Persona's Bad Endings are DARK...

[@bubbletea_]

i've made a video on the good endings of persona too. check it out: 😬 kzbin.info/www/bejne/qHfCiouiobh6Y68 🖤 www.patreon.com/bubbletea_

[@lumocite9870]

After one of your least viewed videos, you get your most viewed. Isn't that something lol. Good video and will be looking forward to future content.

[@k41511]

What’s the song in the background of Persona 2 Innocent Sin?

[@greenghoul157]

Bro the happiest ending you can get in Persona 3 is the protagonist dying

[@tristanraine]

To be fair, the entire team were literally fully expecting it to be a suicide mission. The protag was fully expecting to sacrifice himself to save the entire world. That's better then an extra few moments for a unknown death for everyone.

[@alwaysangry2232]

at least hsi sacrifice meant something, persona 2 is the bad ending, you get revenge but still doomed to die alone on a dead world husk

[@kenm.a.d.7196]

It was still getting all the edginess from the first two games out of it's system

[@Shinekage]

Well he has hot immortal godlike elevator girl hellbent on rescuing his soul so its not all bad.

[@joemarais7683]

He’s not dead, just doing the important job in the world forever

[@tristanraine]

I loved P5Rs false reality ending. It's done so well that it feels like you could leave the game there, but you shouldn't. It shows that ATLUS really went all in to show the ending of everyone's lives being what they wanted from their beginning. However, this could be seen in another way. Maruki, now controlling everyone, now no longer has a place in his own reality, since no one remembers him, no one cares except of what they wanted. So technically, its a bad ending for him too, what he wanted might have been his hubris that took him down another path of loneliness. But that's me taking on a massive theory.

[@BigKlingy]

I completely agree about it being bad for Maruki. In my view though, it's a dark reflection on his selflessness. Maruki is SO selfless that in his ideal reality, nobody knows he exists. It's the ultimate example of "spending so much time caring for others you forget to take care of yourself."

[@tristanraine]

@@BigKlingy this is indicated of the loss of his lover, by making everyone happy, he's just making himself more detached. I like your thinking.

[@BigKlingy]

@@tristanraine It feels like on some level, Maruki doesn't think he deserves happiness.

[@user-qx1id1dt8x]

@Declan McKenna adam kadmon IS perfect as far as I'm aware, since in the kabbalah it's supposed to be the first and primordial godly form of humans, and it has its justification. When he gets the torch back it disappears and then adam kadmon shows up, this could be interpreted as the torch (representing his "messiah complex" who wants to guide humanity to some sort of perfection or salvation, further represented by the garden of the eden right before fighting azathoth, the original paradise humans were supposed to live in) manifesting into the physical embodiment of humanities' perfection (aka, his goal), as adam kadmon is supposed to be the "source and the destination", something transcendent and godly, *the flawless being humans shall strive to become* (sounds familiar?), a being formed by all parts of the tree of life that make the universe created by God in the kabbalah, it is the peak of his ideal, his rebellion, like joker's was an antiheroic being who could free humanity of the Gods' tyranny and forced control over them. Could have gotten some things wrong here and there, been a little while since I read about the kabbalah and adam kadmon

[@BigKlingy]

@@Suzume175 I mostly agree with all of that and feel like that's the game's intent too. Maruki has a very "well yes, but actually no" attitude towards compromising with people, then there's a text conversations where Yusuke talks about someone he knew who Maruki arbitrarily decided which of his hobbies was better for him. Maruki's an example of how even seemingly kind motivations like wanting people to be happy can be twisted into villainy. I like to think that Maruki can redeem himself with Joker's help though.

[@hotcocoabomb_]

I honestly think shidos deadline is funny as fuck if Akechi is dead already Joker: Oh i- I thought you were dead Akechi: my death was... Greatly exaggerated

[@nekonomicon2983]

He was so pissed Joker failed to stop Shido that he revived himself from being dead and personally came to arrest Joker. It's really hilarious

[@Unreachableparadise]

@@nekonomicon2983Truly best boy

[@apairofsteeltoedboots4729]

Can’t akechi learn samarecarm on Robin Hood? That explains it

[@jurare89]

@@apairofsteeltoedboots4729 technically.... yes, but actually... no. Remember: Personas are born from the will of rebellion, and are a product of your true self's conciousness. So, even though Robin Hood does learn samarecarm, in the moment Akechi dies, Robin Hood ceases to exist (as Akechis conciousness also ceases to exist).

[@yuarentlucky]

Doesn't Akechi live after Shido's palace though? Or was that only a thing in P5R.

[@superjay1427]

In the PS1 Persona 1 bad ending, there’s a cutscene of Philemon’s butterfly flying away from Maki’s hospital room showing an empty bed, implying Maki died in the bad ending.

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

Maki is by far one of the best characters in this franchise and you can clearly tell Persona 5 Royal took a lot of inspiration from her in a way with how Maruki's ideal world was set-up. Would love to see her return.

[@kiprana6565]

I'm not sure why the PSP version didn't remake that scene, it left out vital context.

[@KarmaHexkys]

@@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detectivethat’s how goated the og persona games are

[@greenghoul157]

@@kiprana6565 Persona 1 and 2 need a remake

[@ls190v2]

Maki's body fought long and hard, but in the (bad) end, she lost.

[@ZorotheGallade]

Persona 3: Spend the entire game helping others get over their toxic relationship with death and loss and confront their problems, decide at the last minute you want to reject death and loss and literally act as if the problem didn't exist. Persona 4: Spend the entire game struggling to uncover the truth in a town where everyone is hiding it even to themselves, decide at the last minute to cover it all up (or accept the easy answer) instead. Persona 5: Spend the entire game punishing those who use their power and influence to satisfy their selfish desires, decide at the last minute to side with a tyrant if it means you get your selfish desire. They're not just bad endings because something bad happens, they're bad because the protagonist betrays everything they've fought for

[@grantcooper5799]

Yes! Exactly, it's such brilliant writing and you said it perfectly.

[@Gigi-zr6hp]

Yep, the bad endings for 3, 4 and 5 is basically the event where you invalidate all you and your party's efforts up until that point

[@icenowy]

Well, then how about P5R?

[@ZorotheGallade]

@@icenowy Try convincing Yoshizawa that the way Maruki makes her cope with tragedy isn't healthy, then accept that same cope anyway.

[@WhoDaF0ok1sThatGuy]

Couldn’t have put it better honestly

[@rya1818]

i'm gonna be honest, the P4G's Accomplice Ending and P5's Yaldabaoth Ending were way too cruel that made me laugh of how much cruel they were. About Accomplice, Yu made bonds with his friends and investigate with'em to find the true culprit and then betraying them, and all this with Adachi's laugh. Now about Yaldabaoth, if Joker denies him, he encourages his teammates (trapped in the velvet room) to defeat the god, but if accepting him, Joker does not only betray his friends, but even makes them out of existence in the real world, and does a smug smile in the ending. Damn.

[@bubbletea_]

i thought the implication was that they’re fine and just had their minds adjusted to the new world too like everyone else. i seriously doubt that joker could’ve solo’d the entire police force on his own. especially with how integral characters like futaba are to these operations.

[@ponspectorstillwedie4579]

The only way I can interpret the P4 Accomplice ending in a way that makes any sense is like this. The protagonist goes to visit Adachi on his final day just to see whether or not he could confirm his suspicions. Remember that on this timeline Adachi potentially being the true culprit is only a possibility the protag came up with, not confirmed yet. When Adachi didn't admit anything he told him he was on his side without thinking it through too much, just to see how he would respond. And once Adachi basically confirms that, yes, he is the culprit, the protagonist gets scared that Adachi might not let him leave alive with that knowledge. So he ends up burning the letter and betraying everything his friends stood for out of fear for his life, and ended up stuck as Adachi's accomplice. That's the best I can come up with, anyway. I also feel like Adachi telling you to watch your back while walking in the fog if you opt out of the Accomplice ending at any point comes across as kind of threatening. Especially if you only leave after he heavily implies that he was indeed the culprit.

