Poll: Is Bastion's ending better than Mass Effect 3's?

[Tornik]

EDIT: Ignore the poll, it won't allow me to ask the question I actually wanted to ask, and I can't remove it.

SPOILER WARNINGS APPLY TO THIS THREAD.

So, inspired by the newest Humble Indie Bundle (seriously, if you haven't bought it, you need to do so immediately) I finally finished Bastion, and found the ending to be wonderful.

Without spoilers, you're given two choices at the end, both of which have significant repercussions for the world around you. The logic behind both is explained clearly, as are the outcomes. The choice I made came from the sense of emotional engagement I felt with the game. I walked away with a feeling of achievement, accomplishment and closure.

I leaned back in my chair and it dawned on me that I enjoyed Bastion's ending more than Mass Effect 3's; much more, and I was wondering what everyone else thought about it.

 

[Riki Darnell]

So without putting spoilers I guess for the people who haven't beat bastion is it like a good/evil choice or more like a both aren't necessarily "good" or "evil" just 2 different choices

 

[DigitalAtlas]

What the ****.... What the ACTUAL ****.... Wow.

Okay. Normally people try to compare games that are at least vaguely similar. But an indie hack-n-slash with a cel-shaded art style being pressed up against a realistic and logical science fiction cover shooter RPG? Are you THAT bitter over ME3's ending you need to compare it to BASTION? What's next? We're going to compare it with the ending to Metroid Prime because we could choose how much we compl... Actually, that one works as far as the GR is concerned. While that was accidental, this is like comparing the ending of Super Mario Bros with Mass Effect 3.

Why? Because it wasn't JUST the choice. Bastion didn't have choices throughout the game, let alone ones that affected the entire story. Mass Effect had an ENTIRE SERIES to close on. It's not the same. At all.

I know you're new, but stick to comparing games that are similar. Like, if you wanted to compare The Witcher 2 (still not really...) to Mass Effect 3, I'd engage.

Also, should make the poll equate to the question your thread is asking.

 

[Tornik]

So without putting spoilers I guess for the people who haven't beat bastion is it like a good/evil choice or more like a both aren't necessarily "good" or "evil" just 2 different choices

The latter; two different choices.

 

[The Madman]

I haven't played Mass Effect 3 yet, but yeah, Bastion really did have a fantastic ending. Normally I hate those sorts of endings where you're just given a few options and told to choose (Think Deus Ex: Human Revolution if you haven't played Bastion) but the way which Bastion handles it is just really good and the build-up to that moment was superb. It was a genuinely emotional moment. Masterly done!

As for whether it was better than Mass Effect 3 I personally can't say. I can point out however that there are tons of people myself included that love Bastion, ending and all, whereas Mass Effect 3 is currently having its ending redone because there were so many complaints. Objectively at least I'd say Bastion comes out the winner of those two.

So without putting spoilers I guess for the people who haven't beat bastion is it like a good/evil choice or more like a both aren't necessarily "good" or "evil" just 2 different choices

Just two different options, neither of which are either good or evil but which each have their own consequences and rewards.

 

[Riki Darnell]

So without putting spoilers I guess for the people who haven't beat bastion is it like a good/evil choice or more like a both aren't necessarily "good" or "evil" just 2 different choices

The latter; two different choices.

Ah ok, I have the game I've just never gotten around to playing it yet lol TERA and Persona 4 has been taking up my time

 

[Tornik]

What the ****.... What the ACTUAL ****.... Wow.

Okay. Normally people try to compare games that are at least vaguely similar. But an indie hack-n-slash with a cel-shaded art style being pressed up against a realistic and logical science fiction cover shooter RPG? Are you THAT bitter over ME3's ending you need to compare it to BASTION? What's next? We're going to compare it with the ending to Metroid Prime because we could choose how much we compl... Actually, that one works as far as the GR is concerned. While that was accidental, this is like comparing the ending of Super Mario Bros with Mass Effect 3.

Why? Because it wasn't JUST the choice. Bastion didn't have choices throughout the game, let alone ones that affected the entire story. Mass Effect had an ENTIRE SERIES to close on. It's not the same. At all.

