Great/Terrible Videogame Ending (1 Viewer)

[Dome Vongvises]

Great:
Final Fantasy VI
- Ties up just enough ends and leaves the rest to your imagination.
Terrible:
Final Fantasy VII
- Big escape leads to Red XIII having his kids run across a kudzu overrun Midgar. Terrible and completely unsatisfying in relation to the effort I put into playing this game.

 

[Romier S]

Great:
Silent Hill 2 (did you expect any less)-This is for the "leave" ending which I thought was heartfelt and really brought the story together.
Zelda 64-still one of the best endings ever in a game! The final battle is also one to remember.
Xenogears-Thought it can get really really confusing if you haven't payed attention to the game some of the revelations still had my jaw on the floor!
Horrible:
Metal Gear Solid 2-The ending to this game IMO almost ruined the rest of this exceptional game. Only one word can it describe it IMO..."nonsense".
Soul Reaver 1-A great game with a really bad cliffhanger of an ending. The second one also ends with a cliffhanger but there is some closure to the main thrust of the story. This original title truly feels unfinished with an almost tacked on ending that reveals nothing and makes you feel almost cheated that you even played.

 

[Alex Spindler]

My friends always refer to the end of Dinobots, a bad NES game. You play all the way through it and you get a splash screen that say "Thanks for playing another great Bandai game".

 

[David Williams]

Bad:
Soul Reaver: I whole-heartedly agree that game robs those of us without a PS2 an ending to a game... Cliffhangers in video games are generally a bad idea.
Syphon Filter: I couldn't believe there wasn't more of an ending to this game... suffers from Cliffhanger syndrome, only in this case the game was so mediocre I didn't care about finding out what happens next. Ugh, a pox on all those game reviewers who raved about the spy chic of the game.
Good:
Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask both had truly excellent endings that cleanly wrapped up their individual storylines while leaving the door open for more. Majora's Mask was more of a struggle, but it's creepy symbolistic ending was worth it. Ocarina of Time is the classic good vs. evil story... no matter how many games I play I don't think I will find a story I enjoy more than this one.

 

[Gary King]

Great:
Final Fantasy X: Extremely bitter-sweet, but does an excellent job of closing a fantastic story.
Silent Hill 2: Not much in the way of ultimate resolution, but that type of ending wouldn't have fit with the rest of the game, anyway.
Halo: Not the ending so much as the last gameplay sequence... unbelievably exhilirating.
Xenogears: Despite some lackluster storytelling, the story was top-notch, and the ending left nothing to be desired, except episodes 1-4.
Final Fantasy Tactics: Revenge, deception, and lies... great ending to a great game.
Vagrant Story: See FFT, only darker.
Bad:
Metal Gear Solid 2: The entire story has a rather campfire feel to it, as if a group of 30 or 40 people each took turns finishing the previous person's sentences. The ending did about as good a job as it could have, given what it had to work with, but the Xenogears-length cinematic sequences coupled with the downright silly story just weren't enjoyable at all. In fact, the whole game takes a rather serious nosedive after you rescue E.E.
Chrono Cross: Huh?

 

[Sean Oneil]

There were several endings to Chrono Cross... which one diddn't you like?

 

[Mark Evans]

