Board 8 > Name a JRPG where the final act is the best part of the game

(+) Yeah! (+)

...in terms of story/writing.

Lightning Strikes' topics have got me thinking. It seems to be a common trope for JRPGs in particular that their stories fall off at the end. Is there anything that bucks the trend, where the story actually gets better right up until the finish? Define the relevant terms however you wish. I'm sure there are some but none are coming to mind for me.

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Mother 3

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All three of the Utawarerumono games
Mother 3
NieR and NieR Automata


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Omori, if that's one.

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Define final Act. Because I think Final Fantasy X might qualify but I'm not sure what you'd consider its final Act to be.

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Probably one of the Trails games.

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Several Trails games- Sky SC, Azure, Cold Steel IV, etc.

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Shonen_Bat posted...

Omori, if that's one.

Yeah, if Omori (and Undertale) count, since they're heavily inspired by JRPGs, then the best parts of both of those games are at the end.

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Arti posted...

All three of the Utawarerumono games

I've only played the first one (Prelude to the Fallen), and I have the opposite feeling about it

Like, the story started off super strong, but the finale abruptly went on a completely different tangent

(still liked it enough that I'll be playing the other two eventually)

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Persona 3 is easily the best example I have. Possibly the best segment of any video game ever.

Utawarerumono another good choice, though I only played the 2 Mask games. Not sure what if anything else I have.

FFIX and FFX are interesting because I think they specifically have really good ending sequences, but I don't think of their final acts overall as the highlight of the game.

Don't really agree with any of the Trails games except FC and maybe 3rd depending on if chapter 7 counts as part of the final act.
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Kingdom Hearts 1.

There's a decent number where I'd say the final act is consistent in quality with the rest (Undertale, for example), but getting better as it goes is a bit tougher.

Ah, Valkyrie Profile Silmeria! That one hums along being very middle of the road until the twist, at which point it gets amazing.

Hbthebattle posted...

Several Trails games- Sky SC, Azure, Cold Steel IV, etc.

Azure and Sky SC both have weak endings, though Sky SC certainly gets better as it goes until then.

3rd might be a better example?
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Persona 5 Royal. Specifically Royal.

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Earthbound. Overrated game but the final part is amazing.

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Mac Arrowny posted...

Kingdom Hearts 1.

This and maybe a few other KH games could qualify.

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pyresword posted...

Don't really agree with any of the Trails games except FC and maybe 3rd depending on if chapter 7 counts as part of the final act.

Oh actually wait Cold Steel 1 might be an okay choice for this also
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I'm tempted to say Tales of the Abyss. Even though the bulk of the character development occurs in Act 2, Act 3 is just so much fun.

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Final Fantasy X
Persona 3

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Persona 3 was my immediate thought.

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Final Fantasy X for sure does not qualify for this.

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DoomTheGyarados posted...

Final Fantasy X for sure does not qualify for this.

Mt. Gagazet through the end for sure is the best part of the game.

I guess you could argue the Operation Mi'ihen stuff is better, but I'd still take the end over that.

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hombad46 posted...

Persona 5 Royal. Specifically Royal.

This is what I came to mention too. Vanilla P5 definitely not, but Royal yes.

I can think of a couple but they're games that are story-light in general. Like FFTA, Paper Mario. That feels like it's against the spirit of the question though.

I do think I agree with FFX being one.

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TheRock1525 posted...

Define final Act

andylt posted...

Define the relevant terms however you wish

It's debatable so I'm not laying down any hard rules, some games have a less obvious turning point than others. I did consider FFX for its strong ending but it is pretty consistent throughout the game, and as you say idk where the final act begins. Like if it was a disc based FF I think the final disc would start after Yunalesca, which would hurt it in this case, but otherwise you'd probs place it earlier on.

Looks like I have several games to get into! The FFs are the only ones mentioned that I have played, and I would only consider IX if Terra is part of the final act. Even then there's such a long stretch of brilliance in the middle act that I don't know it could win.

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The final act is definitely post-Bevelle, starting with the Calm Lands.

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Persona 3
FF14: Shadowbringers

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Pokemon RB and BW for elite 4
Pokemon GS for mt silver

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GTM posted...

