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what games had brilliantly done bittersweet endings?
- Thread starter Sems4arsenal
- Start date
The original Mega Man X comes to mind.
The music, combined with the line "those who sacrificed themselves for the victory, will never return" always gets me.
Also Final Fantasy 9.
The music, combined with the line "those who sacrificed themselves for the victory, will never return" always gets me.
Also Final Fantasy 9.
Fuck you, Vivi deserved a long happy life with Zidane and the rest. *sobs*
Bowsers inside story:
I consider it bittersweet cause it feels like bowser secretly wants to be friends with Mario and co but feels he needs to put on a show for his minions.
I consider it bittersweet cause it feels like bowser secretly wants to be friends with Mario and co but feels he needs to put on a show for his minions.
Final Fantasy X was the first game to come to mind for me. Life is Strange: Before the Storm is another that made me very happy and very sad at the same time. Many Sony first party games also have them, The Last of Us, God of War (2018), Spider-Man, The Last Guardian and Horizon Zero Dawn have really good bittersweet endings for differing reasons.
EDIT: Gone Home too, forgot about that one.
EDIT: Gone Home too, forgot about that one.
Life is Strange S1. Even Before the Storm has a similar feel since you know the way things turn out for Chloe and Amber.
Bioshock 1 (good ending)
I'm glad to see SOMA mentioned. That ending floored me.
Definitely the most memorable of the generation for me
I'm glad to see SOMA mentioned. That ending floored me.
Referring to the first ending here, but I guess that wasn't sweet at all lol.
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I ugly cried. The kind you are glad no one was around to witness.
The finality of the whole journey just crashed on top of me.
When Jin fought his desperate battle I lost it.
Agreed with these. Especially Yakuza and Deadly Premonition.
Hard to talk about Yakuza without spoilers. Deadly Premonition though... That last drive was really powerful.
Also need to mention Persona 3. That ending was really something.
Dark Souls III's letting the fire fade ending. It's a metaphor for the series itself ending, just because something ends doesn't mean it's bad, things change and that's OK.
Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori's score absolutely elevates the entire epilogue.
Midna started off as a snarky, rude asshole who was only out for herself. Whenever you cleared the Twilight out of the part of Hyrule it was covering, Midna would tease you about how she preferred the place with Twilight and remind you of what you needed to do for her with a playful "see you later!" as she disappeared into your shadow.
Over the course of the game, Link and Midna's relationship grows and she becomes softer and more empathetic; actually caring about Hyrule and its people. She still has her snarky personality though so even at the very end when Midna has to leave Hyrule forever, she stops herself from getting quite too emotional with Link and just says:
"Link... I... See you later."
Midna was a better love interest in TP than Zelda has been in like...any of them (though BotW did give them a nice relationship).
Breath of Fire 2 and 4 both have bittersweet endings - 2 it's the 'inbetween' ending, 4 it's the good ending IMO.
One mention of XC2 - Torna - I'm torn if that's a 'bittersweet' one. While there are some bits of happiness in the ending, there's far more bitter than sweet there. Hell the game retroactively makes XC2 itself sadder.
Like OP I'm also a fan of bittersweet endings, typically because they're the ones that make the most sense in some of these stories. You can't really have a 'good-good' ending when a storyline involves the deaths of countless people.
Why did it take 3 pages for SOMA to show up? Yall should be ashamed of yourselves.
Witcher 3 has a couple that fit this for sure especially if you know the a bit of the extra lore of the world from previous games or books. Wont spoil anything just in case some people may play for the first time on switch.
Crysis 3 deserves a mention. How Prophet, or more accurately the Nanosuit 2.0 masquerading as Prophet, finishes the fight the real Prophet started decades ago before fading into obscurity on the very island where it all started (Lingshan from Crysis 1) was the perfect way to conclude the alien invasion part of the narrative.
Honestly shocked that Portal 2 hasn't been mentioned yet:
After the stuff you learnt about Glados in the game the opera scene, and some of the credit lines, really hit hard. With that and the fates of all 3 main characters I honestly don't want to see a Portal 3 if it's going to be a direct sequel; they finished the franchise perfectly here.
After the stuff you learnt about Glados in the game the opera scene, and some of the credit lines, really hit hard. With that and the fates of all 3 main characters I honestly don't want to see a Portal 3 if it's going to be a direct sequel; they finished the franchise perfectly here.
Earthbound
Explorers of Sky
There's not much sweet about that ending. Dude just wanted to go home the whole time.
Explorers of Sky
There's not much sweet about that ending. Dude just wanted to go home the whole time.
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Yeah. Every route is bittersweet :(
I'll echo others and say the ones that wrecked me: KH1 and FFX
The Witcher 3, the ending where Ciri becomes Empress of Nilfgaard.
On the one hand, you're relieved that she survived the fight with the White Frost, and taking a romp around the beautiful winter landscape with her is fun. But at the same time, you can tell she's preoccupied and not really at ease. Eventually you learn this is the day she leaves for court and all the responsibilities that entails. It'd be one thing if she was really excited about leaving to take throne, especially since you know she will be a great ruler, but it's clear she realizes the enormity of the challenges that await her, and having to say goodbye to Geralt and the rest of her compatriots for who knows how long is particularly bitter.
On the one hand, you're relieved that she survived the fight with the White Frost, and taking a romp around the beautiful winter landscape with her is fun. But at the same time, you can tell she's preoccupied and not really at ease. Eventually you learn this is the day she leaves for court and all the responsibilities that entails. It'd be one thing if she was really excited about leaving to take throne, especially since you know she will be a great ruler, but it's clear she realizes the enormity of the challenges that await her, and having to say goodbye to Geralt and the rest of her compatriots for who knows how long is particularly bitter.
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