Sometimes I think the more hopeful endings are okay, and then I remember how they force V to act certain ways, and I remember I don't like those either.
That's fair. I don't usually sweat about that too much, because in most RPGs (or games with RPG elements) that have fully voice-acted protagonists, I've almost always found that the character I'm playing feels less like my own and more like an established personality whose actions and choices I'm guiding.
There are a few notable exceptions, but I often find myself feeling more in-control of my own character in games like Dragon Age: Origins in which the MC's dialogue is limited to lines of text. Even in games with more branching dialogues and character freedom than Cyberpunk, a voiced character is subject to interpretation by the voice actor. This creates a greater degree of separation between myself and my character.
I do get that, but even having V voice act the entire game, I was still able to feel like I played the game in such a way that no available ending is true to "my" V.
Agree. Voice acting isn't the problem, the problem is that the endings re-write v's that can exist in the game into their static narrow channels rather than allowing a reflection of the your character.I do get that, but even having V voice act the entire game, I was still able to feel like I played the game in such a way that no available ending is true to "my" V.
I's just want a happy ending for my V and Judy...that's all. Yeah, I know what you're gonna say...wrong city, thats not cyberpunk culture, and all that. Blah, blah, blah...
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Even though I'm pretty satisfied with the tone of the endings, I think there's a fairly wide degree of separation between 'happy' and 'perfect fairytale ending' that CDPR can play with while staying true to the spirit of Cyberpunk.
In "sun", well for me (me,personal opinion) is just a suicide run that you take because you have no expectations at all and is also the reason why you are chosen. i was all the time under the impression that "sun" is a reference to Icarus (having a dream and dying trying to achieve it, overambitious):
"
"The Fall of Icarus" in Art – Joy of Museums Virtual Tours
“The Fall of Icarus” in Art and Paintings Many famous painters have captured the story of “The Fall of Icarus” in Art: “The Fall of Icarus” by Jacob Peter Gowy – Museo del Prado, Madrid “Daedalus and Icarus” by Anthony van Dyck – Art Gallery of Ontario “The Lament for Icarus” by Herbert James...joyofmuseums.com
“The Fall of Icarus” by Merry-Joseph Blondel
“The Fall of Icarus” by Merry-Joseph Blondel is an oil painting on the ceiling of the Rotunda of Apollo, in the Louvre museum, in Paris. Blondel depicts Icarus falling after his wings melted when he flew too close to the Sun god Helios"
I think that is also know as the "Sun" (anybody with a little bit more of education than a poor engineer can confirm?), but one way or another it reminds me "Icarus" myth that ending.
Nah, first of all, Icarus was actually trying to escape, he just messed up. Second, V can choose to tell the LI the motivation, They clearly intend to come back, unless they are lying to them, which is possible. However, you literally tell Johnny you want every moment of life left to you in secret ending. The V who goes back in secret ending loves life, if he was going to suicide, he'd have done it then.
Basically, theoretically you could be right, but nothing in game suggests a sun V is seeking death.
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One thought, I was actually going to do a little fan comic of, that I will probably not do. Is the hidden "truth" that there were actually multiple Vs. Of differing backgrounds. 3 Vs to be precise. This would require some retconning though, I would have it that only one of the V's had the relic. This wouldn't really be for the players though, the story of V would be different. However thats kind of bound to happen if anyone ever tells Vs story in a different format.
Another possibility, more inline with the game is that like Johnny, some of Vs memories might have been messed up in the soulkiller/relic/brain surgery process.
Another possibility I just thought of, that actually might be cannon, is that the devil end is a lie that Arasaka created for V. Misty points out in the ending, and earlier in the game that those cards suggest deception and a false world. V could be in a simulation in mikoshi, or all the news was lies to make V likely to sign. We never actually see that V on earth, and that would make Judy's message make more sense, V doesn't return, so she moves on.
This would allow an easy fusing of all stories. into the the timeline. If they continue the story. Devil V's plot could involve them realizing Arasaka lied to them, and alters thier consciousness/memories in mikoshi. (johnny established he believed they can do this)
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Still,in devil you don't physically blow Arasaka unless you suggest that you did and they erased it(which would be weird to remove that from game experience)...Arasaka/Saburo status is incompatible between devil and sun/star. And Arasaka is a major component of the whole Cyberpunk universe...
The game also has a suicide and go to cyberspace that one can argue that are equally valid decisions for V (I still think that is wrong to think as a player,is V inside the world), so if you want to start merging you should merge all not just the "v is in his/her body".
Is why I think,that when the story was written there is one end that is canon,which used to be perfectly acceptable and normal in any RPG(and nobody thought that it was "showing middle finger to players" as I read here). It could even be digital immortality if they were not planning a follow-up of V.
if V is actually in mikoshi, saburo may not be ressurected. everything V sees on the Tv would be designed to get V to sign away rights to Vs soul.
