Multiple Endings: Yay or Nay?

BlueSwim

BlueSwim

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Replay value vs. sequel continuity, that's pretty much what it boils down to. On the one hand, you have a great excuse to play a game you liked all over again--but on the other, it comes at the sacrifice of an official, definitive ending, which can cause a sequel "in continuity" with the original game to contradict the ending you got. Case in point, Metal Gear Solid.

I got the "bad" ending because I couldn't beat Ocelot's torture without tapping out. Meryl died in the ending I got and now, in MGS4, she's back to life? HUH!?

Obviously, the "good" ending is the "official" one, but you see where the problem can occur. Multiple endings are why stories in fighting games have been terrible for almost the entire life of the genre. Is Ryu's ending the "real" one? Or maybe it's Guile's?

Mass Effect 2 is going to have multiple endings depending on who lives and dies during the course of the game. Having your own story experience might be nice in theory, but it's going to be a pain in the ass if Mass Effect 3 doesn't read ME2 saves or is on a different system altogether.

Personally, I'm also not a fan of "true" endings. After sinking in dozens of hours into an RPG like Persona 3, the last thing you want is to get the "second-best" ending and have to reload your last save and replay the last boss to get "true" ending.

To answer the title's question, I vote "nay". I just don't like multiple endings. What do you think?

Multiple Endings: Yay or Nay?
 
Don't like them much, hurts story continuity and I don't think it ads replay value as I won't replay a game (especially a long one) just to see different endings. The game is either worth replaying to me (very few are) or it isn't based on the merits of the gameplay.

By the way, you should add a poll to the thread. You can do it from the "thread tools" drop down I think.
 
im down for them as long as theyre done right like the ones in silent hill 1 & 2. those kinds of endings make you want to play the game again not to mention the games were fun too nd in the case of sh1 you could get new things with each playthrough because youd unlock new spots.loved that laser gun and chainsaw.

i think the earlier re's had something to that effect too if you got a good grade or no maybe it was that you could save some people or let them die. games with multiple endings or branching storylines keep things interesting and fresh if they developers know what theyre doing.
 
It really depends on how they're implemented. Like in Fallout 3 for example; When I was a douchebag the entire game the ending made me feel like an asshole which I wasn't the biggest fan of because I invested 30+ hours into the game. I guess I prefer more of a linear story line but I guess it really depends on how the game is designed.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Don't like them much, hurts story continuity and I don't think it ads replay value as I won't replay a game (especially a long one) just to see different endings. The game is either worth replaying to me (very few are) or it isn't based on the merits of the gameplay.

By the way, you should add a poll to the thread. You can do it from the "thread tools" drop down I think.[/QUOTE]
Ask and ye shall receive.:cool::cool::cool:

EDIT: Poll added, vote away!:cool::cool::cool:
 
I don't mind them, it offers a bit of variety.If done right, then the sequel could actually continue based on the original's decision, but that would take a bit of development time. All you would need to do for that is allow the sequel to read the character data from the previous game, find out what the ending was, and you could start from there in the new game. If you were playing the game for the first time, then it could just automatically start assuming you had the "good" ending or whatever. But yeah, I enjoyed it in Star Wars: Force Unleashed.
 
wheres the dont care option? because i dont. if its a great game ill play it over, doesnt matter if ill get a different ending or not. ive played great games over and had different endings but ive never played through a game to just to get an alternate ending.
 
Heard Silent Hill: Homecoming pulled off multiple endings really well.

Only multiple ending game I can recall playing is BioShock which needed it.
 
Bioshock did multiple endings in an acceptable manner, but what annoys me are games where they have various multiple options at various parts during the game's story, but the difference between two endings is only one choice.

I hope that with the next generation they utilize blu ray and implement true multiple endings, and not just some phony multiple endings that they just threw in for some new features" box art filler.
 
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[quote name='help1']Bioshock did multiple ending, but what annoys me are games where they have various multiple options at various parts during the game's story, but the difference between two endings is only one choice.
[/QUOTE]

The same thing happened in Deus Ex: Invisible War. There were multiple choices throughout the game, but at the end, you could just make one decision to see all three different endings.
 
