Best/Worst endings for video games

[Flea_Man]

What are some of the best and worst endings to some video games that you know of.




For me, one of the best was the original God of War. I thought it was just incredible and a hell of a way to make yourself feel like you've done something worthwhile.

As for one of the worst......... I'd say any of the Mortal Kombat Armageddon ones. It was supposed to be the "end of the current series" yet it didn't answer any questions, and it showed no movie or image of the ending. It was your stupid character doing martial arts poses as a voice talked over. I was really disappointed by that.

[jetdog]

Dude, what were you thinking whe you said that to Fez?....

:tongue:

[Flea_Man]

Dude, what were you thinking whe you said that to Fez?....

:tongue:

you think I think?

[jetdog]

you think I think?
Me thinks thinking is thought about...

[jetdog]

This is a tough thread, i don't want to spoil anything for anybody...but..,
http://www.emulationzone.org/consoles/nes/classics/zelda1.gif

[BeerBandit]

For me the Best was Bionic Commando on the NES. You reach the end, see the resurrection chamber which explodes revealing...

http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Reviews/BionicCommando/Images/BC-Ending-Headpop.gif
Master D
And then you shoot him with your bazooka and his head explodes.

[K.C.]

I still can't decide if the it's the Best or the Worst ending I've ever experienced...

But Futurama for the Xbox builds this whole story to where you end up traveling back in time, and they use that aspect to have the game loop at the end like the old school Atari games.

The way they do it is very funny, yet incredibly frustrating the first time through...it's exactly as they intended it.


Wasn't a fan of the ending of KOTOR II either despite it being a great game...they rushed it to get it out, and they really kind of fucked up the ending. Had they taken their time, it could easily have been one of the all-time greats, especailly if they added all the stuff they wanted to do with the game that has come out since.

[AnnoyedGrunt]

The ending of Knights of the Old Republic 2 was awful. There was a bit of dialogue after beating the villian and then a 20 second cut scene. Good game but you're left thinking 'I spent 35 hours for that?"

Edit: KC posted the same thing as I was posting that.

I really liked the ending for any of the Jagged Alliance games. It's a series of strategy games where you hire a team of mercenaries. There are 60-70 mercs in the game, each with their own personality. At the end there's the final cut scene and then everyone on your team has something to say about you as a leader.

[JesterOfSadness]

I still can't decide if the it's the Best or the Worst ending I've ever experienced...

But Futurama for the Xbox builds this whole story to where you end up traveling back in time, and they use that aspect to have the game loop at the end like the old school Atari games.

The way they do it is very funny, yet incredibly frustrating the first time through...it's exactly as they intended it.


Wasn't a fan of the ending of KOTOR II either despite it being a great game...they rushed it to get it out, and they really kind of fucked up the ending. Had they taken their time, it could easily have been one of the all-time greats, especailly if they added all the stuff they wanted to do with the game that has come out since.

I actually never finished KOTOR II, but after hearing how they rushed it,etc I'm kind glad I didn't.

Halo 2 sticks out in my mind as a shitty ending, I was incredibly pissed that it just up and ended like that. Freedom Fighters, even though really didn't have a shit ending, they better have a damn sequel! :annoyed:

[ChimneyFish]

I'll put up another vote for KOTOR II. Worst ever. I could see if the next one was slated to come out somewhat soon after, but that was horseshit. I wanted so badly to bite my tv.

[K.C.]

I was looking around not that long ago to try and see if there was any word about KOTOR III coming out and I stumbled upon all the stuff they had to scrap for KOTOR II to get it out in time for Christmas that year.

It's such a shame...if they had made the game the right way, it would have been really, really good judging from the plans they had for it.



Another one that just popped in my head...if you beat Chrono Cross the wrong way by just killing the TimeDevourer at the end instead of doing what you have to, to free Schala, it just goes right to the credits.

I did that the first time around and was so pissed...then I figured out what you have to do to get the real ending...still I always wondered how many people did it the wrong way and never played it again and just ended up hating that game because of it.

[ChimneyFish]

I was looking around not that long ago to try and see if there was any word about KOTOR III coming out and I stumbled upon all the stuff they had to scrap for KOTOR II to get it out in time for Christmas that year.

It's such a shame...if they had made the game the right way, it would have been really, really good judging from the plans they had for it.



Another one that just popped in my head...if you beat Chrono Cross the wrong way by just killing the TimeDevourer at the end instead of doing what you have to, to free Schala, it just goes right to the credits.