[@royalcass]

@@bubbletea_ he could take them. just use Izinagi No Okami Picaro

[@patriotsfan122480]

@@bubbletea_I have to agree with the original poster. The way I took it, Joker essentially became the new Akechi for Yaldabaoth, his new champion. Akechi didn’t need a team of Phantom Thieves to get the job done and manipulate the public, at least not on the inside. Plus with the world still being full of distortion anyway, the police were already corrupt and manipulated by Shido/Yaldabaoth, so not hard for Joker to take over that role given his new deal. So to see Joker, standing alone in the city smirking over his control on society, essentially betraying everything he and his friends had worked so hard for - betraying them - without any of them there either, unlike past Palace celebrations or even the original good ending resolution in vanilla P5, I feel is kind of similar to the P4G accomplice ending, without the goodbyes and regret. Like you said in the video, Joker was manipulated into playing a game he wanted no part of. Now he controls how the game is played based on his new deal with Yaldabaoth, as his new “champion”. Just my interpretation of it.

[@KoreyVortex]

Joker becomes joker, and we love it but royal ending, is so creepy just imagine waking up n goin back to sleep and you can't stop it, its nightmare fuel made me think about life persona really does change your life man.

[@James_Oni]

What I like about P5R’s False Reality ending is that The final picture in the credits has Joker and Akechi looking forward Directly at you.

[@Tigerman4545]

“You fucked up”

[@terrariaguy216]

​@@Tigerman4545 Ren and Akechi when you fuck up:

[@laravioliiii2832]

@@terrariaguy216 Ren and Akechi when you ship them:

[@Vivi-FR0G]

@@Tigerman4545the fuuked up but unfortunately they weren’t playing p3

[@ThatGuyKh1]

Well too bad for them

[@SonicTheCutehog]

The Junpei line in 3's bad ending is from the very beginning of the game where Junpei thinks the protagonist and Yukari were dating because the protagonist moved into the dorms.

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

Oh right the "don't tell anyone what happened last night" line.

[@crunchy303]

He ships them even in the dancing game during his spectator dialogues lol

[@fagitocumaeda]

maruki’s deadline ending gives me chills

[@LoneWolf-on8ht]

Literally the most disturbing bad ending. I think this what presents as a real bad ending in Royal edition to me. You'll be forgotten by your friends and loved ones while they're enjoying their lives in the dream world.

[@chiopercyval4315]

we also have the case of Sumire, accepting the reality of Maruki will make her 100% Kasumi, and in essence, killing Sumire

[@allenharper2928]

@@LoneWolf-on8ht Until it all broke down and went off the rails. The cracks were already showing in the run up to the day of reckoning. It's literally impossible to make everyone happy. Maruki's perfect world would have eventually fallen to pieces.

[@redmagmajeice7589]

@@allenharper2928 by February 4th in game maruki’s reality would have overridden any other reality, since his fusion of mementos and the real world was to be completed by the 3rd (which is why it’s the deadline for the palace)

[@matthewuchiha8501]

@@allenharper2928 debatable

[@ArtWEarld]

The bad ending where you failed to save Makoto Niijima breaks my heart :( In her drugged up state, all she can say was your name. She was calling for you for help....

[@loganbigmo]

It's even worse when you remember what Kaneshiro threatened to do to Makoto if you didn't "get him the money" which is the reason we decided to give him a change of heart

[@SirDankleberry]

Ugh eww.

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

@@SirDankleberry well, it is implied that 3 of the failed deadline endings would lead to something "unsavory" happening to one of the girls. seriously, the first palace was all about lust, but it clearly didn't stop there....

[@happyrups]

damn not the government name

[@JRPGLOVER]

To be fair none of the deadline endings before Sae's actually happens. Since interrogation takes place on 11/20, there's no way any of deadlines happened. It's all Joker hallucinationg/misremembering things.

[@protogon2978]

What I expected for P5R's deadline ending: the regular bad ending What I got: the protagonist getting put into eternal sleep Maruki, what the fuck?

[@Gestrid]

He would never have to make a decision ever again, in the truest sense of the word.

[@allenharper2928]

@@Gestrid So instead he wastes away and dies in his bed. Even Yalda... Whatever wasn't that evil.

[@Gestrid]

@@allenharper2928 I'm not even sure he wastes away. The cobwebs indicate he's been there for a while.

[@jackflynn412]

In Maruki's mind this is what ends your suffering. He will remove your ability to think for yourself if he views thinking as something that is causing you pain. It's so creepy. No matter how people spin it, Maruki doesn't care about freedom. He only cares about making people happy and ending pain.

[@allenharper2928]

@@Gestrid That's... Actually a good point I hadn't considered lol. Still dislike Maruki though.

[@Senic509]

One detail that always bothered me about failing to catch Adachi in p4 is that the first person to call you is Naoto, not Yosuke who was typically the first to hop on the phone to call you when something happens or anyone else who was in the party longer. This gives me the impression that everyone else is already dead and didn't have a chance to call for help. Dayum son

[@zodiackiller1360]

Or maybe naoto was the first to be attacked by the shadows and the others haven't been affected yet

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

and then add on that they couldn't use their personas either so there's NO way of defending themselves. sure kanji might have tried punching a shadow (with chie maybe kicking one) but it likely wouldn't have done anything. The others were screwed cause their "weapons" were replicas.

[@ericgrimes341]

Brutal!

[@GaeaRage0798]

15:30 Inaba would still be covered by the Fog, which would eventually lead to the merging between the human world and the TV world. Not to mention that the real killer is still on the loose.

[@spydersoup8447]

I though the fog still being present is a literal metaphor of how the truth is forever lost in the fog.

[@revolvingworld2676]

At that point the P3 Shadow Elimination operatives would notice and get involved

[@joaolima7131]

And ofc the town being attacked by shadows like it happens if you miss Adachi deadline

[@drazydark1736]

@@revolvingworld2676 well, I'm not surprised if they not gonna come at all. They literally never show their nose in the whole Persona 5 even when the stuff happen there gotten so big.

[@gajaan316]

Does this still happen after beating Adachi, but failing to uncover the "TRUTH" truth?

[@melodymanic1007]

Maruki's bad endings are like.. really well done. On one hand you could miss the deadline and he leaves you to slumber for probably forever, but on the other you accept the false reality where it's nice to see everyone so happy... but it just doesn't feel right. Absolutely amazing writing.

[@ZorotheGallade]

It's even better when you go back to the regular world and see what the others are up to. Ryuji's injury isn't gone but he's working to make a recovery and just maybe go back to racing one day. Shiho and Ann are starting to recover after what happened to them, and everyone else starts to move on from their own tragedies. In rejecting a reality where everything is magically made better, they kept their own potential to make things better for themselves.

[@holdencross5904]

Living a lie is wrong and while society has its flaws it’s better than living what is Maruki’s version of reality

[@GOMAFright]

@@holdencross5904 idk man, that´s half way true. Imagine you are a dad of a family of four. your wife dies, your second son is ill . the first one lost his job and on top of that you got incapacitaded. well, maruki reality makes it so your second son has a mother figure while being healthy, the first one still has his job and your can walk again. dont get me wrong, not being able to have free will sux, but isnt that the way adan and eve lost their privileges to be in the paradise?. if you only focus on the phantoms thieves then maruki reality is 99% wrong. since it goes against their principles. but what about the whole world? we have many countries where children has to work to support their families. and no, marukis reality isnt really a lie (kinda, the game didnt go to tell us exactly what the dead people were exactly) , the love ones come back from dead. the only problems I see with maruki reality are the Freedom will, Leaving the earth defenseless against any demon/god whatever the f comes around, Mind erosion (Not sure tho, maybe hes like. welp im going insane because my brain cant get any more info. maybe he makes himself forget, be younger or since hes a god he has a work around it), Maruki starts being evil (cant really see this through since hes so selfless he will go and change his own mind to a prior state or smth) meanwhile with the good ending.... Yay we came back to the old world. people like the father with his ill son will see again how one of his love ones dies without him able to help. pretty sure he can go throught this... no, he couldnt handle and K-himself: but who knows. Maruki is wrong? Kinda, Maruki is right? Kinda.

[@armaniBABAX]

​@@GOMAFrightlorewise his reality ultimately summons Nyx, so I don't think this ending is good

[@harmonys965]

I loved P5R’s ‘bad’ Maruki ending so much at first, but it just unsettled me in a way I couldn’t accept. I wanted them all to be happy SO much that I was desperate for their smiles- especially after playing Vanilla multiple times, the first run of Royal really made me want to just… let them be happy. But Akechi’s hatred of the player on 2/2, saying the decision is a “betrayal” couldn’t get out of my head. Then, at the very end of the credits, when everyone in the group is at Leblanc and happy at a party, there’s Joker and Akechi alone off to the side, staring directly at the player. They’re looking as if to ask, “is this what you wanted for us? Are you happy? Is your happiness more important than our free will? Are your wants more valuable than our ideals and values?” And like, of course they’re fictional characters but that knowing 4th wall break right at the end was so physically unsettling I couldn’t ignore it.

