First, I want to thank all the people who commented under my previous post and reassured me that yes, Saeran’s AE is indeed a bit confusing and getting the Good Ending isn’t as easy as it is in other routes. With that being said, I want to share my thoughts on the AE itself. Some major spoilers under the cut!
I haven’t been checking Tumblr or the MM app itself for a while now, so imagine my surprise when I saw a huge update with its description being “Ray’s (or did it say Saeran’s?) after ending has been added. I was a bit worried that it might be a lot like V’s AE - extremely expensive and not actually resolving some of the players’ major concerns, but Cheritz outdid themselves with the format of this one! 300 HG for almost 4 days packed with content is like a huge Black Friday deal that’s actually legit!
It honestly felt like we got a lot more content than usual. There was a Story Mode after pretty much every chatroom. All the calls were packed with a ton of options. Outgoing calls with the the man of the hour, Saeran himself, happened a lot more often than what I’m used to with other characters in their own routes. I haven’t counted how many new CGs we got, but boy oh boy were there many of them and were they gorgeous to look at! So yeah, execution was handled perfectly.
I won’t be analyzing any of the characters, because I don’t think I’m good at it. I’ll just stick to what I felt about them as I navigated my way through the many Bad Ending traps in the AE.
Saeran’s characterization pretty much aligned with most of the HCs I’ve had about him. He is still in the early stages of dealing with trauma caused by many years of neglect and abuse, so I guess it’s natural for him to be so completely devoted to the one who helped him regain his freedom. I’m not worried about him becoming codependent on the MC, because he’s started to have dreams of his own and he did work for Jumin for a while there.
I’m a bit sad that we didn’t get some Choi twins bonding time, but I guess that leaves more room for HCs and maybe... a birthday DLC? Whooa, imagine that!! But still, a short and touching reunion CG/chat/Story Mode would’ve been nice.
I really can’t tell if I’m okay with their dad’s plotline or not. Up until the very end I didn’t feel anything about him as a character. He might have been the agency’s boss and I’d still feel the same about him. In my mind, he was just another tool to highlight Saeran’s transformation.
V and Rika... I don’t even wanna talk about them. What even was that? What happened to them?
Vanderwood was a breath of fresh air. I felt like I could chat with him for hours. We did get some breadcrumbs about his life and I wonder if we’d ever get some Vandy content. Maybe not a full-blown route, but a DLC?
It was a bit shocking to see how this AE took the main cast’s future plans from their Good Endings in a completely different direction. Jumin is now a politician with loyal Jaehee having his back. Yoosung’s dream to become a vet pretty much didn’t even exist in this timeline. I’m a bit sad that RFA basically doesn’t even exist anymore, but hey, I think we can all agree that the organization needs a fresh start and some serious revamping.
Overall, I’m quite satisfied with Saeran’s AE. And how could I not be after seeing the GE CG...
We will probably never get an ending that would be satisfying for all the characters. Even before Another Story was released, I often fantasized about such an ending - an ending where the twins are healthy and happy and working on rebuilding their relationship; an ending where Jumin learns what true love is; an ending where Jaehee gets to make her dream about owning a cafe come true... You get my point. But happiness can come in many forms. Just because Yoosung is not a vet anymore doesn’t mean he won’t be happy making sweets in Paris. In the end, I just want them all to be healthy and happy on their own terms.
So, Cheritz - a huge thank you for this wonderful Christmas present! 🌻🌻🌻