I did that the first time around and was so pissed...then I figured out what you have to do to get the real ending...still I always wondered how many people did it the wrong way and never played it again and just ended up hating that game because of it.




Two things....

Do you have a site for all the scraped KOTOR II stuff???? I never really heard about that.

And Chrono Cross had a bunch of different endings, didn't it???? I know I beat the game, but I don't remember any of the endings.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

The ending for System Shock II is one of the worst endings ever. The storyline leading up to the ending is fantastic, and because of the nature of the game (in that the storyline basically has already happened by the time your character comes out of cryo and all the people are either dead or mutants) you don't feel cheated out of the gaming experience as a whole.
But the ending is shit on a stick. Still a worthwhile download on the underdogs, if you're a cyberpunk fan.

Best ending would have to be Final Fantasy III (VI in japan), Chrono Trigger, and Starcraft.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

I just spent some time actually trying to dredge up other video games that had great endings, and I realize that the vast majority of good games have had shitty endings. Usually it's a cliffhanger, unresolved plot point, further confusion, so on to make way for a sequel or expansion.

Half Life 2, for instance. The ending was such a disappointment- a total cliffhanger with nothing resolved; it was upsetting for people who waited 6+ years to play it for the story to abruptly end the way it did. Yet the game itself is one of the best ever made, and one of the few FPS games (alongside Doom, Duke Nukem 3d, and Jedi Outcast) that I play through on a semi-annual basis. So I guess it's more about the gameplay than it is the ending.

Another horrible game ending: Soul Reaver.

[ChimneyFish]

Another horrible game ending: Soul Reaver.



Wierd. I was just about to post about this.
It was a bad ending(and not the ending they were originally going for), but I think they really pulled it off with the whole series(mius Blood Omen2).
The ending of Defiance was brilliant.

[patsopinion]

jade empire had a great ending
it was all in text but i loved the variations

zelda ocrina of time-really felt like you accomplished something

godfather- here you go, nyc is yours

[HBox]

KOTOR II Restoration project. (http://team-gizka.org/)

[patsopinion]

Half Life 2 (alongside Doom, Duke Nukem 3d, and Jedi Outcast).
youd put jeid outcast on that list?
that must be a good fucking game

[CofyCrakCocaine]

What are some damn fun games that had shitty endings? For me it was Max Payne and its sequel.

[ChimneyFish]

jade empire had a great ending
it was all in text but i loved the variations




One of my favorite games for the XBOX.

And I am a sucker for any game that has multiple endings.




And thanks for the link, HBox.

[HBox]

METAL GEAR SOLID 2.

It didn't help that they had to cut out a scene with Arsenal Gear crashing into New York. When I got to the final boss I was thinking "How the hell did we get here?"

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Oh God, that game sucked so much story-wise. The first one was great, but that second game's storyline... ugh. Way too dramatic, melancholic, and fanciful tragedy... sans Solid Snake too. And the utter confusion made by the twist on the twist on the twist of the twist that is supposed to surprise you. I can only take so many twists before they become as gimmicky and cliched as a slow-motion fight sequence in a movie.

[HBox]

Luckily Metal Gear Solid 3 was all sorts of distilled awesome. Speaking of which, it had one the best endings ever.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

Have yet to play MGS3. I was turned off by MGS2 that much. But glad to hear that... maybe I'll give it a try.

[Flea_Man]

Luckily Metal Gear Solid 3 was all sorts of distilled awesome. Speaking of which, it had one the best endings ever.

Absolutely. Wasn't a big fan of the final fight with The Boss but the ending was incredible. Really made you feel for the characters.

MGS2 also had a horrible ending. You crash into the Treasury, kill Solidus, and Raiden and Snake just sit and talk. It was so.......... blah.

[AnnoyedGrunt]

I just remembered Curse of Monkey Island. A hilarious game and you'd think they'd pull out all the stops for the ending but it was so incredibly anti climatic. At least they put a good gag after the credits.

[cougarjake13]

super mario brothers was the worst for me followed by the first sonic the hedgehog

[K.C.]

And Chrono Cross had a bunch of different endings, didn't it???? I know I beat the game, but I don't remember any of the endings.

Chrono Cross, like Chrono Trigger, has a ton of endings.

In Chrono Trigger, it's possible to achieve most of them on the first play through, but realistically, you have to build your characters up the first game and then play a New Game+ playthrough (not sure if the option's available on SNES, but it definitely is for Playstation.)

