Why Chrono Trigger's Alternate Endings Were the Best

Ойындар

The way we talk about endings in games is perhaps a bit stilted and makes us underestimate the strengths of the medium. To explore this issue, we look at the beginnings of multiple endings, how they function and exemplify their masterful use in Chrono Trigger.
Guest voice:
@Chariot_Rider
00:00 Opening
05:19 The Portopia Serial Murder Case
09:27 What even is an alternate ending?
12:35 Chrono Trigger
PATREON: / transparens
TWITTER: / transparencyboo
#ChronoTrigger #MultipleEndings #FinalFantasyVI
BONUS MEME:
Isn't it kinda funny how in Chrono Trigger there's this cutscene where the characters talk about a mysterious entity beyond the frames of their world reliving its past again and again and it's so obviously referring to how the player is going through the game repeatedly, yet regardless the Chrono Trigger fandom is like confused about who this character is, it's just very hilarious. Anyway, nice to hear about Radical Dreamers dropping for real in that Chrono Cross thing, looking forward to when everyone will play it for like 5 minutes and write it off as boring, but what can you do? Also, we hope no one is super disappointed that we didn't talk at length about Croc: Legend of the Gobbos or its acclaimed sequel Croc 2 in this video despite all the nods towards it. We just found it funny to exemplify your typical game with Croc against the villains in Bomberman 64 and Klonoa, running through a Nights world collecting bobbins and Mediterranean food. Well, spagnoli is actually just a name, we initially wrote spaggoli as a weird expression for spaghetti and then the spell check wanted to change it to spagnoli and we were just like "what the heck". It should also be noted that whipped cream on the mashed potatoes is an actual Swedish saying, although it's a more general "cream on the mash" which doesn't specify that it's mashed potatoes, and to be real it probably isn't meant to be, but most people will automatically drift towards it being potatoes in their head. Additionally, cherries weren't actually in season, so we had to buy strawberries instead. Don't think about it.

Пікірлер: 132

  • @Transparencyboo
    @Transparencyboo2 жыл бұрын

    If you enjoy this video and want to support us then please consider doing so on Patreon at www.patreon.com/transparens. For as little as a dollar a month you get access to our Discord, get your name in the credits, audio companions with every new episode, and more.

  • @johanandersson8252

    @johanandersson8252

    Жыл бұрын

    Whos that little assistant.

  • @alipludepom
    @alipludepom2 жыл бұрын

    I got the secret cannoli ending.

  • @Skyehoppers
    @Skyehoppers2 жыл бұрын

    I found the secret cannoli ending which actually means my experience watching this video is more complete and valid than anyone who clicked away during the credits ;) But seriously very nice video again, of course. I recently played Bastion for the first time and wasn't finding it all that interesting basically until the split ending choice. The act of choosing complicates and recontextualizes everything in the game basically, especially with how the narrator strongly encourages to pick one over the other. I love video games. Can't get that specific feeling anywhere else really

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    It is true, you do have a more valid experience!

  • @iamerror
    @iamerror2 жыл бұрын

    Coming back two hours after finishing it because I forgot to comment: this video is so damn good! I'm actually writing about Chrono Trigger (not for my channel) right now and this spurred on some creative thoughts I needed to have!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Would be cool to hear your thoughts on the game!

  • @thattwoguy214
    @thattwoguy2142 жыл бұрын

    First of all, really great video! Secondly, I'm always interested to learn more and think about games that acknowledge the ways players can interact with them beyond the scope of any one singular "story." Whether that's through explicit modular/alternate endings Like in Chrono Trigger or something like Nights into Dreams where even though it has a assumedly linear narrative with explicit opening and closing cutscenes, the game still acknowledges when you replay it by labeling each play session of a level as it's own "night"... the first session is the "first night," the second the "second night," the fifteenth the "fifteenth night," and so on. Ergo, breaking stride with that assumed linearity by implying that Nightopia is a place you're visiting repeatedly rather than for the one adventure. Obviously not something that goes as in-depth on agency or narrative transformation as Chrono Trigger, but the one little detail alone is enough to make you reconsider a lot about what the game has to offer.

  • @thepositiver9977
    @thepositiver99772 жыл бұрын

    Glad the Portopia serial murder case is finally talked about by a channel essay like this, it really is important to the industry. Yuji Horii is both the father of alternative endings and JRPG too. That being said, Chrono Trigger endings getting meta is one of my favorite parts of the multiple endings as it really highlighted how thought out the whole time travel concept is and I did not think of Chrono dead as a good lead up to Cross, made a lot of Chrono Cross make sense.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Taking just one glance at the history of alternate endings made it abundantly clear how instrumental Portopia and Yuji Horii was for this whole concept, yeah.

  • @MrRaivokasMagma
    @MrRaivokasMagma2 жыл бұрын

    I've noticed when I play (or read) visual novels with several endings, I don't really feel like reading through them again. The ending I got is the canon for me (and the hot dude/gal is the canon interest XD )

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    The hot dude/gal always wins!

