Nier sequel will (strangely) have a happy ending

Spoilers?

Interviewing developers can sometimes feel like pulling teeth. For example, when I spoke to Nier producer Yosuke Saito and director Taro Yoko about their game the other day, the pair spent a good portion of the interview dodging questions. They wouldn’t tell us anything about the premise or where in the timeline the narrative takes place. They even refused to divulge the name of a single character, because apparently “that would give away the story and the world.”

Then this happened:

Yoko: I actually told Saito-san this, but for this game I’m actually going with more of a happy ending, surprisingly. It’s sort of a twist, something I haven’t really done. 

Saito: Honestly, when Mr. Yoko presented me with his ideas, his draft for the game, I thought there was no way the game could end with a happy ending. I was reading through his basic ideas for the game going there’s no way this could end well, but he insists that he’s going to make a happy ending. So we’ll see how it goes. I guess all we can say is look forward to when the game comes out to see for yourselves. 

Given the original Nier was a real tear-jerker, this is comes as a huge surprise. Even more surprising is the fact they were willing to give this away, but none of the other stuff. Go figure.