Be warned, here may lie spoilers, but I'll try to be as nondescript as possible:
Good Ending:
Final Fantasy IV - THE best Final Fantasy ending I've seen thus far, as it ties up exactly what happened to everybody, but some plot threads are still left slightly ajar.
Final Fantasy VII - Loved this ending. It looks like it's not going to bother wrapping up it's main storyline, but then it does with that little stinger at the end after the credits. For me, that was enough closure, the only thing left hanging was that VERY dippy pseudo-love-triangle-not-really.
Chrono Cross - The 'best' ending on this one is amazing, especially if you've played Chrono Trigger, since the characters involved are all from that game. Top it off with the way you get that ending, in one of the most creative final boss fights I've ever played, and you have a winner in my books.
Resident Evil 2 - If you've played through both scenarios via the save games, you're treated to a longer ending, only to learn that it ends in yet another heinous Res Evil boss fight. Tension much?
Star Control 2 - The BEST game ending ever. Period. IMHO, of course. I've watched those end credits a dozen times at least, they never get old.
Planescape: Torment - Not only my favorite RPG of all time, but a dynamite ending. The answer to the question that drives the game is not only brilliant, but it makes total sense in the context of the game thus far.
Gabriel Knight III - After an 'eh' of an endgame, things are more than made up for with a mind-blowing finale that piles revelation upon revelation for those who are familiar with the GK storyline thus far. Just awesome .
Bad ending:
Final Fantasy VI - Yeah, I'm flipping everybody's, but it's not deliberate I swear . I found the ending to this one absolutely anticlimatic, but that's probably just me.
Resident Evil - Tension much? More like tensionless. Nice boss fight topped off with a lackluster closer, hopefully rectified in the new Cube version.
Any old NES game - That pretty much sums that one up . It's a blanket statement, but a large number of those old games had zero payoff.
System Shock 2 - Love the game, great finale up to a point. The game leaves itself on a vicious, nasty little cliffhanger for a part 3 that will likely never be made. Unfair.
Curse of Monkey Island - Again, great game, lame climax, lukewarm finale. Yargh.
Diablo II: Lord of Destruction - Eh. The point of D2 is in the playing, thankfully. I just didn't get a big sense of closure from the ending here.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I forgot all about Vagrant Story. Count that as another one I thought was very good.
The Chrono series also had another set of good endings.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask was good as well.
Felt sorry for the skull kid though. As much havoc as he may have wrecked, the fact that he didn't really have any friends was sad. That and his best friends the four giants were leaving him again.

Yes, I have to agree that any old school NES game with the ending "Thanks for playing' totally blows.

 

[Camp]

Bad: After using a cheat code to beat a Contra game (was it #3 that was on the SNES?) I was looking forward to the ending. What I got was the following humbling message:
Good job. Now try it again without cheating!
I felt like a looser for a month.

 

[Kelley_B]

Worst ending Unreal after many many many hours spent getting through Unreal, you are treated to a tunnel.....yippie!

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Final Fantasy IX. Especially ViVi's letter.

Legend of Dragoon. Great game, great ending, amusing translations. I hope they do a remake or sequel on a current platform.

Any of the Wing Commander games (with the exception of Prophecy; that one really seemed like it was just going through the motions. But Wing Commander 3 is an INCREDIBLE war story.)

 

[David Williams]

Since we're adding in Computer Games, I concur that Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger and Wing Commander IV: The Price of Freedom tell fabulous stories that are capped with cinematic endings (Malcolm McDowell!). And the original System Shock... to this day I have never been so freaked out over a game. Excellent from beginning to end.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I only try to remember the good endings, and so...

Final Fantasy 8 - Yeah, many didn't like the game, but I did, plus the ending was just amazing. The music, the images, and the emotions was truly the best thing I had seen up to that point on a game console.

Final Fantasy 9 - Probably the second happiest FF ending (strangely, I think X is the happiest) and the whole ending showed how well written the game was. Each character showed how the theme of "the meaning of life" applied directly to them, and the even more amazing CG at the end (along with the lines that popped up on the screen) just left me so happy. Overall, an amazing end to an amazing game.

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - just play the game and you'll understand how great it is.

And my favorite...

Final Fantasy X - Oh my god is this game amazing. It reinvigorated what was becoming (or to some people, had already become) a boring series with amazing things like great graphics, stunning CG videos (that didn't overwhelm the game), masterful music, and pretty much all the problems worked out, except for the few that were needed (like random battles). The ending, as expected, could only be as good, if not better than the game. After going through the whole game, you can inticipate the ending, and when you actually see it, you just sit there in awe at it. The characters expressed so much emotion and were so real that its like as though its really happening, right in front of you. Yuna's ending speech, combined with the last shot after the credits, just rounded out the perfect game with the perfect ending.

 

[JasonKrol]

i find my self depressed after I beat a game that I applied alot of time and energy etc.

I also find it very depressing when Im playing a great game and beat it rather quickly..almost to my surprise im like "wait? this cant be the ending..must be like a midlevel boss or something"

ie Ico...(great game and kool ending..just way to damn short)

 

[Kip]

Two poor endings I stand out for me.