  • @TheGlooga
    @TheGlooga2 жыл бұрын

    A great video! It is kind of wild how for-granted alternate endings are taken when they can fundamentally rewrite story structure. Zero Escape's entire deal, as a quick example, is exploiting the idea of the "one true ending" to force the player down the bad endings, in a way that doesn't directly translate to another medium. I also remember that a small visual novel, "One Night, Hot Springs," where you play as a socially anxious trans woman invited to hot springs for her birthday, has a "normal" ending that's separate from the bad ending and the other (presumably good) endings. In it, basically the first thing you do is tell your friends you can't go and schedule something for later, ending the story immediately. The wording choice of "normal" stuck out to me and helped contextualize the main character's personality and the events of the visual novel, which I thought was neat. The bit about how "bad" endings can still be meaningful reminds me of when I first played FF6, and (because I suck at video games) I had an FAQ open the whole time. I learned that Celes' grandpa could be saved by fishing correctly, but that I shouldn't bother and should just treat that as an easter egg for future playthroughs. I feel like it's a pretty popular opinion that letting him die is the 'correct' choice, given how much gravitas is added to that set piece. It's an interesting and rare case of the "negative" emotions being prioritized. I feel like, when it comes to alternate endings, the absolutely most baffling implementation I've seen was Fire Emblem Fates (spoilers for Fates), where there's two routes that constitute as two full games, but the choice between the two is laughably one-sided (should you side with your Nohr family in Conquest, or with Hoshido because your dad just tried to kill you and also killed the queen of Hoshido and also that's not actually your birth dad, he kidnapped you when you were a baby). There's also that third DLC route that introduces the true main villain, which is not killed in either of the main routes, meaning that either a) two seconds after Conquest/Birthright, the world was destroyed by an evil dragon b) Revelations isn't canon to the other two routes BUT ALSO the main motivation of the actual true main story is only explored in a separate DLC pack that also reveals that in all three routes, which are desperate to let you date your siblings because "it's not technically incest," you can sleep with your blood-related first cousin. This may have turned into an FE Fates rant.

  • @switcheruby

    @switcheruby

    2 жыл бұрын

    I didn't expect to see anyone bring up One Night, Hot Springs but I love it. I adore that game

  • @bane2201

    @bane2201

    11 ай бұрын

    Zero Escape is still my favorite example of alternate endings! It uses the idea beautifully as a mechanic _and_ as a storytelling device. You can see how much turmoil the main characters are going through (and, in a sense, "will always" go through) and see how difficult it is for them to attain their goal. _And_ you get an in-universe justification for the mechanic. It's a perfect example of how a game can depend on the mechanic and the medium. None of the Zero Escape games could be adapted to film or music without losing their impact. But beyond that, even if they stay as games, none of the Zero Escape games could have the multiple-ending mechanic removed (i.e. be adapted into a linear structure) without losing their impact.

  • @autumnwyvern489
    @autumnwyvern4892 жыл бұрын

    the audio terror of just mindlessly letting the video play out as background noise and hitting the secret ending

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Congrats! You found it!

  • @filmotter
    @filmotter2 жыл бұрын

    The idea that you must ALWAYS go for the golden cannoli ending is a strange one to me. One of my favorite things in a game with multiple endings and just getting one ending and letting that be my experience with the game. Because like you mentioned, if only ONE ending is the true ending... why would the devs make optional endings to begin with? Games being non-linear and letting players experience things differently is one of the things about games that make them so unique. Great video as usual!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    To be fair, that cannoli looks real good!

  • @MoonSpiritChannel
    @MoonSpiritChannel2 жыл бұрын

    Always happy to see anyone talk about my favorite RPG of all time, especially here. And how dare you bring back Doug Walker's The Wall review out from the abyss of my memory!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    It had to be done, sadly.

  • @miraprime474
    @miraprime4742 жыл бұрын

    This video is also a great reminder of the beauty of Chrono Trigger's soundtrack.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's top material stuff!

  • @miraprime474

    @miraprime474

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo it's still breathtaking after all these years.

  • @burnpygmalion
    @burnpygmalion2 жыл бұрын

    i want to watch this but i've been planning on playing chrono trigger for a while and i don't want spoilers,, maybe this is a sign that i should finally do it

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's a great game and absolute classic, go for it! The video will be waiting for you afterwards.

  • @WannabeMarysue
    @WannabeMarysue2 жыл бұрын

    I always saw the "game over" ending, where the Day of Lavos is allowed to occur despite everything, as the bad ending of Chrono Trigger. I grinded through all the Chrono Trigger endings with emulator speed-up and cheats and following a gamefaqs guide in the late 00s. After a satisfying and legitimate playthrough of course. There's a lot of weird stuff in there, inscrutable joke endings. As well as important endings which flesh out the lore. It was a good way to spend a day.

