History YMMV / EndlessSummer

* FranchiseOriginalSin: At the end of book one, the player is are given a premium choice that allows you to rescue Grace, Raj, or both from the Vaanti. This is a mild attempt at GuiltBasedGaming, but neither of them will die if bot rescued -- they just [[spoiler: rough it on the island with Diego and harbor some mild resentment for not being rescued.]] Later books would have characters outright die if you didn't spend gems and would then [[WhatTheHellPlayer call you out if you didn't do this.]] These choices were much more disliked because of the high stakes and the potential for character interactions to be completely denied instead of just altered.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: At the end of book one, the player is are given a premium choice that allows you to rescue Grace, Raj, or both from the Vaanti. This is a mild attempt at GuiltBasedGaming, but neither of them will die if bot rescued -- they just [[spoiler: rough it on the island with Diego and harbor some mild resentment for not being rescued.]] Later books would have characters outright die if you didn't spend gems and would then [[WhatTheHellPlayer call out out if you didn't do this.]] These choices were much more disliked because of the high stakes and the potential for character interactions to be completely denied instead of just altered.

* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: While not being officially Scrappies and more a case of a BrokenBase with a very vocal opposition, this is the case for Michelle, Aleister and Craig, who are the characters who start with a negative relation with Taylor depending on the interactions with them. They stopped being Scrappies for the rest of the players after their {{Character Development}}s kicked in.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[spoiler:Uqzhaal and the Anarchronists turned against [[BrokenPedestal the Endless]] could have been a compelling plot point and an interesting exploration of the impact of the Endless's action... if it has lasted longer than 2 scenes before being solved abruptly by Rourke blasting them with the Omega Suit]].

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[spoiler:Uqzhaal and the Anarchronists turned against the Endless could have been a compelling plot point and an interesting exploration of the impact of the Endless's action... if it has lasted longer than 2 scenes before being solved abruptly by Rourke blasting them with the Omega Suit]].

** In a premium scene, there's a lot of BelligerentSexualTension between Jake and Sean. Taylor has the option to have Jake, Sean ''or both at the same time'' to apply lotion on his/her back. If the player chooses the third option, while very awkward, both keep bickering on which is the best way to apply the cream, getting even more flustered when their hands touch accidentally.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** After numerous complaints about the main characters in ''VisualNovel/TheFreshman'' and ''VisualNovel/RulesOfEngagement'' being boring and forcing players to play as a female rather than allow them to choose their character's gender. ''Endless Summer'' not only gave the fans to option to play as a male main character, the writing for Taylor was also much improved, both trends which have continued to this day.
** After the infamous ending to the [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice route (where you become Redfield) in ''VisualNovel/ItLivesInTheWoods]]'' due to the blatant StoryBranchFavoritism, the [[spoiler:HeroicSacrifice route (Merge with Vaanu) in ''Endless Summer'' is a major TearJerker with everyone from the group making clear that they are in mourning as well as providing the most logical and narratively appropriate resolution to the events of the story]].

** After numerous complaints about the main characters in ''VisualNovel/TheFreshman'' and ''VisualNovel/RulesOfEngagement'' being boring, and forcing players to play as a female rather than allow them to choose their character's gender. ''Endless Summer'' not only gave the fans to option to play as a male main character, the writing for Taylor was also much improved, both trends which have continued to this day.

** Michelle: Is she a Clingy AlphaBitch or a more in depth smart girl who is too ambitious for her own good?

* FridgeBrilliance:
** Aleister's birthday is August 19, which in many parts of the world would be written as 19-08, an ArcNumber for [[spoiler:his father, Rourke. Then we learn that Aleister is a clone, which means everything related to his conception was meticulously planned. What are the odds that Rourke intentionally set it up for Aleister to be born on that date?]]
** The Catalyst Idol for Taylor represents Andromeda, the only human among the other animal or mythical creature constellations. It looks like a person in chains, without any determinable gender. This is because the game does not care whether you chose to be male or female. It is also retrieved by diving into the water after it falls from the Cetus' esca. The original Andromeda myth had her chained to a rock at sea to lure Cetus out.
** Aleister and Estela are the only Catalysts associated with reptiles, the snake for the former and the dragon for the latter. Meanwhile, Rourke is also associated with another reptile: the hydra, a multi-headed serpentine creature. [[spoiler:This symbolizes Rourke being Aleister and Estela's father in different ways: the former is a clone Rourke considers inferior, like the snake being a mere animal; the latter is Rourke's biological daughter he considers superior, like the dragon and hydra being powerful mythical creatures.]]
** In retrospect, the scene from the past in Taylor's Idol vision can be read as [[spoiler:Diego talking to himself since Taylor doesn't exist yet.]] Along the same lines, Diego's Idol vision doesn't have a past because [[spoiler:Taylor's absence would be notable.]]

