The End is nigh...

[NvrMore]

The storyline of a game is usually one of the main factors of what draws you into that game and for most is one of the main factors that drives you on through the game towards completion. As such, the end sequence of a game usually plays a strong role in the players overall gaming experience, it's their reward for their frustration, energy, time and patience spent playng through the game and for many the promise of that reward and the anticipation of what it may be is their main motivation to continue playing.. even when they aren't particularily enjoying the game.

Thus, even in games with very little storyline or plot, a end sequence can taint the players overall experience and leave them feeling cheated if it is insuffieciently rewarding, or it could raise the players appreciation, even of an otherwise average game, if it proves to be worthwile and satisfies the player.


End sequences are usually overlooked, so, what are the end sequences that are most memorable to you?, either because they just really stand out, perhaps because they lifted an otherwise unimpressive gaming experience or because they were so poor that they left you feeling grossely unimpressed or even cheated. And why, what makes them so memorable? what did it for you?

However, this is a discussion that will more than likely contain at least a few big spoilers (unless no-one replies O_O ), so when posting replies please try to use spoiler warnings like *** [Game Name] SPOILER! *** and a few lines of spacing below

e.g.

*** Metroid SPOILER ***
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Interesting ending..

[ManekiNeko]

(spoiler, for Earthworm Jim 2)

And so, the courageous Earthworm Jim saved the lovely Princess What's Her Name from the vile Psy-Crow.
ZZZIP!
And so, the courageous Earthworm Jim saved the lovely COW from the vile Psy-Crow.
ZZZIP!
And so, the courageous Earthworm Jim saved the lovely COW from the vile COW.
ZZZIP!
And so, the courageous COW saved the lovely COW from the vile COW.

By the way, they've got tons and tons of endings on www.vgmuseum.com. It's worth a look even with all the aggravating pop-ups.

JR

[CrazyImpmon]

Super Mario Bros 2

*SPOILER*

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The whole game was all in Mario's dream.

[NvrMore]

(hey, got stickied, thanks)

*** Jurrasic Park(SNES) SPOILERS ***
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In terms of endings that were just damn bad, I'm still bitter about Jurrasic Park for the SNES, it was bad enough that you had to struggle the way through the entire game in one go because it didn't even include a save or password feature, but after the countless hours of desperately trying to stay alive and the sheer effort it takes to keep yourself going through the game.. you finally get to the end, and what do you get, after all those hours of work (yes, work, the game isn't exactly non-stop fun).. a single black screen with "Congratulations, you have escaped Jurrasic Park" written in crappy bamboo!?.. >:(

..and that's all!.. Damn them! Damn all those who made the game!. They force you to play the entire game in one go and then literally give you nothing more than a slap in the face for your effort :bad-words:

[NvrMore]

LOL oh well..

I appreciate the sticky, but after 185 views and only two replies I don't really think that this thread is going anywhere.

As the topic says "the end is nigh".. time to let this one drop in favor of a better topic.

[Arcade Antics]

@NvrMore: Just wanted to say that one of the funniest parts of "A Grand Day Out" is where Wallace is drawing up the plans for his rocket. Then he draws a bunch of fire and makes blastoff noises, "PRXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX!"

Cracks me up every time. Gotta love Nick Park.

As for endings: Nintendo's GUMSHOE:


SPOILER BELOW!
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He defeats the enemy and rescues the girl. BUT LATER, THAT SAME DAY... she gets kidnapped AGAIN by the same group of villains. Love it.

:D

[Kid Fenris]

My favorite Nick Park moment is at the end of "The Wrong Trousers," where Grommit snatches up the box of spare track and starts laying it down in front of the toy train he's riding on.

Anyway, here's an ending: Chrono Cross. It's a beautiful, involving RPG with lots of characters and excellent music. At its close, however, director and scenario writer Masato Kato doesn't drop the ball so much as he hurls it clear out of a window when he devises a perfect example of a rushed, unconvincing, non-sequitir finale. At least the game has a bunch of fun endings to take in during your second time around.

And then there's the ending of Mega Man 6 (http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/nes/a/meg6.htm). I think this was the point where I realized that Capcom just wasn't trying anymore. This, after all, was the company that once gave us the brilliant ending of Bionic Commando (http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/nes/a/bionic.htm).

[nesman85]

i was disappointed with mario sunshine's ending.
i loved starfox adventures ending though.
(spoiler)









first of all i wasn't expecting the krazoa thing to be andross, then when you are fighting andross, falco comes back and helps you. then he joins the team again. good ending IMO.

[Pheidippides]

I like the Ending for Grandia 2. It really topped off the game perfectly.

[Pheidippides]

I like the Ending for Grandia 2. It really topped off the game perfectly.
Suikoden as well.

[NvrMore]

And there is life :hmm:

@ Arcade Antics / Kid Fenris: I'm actually surprised you guys have heard of Wallace and Gromit, I didn't think they made it over to that side of the pond. Cracking.

Back on topic..

