Protagonist of Nier

The player-named protagonist is a character from the 2010 video game Nier, a spin-off of the Drakengard series developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix. Although the character has no specific name in gaming, he is called Nier (ニーア, Nīa) in related media and merchandise. During Nier, the protagonist goes on a quest to help Yonah, a young girl who falls ill with the terminal Black Scrawl illness, and then to rescue her from a being called the Shadowlord in a post-apocalyptic world beset by creatures called Shades. Due to publisher feedback, two versions of the protagonist exist: a brother looking after his sister, originally exclusive to Japan, and a father caring for his daughter, designed for the West.

The protagonist was created by Yoko Taro, director and story writer of Nier. Korean illustrator D.K created the protagonist's designs, and writer Sawako Natori contributed to his backstory and portrayal. Despite the protagonist's regional differences, the narrative remained mostly the same between versions. For the 2021 remaster, his designs were redone by Akihiko Yoshida (brother) and Kimihiko Fujisaka (father), respectively. The younger protagonist is voiced by Nobuhiko Okamoto and Koji Yusa in Japanese, and the adult character in English by Jamieson Price. For the remaster, Kenichirou Matsuda provided a Japanese dub for the adult version, while the brother protagonist's English actors were Zach Aguilar and Ray Chase.

Though critical response to the elder protagonist was generally positive for his caring personality that contrasts with his barbarian appearance and relationship with his daughter, the decision to alter the design was the subject of discussion by several writers due to the percieved need to appeal to Western audiences. The younger protagonist was praised for his energetic persona and was seen as a better character once a time-skip in the game was reflected in a major change in his look.