You’re not the only one sobbing right now, poor little Cotton Cookie.
Who said a lighthearted gacha game about sentient cookies running for the hills can’t make you cry? With its surprising new focus on post-war recovery, conflict of morality and the like, Cookie Run: Kingdom would beg to differ.
Unmarked spoilers ahead!
- Pure Vanilla Cookie’s decision to sacrifice himself caught other members of The Five off guard, but they could do nothing but to watch him slowly crumble before their very eyes. Hollyberry actually cried in helplessness, and even someone like Dark Cacao was visibly saddened but had to quickly toughen himself up for their world’s sake. War Is Hell, even for Cookies.
- The Dark Mode shows off a lot of light behind Dark Choco Cookie's past, especially the fact that Dark Cacao Cookie — whose fate has grown ambiguous since the Dark Flour War — is actually his father. The story as to how he became a Fallen Hero is absolutely depressing, especially when Pomegrante Cookie forces him to remember his past... Let’s just say Choi Won-Hyeong nailed the voice acting.
- Those who came out from the Dark Flour War carry visible mental and emotional burdens on their shoulders, showing that PTSD is no joke. Dark Choco Cookie's absolutely wretched situation is one thing, but not even the saintly Pure Vanilla Cookie and jolly Hollyberry Cookie - two of the ancient heroes and great monarchs - are immune from the feeling of guilt and being a "failure". It got so bad that Pure Vanilla had a mental breakdown while trying to face his past, and Hollyberry left everything behind to go into hiding, believing she didn’t deserve either the throne or the sacred shield anymore.
- Seeing how Pastry Cookie coldly points her arrow at the Cake Hound that just makes cute squishy noises can actually pull at the strings of an animal lover’s heart. Yes, the Cake Hounds (at least the ones baked at the Tower of Sweet Chaos) are a threat to Cookie’s survival and you beat them up and down everyday, but they’re also featured in events such as Madeleine Cookie’s Cake Crusade as nothing more than adorable little puppies. The game, intentionally or not, makes you go 'awww' for them, only to make you realize again that these puppy-like critters are enemies you must wipe out by the dozens simply because they’re the current threat. The way Red Velvet Cookie lovingly treats them, and how one of them actually goes up to Red Velvet out of concern (and even has a name, Chiffon) Does. not. help.
- Pastry Cookie herself is also not safe from this. After learning the truth behind the Witches, Dark Enchantress Cookie, and the Tower of Sweet Chaos, Pastry is just broken down and horrified at everything she's done. The Mother Reverend effectively gaslighting her into thinking everything she saw was just a test to her faith, does not help one bit. Now burdened with an Awful Truth, she is trapped in the Order, with a Shadow Sister Cookie ready to turn her into crumbs if she were to try and escape and spread the truth.
- Practically everything about Frost Queen and the Lantern in the Snow, and the friendship of Cotton and Sherbet Cookie was designed to make the player weep.
- Sherbet Cookie’s death. Cotton Cookie tried everything in her power to try and save her friend, even braving multiple blizzards for him, but it was All for Nothing since Sherbet is a Frost Child who is destined to die and become one with nature, and not only were Cotton’s efforts to help in vain, but may have even contributed to Sherbet’s restlessness. All those stories of Cookies being “taken” by the Frost Witch? They were also Frost Children, and Frost Queen Cookie was simply helping them achieve their goal as part of her duty as a guardian of nature. All that's left of him is the cotton ball he wore, which she clutches close to her heart while weeping.Cotton Cookie: No! (breaking down in tears) Sherbet Cookie! SHERBET COOKIE! NO! PLEASE STAY!! DON'T GO!!!
- Frost Queen Cookie's backstory is also very sad. She was once a doctor named Frost Cookie who worked to cure the illness that would affect Sherbet Cookie, before falling ill to it herself. She roams the frozen land with her friend in an attempt to find the cure, only to succumb to the illness, all while her friend tearfully begs her not to fade away.Frost Cookie: Now I understand... I...