Chrono Cross is the same way, although I think there's only two main endings you can get the first playthrough; the REAL ending, and the incomplete ending, if you beat the game wrong where it goes straight to the credits.

Then, I think you are able to play a New Game+ and it's possible to get all the different endings depending on which point in the story you choose to beat it.

[lleeder]

Tetris was disappointing. They end up tearing down the wall your built all game, unite Germany and destroy the U.S.S.R.

[AnnoyedGrunt]

I was watching Goodfellas today and it made me remember that Mafia had a great ending. One of the few games I've played with an entirely unhappy ending that's your only option.

[johnniewalker]

I was watching Goodfellas today and it made me remember that Mafia had a great ending. One of the few games I've played with an entirely unhappy ending that's your only option.

Mafia was a bad ass game if you had patience with it. Another fairly solid one was Xenogears. It was a great game w/ those creepy anime cutscenes spliced in.

[HBox]

Mafia was a bad ass game if you had patience with it. Another fairly solid one was Xenogears. It was a great game w/ those creepy anime cutscenes spliced in.

It was also another game that crapped the bed at the end. Not bad enough to ruin the whole experience like KOTOR 2 but the second disc was a radical departure from the excellence of the rest of the game. For an already complicated plot they sped through the last part of the game and I never really got a complete handle on what happened at the end.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

The way Xenogears completely self-destructed with the very opening of the second disc is the biggest disappointment in a game that I can recall. They told everything through cutscenes and no exploration of maps whatsoever- fast forward to this boss fight, rinse spit repeat. The quality of the story even diminished significantly because of the retarded way it was being told. I can only assume the major reason the clusterfuck that is the second disc got made was because of a diminishing budget, or the developers getting rushed by some deadline.

They made Xenosaga which is supposed to be the spiritual successor of Xenogears, but I'd argue that Xenogears was a better game (the first disc anyway). I wish they'd remake the actual Xenogears game itself while reconstructing the second disc story to be more in step with the first disc in terms of quality, excellence, interactivity, exploration, gameplay, etc. Wishful thinking, I know.

[Bay Ridge Tim]

I remember hating the ending for Jaws for the NES. The game was tedious but highly playable. Collect shells, get radar, collect shells, upgrade, collect shells, shoot Jaws, bonuse state, collect shells, upgrade, collect shells, shoot Jaws, collect shells, upgrade...

After all that you get this ridiculous boss stage with Jaws where you have to poke him in the gut with your boat. The timing was so damn annoying.

After all that, Jaws just sinks to the bottom and you fly away and it says, "The end." The total end time is like three seconds. Bam! Then the menu comes up.

[lleeder]

Can Revenge of Shinobi be beat without your girlfriend dying? I let the bitch die and just got the ending where he's standing on the mountain all sad.

[ChimneyFish]

I remember hating the ending for Jaws for the NES. The game was tedious but highly playable. Collect shells, get radar, collect shells, upgrade, collect shells, shoot Jaws, bonuse state, collect shells, upgrade, collect shells, shoot Jaws, collect shells, upgrade...

After all that you get this ridiculous boss stage with Jaws where you have to poke him in the gut with your boat. The timing was so damn annoying.

After all that, Jaws just sinks to the bottom and you fly away and it says, "The end." The total end time is like three seconds. Bam! Then the menu comes up.



Hmmmm........sounds strangely familiar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y14ccl5YYpQ

[HBox]

THIS is the worst ending ever. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APkkQYzeVWo)

If you have time watch the Angry Video game Nerd episode on this game.

[suggums]

definitely half life 2 for best in recent memory

super mario 2 for worst cause it was all a dream

[johnniewalker]

The way Xenogears completely self-destructed with the very opening of the second disc is the biggest disappointment in a game that I can recall. They told everything through cutscenes and no exploration of maps whatsoever- fast forward to this boss fight, rinse spit repeat. The quality of the story even diminished significantly because of the retarded way it was being told. I can only assume the major reason the clusterfuck that is the second disc got made was because of a diminishing budget, or the developers getting rushed by some deadline.

They made Xenosaga which is supposed to be the spiritual successor of Xenogears, but I'd argue that Xenogears was a better game (the first disc anyway). I wish they'd remake the actual Xenogears game itself while reconstructing the second disc story to be more in step with the first disc in terms of quality, excellence, interactivity, exploration, gameplay, etc. Wishful thinking, I know.

