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Games redeemed by their endng

Audette

Member
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.

They are like the ninja turtles. haha!
 

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
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.

The game works best if you pretend the four of them are just the Ninja Turtles reincarnated.
 

Hopeford

Member
Crisis Core was okay, but man that ending was seriously amazing. It's been what, 10 years since I played it? And I still remember how I felt playing it.
 

mas8705

Member
I hate to keep repeating what everyone else has said, but in terms of the "Latest game that got redeemed at the end," I too have to give it to FFXV.

Honestly, I didn't really feel like the game pissed me off too much (although that one chapter did get me close to a rage quit), but that ending was nicely done and gave us something that I don't think I've seen in a while in a FF game (or at least in the ones I've played). Other than that, if a game has been good, the ending didn't disappoint, and if a game sucked, then it would go without saying that the ending wasn't going to stop the disappointment.
 

EndMerit

Member
Definitely Bravely Default for me. From final boss to the end of credits (and beyond, actually), I was marking out so hard. Has to be one of my favourite game endings.
 

VexyWexy

Member
Suikoden Tactics

The gameplay was solid, but the story was straight bad.

Until the ending, which was the sweetest thing ever unless you somehow figured it out beforehand.
 

SephLuis

Member
People already said Drakengard 3 (and 1 to the same extent) since it's an ending that no one that played it will ever forget.

I think The Witch and the Hundred Knight fits this well enough.

The game is kinda a diablo game with some action mechanics. There are many issues such as levels are too long, there's tons of systems that annoy the player and the difficulty balance is all over the place. Most enemies were too easy, some could one hit kill you if you were weak, but a few bosses showed the battle system had potential to be challenging and fun.

Once you get to the ending, however, you will probably get the good ending and be pissed. The game has a dark story from the beginning, but once you go beyond the good ending there's a lot of scenes that make the story much more memorable than it had any right to be.

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

Insanely stupid is correct. I couldn't stop laughing at the plot twist.
Though I still think the game is good and was set back for a number of reasons. The core gameplay was great.
 

I Wanna Be The Guy

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Ducktales Remastered.

It was a mediocre game from start to finish....then the credits hit and that music played. The game redeemed itself right there and then.
 

Eumi

Member
Trails of Cold Steel is a pretty boring and bland follow up to Trails in the Sky (ignoring the games we aren't allowed to play) but the last hour introduces a genre change that made it the most interesting game in the series for me... until Cold Steel 2 came out and was even worse.
 
Even thought AC Revelations is not well received by me and most on this site. I can't help but admit that I really liked the ending of both Altair's storyline and Ezio retiring as master assassin and talking to Desmond.
Bioshock Infinite is a good one. Has some good moments here and there but that ending is what makes that game for me so unforgettable.
I guess add me in the FFXV boat, that ending was too good, SPECIALLY the after credits ending T_T
 
That's the definition of Inside.

That's what I hear but I found it boring and way too familiar (Limbo) and didn't get that far. It's short enough that I might give it another try


I'm trying to think of an example and I can't come up with one. I guess I usually stop playing games I don't like
 
The game works best if you pretend the four of them are just the Ninja Turtles reincarnated.

Which is exactly why I colored each of my party's chocobos after their associated Ninja Turtles. Gladio got red, Prompto got orange, Ignis got purple and by process of elimination and I guess status as the leader, Noctis got blue.


Anywho, I think "redeemed" is too strong of a term, but my favorite part of Zelda: Skyward Sword was definitely the ending. The emotional pull of that ending and the way it sets the rest of the series going forward in motion was a pretty masterful end to a difficult slog of a game.
 

pbayne

Member
Cold Steel 1 and 2 both kind of fumble fuck around a lot of the time than suddenly they pull like six different crazy twists and reveals in the last few hours out of their ass.

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.

breaking free of stockholm syndrome.
 
My answer is slightly controversial, but I definitely have to say FFVI.

It's not a game that really needed to be "redeemed" per se, but World of Ruin is kind of a slog. That final scene and subsequent battle with Kefka is just insanely epic and really makes some of the less enjoyable parts of FFVI worth it.

The game itself is not paced as well as Chrono Trigger or FFVII, but it has some incredible highs.
 

Wichu

Member
Ever17 is a pretty meh visual novel with generic art, bad pacing, and kinda bland characters, but the true ending route is insane and is worth playing just for that.
 

Iscariot

Member
+1 for Final Fantasy 15.

I'd also throw in Darksiders 1. It was an above average Zelda clone for most of it's duration, but that end... Suddenly I was hooked for a sequel. (Which I'm still waiting for...)
 

vegohead

Member
The original .hack tetralogy had such a heartwarming ending which made up for all the repetitive grinding. The secret ending was even more touching.
 

LordKasual

Banned
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.

To me, XV wasn't the type of game that even required 4 seperate arcs of "development" in order for the cast to be enjoyable. The biggest success in XV's writing IMO was the ability to have all of the characters feel like actual people with history, without needing 20 flashbacks throughout the story to tie it together.

Playing XV was a bit like gaining a new circle of friends, who already have a deep and established friendship and just observing how they interact with eachother. You don't really need to pull them all side one by one and ask their histories with one another to understand them as people.
 

Airola

Member
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories


Well, the game itself was good too even though the escape sections kinda wore themselves out at some point. But whatever faults I could find from the game were redeemed by that ending.