  • @jmh8817
    @jmh88172 жыл бұрын

    I tried leaving a link pointing to this earlier and YT removed the comment: The first game to call one of its own endings the "TRUE END" was Shizuku (雫, “Waterdrop”), which, apparently, was also the first adventure game to brand itself as a Visual Novel. Unless you already knew, in which case, uh... I'm going for the "I'M ENGAGING THE ALGORITHM" ending here!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Yeah, pretty sure KZread auto-deletes everything that has a link. Interesting to know when the first instance of "true end" was used, we were mostly preoccupied with the throughline of Yuji Horii, so we didn't go through everything in the video.

  • @jmh8817

    @jmh8817

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's also a horror-ero game (and a *bad* one to boot) so not covering it ever is perhaps for the best, but it is interesting to *know* about it, yes. Particularly as a contrast to CT, a game that is deeply loved and thus relatively well known as the origin point of the New Game+.

  • @cthrugrl
    @cthrugrl2 жыл бұрын

    This would fall much more in the category of "alternate" than "modular" but I think many of the games in the Shin Megami Tensei series are good examples of games that encourage the player to pursue the ending that feels most right to them and rejecting the idea of a "true" ending. In most of the games with multiple endings, it's straight up impossible to go with a single ending that gives you all of the content, or where everything goes right

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Fallout New Vegas came to mind, and specifically a post I saw a year or so back where someone asked something along the lines of which faction was the best to choose, and they seemed to have trouble engaging with the answers that were generally things like "Well, what do you think, and what do you agree with". So I think some players might have trouble looking at games in a more open nature, which is probably caused by how games are often presented. Sorry, haha, a bit of a ramble there - Good example by the way!

  • @cthrugrl

    @cthrugrl

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo Oh yeah New Vegas is also a fantastic example! I was still thinking in the realm of JRPGs but a lot of (mainly older) western RPGs probably demonstrate the idea even better

  • @baconlabs
    @baconlabs2 жыл бұрын

    That video description raised my eyebrow so much it flew off my face

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    I hope you can get it back!

  • @baconlabs

    @baconlabs

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo I found it :) Now that I've finished the video, I can't believe you actually put creamified potatoes in there But for real, the editing on this one is phenomenal, I especially liked the intro sequence and the jokes leading up to it. Laughed out loud several times.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@baconlabs glad we could make you laugh :) ♥️

  • @jjthepikazard212
    @jjthepikazard2122 жыл бұрын

    new transparency drop!!!

  • @dhorinfireheart99
    @dhorinfireheart992 жыл бұрын

    Brilliant video essays as always 💖 Thank you for this thoughtful gem💖

  • @QuestingRefuge
    @QuestingRefuge2 жыл бұрын

    Love this! Some of my favorite games are the ones that change to your playthrough. Another aspect I love about them is hearing about others'experiences or seeing what happened to them.

  • @Luna-wf5ok
    @Luna-wf5ok2 жыл бұрын

    This was another really fun one, you two make wonderful things!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @ujljoelle8372
    @ujljoelle83722 жыл бұрын

    Became a fan of the channel thanks to the DKC3 video. Excited to see more!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you, and enjoy yourself!

  • @DoubleDog
    @DoubleDog2 жыл бұрын

    Fantastic job, as always! Now you've got me wanting to replay Chrono Trigger. 😅

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hey, there's never a bad day to replay Chrono Trigger!

  • @DoubleDog

    @DoubleDog

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo Very true!

  • @IfOUGHTpIRANHAz
    @IfOUGHTpIRANHAz2 жыл бұрын

    This is reason enough for me to finally dust off my backlog and play Chrono Trigger.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Have fun! It's a great game!

  • @BRICK101
    @BRICK1012 жыл бұрын

    4:24 Shout out to all the other Bomberman 64 fans who get the Sirius reference

  • @pimscrypt
    @pimscrypt2 жыл бұрын

    I got the ending where this was, as always, a great video!

  • @kindestegg9989
    @kindestegg99892 жыл бұрын

    i love your fillyjonk mug! anyway, i was surprised by how short this video was, but its a pleasing bite sized little essay that i do adore as it speaks to something i do think about a lot in terms of storytelling. i dont really have much to say other than i feel connected to all you have stated here, and this just make me wish i was more of a lengthy jrpg type of guy (i usually am not) so i would just go and play chrono trigger already. either way, excelent video as always.

  • @pinkcloudsnightlightbell
    @pinkcloudsnightlightbell2 жыл бұрын

    This was so good! Bravo ^.^

  • @nicholaszacharewicz693
    @nicholaszacharewicz6932 жыл бұрын

    I really appreciate it when games have a "bad ending" in the mix. How many games aside from Chrono Trigger show you the apocalypse when you lose against the final boss? (Also, secret cannoli ending get!)

  • @hemangchauhan2864
    @hemangchauhan2864 Жыл бұрын

    Glad folks discussing on less talked about topics. Given the abysmally low rates of completions + replaybility not even considered a point, bigger budget games put all effort in frontloading all their 'content' front and centre. Shame because a lot can be done done playing with the idea of Endings. Great work on researching and putting it together.