Arasaka has been attacked in every ending, in devil ending Arasaka is attacked by arasaka, in nomad its attacked by nomads. Its never actually blown up. Hanako against Yorinobu is big fight, with lots of damage to the company.
the major difference is theft of technology
You're right about the endings and how developers used to pick one for the sequels, but Cyberpunk's endings are a little bit different. Other games usually just have one or two big decisions to consider but here there a few more: Arasaka's situation, where V ends up and if their LI leaves or stays with them (assuming the player even romanced anyone).
With how the game nudges you towards the nomads and how favored Judy and Panam are, it's incredibly likely that The Star ending would be made canon, so it wouldn't feel great for people who wanted to stay in Night City and/or romanced someone else.
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Well, i see that we will not agree with that. If you want to keep writing what ifs(and no,in devil arasaka is not attacked its just the board deposing the CEO in a cyberpunk way,in other endings its just the new CEO taking good control of the company getting rid of the board),then I think that V suffering allucinations while dying for a bullet in his/her head makes more sense or maybe even there was no Heist at all and its just a Braindance.
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For me,star was the most natural as happy ending in a cyberpunk setting.They left a timeframe (unspecified,but I think that bigger than in Sun) and most NPCs are alive and in good terms with V,not sure romancing is the key factor because as you said is player dependant but more if NPCs are in good terms or not so a return to NC doesn't look strange.+blowing Arasaka is kind of the trigger in Pondsmith universe.
But I might be completely wrong(is why I liked the story that much).
PS: just to clarify "blow up Arasaka" = Arasaka NC offices security breached by external personnel
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Someone mentioned that they believe the Star ending is 3-4 weeks after, and in the Sun ending V says it's been "difficult few weeks" so the timeline is most likely the same or similar enough.
It's not a key factor but important enough for people to have opinions on it. I'd personally be on the receiving end of the short end of the stick if CDPR made the Star one true canon and Judy and Panam are already favored a lot, they don't need even more.
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in Arasaka ending, yorinobu's force assasinate the board, then Hanako's forces and Yorinobu's forces fight, mostly to the death. Yorinobu and hanako were the biggest factions, its literally a civil war/coup for arasaka. Yorinobu's room shows factions fighting throughout the world. It wasn't a small thing.
As to my devil theory "v is in mikoshi", yeah thats a just a what if, however it was one they implied, that may not be the case, but you got visual color differences, visions of Johnny telling you to escape, Jackie. They clearly wanted the player to wonder if it was real or not. By the end I assumed it was mostly real. But I would say its... a 15% chance V is trapped in mikoshi in that ending.
The problem for Arasaka is not a 10% personnel loss in each branch,thats standard corpo business ( in corpo lifepath you were already in a feud in middle-management,you were in the wrong side nobody cares except HR that has to place some ads) and most personnel outside security probably just locked inside a room while waiting for an email(except the assasination targets of course). The problem for Arasaka is the loss of credibility for the biggest and most famous security firm to be unable to keep their offices safe from external intrussion.Would you hire a security firm that gets robbed in their offices?Nothing in-game suggests that Arasaka suffered any major economic loss (i know,i know you are in mikoshi).
For colors/visions,I think that they wanted to portray the effects of brain damage for the player(as thoses tests that you keep failing).
That's a weird one because in the Sun epilogue with Judy, you can lie that there's nothing wrong with you for the past few months.
and yes there are really some timeline problems on the end "sun" one might think that according to our LI the elapsed time is different.
the end "star" is 1 month maximum.
and if CDPR took a canonical end, it is both the "star" and "sun" they could very well converge. the "devil" ending is clearly a bad ending very few people would want to start from there.
the end "star" is 1 month maximum.
and if CDPR took a canonical end, it is both the "star" and "sun" they could very well converge. the "devil" ending is clearly a bad ending very few people would want to start from there.
Hmm. That's odd. When you get into Delamain V says it's been difficult few weeks and if it's been months since Mikoshi I think V should have far worse symptoms than coughing up blood. I romanced Kerry and there's no mention of such passage of time in his conversation. I don't think there's anything like that in Panam's or River's either but I watched theirs a long time ago.
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Its that time not well defined that makes me doubt between those two endings. Major difference I think is that in "star" Rogue always live.
True but I think that despite Rogue being one of the TTRPG characters she's as relevant as Saul is post-Mikoshi which is not very.
And if CDPR has any plans to merge these two endings together somehow they could simply go with Don't Fear the Reaper variant where Rogue also survives. V's status as a legend is also more deserved here than in the regular Sun ending because they actually earned it instead of chilling in their head while Johnny did all the work.
Not sure about that, the Devil is seen as the best ending by a lot of Takemura fans and people that who dislike Johnny or want to avoid Soulkiller.
I don't think the state of Arasaka and whether Rogue/Saul survive would be critical in a story that focuses on Crystal Palace or a cure for V, some different lines and character appearances here and there would take care of it.