** Retroactive example with VisualNovel/RulesOfEngagement. [[ParentalNeglect Blaire Hall]] has an argument with her daughter over the phone before Grace boards the plane to La Huerta. The discussion becomes even sadder when one stops to think that there's little chance they get to see each other again after that.
** Treating Michelle badly and possibly hooking up with Sean becomes harsh once Book 2 reveals that Michelle never cheated on Sean and was set up by her sorority out of spite, which explains Michelle's initial defensive attitude around Sean. Treating her nicely might be the first decent treatment she ever got since the breakup. Her relationship with Sean also becomes heartbreaking because Sean never gave her the opportunity to explain herself before dumping her on the spot, despite having being together for two years. Fortunately, Book 2 Chapter 12 gives Taylor the opportunity to encourage Michelle to tell the truth about what happened, allowing both of them to move on.

** [[spoiler:Grace gave the letter intended to be her last word to her mother Blaire to Taylor if the player is has a "Like" status with her regardless of gender. Keep in mind that this occur even if Taylor convinced her to talk to Aleister led to the two confessing their feeling for one another]].

** Craig's belief that nobody is expecting him back home is sad, adding the fact that he lost his friendship with Zahra because they both changed into different people and he thinks that he has no other talent outside of being the muscle of the group. This gets expanded on in Book 2, [[spoiler:where it's revealed that he indeed has no prospects after graduating, as his dream team rejected his application. It gets even more tragic when the vision shows an alternative future where he decides to stay behind and die to give his friends more time to flee from the Arachnids.]]

** Book 2 reveals a significant detail about Michelle after Taylor grabs the first catalyst idol. [[spoiler:It turns out that Michelle didn't cheat on Sean and it was a lie from her sorority sisters out of spite. She is so shocked by the backstabbing that the only thing she has left to do is form a shield and be aloof towards everyone. An alternative flash forward shows that she will separate from the group, thinking that nobody likes her, that she's the one to blame for the supposed deaths of Craig and Aleister and sailing right into a storm]]. After learning this, it's very probable that the player would want to hug Michelle and apologize if they were mean to each other in Book 1.

** Most of Sean's storyline and character interaction is hidden behind Premium Choices, thus it makes the interaction with him much more shallow than the other Love Interest. Book 3 is the most blatant examples of this: [[spoiler:He is the same person he was at the start of the series, is the only Love Interest whose secret wasn’t incorporated into the main plot and is the only character still struggling with the issues he came to the island with, in his Ember of Hope]].

** Quinn. She was ill with Rotterdam's Syndrome since she was a child and spent most of her childhood locked up at home. The treatments were so expensive that it costed all the family's savings and indirectly caused them to get divorced. After getting better by an experimental treatment, Quinn could go to a normal high school and college. [[spoiler:That's until she reveals to Taylor that she relapsed a few days before the trip and she has a shorter lifespan.]] Add that to also being stuck in an island full of killer creatures with no escape. Things for her get worse in Book 2 [[spoiler:since the time travel accelerates her illness to terminal state, and the only solution to cure her was to obtain "The Island's Heart". Unknowingly for everybody, she gets cured but also gets possessed by a mysterious spirit, a fact only [[SecretKeeper Taylor and Uqzhaal]] are aware of.]]

** Among the Catalysts, Aleister and Estela are the only ones associated with reptiles, the snake for the former and the dragon for the latter. Meanwhile, Rourke is also associated with another reptile: the hydra, a multi-headed serpentine creature. [[spoiler:This symbolizes Rourke being Aleister and Estela's father in different ways: the former is a clone Rourke considers inferior, like a snake being a mere animal; the latter is Rourke's biological daughter he considers superior, like a dragon being a powerful mythical creature like the hydra.]]

** Aleister's birthday is August 19th, which in many parts of the world would be written as 19-08, which is an ArcNumber for [[spoiler:his father, Rourke. Then we learn that Aleister is a clone, which means everything related to his conception was meticulously planned. What are the odds that Rourke intentionally set it up for Aleister to be born on that date?]]
** The Catalyst Idol for Taylor represents Andromeda, the only human among the other animal or mythical creature constellations. It looks like a person in chains; without any determinable gender. This is logical because the game does not care whether you chose to be male or female. It is also retrieved by diving into the water after it falls from the Cetus' esca. The original Andromeda myth had her chained to a rock at sea to lure Cetus out.
** Aleister and Estela's Catalyst Idols represent Serpens (snake) and Draco (dragon), respectively. What they have in common is that they're reptiles like the hydra, a multi-headed serpentine creature Rourke is associated with. [[spoiler:This symbolizes Rourke being Aleister and Estela's father in different ways: the former is a clone Rourke considers inferior, like a snake being a mere animal; the latter is Rourke's biological daughter he considers superior, like a dragon being a majestic mythical creature.]]