Gestalt

This article is about the species. For the original game subtitled "Gestalt", see NieR.

Heads up! Important plot details for NieR may follow. Read at your own risk!

Route(s)
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Gestalts, nicknamed Shades by the Replicants and dubbed Demons or Monsters (マモノ mamono) in Japanese, are a type of creature and enemy in NieR. Though they are at first thought to be nothing more than evil beings, they are more human than they seem.

Background[]

Shades are actually the souls of the original humans, who lived until around 2049/2053. Rumors of "black monsters" were noted by an unidentified particle physicist as early as 2006,^[1] but it was not until March 2014 that they would come to the fore through Project Gestalt, where advances in maso research allowed for the separation of body and soul as a way to survive the incurable White Chlorination Syndrome.^[2]

Though both WCS and the global Legion outbreak threatened humanity with extinction at that time, opposition against the "Spiritual Preservation Method" nevertheless existed by the following year.^[3] Opinions on the project had then changed by 2032, however, and with the development of the Replicant System, more people began to take part in the procedure.^[3] These Gestalt forms were meant to be temporary until both WCS and the Legion would eventually disappear from the world, and the Gestalts would then have been fused with their corresponding living shells.^[3]^[4]

But the decoupling process was not without its defects: Gestalts were horribly vulnerable to sunlight,^[5] and most who had gone Gestalt saw themselves relapse—a problem that researchers had no solution for.^[6] In turn, a Gestalt's corresponding Replicant would develop the Black Scrawl, yet information regarding the matter was withheld even as it occurred.^[7] It was determined that maso from a Gestalt that retained their sense of self was vital in maintaining the rest of the Gestalts' sentience, and in 2049/2053, the Hamelin Organization distributed copies of Grimoire Noir amongst the impoverished in Tokyo in order to locate such a source.^[3]

The organization's search led them to an individual who had just recently escaped from what was ostensibly a financial assistance program run by the government.^[8] In exchange for his stabilizing maso, he was promised a cure for his daughter/sister, whose condition became even more severe after she touched her copy of Noir. For their part, the Gestalts came to worship him as a way to keep him sane, as his state of mind was crucial for their continued stability.^[9]

More than a thousand years had then passed, and the man, now known as the Shadowlord, realized that a cure for Yonah would never come.^[3] Gestalts receiving his maso at this point began to relapse regardless,^[10]^[11] and by this time the Replicants became fully self-aware to the point that they fought off what they had then perceived as monsters trying to seize control of their bodies, unaware they were designed to be their shells.^[10]

With the death of the Shadowlord in 3366/3470, humanity's fate was sealed, and were fully extinct by 4198.^[12] What remained of humanity was taken to a server housed on the moon,^[12] and most of the Devola and Popola observer model of androids were subsequently dismantled for their failure to execute Project Gestalt to completion.^[13]^[14]

Characteristics[]

Employees 122 — Different types of Shades.

Most Shades don a distinctive black/yellow hue and take on a variety of forms, ranging from spherical infants encountered in the Shadowlord's Castle to gargantuan rarities such as Louise. Larger examples such as Jack or Wendy are generally stronger but less intelligent due to their collective loss of self congregating into one being.^[15] Kainé was particularly nervous about Louise for this reason, as she could only sense a singular consciousness within the Shade's human form hiding immense strength.^[15]

Perhaps owing to their origins, Shades are adept at wielding magic, stemming all the way back from when they were trained to fight against Legion in 2014.^[2] Tyrann is also able to impart his magic for Kainé to use while she lived in a half-possessed state, and she loses that ability in turn when he disappears. Shades are also capable of communicating, but are only intelligible amongst themselves, with the sounds they produce resembling garbled utterances to Replicants. Thus far, only Yonah and Kainé are shown to be able to understand them, as both had housed Gestalts at different points in time accordingly.

Despite the lack of a physical body or cells, Gestalts can bleed, as their wounds temporarily try to return to their human state the instant they get hurt.^[16] Nier would come to note the similarity between slicing people and Shades while out on his first hunting job against the latter, as depicted in Red and Black. After the timeskip, Shades would also be seen wearing armor, both to protect against attacks and ensure their presence outside even in harsh sunlight.

Notable Gestalts[]

Enemy Data[]

Small[]

Sphere	Item Drop	Word Drop
	None	None
Swift Striker
	None	None
Swarm Swordsman
	Medicinal Herb 15% Used Coloring Book 5% Rusty Kitchen Knife 2% Broken Saw 1%	Paha Pahi Pahu Pahuloth Vara Vari Gebi Uli	Hodi Hodal Hodol Lugir Luges Otira Otesra Solir
Light Caster
	Medicinal Herb 10% Spirit Drop 8% Grubby Book 5% Silk Handkerchief 2%	Varal Ashurir Ashurira
Light Brawler
	Medicinal Herb 15% Dented Metal Bat 1%	Pah Pahal Pahil Pahol Pahul Gebul Hoda Hodil Hodol	Besil Besol Lug Lugza Otesra Mahira Ashur Konka
Light Shooter
	Medicinal Herb 10% Magic Drop 8% Dirty Bag 5% Leather Gloves 2%	Varol Geb Geba Ulu Hoda Hodul Besal Lugzarr	Otkarr Mah Mahkarr Ashur Kon Konzarr Solir

Medium[]

Swift Swordsman	Item Drop	Word Drop
	Health Salve 15% Strength Capsule 10% Technical Guide 5% Twisted Ring 2%	Gebo Gebu Gebal Gebuloth Ulo Ulol Besa Besu Besul Lugka	Lugesra Lugzarken Otzarr Mahir Mahzarken Ashurkarr Ashurzarr Konesra Solkarr Solzarr
Raid Caster
	Spirit Capsule 10% Medicinal Herb 8% Flashy Hat 5% Pretty Choker 2%	Varol Varuloth Ulil Ulul Lugzarr Ashurzarken Konzarken
Swift Caster
	Medicinal Herb 10% Magic Capsule 8% Broken Earring 5% Forlorn Necklace 2%	Varil Otes Otka Mahka Solka Solzarken
Flying Caster
	Health Salve 10% Metal Piercing 8% Subdued Bracelet 2%	Ulul Mahzarr
Heavy Striker
Unshielded Shielded	Unshielded Defense Drop 15% Thick Dictionary 8% Stopped Clock 2% Leather Boots 1% Shielded Strength Drop 15% Closed Book 8% Broken Wristwatch 2% Leather Boots 1%	Var Varo Varul Gebil Gebol Ululoth Hod Hodo Hodal Hoduloth Bes Beso	Lugira Lugkarr Otir Otzarken Mahes Ashurir Ashures Ashuresra Kones Konira Sol
Heavy Megastriker
	Broken Wristwatch 10% Stopped Clock 10% Leather Boots 3%	None

Large[]

Heavy Intercept Shooter	Item Drop	Word Drop
	Simple Machine 33% Elaborate Machine 33% Complex Machine 33%	Paho Pahal Hodu Otza	Mahza Ashurza Konza Konkarr
Ultraheavy Raider
	Simple Machine 10% Elaborate Machine 10% Complex Machine 10%	Besi Mahesra Ashurka Soles Solesra
Ultraheavy Swordsman
	Simple Machine 33% Elaborate Machine 33% Complex Machine 33%	Varu Ul Lugesra Konira Solza
Ultraheavy Hammerer
	Simple Machine 33% Elaborate Machine 33% Complex Machine 33%	Ulal Ot Konir Solira
Louise
	None	Ashurfarra