Frost Cookie's Friend (later Snowflake Cookie): No! Frost Cookie! (tearing up) Don't fade away...! - The ending of that same storyline has Sherbet Cookie become a Frost Spirit, able to fly wherever he wants to. But this comes at the expense of him and Cotton Cookie being separated. The Framing Device ends when a young village girl talks to an elderly Cotton Cookie, who wistfully looks at the lantern-strewn tree, hoping her friend is doing all right as a lyrical version of the Lantern in the Snow's theme plays out, which is just as tear-jerking.The night on the meadow
Whispers through the breeze
Old lanterns shining brightly
Upon the tallest tree
I recall your smile as years flow by
But they're all a long time ago
When the snow feels warm, and your journey is over
Let this guide your way... - In the One-Year Anniversary side-story events, after seeing nothing but light-hearted scenes from everyone, we cut to an elder Cotton Cookie hoping to talk to Sherbet Cookie about his adventures...blissfully unaware that he's right by her side. The side story ends with her walking back, none the wiser even though one of her Cotton Sheep tried telling her about his presence. However, in the December 2022 Stories from the Fireplace event, Cotton and Sherbet Cookie finally reunite after so long, the last scene being them smiling and Sherbet about to tell her stories of everything he's seen.
- One YouTube video by Devsisters is the tale of how Cotton and Sherbet met, with Cotton saving Sherbet from some ferocious snowmen and even giving him a storybook to keep him company when he was sick. When some children ask Carol Cookie what happened to them, we zoom out and see the elderly Cotton Cookie with the book on a table and an empty chair across from her. She wistfully looks out the window to see Sherbet flying away.
- Sherbet Cookie’s death. Cotton Cookie tried everything in her power to try and save her friend, even braving multiple blizzards for him, but it was All for Nothing since Sherbet is a Frost Child who is destined to die and become one with nature, and not only were Cotton’s efforts to help in vain, but may have even contributed to Sherbet’s restlessness. All those stories of Cookies being “taken” by the Frost Witch? They were also Frost Children, and Frost Queen Cookie was simply helping them achieve their goal as part of her duty as a guardian of nature. All that's left of him is the cotton ball he wore, which she clutches close to her heart while weeping.
- The implication that Dark Enchantress simply left Strawberry Crepe Cookie behind in the Vanilla Kingdom when the Cookies of Darkness made their retreat at the end of chapter 10. Thankfully Pure Vanilla Cookie doesn’t harbour any grudges towards them for what they did to him and the village, but the poor kid’s probably feeling terrible about it all.
- In general, Strawberry Crepe’s situation. A small child wakes up from cryosleep, only to find that everyone in their home kingdom, right up to the king that rules it, are nowhere to be found. Out of immense boredom they start to poke at and kneecap the nearby village with their technology, and the first friendly person they meet manipulates and enables this behaviour to get her own way, convincing them that she will create a perfect kingdom for them and that anyone who comes past is evil and must be stopped. And then, when they’ve been defeated and are at their most vulnerable, this guiding figure effectively abandons them, being more concerned about saving the asses of herself and her goons rather than helping someone who to her was just another pawn in her schemes.
- For all his talk at how he would bring an end to his own son, Dark Choco Cookie, Dark Cacao Cookie ultimately can't bring himself to do it, realizing that he was too focused on making his son into a warrior, with his lack of parental love leading his son down the twisted path he walked. Dark Cacao sounds genuinely heartbroken and guilty as he makes this realization. Too bad Pomegranate Cookie had to go and nearly ruin everything!Dark Cacao Cookie: I taught you how to wield a sword, yet I never taught you why. I am sorry. This realization was gravely overdue...
- Mixed with Heartwarming and Awesome, but Dark Choco Cookie finally pulling a Heel–Face Turn and abandoning the Cookies of Darkness will likely elicit a few happy tears.
- The Ancient Heroes greatly valued White Lily Cookie as one of their closest friends, so it says a lot when Dark Cacao and Hollyberry Cookie are utterly enraged at Clotted Cream Cookie's accusations against White Lily for causing the Dark Flour War with her ambition and greed. And to twist the knife further, Pure Vanilla Cookie confirms that Clotted Cream wasn't wrong, and that White Lily IS Dark Enchantress Cookie, completely shocking both Dark Cacao and Hollyberry. Hollyberry tears into Pure Vanilla, feeling betrayed that one of their closest friends became their bitter enemy, and the other one knew about it all along but never said anything until now.Hollyberry Cookie: "You... you're just like White Lily Cookie, you know that?! You always said how important our friendship was... But all this time, you kept us in the dark!"
