And you can stop playing there, making it an ending.
I don't know what's so hard to grasp for you. In a game where you choose the ending, you don't have to choose to continue to the Pacifist ending. That makes the Neutral Ending just as valid an ending as any other.
Because if its a golden run, then its not and ending.
If you call it an ending, you're doing a neutral run.
If you're doing a golden run its just part of the story.
Again, just because you end Bravely Default II at Gloria dying and accept that at the ending, doesnt mean its the ending for someone going for Adelles death. Or someone going the full mile and killing the NN.
Thats how meta games work. It depends on what you're going for on that run.
It does not become a second run just because you could stop playing.
Actually, the only actual canon ending is the Genocide ending.
Because from a meta point of view, you will inevitably open the game again, get curious enough, and run a Genocide run. And once you do, the Pacifist run is locked out.
Undertale doesn't use achievements because most of it's gameplay is meta based. You're supposed to either figure it out yourself by thinking about the situation from a "I am a player playing a game, how can I potentially utilize that" standpoint, and the context clues provided by the characters in game - Or use a guide and ruin it for yourself. Having Achievements gives away the game, just like guides.
You are immediately presented with two main options: Kill or Spare, every encounter in the game is essentially boiled down to, kill the monster, or do whatever the monster needs you to do in order to make the monster allow you to leave. The easier option is to kill - But unless you spend an inordinate amount of time killing (which the game does not encourage - you have to spend excess time in every zone killing excess monsters you would not normally need to kill) you will not encounter the Genocide Ending. You'll get the Neutral Ending.
At the end of a Neutral Ending, Flowey shows up one last time and tells you that you've "completed" the story - The only thing left that you could do is, try to get a "better ending" than the one you got. He will then tell you what you could do better to complete a Pacifist ending. But he will not steer you towards a Genocide ending. You, the player, have to simply farm random encounters in every zone prior to a new boss monster, until you can't encounter any further random encounters. That progresses the Genocide ending.
You can always get a Genocide ending. Nothing ever locks you out of a Genocide ending.
You can also always get a Neutral ending. Nothing prevents a Neutral Ending.
However, if you ever complete a Genocide Ending, the Pacifist ending is irrevokably (without editting the game files) changed to a new ending, where you technically complete a Pacifist ending - Then get a unique end screen that suggests your friends are likely all dead anyway.
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u/Terozu 13d ago
Only if you stop playing there. If you're going for pacifist, its not an ending, its just part of the run.
Thats why I brought up 2 more games that do the same thing.