Major Spoilers: That ending...

[Lightbearer]

Nothing I love more than defying all of the odds for 29 maps, killing the big bad, and then watching all of my characters die in slow motion. This game is basically a love letter to the concept of slow suicide and has the audacity to call itself "redemption" reapers. Apparently, pointless suicide equals "redemption" when these idiots had a decent chance of escaping had they, I dunno, moved their asses and worked together.

Maybe I'm callous, but they were put into a morally gray situation when they butchered all of those civilians. They chose to save a larger number of lives by killing that mad man who would have put the entire region into chaos. It's cold, utilitarian, and prioritizes the "greater good" but it's not as if it was an act that was completely evil and indefensible. I also don't understand why they didn't let the villagers know that they didn't have to fight, that they were changing sides, and that their goal was to kill the lord who had conscripted them and made their lives a living hell. Or why they never bothered to defend or explain themselves to their peers and critics. Their solution is to commit the rest of their lives to being mopey, "I don't deserve to be happy", self-flagellating do-gooders. Just eww. What else could they have done in that situation? Oh, right, commit suicide!

My main gripe is that this is extremely lazy writing and storytelling. That ending was not earned because I had very little emotionally invested in any of the characters. They were never made known to us, the players. In fact, if you want to know more, you need to read their character notes for a couple of extra paragraphs. I'm genuinely surprised that the creators of Ender Lilies produced...this. It literally reads like fan fiction a depressed 14-year old would write because they want to be ShOCkiNg and eDGy. I've been a defender of this game, but now I'm out. I'm not even sure what a satisfying ending would look like, but it's certainly not this.

[Final Fantasy]

true. cant say i didn espect that kind of ending... with all that music and so on....they definetly should make some dlc or something with better ending :D

[Lightbearer]

I had my suspicions this was how the game was going to play out given the title, "grim" atmosphere, and Sarah's commentary throughout the game. I'd definitely love to see some sort of alternative or hidden ending. They had 3 (A, B, C?) endings in Ender Lilies so the concept definitely isn't foreign to them.

[Fenrir]

Sarah giving away her necklace was a death flag, so it was kinda obvious. That and the aesthetic being grimdark from beginning to end led me to believe we weren't getting a good ending. It wasn't a matter of "who dies?" so much as it was "who survives?", honestly. I'm honestly glad it ended that way though because if we got a "happily ever after" ending, that would've ruined the entire vibe of the game and basically destroyed everything they had built up to that point.

I don't think it was "suicide" though. Glenn even tells the general during their talk that he has no intention of dying. The only one that was even remotely close to being okay with dying was Lugh, but only because he felt it was the only punishment fitting for him since he became a "monster" after that day (Sarah tells him he's nothing like the Mort, but that doesn't stop him from thinking he's just as evil for his past).

At the end of the day, I think they did get redemption for their past. They held their ground for as long as they possibly could, ensured the lives of the refugees, and accomplished what they set out to do. I think this makes them "even" now for slaughtering those civilians 2 years ago since they were willing to sacrifice themselves to save civilians now.

Glenn - Proved he was a worthy leader and still behaved like a knight, despite having his knighthood stripped from him 2 years ago.

Urs - Managed to find his lost honor as a warrior on the battlefield by protecting everyone, so he died knowing he was honorable.

Karren - This one is a bit trickier because we didn't know TOO much about her, but I'd say she was content with the way things ended simply because she was surrounded by good company and agreed with what they were fighting for.

Lugh - Destroyed as many Mort as he possibly could, helping the refugees escape safely, so I think he's more than happy with that. Hell, if anything, he's probably even more happy that he's been released from this hell and no longer has to be a reaper.

Sarah - Ambiguous ending for her, but I'll assume she died since it's highly unlikely she defeated the rest of them. In that case, I'd say she finally came to terms with her greatest fear and overcame it (she's reminded that there are things far worse than death to fear in this world, but finally states she has nothing to fear any more, implying she's beyond whatever was holding her back before). So yeah, she most definitely died, but at least she didn't die in fear and was able to join her companions in death.

EDITED as of 12/1/2024:

Why the hell are you giving me a random laughing emoji for this...?

