Support NeoGAF

[LizardKing]

I mean seriously who thinks these are a good idea? I just beat Revelations 2 and got the bad ending. How the hell am I supposed to know I'm supposed to do something in chapter 3 to get a "good ending?"

I'm not sitting here reading what to do with an FAQ every step of the way as that kills the enjoyment of the game. As a result, the ending I get is weak and unsatisfying, and I have to look up the real ending on youtube. I shouldn't have to do that. I feel happy and relieved beating a end boss and it should give me the payoff in game damn it.

What does this add to a game experience other than serving no other purpose than to make it worse? I mean it's right there in the name of it, "BAD ending." As in, making the game worse. RER 2 isn't the only offender either just the most recent to piss me off.

 

[vulva]

Then just fucking watch it on youtube and let the people who enjoy these things have their fun

 

[pizzacat]

Wasn't it in chapter 4? Anyway no. Not everything should end in a good way, either way RER2 had a "bad" ending anyway

 

[paragonpro]

I like how souls does it where every ending feels satisfying, and the other ones are worth going through ng+ to get.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Make better decisions.

 

[ReyVGM]

 

[Vamphuntr]

I mean seriously who thinks these are a good idea? I just beat Revelations 2 and got the bad ending. How the hell am I supposed to know I'm supposed to do something in chapter 3 to get a "good ending?"

I'm not sitting here reading what to do with an FAQ every step of the way as that kills the enjoyment of the game. As a result, the ending I get is weak and unsatisfying, and I have to look up the real ending on youtube. I shouldn't have to do that. I feel happy and relieved beating a end boss and it should give me the payoff in game damn it.

What does this add to a game experience other than serving no other purpose than to make it worse? RER 2 isn't the only offender either just the most recent to piss me off.

Maybe you should read what is written on the screen During the QTE scene it you show a prompt to switch character. It's there for a reason. Maybe you are also a bit impatient? Just replay the chapter the correct way to update your save file.

I love game with different endings. It adds replay value.

 

[LizardKing]

Then just fucking watch it on youtube and let the people who enjoy these things have their fun

I addressed this. I wouldn't have even known there was a good or bad ending either if I wasn't struggling with the boss and looked it up.

 

[Tagyhag]

I don't know, I like it when a game makes you work for the best ending.

STALKER must have pissed a lot of people off.

 

[Shauni]

Wasn't it in chapter 4? Anyway no. Not everything should end in a good way, either way RER2 had a "bad" ending anyway

I liked the "good" ending. It had a good feel to it, satisfying, but also set up a future installment in a solid way, too.

 

[Tizoc]

I refuse for a world devoid of Bad End in video games to exist, sorry OP

 

[orthodoxy1095]

I like how souls does it where every ending feels satisfying, and the other ones are worth going through ng+ to get.

That's a fine model but not one that needs to be in every game with multiple endings.

 

[Small Mailman]

That's life OP. Deal with it or checkout early!





PEACE

 

[Zebei]

So you want bad endings to get their bad ending?

 

[Kazoo pls]

Make better decisions and stop rushing through games. Bad Endings exist for a reason, to make you retrace your steps and wonder what went wrong and to see if you can change them. They also add replay-ability for completion's sake.

 

[TheCthultist]

I was about to say "it all depends on the game" but the more I think about it, the more I can't come up with an example of a game with "bad endings" that I didn't like. Mark it up as personal preference, but I've always preferred games to have multiple endings and, typically, to have the best ending locked behind some kind of somewhat challenging prerequisite.

While the SMT games immediately come to mind as examples of where it's been done particularly well, I'm sure there are plenty of other examples people could pull from. Those are just my favorite for the whole "Here's AN ending, but if you want THE ending you're going to need to make better choices."

 

[mrmickfran]

 

[DragoonKain]

I agree somewhat. I think it would be better if there was a good ending and a better ending. But if you a really crappy ending, then that's just lame. Thankfully, most games don't have significant differences in the qualities of their endings.

 

[vulva]

I addressed this. I wouldn't have even known there was a good or bad ending either if I wasn't struggling with the boss and looked it up.

I saw that you did, but ultimately you're asking for something that you can still resolve through an alternate means but the people who enjoy multiple endings aren't really left with the same reason to replay the game now. I get that you don't like the multiple ending scenario but at the same time you gotta remember that they're there for a reason and people do enjoy them.