Wow, maybe i was being nostalgic I guess it was 3 years since I played the game. I still loved the anime cutscenes, and the story was a lot deeper than most RPGs. Xenosaga really didn't compare, they kinda dumbed it down. They kinda tried though, it wasn't terrible.

[Bay Ridge Tim]

Hmmmm........sounds strangely familiar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y14ccl5YYpQ

Sweet merciful crap, that's horrible!

It makes Jaws look like The Usual Suspects (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWK-BoRHVS8).

[angrymissy]

Worst - the impossibly hard Ghosts N Goblins for NES. They make you play through the whole game again and its even Harder:

http://www.classicgaming.com/rotw/ghosts/fake_ending.jpg

Best - Final Fantasy III (or VI, however you want to call it). It mesmerized me at the time, one of the first great endings.

[Don Stugots]

I still can't decide if the it's the Best or the Worst ending I've ever experienced...

But Futurama for the Xbox builds this whole story to where you end up traveling back in time, and they use that aspect to have the game loop at the end like the old school Atari games.

The way they do it is very funny, yet incredibly frustrating the first time through...it's exactly as they intended it.


Wasn't a fan of the ending of KOTOR II either despite it being a great game...they rushed it to get it out, and they really kind of fucked up the ending. Had they taken their time, it could easily have been one of the all-time greats, especailly if they added all the stuff they wanted to do with the game that has come out since.



what did they want to do with the ending that they didnt? i love that game. please share the info.

My fav: Marvel Alliance. it should what happened based on your actions and would change if you beat it a second time or third time. like a which way book.
The ending of Knights of the Old Republic 2 was awful. There was a bit of dialogue after beating the villian and then a 20 second cut scene. Good game but you're left thinking 'I spent 35 hours for that?"

Edit: KC posted the same thing as I was posting that.

I really liked the ending for any of the Jagged Alliance games. It's a series of strategy games where you hire a team of mercenaries. There are 60-70 mercs in the game, each with their own personality. At the end there's the final cut scene and then everyone on your team has something to say about you as a leader.

[ChimneyFish]

Sweet merciful crap, that's horrible!

It makes Jaws look like The Usual Suspects (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWK-BoRHVS8).



Damn.
That was awful.

Looking at some of these endings really makes me marvel at how far games have come.

[Marc with a c]

i like the bouncing cards at the end of soitaire

[Skellington]

What are some of the best and worst endings to some video games that you know of.




For me, one of the best was the original God of War. I thought it was just incredible and a hell of a way to make yourself feel like you've done something worthwhile.

As for one of the worst......... I'd say any of the Mortal Kombat Armageddon ones. It was supposed to be the "end of the current series" yet it didn't answer any questions, and it showed no movie or image of the ending. It was your stupid character doing martial arts poses as a voice talked over. I was really disappointed by that.

YOU
ARE
DEAD.

[waltermitty]

I was always dissapointed with the endind of mario brothers...and mario 2 and mario 3....
oh i saved the princess....ok....thats it????

[spankyfrank]

Personally I think the best ending to a video game would have to be Soul Blazer for the SNES . It would also be tied with Super Mario RPG for SNES

The worst would probably have to be Star Wars Battlefront 2. Actually most star wars games don't have a terrific ending. The games seem pretty cool though.

[JesterOfSadness]

Personally I think the best ending to a video game would have to be Soul Blazer for the SNES . It would also be tied with Super Mario RPG for SNES

The worst would probably have to be Star Wars Battlefront 2. Actually most star wars games don't have a terrific ending. The games seem pretty cool though.

Apologies for bringing this thread back from the dead, but for Battlefront 2, one of the playthroughs where you are apart of the "501st" unit was actually a pretty good story imo. Pretty much said why the troopers came from clones, then resulted in them "not being as good" or something like that. Just the stories in general where pretty good.(But then again, I played those games to death and still now)

Also, I take back my hatred for KOTOR II, as I finally played through the entire thing(Light Side), but yeah..the ending really cheated me for it. The story did go well, but there were so many possibilities in the end(LS) that they could have done before they sent the game off to be shipped.

[boobieman]

MMM...I like the way E.T. ended on the lil' ol 2600...ok the sad part is I actually remember that game and the ending. Wow that is sad.

For best ending, someone else posted Bionic commandos for NES (Which I am playing now on an emulator) is a great ending...can never go wrong with fighting Nazis.