  • @MaelraJade
    @MaelraJade2 жыл бұрын

    I've been obsessed with a neat little VN called "Women of Xal" since its release in November and it does an interesting thing with the idea of different endings. (... this is very rambly about a game I am very excited about, sorry) The main/player character Xjena is a Seer, which means that a: she can create highly accurate predictions of the future and b: needs to sleep for half of the day. This is used by making every run (except the "true ending" runs) actually be something that happened in those predictions while she was trapped inside a long dream. In the first ending (Warning) everything goes to shit at the end and its supposed to and succeeds in hooking you to try and improve things and avoid this. Then you can get the "Dream" ending (by completing certain character's arcs) where Xjena failed to prevent the bad things but her friends have found a way to help her break free from the long dream and carry a message over to help prevent the terrible things in a "true" ending run (aka the one the sequel will build up on). Even here there are dozens of variations based on how your relationships to all the other characters were. And then there are the two "bad" endings which can be obtained by playing her as an absolute asshole and one version of the bad ending that goes into 4th wall breaking territory and revealing that it wasn't Xjena but the player themselves that has been attached to her like a parasite and made her do some terrible things. The interesting part is all files are still potential paths that she did calculate, even if she can't remember them until Marra's curse is lifted, and will occasionally feel the weight of all the pain and suffering. And the game is very ambitious with how many branching paths there are and how it varies. Warning has completely different music and even mood based on who you dated (and there are a dozen options with bi and poly being the default)

  • @MakoCabbit
    @MakoCabbit2 жыл бұрын

    I'm SO glad TGC shouted this channel, its my new favorite

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Aw, thank you! Nice profile picture by the way, we love Miyu and her never becoming a recurring character in the series is honestly a crime. Can't wait to finish that Star Fox video we're working on, oh boy!

  • @MakoCabbit

    @MakoCabbit

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo Ikr?? star fox need more bad ass females, I would love to see her and fey apear in a .... star fox... one?? but I doubt because of how zero floped :c I will be waiting with hype the star fox video

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@MakoCabbit As long as Miyamoto and Imamura are around I think there will always be a new Star Fox somehow, haha. They just love that stuff way too much.

  • @MakoCabbit

    @MakoCabbit

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo they are secretly furrys

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@MakoCabbit We have been saying this for a while, haha

  • @cgoldhaber
    @cgoldhaber2 жыл бұрын

    I love all your video intro-credits, but this one was especially delightful. Is the audio companion the true, true ending?

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Haha, it might be. It's up now by the way!

  • @FrokenKeke
    @FrokenKeke2 жыл бұрын

    Shout out to my blue cap and dino pet!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    baby

  • @BRICK101
    @BRICK1012 жыл бұрын

    A lot to love in this video, but OMG the opening credits animation is so cool! I just increased my Patreon level solely because I was bummed I was included there. Lolol

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Aw, that's so kind of you! Thank you! We hope to make more rad and interesting intros in the future, we'll do our best to not disappoint! :)

  • @FiveToedSloth
    @FiveToedSloth Жыл бұрын

    Wow, this video was great!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    Жыл бұрын

    Glad you think so! :)

  • @theMoporter
    @theMoporter6 ай бұрын

    While the background history isn’t too important to the overall points, it is worth noting that media with multiple valid endings began before games were even possible. Several decades before even gamebooks (aka, choose-your-own-adventure books) were popularised in the 70s, Jorge Luis Borges was experimenting with multiple path structures, and Ayn Rand (of all people to reference in a Transparency comment section…) wrote a play where audience members are chosen as jurors and the final outcome is determined by their verdict. Interestingly, while Portopia is a “visual novel” in English, it actually invented the term “sound novel” - a more widely-used term for the genre as a whole, but as it is trademarked, the term “visual novel” was coined for 1996’s Shizuku. This game, incidentally, pioneered requiring completion of all previous routes before the True End could be accessed. This term was popularised by the self-publishing scene, with several other influential titles (such as To-Heart and Tsukihime) also using the term. There’s a sort of truism that the descriptor signalled a shift towards visuals, but the distinction is basically non-existent. Rather than being unique to video games, the possibility of branching pre-written narratives was facilitated by the digital format, but also by the fact that video games were - and to an extent, still are - outsider art. The Portopia Serial Murder Case, Shizuku, and many other innovative choices were published by inexperienced companies or self-published. There is more room for experimentation when managers leave it up to developers, for better and for worse. By the way, one of the most popular VNs, Fate/Stay Night, is interesting specifically because there is no best ending. The three most conclusive ending always leave some relationships without closure. Breaking through the stoicism of poster girl Saber means never getting a chance to confront the hostile Archer’s ideology, and ending the cycle of war that summoned these warriors leaves the regrets of both people unheard and unresolved. One of the thematic throughlines of the game is that no one person can save everyone, and this is subtly conveyed by every happy ending dooming others suffering that the main character never even knew was there. While these losses are bittersweet, it never feels like a pessimistic or cynical perspective due to each happy endings leaving the survivor in better place than they were before. Also, the dozens of “Bad” or “Dead Ends” get 4th wall-breaking commentary by a couple of fun characters, so getting them all is quite rewarding.

