RPG Endings these days are.... @#$%!!!

[Silverwolf_X]

Seriously alot of good RPG games the past 2 years have bittersweet endings. I'm SICK of it. After 50+ hours of play and a shitload of complex plot, at least give a happy ending dammit.

Sheesh. Too much sadness, too much sacrifices etc. Out of every 4 RPGs I play, 2 have bittersweet endings, 1 has a WTF ending and the remaining has a soso ending thats anticlimatic after all the plot it built up...

Where are all the good simple happy in the end stories these days with an ending thats for once.. conclusive... Sigh...

[Jona87]

I agree. The last epic and perfect ending i saw was Xenogears. That ending was just about PERFECT. Since then...not so much. The worse ending i have seen so far was Sudekis ending. That was just garbage.

Dramatization

"And thats how the good guys won...*credits*"

W T F!?!?!?!?!

[Silverwolf_X]

RGalaxy had a garbage ending as well, in fact, the entire second half of the game made me puke.

WA5 is a great game, but the fate of a certain character made me feel miserable and I felt that they should have made the 2nd playthrough a means to save this character and finally free this character from the sad fate thats repeating forever.

Persona 3 and FES. Great game and all, but the ending and fate of the main character just left me disgusted at humanity for a while.

Games like Grandia, Lunar series etc all had very nice fulfilling endings, although their stories tend to border on being overly cliche, but still, their endings justified the playtime and commitment to the game.

Gusts' games had very enjoyable stories but their endings where... short...

Ar Tonelico and Mana Khemia left me 'breathless' with their amazingly short epilouges to endings... -.-;;

[Jona87]

ah yes. Lunar SSS. Another great ending =D

[GiGaMoG]

Ye... It's disappointing to see all the endings are totally not worth the time playing.

[Whoaness]

I like Odin Sphere's ending. ^_^

But it's an action RPG. =X

[Silverwolf_X]

OS was okay, but I didn't have much of an attachment to the characters.

[Chevreuse]

RPGs in the time where SNES and PS1/PSX were reigning the video gaming industry were the best.

Rouge Galaxy was fine though story didn't had that much of an impact.

Wild Arms got worse when it landed on the PS2 yet I bought all the series except vth. Endings in WA and WA2 were better than the ones on the PS2 though I have yet to play WA5.

Persona 3? Damnit, my PS2 is acting up on me again so I couldn't play it.

Yeah, Grandia, Lunar series, "Tales of" series might've a been a bit overcliched.

Gust games do have short endings, endings like after they beat the big cheese, they all live happily ever after.

[Garuga]

Yes... It's disappointing to see all the endings are totally not worth the time playing.

Quite true but sometimes i play for its content because either the ending will be predictable or bad but there are many rpgs with multiple endings so not all are bad.

Rpgs with 1 ending are another question tho...

[Silverwolf_X]

Alot of the newer RPGs these days have 1 ending only, and its always sad in one way or another, or inconclusive.

Some have an alternate ending. Which tends to be the bad one and worse.

I actually like the cliche series of games. At least their endings were worth it. These said titles are also the ones I tend to play multiple times.

[kingx11]

it's true sadly and Final fantasy lead those endings with FF12 . cool looking boss but he's a joke , i was fooling with my friend when i faught him and he never killed me

[Tokimemofan]

Seriously alot of good RPG games the past 2 years have bittersweet endings. I'm SICK of it. After 50+ hours of play and a shitload of complex plot, at least give a happy ending dammit.

Sheesh. Too much sadness, too much sacrifices etc. Out of every 4 RPGs I play, 2 have bittersweet endings, 1 has a WTF ending and the remaining has a soso ending thats anticlimatic after all the plot it built up...

Where are all the good simple happy in the end stories these days with an ending thats for once.. conclusive... Sigh...

Go find an old copy of Star Ocean the Second Story if you don't have it already, or for that matter any Tri-Ace game, or if you don't mind tactical rpgs go find Disgaea or another NIS game. Unfortunately a lot of games these days are losing it.

[Satelight]

i was sick of the old -always happy endings- so i enjoy the new bittersweet hybrids out there...

[Whoaness]

OS was okay, but I didn't have much of an attachment to the characters.

How do you get attached characters in TSotES and not Odin Sphere? >_>;;

[stukasa]

To quote an old Chinese proverb: "Play for the game, not for the ending."

Or something like that. ;):p

[Jona87]

...you made that up didnt you? lol

[solblade007]

Cliffhanger endings are the worse, especially when they haven't released the sequel in 7 freaking years. WHERE'S MY MEGAMAN LEGENDS 3 CAPCOM!!!????

[Whoaness]

To quote an old Chinese proverb: "Play for the game, not for the ending."

