Worst. Ending. Ever.

[Gen Eric Gui]

What does Red have to do with Blue at all?  They only met once on that cruise liner Red worked on.  You can't mean Rogue either, because at that point Rogue no longer exists since their psyches have been joined together.  Also, Time Lord is already dead (and thus nobody can fight him), because Blue or Rogue already killed him along with the Kylin to attain mastery of Time/Space magic.

I'm pretty sure the whole point of Blue's ending is that nothing DID happen.  The screen fades to bronze because he's sealed in Hell forever(The game goes on and on about him needing to be the ultimate wizard just to get IN to Hell, and that by going he's sealing his fate because he can never get back out), and they erect a bronze monument to him in the restored Magic Kingdom.

[MeshGearFox]

Shit I meant Rouge.

Also I'm talking about the cut ending from the ultimania guide thing. Your description is accurate for the ending that actually made it into the game, but according to the Ultimania, ROUGE was supposed to win in their fight, and I forgot who they fight in hell so whatever. Whoever it was they fight in hell, Rouge is in hell, fighting them, gets sealed in because the wizards council of hellsyeah thinks he'll lose, and then his friends crack him out, later.

Anyway since Megalodon didn't respond to my post, the reason I liked CC's ending is detailed on page three. Additionally, the text that Schala gives you, despite being... oddly worded... is important for re-cementing the anti-cynicism themes that come up during the game -- that is, the game prevents a cynical, deterministic worldview, and has the protagonists countering it at every step. Additionally, it ties this into the themes of loss, nostalgia, and the...

Well, it's like a refutation of the idea of the unbearable lightness of being. I kind of take the time devourer as a pun. Time devourers everything. And you CAN be cynical and fatalistic about this, assume that everything is out of your control and that there's no inherent meaning in anything you do because of this, and what the ending is saying is that everything really DOES matter, because anyone could be the arbiter of time, or be an important node in the path towards *something*.

Thematically, this is also why having 40-some characters is important -- by meeting these fairly non-important, superfluous individuals, Serge ties them to eachother and to a deeper cause, and allows them to become meaningful.

[Gen Eric Gui]

I did not know that.  I wish I could read Japanese so I could know all the wonderful knowledge contained in that book.

And FYI: The guy Blue/Rogue fights in Hell is literally just called Hell Lord.  I think there's a sub-boss down there called Dragon Lord (or something like that) too, but I don't really think he's plot important.

[MeshGearFox]

My favorite mystic lord was Lord Lord, who was just an animated pile of dudes wearing king hats. Of course.

[Gen Eric Gui]

That would have been an AMAZING character.

[Aeolus]

I just remembered that Sword of Mana's ending was shittier than FFA's ending. I'll take tree hugging over the power of friendship any day.

At the very least Julius had the fortitude to maintain his "I'm a bad guy" stance even after getting beaten unlike EVERY OTHER antagonist who breaks down and WHINES ABOUT BEING MISUNDERSTOOD (even Dark Lord did this despite his otherwise blatantly evil name).

[MeshGearFox]

Sword of Mana was pretty much worse than the original in every way. Seriously. Can you honestly point out one plot point it DIDN'T fuck up?

[Aeolus]

Sword of Mana was pretty much worse than the original in every way. Seriously. Can you honestly point out one plot point it DIDN'T fuck up?

Ahh...Hmm...Err...Umm...Daa...Fuu...Soo...Laa...Tii...Doh!!!...I guess it had Niccolo I guess (but now with 100% less drunken stupors which in retrospect doesn't really count either).

But then again it's pretty much a given that Sword of Mana was low hanging fruit to begin with.

[Dincrest]

Recent Mana games have pretty much all been like pretty girls with vapid personalities.

[MeshGearFox]

Actually I kind of thought the ENDING ending of Secret of Mana really undercut the serious stuff that'd been happening up to that point. Seriously it's like LOOK RANDI IT IS SNOWING !! and credits.

---edit---

Also I tend to think the Fairy ending in LoM is the best ending in that game for similar reasons. The Jumi ending is too damn chipper. The Fairy ending actually follows through on the themes. Ideally I think that Sandra probably should've cried instead of the MC, thus saving the other Jumis and redeeming herself, while ultimately getting turned to stone. And staying that way. Who here enjoys glue?

[bigdeath]

Recent Mana games have pretty much all been like pretty girls with vapid personalities.

But isn't that realistic? :P

[Prime Mover]

Return of the Jedi

Fucking singing muppets!

[Aeolus]

Return of the Jedi

Fucking singing muppets!

Nevermind the muppets. Why the fuck did they use Annie in that scene instead of somebody that actually looks like Luke's dad? Totally inappropriate.

[Dincrest]

Nevermind the muppets. Why the fuck did they use Annie in that scene instead of somebody that actually looks like Luke's dad? Totally inappropriate.

My mom has a theory on that.  In the original, they had the ghost of the old guy who got unmasked in his final moment of redemption.  My mom thinks it was changed to Hayden Christiansen Anakin because that was when he was still Anakin Skywalker and not Darth Vader.  I think Obi-Wan said that Anakin Skywalker died when he assumed the mantle of Darth Vader so the ghost of Anakin was what he looked like before pledging himself to the dark side.  My mom's probably a bigger Star Wars junkie than I am and since it makes some sense, I'll buy her theory.