 

[Neff]

I got the bad ending on my first run of Revelations 2 as well. I probably would have enjoyed the game more if my first experience had been with the good ending. As it transpired, I learned about it here and the abundance of hype killed that discovery for me, so I never experienced it as intended.

I thought and still do think that it's a good game, but they should have made the bad ending an easy to miss curio rather than the good one.

 

[LonelyGreyWolf]

Sounds to me like your blaming the wrong thing. You're blaming poor story-telling, not bad endings. Of course you shouldn't have to follow a step by step walkthrough to get a certain ending; it should be somewhat obvious. Endings also doesn't need to be so black and white as to what is a good ending and what is not. But remove multiple endings altogether? No, you're not seeing the real problem here.

 

[flatearthpandas]

While I agree that you should be given a satisfying conclusion for finishing the game, I don't think that means bad endings should be removed and I'm totally fine with better endings requiring extra work. Finishing should definitely be rewarding but doesn't have to give you everything there is. In many of the games I play you have to go out of your way to get the really bad endings, either that or they're extremely obvious and easy to avoid (are you sure you want to give up on your quest and become a farmer?? Are you really really sure?) and the regular endings are usually fine so I have no real issues. If NG+ is a thing and collecting other endings is fairly easy then I definitely prefer there to be a bunch of endings to collect.

 

[Boney]

It was incredibly obvious due to how the scene plays out when Claire kills the dude. I got that scene because I mashed too hard and the switch button barely played. Went back did the chapter again and got the good ending.

You only need to play 3-2 to get to the good 4-2 ending so it's not that bad here.

As for general yeah I love them if they're handled well. For the most part it makes you link stuff or explore elements in which sometimes you're only going to be aware in hindsight and play the game to the fullest and end with a bang. You can also do it the bad way and gate it under a billion tribals and have no one ever seeing the final boss and not even get an ending.

They basically add replay value by making you play the game with your brain turned on if handled appropriately.

 

[desmax]

Nah man, Bad Endings are cool.

They should make it like The Witch and the Hundred Knight, where

Spoiler

Bad Ending is the True Ending

 

[LizardKing]

I liked the "good" ending. It had a good feel to it, satisfying, but also set up a future installment in a solid way, too.

The good ending was a real proper ending. I guess I don't have as much of a problem if a bad ending is just a negative ending but it needs to be just as valid, fleshed out and thought out. I seriously doubt

Spoiler

Alex Wesker is coming back in Natalia's body is now canon.

It can't just be some 30 second throwaway clip that might as well say "you lose."

And if you want to have a negative, non canon ending, at least make that the harder one to reach. Most people will want the real ending.

 

[pizzacat]

I liked the "good" ending. It had a good feel to it, satisfying, but also set up a future installment in a solid way, too.

I enjoyed it too but in the end

Spoiler

villain still kinda got what they wanted or did they? Haven't played little miss yet

 

[Daemul]

In many cases the "bad" ending turns out to be the one which makes the most sense tbh, with the good ending being "How we hope this would end" and the bad ending being "How this would actually end".

 

[Aters]

I hate bad endings. If they want replay value, they can add a secret true ending. Bad ending just feel like the hours I put into the game lead to nothing. If you want to make player pay more attention to your stories and choices, just make them fun to read instead of forcing player to read them again.

 

[Muffdraul]

This is just way too whiny for me to sympathize with at all, sorry OP.

 

[atomsk]

I refuse for a world devoid of Bad End in video games to exist, sorry OP

I played this! It was decent considering it was 99 cents

 

[Vazra]

I like bad endings being there as a way to make you play again and do things differently and better to get the normal and the best ending.

 

[Pejo]

I think devs add it because it's a relatively low cost method to add an entire playthrough worth of replayability. I personally don't mind it, as I usually play the games blind the first time, then use guides to get collectibles/best endings after, if I'm really interested. If not, I'll just YouTube the ending.

Now whether the variables that cause a bad ending are done well is another topic that I agree could be done better in a lot of games.

 

[Blobbers]

Parasite Eve 2. Didn't save the dog in chapter 1-not even 1, like -10-like beginning of the game. Didn't save the dog? FUCK YOU

 

[peaceiscloser]

What about only bad endings?