Or something like that. ;):p

Ummm the Chinese part aside, we're not living in the dark ages of gaming. Back in the Pacman, Galaga, and pong days, it's understandable why there aren't endings. The technology simply doesn't allow it. All they could do is record high scores and usually only up to 10-20 high scores. Gaming was weak back then, but as technology grows, gaming is becoming more of a new type of media that collaborates story telling, music, motion, and gameplay all together.

Games with stories will sell better than games that don't (some multiplayer aside). Even a game that doesn't have story is good, it would have been better with a story.

[stukasa]

Ummm the Chinese part aside, we're not living in the dark ages of gaming. Back in the Pacman, Galaga, and pong days, it's understandable why there aren't endings. The technology simply doesn't allow it. All they could do is record high scores and usually only up to 10-20 high scores. Gaming was weak back then, but as technology grows, gaming is becoming more of a new type of media that collaborates story telling, music, motion, and gameplay all together.

Games with stories will sell better than games that don't (some multiplayer aside). Even a game that doesn't have story is good, it would have been better with a story.
Oh, I know that. :p My point was, if you had fun playing the game, don't let the (lack of an) ending ruin the experience for you. Okay, maybe it was short or not what you were expecting. Maybe the developers could have done something more conclusive, but the ending won't make or break the game. That's all I was really trying to say. ^^

P.S. - If Pong was made today, I wonder what kind of ending there would be! xD

[Whoaness]

Pong stick uses his high score to donate to the poor children all over the world.

Pong stick saves the world!

[Littledgn]

But a bad game ending surely will make the game less enjoyable overall. Because there's this thing called a story that most games follow...

[Silverwolf_X]

I've played all those old games mentioned and loved them, in fact I still play them today after a particularly depressing game.

RG left me worse off, honestly, they'd expect me to do the bonus dungeon after such a lame ending and half assed story? Yeesh.

WA Vth Vanguard had alot of potential, if they allowed for a better ending on 2nd run onwards (some hgames do that, in fact, its been doing for years.), you really get attached to the characters, so knowing what happens to one of them and not being able to do anything about it left a bitter feeling post game. No mood to do the bonus dungeons. Sigh...

[zer0kage]

Isn't Phantasy Star II one of the more depressing ones though?

[Silverwolf_X]

It was depressing AND inconclusive.

One of the rare games in the time that had such an ending.

[Ness9411]

:s I just finished Tales of the Abyss, and that didn't seem bad.. >_>

[Brad99]

A lot of reviewers who traditionally didn't like Final Fantasy games raved about XII, and how it finally gave it an adult oriented political intriegue storyline. I (an adult) never finished it. My wife would come in, watch a bit, ask "what's going on now", and I'd have to reply "I'm really not sure anymore". It finally got to the point where I really couldn't follow the story anymore, and I cared not not enough for any of the characters to see if the story got any better.

My favorite RPG ending? Final Fantasy IX. Nine will always be my favorite.

[Silverwolf_X]

I'll have most of you know I completed 12 in a week and traded it in. It sucked. Left so much unanswered! I'll bet after they're done with 7, they're gonna milk 12 like crazy as well.

[Kairosoratami]

i was so disapointed with ff XII....the characters relationships weren't devoloped at all! like brad 99 says,"Nine will always be my favorite"(for the french background,bien sur!)

finishing FINAL FANTASY XII INTERNATIONAL ZODIAC JOB SYSTEM

[Silverwolf_X]

FFXII's characters are so flat in personality development I feel nothing for them.

[Chevreuse]

FFXII isn't really that good. Maybe it's because I used to see Nomura's works more often in FF series and XII was a big jump especially the tedious battle system...

[Karis Fra Mauro]

Blah, I never bothered to finish FF12 either so I can't comment on the ending. For me it was the impossible minigames (I'd rather go fishing in real life any day of the week!) which were the final straw. Did finally beat Odin Sphere a couple days ago and loved the ending. I guess you could say it was bittersweet but as it was such a story driven game I don't mind getting caught up in the fate of the characters. Also it was a consistent theme throughout the game with the mythological basis, so I appreciated that.

[JpnFfantasy]

What do you expect, if you watch Zero Punctuation's Console Rundown video he points out that graphics are not going to get much better and developers should make games with actual depth. So he knows that games in general doesn't have a good story anymore.
OR that bad ending has become mainstream for the developers that they think that'll rack up more sales.

[Silverwolf_X]

They're racking up more trade-in credits, not sales.

[CannedOldMan]

Actually, in my experience, old games tend to have pretty darn sad endings. In Seiken Densetsu 2, the ending screen was of the sprite who was forced to leave the world due to a lack of mana. In Star Ocean (the first one), I got an ending with Fear looking into the distance sadly wondering what happened to Ratix.

