PsFantasy.com Forums - View Single Post - *EXTREME SPOILER* Do the ends justify the means?

Spank-A-Thon · Apr 23rd, 2004, 07:31 AM

Hmmm, a tricky question... Endings huh? I guess first we have to analyse what an 'ending' is.

v. end·ed, end·ing, ends

v. tr.
To bring to a conclusion.
To form the last or concluding part of: the song that ended the performance.
To destroy: ended our hopes.

v. intr.
To come to a finish; cease.
To arrive at a place, situation, or condition as a result of a course of action. Often used with up: He ended up as an advisor to the president. The painting ended up being sold for a million dollars.
To die.

I take this to imply that an ending is something that brings your actions to a conclusion of some kind. You know why you did something and what you have done.

The style of ending, i.e. whether it be happy or sad does not affect whether an ending is good or not. I wouldn't say the ending to FFX is particuarly happy (I thought it was quite sad to be honest) but I would say it was a good ending. Why? I had a sense of closure, completion - I knew why I had been doing what I did. The fact that there were questions left open does not mean an ending is bad.

For example, at the end of VII we are left wondering if the human race survived - this has no relevance to the story that preceded it - it merely gives us something to think about after the event.

A bad ending is one that doesn't tell you anything. A bad ending is one that makes you wonder what the hell you've just spent the last 50 hours doing.

To be honest, I don't think the ending has that much influence on spending 50+ hours on a FF game - the game itself has more relevance.

I though Final Fantasy VIII had a fine ending - for the whole part I was satisfied with the conclusion. The problem I had with FFVIII was the preceding 50+ hours. Whether it has a great or poor ending does not influence my opinion that it's not a good game.

Conversely I love FFVII - and a bad ending wouldn't change the fact that the 50 hours I spent getting there were fun and enjoyable.

I think an ending is the cherry on an Ice Cream sundae - it has an effect only if the rest is good.

- S

Apr 23rd, 2004, 07:31 AM	#2
Spank-A-Thon Carpe Diem Baby! Joined: Jan 2002 Location: Liverpool, UK Age: 49 Posts: 664	Hmmm, a tricky question... Endings huh? I guess first we have to analyse what an 'ending' is. *v. end·ed, end·ing, ends* v. tr. To bring to a conclusion. To form the last or concluding part of: the song that ended the performance. To destroy: ended our hopes. v. intr. To come to a finish; cease. To arrive at a place, situation, or condition as a result of a course of action. Often used with up: He ended up as an advisor to the president. The painting ended up being sold for a million dollars. To die. I take this to imply that an ending is something that brings your actions to a conclusion of some kind. You know why you did something and what you have done. The style of ending, i.e. whether it be happy or sad does not affect whether an ending is good or not. I wouldn't say the ending to FFX is particuarly happy (I thought it was quite sad to be honest) but I would say it was a good ending. Why? I had a sense of closure, completion - I knew why I had been doing what I did. The fact that there were questions left open does not mean an ending is bad. For example, at the end of VII we are left wondering if the human race survived - this has no relevance to the story that preceded it - it merely gives us something to think about after the event. A bad ending is one that doesn't tell you anything. A bad ending is one that makes you wonder what the hell you've just spent the last 50 hours doing. To be honest, I don't think the ending has that much influence on spending 50+ hours on a FF game - the game itself has more relevance. I though Final Fantasy VIII had a fine ending - for the whole part I was satisfied with the conclusion. The problem I had with FFVIII was the preceding 50+ hours. Whether it has a great or poor ending does not influence my opinion that it's not a good game. Conversely I love FFVII - and a bad ending wouldn't change the fact that the 50 hours I spent getting there were fun and enjoyable. I think an ending is the cherry on an Ice Cream sundae - it has an effect only if the rest is good. - S __________________

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