  • @hugocortizo6993
    @hugocortizo69932 жыл бұрын

    Really looking forward to watching this as soon as I have the time! Meanwhile, I'm appeasing the algorithm god's with a comment.

  • @soyborne.bornmadeandundone1342
    @soyborne.bornmadeandundone1342 Жыл бұрын

    Great video! Very nice way of getting folks to experience this gem. I just tell em that there's a talkin frog and talkin robot lol.

  • @asocksual4910
    @asocksual4910 Жыл бұрын

    Amazing video!! I'd like to add that there's one ending in particular that actually takes it a step further, ending on a really ambiguous note. Who won, Frog or Magus? It's up to you. Multiple endings within a single ending. On the topic of endings and personal taste, I personally have a slight distaste for any ending in which Frog gets his human form back, because I think that being a frog and letting go of his desire for revenge is something that's really important to his character growth... and I just really love his character design. But seriously, what would being human again even do for him? The dude has adapted so well to the frog life that he doesn't even run anymore, because he hops! Yeah, he gets funny stares and startled reactions, but he can also breathe underwater and do cool sword techniques with his powerful leaps! Is it really worth giving all of that stuff up for something that might make him feel good for maybe a couple minutes, but not bring any of his lost friends back? So yeah, I kind of see Glenn's curse being lifted as something of a bad ending, but that's just because of what his character means to me personally. Maybe he means something else to other folks, and seeing him transforming back into a human feels really good! It's all up to you, and I really love that.

  • @Furore2323
    @Furore23232 жыл бұрын

    Five minutes in, I am already planning my Renegade path re-watch.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Hell yeah, thanks!

  • @NotHPotter
    @NotHPotter2 жыл бұрын

    12:33 CHRONOOOOOOO TRIIIIIIIGEEEEEER! I once had to pay a $60 dollar late fee (more than the price of the game at the time) to a video game rental store as a kid because I was so in love with this game that I kept it to two months past the initial rental period. I'm still salty it's not on Switch.

  • @BramdeGrootYT
    @BramdeGrootYT2 жыл бұрын

    Great video, aside from the grave inustice of not mentioning the multiple endings of the 1985 Clue movie

  • @BRICK101

    @BRICK101

    2 жыл бұрын

    Considering that Clue was kinda a flop in theaters (when viewers randomly got one of the three endings) and only really gained prominence through the home video version that stitches all three endings together, one could argue that they are not really separate endings and that it is in fact a single ending that provides metacommentary on the genres of games and murder mysteries. The version of the movie that treated those endings as equally legitimate was a historical blip.

  • @mikhaelgribkov4117
    @mikhaelgribkov41172 жыл бұрын

    I think second best in handling endings is Spec Ops: The Line, because each ending reveals something about Walker and all agree that experience broke him while allowing player engage in how they believe this should end for him.

  • @AnotherDuck
    @AnotherDuck2 жыл бұрын

    Chrono Trigger is easily one of the best games when it comes to multiple endings. Or one of the best games, period. I also like the various location endings in several Fallout games. When it comes to what ending is canon, I like the approach of games like Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid. The canon one isn't actually one you can achieve in the game, but a composite one. Which is usually a means to get everyone surviving for sequels even if they didn't code that into the original game. Also, strawberries are not cherries. But I prefer wild strawberries.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    You'd think we'd know the difference between cherries and strawberries at this point.

  • @RobertHMayfire
    @RobertHMayfire2 жыл бұрын

    Chrono Trigger had one of the best rewarding endings in a RPG I have seen. Another good rewarding ending I enjoyed was Earthbound's. Being able to explore the ending after the final boss, but before the credits was genius.

  • @michelottens6083
    @michelottens60832 жыл бұрын

    So just to philosophize this and throw an ontologically complete fourfold at this, since you got my academia brain going. At a game's end state (being the more intentionally definitive punctuation than, say, a reload, pause, stage switch, or game over screen), I'd say that game can draw emphasis mostly to: 1. Its present systemic state (modular endings). 2.Or it could dredge up a specific, select sequence or set of other, mostly past events that led to this end state (alternate endings). 3.Or it could point out everything you haven't seen or fixed or mastered that could've determined the present end state (score screens, runaway Mini Metro chaos, that endless war bit in Mordor, etc.). 4.Or it could (overtly) vainly pretend at having at last revealed its full systemic breadth of causes and effects, potentials and expressions (Stanley Parable's and Fez's flowchart things, good achievement/trophy charts, etc.) Most games do a mix of those, where these different end state expressions get different emphases or forms of expression. Often, games in one or more ways seem unintentionally "done" with saying their thing, well before the score screen, credits and ending video are shown. Often, an end state points back at all other game states, actual or potential, in a way that either makes everything that came before seem meaningless buildup, or it makes the ending seem too arbitrary. Rarely do games meaningfully use all those inherent ways of reflecting on an end state, in a way that fits concrete themes or drama or such. Or if they do, it's often a weird nihilistic meta thing that pulls you out of the storyworld and drops you back in your depressing gamer chair, being talked at by a tired developer. Chrono Trigger is the one perfectly constructed game story that I keep forgetting to think about, so thank for video : P

  • @DoctorDocMD
    @DoctorDocMD2 жыл бұрын

    I don't care if people think I'm "toxic", if you didn't get the ending where Scrimblo Bimblo gets both the spagnoli AND the Golden Cannoli, YOU ARE NOT A REAL GAMER.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    The harsh truth.