Let's not forget Terranigma where it's sort of implied that you die and reincarnate as a bird. A damn bird.

I think it probably just oscillates, bitter endings, then happy endings, then bitter. Happy's turn will come around again.

[Infornography]

???

I liked Persona 3's ending both in the standard but especially in FES. I guess this is all to personal taste. I'm kinda happy in some games that the ending is bittersweet where "John Wayne riding into the sunset" isn't the ending.

[Lady Anya]

There is an ending I hated the most, that is the one of Wild arms 4. I hated the game to begin with, but let that aside, everybody knows how cliche'd are the WA series but 4's end was crap.

[Silverwolf_X]

WA5'a ending was ok, but made it feel like you wish you could have done something for the affected character. If they actually borrowed some ideas from Chronno trigger and actually allowed you to do something to 'save' said character in the 2nd run onwards and get a more happy ending, it would have made WA5 alot better.

WA5 has sooo much potential in offering a great story and all, but ended the game just before anything could be done and just gave us a semi-sweet conclusion. Its really annoying if you ask me.

[Otase]

I hate hapy endings, thats for sure...

[Drakron]

Blah, I never bothered to finish FF12 either so I can't comment on the ending.
...

Well I did but if you ask me the FF XII became stupid long before the ending.

The main reason I disliked FF XII was this, the group NEVER defects the enemy plans ... every time they try the enemy is simply "too smart" and its either a trap , its all according to plan or they turn the tables and its sloppy writing at a lot of points were I get the idea they are literally making stuff up.

The ending is when they actually ... well beat the enemy and destroy their plans but Star Wars "its a trap" and Death Star-alike utter failed to impress me ... I could stay for hours ranting about FF XII.

[kinoo]

Tales of the Abyss had a good ending in my opinion except well I didn't like the main character in the first half but he became somewhat likeable during the last half. BUT you want and ENDING oh damn play through EVER17 that game had me utterly Speechless for days T_T and I miss it so much but anyway yeah play that :P

[Silverwolf_X]

I played Ever 17 way back when it was just launched in japan, the true route and true ending was the pwn!

Little Busters! True Ending rivals it as well.

BUT.... those 2 games aren't rpgs so... xD

[Kresnik]

Yeah, I think people who made RPG should think like those who made visual novels now: Multiple endings, starting with the worst one, and then gradually getting better until you get the best ending. Even I got some story ideas myself concerning such storytelling.

[hybir]

The only problem would be if players drop a game because of judging it by the worst ending.

[Kresnik]

Game Cover: Featuring multiple path ending!

I guess it would at least keep them in check.. :D

[Silverwolf_X]

Most games with multiple endings declare it these days anyway.

[CannedOldMan]

Multiple endings sounds like a good idea, except for the very real possibility of...

50$ for an RPG

3x the endings
9x the struggle
27x the sadness
81x the disappointment

4050$ for depression medication.

Don't think too hard about the math...

[Z3120]

Multiple endings would be a good idea except I don't like how extremely similar the story paths can be when you're approaching the ending dictated by the decisions you've made throughout the game. Persona 3 did indeed have a great opportunity to diverge story paths given how interactive the game allowed you to roam free, but sadly, it didn't offer that (the dating relationships anyone?). But I do think Disgaea: Hour of Darkness did a fairly good job though (and Dynasty Tactics I suppose if you include that as an RPG :st:).


The only problem would be if players drop a game because of judging it by the worst ending.

I'd have to agree. I remember how me and my friend's friend got two totally different perspectives on the Chrono Cross ending. He opted to simply beat down the final boss with brute force (and he thought it was the true ending) while I took the deliberate trouble of using the special element on the boss.


Where are all the good simple happy in the end stories these days with an ending thats for once.. conclusive... Sigh...

The only truly happy endings I can recall were Grandia 2 and Lunar:SSSC. I think Brave Fencer Musashi had one too although I don't recall it particularly well (and, if it is even considered an RPG). As for something like Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2... well, that's what happens for those who want a certain special someone to get a happy ending.


Tales of the Abyss had a good ending in my opinion except well I didn't like the main character in the first half but he became somewhat likeable during the last half.

Oh man... I have so many complaints about that game, it ain't even funny. I enjoyed the game but, because it had so many shortcomings, I have the same type of hate for Tales of the Abyss as I do for Kingdom Hearts 2.

[astranagant]

not many RPG offers Multiple Ending nowadays. most RPG is linear

the last one I played was Growlanser 5. (the graphic was rough, but the Story is OK IMO. hope Atlus translated Gl 6)

I want to play RPG that offer multiple path, like good and evil path.