I get disappointed with Sports game endings. I play full seasons (Baseball, Football & Hockey) and then it just like yea...the players run around and then nothing. Then it is back to work on the next season. But it is fun.

SEE YA!!!!

[runnerkid]

http://www.geocities.com/beaucabs/phantasy_star.jpg

[NickyL0885]

I can't believe no one mentioned this yet. Final Fantasy 7 ending was GREAT!. I cant wait for the inevitable re-make on PS3. They did a screen test in Japan for PS3 a while back w/ FF7 and the video was online. I nearly shit my self at the graphics. Also, Kingdom Hearts was good too. Im still in the process of playing KH2.

[HBox]

Resident Evil 4 had an average ending but it had a stellar credits sequence. You might be wondering "How could a credit sequence be good?" You have to see it. Incredibly creepy. Perhaps even the creepiest part of the entire game. It's just a slide show depicting the sequence of events immediately proceeding the game itself. The images, the music, the transitions, all handled perfectly.

[runnerkid]

I can't believe no one mentioned this yet. Final Fantasy 7 ending was GREAT!. I cant wait for the inevitable re-make on PS3. They did a screen test in Japan for PS3 a while back w/ FF7 and the video was online. I nearly shit my self at the graphics. Also, Kingdom Hearts was good too. Im still in the process of playing KH2.

Ha! my cousin neal must talk about the FF7 remake like once a day. Yeah, the ending was great. It pretty much is the best game ever, period.

[BadGuyDavey]

What are some damn fun games that had shitty endings? For me it was Max Payne and its sequel.


halo2... kotor 2... jedi academy (that game was SWEET online but sucked balls on single player)



games that i did like the ending for


Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner... I recommend that game to anyone who calls themselfs a respectable gamer

I loved the endings to all of the metal gear solids (you can tell i like hideo kojima's work)

i dont really like to play games that have an ending... its kinda boring to know that it wont go on forever... but i love action adventure... so it kinda screws with my point


Definately any self respecting gamer who hasnt played the 2nd(the first one is like 5 hours and isnt great) Zone of the enders... GO OUT NOW AND TRY AND FIND IT...


hands down the best game...


the only game to make me go wtf was metal gear solid 2... the only game to make me choke up was metal gear solid 3...


i cant wait for 4

[theomax]

Worst ending to a video game has to be Super Mario Brother's II. Mario once again saves the day and it was all a dream...pretty lame.

[Sheeplovr]

bolth ICO and Shadow of the colossos are beautiful endings that make you feel emotion and excitminte there not games that are art

worst ending
mario 64
when princess peach repays marios life risqueing with a cake
A CAKE?
lets make him a cake
hey thanks for saveing me have a cake
and its not even a great cake
then you sit there wiht the cake on your screen and thinking something else is going to happen
but it doenst

[aceofspades7]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/07/DWARFAX.JPG

[ChimneyFish]

bolth ICO and Shadow of the colossos are beautiful endings that make you feel emotion and excitminte there not games that are art


ICO was great all around.
I got up to the 7th Colossus, but then I put the game down for something else(I can't remember what), and I haven't picked it back up in quite awhile.
I have to get on that.

[JustJon]

Oh man, the bit with the horse on the final colossus was just so sad.

[ChimneyFish]

Thanks Jon.:dry:

[HBox]

Thanks Jon.:dry:

And another thing: The Princess? She ain't in that castle. Or the next one. Or the next. Or even the next one. You're gonna be here a while.

[JustJon]

Thanks Jon.:dry:

See what happens when you quit too soon?

[ChimneyFish]

I really do have this ADD type thing when it comes to video games.
Maybe I'll sit down this weekend and start from the beginning, and just run all the way through it.



And I stopped reading your post as soon as I saw the word "princess", HBox.
Ya rat bastard.:tongue:

[Don Stugots]

i liked the ending to Ultimate Alliance. it showed you the good and bad that happened based on your actions. i even played it a second time to try to get it perfect. very cool.

[DolaMight]

Hitman Blood Money was one of the best conclusions I've seen. I start many games but rarely finish them.

NHL07 had a great ending. The scene of the Ottawa Senators winning the cup was great to watch.

[JustJon]

i liked the ending to Ultimate Alliance. it showed you the good and bad that happened based on your actions. i even played it a second time to try to get it perfect. very cool.

But the game wasn't worth playing thru the whole thing once (but I did). The game was really boring and repetitive by the end. They're really milking that X-Men engine.