“Failure is not an option.” It’s a mantra we’ve had repeatedly rammed down our throats since the dawn of gaming — sometimes using those exact words — but is it really true?
Well, in the case of most games, yes — “failing” whatever task you have been set usually results in a Game Over screen (or, in more recent titles, particularly on console, an automatic reload from a checkpoint).
But in the case of visual novels, failure is often not only an option, it’s sometimes outright desirable to seek it out, if only for a certain sense of perverse pleasure in seeing characters suffering anything from a mild setback to extreme tragedy. The emotional engagement endemic to the medium means that sometimes “bad endings” can be even more striking and memorable than the good ones.
This article was originally published on Games Are Evil in 2012 as part of the site’s regular READ.ME column on visual novels. It has been republished here due to Games Are Evil no longer existing in its original form.
School Days HQ, which we discussed a few weeks back, is one such example. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this game (or, more specifically, its original 2005 incarnation) is so widely known and well-regarded due to its genuinely shocking and upsetting bad endings. (Its anime adaptation is also the source of the “Nice Boat” meme — spoileriffic explanation here.) I shan’t spoil said finales here for those intending to play the game (and you really should — it’s brilliant) but suffice to say that they’re a cut above even what you might normally expect from bad endings in the medium.
The key thing about School Days – and indeed many other visual novels — is that reaching a bad ending doesn’t usually feel like you’ve “failed” as such. In most cases, an effort has been made by the writing team to make the bad (or, more accurately, “non-happy”) endings seem just as valid as the good (read: “happy”) ones. It’s pretty rare you’ll come across a visual novel that gives you an immediate Game Over for picking the “wrong” choice — more often than not you’ll simply proceed down a different branch of the story that happens to end in a significantly less positive manner than others.
Corpse Party, which we talked about last week, is an interesting twist on this formula. Corpse Party practically encourages its players to seek out all the possible bad (or “wrong” as it calls them) endings by tracking which ones have and have not been attained in the game’s main menu. It does feature one or two simplistic endings where you are caught by a monster/ghost/trap and just die, but for the most part, the “Wrong Ends” are just as involved as the single “correct” path through the game.
As mentioned last week, in one particularly memorable situation, messing up a single sequence means that the story continues in the exact same way as it would if the player was on track for the “correct” ending, but then falls apart into hideously disastrous consequences right at the end. It’s remarkably effective in drawing you in, making you think everything’s fine and then knocking you down unexpectedly.
Then there’s works that have been designed from the outset as a tragedy. Take Kana Little Sister, for example. In this title, you know from the very beginning that Kana is probably going to die at the end. Does this mean the finales in which she does die (and it’s not really a spoiler to say that this makes up most of them) are bad endings?
Well, kind of — I defy you not to shed a tear or two having spent the whole game with her — but the whole point of that game’s narrative is both Kana and her brother (the player-protagonist) coming to terms with her condition and the inevitable tragic conclusion. Seeing her death and the fallout thereof does not feel like a failure for the player — it’s very sad, sure, but it’s entirely in keeping with the tone the story has set up until that point.
And how about Katawa Shoujo? There are five main routes through that game, each of which has at least two — in some cases, three — endings. In several cases — Hanako, Shizune and Rin’s arcs are the particularly striking examples — the supposedly “bad” endings arguably feel more in keeping with the story’s tone than the good ones.
A key part of Katawa Shoujo’s narrative in all its five routes is that life isn’t always fair, things don’t always go the way you expect and there’s no “magic bullet” to fix all your problems. Unlike a lot of other ren’ai (romance-themed) visual novels, the protagonist isn’t some Prince Charming figure who comes along to sweep these girls off their feet and take them far away from their suffering — he’s just as physically and mentally “damaged” as they are, and this means there’s no guarantee that things will end well. Indeed, it’s even possible for Katawa Shoujo to end prematurely long before you even get on to any of the individual girls’ paths.
Although visual novels, for the most part, are relatively light on what some would call traditional “gameplay,” the inclusion of bad endings in many works — though, it’s worth noting, not all — means that you’re given a feeling of weighty consequences to your choices. Those seemingly-inconsequential binary options that pop up every so often become something to be agonized over rather than simply clicked through — and they ultimately give you the choice of what sort of experience you’d like to have, though you may not be completely aware of the decision you’re making at the time.
Are you seeking a nice, happy ending where everything gets cleared up nicely? Are you looking for a bittersweet conclusion where things seem to have turned out well but have an undercurrent of discontent? Or do you want to see these characters suffer? The choice is, more often than not, yours.
Coming up soon on READ.ME is Aselia the Eternal, an all-ages (well, 15+) visual novel brought to Western audiences by JAST USA. (Editor’s Note: …and rereleased more recently on Steam.) It’s a lengthy game, so I’m not going to guarantee that I’ll be talking about it in next week’s column, but expect something on it very soon, as it’s a fascinating title that’s well worth your time and attention. If you want to check it out right now, you can grab it from JAST’s online shop here. (Note: the page on Aselia is safe for work, but JAST USA carries a number of “adults only” titles so the remainder of the site is probably best browsed away from prying eyes.)
In the meantime, may your life ever proceed down the route of your choice.
This article was originally published on Games Are Evil in 2012 as part of the site’s regular READ.ME column on visual novels. It has been republished here due to Games Are Evil no longer existing in its original form.
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