*HUGE SPOILERS* Am I Dumb For Missing the True Ending?

[Scumbag]

Huge spoilers for the endings of the game ahead!



I just finished the game for the first time and got the "normal" ending by normal ending I mean I found the true killer, and defeated the big eye demon but did not find Izanami .

Now I was playing the game without any guides and I just can't decide if I'm dumb for missing the obvious or if it just really is hidden too well.

Frankly it was weird that we had 2 months to get items and do s links with no dungeon to use them on but at the same time I just figured they were letting you see those final s link scenes before the ending. The game has given you the option to go home before and my suspension of disbelief allowed me to not question the existence of a magic TV world or that the self insert protagonists was chosen to get powers. I am aware that some of the final dialog puts forth questions about the TV world and the protagonists powers.

In my mind the story was about finding the true killer, and we did after a fake out in the hospital. In terms of the case there was no questions left, heck we even defeated a God like being that appeared suddenly at the end like in many jrpgs. Should I have expected a second fake out in the story?

Was this a really well telegraphed secret that ties into the themes of the game and I just failed to "reach out to the truth" or is it just obtuse? Quite frankly I though the normal ending wrapped things up really well, saying bye to everyone after 80 hours with them was very emotional and I was more busy thinking about my time with the characters and the fun they had than thinking it was weird the magic system wasn't fully explained.

This is kind of a vent post about my thoughts but I'm wondering what other people's thoughts about the endings are.

[XenoEvil]

Your reaction is pretty much normal and is exactly how I felt when I played this game on the ps2. I wasn't until I looked online that I learned that there was a more definitive ending.

[mdesaleah]

The true ending is hard to find, but they do give you enough hints. The entire theme of the game is finding the truth, and you never find out why some characters were able to get personas or why the tv channel started to work the way it does. Them also letting you run around during the last day is also a hint that there should be something to do.

True ending is there for those who really look into the smaller details of the story and notice some empty spaces that need to be cleared. This is the hardest true ending in the series though since a lot of it is very specific.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2130350101