Spoiler

school days

 

[MooMilk2929]

I think it'd be nice if there was just 1 ending too but then there's people who wanna replay the game, thats who multiple endings are for. I actually enjoyed replaying MGS1 to get the multiple endings. I was a different person back then tho.

 

[UnluckyKate]

I like how souls does it where every ending feels satisfying, and the other ones are worth going through ng+ to get.

hummm? What ? Souls game have the worst endings and the worst cryptic ways to get to " good " endings

 

[Ryouji Gunblade]

I want more Mid-Boss endings.

 

[L Thammy]

Nah, that's a dumb idea. In Pandora's Tower, the bad endings were all much more interesting than the good one and were highly varied. Although it helped that it was easy to get the other endings after you get the good one.

 

[terrdactycalsrock]

Its really bad feeling to not know that you can miss a part of a game by not doing whatever the secret thing is. I think if theres going to be more than one ending then make it more nuanced than just good or bad, or have a gameplay system set up so you can see how far away you are from the good or bad ending

 

[hans_castorp]

But I like bad endings. I wish more games would try the Persona 4 aproach.
You have to earn the good ending. You have all the pieces, you just have to calm down and think for a second. No bullshit, no spoonfeed tips. Just logic.
And it also goes along with the theme of the game.

 

[neerg]

Make better decisions and stop rushing through games. Bad Endings exist for a reason, to make you retrace your steps and wonder what went wrong and to see if you can change them. They also add replay-ability for completion's sake.

Sorry but no, in this example there is no hint that your choice leads towards a good or bad ending either way. I agree with the OP.

 

[Small Mailman]

Can we have more 'do nothing at the start and win' endings?

 

[Neff]

Parasite Eve 2. Didn't save the dog in chapter 1-not even 1, like -10-like beginning of the game. Didn't save the dog? FUCK YOU

You ALWAYS save the dog.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

As long as multiple endings exist in games, some will be better than others. I can't get behind getting rid of multiple endings and replay value.

 

[kamineko]

But... without bad endings, there can be no good endings.

I didn't think it was a big deal. Replaying that segment is not a big effort, and the good ending feels pretty damned good. It's not like screwing yourself out of the Zodiac Spear in FF12. Now that's some bullshit.

Alternately, you could play some arcade Space Invaders. It doesn't matter how good or bad a player you are--everyone gets the bad ending eventually. Pretty bleak game when you think about it.

 

[aBarreras]

i really like multiple endings, the only bad ending i hated was on black ops 2, when i did everything right except 1 fucking thing, and i got the WORST ending, lol,

 

[Aters]

What about only bad endings?

Spoiler

school days

If every bad ending is as awesome the ones in that game then I won't mind them.

 

[disappeared]

Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 wouldn't be the same without their alleged "bad" endings. SH2 moreso.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

I haven't played Revelations 2 but it almost sounds like what you are describing is a poorly telegraphed ending, in as much as it doesn't sound like you were asked to make particularly hard choices which foreshadowed a less than ideal outcome for your chosen branch of the narrative.

"Bad Endings" aren't inherently bad and done well (see: Spike Chunsoft games, Silent Hill 1-4) they provide real dramatic impact to the choices you make in the game and points out that you have to really, really earn that happy ending by paying attention while you unravel a mystery. Seeing them go away forever would severely hamstring creatives from adding true consequence to the player's agency.

I mean, I wasn't particularly upset that I got the bad endings for Metal Gear Solid, Chrono Trigger, or caused a partially bad ending in games like Fallout 1/2, Final Fantasy VI, etc. Because I realized immediately the choices I made that produced those outcomes, so the replay didn't feel like a chore since I still adored those games and replay rewarded me with more than just a slightly better ending.

I agree that if you feel like you had to scan an indexed FAQ for an obscure 'hey if you don't do this random, easily missed thing midway through the game you get an awful ending' then it's fair to feel cheated by a crummy ending. And if replaying the game just to flip that bit in the game state to get a satisfying ending isn't what you want to do, I doubt even the good ending will feel very earned because it's possible the rest of the game plays out exactly the same.

tl;dr the game's writing and structure actually has to pivot around bad end/good end choices and not simply be a 'did you leave the lights on?' kind of triviality.

 

[Road of Ease]

Then just fucking watch it on youtube and let the people who enjoy these things have their fun

...who enjoys this though?

I think OP has a point tbh