I don't usually care for story stuff in games and think most of them are usually unnecessary things in games, but this one was something else. It wasn't just a story being told but it was more than that. I felt this shit in the core of my soul. I might not be able to tell in words what everything meant but I could feel the meaning in my soul. That's how stories turn into art instead of being merely entertainment.

I think it's still one of the only "stories" in games I really like.
 

KDC720

Member
I agree with all the FFXV mentions, and while I thought it was a pretty good game overall, it is super sloppy with its narrative.

Luckily, the last chapter not only knocks it out of the park with the gameplay and setpieces, but the game absolutely nails it's ending.
Well, the post credits scene with Noctis and Luna on the throne was kinda meh, the game really should have just ended proper after that campfire scene, which was incredibly well done.

Agree with the above poster on Shattered Memories as well. It's one of my favorite twist endings ever and the way the game ties it all together is masterful.
 
Danganronpa 2. The final chapters were a wild ride, and really did a lot for my experience with the game. Loved the first from the start, but hated DR2 pretty much up until the fourth chapter when the Komaeda antics went into overdrive.
 

Hux1ey

Banned
Uncharted 4.

It was still good enough overall but the pacing was just way too slow for me ,and I got pretty sick of Nathan's shtick. I couldn't really think of a better ending though.
 
Hotline Miami 2 BUT only story wise, the game was killer all the way through.

I actually found this to be one of the most haunting game stories and I usually don't even pay attention to that aspect of most games honestly. Despite it's absurdity and silliness, the way the soundtrack comes together and the ultimate massive doom of everything felt really 'heavy' at that moment.
 

MCD250

Member
Even thought AC Revelations is not well received by me and most on this site. I can't help but admit that I really liked the ending of both Altair's storyline and Ezio retiring as master assassin and talking to Desmond.
What I came here to say. By the time I played Revelations the AC formula had definitely started to wear thin on me, and it also didn't help that the game felt heavily cluttered by a convoluted story and new, mostly unnecessary gameplay systems. But the ending...man, that was really something special at the time. Seeing Ezio address Altair and Desmond, and that little monologue he has where he talks about the realization that, for all his great accomplishments and deeds, the sum total of his life is essentially just a stepping stone in someone else's (Desmond's) story...there was something really sobering and poignant about that, I thought. Completely redeemed the game for me.
 
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.

To be honest this had the opposite effect on me: The murder mystery adventure fell to the ground at the moment you are forced to pick a culprit.

As for a game that was okay but got better because of its ending that would be Contact on NDS. The combat mechanics are kind of flat, and yet the game has a particular charm that Earthbound fans may appreciate. And then the ending happens and it makes you question yourself about the reason why you play videogames.
 

Budi

Member
No, I feel that people put too much weight on endings in games, movies/TV too actually. Game that is a chore to play for tens of hours won't turn great just because the last hour is excellent. It's still a bad game but just with a good payoff.

Also if turned around, game is a blast for the most part. Then the conclusion of the story is unsatisfying, it's still a good game.
 

Grief.exe

Member
Bioshock Infinite

The game is largely meh with boring, bullet sponge, enemies, limited weapons on top of a two weapon limit, and linear areas, but the ending is cuuuhhrraazzzyy enough that it left a good feeling in people's minds.

I remember being hyped up by the ending, then after that honeymoon period ended, I remembered what a slog the game actually was.
 

Shanlei91

Sonic handles my blue balls
Is Ignis Donatello?
Best bro and best turtle. Makes sense.

Ignis does machines dinner.

Bioshock Infinite

The game is largely meh with boring, bullet sponge, enemies, limited weapons on top of a two weapon limit, and linear areas, but the ending is cuuuhhrraazzzyy enough that it left a good feeling in people's minds.

Best example. I would've completely forgotten the game if not for the ending.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
Bioshock Infinite

The game is largely meh with boring, bullet sponge, enemies, limited weapons on top of a two weapon limit, and linear areas, but the ending is cuuuhhrraazzzyy enough that it left a good feeling in people's minds.

I remember being hyped up by the ending, then after that honeymoon period ended, I remembered what a slog the game actually was.

While I liked Infinite as a game too, the ending was indeed something else. Goddamn.
 

theofficefan99

Junior Member
I will never, ever understand the undeserved praise FFXV gets for its ending. It's entirely reliant on its characters when they have nonexistent development and the "journey", aka meaningless fetch quests and a 10-minute train ride, was lame as fuck. It's pretty much the same issue here as with Type-0.

Aside from that,
the rest of the ending is afterlife fanfiction mumbo-jumbo. Absolute shit writing. And that wedding scene...
what a joke.

On topic, I can't say I've played a game that I didn't like and then liked after I beat it.\

EDIT: scratch that, forgot Bioshock Infinite. The game started off with a bang, then was pretty much "meh" the whole way through, but I was pretty impressed with the ending.
 

redcrayon

Member
Just finished Hotline Miami 2 after picking it up on sale. While I was getting a bit bored of being shot from off-screen and thought it was perhaps outstaying its welcome compared to the first game, the final hour and story conclusion is fantastic. You're given enough pieces to finally put it all together in your head, and the trippy end level rounds the series off and gives the demise of an earlier set of characters a new perspective. I'm still thinking about it the following day.
 
Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. I found the core gameplay mechanic to be tedious/gimmicky right up until the ending when it all fell into place.
 
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