[Kresnik]

It's pretty hard to make 2 diverged good and evil ending, because they should make 2 separate stories, or make either branching from the others, which will make the former less interesting, like what they did on Growlanser 2, or was it much more interesting? Since I've never go to that ending..

Even if P3 has the bittersweet ending, I still like it because it draws the condition of our societies very well, which is sad. And we can't fight anyone to make the society any better, so the other remaining allies hoping that someday the curse will be stopped is the best way to end the story.

I'm starting to hate Kingdom Hearts because they make the story incrementally, making the whole series as milking cow. For each progressing stories, it degrades exponentially.

[astranagant]

I heard P3 FES have the continuation of the story.

too bad in japanese though.

[CannedOldMan]

It's pretty hard to make 2 diverged good and evil ending, because they should make 2 separate stories, or make either branching from the others, which will make the former less interesting..

Der Langrisser did pretty well at that. 4 different paths to choose from with variations on each one. Then again, it's old..


I'm starting to hate Kingdom Hearts because they make the story incrementally, making the whole series as milking cow. For each progressing stories, it degrades exponentially.

Starting to hate? I foolishly bought Kingdom Hearts 2, and just couldn't finish it...Wah. I rather liked the first one too.

[astranagant]

there is a English patch for Der Langrisser that has been released recently.

if you want to understand the story, you can try that.

[Z3120]

I'm starting to hate Kingdom Hearts because they make the story incrementally, making the whole series as milking cow. For each progressing stories, it degrades exponentially.


Starting to hate? I foolishly bought Kingdom Hearts 2, and just couldn't finish it...Wah. I rather liked the first one too.

I wouldn't be surprised why you guys have gotten bored of KH2. Even though I managed to finish KH2 and did most of the extras, there wasn't much to the game to be honest with you. What made KH2 even more tedious and repetitive (for me at least if you ask me) was overly easy difficulty, and combined with the plotless backtracking (unless you include Sora's unquestionable driving focus to find Riku and King Mickey since KH1) followed by Org. 13's baseless (or any) motive(s) with barely any major plot movement, KH2 degraded into something quite disappointing and bland at times. It's really sad to see my disappointment with KH2 is classified as hating the game entirely elsewhere when I've enjoyed it, at least to a certain degree.


It's pretty hard to make 2 diverged good and evil ending, because they should make 2 separate stories, or make either branching from the others, which will make the former less interesting, like what they did on Growlanser 2, or was it much more interesting? Since I've never go to that ending

Well, it depends. Games don't necessarily have to have multiple endings. As much as I'm for the idea of them, if a game like Final Fantasy 7 had them, I don't think it'd work. But if something like Star Ocean 3 where they had X amount of characters in the game, but you can only get X-Y (y being the number of characters you can get in one play-through at most, and sorry about the math thing people), then I like the idea of special romantic relationships, friendships and/or rivalries with alternate endings (although sadly SO3 had character endings rather than an alternate story ending). Like if a main character was suppose to die in the story, but if you end up having Character B in your party and built a pretty strong bond, Character B might sacrifice him/herself to save you. A dorky idea? Perhaps, but it would be amusing to me if I saw a game give it a try yet the characters should have to be interesting first and foremost to pull off my idea decently.

Some games could really use multiple endings like Persona 3. I suppose that's one of my major gripes with P3. Considering how much freedom was in P3, I felt deeply disappointed on how little decisions actually affected the game when my impressions from playing P3 would have me thinking otherwise.


there is a English patch for Der Langrisser that has been released recently.

Never played it before. I'll be sure to give it a try. Sounds very interesting considering how old the game is and what it allowed you to do (wiki'ed info about it).

[Silverwolf_X]

Almost all HRPGs and at least 1/3rd of Japanese PC RPGs have multiple routes and endings. Its not something new really.

Its just that most of the titles that are localized to English tend not to be those 1/2 the time. Sad if you ask me.

[astranagant]

but not many company translated those HRPG.

the only HRPG translated was Brave Soul AFAIK.( and english Patch for Castle fantasia 2 R )

maybe there is a company that willing to translate Seinarukana.
but that chance are less than 10%:D

[BackwardRhythm]

Talking about RPG endings reminds me about completing Persona 3 for the first time, it had me all "what the hell?". I've spend so much time getting attached to these characters and I find out that there is no happy ending in the end. I'm not expecting there to be the littlest elf but I wish it didn't make me(and I think a lot of people who have played the game) feel unsatisfied.

[Infinity Overlord]

Rpg endings nowdays are just fine,its neutral.

[Kresnik]

The ending is good if it is not going to be spoiled by incoherent sequel (read: KH, they got 3 sequels coming already.. O.o)