1. Jak and Daxter. I even obtained every singe power cell to get the special secret ending. Lame, lame, lame. For such a great game it was a real let down.

2. Soul Reaver. I'm all for hyping sequels, but at least make some attempt to tie up the current story. It's like they ran out of time and just ended it there.

Kip

 

[Andrew_Sch]

I think Twisted Metal: Black has a great beginning/middle/end system. None of the stories drag on, they're all amazingly dark and ironic, and they don't interrupt gameplay at all. Unlike MGS2 where taking two steps to the left leaves you at a 20 minute cinema, the middle and end movies serve as a true motivation to beat the game, and that's what great endings are all about.

 

[David_N]

I'd vote for FF7-9 as great endings. :Again since we are talking endings possible spoilers ahead:
7: Leaves you wondering if RedXIII was the only survivor on the Meteor crash (if it did crash, that is!?!)

8: Loved that about 30 minute long ending cinema. Especially hard not to get a tear in your eye when Laguna is sitting at the grave.

9: Good ending here too. Loved when Zidane reveals himself at the play. And the video of the Princess running through the crowd.

Also those two Zelda64 games have those satisfying endings. Especially cool is in Majora's Mask where the ending changes depending on the people you have helped.

[rant]And for the absolute worst and unsatisfying game ending......Banjo-Kazooie. I mean WTF, you spend hours and hours playing through and what do you get for endings? The "BAD" ending where if you don't get all the notes, and whatever else, it tells you to keep playing to get the "Good" ending. The "Good" ending, (which by the way did I say sucks royally and has made me a very bitter person to this day?) consists of Mumbo Jumbo showing you some hidden eggs and an ice key, which you can't actually physically get. Plus keeps plugging the sequel, Banjo-Tooie, (which wasn't released for about 3 years later,) which will allow you to get these special items by somehow traveling back to your original game and helps you do................................................ .............wait for it..........................something. That's right, I'll repeat that SOMETHING. They don't tell you, they don't know.[/rant]
[rant]Since I didn't play Banjo-Tooie when it came out (or ever), I'm happy to find out that I probably would have gone to jail, for going postal or something, after seeing the infuriating ending to that game. Apparently there are some hidden N64 cartridges floating around when you finish the game, that give you those special eggs and key or something foolish to that extent.[/rant]
End of rant for now.....But after that rant I think some more good endings are in order.
MORE GOOD ENDINGS:
Metroid: Not much but a couple sentences but, getting to play minus the space suit is a nice perk.
Max Payne: Love how the ending wraps right back to the intro cinema.
Mike Tyson's or Super Punch Out: All the boxers congratulate you on becoming champ, in their own way. Or course some are stubborn and want another fight.
Street Fighter 2 or Mortal Kombat 1,2,or 3: A different ending for each finishing for each fighter, can't complain about that.
Lunar 1 & 2: I'll also second both Lunar PS games. Especially like in Lunar 2 After the first ending the story continues. Then you can keep playing for the new ending.

 

[Shayne Lebrun]

Let me also throw in Fallout 1 and 2; at the end, you get a little blurb about every town you've visited, most of the NPCs, and so on; all determined by your actions throughout the game.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

About Banjo-Kazooie, the codes to get those damn eggs and keys was released last year I think. Look around for them, but they don't do diddly.

 

[Joseph Young]

I have mixed feelings about the end of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (which I just finished in 2 player cooperative). So strikingly similar to the infamous ending of Soul Reaver:
After a somewhat climactic battle, you walk through a portal and end up in a completely foreign place, a deep forest with menacing beasties. One of your allies, a lizard man (like Moebius in Soul Reaver), was pulling the strings all along. Of course, this is all a cinema scene, as you cannot play in this new world. "That," as the game states "is a tale for another day." Aaargh!! And then, of course, you unlock 'gauntlet' and 'extreme' mode, which are cool, but the story element seems unfinished.
Hopefully it means the continuation of a storyline, and isn't mean to be some comment about how in the world of role playing, 'the story is neverending.' Ugh...
Joseph