The Nier series is well known for its devastating stories and characters that fans fall in love with almost immediately. However, amongst the characters and haunting tale of Nier Replicant ver.1.22474487139…, there are incredibly unique boss encounters that help elevate urgent parts of the journey.
By nature, boss fights are often the culmination, and payoff, of the current arc you are playing through. And Nier Replicant has many, many arcs, emotional payoffs, and boss encounters. All of which are incredibly heart-pounding and often gut-wrenching. With an extensive list of bosses, Nier Replicant manages to deliver on most of them, making for moments that fans will never forget.
15 Goose
Goose is supposed to be a persistent and annoying boss, sure. But that doesn’t mean that excuses it for being precisely that.
This encounter is bad, drawn-out, and ultimately the worst boss encounter in the game. Goose is a giant boar in armor that, for whatever reason, doesn’t die. To avoid spoilers, we’ll end it here, but nothing about Goose is excellent.
14 Defense System Geppetto
Defense System Geppetto is an exciting fight but ultimately pales compared to many others in Nier Replicant.
The fight against Defense System Geppetto isn’t terrible, but it lacks what makes the other bosses special. The battle can be relatively easy, especially if you have a strong weapon going into the encounter, and the backstory of the fight isn’t all that interesting. This is very much a case where everything before and after the fight is more fascinating than the actual fight itself.
13 Shahriyar
While looking for the King of Facade, players will encounter the Shahriyar. Which, ultimately, is an enormous boss consisting of blocks.
Unfortunately, this fight isn’t great, and everything leading up to it isn’t incredibly engaging as well. The battle is a tad tedious and straightforward. However, everything that involves the King and Facade after is handled expertly. Just this moment misses the mark.
12 Hook
Hook is a lizard-like shade that players will battle twice in Nier Replicant, with the second encounter being where you defeat it.
The Hook encounters are essential to Kainé’s story and character development and make her a permanent part of the team. However, the fight itself isn’t all that memorable and is surpassed greatly by other bosses. Hook isn’t a terrible boss by any means, and the story surrounding it is one of the best in the game, but the fight itself is a bit by the numbers.
11 Hansel And Gretel
The encounter with Hansel and Gretel is when players first meet their trusty, snarky companion, Grimoire Weiss. So, naturally, many emotions are tied to this particular boss fight, and that’s excluding the other story bits surrounding these two that come at a later time.
However, even with the remarkable story beats surrounding this boss, the encounter is more straightforward and relatively easy, making it one of the weaker overall experiences in the game. By no means is the Hensel & Gretel boss fight bad, but the first fight being more or less a tutorial drags it down a lot.
10 Devola And Popola
The boss fight with Devola and Popola is rare when the shock value and story moment are more important than the fight itself. However, the battle itself being a bit underwhelming does push it down a few pegs.
This boss encounter is fine, at best, but what makes this stand out the most is how unexploded it is and how soon it happens in the Shadowlord’s Castle. Fans could have telegraphed this a mile away, but how and when it happens is incredibly well done.
9 Sleeping Beauty
The Sleeping Beauty is a boss encounter with zero combat and gets handled with so much love and care.
Located within the Forest of Myth, players will have to answer three riddles to overcome this boss. What makes this encounter unique, and the Forest of Myth in general, is its nothing but a text-based story. The story told in this sequence is emotional and engaging. It is an overall fascinating encounter and flexes the uniqueness of Nier Replicant.
8 Jack Of Hearts
The Jack of Hearts encounters almost reaches Goose levels of absurdity but thankfully resolves itself to become one of the better boss fights in Nier Replicant.
The fight initially starts at the South Gate of the main Village and carries the entire way to the Village Library. The Jack of Hearts “dies” multiple times and keeps reforming and getting stronger. However, the fight itself is exhilarating, and the story surrounding it and its path of chaos are exceptional. In many ways, Jack of Hearts could have taken one wrong turn and ended up a pretty terrible encounter, but overall, it sticks the landing.
7 Kalil And P-33
With the added backstory to this duo in Route B, Kalil and P-33 are easily one of the better boss encounters in Nier Replicant.
The fight itself is engaging, and the initial story around this duo is done well and gets even more intense with the added backstory in Route B. This is an overall excellent boss fight and is undoubtedly the best one in the Junk Heap.
6 Roc
Roc and the pack of wolves he leads seem like ravenous monsters that need put down from the initial jump. However, with the added context Route B provides, it uncovers a tragic tale.
The true gem of this encounter is the raw story moments of it all and how gut-wrenching it is. The boss encounter itself is also well executed and can be pretty exhilarating. Everything that happens in this sequence is off the charts, emotional, and incredibly high stakes. This is easily one of the best boss battles in Nier Replicant.
5 Wendy
The encounter with Wendy is home to many unforgettable moments in Nier Replicant and had many fans in tears by the end of it.
The Wendy fight is one of epic scale and consists of three different phases, and ultimately concludes with one of the most soul-crushing moments in the entire game. Wendy checks all of the boxes, and Nier boss should, and then some. This is a fight no one will ever forget.
4 Halua
Halua is one of the best bosses in Nier Replicant from just the story side of things alone, and the encounter itself being incredible is just the cherry on top.
Halua, Emil’s sister, is one of the more heavy-hearted moments in Nier Replicant and truly showcases the game’s core premise and potential. Halua not only brings the story aspect but exceeds expertly in the battle mechanics as well.
3 Louise
Louise is the only added boss in NieR Replicant and fits nicely into the core world and story of the game.
So many things could have gone wrong here, but Louise was injected into the game with thought and care, which makes her one of the best encounters in Nier Replicant. Louise’s backstory, arena, and encounter are all masterclass and showcases what Nier is about, especially when Route B fills in all the gaps.
2 Shadowlord And Grimoire Noir
Everything leads up to this moment in Nier Replicant, and the Shadowlord and Grimoire Noir encounter ultimately sticks the landing.
The fight itself can be relatively easy if the player has a decently upgraded weapon, but what ultimately sticks out with this battle is the story and how well-executed everything is about it. For the most part, the encounter is pretty engaging and offers a wide variety of attack patterns to keep the player on their toes, and the emotional payoff of finally accomplishing what you set out to do is unmatched. All the loss, emotionally draining moments, and hardships get resolved here, and it’s bittersweet.
1 Kainé
Nier Replicant’s true final boss, and only accessible after reaching Route C’s ending, players will get to face off against Kainé in a genuinely depressing fashion.
Since the player will not have Grimoire Weiss at their side during this encounter, they will have to dish it out with only their melee weapon, making for an epic showdown. This fight with Kainé is remarkable in just about every way. The story implications after successfully defeating her are also one of the best moments in Replicant. It’s genuinely incredible.
NEXT: Nier Replicant Complete Guide And Walkthrough