  • @Josh_Fredman
    @Josh_Fredman2 жыл бұрын

    Life Is Strange (Season 1) has two alternate endings, and does an outstanding job of making them both valid-both from within the game, by providing dramatic support for both of Max's choices being supported by her character and the events in the story, and from outside the game by the developers specifically declaring that there isn't one canonical ending. And since both endings are so painful, there really is no "good" ending. That game was already gonna be one of my all-time favorites, but when I got to this dilemma on my first play-through, it wrecked me! Many other games try to achieve this, but in my opinion very few of them stick the landing.

  • @Mother_boards
    @Mother_boards2 жыл бұрын

    The thing at the end of the video, about how endings should be personal to the player, is part of what makes me really love modular endings when they're done well, especially in CRPGs, where outcomes can vary so extremely.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    It's a lot of fun, isn't it?

  • @WTFoxStudios
    @WTFoxStudios7 ай бұрын

    Great video and analysis, I'm glad the algorithm brought me here! (Spoilers for Chrono Trigger, Mass Effect 2, and GTA V follow) I feel like you consistently highlighted one of my largest issues with many modern games, especially when "choices matter" - a fear of portraying actual consequences for your actions. I believe it lends to both the constant trend of linearity in a medium primed for variance, and why - even in 1995 - it took so much effort to allow the developers to include the death of the protagonist as part of the main story. As you said: you can reach an ending without bringing Crono back... where in something like Mass Effect 2 (one of my favs, but I'm being fair) the death of the protagonist is done immediately - without input or past choices - and is necessarily reversed so that the game/story can exist (though kudos for having the possibility of a total fail state ending that you can't import into ME3). It is impossible for me to imagine a choice at the start of ME2 where the player instead continues as the former party without Shepard; the series heavily relies on it (and many other things without consequence). And I held back, because I think merely mentioning the trilogy's ending is enough additional support to that point. In my opinion, it's not just a matter of 'accounting for every possibility is difficult and time-consuming' even if that is definitely true. Personally, I think most developers are foremost focused on things like "is this engaging the player enough? Is it keeping their attention? Is it positive enough that they want to continue playing?" It often feels like every player must be rewarded, regardless of saving the town or wholesale slaughtering it - the scenario's typically a self-contained bubble, and the most you might get is a prize/fight later from a cousin who heard you saved/killed everyone. It's usually an underwhelming, binary, boring choice in the end. The intrinsic value of the player's choice isn't part of the reward anymore; what you need is new gear and maybe a few lines of dialogue from a companion culminating in a "NPC liked that," just in case someone wasn't paying attention. To really highlight it here - Chrono Trigger vs GTA5; The Fated Hour vs The Third Way: Does dying to Lavos, seeing the destruction you failed to prevent, really evoke the same feeling as being "Wasted" before reaching Weston, coming out of a Hospital with $5000 less and ready to try again? I'd argue not. Even the fantastic BG3 is no exception compared to actual tabletop: if you fail a Persuasion check or aren't winning combat in BG3, just load your last save and try again; if those happen in tabletop... there's no 'load game' or reroll, *you must accept the consequences*. I understand that's not everyone's thing though, and anyone wanting to simply relax, win, feel good, etc should enjoy doing exactly that - first priority is to have fun. I just... kinda wish there were more choices for the 'complex consequence' enjoyers like myself out there. Oh, and I think 13 cats is the best ending. =P edit: weren't* to wasn't. sorry I'm tired ___ tl;dr: I agree with Horii's approach: "80% should be in response to the various actions of the player."

  • @nautil_us
    @nautil_us2 жыл бұрын

    This is a really interesting point! I usually play games for the story so I want to experience the True Ending, and I once convinced my bf who's more of a factory/management game type to play undertale. He played it once, got the ending where mettaton becomes king, and didn't play any further even though I said there was a Better Ending available. I've been having Thoughts about that for a while (and mostly use it as a fun anecdote for hardcore undertale fans who cannot understand that some people are just. Happy with that first ending) and I didn't know how to put it into words. But then this video appeared and explained it!

  • @MatthewArrowood
    @MatthewArrowood2 жыл бұрын

    I could tell this one had a lot of heart put into it

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    We do our best to make all of them come from the heart

  • @DavetheTurnip
    @DavetheTurnip2 жыл бұрын

    I have to know what book you scooped the mashed potatoes and whipped cream on! 😂

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Can't even remember the name anymore. We got it from a thrift store and had to throw it away afterwards, lol.