I know you're new, but stick to comparing games that are similar. Like, if you wanted to compare The Witcher 2 (still not really...) to Mass Effect 3, I'd engage.

Also, should make the poll equate to the question your thread is asking.

I'm not asking people to compare the games as a whole, just the endings. More specifically, which ending did they prefer.

And there's no reason whatsoever to stick to comparing games from the same genre when you're talking about how you felt after playing them. Is the sense of achievement and completion you get from finishing Super Mario Bros. inherently worth less than the way you felt after Mass Effect 3 simply because SMB is a platformer?

Also, lurking doesn't mean you're new. I joined before you did.

Fair point about the poll mind you, I shall amend it.

 

[Riki Darnell]

Oh well since I haven't played Bastion I can't compare but I will say that I enjoyed how MY ME3 game ended (i picked the middle option). I thought it was a perfect ending to the way I had been playing MY Shepard. But I can understand how others didn't like the options and how they played out.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Of the two endings, I prefer the evacuation. Rolling back time with the implication that the damage done to the Bastion means it cannot stop the calamity just puts the world into an entire groundhog day loop, and it goes against the idea of living with your mistakes instead of trying to correct them.

It's a good ending, but a tragic one with no hope in the end. Evacuation is more bittersweet, since the entire world is still destroyed, but it has a hope within it that the world they build from the ashes has moved on.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

I'm not asking people to compare the games as a whole, just the endings. More specifically, which ending did they prefer.

And there's no reason whatsoever to stick to comparing games from the same genre when you're talking about how you felt after playing them. Is the sense of achievement and completion you get from finishing Super Mario Bros. inherently worth less than the way you felt after Mass Effect 3 simply because SMB is a platformer?

Also, lurking doesn't mean you're new. I joined before you did.

Fair point about the poll mind you, I shall amend it.

Yes, but an ending comes from the whole product. You can't compare the endings of entirely different games because they're entirely different games with different stories and goals. An ending is only as good as the goal it's trying to achieve.

Yes, because I feel different senses of accomplishment. Mass Effect 3, you feel achieved (or rather were supposed to, if you didn't like the ending) because you finished your life as Commander Shepard. Which is the EXACT polar opposite of Super Mario Bros which makes you feel achieved because you survived (or rather survived the war of attrition) and saved the princess.

Doesn't matter. You made a new person move with the poll sir Experience teaches. I can watch people speak a different language all day, doesn't mean I'm going to pick it up.

Thank you.

 

[Tornik]

I haven't played Mass Effect 3 yet, but yeah, Bastion really did have a fantastic ending. Normally I hate those sorts of endings where you're just given a few options and told to choose (Think Deus Ex: Human Revolution if you haven't played Bastion) but the way which Bastion handles it is just really good and the build-up to that moment was superb. It was a genuinely emotional moment. Masterly done!

The Deus Ex analogue is an excellent point. Those choices felt like they were kind of dumped on you with now warning. No real repercussion to them either, given the ability to save immediately before choosing them.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

I haven't played Mass Effect 3 yet, but yeah, Bastion really did have a fantastic ending. Normally I hate those sorts of endings where you're just given a few options and told to choose (Think Deus Ex: Human Revolution if you haven't played Bastion) but the way which Bastion handles it is just really good and the build-up to that moment was superb. It was a genuinely emotional moment. Masterly done!

The Deus Ex analogue is an excellent point. Those choices felt like they were kind of dumped on you with now warning. No real repercussion to them either, given the ability to save immediately before choosing them.

Indeed. I should've used this comparison.

Also, because of the person above us's post, can you put a spoiler warning on the thread? Much appreciated.

annnnnd now you can post without double posting.

 

[Tornik]

Yes, but an ending comes from the whole product. You can't compare the endings of entirely different games because they're entirely different games with different stories and goals. An ending is only as good as the goal it's trying to achieve.

Yes, because I feel different senses of accomplishment. Mass Effect 3, you feel achieved (or rather were supposed to, if you didn't like the ending) because you finished your life as Commander Shepard. Which is the EXACT polar opposite of Super Mario Bros which makes you feel achieved because you survived (or rather survived the war of attrition) and saved the princess.

