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Games redeemed by their endng

TissueBox

TissueBox

Member
Have you ever played a game which was more or less so-so throughout and then you got the ending and got blown away or it wrapped things up enough in such a manner that it redeemed the experience for you?

I'm braindead atm but I'm sure there's been a couple in the recesses of my mind. MGS2 kind of counts for me, but technically it was a very proficient game, just story-wise it all came together once the dust settled.
 
The Last of Us was that for me. I thought the game was decent, but the ending itself was definitely the greatest part of it all.

bananafactory said:
Spec Ops thread?
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I beat that game and got all 4 endings and never understood the praise for it.
The bit before the endings is really good, but the endings themselves aren't.
 
I don't know if it was *redeemed* per se, but FFXV ended on a much stronger note than the several hours that preceded it, in a way that correctly played to the game's narrative strengths and managed to bring it back to a point of having an emotional impact. Without that ending I'd have been actively angry at the game; as-is, I'm (in retrospect) just sort of mildly disappointed.
 
badcrumble said:
I don't know if it was *redeemed* per se, but FFXV ended on a much stronger note than the several hours that preceded it, in a way that correctly played to the game's narrative strengths and managed to bring it back to a point of having an emotional impact.
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Man, I thought FFXV's ending was a total wet fart because the character work was so weak, especially Luna
 
Final Fantasy XV.

The game was undeserving of the ending. I love the ending, I just wish the rest of the story/pace was as good.

bananafactory said:
Man, I thought FFXV's ending was a total wet fart because the character work was so weak, especially Luna
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It's understandable, I just think the ending has good ideas and intention. The rest of the game pulls it down, unfortunately.
 
badcrumble said:
I don't know if it was *redeemed* per se, but FFXV ended on a much stronger note than the several hours that preceded it, in a way that correctly played to the game's narrative strengths and managed to bring it back to a point of having an emotional impact.
Click to expand...

Couldn't have said it better myself. While the rest of the game is an ambitious but messy and uneven effort, the ending is jaw-dropping, excellent stuff. A gut-punch in every sense of the word. I was straight shook afterward.
 
Spec Ops is a good one, though it didn't do much for me, for a lot of people it wasn't until that mindscrew turning point that an average AA shooter became something much more profound.

Garlador said:
Conduit 2.

Are you a bad enough dude to help the presidents save the world?
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Haha that may just fit the bill, actually..
 
It felt amazing when the end credits for Killzone Shadow Fall started rolling. Huge feeling of relief, though, not exactly feelings of redemption. I think I felt stronger because of it? I don't really remember much other than "oh thank God I'm done".
 
It's not a bad game by any means, but the final mission of The Saboteur was the best part of the game handsdown because it eschewed all the ending cliches of pretty much every action game ever made when it comes to stuff like a final boss fight and one last gauntlet full of enemies for something far more effective. It really surprised me, especially because its actually rather haunting.
 
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Game overstayed its welcome and I was glad to be done, but the ending sure was memorable.
 
Drakengard's ending E is what elevated the game from "trashier-than-average musou" to "artistically disturbing ludonarrative black comedy" for me. Absolutely love it now.
 
Creamium said:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Game overstayed its welcome and I was glad to be done, but the ending sure was memorable.
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Came to post this, it was a solid game but that ending really left the door open for a killer sequel.
....well we know how that went down but hey the ending was still a wonderful one two punch of swerves.
 
sinonobu said:
Last Guardian.
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Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure if the ending fully redeemed the tedious parts, or if on the other hand the game was ever really bad enough to be 'redeeming', but it was by far the best part of the game and it did make the journey seem worthwhile.
 
Creamium said:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Game overstayed its welcome and I was glad to be done, but the ending sure was memorable.
Click to expand...

That ending really was awesome, with two really great "wait, WHAT" moments. You kinda see the first one coming, but the second one was totally unexpected.

Too bad LoS 2 turned out to be hot garbage.

People saying TLG: y'all need Jesus. That game's entire back half was wall-to-wall amazing setpieces.
 
Final Fantasy XV is Exhibit A. It had the story of an edgy first attempt at a YA novel by a teenage boy, but the ending was incredibly poignant out of nowhere.
 
I don't necessarily understand it very well, but I absolutely hated the entirety of Final Fantasy XIII and then fell in love with the ending. I don't even remember it now. I don't know why I loved it. But I did.
 
Griss said:
Yeah. I mean, I'm not sure if the ending fully redeemed the tedious parts, or if on the other hand the game was ever really bad enough to be 'redeeming', but it was by far the best part of the game and it did make the journey seem worthwhile.
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Yeah TLG is a good example as well. I played the game and got rather annoyed with it. But the ending itself did make up for more than a few things.
 
