Finished True Ending *Spoilers/Free Talk*

[M]

So I just finished the true ending, completed the Unmoored world, kinda just rushed through it, pawn basically confessed her love for me, performed your classic falling through sky to pierce your enemy in the chest bit, all amazingly epic stuff. I could have cried, all the pieces were there, and I deffinitely see what the game was leading up to all this time, it just doesn't feel like it was at the time.

But wow does it feel like somebody "else" made the ending of the game and added it to the first. All the cutscenes and pacing throughout the game is so off, it could have been a real masterpiece if only I had that feeling throughout the whole game.

I am deffinitely going to re play and take my time, not that I didn't at 120h 1 play through, but I think that's what the game wants from you. I wonder if the ending sequence is different depending on what NPC's you befriend?

Wow, that ending was amazing, but terribly paced. Whoever was making decisions at the end there, put them in charge because this game needs someone with a cohesive vision. It feels like someone who doesn't know how to make a movie almost made a masterpiece, someone just needs to edit the clips in a good order.

How does a game so awkward make you want to get through to make sure you're not wasting your time, and then want to start it over even better?

Btw i switched from fighter to thief and had all thiefs in my party in unmoored world. What a cake-walk that was.

I almost refunded the game, and still wish I could just cuz $70 is a bite, but this a good game, and like a good car could use a good polishing and detailing.

[Liz]

Some of the plot elements are not easily understood due to poor localization.

[Md3blue]

Originally posted by M:

So I just finished the true ending, completed the Unmoored world, kinda just rushed through it, pawn basically confessed her love for me, performed your classic falling through sky to pierce your enemy in the chest bit, all amazingly epic stuff. I could have cried, all the pieces were there, and I deffinitely see what the game was leading up to all this time, it just doesn't feel like it was at the time.

But wow does it feel like somebody "else" made the ending of the game and added it to the first. All the cutscenes and pacing throughout the game is so off, it could have been a real masterpiece if only I had that feeling throughout the whole game.

I am deffinitely going to re play and take my time, not that I didn't at 120h 1 play through, but I think that's what the game wants from you. I wonder if the ending sequence is different depending on what NPC's you befriend?

Wow, that ending was amazing, but terribly paced. Whoever was making decisions at the end there, put them in charge because this game needs someone with a cohesive vision. It feels like someone who doesn't know how to make a movie almost made a masterpiece, someone just needs to edit the clips in a good order.

How does a game so awkward make you want to get through to make sure you're not wasting your time, and then want to start it over even better?

Btw i switched from fighter to thief and had all thiefs in my party in unmoored world. What a cake-walk that was.

I almost refunded the game, and still wish I could just cuz $70 is a bite, but this a good game, and like a good car could use a good polishing and detailing.

this whole story was confusing as hell to me. Like half if not more then half the story and people you meet are completely pointless it felt.

[Arthur Morrigan]

It honestly doesn't feel like the game has a story until Unmoored world.

[Jamation]

I thought the ending credits would have moved me, but I felt 0 connection to most of the "main characters". By the time we either start to learn about them or start to get invested in them they either end their questlines or the "relationship" that forms feels forced and unearned. Felt like the storyline either needed to be more fleshed out or the ending should've been one of those "Facebook memory" type deals where random screenshots of your journey played out.
I felt more connection to my pawn than to any of the characters that were in the story yet his actual dialogue and "moment in the spotlight" were so short. I cared more for his 4 seconds of growth than I did for most of the NPCs. I almost wish that the final scene had either a riftstone looking out over the water or the "main" pawns we had with us from their credits, because howdy-doody let me tell you the people they keep telling me are my "best-friends" are definitely not my friends.

[M]

Originally posted by Liz:

Some of the plot elements are not easily understood due to poor localization.

I did not have a history with the franchise before this game, I was not aware it was a largely non-western game?

Originally posted by Md3blue:

this whole story was confusing as hell to me. Like half if not more then half the story and people you meet are completely pointless it felt.

I agree. To me it had the subtle flavor of what a larger-scale fantasy-themed rpg might have attempted to accomplish, but this is an action game, not an rpg, and those story elements were not executed well - or they were just half-heartedly included.

Originally posted by Screams of an Absolution:

It honestly doesn't feel like the game has a story until Unmoored world.

I agree, the rest of the game had such an unguided feel, which the game almost acknowledges in the true/unmoored world sequence via the pathfinder. I wonder if that was intentional to add to that illusion of the 1st world be a stage/performance. I don't think that is a good excuse though for how akward it was to play through. The whole game should have maintained that ending energy from the beginning.

Originally posted by Jamation:

I felt more connection to my pawn than to any of the characters that were in the story yet his actual dialogue and "moment in the spotlight" were so short. I cared more for his 4 seconds of growth than I did for most of the NPCs. I almost wish that the final scene had either a riftstone looking out over the water or the "main" pawns we had with us from their credits, because howdy-doody let me tell you the people they keep telling me are my "best-friends" are definitely not my friends.

Same. And yeah that would have been neat. I think the only character I did anything with was Gwyndywer, and only for the port crystal, so seeing him throughout the end and the dragon threatening me with him....it was hollow. Deffinitely cared most about my pawn throughout the game.

[hexentwerk]

I was so confused the plot with Brant against Disa and the false Sovran didn't continue at all like wtf, for what did we do all that. As soon as you're required to go to Battahl the story skips everything there should be to the end of the story, whatever end it may be

[risbolla]

Originally posted by M:

Originally posted by Liz:

Some of the plot elements are not easily understood due to poor localization.