[@ZorotheGallade]

It's even sadder because Maruki doesn't even want recognition for having created everyone's perfect world. In his mind he's such a martyr that he's fine with becoming a nobody in a world where people owe him their happiness but don't even realize he exists. In the end not even he takes joy in what he has wrought.

[@ZX-Gear]

​@ZorotheGallade Maruki really didn't do anything wrong. He was just a Good Guy trying to do what he felt was right.

[@andreamarini9940]

imo, the lack of free will in Maruki's reality is far from being the only problem with said reality. For once, it's indeed, a false reality, therefore, one holding no real value in actuality. Not only that, but is debatable that, in a reality where pain is absent, and every wish is granted with no effort paid, true happiness is impossible, and the temporary "happiness" of said reality is eventually destined to vanish, as the feeling caused by such becomes the new normality and of empty value, thanks to the absence of the to it contrasting feeling of pain and sadness. Now, thank you for coming to my TED talk

[@firstnamelastname7244]

​@@andreamarini9940First of all, value according to what? There are a lot of people who think that a world like that would have far more value than the one we currently live in. (Also it's not an illusion, this is explicitly stated.) A lot of things aren't made clear, like whether or not the hedonic treadmill can be done away with, but at the very least, the people in Maruki's reality do seem genuinely happy. Also, the idea that "we need contrast in order for happiness to matter" is BS.

[@andreamarini9940]

@@firstnamelastname7244 sorry, It never was my intention to even imply that my opinion was "the right one", nor that It was wrong for others to disagree with said opinion. That said, let me explain what I mean with all of this. When I say that Maruki's false reality holds no value, I refer to It being, indeed, a fake reality, kinda like the matrix, sorta. Something that Is fake, arguably holds no true value, wich Is why true diamonds are worth millions, while fake ones don't. Also, for the "the fact that we need contrast to feel happiness Is BS" argument, I would like to counterargue that, since It Is very possible to our mind to become numb to pretty much anything overtime, I can't see why It would be different when It comes to happiness and joy. But then again, this Is all hypothetical, and based on my understanding and presumptions about Maruki's reality. I, again, am not trying to say anything in the lines of "ME RIGHT, YOU WRONG", I'm just having fun exchainging my own opinion about an intersting topic with other people, It Is a nice break from all the shitposts that I consume daily

[@ComicKino]

Missing the Adachi deadline in P4 never fails to give me chills. I don't know what they did to make Naoto's English VA scream like that but Christ, does it leave an impression.

[@asrielgaming57]

they killed her to make it authentic sounding

[@pheonixmmkc]

Yeah my heart sank into my stomach when I heard that

[@holdencross5904]

How do you fail that one? I haven’t got Adachi’s rank up and now I’m concerned

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

That's actually the first time I intentionally failed a deadline just to see what happens cause i figured there wasn't going to be anyone dying.... Boy, were regrets made that day....

[@benlewis5136]

@@holdencross5904 Its just failing to clear magastu-inaba before the deadline like any usual dungeon crawl.

[@azurestarseliph5926]

Apparently from what I heard, in the Japanese Version of P5, Futaba’s bad ending says that Futaba fucking commits suicide

[@JetstreamTheSexSam]

The English version too, just more implied

[@DarkFrozenDepths]

meanwhile sumire gets mentally violated in a sense, while ann, makoto, and haru get physically violated....

[@JRPGLOVER]

It doesn't matter though. Everything before Sae's palace is a hallucination/memory, since the game story actually starts on 11/20.

[@LaryLlama]

​@@DarkFrozenDepths That's so dark man 😭

[@LaryLlama]

​@@JRPGLOVER i mean sure but to be honest if they did fail the palace those would most likely be the consequences

[@Skeiths]

Technically P3's ending is even sadder when you realize that it means that the characters from P4 die really young and some of the younger characters in P5's aren't even born yet.

[@kenm.a.d.7196]

The cast of 4 and 5 all die as children… 😟

[@jufref]

​@@kenm.a.d.7196they die?

[@christinawolfys6482]

@@jufrefYup. 😔 I’m not sure about P1 & P2, but P3, P4, & P5 take place in the same world so P3’s bad ending would mean both casts of the future games either die young or never get to be born (or even become a thought)

[@JCaesar71306]

​@@christinawolfys6482they were all alive in 2009.

[@christinawolfys6482]

@@JCaesar71306 Oh you’re right mb. I guess the latter point I made only applies to those that may be much younger

[@spydersoup8447]

Finally, someone who actually goes into the full details of Persona 3's bad ending as many other people who would show it off would just straight up explain what's happening and left it at that. Also, one thing I do kinda hope for if they do a remake of Persona 3, similar to what you mentioned about Yukari dating the protagonist in the version of the scene in the male route, the female route equivalent of it would be that if you choose to date Akihiko, then during the conversation before school about the current seniors leaving the dorm, either you get a dialogue choice, which the options indicate the female protagonist going back to not caring about Akihiko all that much, but it's obvious that something about this opinion feels off to her like with Mitsuru mentioning her father in the ending, or it's all in the form of a text box of the protagonist's thoughts about Akihiko.

[@Josuh]

Damn

[@pancaek_boi]

If only there was a female route

[@Kabo003]

P5R bad ending is kinda weird because it does not feel bad but you know it can't end like that even if all finished in a "happy" way

[@kijs9109]

Because the happy ending was not earned. It makes everything that led up to that moment seem kinda pointless

[@X-SPONGED]

It's a happily ever after ending that doesn't feel deserved. You willingly surrender to the villian to make everyone happy but at what cost? They have no free will, if you think about it, it's basically lobotomizing every single person on the planet so they can live an ideal life of bliss. Eternal happiness, except for the villian themselves.

[@jellymatsuryuka6853]

That's because accepting a fake reality is the complete opposite of what the Phantom Thieves want

[@clapped-cheeks]

@@jellymatsuryuka6853 it’s an actual reality though. Those people are actually alive and are themselves 🥲 Sure there’s not that much “work” for the ending but there’s also no death, no suffering, no major trauma. Look at Shiho! She’s happy. Anything wrong with the ending can be fixed by Joker just asking Maruki to change it XD Maruki does some questionable things, but nothing that Joker can’t advise him on. So this would be the best ending

[@billquinton5565]

@@clapped-cheeks It's not an actual reality. Maruki controls the cognition of this reality, so everything that happened still happened, everyone's cognition about it is just controlled and altered by Maruki.

[@Weebajeek]

A detail I like about the Actualization Ending in P5R is that the end card doesn't say "Fin." like the rest of the endings. But rather is simply says "End." Fin implies the story has ended, but by stating "End" that means there are no more stories to be told. Of course not, since everyone would be living in an ideal world where no one can suffer like the protagonists of P3. There would be no rise to serial killers like in P4. No world ending threats like Nyx or Yaldabaouth. With that ending, it becomes the final story in the series, with no way to show the struggles of anyone in the future since they wouldn't exist.

[@elpsykoongro5379]

In Spanish fin means end XD

[@spudsbuchlaw]

@@elpsykoongro5379 Yes...we know. The difference here is notable though for the reason stated. In English, Fin is perhaps, at least in this context, less final

[@Vimdeklus]

"And they all lived happily ever after."

[@TheGlitched64Reads2]

@@elpsykoongro5379 Considering they both mean the same thing there is clearly SOME intention about using a different word for the same thing instead of every other ending.

[@DERRPANZER]

In french fin and end is the same Word lol

[@NovaXII]

18:54 holy crap I have never heard of that eternal sleep ending untill now that's dark

[@ponspectorstillwedie4579]

Seeing Lavenza try to reach out to Joker one last time in her butterfly form only to suddenly vanish hits really hard.

[@jackflynn412]

@@ponspectorstillwedie4579 The Velvet Room loses power in Maruki's reality because the Velvet Room is a place that facilitates growth and nobody can grow in Maruki's reality. The fact she can't reach Joker is because he can't think anymore. Maruki is so creepy.