- The BTS event, while light-hearted and coming after the Duskgloom Sea event, ends on a melancholic and bittersweet note when the seven decide to perform one more song ("Best is Yet to Come") in an empty auditorium as they hope for better moments in the future together. Even if you remove the Reality Subtext that happened to strike just a few days laternote , it represents that these memories and moments are fleeting, but there is still something to look forward to. The best is yet to come.
- The 2022 holiday update contains a scene of Dark Choco Cookie after the events of Chapter 14. It's both tearjerking and heartwarming: He's still alone, but he's happy and at peace, away from the influence of the forces of darkness and finally starting to heal from his trauma.Dark Choco Cookie: "But even the roaming of my thoughts... feels refreshing. I feel... free."
- While most of the dreams in the "Crunchy Dreams" event are hilarious or heartwarming, some of them are downright heartbreaking,
- Per usual in this page, Cotton Cookie is quick to get the waterworks going. She has a dream of Sherbet Cookie flying away and she begs him to not go away again. Sherbet Cookie then reassures her that he's not going anywhere as she's also flying with him. Frost Queen even appears and allows Cotton this small moment of happiness before Cotton joins her friend high into the sky. Then, we see the elderly Cotton Cookie wake up, surprised that she was dreaming that dream once again.
- Cream Puff Cookie's nightmare in the Archwizard story involves her becoming Brainwashed and Crazy by the dark side (symbolized by her wearing her Dark Magic Hat costume) and is met with Twizzly Gummy Cookie, who temps her to travel to another timeline to really wreak havoc. Cream Puff Cookie wakes up in a panic, clearly horrified and reduced to a sobbing wreck as she is left to question whether or not it was simply a nightmare. Seeing a sweet, lovable, and innocent little cookie child such as Cream Puff Cookie go through such a horrible experience like this is unbearable to watch.
- Poor Squid Ink Cookie doesn't have it easy either, for they have suffered three nightmares in a row and all of them involve them turning into a giant squid and attacking (in order) Pirate Cookie, then Salt Cookie, and finally the cast of the Tropical Soda Islands wraparound story (such as Knight Cookie and Princess Cookie) of the eponymous event. Needless to say, when Squid Ink Cookie does finally wake up from the third and final nightmare, they are clearly distressed and upset over what happened!
- Strawberry Crepe Cookie is lead by Black Raisin and the villagers to a facsimile of the Vanilla Kingdom that they once lived in and finds themselves alone, scared and freaking out at both the long-gone citizens of the Kingdom trying to reach out to her and inhabitants of other kingdoms saying that 'everyone is happy there'. Thankfully, Black Raisin is there to help comfort them and even gives them one of her raisin crows to cuddle to help them fall back asleep. Strawberry Crepe's last words are to thank Black Raisin for being there for them.
Strawberry Crepe: Hmph, dust old crow...(whispers) Thank you, Black Raisin Cookie...- Oyster Cookie's dream reveals the full story of how Black Pearl Cookie came to detest all Cookies. She was once a kind mermaid who rescued Oyster Cookie's ancestor from a shipwreck, granting onto her a beautiful pearl as a gift of their newfound friendship. As time passed by, however, the Cookie would be subject to mockery and pressure from the Cookies around her for refusing to sell the precious pearl, as it would fix her current destitute situation. In the end, the Cookie ended up selling the pearl and never interacted with Black Pearl again, causing the mermaid to snap and start to hate Cookies.
- Stardust Cookie's backstory. He was the original prototype for Moonlight Cookie but was thrown into space due to having bits of stardust in his dough. Only through the empathy of one wizard was he thrown into outer space, where he grew isolated and only had the stars as company. After several years, he returns to the City of Wizards...and finds it nearly devoid of life. He goes through a mental breakdown and is ready to destroy the city in retaliation before he ends up going supernova from sheer despair.
- The Crunchy Dreams event implies that Stardust was actually a reincarnation of a former cookie called Meteor 1 Cookie that was burned up from an unexpected meteor shower, left to drift away in the endless abyss of space.
