Best Feelgood Endings

[Hawki]

So, awhile ago there was a thread on bittersweet endings. Figure I can do the flipside - y'know, endings that give you that warm fuzzy feeling without any baggage of "lest we forget" or "world still sucks, deal with it."

On that note, I'm going to set myself a personal rule of games I've actually completed, and only one game per franchise, but the rest of you can knock yourselves out.

So, on that note:

-Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (though really, every game in this series ends with "feelgood" emotions)

-Army Men: Sarge's Heroes

-Diablo III

-Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (though this is dependent more on certain characters surviving, namely the extra cutscenes you get with them)

-Golden Sun: The Lost Age

-Halo: Reach (this admittedly straggles the border between bittersweet and feelgood - for me, it gets into the former via Halsey's monologue. Course Halo 4 undermines it, but whatever)

-The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

-The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (I know, I know, I give this game way more love than I should; honestly, it's McKellan's VO that sells things, even after a rediculous final boss)

-Metal Gear Solid

-Metroid Fusion

-Resident Evil 5 (2 and C: V come close though, but the former gets a bit too cheesy, and the latter is undermined by the whole "yeah, Umbrella collapsed between games, so so much for Chris's big speech")

-Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (STH 2 comes very close though)

-StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

-Star Fox 64

-Super Mario 64 (only because of the credits)

-Xenoblade Chronicles

So, agree, disagree, got some of your own, discuss, or not.

 

[BrawlMan]

All of the Streets of Rage endings, but 3 does it the best.




Contra 4 - Especially on hard mode.


Evil Within 2

Nier: Automata - The True Ending, Ending E

Bayonetta 1 & 2

Devil May Cry 1, 4, & 5 - 3 has an awesome theme, but it's much more bittersweet compared to all of the endings.

Splatterhouse 3 - When you save both Jennifer & David, and kill the Terror Mask.

Violent Storm

Undercover Cops

RE2 & 5

Viewtiful Joe - The music really helps.

No More Heroes 2

Lollipop Chainsaw

Uncharted 2

Onechanbara Z2: Chaos

Gunstar Super Heroes - Red's Hard Mode ending, where all of the gems save Gunstar Green. In the Blue's Hard Mode ending everyone sacrifices themselves, but their respective gems saves them at the last minute.

Guardian Heroes - Where the all of the heroes kill God. Unfortunately, it's not the canon ending according to Advance Guardian Heroes (and a scene in Red's Hard mode for Super Heroes), but that is a dogpile of shit, so me and many other fans choose to ignore it.

DK Tropical Freeze.

Ristar - Ironically, the American version's ending is happier than the Japanese version. The Japanese version has an ominous to be continued/sequel hook that is never followed up on.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

 

[ChupathingyX]

Ace Combat 04's ending is a fantastic mood setter, and considering the tense maneuvers you're required to make throughout the final mission the peaceful, calming credits music afterwards fits just perfectly.

And of course I can't forget this:

 

[Nuuu]

100% has to go to Elite Beat Agents for me. The final mission's quick shift from sadness to MUSICAL HYPE, along with its final verse and ending; feels fantastic no matter how many times I replay it.

(EBA's cutscenes are tied to its levels they really cant be snipped out)

 

[Casual Shinji]

Yeah Wind Waker's one is pretty damn good. I also quite like Super Mario Galaxy's.

RE2

Except ofcourse for, like, the thousands of people that died. And the ones who are still trapped in Raccoon City. Then you have Sherry acting like a complete psychopath, asking for Leon and Claire to adopt her and maybe they could get a puppy mere hours after her mother got done in by her monster dad. That casual walk, hand-in-hand, into the sunrise feels so out of place considering the utter humanitarian disaster that has occured.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Nice inversion of Mario 64's ending.

Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Everyone made it out okay except the two villains, and now the people of the two healthy worlds can go visit each other whenever they want.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble, mainly for the part where DK claims that even Cranky would be impressed after Dixie and Kiddy managed to beat KAOS... and Cranky immediately walks into the secret evil laboratory and says 'nope, not really!'. Then we find out Dixie has made an entire scrap photo album of her adventures. Which brings me to...

Earthbound. The only loose end is an evil manbaby who doesn't know when to quit. He certainly manages to bring a lot of despair and heartache to another world down the line, but not for a long time.