[@adenmattson8333]

A cool note on the Maruki bad ending in P5R, in the final photo that he takes of the group, neither Akechi or Joker are smiling despite everyone else being happy. Its a nice touch hinting at not just Joker knowing, but Akechi feeling something is wrong as well

[@greenlink246]

One cool thing about P2EP is depending on if you restore Lisa and Eikichi's memories changes the fight against Nyarlathotep. He becomes harder if you have them both remember

[@edwardsuou]

It’s also effecting how Ulala and Baofu acts after the choices and in the ending. So those are pretty important choices to do right if you care about both casts. Arguably even the choice you make with Ulala in Gold after defeating her in Joker form and the one with Katsuya in Mandala can be considered important as Ulala acts differently towards Maya and Katsuya too in a very small way (just one or two dialogues, not much sadly) and he’s a possible canon future partner for Maya. (As you have interest from both so you can argue treating him good and not trying to kiss Tatsuya would probably mean choosing the older brother as Maya’s interest).

[@greenlink246]

@@edwardsuou Never knew that dialogue choices changed that much even if it still isn't a big change. Makes me wonder how both P2 games would be like if the story changed more drastically depending on the choices you make

[@edwardsuou]

@@greenlink246 It’s hard to imagine though since those two games were clearly made so they could not have major choices. You would need to change the game a lot to allow much different paths even more so than a more recent persona game as it has several opportunities to do that through the calendar system and social link and stuff like that.

[@greenlink246]

@@edwardsuou That's true. There would have to be major story and gameplay changes. Maybe if the choices were like the choice between Elly or Nate were you get 2 different routes that come back together eventually to add some more replayability that be cool but I still like P2 as is so it isn't a big deal to me personally.

[@StarPebblit]

it's depressing knowing that the 'true ending' is that you're not supposed to restore their memories and thus the friend group is never reconnected and no one knows each other anymore. Depressing as all heck.

[@ooofthedegenerate]

The bad ending of p3 is genuinely kinda haunting

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

You actually see that ending or rather a rendition of it in Persona 3: The Animation and it's so... uncanny, and eerie that it really makes it's mark.

[@anonymouspikminguy]

@@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective what? I've literally finished rewatching the fourth persona 3 movie yesterday and makoto didnt kill ryoji. is there something else im not aware of?

[@jackflynn412]

Casually living in blissful ignorance right before they all die... it might be the most disturbing one besides Maruki's deadline ending.

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

@@anonymouspikminguy He doesn’t kill him but he does envision the ending in his head and you see the team celebrating before Makoto snaps himself out of it.

[@anonymouspikminguy]

@@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective OHHH so that's what that was about!! right before he saw elizabeth!!

[@strykerj2262]

Persona 5's accepting Yaldabaoth's reality gets a bit more morbid when you ackonowledge the ambiguity of whether or not the other Thieves made it out of the Velvet Room with you or are still stuck there for eternity

[@DuelaDent52]

Sometbing I like (for lack of a better term) about P5’s deadline endings is how Sojiro’s reaction changes the further into the game you go. At the start he’s just all “Yeah, I figured as much” and “Ya ejit, I told you to stay out of trouble”, but he grows more and more concerned with each subsequent one because he’s obviously grown to know you better.

[@LAK2049]

I remember getting the bad ending my first time around in Persona 1. I was so surprised and shook by the ending that I instantly started a second playthrough determined to get a good end. It is one of the reasons why Persona 1 is my favorite game in the entire series.

[@acmtails]

Thats what I'm doing in persona 4 😅 I gota bad end by picking the wrong choices in the hospital.

[@oliverpease6719]

Average p1 fan W

[@sophiad548]

UGH p1 is incredible

[@kahootaholic4949]

i think of the most tragic things to me about p5rs false reality ending to me is the way Sumire's story ends and it really shows the flaws in Maruki's plans. Survivors Guilt is horrible especially with what happened between the two sisters but you can learn to live on, so Maruki's power has allowed the worst thing to happen, both sisters to essentially die. Kasumi has died and the only thing that has really changed to allow her to "live" on is changing everyone's cognition of what happened, but Sumire has also "died" due to her own wishes and Maruki's power denying her her right to live and exist.

[@reimari11]

in p5, it's terrifying to think that if akechi manages to kill joker, he's already planned out to also kill the other phantom members in spaced dates/times to not seem suspicious. Scary to think

[@AbiZoey]

Not exactly. Akechi talking about having them killed later on is in response to Shido wanting them dead right then and there - Akechi redirects him by convincing him that they won't be a problem without Joker around and can be dealt with later. At this point, there's only a month until the election, which is when Akechi is going to go through with his revenge plan, so after that, he won't be working for Shido at all anymore. By telling Shido to delay it, I think he's actually trying to avoid killing them at all. He does something similar when the thieves are going through Shido's palace and he calls Akechi to tell him to kill a bunch of people, Akechi tries to convince him to wait until after the election (meaning they won't die at all). He generally sees the people he kills as collateral damage on his path to getting revenge, and tries to avoid it if it's not completely necessary, which he explains using metaphors in his rank 7 confidant.

[@reaperz5677]

@@AbiZoey Hmmm, no, I think this would be inconsistent with his character. He's a murdering megalomaniac with powers to perceive/act upon another reality. Leaving 8 or so people with the power to do the exact same is just inviting them to fuck-up his future. What exactly do you think his plan was AFTER he killed Shido and got revenge? He would've lived as the detective prince personality he had acquired himself even before all of this started. Leaving any phantom thieves alive, those who could potentially not only reveal his wrongdoings, but also the alternate reality that gives him any real power or influence in the world at all, would just... frankly, it'd be stupid of him. Akechi doesn't do stupid. They had to go, Shido or not. He'd have them killed like he said he would - incrementally, months after Joker's death.

[@m0ckyzo185]

Honestly, I think P4's bad ending being sort of "nothing" endings is kind of the point. They're not supposed to be massive catastrophes, they're supposed to let you sit and feel aimless as all that time you spent in the game came and went. When the credits started rolling and that piano track started playing, words could not describe the emptiness I felt. It's a totally numb send off and that's why I think it's better than you say.

[@Brosky305]

What nothing?! You literally can't forgive yourself after that ending

[@m0ckyzo185]

@@Brosky305 tbh you only feel that way upon knowing that wasn't the true/good ending. First time players aren't exactly going to know about the severity of what they did(or rather, what they DIDNT do) until they go back

[@mizzix]

Im sad that your p4 video didn't do well. It was so in depth and i absolutely loved it

[@bubbletea_]

thank you. i know i sounded really disappointed in the video, but i still greatly appreciate the positive response either way.

[@PatChatGuitar]

FOr what it's worth, this video just showed in my home feed, really enjoyed it, and I'm on my way to watching the P4 video now haha

[@xmiseryjokers9570]

this also just shown in my feed and now im subbed

[@himasekiwari155]

@@bubbletea_ as a P4 fan you really really did a great job with you P4 video!! Thank you so much for ur effort, it really made me and others happy.

[@spudsbuchlaw]

@@bubbletea_ I didnt watch it an account of binging the Hiding In Private 15 hour review extravaganza... can you blame me for being a little...done with p4 for a while?

[@Kazuko_Gaming]

22:58 fun fact this only happens when you have ackecki's confidant max if you don't then ackechi won't appear and talk to joker confirming your decision but when it's just joker and maruki, maruki still brings up the fact that will be dead and he also says that he didn't want it to sound like he was holding him hostage and still tried to change joker's mind.

[@dazzi_yt]

I have the 10MAX confidant and he doesn't show up

[@Poot-da-doot]

The deadline ending for Maruki is something out of a psychological horror game i swear

[@X-SPONGED]

P5R Bad Ends: Get put into an eternal coma Be happy in a fake world with no free will Replace Shido and Akechi, rule over the world P4G Bad Ends : *_"Well Sherlock, I'm stumped🥴"_*

[@dhans9662]

"Also the entire town is full of bloodthirsty monsters lol"

[@Aigis31]

Great video! Not so fun fact I want to mention: The "Dark Sun" song from the anime features clips of everyone's bad endings as a central motif. In Makoto's part, you see her on a bed arching her back. What this implies is... pretty obvious. Makoto was drugged and trafficked after you fail to change Kaneshiro's heart, and he has blackmail against the whole group with the image he took of the party near drugs and alcohol. It is, in my opinion, probably the darkest ending in any persona game. Apparently it was even WORSE in a cut version of the scene, too. Another fun fact about the Maruki deadline: you can clearly see a blue butterfly attempt to reach Joker before falling and fading away- this is Lavenza trying to regain contact with the Trickster, ultimately proving fruitless and is the way the game.communicates just how dire the situation is. Everyone gets brainwashed and Lavenza is unable to contact the one person who can reverse it, in Joker.

