As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- 2B's treatment of 9S tends to be dismissive at best. But when 9S gets taken captive and crucified on sticks by Adam in the Copied City during the first playthrough:
- And right after that, the sheer relief and tenderness with how she treats 9S.2B: Come on. Let's go home. (picks him up and carries him off)
- And right after that, the sheer relief and tenderness with how she treats 9S.
- The end of Route A/B during the final boss fight again demonstrates that beneath her emotionless veneer, 2B has rock-solid faith in 9S's abilities and would trust him with her life. In response to 9S deciding to hack Eve, Pod 042 says his chances of success are too low and that 2B should just abandon 9S and run off to save herself. This is the only time in the game she gets truly furious at her Pod.2B: Shut up! If 9S says he can do it, then he will!
- Early on, you learn that some machines have become non-hostile. And while there is a war between machines and androids and both can be pretty ruthless, the Resistance camp and Pascal's village seems to be in friendly terms, with some androids even living in Pascal's village. The us-versus-them mentality isn't as present as the first game; and if circumstances were different, the androids and machines wouldn't even be at war against each other. Later on, the machines send a proposal for a peace treaty towards the Bunker (with surprisingly mixed results). This being a Nier game, however, it all goes to hell real quick.
- Early in A2's part of Route C/D/E, you're asked by a bunch of young children machines to make a place for them to play in. A2, of course, grumbles about why she should help them in the first place...but does it anyway and gets the gratitude of the kids in return. D'aww. Pascal even thanks you for helping the kids. Keep in mind this is the machine-hating bastard who made her first appearance by stabbing the Forest King without batting an eye.
- 9S slowly warming up to the friendly machines in Pascal's village in Route A/B, especially with the younger children machines like the ones him and 2B encounter during sidequests. For example, in the Escort Mission that requires you to take a sobbing lost child machine from the City Ruins to Pascal's village, 9S tries to speak to the machine in a gentle manner so it'll cooperate with them. Granted, he still refers to the machine as 'snot-nosed', but at least he treats the machine like a normal person.
- Similarly, his interactions with "Little Sister" who's lost in the desert. They're mostly funny, as she's channeling Mindy with her barrage of questions, but 9S does his best to answer every one of them—until she asks where children come from.
- Even when he's at the absolute end of his sanity and has sworn to annihilate all machines in routes C and D, he is still rather friendly with Pascal.
- While the segment is mostly played as Tear Jerker, after A2 hears Pascal's call for help she completely drops all pretense of hostility with the village. Desperately trying to save the machines there and genuinely mourning that she couldn't do more.
- A2's last words to 9S in Route C's ending in this, (coupled with being a tearjerker because she's about to commit suicide, after saving him.) Even with all his anger towards her and everything that just happened, she responds with nothing but care... and all because 2B asked her to."I'll take care of everything."
- Japanese-only YoRHa Stage Play reveals that it's also because she knew too damn well how it is to lose a friend.
- A2's death in Ending C is the most peaceful of any main character in any story branch. After commenting on how beautiful the world she had just saved is, she simply leans back and utters "Everyone, here I come" (Japanese: "Minna, ima ikuyo"). While 2B's death to the virus and 9S's in Ending D are full of pain and regrets, A2's is serene, because she is finally allowing herself to join her friends in death after 200 years of living alone. To A2, death is not a loss, but finally coming home.
- A small one, but near the end of Ending D, we have the Terminals' recreation of Adam and Eve on the Ark...with Adam holding his sleeping brother, mirroring their first appearance. This new Adam and Eve have no reason to be antagonistic towards 9S and the androids, since they aren't the same duo 2B and 9S fought back in Route A/B. It's rather poignant when Adam happily offers 9S a place on the ark because, where his last incarnation knew Hatred, this version of Adam knows empathy.