- Space Doughnut is on the run from Dr. Evilglaze scared at being sacrificed in order to become the Cosmic Doughnut that would destroy everything. The mad scientist doesn't even give them a name (referring to them as "Doughnut No. 325") and brainwashes other minions just so he can conquer the world. It gets to the point that Space Doughnut is willing to sacrifice themselves if it means protecting everyone else. Thankfully, Stardust Cookie flies into the event horizon to free their new friend.
- The Legend of the Red Dragon story starts out hopeful with a Dragon Raid party ready to stop the dragon. But after a hilarious yet sad confession from Royal Margarine on how he's not a hero, we cut to a little girl crying as the city burns around her. The Red Dragon leaves nothing but ashes behind, with a little under half of the party surviving and the rest...
- "A Mermaid's Tale" is this by Foregone Conclusion. The innocent White Pearl Cookie who only wanted to help Lord Oyster will be betrayed and she will be doomed to become Black Pearl Cookie because she wanted to do something kind. Lord Oyster's bio makes it worse, emphasizing that him succumbing to Abalone's offer (of selling White Pearl Cookie to get House Oyster out of debt) was what caused it, and his refusal might have made a different ending.
- Frilled Jellyfish Cookie dies Taking the Bullet for White Pearl Cookie and causes the latter to snap at seeing her best friend die. To make matters worse, Frilled Jellyfish's final words on how jellyfish live forever are true...except that when she is revived she has no memory of her past self, vaguely remembering White Pearl Cookie before she's taken away by the Gem Mermaids.
- After Abalone Cookie and his men drown, Crimson Coral Cookie and her sisters see that Black Pearl Cookie has emerged. Unlike most scenarios where they shun her for what she's become, they're happy for how she has become strong and only leave because the sea has become too dangerous for them to stay any longer. Crimson Coral hopes that they will reunite one day.
- Lord Oyster's grief over his tragic mistake and succumbing to desperation. He is unable to explain just why he did what he did, unknowingly played into Abalone Cookie's machinations, and he must live with this pain for the rest of his life. The end of the story has him heading off to sea presumably the pursuit of atoning. And given how his ship is still in pristine condition when Captain Caviar appears decades later, he ends up just like Abalone Cookie did. Drowning in the depths of the sea.
Lord Oyster: By the seas, what have I done?! - How does Frilled Jellyfish Cookie's reveal video ends? With her stating she'll never forget the day she met White Pearl Cookie...while players know that she did just that in "A Mermaid's Tale".
- Episode 17 starts off as a nice Indiana Jones spoof until we get to the real truth about what happened to Golden Cheese Cookie. In short, her entire kingdom was completely destroyed during the battle, and in her heartbreak, Golden Cheese Cookie resorted to digitizing the minds of everyone she cared about into a virtual world, even sealing herself in a sarcophagus so she can still be with them for all eternity. The heartbreak as she mentions the memories of her advisors, her attendants, even children on the streets, is devastating. This also means all those cheese wheels the Cheesebirds were attending to? They contain souls.
- Episode 18 continues the existential crisis the citizens of the Golden Cheese Kingdom have to deal with when Smoked Cheese Cookie reveals the truth. It is painful to hear a child realizing his world is not what it seems as Golden Cheese has to deal with the ramifications that her paradise is unraveling before her very eyes.
- Smoked Cheese Cookie's descent into maddening despair. He's only doing this because he knows that this isn't real, and his ruler can't keep hiding in her fantasies if Dark Enchantress Cookie is on the rise. Golden Cheese Cookie doesn't hate him, but rather will have a talk after she returns from her duties.
- Icicle Yeti's Winter Song starts off as heartwarming and fun, but it turns darker when we learn the story of how Frost Queen Cookie came to be, as her dough becomes colder and colder no matter what her friend, Snowflake Cookie, does. All Snowflake Cookie can do is hold Frost Cookie's hand as she dies.
- The fact that Cotton never got angry over Frost Queen for what happened to Sherbet Cookie and delivers presents to her every year is bittersweet. Frost Queen isn't a bad guy, but an aspect of nature that can't be ignored, and she still can't believe how Cotton is willing to be her friend.