Hmm... all Nintendo games. No surprise. If I had to find one for a different company, probably Elena's ending in Street Fighter 4. She is too pure for this world.

 

[Yoshi178]

Pikmin the happy ending.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah Wind Waker's one is pretty damn good. I also quite like Super Mario Galaxy's.

RE2

Except ofcourse for, like, the thousands of people that died. And the ones who are still trapped in Raccoon City. Then you have Sherry acting like a complete psychopath, asking for Leon and Claire to adopt her and maybe they could get a puppy mere hours after her mother got done in by her monster dad. That casual walk, hand-in-hand, into the sunrise feels so out of place considering the utter humanitarian disaster that has occurred.

I meant the 1998 original: "Hey, it's up to us to take out Umbrella." - Leon (B Scenario). Insert cheesy late 90s guitar solo. As a kid, that always made me feel good. That, and the ranking screen music felt heartwarming. Admittedly, the RE2 novel handled the part with Sherry far better than the Remake. Even she knew the city was fucked and that everyone else died. Sherry was 12; not a 5 year old. Remake Sherry's attitude I see as her trying to temporarily distract herself from all of the horrors that presided in the game. I still find it sweet when they walk off in to the sunset. Even with the jarring tone shift.

 

[Hawki]

Pretty much any Nintendo game or the early FF?s (up to IX). The music in FF is what put?s it over the top for me.

To put it in perspective, RDR2 is the last game since that really had me feeling any significant emotion, but it wasn?t exactly good. Could pretty much listen to the soundtrack and start tearing up just thinking about it.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

The Uncharted games are king and queen of the feelgood ending, even if I'm torn about UC4.

I also like the original Ratchet & Clank ending. No bombast, just them chilling after a hard day's work and watching TV.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Except ofcourse for, like, the thousands of people that died. And the ones who are still trapped in Raccoon City. Then you have Sherry acting like a complete psychopath, asking for Leon and Claire to adopt her and maybe they could get a puppy mere hours after her mother got done in by her monster dad. That casual walk, hand-in-hand, into the sunrise feels so out of place considering the utter humanitarian disaster that has occurred.

I meant the 1998 original: "Hey, it's up to us to take out Umbrella." - Leon (B Scenario). Insert cheesy late 90s guitar solo. As a kid, that always made me feel good. That, and the ranking screen music felt heartwarming. Admittedly, the RE2 novel handled the part with Sherry far better than the Remake. Even she knew the city was fucked and that everyone else died. Sherry was 12; not a 5 year old. Remake Sherry's attitude I see as her trying to temporarily distract herself from all of the horrors that presided in the game. I still find it sweet when they walk off in to the sunset. Even with the jarring tone shift.

Ah okay, I just assumed you were talking about the Remake.

A problem I have with the Remake is that Raccoon City has been retconned into being so bloody huge now that a lot of the storytelling conventions of Resident Evil 2 just don't really work anymore (or work even less). Like for example, when it was still a small midwestern town in the mountains you could maybe believe how it could be off the grid for a few days before people started to notice. But with it being the size of, like, Chicago now it makes no sense that this place isn't national news and surrounded by military forces, before Leon and Claire are even able to make it there.

 

[CaitSeith]

Persona 4 best ending. Although P5's good ending is happier, P4 gives a warmer fuzzier feeling.

 

[Fappy]

Final Fantasy IX has an amazing feel good ending until...

Spoiler

you realize Vivi is dead.

 

[BrawlMan]

Except ofcourse for, like, the thousands of people that died. And the ones who are still trapped in Raccoon City. Then you have Sherry acting like a complete psychopath, asking for Leon and Claire to adopt her and maybe they could get a puppy mere hours after her mother got done in by her monster dad. That casual walk, hand-in-hand, into the sunrise feels so out of place considering the utter humanitarian disaster that has occurred.

I meant the 1998 original: "Hey, it's up to us to take out Umbrella." - Leon (B Scenario). Insert cheesy late 90s guitar solo. As a kid, that always made me feel good. That, and the ranking screen music felt heartwarming. Admittedly, the RE2 novel handled the part with Sherry far better than the Remake. Even she knew the city was fucked and that everyone else died. Sherry was 12; not a 5 year old. Remake Sherry's attitude I see as her trying to temporarily distract herself from all of the horrors that presided in the game. I still find it sweet when they walk off in to the sunset. Even with the jarring tone shift.