My experience has generally been that they're pretty fucking half-assed. I mean, they can be done well, but I don't see that happening very often.

Having said that, one of the very few things that I liked about Deus Ex: Invisible War was how it managed the multiple endings of the original by unifying them into one global catastrofuck. Was quite clever.
 
[quote name='Jesus_S_Preston']Depends how well they're done.

ie, fuck Fallout 3 and its "200 endings!!!!!"[/QUOTE]
For such an epic game it sure had some of the most half-assed endings in a game.

I Kinda like single endings simply because they're always better thought out. If multiple endings were done in a similar thought out scope then I'd be a fan, otherwise, I'm fine with it being so linear.
 
[quote name='bardockkun']
I Kinda like single endings simply because they're always better thought out. If multiple endings were done in a similar thought out scope then I'd be a fan, otherwise, I'm fine with it being so linear.[/QUOTE]

Yep.

As I said, I seldom replay games and never would just for a different ending, so I'd rather just have one, well thought out ending for story driven games.
 
The two distinct endings were one of the best things about Shadow Hearts Covenant. What I loved about it was that the game essentially asked you to judge the actions of the main character, and based on your response he was either punished or rewarded (greatly simplifying things here, but that was the gist). So from the character's perspective there was a "good" and "bad" ending, but from the player's perspective, whichever ending you received was the one you wanted. Deep stuff.
 
They have next to zero impact on if I replay a game or not, so I don't really like them, but at the same time I don't really care. If it's something I think I need to see but didn't see it in my playthrough, I'll just watch it on Youtube or something.
 
Doesn't really bother me one way or the other. If it's a shorter game that can be done in a day's play or two, sure, they're nice to have. But at the same time, if it's a game such as Star Ocean: The Second Story, which iirc boasts about having 80+ endings. That, is a bit excessive considering how long it takes to beat the game and such.
 
[quote name='JMEPO']It really depends on how they're implemented. Like in Fallout 3 for example; When I was a douchebag the entire game the ending made me feel like an asshole which I wasn't the biggest fan of because I invested 30+ hours into the game. [/QUOTE]
Umm... blowing up Megaton and reeking havoc for 30+ hours isn't what made you feel like an asshole? To quote Jim Carrey, "Stop breaking the law assshoooole!"

But anywho, I like multiple ending for the simple fact that it gives a more interesting water cooler conversation. When my buddies and I beat a game the first thing we wanna do is discuss it. And like previously stated, youtube is good for the ending you didn't see.
 
I'm not big on them. Usually when I beat a game, I'm done with it. I don't like the idea of playing through a game a second time just to experience a few seconds extra. And yes its makes sequels confusing.
 
Oh, hey, thought of a good example of multiple endings! Chrono Trigger! A lot of the endings were implemented well and didn't come out as totally half-assed.
 
For me it really depends on the implementation, like Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross I love with their multiple endings. But I don't like the Fallout 3 or Star Ocean method of just splicing a bunch of videos together and calling them unique endings. Also I really despise Valkyrie Profile for having multiple endings, I mean one is a failure ending, one is playing the game the way it tells you to play it but isn't very interesting, and the ending that actually adds something to the end of the story basically requires you to intentionally play the game opposite from how it tells you too and also to do some very specific actions at key points in the game (which aren't really all that obvious); I never saw Valkyrie Profile's A ending, it just wasn't interesting enough to play through a second time and maybe that is because I didn't see the actual end of the story, but I'm not down with "finishing" a game only to discover that you need to completely restart to see the actual conclusion of the plot.

I think that new game+ may be a major factor in my willingness to see multiple endings though; since I like knowing that I'll be able to beat the game much quicker when a replay it.
 
I prefer multiple paths to the same or similar endings, perhaps different views of the same ending. Gives you the variety on replay without impacting any potential sequel issues, though I can't recall anytime I've experienced the latter first hand.
 
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