>> Reasons why the ending failed miserably.(spoilers)

[black orb]

>>> Ok, the game had its flaws but it was fun to play at times. But the WTF?! ending I just saw today is another story. Is not just the worst FF ending ever, this is probably one of the worst endings in the history of RPGs..

I`ll post my reasons why the ending sucked later because i dont have time right now..

By the time, lets discuss why this is the worst ending ever..

[Jessweeee♪]

This was probably the only part of the game I wasn't 100% satisfied with. Realistically there is no happy ending for the six main characters. They should not have woken up from their crystal state. Fang and Vanille didn't wake up until centuries later and only when they had another Focus to do (or if I'm remembering correctly, they were interrupted the first time and had to finish the first focus). I'm not too upset with it though. I became very attached to these characters and it made me feel warm and fuzzy. So it wasn't bad, but it could have been better.

[Iwrestledabearonce]

I didn't find this ending to be bad at all, actually... Of course, it wasn't the best, but it wasn't awful either. I found it to be a good, and nice conclusion to the game, because the entire game you're so eager to find out if they actually complete their focus, and when you find out it's to destroy cocoon, you wonder if they actually do or not. I was very happy to see cocoon saved, and nearly freaked out when Dahj and Serah came back. I also freaked out when Lightning, Snow, Hope, and Sazh turned into ci'eth, and at first I thougth they would be like that forever... I dunno, I just loved the ending scenes, and I don't find anythign awful about it at all.

[VeloZer0]

Ignoring what a bunch of Dus Ex Machina it was (which isn't exactly unprecedented in game endings) I couldn't get my head around the fact that civilization had been thrown down to earth, almost reduced to the stone age in an incredibly hostile environment that had caused humans to go extinct once again, and would rightfully blame and hate the party for what had transpired. But Snow thinks it's a great time to plan a wedding.

The ending spouts off like it is happily ever after, when really it seems like the end of humanity to me.

[Eagle299]

Ignoring what a bunch of Dus Ex Machina it was (which isn't exactly unprecedented in game endings) I couldn't get my head around the fact that civilization had been thrown down to earth, almost reduced to the stone age in an incredibly hostile environment that had caused humans to go extinct once again, and would rightfully blame and hate the party for what had transpired. But Snow thinks it's a great time to plan a wedding.

The ending spouts off like it is happily ever after, when really it seems like the end of humanity to me.

Well, its unlikely that its been reduced to Stone Age. Obviously the technology of the people of Cocoon was still working, they were using it to evacuate. There would certainly be a rebuilding period, though. The enviornment is not entirely to blame for what happened to the people of Gran Pulse, though. Alot of it had to do with the Pulse Fal'Cie getting l'Cie happy anytime some creature got out of line, hence the Cei'th Stone missions. By the end of the game, it seemed like most of the Pulse Fal'Cie had been either eliminated or at least subjegated by the party (Atomos). There was still Titan, ofcourse, but he seemed more neutral to it all. So its unlikely the extinction could repeat itself. Especially since the people of Cocoon seem far more technologically advanced than the people of Pulse ever were.

It will be an adjustment, but I think it would ultimately benefit the people to be forced to survive without being coddled by Fal'Cie.

[VeloZer0]

Stone Age was a bit of an exaggeration, but they are so dependent on the Fal'Cie it isn't even funny. They have no more power sources, and it is even mentioned that they rely on Fal'Cie to provide food for them. It is as Lightning says, they are like pets. How well do you think domesticated pets will fair when released into a wild environment that caused your wild counterparts to go extinct?
We even have cut scenes that show us that Cocoon's military is no match to native Pulse wildlife.

I find it doubtful that the Pulse Fal'Cie made hundreds of millions of people into l'Cie. It was more the over taping of humans into l'Cie that made them fearful and spread out to avoid Fal'Cie. Because of this they were less able to withstand environmental difficulties. And I don't think the citizens of Cocoon are more likely to fear Pulse Fal'Cie if anything.

And even if civilization is 100% A-OK you still have to contend with the fact that they would all want the party dead.

[Wolf Kanno]

You rarely met any of Pulse fal'Cie and according to the hidden texts and Ultimania, the people of Pulse were wiped out from Civil war and the Pulse fal'Cie turning everyone they came across into l'Cie to do pointless tasks.

Also, considering that Pulse has had several hundred years to make the planet scape a bit brutal to all but the most stocky of creatures. Your own party only gets by cause they were l'Cie which more than enough to take out most of PSICOM. There is also the issue of the fal'Cie all being in on the plan to wipe humanity out; seeing as how the DataLog mentions that Cocoon l'Cie can't harm Eden or Orphan meaning it could only be done by a Pulse l'Cie. The whole ending should technically be a downer cause all the party accomplished was that humanity would die a slow death over a a quick one.

I would also like to point out the Deus Ex Machinas are in fact a little more irritating than previous games. (SPOILER)It really does come out of nowhere. Not only should the party been turn to crystal, seeing as how Anima's fate either way suggests they should have changed. Not to mention Fang and Vanille pulling a victory out of their ass with Ragnarok and the power of love... They could have at least fed us some silly story about the Maker intervening to make this all happen but we don't even get that...

The ending was awful and it was all done to make it have a somewhat happy ending (I'm sure Vanille and Fang are pretty happy with their fates so don't try to say it was sad for them ) and that's some serious Disney kinda crap. I have more respect for FFX now cause it at least had the stones to give the player a truly bittersweet ending.

[Ouch!]

The one interesting thing about Final Fantasy XIII's plot was that it was building the characters into a truly impossible situation (although I didn't really care for the excessive melodrama that accompanied this). However, the end proved that Square Enix was unable or unwilling to commit to the story it set out to tell. What began as a dilemma which could potentially set Final Fantasy XIII apart from other titles ended up being more of the same. However, this only serves to emphasize the disappointment.

I'll agree with Kanno in praising FFX (which isn't something often do); at least there was commitment to the sacrifice that the story necessitated, and it was done very well. That is, of course, ignoring the existence of FFX-2, which damn near erases any emotional impact FFX's ending had. But I try to ignore FFX-2's existence anyway.