama's arms?
And finally, if you were curious, here's just the main theme of SINoALICE and the theme used when you fight Parrah and Noya in NieR Re[in]carnation. if you'd like to give it a listen. It's quite nice, the music is once again by MONACA so it's absolutely worth checking out some time if you want more from the talented team!
"Hope that wasn't too clamplicated."
- Lammy 2024 (they totally said this)
That was a bit long for another gacha game you can't play and that not many were too big fans of, but it deserves its tribute as well. I hope this helped to understand SINoALICE a bit, and huge thanks to @NierRein_eng on Twitter for the fan translations of Fio & Mama's crossover content, and
@Owl_Hiro_san and @miki_blanche as they proofread those translations. And thank you to Fiver_Nacht on Discord for a translation of Great Sword of Justice, as we never got that in Global with an official English translation. And of course, thanks to the Inner Sanctum SINoALICE guild for input on this page!
If you are curious about the game, its plot, and other media, here is a concert that you can listen to, or even check out this playlist on YouTube of recordings of the "books" (equivalent to arcs) that are being worked on by I AM CAIM / ThreeEyedGemini. You can also check out the SINoALICE Database to see other weapons and characters and outfits, or even purchase the SINoALICE manga and read that; that has a self-contained story separate from the game, and is definitely worth reading!
But that's all for now, onto the other records!