True Fire said:
Final Fantasy XV is Exhibit A. It had the story of an edgy first attempt at a YA novel by a teenage boy, but the ending was incredibly poignant out of nowhere.
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Old Noctis sitting at the fire telling his friends how much he cares about them was that game. It was all for that moment.
 
Completely forgot about TLG. If it wasn't for the way the story finished, the game would've been a far less fonder memory lol.

Gameplay was endurable sure. But leave it to the Ico team to make you affected by the spirit of it all in the end.
 
FFXV redeemed a LOT in the post ch. 13 chapters. Story was pretty damn meh and disjointed but somehow started making sense and wrapping up. The scene with Noctics with his buds at the end? Wow. Ardyn turned out being a fantastic villain.
 
Creamium said:
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow. Game overstayed its welcome and I was glad to be done, but the ending sure was memorable.
Click to expand...

Polar opposite of the colossal let down that was LoS2's ending. After years of hinting that it would end the LoS saga turns out nothing happened.
Dracula is still Dracula. Satan is still dead.
Whatever.
 
The Samaritan Paradox seemed a so-so point-and-click adventure, with the book segments being a highlight, but then the ending wrapped up both book and real world stories with the same plot point reveal. It was pretty good.
 
TissueBox said:
Have you ever played a game which was more or less so-so throughout and then you got the ending and got blown away or it wrapped things up enough in such a manner that it redeemed the experience for you?

I'm braindead atm but I'm sure there's been a couple in the recesses of my mind. MGS2 kind of counts for me, but technically it was a very proficient game, just story-wise it all came together once the dust settled.
Click to expand...

MGS2 truly shines because of it's narrative, the story is basically an afterthought, man...
 
Grin's Bionic Commando.
Game is so lala but the ending is just insanely stupid in a ...good way? I guess? At least it's memorable
 
I felt Dragon's Dogma's story was fairly boring and by the books for most of the game (the game itself is fantastic all the way through, though!) But then you beat the Dragon... and everything goes batshit insane. That whole stretch from the Dragon to the true ending is utterly fantastic,
falling infinitely through the Everfall and literally fighting God especially!
 
Halo:Reach.

I was getting bored towards the end but man,
when the game goes into Horde mode at the end and you helmet cracks, I was
pumped.
 
I look at steam stats and people don't even finish games anymore.

If a game is not completely engaging for the player, it's unlikely they will want to or have the time/skill to finish it.
 
Spec Ops? The ending is for the most part punctuation to what you experience before. It doesn't redeem the game at all.

Even thought it's a very good game already, I would say that Red Dead Redemption's endings make the entire experience much more than it would have been otherwise.
 
Mandelbo said:
I felt Dragon's Dogma's story was fairly boring and by the books for most of the game (the game itself is fantastic all the way through, though!) But then you beat the Dragon... and everything goes batshit insane. That whole stretch from the Dragon to the true ending is utterly fantastic,
falling infinitely through the Everfall and literally fighting God especially!
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Yup, Dragon's Dogma would be my pick for this thread. It's not a bad game at all, as the gameplay is excellent but the story is barely worth paying attention to until the part you mention. Then it becomes an incredibly entertaining ride, and the ramifications for the world are wild.
 
To an extent, Persona 4. The dungeon design and laborious nature of its tasks can definitely bog down the experience, but the payoff is immense as your adventures in Inaba come to a close.
 
Cold Steel 1 perhaps did that for me? I don't find it to be a bad game, but I was rather unimpressed until shit goes down in the final acts. It's a cliffhanger. In a way it messily tosses events in the pot hoping it'll make the best of it and it actually did improve my thoughts of the story looking back. I wouldn't say "redeemed" (as it didn't make me forget the game's prior flaws), but it certainly has me curious about how Cold Steel 2 will start off.

(This is another reminder for myself to play CS2 this year.)
 
Dangansona said:
You're wrong Jeff. Story had problems but the core cast was pretty great.
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The core cast never really develop beyond their superficial qualities, though.

Prompto is fun and hyper!
Gladio is SERIOUS
Noctis is smart and uppity

They're suuuuuuuper thin which makes the big moments hit way less than they could, potentially.
 
Z.. said:
MGS2 truly shines because of it's narrative, the story is basically an afterthought, man...
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I see your point, although I'd contest how they meet halfway, or the terms' specifics. ;p I guess I just name dropped it because it wasn't 'til after beating it and thinking about it that I fully appreciated the enigma the game was... which ironically probably overshadows the ending, once you do think about it, but only because of the ending's implications, which means... *brain-freeze*
 
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