(This thread is from 2012)

*** SPOILERS ***

This post contains spoilers for the end of the game, and the last level or so.

I'm curious to know who others chose to kill at the end and why. I was pretty convinced that Azai was really the "bad guy" up until the last part of the game where you're wandering through that fugue state. I really wasn't sure who to believe and I suppose that's the whole point to begin with. I ended up killing Azai as even if Ora was a figment of my imagination she'd been with me throughout and just felt this pull of loyalty to her. The game really made it ambiguous in a good way. It was a decision where there wasn't an obvious choice (unless I missed something, which is entirely possible).

I plan on making the opposite choice when I finish up NG+. Does the choice actually affect anything on further playthroughs or just a slightly different ending? Also, I'm not sure if this is related or not, but I didn't see any of the delusions you were supposed to quickly stealth kill for that one seal. Do those show up under certain circumstances or , again, perhaps I just missed them?

Anyhow, this is an amazing game from top to bottom.

Your choice doesn't change anything other than the short animation at the end.

I killed myself at the end, since it was clear with the girl being the ink and the guards (the delusions) in the previous level becoming ninja once you slaughter them that I was out of my mind. But it's totally justified killing Azai. Dude sparked this whole mess by stealing the weapons in the first place, getting his entire clan and countless soldiers killed. If there was an option to kill us all, I'd have chosen that.

I killed Azai, I was pretty sure that "Mark" had gone crazy but I didn't like Azai or the fact that he was trying to modernize the ninja.

I killed myself. It was clear that I had gone crazy and was doing more harm than good to the clan. I have no reason to believe that anything I thought about what the clan was up to was anything other than me going crazy

I just did both and I agree with @Damian that in the previous level it is trying to tell you that you are killing your clan. Granted Azai brought this on to his clan by failing to keep the flowers growing and such. But after doing both endings I think its clear that you are suppose to kill yourself especially with him (edit: your character) looking at the girl as she changes into birds and flys away.

I killed Azai, but was hoping for more confirmation whether the ninja was crazy or not. Instead, you make your choice, and the game just ends. Kind of disappointing for such a great build up.

Both endings were a little disappointing to me. It was clear the ninja had lost it, but Azai pulled so messed up shit too. Wish there was a way to kill us both or something.

I lilled azai. I need the Ninja to live for the sequel. (THERE MUST BE ONE!!!!!!)

Just finished the game, one of my favorites this year. I killed Azai too, not  because it felt like the right thing to do, but it felt like the natural conclusion to the story.

Killed myself. Didn't like the tone in her voice most of the game. She always seemed, off, and the last 2 levels sealed it.

That being said there's a whole lot of game left to play still.

I killed Azai. Hallucination or no, she was guiding me through deathtrap after deathtrap, and Azai put the entire clan in danger to give them guns to compensate for losing the crazy drug (i think?), so, whatever, man, that guy wasn't responsible!

I thought there was something deep in the ending...

the ink girl kept saying "ive never lied to you", the ink was showing the ninja the truth from another perspective. yes his clan went bad, but is killing ninjas who have lost sense of honor a really bad thing? I thought the ending was rather deep. his maddness (the ink) only showed him the the truth he would have never seen as a normal member of the clan. she never lied to him. i think the ink was good and everyone else was evil, the ninjas madness was him bieng infected with... errm.. goodness lol.

Both endings were good in my opinion, to know the truth and destroy a corrupt ninja clan, OR to honor your promise to protect your clan no matter how they have changed and kill yourself.

and the fact that his master and the ink lady both submit themselves to let him make the choice showed that both of them understood he had to choose, too bad he couldnt do both. I found it really hard to choose, I think that was the point. good and evil is not all that simple.

I killed him, because Mark was crazy. But I always knew that given the choice, I would have him kill himself, so I like to think he did that afterwards. Imagine the anger the ending would have gotten if they weren't more explicit about Mark's madness.

I killed Azai, I was pretty sure that "Mark" had gone crazy but I didn't like Azai or the fact that he was trying to modernize the ninja.

I killed Ora, but if there had been a choice to kill Azai first, then kill yourself I would have chosen that. Also, I knew from the first minute that Ora doesn't exist, seemed kinda obvious to me

Yeah I killed myself, I didn't like that the hallucination had been goading me into murdering my own clan, without a better third party or more proof that Azai was "evil" I had no intention on acting on delusions from an insane mind. It was safer just to end it and hope Azai pulled his shit together afterwards.

I actually felt sorry for Azai. His ancient ninja ways were being outdone by modern technology, hell the only reason the ninja survived everything was because he was suped up with magical powers...which are fine except for the fact Azai's magic ink supply was running out.

