The True Ending....is amazing (spoilers)

[Yaboze]

I went back to a previous save, I never started NG+. I did the True Ending and it was absolutely amazing. Great story, cut scenes and adds more to do.

The game ends abruptly if you fight the dragon or run away...but this third choice, is epic. You didn't get your money's worth if you skipped it!

The problem is, like many other things with this game, it's actually clear that there is a 3rd choice or how to do it. But man, it's worth it.

Now my title page says "Dragon's Dogma II".

[Mesond]

You mean the ending with a stupid voice in the players head? When DD1 had Grigori and god face the player.

You mean the ending where the end boss dragon just shows up to fight, after being missing from the entire game beforehand? THAT ending?

The only thing I liked about the true ending was the shadow dragon. That part was done perfectly. But the rest? DD1 did it better.

[RoguelikeMike]

Timed content is never fun. Timed end game content in a single player RPG? Just why. And oh, they completely change how the saving system works in it too? Wow, they just love fun gameplay don't they.

[Sgt. Magnusson]

Originally posted by RoguelikeMike:

Timed content is never fun. Timed end game content in a single player RPG? Just why. And oh, they completely change how the saving system works in it too? Wow, they just love fun gameplay don't they.

I agree. I like the Unmoored World but I hate that it's timed and there's a limit on how many times you can rest.

[Mesond]

Originally posted by RoguelikeMike:

Timed content is never fun. Timed end game content in a single player RPG? Just why. And oh, they completely change how the saving system works in it too? Wow, they just love fun gameplay don't they.

To push the player to do better without clinging to crutches. That's why. That's the point of it.

Do or die. That's the point. No more crutches.

Could it have been better? Sure. But I get the point behind it. You pissed off god after all.

[Razorblade]

I wouldn't call locking a large chunk of content behind an obscure item interaction "a choice." I could turn the game off 20 hours in and stop playing, but that's hardly an ending, is it? That's effectively what the other "endings" to the game are. There's a reason people call it the "true" ending; there isn't really any choosing going on. You have to take that ending to play the full game.

As for the ending itself, it's pretty narratively terrible, imo. The function of the Godsbane is completely different from DD1, without that fact ever being explained, which means a returning player has little reason to even consider using it in the Discount Grigori fight without metagaming and looking up the answer. The Godsbane is meant to kill gods, and should be capable of killing the Arisen; why would you use it on a mortal, and why would said mortal then survive? How does killing Discount Grigori in this way break the cycle, when killing him normally doesn't?

Moreover, the "final-final" boss is a cutscene. That's lame as hell.

Otherwise, the actual gameplay content is alright. A bit repetitive, and its mechanics should have been tutorialized instead of being an annoying surprise, but a couple hours of boss-rushing isn't such a bad thing. The atmosphere is great, though, even if the narrative is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid.

Still, I think the game should have just accepted that it's linear and given a linear story. I find it a bit pretentious when devs play at making an RPG with meaningful choices, then not give any actual choices.

As well, a boss rush, while decently entertaining, is just an excuse to stretch out the game another couple of hours. It's a lazy way to end a game. Really screams "We ran out of budget to pay our writers, so here's a beautiful set piece, completely devoid of narrative."

[Metalshock]

I'm personally conflicted. And to explain my confliction would need spoilers for both DD1 and DD2, so be forewarned of the impending black boxes:

I do agree, considering the themes at play, I think the World Unmoored is mostly brilliant. From the first, I got the impression that the Pathfinder, as he is so called here, was involving himself in the story a little too much for the great will of the world. The point of Dragon's Dogma 1 was to pose the question of free will vs destiny. From the first, it is made apparent: everything you do, and all that occurs is of your own choices. You chose to fight the dragon, and by doing so become Arisen. You chose to face seemingly insurmountable odds to become stronger. You chose to fight the dragon again, and win back your heart. Even diving into the Everfall and facing the great will yourself was your choice... right?

But it wasn't, not really. As the Seneschal notes, you were chosen to try and become the next will, so that you could replace their spent will and keep the the cycle turning. You were led to this point because the world needed you to, regardless of what you might have truly wanted. And even when you become God, and choose to end your own life, a choice that finally must be your own, one that nobody else would make for you... that too, was what must happen, for it was the only way to restart the Cycle and enter NG+. It was a beautiful question that never truly got a proper answer, of what someone with free will can do when the rest of the world must follow a script.

DD2 followed that up with asking the question of what that one actor with free will would do if they could oppose the perpuation entirely. If they could finally make a choice of their own, and refuse the part put upon them. The confusion for me lay in the final, heavily scripted fight against the Ancient Dragon, the "Greater will"; why does this not culminate in a battle where we take the seat of God from him? It's obvious the Pathfinder has perverted the cycle by changing the Arisen's role from renewing the will of the world, to merely being a player in the Pathfinder's game for his own enjoyment. He speaks a great story of the Dragon being a means to forestall the end, but beating him proves simply that he was stalling the renewal of the cycle. The world needed to refresh and restart for it's health, and here he was stopping it. Why is this point never actually addressed, and our Arisen never given the chance to become the will that guides the Cycle in the way it was meant to be?

And on a more spectacle standpoint, having just finished my second cycle... I already miss when God pulled off their robes to reveal they were actually the Arisen of another player on subsequent cycles.

[Yaboze]

Well, comparing it to fighting the dragon and sitting on the throne or running away, I thought it was quite good.

Also, the part where you walk on the dragon's back, AGAIN, making your way towards the neck (Load a Save or Give up) was that just given to you after so many tries or did you just have to get lucky?