[@chrisk3824]

A "bad choice" that isn't an ending but you aren't rewarded for it is P2IS "help your friends". When your friend is faced with an adversary/problem, you can interject yourself. You don't let Mishel fight by himself. You talk for Lisa and you save the kid from fire instead of Maya. It's not that you are told that you did something wrong, because you really didn't. But your friends loose the chance to grow. So they don't get an upgrade to their persona. (If I remember correctly) It rewards you for trusting your group, not trying to be, well sortof a mean remark, Yu from P4. You're not the center of every event, encounter. Tatsuya is part of the group of flawed, but capable people. He can let them act on their own without needing to save them later. Yukino doesn't fit that and you have to snap her out of her sadness, and I'm not sure if I dislike the fact that the established rule was broken or if I like it. After all, some events are harder to deal with, and you leave her by herself, while you observe how the other 3 deal with their problem, ready to jump in if need be. I'm conflicted on those 4 choices. I'm not sure if they are more objectively well implemented (I saw couple people disappointed with the Yukino one), but I definitely find them interesting

[@drazydark1736]

Yeah, it's a shame for newer Persona games like P4 and P5 where almost everything need to happen because MC intervention. Like for example, I don't really remember about other characters but I still remember about how Ryuji and Ann literally need the encouragement from Joker before can summon their own persona.

[@omarmansuri7099]

It's to do with how the teams access their second or third form personas. After 3, they decided to push it into the social link rather than it be a story event. As a result the MC, becomes a lot more important to them, since only due to his actions will they grow more.

[@archivist_13]

​@@drazydark1736tbh I kinda liked that some of the thieves needed help to find their resolve

[@kichiroumitsurugi4363]

You only do not get their Prime Personas, not that you lose out on much because P2IS is so easy that you can get by with the basic tier Personas anyway. And even then, Ultimate Personas are not locked out, since those are tied to obtaining certain items before meeting Philemon again

[@jonweak342]

Throughout all the IS i let my party members do things on their own (i read on some forum that this will help me to strengthen their personas) and when i did the same to yukino i expected the same outcome but she just died because of my decision not to help her, i felt like a total asshole

[@ashbanasiak9385]

The saddest thing about Persona 3’s ending is that it made both Shinji and Chidori’s deaths wasted. They died to protect someone and allow them to keep living . But you just decide to let everyone die. Even if they want to keep fighting. It is the perfect antithesis to the ideas and messages of persona 3

[@ancientgearsynchro]

I have a weird history with Makoto's Deadline ending. You see, due to perverts on my Discord servers (I know, great start) I was spoiled on two points: That Sae was an antagonist of a dungeon who was desperate to get ahead in her career and that Makoto, if you fail, gets drugged and whored out. What i did not know what that these are unrelated. So for the longest time, I thought that it was Sae who was the one letting her sister get whored out. Like she had some deal with some higher ups that if she get a promotion or something, then her sister was their to use. Considering I was fully aware of Kamoshida and all his vile glory, I actually did believe that Atlus would go there. Was not until Royal got ported to the switch that I was learned what actually goes down.

[@CasuallyConsistent]

Hey don't listen to KZbin analytics, your persona 4 video slapped

[@bubbletea_]

thanks, todd howard.

[@CheesyLizzy]

Seconded! I love your reviews, and the Persona 4 one was awesome. You do you man ^^

[@CasuallyConsistent]

@@bubbletea_ yeah no problem b

[@bubbletea_]

@@CheesyLizzy thank you 🥺 you a real one.

[@BigKlingy]

I still really liked it.

[@EvelynEleven_]

I think I have a habit of getting bad endings, but not intentionally. In Persona 5, I got both bad endings because I kinda suck at context and putting ideas together. So when Sae gave me the deal of selling my teammates out, I was like “yeah sure”, and kept going even after the game says “okay… are you SURE?” Same thing happened with making another deal but with the God of Control. All I heard from the deal was “Phantom Thieves popular and I (God of Control) am not present.” Sounded like a great deal so I took it. But I didn’t realize that people remained under control. Whoops. So I made sure in P5R to not take ANOTHER deal, although this one I genuinely understood what was happening. But it was still hard for me because the person responsible for this had good intentions and didn’t want people to suffer. Persona 5 really catapulted my interest in a career in Psychology, and the addition from P5R was very meaningful to me.

[@Gestrid]

I actually got the bad ending where Akechi kills Joker, too. Fun Fact: Some of the lines in it are reused from the scene where Joker ends up in the Velvet Room after Mementos merges with Shibuya. Because of that, I legitimately thought I somehow got another bad end. The difference is that, instead of imprisoning Joker there forever, Igor sentences him to execution.

[@SirDubbs]

Do you just play the games and not really pay attention to the actual story and character development? Im just curious how you missed the entire message of friendship, loyalty, trust, and freedom to think “selling your friends out” or letting a false god control your and others lives were “good” options.

[@Gestrid]

@@SirDubbs Come to think of it, the game does literally tell you "the people will remain trapped, unable to think for themselves" when you're given the choice of whether or not to take "Igor?"'s deal.

[@EvelynEleven_]

@@SirDubbs I at least THINK I paid attention to the story. I cannot accurately say what I was thinking during those two times. If I had to guess, I was more invested with the psychology aspect of the game and didn't spend too much time on some characters. I believe that led me to miss some things.

[@LordHonkInc]

I really love both P4G's and P5R's multiple endings (since I don't really consider them "bad" per se, moreso "premature") and I really hope that's a tradition they carry forth in P6. I don't really need the SMT-standard law/neutral/chaos endings, I think it's way more intriguing if they explicitly don't follow a predictable path (like Adachi's; what game lets you solve a murder-mystery and then allows you to side with the murderer just because they're your friend? That was… unique, and I love it for that)

[@angeldiaz762]

I consider them premature too. There's no Alignment, like in the Shin megami Tensei main series, so without that guiding the game there's only one normal best "conclusive" ending.

[@LittleMissFoxy]

The False Ending with Maruki is probably one of the hardest ones imo due to you knowing you just want all these people you care for to not suffer anymore and just be the happiest they can be AND knowing Maruki is only doing this to help you and them. It’s what made me love him as a “villain”. He’s a man with good intentions but went about them in the wrong way.

[@Gestrid]

I think P4's bad endings are good with the context we have from the game's good/ true endings. The whole world would turn into Shadows. Inaba would be the first to go, and everyone you hold dear in that town would die a death as gruesome as Naoto does if you fail to capture Adachi. And, in one of them, Nanako is the first to die.

[@StickBreightley]

Hitting the deadline and failing to catch Adachi was the funniest thing for me because on the last night I read the last book I needed so I just got the achievement popup as Naoto was dying

[@realpaperstarzz]

The eternal sleep ending is fucking terrifying to me

[@BigKlingy]

