Shadow Heart Attack

[The Ceej]

I know I haven't been posting here in a while as I've been busy admining Bipper's site. However, I have a problem which I think only EoFF can solve.

I just beat Shadow Hearts yesterday and, unfortunately, I got the good ending. I was not aware that the sequel followed the bad or "true ending" until I started talking about my victory with some people who didn't know there was a good ending, and I really don't want to go back and play through the entire game again to see that ending before playing its sequel.

So, I checked YouTube and Google to look for the "true ending," but the only copies I found were in Japanese. Can anyone link me to a video of the bad ending of Shadow Hearts which is in English?

If you're going through the trouble of providing me a link, you'll probably want a topic as well. Discuss how following a game which contains multiple endings with a sequel that follows only one of those endings affects the quality of gameplay and story.

And here's the link to my victory thread at GOEfriends.

EDIT: Is it just me or, if you must choose an ending off of which to continue your sequel, shouldn't you just go with the good ending? I mean, isn't the good ending the real "true ending"? Why would they choose to go with the lesser ending? As far as I'm concerned, if you didn't get the good ending, you didn't beat Shadow Hearts.

[Roogle]

Alice was not able to defeat the Malice and all negative energy by herself. It is likely a testament to those who have the best intentions, yet have limitations, too.

(SPOILER)The bad ending of Shadow Hearts is identical to the good ending of Shadow Hearts except that, while on the train to Zurich, Alice does not wake up and Yuri cries in disbelief.

[The Ceej]

Thanks, Roogle. That was better than nothing. However, if nowhere on the internet does exist the video I requested, (SPOILER)can someone translate Yuri's Japanese into English for me so I can at least get an idea of what he said when he cried like a bitch?

[Alucard von Elru]

I can't find the ending in English anywhere, not even ZOG. Probably because of the horrendous English dubbing the first game has.

Game script from GFAQs:
(SPOILER)(The final two fights and the cut scene narrated by Alice is the same as the
other ending. However, after the credits, Alice does not wake up and Yuri
begins to cry. He says the final line instead of Alice.)

Yuri: As the warlock said in the end, even if another age of storms buffets
the world, I intend to go on living, and fighting, for you who saved me from
the darkness, the one I love!

The end.

[Big D]

Discuss how following a game which contains multiple endings with a sequel that follows only one of those endings affects the quality of gameplay and story.

Hmm... the examples that spring to mind for me would be the Tekken and Soul Calibur series. As per usual for fighting games, each character has their own ending, in which they win the Iron Fist tournament (Tekken), or acquire the Soul Sword of their preference (Soul Calibur). It's not until the next game in the series that we find out which ending 'actually' happened, and which character 'really' won. Sometimes, the canonical ending will incorporate one character's ending, and bits and pieces of others'.

I guess that adds more anticipation regarding the sequel: how did things turn out, and what happened to the others? Creating a compelling plot for a fighting game isn't easy, so the 'ending speculation' is a good way of upping the mystery and excitement.

[The Ceej]

Unlike RPG's, which are all about the story. If you're going to do a sequel to an RPG which had multiple endings, you should plan for all possibilities, requiring the player to load the system file from the previous game so the second game knows which ending you got, thus making your story continue. If that's too much trouble for the gaming company, it should always continue the good ending. They call the bad ending the "true ending," which is an insult to those of us who actually put forth the effort of getting what I believe is the real true ending. If you got the bad ending, at least the way I see it, you didn't really beat the game.

And thanks, Alucard. I'm now ready to play the sequel. However, I'll be playing Chrono Cross next. Maybe after that, though.

[Wolf Kanno]

I feel if you're going to make a direct sequel to a game with multiple endings, it should be based on the ending that makes it the most compelling. Metal Gear cheated and basically told us the true ending to MGS1 was a variation incorporating both endings to the game.

I know in SMT2, its a direct sequel to the first game, incorporates the "Neutral" ending as the true ending. There's also Suikoden III where you get to choose the lead character and sadly, the biggest drip of the three is the canonical lead character according to the books. Just to name a few more examples.

Personally, I feel you should incorporate the best ending to make a compelling sequel. Sometimes the "good" ending is there solely for the people who absolutely need a happy ending. But this is just my thoughts.

[Vyk]

The bad ending probably set up a better plot for a sequal, rather than all issues and loose ends being tied up and everyone lives happily ever after. I haven't played Shadow Hearts, but this seems logical to me. The bad ending is probably what most people got, or were more likely to get. A good ending is just a bonus for the effort. Doesn't mean it has to be canon