[Final Fantasy]

well u can always kill your characters later if u want. now this game feels like it ended halfway.... protecting some random civilians, what about bigger picture....because its seems those monster just gonna take all the world and that`s it.... meaningless to save few civilians to extent their lifespan for few months just to die happy.

[Rudra]

I don't think the cast outright wanted to die. They just wanted to do everything they could for the sake of others, because they felt guilty due to their past actions.

[CONEJITO FELIZ]

Does hard mode has a different ending?

[Lightbearer]

@Noules is the only person on the board whose shared their experience playing hard mode. You might want to ask them directly. I highly doubt there is an alternative ending since hard mode seems to be unbalanced/untested. Look at their comment history for more details.

[Lightbearer]

For the record, I wouldn't be satisfied with a "happily ever after" ending either since it would make zero sense for this setting and cast. My primary issue isn't the premise, but how this story was told. I think they missed several opportunities for better character development and context-setting. I'm totally onboard to experience a group of people who committed an irredeemable act and want to do something noble, however they personally define it, before they die. This just seems like...we were sort of thrown into their lives with zero orientation and watched events play out. Maybe that was the point? I don't know, but I'm not a fan of how this was all executed.

[GrugIsRock]

I was loving the story up until the end of chapter 29. Chapter 28 was one of the best last stand maps I have played out of any SRPG. But I think in chapter 29, after you kill Harbinger, they should have flooded you with infinite enemies until all your units are dead. I think we would have taken the deaths better if we were in control of our units while they were dying. Or if not that way, they should have had Sarah, and Glenn survive and have everyone else die.

[GrugIsRock]

Originally posted by Final Fantasy:

well u can always kill your characters later if u want. now this game feels like it ended halfway.... protecting some random civilians, what about bigger picture....because its seems those monster just gonna take all the world and that`s it.... meaningless to save few civilians to extent their lifespan for few months just to die happy.

I really wish they explained where the harbinger was from.

[236403mo]

There might be some hidden ending. The number of maps being 29 is strange, why not 30? Also cutscene menu looks like they have slots for 2 more cutscenes after ending. I also did not unlock all archives for characters after "winning", its 16/18. Any of you got 18/18? Then there is this unclear ending for Sarah, as if there was something left for her because normally when they show entire squad dying there would be no need to leave one character still alive and end.

[xBleacheDxSungasMx]

OH MY GOD it doesn't tell you how long to survive for during Chapter 28 (makes sense story-wise) so I didn't get to grab the last item. I was "retreating" very slowly. TIP: When you see enfeeblers and something else spawn together, just run back if you're still chilling around the southern refill point.

[Lightbearer]

That last item is placed *just* far enough in to create that tension of whether you should go for it (you should) or follow the game's advice of slowly retreating. I was able to almost make it to the enemy spawn point until 6-7 mages showed up and I was getting bombarded by far distance strikes. The battle ends once you survive until turn 15.

[Prinny𖤐Wesker]

I knew it wasn't going to be happy ever after but, holy hell, I wasn't prepared for something so utterly nihilistic

The whole game was spent prolonging the inevitable - going from shelter to shelter never gaining any ground.

And by the end nothing's changed. Humanity is still on the run and its only a matter of time before this next shelter falls too. All the Hawks dying really did was make the refugees into someone else's problem

But hey they got to assuage their guilt so good for them I guess?

Originally posted by Final Fantasy:

well u can always kill your characters later if u want. now this game feels like it ended halfway.... protecting some random civilians, what about bigger picture....because its seems those monster just gonna take all the world and that`s it.... meaningless to save few civilians to extent their lifespan for few months just to die happy.

Especially since the refugees just fled to the kingdom that had its army routed earlier in the game

[236403mo]

Originally posted by Prinny𖤐Wesker:

I knew it wasn't going to be happy ever after but, holy hell, I wasn't prepared for something so utterly nihilistic

The whole game was spent prolonging the inevitable - going from shelter to shelter never gaining any ground.

Especially since the refugees just fled to the kingdom that had its army routed earlier in the game

We don't know how much it meant to kill the final boss, did he truly die and if Mort will stay efficient army without him + Sarah fate is undecided. For all it matters there could be game 2 or DLC where some reinforcements come and save her. It's not utterly hopeless.