I haven't seen P1 or 2's bad endings so this should be interesting. 2:02 So apparently they kept this line in the first "Americanized" PS1 translation even though it makes no sense with all their westernized names. That sounds hilarious. P1's bad ending actually hit hard for me, something about the main cast constantly chasing their true selves basically implies they spent the rest of their lives with depression and bad mental health. At least P3's bad ending puts everyone out of their misery in a few months, and P4's probably will too. The idea of being depressed for the rest of your life sounds like a fate worse than death to me. The Snow Queen one didn't do it for me. Just another "rip the world, the end". I agree with you on the last line though. P2's Yukino moment, I like how they brought back that concept in P5. Junpei always teased Yukari about the MC, so it probably happens either way? But I guess someone has to play all that way not maxing Yukari to prove it. You summed up P3's bad ending really well. Out of context, it doesn't seem "bad" at all. After seeing everyone's character growth? Yukari and Junpei's "no time like the present" attitude HURTS. I also like how slowly the MC raises his evoker when you choose this ending. It makes it look like an ACTUAL suicide, which in a way it kind of is. I retroactively like P4's deadline bad endings more after seeing P5's. P4's are all unique and they really hurt when you're attached to the characters. (Though it still bugs me that most players' reactions to the last one are "noooooooo not my waifu!") I like the implication in the first P4 bad ending that Dojima knows what you did to Namatame and let it slide. In general, I like P4's bad endings more than you do, it makes sense for them to be so unsatisfying, the whole point of the game is never stopping until you've uncovered the whole truth, and you're left feeling like shit BECAUSE you got such an unsatisfying conclusion that leaves too many unanswered questions. The accomplice ending is really good, nothing more to say. I'll just say it: I really don't like P5's deadline endings, except Kaneshiro's, Shido's (though it becomes hilarious if you beat Akechi before seeing it) and Maruki's. Kamoshida's and Madarame's are the identical, just with the names changed, but the REAL kick in the teeth is Okumura's and Sae's being LITERALLY IDENTICAL. With how P4's were all unique, they dropped the ball there. Also, at least in English, the voice at the end does a terrible job of hiding that it's Akechi. I'm also not a fan of the first "real" P5 bad ending, but it's understandable since, due to plot reasons, it's literally just what normally happens except Akechi didn't kill a fake. I like the use of the Mementos Depths theme as the credits music though. The Yaldabaoth bad ending though, I really like, for the reasons you said. Maruki's ending, ditto. It's notable though that you still get the trophy for beating the game if you get this ending, and it's called "The Path Chosen". Either the vanilla P5 ending (don't max Maruki's Confidant), Maruki's Reality, or the new Royal ending count for this, and the developers have implied all 3 are considered valid options.

[@dicksonmattxenoblade6491]

Dojima’s questions in the bad endings of Persona 4 are some of my favourite parts of those endings. The first one I feel is a case of him knowing what you did but letting it slide either because of the effort you put in to save Nanako, or because…well, despite being a cop, he can’t do all that much simply because of a lack of evidence. The second question he asks in the other bad ending gives the impression that at least some part of him knows there could well have been more you could do…as reluctant as he is to believe the whole TV world thing. The Accomplice Ending, I think is a good example of a bad ending you have to go well out of your way to do. It’s the shittiest of them all, because that’s the ending you put so much effort into getting. Also the implications of that ending are much more dire than the other endings in the game. Also that last deadline bad ending is creepy, you don’t really bear witness to any of the deaths firsthand in any way up to that point.

[@insertnamehere658]

I still prefer P5's deadline endings. Most of them feel much more well done and unique, except Maruki's. The eternal sleep ending is terrifying, and is the only time Maruki comes off as truly "evil".

[@edwardsuou]

In P2 Innocent Sin the bad ending is actually there, it’s the one ending you can’t change. It’s honestly kind of hard to believe you can make the ending worse before the creation of the new timeline. I guess you could say a writer could by giving us the possibility of having a progression of the party making them all doing a similar mistake as Tatsuya and not being able to create the new timeline at all, while this is an interesting concept I doubt there would be an easy way to make it happen and it would not be worth the effort probably considering it would just be a pretty flat bad ending with just everything ruined. On the other hand Eternal Punishment has not a completely good ending considering despite having some choices you mostly have the same ending. It’s not entirely good even if you do all the right things (I did them all) as dark things are still there such as Tatsuya being in the other timeline but since it’s the ending of the first trilogy of games (considering they have a lot in common including the same villain and many many characters who are very relevant from P1 to EP) I think it was a good choice to give it a precise ending with a lot of good resolutions too. Although I’m pretty mixed about the cast of IS all but Yukino still suffering in some way (Maya Lost Tatsuya and she holds all the memories to herself while not having anyone who can completely understand her, Tatsuya is basically in hell and the others are very sad and feel a sense of void even if they don’t remember and also they still lost their friendship since we don’t know anything pointing out they will build a new one after the events of both games.

[@RegalPixelKing]

It's hard for me to decide which of the bad endings I enjoy more. I'd say that I'd give the edge to Persona 5 Royal's new bad ending because I find the idea of fighting against a supposed idealized reality very interesting.

[@Ammy-q4w]

I wish Persona 5 had an accomplice ending like Persona 4 where you could side with Akechi. It feels like the only thing missing in the game considering all the other endings it has, especially when you consider Royal having an ending where you choose the false reality in order for him to be there with you.

[@zikeadhi2084]

P3 and P4 are the games that accompanied my school life. Ah, what a memories. You know a game is good you feel pain once it's gonna reach the climax, like you don't wanna end it

[@himasekiwari155]

THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT P4'S DARK ENDINGS! People always say P4 is the most lightest one and ain't that bad one but U CAN LITERALLY MURDER SOMEONE OR BE AN ACCOMPLICE OF A MURDERER IN UR ENTIRE GAME AFTER LLike bro the accomplice and killing i genuinely find them scary... seriously persona game dark endings is truly dark

[@violetspersonalaccount.2344]

Knowing that joker wished for akechi to be okey is one of the things that will forever break my heart. the rest if the thieves despised him, but those two genuinely built a bond with one another. even though I technically shouldn't like that ending, I prefer it to the main ending.

[@FGLKyouma]

You shouldn't like that ending because it's stupid. I loved P5 but Akechi being a friend bugged me no end, it requires not just the characters, but the player to either be dumb or just not paying any attention, as it's obvious that he's the other person capable of entering the metaverse killing people causing the psychotic breakdowns right from his first meeting with Joker, Ryuji and Ann (and Morgana.)

[@noemi9088]

The bad ending is something else. Seeing Akechi and Akiren being happy, along with everybody else (particularly, seeing Futaba with both her mother and Sojirou is devastating) is just so good, even if it doesn't feel *right*. But it's probably my fav bad ending because it's just so great. It leaves you both with a sense of happiness and emptiness.

[@vulgaritar48]

I chose to interpret things another way. Rather, not as Ren wanting Akechi to be there because of their “friendly rivalry” (which is anything but, seeing as Akechi is a serial killer who -let us not forget- does attempt to assassinate Ren), but rather Ren wishing for Akechi to face justice and provide the necessary link in Sae’s case which would spare Ren from jail. So less “aww, I wish my misunderstood friend wasn’t dead :(” and more “that absolute dickhead skated on the consequences of his crimes and left me holding the bag when it should be HIM in my place right now”.

[@noemi9088]

@@vulgaritar48 Neither the bad ending nor the reality which we know Joker wished for has Akechi going to jail (rather, in the Maruki Reality Akechi gets saved from going there by not being needed somehow...) and in the bad ending Akechi is literally friends with the whole group and plays chess with Joker. Joker keeps his glove in the canon ending, literally hoping for him to still be alive so they can finish their duel. You can interpret Persona and Joker&Akechi's relationship in many ways (friendly rivarly/toxic rivarly), and no one says anybody should forget that Akechi tried to kill Joker, but saying Joker just wants Akechi to go to jail is disproven by canon. Edit: if however what you are saying is a Headcanon of yours, feel free to go ahead, as I believe anyone could even headcanon that Joker is actually an eggplant and I wouldn't bat an eye.

[@Pugkin5405]

​@@FGLKyoumaOr people have other reasons for it

[@yuantheblue]

As someone who dislikes missing deadlines, I had no idea how things would change if you willingly or unintentionally wait too late. Its creepy (in Naoto's case, as she is one of my favorites). Also, the Accomplice ending was the first 4 ending I ever got...and it stuck with me. Forever at Adachi's whims, presumably for life. And 5s variations were just as creepy. Death by sleep, or a false reality, I cannot tell what would be worse.

[@ckmishn3664]

Given the choice between my sense of personal freedom and the life of Futaba's mother, I'd sacrifice my sense of personal freedom.

[@CelestiaLily]

I kinda came around too when it got to Futaba's family life - but also experiencing Ann and Shiho's close happiness together. Maybe it's because the player got to see Shiho's suicide attempt directly (and so early into the game), but I never really viewed her trauma as a "necessary hardship to overcome" or "teaching her strength of character" - it was just a highschooler being raped until she wanted to die. I'd be willing to give up the same sense of freedom for all the senseless, useless tragedies that never really "teach" anyone anything but pain.