Doesn't matter. You made a new person move with the poll sir Experience teaches. I can watch people speak a different language all day, doesn't mean I'm going to pick it up.

Thank you.

But surely the goal, or at least the main goal, of any good ending is to provide a satisfactory conclusion to what has come before?

 

[The Madman]

The Deus Ex analogue is an excellent point. Those choices felt like they were kind of dumped on you with now warning. No real repercussion to them either, given the ability to save immediately before choosing them.

You could if you really wanted do the same with Bastion, nothings stopping you from saving and choosing the 'other' ending. That said what I think separates Bastion from Deus Ex in that regard is the way in which the game built up to that moment. In Deus Ex, as you point out, it just sorta ends and these endings are thrown at you. It's not terrible, I really did like the new Deus Ex game, but it was pretty abrupt and a bit disappointing if not soul-crushingly so. In Bastion however you knew the entire game that things were building up to something and towards the end when everything started to escalate there was a real sense of impending... something. Anticipation I suppose. There was a great sense of anticipation towards this moment you'd realized was coming.

The choices given also made a lot of sense in the context of the story and setting. Neither of them left me scratching my head, I knew immediately what was being presented to me and both options were logical within the story. That both options also packed one hell of an emotional punch was just added gravy.

Hell just talking about it has made me start playing the Bastion credits theme. So good! My favourite song from gaming in years.

 

[DigitalAtlas]

Yes, but an ending comes from the whole product. You can't compare the endings of entirely different games because they're entirely different games with different stories and goals. An ending is only as good as the goal it's trying to achieve.

Yes, because I feel different senses of accomplishment. Mass Effect 3, you feel achieved (or rather were supposed to, if you didn't like the ending) because you finished your life as Commander Shepard. Which is the EXACT polar opposite of Super Mario Bros which makes you feel achieved because you survived (or rather survived the war of attrition) and saved the princess.

Doesn't matter. You made a new person move with the poll sir Experience teaches. I can watch people speak a different language all day, doesn't mean I'm going to pick it up.

Thank you.

But surely the goal, or at least the main goal, of any good ending is to provide a satisfactory conclusion to what has come before?

Or to leave ambiguity or a meaningful message. And again, what makes the ending satisfactory is the whole product before. You can't compare one without including the other.

 

[hazabaza1]

Yes, by far. I actually had to think about Bastion's.

 

[Tornik]

The Deus Ex analogue is an excellent point. Those choices felt like they were kind of dumped on you with now warning. No real repercussion to them either, given the ability to save immediately before choosing them.

You could if you really wanted do the same with Bastion, nothings stopping you from saving and choosing the 'other' ending. That said what I think separates Bastion from Deus Ex in that regard is the way in which the game built up to that moment. In Deus Ex, as you point out, it just sorta ends and these endings are thrown at you. It's not terrible, I really did like the new Deus Ex game, but it was pretty abrupt and a bit disappointing if not soul-crushingly so. In Bastion however you knew the entire game that things were building up to something and towards the end when everything started to escalate there was a real sense of impending... something. Anticipation I suppose. There was a great sense of anticipation towards this moment you'd realized was coming.

The choices given also made a lot of sense in the context of the story and setting. Neither of them left me scratching my head, I knew immediately what was being presented to me and both options were logical within the story. That both options also packed one hell of an emotional punch was just added gravy.

Hell just talking about it has made me start playing the Bastion credits theme. So good! My favourite song from gaming in years.

I agree wholeheartedly with you about Deus Ex; it was a fantastic game with just a few rather grating points.

The sense of pace and the level of exposition in Bastion's story was pitched wonderfully. A word here, a line there, was all it took to inform you of ominous things ahead of you. There are an awful lot of supposedly better developers who have handled story an awful lot worse than it was in Bastion.

 

[Skoldpadda]

Poll: is a chocolate waffle more delicious than a wet fart in your mouth?

 

[Zhukov]

What kind of crazy question is that?

"Hey, which did you enjoy more, sensual sex with a gorgeous young lady or being repeatedly kicked in the ballsack by a rabid mule?"

 

[Dr Pussymagnet]

I actually had to stop and think about the choice I was making in Bastion.

Whereas I felt no connection to the ones in ME3.