Pokemon RB and BW for elite 4
Pokemon GS for mt silver

conversely I couldn't tell you how many R/S/E runs I dropped because of the big ocean segment right at the end

one of the better postgames though

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Leonhart4 posted...

Final Fantasy X

Some hot takes:

Final Fantasy VI
Dragon Quest VIII
Tales of Graces f
Trails in the Sky (If you think of 3rd as an epilogue/interquel)


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Persona 3

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The arcana is the means by which all is revealed.

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Honestly, I think it's a mixed bag. Quite often, the last portion of a RPG is a long and drawn out dungeon. Yeah, the end story and final boss might be really good however.

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Earthbound
Pokemon Black/White

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Although, I'll go with Skies of Arcadia.

The last two major ship battles in the game are quite crazy fights. The other normal bosses are quite good as well. The dungeon portion is fine too.

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Skies of Arcadia

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Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door.

It would be Chapters 7 and 8 and both of those rule. Chapter 6 could be argued to fit (at least the ending parts) and that is also great.

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Chrono Trigger perhaps. This is tough.

Dark Silvergun posted...

Although, I'll go with Skies of Arcadia.

The last two major ship battles in the game are quite crazy fights. The other normal bosses are quite good as well. The dungeon portion is fine too.

Yeah, I'm good with this one.

Lightning Strikes posted...

Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door.

It would be Chapters 7 and 8 and both of those rule. Chapter 6 could be argued to fit (at least the ending parts) and that is also great.

I don't think the last chapter is top tier, but 6 and 7 are both good. Not sure they definitively top the Glitz Pit though.

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I guess the first Suikoden can fall under this category too. The march to the capital and that scene with Gremio are really strong climaxes.

S2's is kinda good but I think the middle and beginning are also quite strong. S3 is a weird case due to how the game is structured. S4 is just whatever the whole way through (and I actually really like the beginning parts a lot). S5's final dungeon really, really annoyed me and the bosses are just okay.

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7 is one of my least favorite chapters of TTYD. I do quite like the final chapter but Glitz Pit is still definitely the highlight for me.
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I guess I'd also say Terranigma. It has a lot of ups and downs but I thought the endgame was pretty fascinating.

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FFX absolutely
Persona 5 Royal (not vanilla though)

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Evillordexdeath posted...

Mother 3

Probably Earthbound as well. Both games have god-tier final bosses and really emotional story movements in the final few acts.

my first thoughts

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Didn't think I had much to add here but Pokemon BW is a great call

Also Earthbound

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Without question Skies of Arcadia

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, NieR, FF4, and FF9 also came to mind.

Dark Silvergun posted...

Honestly, I think it's a mixed bag. Quite often, the last portion of a RPG is a long and drawn out dungeon. Yeah, the end story and final boss might be really good however.

This is spot-on. I hate final dungeons. Usually by that point in the game, I'm dying to see how the story ends. The last thing I want is a bloated dungeon with OP random enemies to kill the story's momentum.

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Persona 3 or 5 (Royal) was where my head went. Vanilla P5's final act is also markedly better than the several chapters leading up to it, but the first chapter is still the best one.

I can concur with Suikoden 1, but there's no way Suikoden 2 is even in contention. The final act of S2 felt very, very rushed, and I think that's why this is a trope. The writers run out of fuel and/or just "want to get it over with" so they just crank it out and don't spend the same amount of care.

That or there's just too much dungeon crawling that can get tiring. The best final dungeons aren't too long and still feel epic.
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.hack//G.U. Vol 2//Reminisce
Drakengard 3
Persona 3
Persona 5 Royal
NieR
NieR Automata
Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth
Valkyrie Profile 2

Most Trails games (Definitely not CS2 and probably not CS4? But I'd probably say the others do.)

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xp1337 posted...

Most Trails games (Definitely not CS2 and probably not CS4? But I'd probably say the others do.)

not Ao

I can't even remember like 80% of the plot of CS2's finale

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I would say Persona 5 Royal but then that would be cheating since it is like rating the Dark Souls and Bloodborne DLC as the final act. Sure the bulk of the new content in Royal is incorporated into the game as the final act but it is still very much added content as good as it is.

My answer by goes to Final Fantasy X and NieR Automata as a close runner-up.

cs4 act 3 > cs4 act 1 > cs4 act 2

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