[@clapped-cheeks]

And that’s just it. A “sense” of freedom, because nobody can ever be truly free. Always having someone above them, whether it’s parents, teachers, the government and so on. And anything that Maruki might do wrong could be fixed by Joker advising Maruki to do better. And he would listen, too! Since Maruki feels grateful towards Joker, they could create the best outcome for everyone 🥲

[@areallyrealisticguyd4333]

Philemon and nyarlathotep's wager from P2 is still going isn't it? Philemon's side being that humans are redeemable by their own merit so he doesn't need to interfere but nyarlathotep actively corrupts humans and tries to destroy humanity. For most of these bad endings reality is consumed by the shadow world therefore nyarlathotep gets exactly what he wanted

[@kingteddieP4]

When I did the persona 3 bad ending for completion it left me empty. When my brother saw it he was like “this looks kinda happy how is it bad?” And I just laughed bc that’s literally the point. If you don’t know the context it’s not a bad ending.

[@siuchaos2606]

Persona 4's endings will always be the most chilling ones.

[@BigKlingy]

Especially how the IT reacts to killing Namatame. Seeing Yosuke actually go through with murdering someone, and be completely okay with it, gives me chills.

[@Zeppelee]

The fact that Ryoji either dies at your/Yuki's hand, or forfeits his humanity in order to become Nyx Avatar, on what is actually my birthday in real life still impacts me to this very day. I always remember to wear a yellow scarf and a ring with sentimental value on my birthday, every year since playing P3P in 2010. (Also, fun fact: Ryoji/Yuki's voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal, attended the College of William and Mary here in the state of Virginia.)

[@sanddry738]

One other aspect I feel they could’ve tackled with Maruki in PS5R is Joker struggling with trauma from stuff like the interrogation and other things. As a practiced psychologist it would be a great thing to poke at for Maruki and his ideal world.

[@lilyhammer09]

You didn't even comment on the part of Maruki's deadline ending where you watch the blue butterfly, the literal personification of Humanity's potential, fade out and die as Joker dies in his sleep. Maruki, for all his good intentions, literally killed the concept of Humanity ever becoming anything greater for the rest of all time. Humanity is forever trapped in a stagnant illusion of happiness, and will never, ever achieve anything that Maruki himself is not capable of imagining.

[@areallyrealisticguyd4333]

that butterfly is supposed to represent Philemon. Maruki changing the course of humanity and warping reality really shows how strong of an antagonist he is if he was able to make Philemon disappear

[@DelanoSeven7]

​@@areallyrealisticguyd4333And Philemon represents Humanity's fate and potential to change and redeem, so eh the original comment is still very true.

[@littlekuribohimposte]

The Japanese deadline ending for Futaba is the worst. They take Sojiro in because it's revealed SHE HANGS HERSELF IN HER ROOM if you fail to change her Heart in time. Alsothe Namatame endings actually had my friend and I in an idealogical deadlock for a while. They come from a place where the death penalty is a thing, and where I come from it's been outlawed for over a hundred years, so we were raised with different views. She believed that letting him die was morally right, I disagreed. Split down the middle, just like the party is. Chie, Rise and Naoto are aagainst it, while Yosuke, Kanji and Yukiko are absolutely not guilty about icing him. I beleive by dividing the party in that way means that there's no real moral pressue to pick a side.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Untrue. There is no hanging.

[@skunthundler]

This has been debunked. All of the Japanese endings are the same as the english ones. Futaba never commits suicide lmao.

[@BigKlingy]

@@skunthundler Seconded. THIS IS A LIE and please stop spreading it.

[@Jitsatsuki]

I like how Altus leaves it to the player to decide the fate of these characters. So a lot of these endings to me at least in modern persona games is your test of morality & if paid attention to theme of the respective game.

[@yellerrrrr]

I've been waiting for somesone to talk about the bad endings of the persona games, glad you made a video about em!

[@Kratescz]

Good ending in P5R is really powerfull because it feels wrong doing the "right/good" thing. It felt really wrong fighting someone who wanted to give everyone the best possible life

[@queenmotherbug]

I think I need to pay more attention to what goes on after the end credits. I've played every version of Persona 3 (obsessively), and I've NEVER seen that scene where they do karaoke! Do you have to have Yukari's social link maxed out?

[@skyberlux8110]

is the end scene of the bad ending in fes but im not sure if you have to max out yukari or junpei or both

[@hwanniggles187]

@@skyberlux8110 you dont have to max out. Its the default bad ending

[@ayonixanimations]

DAMN I didn't know about Maruki's deadline ending, I just remember doing Maruki's Bad Ending (taking the deal) on purpose to see what would happen lol. Lavenza being there in butterfly form as Akira sleeps is sad as hell-

[@frankwest5388]

I interpret that as Lavrenza trying to wake Joker up and trying to get him back into the fight for all of eternity. Never giving up hope but knowing that all is lost anywyas

[@ChallengeMeReload]

I love how like 3 frames into the transition from p3 to p4, i get a burger king add, so i see Mooroka hanging upside down with less than a second of the piano playing before "WHOPPER WHOPPER WH-"

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

Lol.

[@Michael-yf6bl]

I just wanted to say isn't persona ones plot oddly reminiscent of the things that happened in persona 5 like one of the main characters in this game basically created a false reality with everything they wanted in essence a palace kinda makes you wonder if anything that happens in the persona series is even real or if every game is just who ever is trapped in the dream falling into another deeper level of the dream. It certainly would explain how the overall story makes no sense.

[@SonicSkychaser]

I remember getting the bad ending in Persona 5. Moral of the story to me: Never rat out your friends to save yourself. Honor among thieves.

[@kneau]

17:26 Am I misunderstanding your words or did I interpret an additional layer to the Accomplice ending -- Adachi creates a situation which lets him justify killing you. Adachi is going to call once your train enters the tunnel; cellphones rarely have reception in such places. You won't be able to answer his call & just like that, he can "punish" you for breaking the agreement. I got the impression you're saying the protagonist is angry with himself because Adachi now has control over him for the rest of his life. I'm saying they're realizing they've been setup to break the agreement & are about to die. Sorry if that's what you were already saying too.

[@Stryfe52]

The Yaldabaoth ending is still probably one of my favorite evil bad ends in a game. It isn’t a trick, or negated by you dying in the following cutscene, and it could actually fit a version of your character(Described in the video) instead of just being evil for the sake of it. The credits theme is dope too

[@KaiboStudios]

Wow so that's what happens if you don't catch adach-...wait a minute. What's that date? o_o.... O_O.... I was SO. CLOSE. to getting that ending HOLY SHIT.

[@xxhobocatxx2869]

Oh my god. I've never seen the deadline ending of Maruki's palace. I just thought it would cut to the ending where you accept his reality. Instead he puts Joker in a coma that not only will he never wake up from, but he's seemingly also been completely forgotten by his friends while they get to live their ideal lives. This ending is so morbid wtf?

[@eternyti]

video intro: Bad endings exist in video games to make the player want to play the game again, or rethink / regret actions they took. me: some people just want to watch the world burn.

[@sasaki999pro]

I really love Jokers Take Deal ending. Most games with Bad/Evil endings are so hamfisted, usually winding up dropping a karmic anvil on your character, and they either wind up dead or otherwise miserable, or it goes so cartoonishly off the psychotic deep end that your character is literally murdering anyone caught in their peripheral vision. P5 Says "No." the whole world is in the palm of your hand and it feels GREAT. Not only that? in SOME ways, you are making the world a better place. You saved humanity from itself... and all it costed was everyones freedom...but not yours.

[@PineappleLiar]

Maruki really looked at the 5 stages of grief and said ‘you know, if you just become a god we can stop this train at denial, save ourselves some time.’ And did that. The main thing that I found the most horrifying about Maruki’s reality is the long term stagnation of it all. Eventually people will either have to die, or alternatively no one dies and you end up with an overflow population as people keep being born. So then what? Does Maruki just remove the least loved people from society? Or does he stop people from being born? There’s a moment early on in his reality where you can talk to a homeless man in Shibuya, who notes that the world has become very strange recently. It leaves a bitter taste to the idealized world, as there’s clearly some people in it not worthy of essential goods like a home and a happy life. Then there’s some logistical paradoxes too. Like, presumably in an ideal world no one is getting robbed or murdered, etc. So then, if there’s no need for a police force to keep those things from happening, how do you reconcile that with the dreams of those like the Nijima family, where their main drive is to pursue law and order? Do you leave just enough crime around to make them feel useful, or do you edit their aspirations into something more suitable to this new reality? Probably the latter, given Sumire.

[@F1areon]

Yeah, he probably just edits people's aspirations if they don't fit the new world or cause too much pain; we kinda see an example of it with that one student Yusuke talks about who suddenly dropped art in favor of archery.