- Ending E. In a desperate attempt by Pod 042 to attempt to preserve 2B's, 9S's, and A2's memories, and subsequently their lives; he goes on a Suicide Mission, which manifests for the player in the form of an extremely difficult Mini-Game Credits. When you die too many times (and you will, as eventually the patterns for the bullets become nigh-physically-impossible to navigate and shoot the credits through), messages from other N:A players worldwide will start appearing, and you are given help by other people who have played the game that give you more ships to surround your own and give you the strength to beat it and save the main characters' lives (all while Weight of the World swells a trilingual chorus, by the way). Pod 042 then tells you that said help from the other players came from them sacrificing their data, much like what happened in Ending D of the first game. You are then given the option to do so yourself, and pay the kindness forwards. You don't have to, and you are told that you're the only one who will know if you choose to refuse, but considering your success was only made possible by other players being selfless...
- During the Suicide Mission, Pod 042 states that he gained a consciousness of his own when "we six" connected and exchanged information. That counts Pod 042, Pod 153, 2B, 9S, A2...and who else? Who else shared in their struggles? That would be you, the player, and 042 is fighting the odds to give everyone a happy ending thanks in part to you!
- Although version above is possible, he probably was speaking of pods 042a, 042b, 042c, 153a, 153b and 153c, which all show up later during the ending E.
- The final shots of the game, with 2B and 9S lying next to each other and A2 sitting peacefully on a windowsill. It really gives off a sense of accomplishment, that these 3 survived...because you, the player, wanted a happy ending for them. You save the last three YoRHa androids by digging your heels in and telling the odds to piss off until reinforcements could reach you.
- The chorus in this version of "Weight of the World" is made up of the game's development team, and the original YoRHa idol group who worked with Yoko Taro on several of his past projects. To capture the same impact from the in-game version, the live concert
version similarly followed suit by having the vocalists encourage the audience to join in on the chorus.
- During the Suicide Mission, Pod 042 states that he gained a consciousness of his own when "we six" connected and exchanged information. That counts Pod 042, Pod 153, 2B, 9S, A2...and who else? Who else shared in their struggles? That would be you, the player, and 042 is fighting the odds to give everyone a happy ending thanks in part to you!
- 2B's dynamic with her operator 6O is minor, but has a few sweet moments. 2B offers some (awkward) comfort when 6O is turned down by an operator she'd asked out, and later, after 6O messages her musing that she would like to hear about some of 2B's stories from Earth, 2B goes out of her way to send 6O a gift, a photo of a desert rose on Pod 042's suggestion that human girls liked flowers. To top it off, Pod 042 knew 2B was going to send 6O something before 2B was able to say anything.
- Of course, this becomes a Tear Jerker when the Bunker is hit by the logic virus. One of the last things you hear from 6O is her thanking 2B for the pictures of the flowers as her mind is slowly breaking down. 2B's reaction is small, but she is clearly affected by it.
- Of course, this becomes a Tear Jerker when the Bunker is hit by the logic virus. One of the last things you hear from 6O is her thanking 2B for the pictures of the flowers as her mind is slowly breaking down.
- Background Music in Resistance Camp doesn't have woodwind track (or vocal track after the Bunker is destroyed) to back it up every time you returned to the location, unless you talk to Anemone. Indeed, home doesn't feel like home until you say 'I'm back'.Anemone: "I'm glad you made it back safely."
- Even after many, many centuries, Emil still maintains Kainé's shack all by his lonesome. Intertwined with Tear Jerker, particularly when you hear "Kainé (Salvation)" kicking in when you come with Emil to see the shack amongst a field of Lunar Tears.
- Complete the Gathering Keepsakes side-quest, come back and talk to the quest giver.Resistance Member: "We must survive at all costs. This is no time to be fainthearted!"
- Another crossover with Tear Jerker: despite 9S harboring lingering hatred for 2E for "betraying" him, he still goes out of his way to mourn her provided you completed both the above sidequest and "Emil's Memories" during Route A/B and make him come back down to the underground Lunar Tears field.
