Probably a controversial opinion but "spoilers"

[Jhemp12]

This game would have benefited from having 1 solid story through 1 playthrough rather than 3 playthroughs to get the whole story. Much of 9s's playthrough was just repeating your first playthough with 2B, everything that was actually different, could have been put into the first playthrough with a few segments controlling 9s or even a few cutscenes. Would have been so much smoother if it was just one solid playthrough, 2b and 9s for 2/3rds of the game, transitioning to A2 for the last 3rd, maybe keep the option to choose 9S throughout the last 3rd for replay value.

Still, this is one of my favorite games i've ever played but really wish it was just 1 solid playthrough for the whole story and I didn't have to do everything over again in 9S playthrough aside from a few small differences.

[EleventhStar]

don't think it's that controversial. many people will agree route B is the weakest part in the game. combining route A/B in the same way route C/D are combined would work just fine.

the only issue with doing that is that some of the extra details/context route B gives could potentially be underappreciated if you got them immediately. but for every situation where that is the case there are two where it's done poorly.

[TheSeek]

This opinion isn't new, but it wouldn't actually work as you think it would, as a lot of the plot and narrative structure in this game relies on the player both not knowing specific details and being given information only after certain events, and combining routes A and B as one would completely destroy this aspect of the game.
The game is about different perspectives and how each one can give a different outlook on some same events and/or situations when you don't know the full picture, and it uses the routes structure to do this.
During route A you are 2B, and she doesn't know all the information 9S knows and discovers, and since the game is structured so that you(the player) aren't just witnessing the events while controlling the characters but are actually experiencing the events from their POVs, 2B not knowing what 9S does means you(the player) also shouldn't know about it, but if we combine the 2 routes as one this becomes impossible, as you(the player) would know information 9S knows but 2B doesnt as you'll see both perspective at the same time, each being heavily influenced by the other, something the game intentionally avoids.
Similarly but in the opposite direction, in route B you are 9S and are seeing his POV, this time already knowing where the story will go, which will influence your perception of his side of the story, which couldn't happen if the 2 routes were merged as you'll be seeing his parts before knowing where the story will go, which again, the game intentionally avoids.

In short, during route A you are not meant to see and learn the information 9S knows and discovers, and during route B you are meant to already know how the events will unfold, and since both of these elements are intentional, merging the 2 routes wouldn't be possible as it would let you(the player) both know some information before you're supposed to and not know where the story will go when you are supposed to already know.

As for how much of route B is a repetition of route A, once you consider all of it's elements, it really isn't as much as it seems: considering all new information, new gameplay sections, new cutscenes, different gameplay approach, and different exclusive side quests, and also taking into account that route B is overall shorter than route A, only about 30% of it is a repetition of the previous route(despite being the same story events), the rest is all new stuff.
And when you consider the game as a whole divided into its 3 routes, each roughly 1/3rd of the duration of the entire game, only about 10% of the whole game is repetition(30% of 1/3 = 0.1 = 10%).

To sum it up, there really isn't as much repetition in the game as it might initially seem, and the separation of the 2 routes is intentional and it is used to deliver some of the story elements in a specifically intended order, which would be completely disrupted if the 2 routes were merged into one.

[EleventhStar]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

As for how much of route B is a repetition of route A, once you consider all of it's elements, it really isn't as much as it seems: considering all new information,

if you look at the intro to route B, yeah sure technically it isn't a repetition, but it sure is a lot of you just flying forward in an empty corridor while the dialog from route A plays.

those moments, where 9s is seperated from 2b, is exactly where route B should have differentiated itself more.

[TheSeek]

Not entirely sure what bits of dialogue you're referring to(although i have a vague idea), but if it's dialogue from route A while you're playing as 9S, then it's dialogue between 2B and 9S, so although not physically together, they are not separated during those section, so it's obvious those parts are shared, and where they are indeed separated(before they meet in the prologue, during adam's section, during the religious cult in the factory mission, and more), route B differenitates itself greatly.

[EleventhStar]

i dunno all i remember from the route B prologue is very generic flying sections where the action pauses whenever 2b is on speakerphone.

for the rests it's mostly hacking sequences with some text things that are noticeably different, but those can easily be incorporated into a combined story. as the game actually does that at various other points.

the only argument there is, like i said in my original post, that the "you didn't have this information the first time" aspect of it would have to be lost or done differently.

[WZ]

Yeah NG+ adding extra context to the story to change your perception of certain events is definitely part of the flavor of the series, and it's a good thing. However I've no doubt the formula could be improved. It's handled much better than in the first NieR, no doubt, but could have been better yet. At least one more 9S exclusive segment, say post-desert for example. Or post-park at the latest. The whole post-tutorial -> missile supply is too long without any significant differences. If you *really* love the snippets & the gameplay like I did, you'll stick around, but I know a bunch who quit mid-route B - and think they've seen just about everything the game has offer. Tragic.

[Prismatic Lollipop]

having to play the entire game as 9S really puts a huge damper on the game itself.
for that reason alone, this game is simply not a masterpiece or as great as everyone makes it out to be, no pun.
everyone is so in awe with the story being oh soooo complex and sooooooo deep, that they remind me of little 14 year olds who discovered statements about facts for the first time.

automata is not perfect, 9S is the weakest part, and the story and writing are swiss cheese.

and yeah, the game would actually be twice as good if 9S was not in it.