[@frankwest5388]

The join the Grail ending in 5 is kinda the darkest one because you effectively become a dictator, who defines justice to be solely up to him and as who sold out the world to keep playing hero for all of time. It’s the ending where the MC does truly fall in a way turning the world into their own palace, where they rule and impose justice. Forever

[@reaperz5677]

The Maruki deadline ending is just... fucking morbid. It's terrifying just with the implications of what happened to the MC alone. Being frozen in a forever-sleep, unable or rather unwilling to take action, to live a life, to do anything besides sleep. It's sad, and it's depressing, especially since we KNOW that this is the "best action" Maruki could've taken in his situation.

[@jackflynn412]

To all Maruki simps in the comments: In my opinion Maruki is wrong. He's an authoritarian dictator that decides what's right for everyone. He has geniunely good intentions, but he strips away all free will. In one of the text messages with Yusuke we find out that Maruki even forces a man to give up his dream job because he was doing bad at it so it was making him unhappy. Maruki robs people of freedom. Even if the PT oppose him he still tries to force his reality on them. He is a good man but deeply misguided. His reality is basically what Yaldaboath wanted to create but with a nice coat of paint. Shiho not getting raped is good but I hate it when people act like the PT are terrible people for being Autonomy > Utilitarianism. They just have a different ethical code. It's all subjective. After the depths of Mementos the Thieves realized that people shouldn't rely on any group like the PT or Yaladaboath or Maruki, and instead should just face their problems head on. Mementos was all about people being too apathetic to stand up to authority figures or handle their own problems to the point they manifested a God to control them. P5 places responsibilty on the individual to face authority and pain and adversity head on instead of wallowing in the sin of Sloth.

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

I like this comment.

[@F1areon]

THIS!!!

[@CarlosSilva-bh4bi]

One extra problem with maruki's reality, he is a man, and he can get insane after an eternity or have distorted wishes, or maybe just become plain evil or get obsessed with Perfection, so yeah, It IS dangerous

[@insertjokeh3r3]

If you kill nametame nanako dies so your still punished there.

[@Akechi_The_Phantom_Detective]

Bingo, it seems to imply that in choosing not to pursue the truth the midnight channels affect on the real world is slowly becoming stronger and the reason the girl dies. Thankfully the true ending massively shegs that notion.

[@kai_824]

The thing with The Maruki ending in P5R was its not seen as the "Bad" ending. Its more of a neutral ending or "untrue" ending. Can you really say its bad like the P4 endings or P3 were you're an partner to a murder or awaiting death unknowingly? Its kinda eerie but I wouldn't say its a bad ending.

[@CubZeke]

Whenever I remember the bad ending to Persona 3, I recall Freya's quote in FF9: "To be forgotten is worse than death".

[@ShatteredGlass916]

Watching P3 'Bad Ending' is basically like Emporio watching all of the main casts of Jojo Part 6 gets reborn in the new universe with no memmories of their journeys Also, f those P4 Namatame's ending variants bruh

[@PrevTsukasaRui]

Something upsetting for persona 3's bad ending: Because the dark hour is forgotten, just like in P5R, certain events are modified. I have no idea about Ken and his mother, but Shinjiro is said to have died in the hospital because of an illness. Just another reason why P3 is one of the most interesting games

[@XerKoro_neo]

A really good way to hit home Maruki’s world would have been to say, include a trans character, or another such transformative character, who over the course of the game transitioned and found themselves to be much much happier, but then Maruchi‘s world sets them back to square one… but theyre happier than ever… a perverse, warped reality truly based around one guys bias.☹️

[@warlordofbritannia]

That’s…jeez. That’s a great example of how Maruki’s good intentions could so easily warp themselves-bro unintentionally mass “conversion therapies” every trans person in existence (or rather, out of existence).

[@loganbigmo]

Kaneshiro's bad ending also means Makoto was not only kidnapped and drugged but sold into s*xual slav*ry, since that's what he threatened to do in the first place, which prompted the Thieves to change his heart

[@loganbigmo]

I was gonna comment this after watching this video only to realize after finishing the video that I'd seen this video & commented this just 5 months ago lol

[@craycraywolf6726]

​@@loganbigmoI do that way too often 💀

[@loganbigmo]

@@craycraywolf6726 glad to know I'm not the only one lmao

[@ajharris2690]

Maruti is such an interesting antogonist its the Prue antithesis to you up to this point he is a good person who whent from using his persona to help people are to mentally broken to help themselves witch In my opinion is a good thing but the distortion only happens when he wants to put everyone into a perfect world but its in a way it reflets naturally it what the phantom thives are doing but to everyone and on a larger scale while you can agree with his world views or not you have to agree he Is one of the most interesting villans in the persona 5's story

[@RobotGuy405]

I really like the way bad endings are presented in 3-5, if you genuinely got them by accident it's because you weren't really paying attention to plot details and the games core themes, the game is testing you to see if you really earned the true ending.

[@HyenaFox]

I mean honestly I think I like the way P4's bad endings worked because the theme of the game is finding the truth through the fog. It shows in the true ending vs just the normal good ending, too. If you fail to proceed through the fog, if you at any point lose your way and succumb to the lies and rumors, then that's it. You never get resolution, because the resolution was figuring out that something's off. I think it's shown with the final FMV cutscenes being similar, but with fog present, showing that there's still questions left unanswered. The implication being that the TV world merges with the real world, making it permanently impossible to figure out the truth. To be honest, I don't think this matches with the gameplay of the last couple weeks of the game; you need to pick really specific options in that confrontation with Namatame. "Figuring out that he's not actually the killer" isn't really enough.

[@flameindigo8035]

I've always hated the Namatame confrontation for being so specific with the answers you have to get. I got it slightly wrong on my first playthrough, then came to the conclusion that I must have to kill the guy, tried that, and ended up with a way, way worse ending. Had to look up a walkthrough lol

[@ARG_11]

Honestly, P5R endings were all bittersweet but that made it more memorable. Maruki ending was the most memorable bc basically you end up with everyone going ‘happily ever after’ in a twisted way, yet it’s considered a reality. Maruki’s lines were convicing and I would totally understand his action, especially after watching all those tragedy that my characters have been going through. It was like a reward, but still the fact that u r leaving your world up to a past ‘human being’ didn’t stop me from ending it there. Quite an ending that made me think a lot

[@arnoldjones2435]

I can’t wait to play Persona 3. I started playing persona at the beginning of the pandemic.

[@Zeppelee]

I would wait until they port Persona 3 Portable to the Switch, as that is the better version of the game.

[@fabiorosolen]

@@Zeppelee Persona 3 FES is the better version of the game.

[@88walka]

You gonna be let down it’s a port of portable

[@-Commit-arson-]

Persona five Royal bad ending is honestly the most terrifying And you can fight me on this

[@WoahItsCrazyMike]

I think the P4G ending where you solve all the things, but don't return to junes on the last day is, in a way, also a false happy ending, because you never fully solved the mystery, and since the "person behind the mask" as it were, is still around, the events that started the mystery in p4g might just start again later on.

[@Siinory]

I love the really bad ending of Persona 4, it's imo one of the darkest if the bunch. As for the one that reveals Akechi, well the group already had the way out, it's Cognitive Joker who were killed by Akechi which makes me guess it's actual Joker that is in the Velvet Room

[@LudicolloEnjoyer]

Persona 3's "Bad Ending" actually gets...a lot worse. Not only did you throw away everything you worked for, and basically disregarded everyone's wishes to stand by until the end _Aigis...most likely still lives in that world due to her being a machine, it wasnt until The Answer that she truly _lives._ You've effectively subjugated Aegis to wander a dead Earth until the day she becomes herself becomes inactive. That alone is incredibly dark.

[@Ikcatcher]

P5R’s ending is the one time a bad ending has made me actually questioned if it was really a bad ending. Most games the bad ending is so obvious that it’s not even worth questioning.

[@knowwhoiamyet]

I loooooved the very last shot before the end of Persona 5's normal, good ending. Where Joker looks out the window. In the window, you see the reflection of his Phantom Thief self, and in the last shot, it looks like he's looking at you. The entire time, the game's message has been about control. You played as the Phantom Thief Joker, but he's no longer a Phantom Thief. He's no longer under your control, and will never be again on that playthrough. Him shutting the window in your face is him saying "Nope, there's one more being trying to control me I need to deny." And he slams the door shut on your face.