  • @SMerina
    @SMerina2 жыл бұрын

    One day I will get the ending where I understand the difference between alternate and modular endings lmao

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Don't worry, the people who made it up don't understand it either it seems, haha

  • @Lukz243
    @Lukz2432 жыл бұрын

    About the alternative endings, I've been wondering: don't the choose-your-own-adventure books do the same thing, narratively speaking? Overall, great video, Transparency duo

  • @dantemorris2874
    @dantemorris28742 жыл бұрын

    brb, gotta go replay Chrono Trigger cus someone said Chrono Trigger (also, great video as usual!)

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Have fun!

  • @Redskull1411
    @Redskull14112 жыл бұрын

    I agree, the game culture shot himself in the foot in how to construct things with the idea of "canonical/good endings" and "the other/the less". And for me, the point is that...well endings happens of you your choices...and this is how it ends is not very popular. Probably the reason is because...well people do things EXPECTING certain outcomes and boy they get mad when they don't get that expected end. Hell, you don't need to go outside of linear endings to see this, like you never see in a series that kind of uprage when shit end? Or something story changing happens?. They are entire tweet threads about that shit and how that is "bad writing". I can't blame the dev team going for a more safer and probably easy to build ending with that type of reactions if you ask me.

  • @Furore2323
    @Furore2323 Жыл бұрын

    Jucika outtake compilation when.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    Жыл бұрын

    She doesn't have outtakes, she always nails every shot first try 😉

  • @Furore2323

    @Furore2323

    Жыл бұрын

    Truly, the Princess Sausage of the global north.

  • @jmh8817
    @jmh88172 жыл бұрын

    Just got the secret cannoli ending. I'm dead.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    You did it!

  • @jjthepikazard212
    @jjthepikazard2122 жыл бұрын

    i don't like the thought of eating a single strawberry hidden by mashed potatoes topped with whipped cream

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Don't knock it until you try it.

  • @tdstr
    @tdstr2 жыл бұрын

    forgot to comment this earlier but this is like, the quickest a video has convinced me i was wrong about something and made me 180 my stance lmao. for the longest time i did not like it when there were multiple endings in a game, particularly for any game that went over like the 5 hour mark because i probably would not play it again just for a different cutscene at the end. i know there are plenty of games that do offer ng+ systems and/or change the story in much greater ways between playthroughs besides one scene at the end but like, unless it was something about as long as an undertale or zero escape i probably wouldn't bother, and so i was always really concerned with getting the "right" ending. i feel like some of that has to be attributed to so many games that offer multiple endings falling prey to making a "good" or "canon" ending or whatever (and in other cases Gamers fanonizing one ending over the others, even if the original intent was for there to be multiple), but i really should be expecting that a well crafted experience will naturally lead me based on my choices to the most resonant ending--not that there is one "real" ending and the rest are "fake". anyways, this video is great! got me thinking a lot about this stuff and it's definitely gonna get me to try some games i was hesitant on haha

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    That's really cool, we love making people think a bit. It's so much fun! Thank you for your thoughtful comment!

  • @HobbitTanoo
    @HobbitTanoo2 жыл бұрын

    I've been replaying the dishonored series and I think its implementation of multiple endings as a consequence of gameplay styles is really cool. I generally think a choice at the last moment of the story is so uninteresting, and it is just ripe for saving and loading to see all endings. A cool way to do that though would be how the player views the choice based on what information they've aquired throughout.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    The choice at the end can easily be a bit tacked on too, and I mean I think a lot of games from the PS3 generation are guilty of that - probably in connection to the obsession with really daft karma systems. Thinking of Infamous that just had such extreme opposites, haha.

  • @DanielSantosAnalysis
    @DanielSantosAnalysis2 жыл бұрын

    This video proves that Chrono Trigger is forever the GOAT, great job as always gals!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Thank you!!

  • @KingOfCheezWiz
    @KingOfCheezWiz2 жыл бұрын

    Casually dropping Slint and Vonnegut in a Chrono Trigger video? Are you me??

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    Maybe. 😏

  • @NotHPotter
    @NotHPotter2 жыл бұрын

    Lol, I made a "video ending" joke before I finished the video, then realized there actually is such a joke in the video.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    I think that is fair though~

  • @NotHPotter

    @NotHPotter

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@Transparencyboo I kept playing to get the 100% completion, though.

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    @@NotHPotter Good work!

  • @Singformefriend
    @Singformefriend2 жыл бұрын

    Yummy, whipped cream on mashed potatoes are the best!

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    2 жыл бұрын

    So good! A Swedish classic!