*** Cybernator / Assault Suits valken (SNES / SFC) SPOILERS ***
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While Cybernator was a great game in itself, it's ending(s) always stand out to me because they actually twist the storyline of the game. It was probably the first game I encountered where even when you have completed the game, your character can still lose and rather than taking the tedious route that most other games take by just telling you to try again, the game actually still provides an ending (end sequence) to the story and concludes itself. The two different endings are basically opposites, whereas if you perfom your missions correctly and fully you are rewarded with the typical victory conclusion (which is a good ending in itself), however, if you should fail to perform your missions well and fail to protect your comrades, you see the more tragic ending in which despite defeating his enemy, the main character has essentially lost everything and everyone, so in the grander scale you lose, even when you win.

It's not that you see it coming because the elements which lead you to the "tragedy" ending aren't important to your completion of the missions, they're like background storyline elements which can seem irrelevant, but the sharp contrast of the endings really bring the depth of the game out and make the storyline more involving than many RPG's.

[WiseSalesman]

Are you kidding? Who HASN'T heard of Wallace and Gromit? Hell, I was just about to settle down with some cheese and watch some myself.

[bargora]

With so many of the Atari 2600 games being endless point accumulators or else timed affairs, the very idea of an ending seemed novel when I first played Adventure and Raiders of the Lost Ark. I suppose that those endings would be considered complete dogs by today's standards, though.


SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Adventure: Whoah--flashing lights! Weird sounds!
ROTLA: Hey, I'm on a flashing platform! Up really high!
SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER


And the end of Red Faction left me thinking, "Whatever. And man, Eos is really abrasive." But then , maybe the latter was the intended effect?

The text ending to each of the episodes of Doom (PC) was basically a kick in the nuts, which I actually thought was pretty cool. I especially enjoyed the short scene featuring a rabbit-head on a stick at the conclusion of the third episode. And while I saw the endings, I didn't consider the game "finished" until I could clear each map on ultra-violence difficulty starting with just the pistol. It seemed to me that the game design clearly called out for it.

And as for the idea that ending is gamers' "reward for their frustration, energy, time and patience spent playng through the game and for many the promise of that reward and the anticipation of what it may be is their main motivation to continue playing.. even when they aren't particularily enjoying the game." Well, I believe that the motivation for spending time on a game should be the fun of the playing, and if I'm not particularly enjoying the game, then I'm probably just not going to see the ending, ever. This, of course, is entirely different from a game throwing down a "you can't beat me, you gaming wuss" challenge that results in muttered curses and repeated attempts to prove it wrong.

Maybe I would have a different opinion if I played RPGs and platformers.

[slip81]

FInal Fantasy III (VI) had a cool ending and the music was slick as well, but my favorite ending has to be the developer's room in chrono trigger, not really an eding, but more a cool easter egg for beating the game under the hardest methood, going straight to the last boos from the fair, worst ending though has to be the breath of fire series (well the first three anyway, i haven't played 4 or 5)

[slip81]

FInal Fantasy III (VI) had a cool ending and the music was slick as well, but my favorite ending has to be the developer's room in chrono trigger, not really an eding, but more a cool easter egg for beating the game under the hardest methood, going straight to the last boos from the fair, worst ending though has to be the breath of fire series (well the first three anyway, i haven't played 4 or 5)

[Dr. Morbis]

Okay, here are my personal picks for favourite and worst endings:

Best experience: the end of SMB2 for NES. Up to that point, I was used to traditional one screen NES endings that say either 'Congratulations' or "Start over on this more difficult quest, Chump". But when I finished Mario 2 for the first time, I was speechless. It was so colorful and energetic. It wrapped up the story nicely, providing proper closure. And the end credits with all of the enemies listed was a nice touch (although vastly over-used in many video games that came afterwards). And best of all, I finished it at age 11 in front of 4 high school kids who couldn't do it, and didn't believe that I could do it.

Worst experience: the end of Adventure Island for NES. I went through hell and back in my youth trying to beat that game but couldn't do it. I finally mastered it last year (2002) and what do I get? A one screen, one sentence congratulations that flashes on the screen for about 5 seconds before it goes back to the title screen. Talk about pissed off.

[Dr. Morbis]

Okay, here are my personal picks for favourite and worst endings:

Best experience: the end of SMB2 for NES. Up to that point, I was used to traditional one screen NES endings that say either 'Congratulations' or "Start over on this more difficult quest, Chump". But when I finished Mario 2 for the first time, I was speechless. It was so colorful and energetic. It wrapped up the story nicely, providing proper closure. And the end credits with all of the enemies listed was a nice touch (although vastly over-used in many video games that came afterwards). And best of all, I finished it at age 11 in front of 4 high school kids who couldn't do it, and didn't believe that I could do it.

Worst experience: the end of Adventure Island for NES. I went through hell and back in my youth trying to beat that game but couldn't do it. I finally mastered it last year (2002) and what do I get? A one screen, one sentence congratulations that flashes on the screen for about 5 seconds before it goes back to the title screen. Talk about pissed off.

[kainemaxwell]

Nvrmore, I'll 2nd that to the ending for JP for SNES. I spent like an entire night playing it and getting lost in those damn mazes.

The endings for FF4 and 6 are still some of my favorites too, especially the really cool music, as well as Lunar: SSSC and EBC.

[kainemaxwell]

Nvrmore, I'll 2nd that to the ending for JP for SNES. I spent like an entire night playing it and getting lost in those damn mazes.

The endings for FF4 and 6 are still some of my favorites too, especially the really cool music, as well as Lunar: SSSC and EBC.