SPOILER! "Happy" Ending.

[Voltarion]

Hi all. I just finished the game for the second time (after the first run I just couldn't let it be like this) and get for the "fulfilling endning". No surprise, it hit just as normal ending would. But then I did some thinking and I figured out, that it actually was a happy ending. Here's why.

Yeah, so many people say (as I've read on reddit or TVtropes) that this ending is not good, because all the girls are left with their problems - Sayori with her depression, Natsuki with abusing father and Yuri with her cutting compulsion. Well, I call bull♥♥♥♥♥♥ I will explain it using poems as periodisation.

Sayori
On day 2. Sayori asks MC to go wth her to buy some snacks and he calls her bluff. What does it mean? It means he knows her real well. In that case, wouldn't he find out about her depression much earlier? It was mentioned that she was always happy and enthusiastic and she never acted that way before. I believe that since day 3 Monika was manipulating her - Sayori's poem "Bottles" is a first sign of depression kicking in, and the MC points out that it's totally not like her. Well, yeah, because her depression was Monika-induced.

Natsuke
There are hints that her father is an abusive alcoholic and child molester. Well, I say that only after Monika's intervention. There is an analysis (on the TVtropes, I guess) of "Things I like about Papa" that states the poem is a record of Monika's manipulations and wayward spiral she pushed Natsuki's home life into (starting day 3, when she clearly states that she had a very bad day).
But evidence shows, it wasn't so bad. It was brught up that she had supplies to bake cupcakes, she brought two cookies to school and in the finale of her route she says, she can't eat a cupcake, because her father is making a dinner and she has to eat everything. Not your typical child neglecter, I guess.
What I think is: Natsuki's father is a single parent, hence the mother is never mentioned and she says, he is making the dinner, so either her parents are very liberal and they take turns (but, if it were true, why her father would be so controlling?), or she has no mother: she either left, or died. It must be very hard to be a single father to an adolescent girl, he must work hard to support her and he probably wants to bring her up well, but is very stressed and tense, but at this point - before Monika's tricks - he wants well for her.

I can't say much about Yuri, because she is my least favourite charcter, but I guess she also handles herself quite well, given the circumstances.


OK, having this more or less explained, let's proceed to why I think this is a good ending. My answer is: the MC. In DDLC you don't actually play - you can't influence the game much - you are basically taken for the ride. You have some choices, but you don't influence what the MC says nearly at all. And from what I saw, I guess that's quite a decent guy: he treats all the girls good (what Sayori points out) and is nice and considerable for them. But he still is a character in the game. You, as a player, give him unique opportunity: to help all the girls to be happy. Since, it's a game, you can't change it completely, but by going for the "fulfilling ending", you make as much as one could in given circumstances.

So, what I basically say, in this ending you get rid of Monika and her manipulations and restore the game's world to point zero: notice, how the girls are nicer to themselves and the MC willingly joins DDLC and is noticeably nicer to Sayori, so probably he was manipulated by Monika as well. Of course, the would have problems, Sayori probably would be more melancholical, than it shows and Natsuki's father still would be quite strict to her. But it's just life. And even though the game ends, the MC - who, as I stated above, is quite a decent guy - stays there as well. Only people left bhind is Monika and you, the player. Game ends and your job here is done. Yeah, it's bittersweet, but who said that good deeds won't make you feel sad?

Anyway, thanks for reading this.

[Dynamic]

Their is a literal happy ending where no one is deleted (excluding monika) although it takes a while. You, as the game states, have to make everyone happy in one go. My sugestion? save right before you right poems, and every time you get to sayori's death day imediatly reload and make poems of only ONE character, then rinse and repeat until you did all 3. then play as normal!

[Rakdos28]

Thanks man, I needed to read something like this to assure myself I wasn't the only one thinking in the same direction. I feel like the girls will be able to take care of themselves and lead a happy life after the fulfilling ending, without being manipulated and all - one might even get lucky with the character we players were portraying.

DDLC gets a 10/10 in my book, I applaud the developer for telling such an emotional story and letting everybody read/play through it for free.

[Dynamic]

I noticed that you says it ends in the room with monika. It does not. fire the game up, delete her character file while with her, let the dialoge play, then restart the game to get the finished ending which, in its own way, is a nice ending. If I simply misread what you said please let me know. If not please tell me your response/opinion afterwards.

[Dynamic]

was it something I said?