  • @SageofStars
    @SageofStars2 жыл бұрын

    To answer the most important question asked in this video... All of them. He should have ALL the cats. Now, as to the Multiple Endings and their validity when there's a canon/best ending in their ranks. I don't think it's a fair question in some cases, especially the 'canon' bit, as, to be fair, sometimes you HAVE to cut the branches off, either implying things happened one way, or just out saying this game is a sequel to this particular ending. Heck, kind of wanted you to talk about non-famous examples of this sort of thing. For instance, Drakengard games have multiple endings, but you won't hear a lot of people say one is better than the others, save maybe that Drakengard 3's ending is golden...however, that's after a lot of swearing due to that final boss(hardest in gaming, IMO...mostly because one hit kills timing minigame with wildly swinging camera, look it up for a trip). Anyway, those games, have an interesting relationship with their ending. Drakengard 1 has 5 of them, and 2 endings have sequels based around them. Drakengard 2 is based around the first ending you'll get, Ending A, while Nier is based around Ending E. Nier: Automata meanwhile combines the endings of Nier ending C, given the existence of Yorha, and Drakengard 2 Ending B in that the aliens are the 'New Breed', Dragon/Human hybrids born from that timeline. But thanks to how each ending is done, save for Drakengard 3's 5th ending, which is very much a mind screw(Time traveling androids, gods of the void, and dragons singing the song that ends the world), but probably ends the most positively for the world, none of the endings as presented are Good or Great. Heck, Drakengard 1's endings B, C, and D all but say the world ends, and yet...maybe not. Maybe you can win, who knows. And then there's games with...variations. Choices matter and carry, but in strange ways. The Geneforge series is my go to there. The first game has 3 big choices that all lead into endings of varying tones, and about a dozen or more smaller ones, each of which affects some bit of the ending. Then the sequel comes around. NONE of the endings you can get are technically canon. Things take strange turns, but the stuff you did still provides context, and setup. Knowing where the characters come from means things in the new setting have more impact, though without needing to be direct about it. And Geneforge 2 itself has 5 endings, one for all three factions, one for staying loyal, and one for just leaving, with some minor variations between, including how you choose to power up, either through EXP or...less savory methods. Then 3 happens. Each island is its own arc, and can even have variations on how they work out. By the fifth, you're stuck on a path, but until then, you're free to waffle back and forth between the Rebellion and the Shapers, and each one has good and bad points, showing you how they operate. The only narrative failure being the second island, and its forgivable for how good the stuff around it is. And heck, once again, this doesn't follow on directly from any specific ending of 2, instead being a pastiche of a few of them together, with the overall theme of, no one won in game 2, but a lot of people lost. Finally we come to 4. 4 is the first time something had to be set in stone, and one side wins game 3. This is necessary as a narrative, as if one side wins...well then the war that is the basis of this game would have ended with it. But even then, as a note, the 'canon' ending to game 3 in this one is implied to be the game over screen enough that there are fan theories on it, and how it enters into the equation. Meanwhile, this game has not only 2.5 main endings, but each one has variations based around how loyal you were to your own ideals when dealing with the sides of the conflict, giving you better in some cases for being only slightly loyal, but not a fanatic. And at last, 5. Game 5 has 5 endings, but they're...not as good, IMO, as the priors. The game has an issue that an ending, IS an ending. This was the last game in the set, and because of that, the variations you can achieve are minimal, and sometimes based off single choices within the narratives, rather than taking into account all the choices you made for a score. Oh, and in a similar thing to Fire Emblem: Three Houses, one of the endings tells the tale of an entire other game in two paragraphs, because it didn't have time to give them to us. Disappointing. But still, each game as I mentioned, in Geneforge presents endings, and while you can say there are golden ones, they're never pure gold. Things aren't clear cut, and the typical binary choice between Facists and Anarchists is undercut by the idea that both sides are so flawed that, if there were another choice, you would probably go with that. Or maybe not. One of the favorite lines for a lot of people is, when asked WHY you're here, one of the answers is. 'I'm here to side with whichever people will give me the most power, money, and status, squeeze it out of them, and then move onto the next.' And you know what? In this game, being able to be that honest is a really shining moment. And tells the player, if all you want is power, that's something the player character wants as well. Good stuff.

  • @osakanone
    @osakanone2 жыл бұрын

    You're going to love Disco Elysium if this is how you feel.

  • @DogginsFroggins
    @DogginsFroggins Жыл бұрын

    Brilliant vid, this is why I like P5Rs alternate ending so much, SPOILERS START DO NOT READ IF NOT FINISHED P5R It taps into each characters fantasy and inner desires so much that it actually feels cruel to get the "true" ending especially because its framed that the state of bliss just keeps going, there is no real "bad" outcome despite it being the "bad" ending.

  • @sclh
    @sclh2 жыл бұрын

    Welp, I guess I'm watching Hbomberguy's Pathologic video again

  • @rylands4289
    @rylands4289 Жыл бұрын

    ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

  • @santyxeorrr
    @santyxeorrr Жыл бұрын

    came for the chrono trigger stayed for the trans solidarity and also because spiderland is a fucking amazing album

  • @Transparencyboo

    @Transparencyboo

    Жыл бұрын

    Ah, a fellow Slint fan. Nice to have you!

  • @stevendillon7049
    @stevendillon70492 жыл бұрын

    𝐩𝓻Ỗ𝓂Ø𝓈M 😃

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