I did not have a history with the franchise before this game, I was not aware it was a largely non-western game?

urge you to check out ddda. in narrative it delivers the dd story much better than dd2. the dd2 localization appears to have been butchered unfortunately

[Raven]

Originally posted by Dethbirb:

I was so confused the plot with Brant against Disa and the false Sovran didn't continue at all like wtf, for what did we do all that. As soon as you're required to go to Battahl the story skips everything there should be to the end of the story, whatever end it may be

I am glad I did not become the soven. Sitting on a throne ordering people about would have driven me mad! I did want to brine festie in the first game. It would not let me!

[Arthur Morrigan]

Originally posted by Dethbirb:

I was so confused the plot with Brant against Disa and the false Sovran didn't continue at all like wtf, for what did we do all that. As soon as you're required to go to Battahl the story skips everything there should be to the end of the story, whatever end it may be

It just feels like you just run a bunch of errands for Brant. accomplish nothing in particular, go to Battahl and then suddenly the world is ending.

[M]

Originally posted by risbolla:

urge you to check out ddda. in narrative it delivers the dd story much better than dd2. the dd2 localization appears to have been butchered unfortunately

Ive heard good things about it, ill look into it!

[Satabell]

I was flowing through the Quest line, and walked into the ending without knowing. Like wtf. Unmoored world had me hooked and wish the whole game was like that section.

[Watermelon Knife]

I agree with how the unmoored ending, truly builds and cement the relationship you have with your main pawn, especially if you make it to the tenth night, as apparently what you see in the cutscenes is the reason you can't go beyond the tenth night.

You kinda see the relationship with your main pawn build if you pay attention to how often the defend you when the guest pawns criticise you for things like running to fast or suddenly changing your plans to follow their lead in a quest guide. But it's like you say throughout the main story, it's barely touched upon.

Growing up with mostly Street Fighter and playing the odd Resident Evil game, Capcom for me isn't really a company that puts narrative at their forefont of their games (Can't speak for their monster hunter series). This feeling is compounded by the sheer number of other Japanese game companies that produce some rather big RPGs, Square(Enix) being perhaps the biggest elephant (more due to their legacy) in the room amongst many others such P-Studio, Ryo Ga Gotoko, etc. And it's these studios that really put the benchmark in terms of story telling for a Japanese produced game.

But that said, you gotta give DD2 it's dues for the open world map design (Yay for no tower climbing, "IYKYK") and the combat, which for me are perhaps it's strongest elements. So as easy as it is to criticize the narrative decisions for DD2, don't forget what it does well.

[Veica]

Originally posted by Watermelon Knife:

Growing up with mostly Street Fighter and playing the odd Resident Evil game, Capcom for me isn't really a company that puts narrative at their forefont of their games (Can't speak for their monster hunter series).

Monster Hunter World was actually so good, it felt like it had it all. I don't think Capcom could ever top it, no matter how hard they tried.

[Khryst]

I feel like they ran out of time, as silly as that sounds, and the whole Battahl Section got rushed because of it.

Like you have all this buildup to find out what's going on with the Godsway and then boom DRAGON FIGHT!

there's no real buildup in having to deal with the godsway or how it takes controls of pawns even your pawn when your standing right next to them starts feeling it.

And yet...there's nothing, no having to overcome it, no consequences of it. nothing. you slap around some guards and a couple pawns and boom no godsway issues whatsoever. Which seems out of place since you have TWO godsways right there. Sure ones being used to try and control a dragon, but there should be "issues" since Arthur was there with his. Or at least more to the Godsbane and how it counters and/or protects/projects your will more strongly protecting the pawns...which again isn't even mentioned or brought up and is only used as the "key" to unmoored.

The affinity system also went screwy on me in Unmoored. The dragon offered me the deal using Wilhamena...but then Sven was apparently the one I cared for the most in Unmoored...no no way, especially considering I DID murder his mother for the ♥♥♥♥ she pulled.

It just feels like they didn't get to finish it and ended up slapping things together at the end.

[M.T. Fish]

As soon as I got to the second capital for the main quests I knew the story was going to go downhill fast. The interactions with a certain NPC who tells you one thing and then another reminded me of when the Duke is going to send the player on a expedition in the first game only to be interrupted by the game's second to last quest. It reeked of there being missing quests.

The first game's story wasn't the best, but it was enough to keep the player motivated and progressing through it and caused minor changes in the world to show that things were getting worse. The dragon is also treated as an actual threat in the first game while barely mentioned in DD2.

Originally posted by Khryst:

I feel like they ran out of time, as silly as that sounds, and the whole Battahl Section got rushed because of it.


It just feels like they didn't get to finish it and ended up slapping things together at the end.

This is exactly what happened in the first game. Depending on who you ask 50%-80% of DD1 had to be cut due to deadlines and budget cuts.

That being said, as cool as the missing content might have been, there is no guarantee it would have been good.

There is a lot of evidence in DD2's story and map that suggests that DD2 is also unfinished which leaves a sour taste in my mouth after everything the director said. Unlike the first game I have a harder time forgiving it due both to bias towards the first game and the fact that it feels like all the same mistakes were made again.

DD2 is fun, I enjoy playing it, but most of what it does from quest and level design to QoL features was done better in DD1. DD2 does do some stuff better (I like the melee combat) but it generally feels like a downgrade sometimes.