Nier Automata’s 2B goes viral once again thanks to a fighting game collab that, like Yoko Taro’s RPG, makes her skirt explode

Nier Automata’s robot-warrior queen 2B has joined the roster of fighting game Granblue Fantasy: Versus – and the collaboration is obviously going viral because of discussion around 2B’s, err, posterior. 

2B joined the game as a DLC fighter on February 20, and as you can see from the trailer below, her moves slot right in. She has all the acrobatic kicks, flips, and twirls that you’d expect from her time spent bashing mechanized foes in her own game. And just like Yoko Taro’s incredible action slash ‘em up, her skirt also explodes.

In Nier Automata, 2B has a ‘self-destruct’ move that deals big damage to the foes around her, but leaves the character with only a slither of health and no skirt since massive explosions tend to burn clothes (but not underwear, for some reason.) In an effort to faithfully adapt the material, Granblue Fantasy: Versus also has a special ‘self-destruct’ move that – you guessed it – leaves 2B fighting with no skirt. You can see a clip below. 

I guess it’s a fun callback to some of the character’s most memes assets, but I do sometimes think 2B is unfairly reduced to waifu status, even though she has so much more going for her as a character. I suppose it’s hard to capture how complex she can be in a 1v1 fighting game, though.

Regardless, she previously rocketed into Soul Calibur as a guest fighter with similar hype. Although the game’s director Yoko Taro once said he was “hugely disappointed” that the character didn’t make her way into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate when all was said and done. 

Why not check out the other best fighting games while you’re here?