Ah okay, I just assumed you were talking about the Remake.

A problem I have with the Remake is that Raccoon City has been retconned into being so bloody huge now that a lot of the storytelling conventions of Resident Evil 2 just don't really work anymore (or work even less). Like for example, when it was still a small midwestern town in the mountains you could maybe believe how it could be off the grid for a few days before people started to notice. But with it being the size of, like, Chicago now it makes no sense that this place isn't national news and surrounded by military forces, before Leon and Claire are even able to make it there.

If I remember from the RE3Remake trailer, there is sub-plot about how Umbrella was able to do the information blackout. You have a point, but this really does not irk me. Raccoon City got bigger with each game starting with the Outbreak games. The city only got bigger as more spin-off games out: Operation Raccoon City, Umbrella Chronicles, and Dark Side Chronicles.

 

[Dalisclock]

Final Fantasy IX has an amazing feel good ending until...

Spoiler

you realize Vivi is dead.

That that does bring it down but it seems like

Spoiler

Vivi accepted it

.

When I finished the game, it felt like "This is where the Final Fantasy series ended and what a high note to go out on".

Everything from X on just doesn't feel the same.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Alrighty bitey, despite happy endings being such a default in mainstream media they pretty much have become white noise for me at this point, and despite uncharted being so happy-go-lucky with zero stakes for anything throughout their main stories that make any happy ending they go for feel like a nauseating overdose of sugar on top of an already coma-inducing family-sized dessert... uncharteds 4 felt like proper closure with a chilled hanging of the hat and passing of ominous batons to bastard next generations, just like real life!. Though I feel a lot of media is less annoying when on heavy pain meds anyway, so perhaps the dosage needs adjusting.
Want to say Horizon Zero Dawn, but am almost certain it's only cos I like the game and world so much the ending comes off as memorable and better than the filthy others solely through those merits.
Hmm, what else was happy and noticeable? Ooh...Tales from the Borderlands! And whilst here, throw in Life is Strange, as am sure a casual bit of small-town genocide was a fair price to pay for it.

 

[Fappy]

Final Fantasy IX has an amazing feel good ending until...

Spoiler

you realize Vivi is dead.

That that does bring it down but it seems like

Spoiler

Vivi accepted it

.

When I finished the game, it felt like "This is where the Final Fantasy series ended and what a high note to go out on".

Everything from X on just doesn't feel the same.

To be fair, it is the perfect way to complete his arc and the game practically screams at you about his ultimate fate about a dozen times throughout the course of the story. Final Fantasy IX is probably my favorite ending to a game I have ever played, even if it is bitter sweet.

 

[Dalisclock]

Undertales Pacifist ending.

You manage to unite all the main characters on your side and befriend them, The villain is (somewhat) redeemed and everyone gets to leave the underground. It even looks like the monsters have integrated into human society at the end.

Now, if you do the genocide ending before this, then you get a nasty swerve at the very end.

 

[Drathnoxis]

Pikmin the happy ending.

Too be honest I feel like the end of Pikmin is a little bittersweet, what with leaving the planet and all.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble, mainly for the part where DK claims that even Cranky would be impressed after Dixie and Kiddy managed to beat KAOS... and Cranky immediately walks into the secret evil laboratory and says 'nope, not really!'. Then we find out Dixie has made an entire scrap photo album of her adventures.

I always felt that DKC 3 had the worst ending, at least the true 101% ending. K. Rool getting dunked on with an egg to "teach him a lesson once and for all" was pretty lame.

Persona 4 best ending. Although P5's good ending is happier, P4 gives a warmer fuzzier feeling.

Nothing like defeating god with the power of friendship for getting you right in the feels.

Undertales Pacifist ending.

You manage to unite all the main characters on your side and befriend them, The villain is (somewhat) redeemed and everyone gets to leave the underground. It even looks like the monsters have integrated into human society at the end.

Now, if you do the genocide ending before this, then you get a nasty swerve at the very end.

Yes. Definitely Undertale.