Azai was desperate for a way for ninja to stay relevant and I was ok with what he did, granted he could have done a better job not incurring the wrath of Karajan but he did what he had to. One of the later level's scrolls tell the story of Azai's confession and how sorrowful he was about everything that had happened. Well at that point it was sort of clear he was a man with no other options.

The real killer for me was walking through the hall to kill Azai, the other ninja bow respectfully to you. Cue Ora with "Look at them bow their heads in shame! Once we deal with Azai the rest of the clan will have to be purified." and I was like "Yeah...you're a bad influence on me." and so killed myself with honour and sympathy for Azai.

Both endings leave you rather unfulfilled I think however, killing yourself is simple, you see yourself stab Ora, then it turns out you stabbed yourself, camera zooms out slowly Azai doesn't comment or say a word.

Killing Azai instantly paints the scroll of the first ancient marked ninja (I forget the name) who went crazy and wiped out his master and clan over the cutscene before showing the shadow art!ninja swoosh away possibly implying countless more deaths.

I killed my hallucination ninja lady-friend, because cyber-ninjas with lasers and night-vision goggles are dope as fuck. If Azai wanted that shit to happen, I wasn't gonna stop him.

Man, how the shit do you guys know her name is Ora? The protagonist never speaks, and no one else ever acknowledges her existence or speaks to her, for obvious reasons.

@BisonHero:

Your objective screen mentions it I think.

I killed ninja girl but didn't realize doing so would also = suicide. I found no particular fault in Azai's reasoning, he was just trying to keep up with the technology so team ninja would continue to flip out and kill people with relevant and market competitive efficiency. Also, girl's voice was annoying. I had hoped to stay alive to reap the benefits and continue stabby terror crusade though. :p

Just beat it after getting it on steam holiday sale, chose to kill the girl because I figured it had to equal killing myself. My main thought being if she was real then I would have the option of only killing myself then she could kill azai, but because straight-up killing myself wasnt an option I killed her.

I killed Ora, because video game writing. I figured Azai would equal the bad ending, since games with choices like that love their "WHAT A TWEEST" moments. I don't mean to sound dismissive, it's a great game, but I look at binary choices in games like I do split hallways: Always try to take the "wrong" path, because that's where they hide the goodies.

I killed Ora, then Azai. I was going to straight up kill Azai as that is the point of the last half of the game, and he killed my bro Dosan. But as you get near the end, Ora gets really blood lusty, saying I have to slaughter everyone. These people were my family and they were led astray. They should be saved.

@cooljammer00 said:

You mean on different playthroughs, right?

I just played the last chapter twice.

The mission in the game after assassinating Karajan was to kill Master Azai till the second last mission. I also read a scroll from the scroll list that says, " Azai: I have seen today's soldiers and the weapons they use and I know we could survive with these these tools". They reason Azai stole the weapons and Ora was not even a character in the game, Ora was just thoughts of the ninja that were tending him to destroy his clan as Azai had told him the story of the ink. This one was no different, so killing Ora (the ninja himself) was the real decision and The good ending, the other one was the evil ending.

Seppuku is the only honorable choice. I decided the tattoos almost got the better of me, so I was honorbound to gut myself.

There were two justifications for me killing Azai although to the game's credit it's really all how you interpret it. Once I committed to being a killer in the game I knew that when Ora (who I interpreted as my inner conscience when I figured she wasn't real) said Azai and the clan disgraced themselves in sacrificing honor for power, I saw the act of killing Azai and my clansman and honorable suicide for the clan. The way I saw it, competing with technology only made it indistinguishable from the thugs and bosses I was tasked to kill for "dishonoring" the clan. So in my eyes it is no better that the clan gets to survive than those I've been killing.

In a way I disagreed with Azai and agreed with my enemies yet somehow remaining true to my clan and fighting its enemies. The only answer that felt right at the time was for both to be destroyed.

That and Azai committed the gravest sin and betrayed a good man in Dosan. With a clan gone too far and a deceitful leader, admittedly sorrowful and trapped in his own way, I thought enough was enough.

I agree with others that I would have chosen to take down my own clan, killing Azai, and then kill myself, which is the only disappointment I had with the ending.

I killed Azai, because turning ninja into cyborgs was very possibly his next step.

I played MK9. That shit ain't cool.

I killed Azai, I knew I was crazy and had committed atrocities but I would rather be alive, even with that knowledge. Although now that I'm thinking about it I don't know what that says about me.

I killed Azai. I'm not convinced that Ora was a hallucination as she was able to scout ahead and give information that the Ninja could not have known.

I found the ending to be quite interesting. After a quick review of all you have been through and the choices you have made, you have to make you last hard decision without real closure.

The one thing I found interesting is that if you aren't in the light over Azai and press the attack button, it will turn you towards Ora.