#i keep thinking abt how there is no 'ending' or 'happily ever after' in orv because youre meant to create that ending for yourself

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i used to hate the tales of the abyss ending for leaving off on an ambigious and otherwise quiet note, but i know better now. ive had an entire character arc. ive grown. and honestly i believe its not only the best ending in the series - of the ones ive played, so far, i have high hopes for xillia 2 - but it fits the game perfectly. luke's character arc gets wrapped up perfectly, and you know exactly what happens with the rest of the party, so there aren't many loose ends. there are several side quests in the game that tell you exactly what happened to luke and asch, as well, and yet the man in the epilogue has several characteristics from luke himself. they give you the perfect amount of info to have a clue as to what happened, and a perfect amount of assorted pieces to leave you guessing. it really is a matter of not who deserves to live more - because the game itself beat you over the head with that every time luke and asch came on screen - but what you, the player, wants to believe. even if its narratively sound that asch lives, you could want to see luke come to terms with his life in the epilogue instead. even if you think luke earned his happy ending, you could prefer to see the resolution to asch's character arc. it could be both of them. it could be neither. frankly, whatever he said or looks like has no meaning in the grand scheme of the epilogue -- regardless of what you believe there is and will never be a "canon" answer. there was never meant to be one. it rules!!