Mass Effect 3: 5 Other Broken Endings We’d Fix

WC writes: With Bioware this week releasing DLC to change the ending of Mass Effect 3 because the fans were not satisfied with what was available on the disk, we thought today would be a good time to loom at five other endings in games that we weren’t happy with and how we might go about fixing them if we had an all powerful New Ending DLC Machine. In no particular order, here are our picks (Warning, spoilers ahead).

[LiamIRL82]

Yes Final Fantasy X is on the list... "shakes fist in anger"

[Godmars290]

Can't tell if you're agreeing or disagreeing with the author, whom I'm convinced eight doesn't understand the stories of the games he listed or played them at all.

Could not care less about ES since it never interested me, but much of FFX's bad rep I feel comes from FFX-2 which was just a crap continuation. Tidus was a magical construct formed from human souls which made/fueled Syn, so once the spell maintaining Syn was broken of course Tidus lost his physical form while maintaining his own soul which went to the Farplane.

Nevermind that the whole point of FFX was about breaking the cycle which created Syn and the the Final Aion would become the new Syn while killing the sommoner.

[Skateboard]

10 is such a great FF. How did it go from that to 13 ????

Compare characters from ten and the characters in thirteen XD

Even music, compare music!!!! X is such much better then XIII.

[Canary]

It's not that hard to figure out. After FFX, Square merged with Enix. Then Nobuo Uematsu left.

[Nimblest-Assassin]

Im I the only peson who liked Arkham Asylums ending, but hated Arkham city's?

The idea of him bulking up on titan in AA made sense, because if he didn't he would have lost. Batman survived everything he threw at him during the night, and Joker took titan as a final last ditch attempt to kill Batman. Joker might be really smart, but he is also a man who can also become very desperate when he is cornered and knows he lost... look at his purpose in AC.

And the whole people complaining Batman just walks away, it shows resolution, it shows the villians returning to their cells, it also is in character of Batman as he never tires, and moves on to fight two-face, as well as hinting at a possible sequel. AA wrapped up very well... but not Arkham city.

Spoiler

YOU CAN'T JUST MAKE BATMAN WALK AWAY HOLDING JOKERS BODY! Hell, he doesn't even speak to Gordon. People are more absorbed by the fact Joker died, rather than understand that the game leaves way more questions than answers. What does Azreal mean with Gotham burning? What about Rah's and Talia? What about hush? What about Harley? Nothing, no explanation after what happened... it just ended. The AC ending pissed me off, because rather than hinting at a sequel like AA, they make you know the story is not done.

However, they have been making the AC end game comics, which I have completed, and that should have been the dlc rather than HQ:R. Actually shows what happens to Jokers body, multiple criminals, what happened to the inmates, and Jokers final message to Batman.

Way better than HQ's revenge, that answered nothing.

Anyways, I love the Arkham games, and if they make a sequel, Im getting it day 1.

And before people tell me, why don't you hate on Assassin's creed? They do the same thing in all of their games... yeah I know and I hate that too

[SilentNegotiator]

AC had a challenging, climactic ending boss fight that reveals a twist about the plot and Joker's whereabouts. AA had a boss fight where the boss threw goons at you because he took steroids after being cornered and saying the most clique crap known to man......"I'm afraid it's only just begun"

And if you weren't satisfied with the plot of AC, read 'The Killing Joke'. You'll appreciate the way the tension between Batman and Joker ends in AC then.....it personifies the whole struggle and where they knew it was going.

As for unanswered questions, I'll give you that. But that's all about an inevitable sequel. The most important question was answered; what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?

[Nimblest-Assassin]

@Silent-Negotiator

Unfortunately I am not that up to date with Batman comics, but I have read the big ones like the killing joke, and I think thats the thing, there are many jokers. Im very used to mark hammils joker from the animated series, and thats why i think that he does in fact do desperate actions when a plan backfires. His plan in AA backfired when Batman resisted the titan, and the fact that he saved Gordon. All this transpired after the cheesy its only just begun.

And I think thats why I prefferd AA's story over AC. Where as AA was more of that Joker versus Batman feel, no central villian was present in AC, and you feel like no one really shined. Two face disappears after the prolouge, he turns out to be Catwomans nemisis, for a reason so ridiculous(he stole her jewels), penguin fades out, all the side mission characters feel like cameos rather than central parts, and the biggest dissapointment was Hugo Strange. I mean he knew who Batman was, but he never really did anything to affect batman, other than highlight his parents grave. Thats it.

However I appreciate the death of the Joker, and the relationship between them. They did that right. Im more annoyed by the lack of everything else. Sure the whole back to the beginning (the painting in the catwoman part) was well done, but the lack of closure really irked me. Thats why the endgame comics fill that void. I recommend you read them. It should have been the dlc rather than HQ:R.

What bothered me about Jokers death was his lack of presence throughout the game. He's there for a sec, then your off fighting Grundy, back some more, then your after Ra's. No character feels solid, but rather just there.

If anything, the death scene would have been a lot better if it was in AA, rather than AC.

[MacDonagh]

If I could choose an ending to get fixed; it'd be a PS2 game called Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. In the ending of that particular game; it fades to black with the line "To Be Continued". Very unlikely to get a sequel when the company who made it (Midway) has gone out of business.

[Ranma1]

Using FF10 pic?

Looking for hits i see

[chrispen9]

"Oh he's looking for hits!" Shut up. This comment is undermining the author's work. She is not looking for hits. Final Fantasy X is the most relevant game in the list of games she mentions and she is a J-RPG gamer (if you look at her description) so it only makes sense to make it the profile picture for the article. Don't be so childish.

[DragonKnight]

Are you married to the author? It isn't a stretch to believe the author is looking for hits by using the FFX picture since ignorant douchebags have been whining about FFX for too long because they lack the ability to actually comprehend the game. They did it with FFVIII too. FFX's ending wasn't broken at all. People were just upset that it wasn't the fairytale happy ending they wanted it to be. The whining over FFX is unjustified. From the laughing scene, which was made to be deliberately awkward, to the supposed "broken" ending.

It's like people accept the entire premise of the game, even up to the point it's revealed Tidus isn't a "real" person, but get to the part where he fades away and "omg, dis iz teh worstest ending evar." Like shut up.

[chrispen9]

I'm not married to her... I'm just annoyed at this obnoxious crap that people say. Anyway, it's always a matter of opinion when it comes to broken endings in games. Personally, I do not agree Final Fantasy X had a broken ending but she still has the right to use FF as the picture for the article. What do you expect? Do you want her to place a picture of Eternal Sonata on there? Not many people connect with that game. Do people relate to Final Fantasy X? Yes. That's the right choice. The whole idea of a profile picture is to attract people of that certain genre and she wants to focus on that demographic. It isn't hit grabbing, its freaking common sense.

[DragonKnight]

Contrary to what you might think, most people choose pictures that either have to do with the theme of what they are writing, or (likely in this case) what they perceive to be the best example of what they are speaking of. Almost never does it have to do with choosing an image anyone else relates to. The author chose FFX because she felt it was the best example for what she was talking about, plain and simple. It's quite clear she lacks the understanding of anything in FFX despite allegedly being an RPG fan. Everything she says about FFX is so wrong I could make an entire article about just that alone.

3 pages to talk about 5 games also smacks of hit mongering, especially when there is such a small paragraph used for each game. She invalidates herself in practically everything she says. It may be a matter of opinion about what is or isn't a broken game; but when you're talking about why you believe it is such a broken experience, it helps to be correct about the build up to it too, which she's not.

I find it hard to believe that it could be hard to believe someone could actually be searching for hits. The entire gaming media is built on it, and no site is immune no matter how small. In fact, the very premise of a Top 5 list is purely about getting hits. They are designed to rile up opposing opinions, get people to see the selections and talk (fight) about what was chosen.

[Fyflin]

Human revolution gets my vote. Awesome game but pretty much exactly the same ending structure as ME3.

[Cerberus29]

I never thought about it, but they do have really similar ending structure. Human Revolution was still an awesome game though.

[Fyflin]

Both games must have gotten to a point where they were too ambitious and couldn't back it up. I want an ending to be reflected on my whole experience of playing the game, rather than the last decision I make that takes up the last 30 seconds of a game, especially when the game (in ME3's case) is collectively about 60 hours+ long.

[WeTheBelievers]

Deus Ex: HR takes my vote. The concept and story were so well developed yet by making your last choice be at the stake of a bush of a button, felt so lazy. I'm all for choices affecting conclusions nowadays but only if it's conjunctional with gameplay from the start i.e. Dragon Age: Origins

[aliengmr]

Those aren't "broken" endings. They may not have been the best but they didn't break fundamental rules of storytelling. ME3 was literally broken. There are rules in storytelling for a reason and BioWare broke nearly all of them. From the "beam run" on it was a complete mess. Whats worse is the fact we know what they are capable of. They spend the previous 90% of the game showing us. (yes, the Anderson dialog was great, but it doesn't make up for the space-brat.)

Not "liking" an ending isn't the same as an ending being broken. ME3 was broken. Plain and simple. You don't end a very "lore-heavy" trilogy with more questions than answers.

Only ME3 belongs on that list IMO.

[theEx1Le]

Once again the ending of FFX goes over the head of another person. Its a great concept with excellent execution, with denial often being the main reason that someone doesn't understand it. Human Revolution I may agree with though.

[WagFanger]

Completely wrong about BG&E. It was planned as part one of a trilogy. It only never got a sequel due to poor sales