What was the last ending of a game that was genuinely satisfying?

[DioWallachia]

IJI of course and maybe Soul Reaver 2 just because of the Twist, satisfying in his own way but the series was far from over.

 

[Bobic]

To be honest, a few of the games I've played recently had not just satisfying endings, but great or even fantastic endings.

Bastion - That ended brilliantly, as others have said, the whole

Spoiler

(admittedly optional) defenselessly carrying an injured dude through massive amounts of hostility. And then the whole reset/fly off into the world choice was quite cool too.

Dragon Age: Origins - Only played this recently, it had a bittersweet ending (depending on your final choices) which was pretty cool, and then there's a massive epilogue which tells you how all your other choices throughout the game panned out.

Saints Row: The Third -

Spoiler

Climbing a statue, fighting mooks, to save a damsel in distress whilst Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding out for a Hero' plays. That is so goddamned amazing I can't even think how to express it. Perfect ending for the game. The Gangsta's in space epilogue was hilarious too. Just brilliant. (the other ending was fine, but not as amazing as save Shaundi one)

Portal 2 - I played this when it came out, I just mention it now because it is, hands down, my favourite ending ever

Spoiler

Firing a portal on the moon was as hilarious as it was mind blowingly awesome. Then we get 2, (2!!!) ending songs, Wheatly and the space core in space, and you even get reunited with the companion cube (further cementing Glados' inability to understand human emotions). Seriously, best game ending ever

So yeah, I do think plenty of games end well, they just really dropped the ball with ME3. Silly Bioware.

 

[Sehnsucht Engel]

I played Vampire the masquerade a few months back. As a malkavian, those who have played it know what they're like. Anyway, it ended with my character being chained to a sarcofagus and thrown in the sea. I honestly think this was a satisfying ending, it fit her, it fit the rest of the game.

 

[Mycroft Holmes]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Kinda...But I didn't like the Ending-tron 9000 so, No.

I think what annoyed me about it was that it acted like whatever you chose was the right choice and you were so clever for picking that one. It rang kind of hollow after I played all the ending scenes.

Fallout: New Vegas gave us closure to pretty much everything and everyone that mattered, and that's the way RPG's should end.

Basically this ^

Any RPG that isn't part of a continuous plot needs to end this way. The Fallout games are segmented like this with each having an ending that explains what happened as a result of their choices. Which works very well because its not a continuous adventure of a single person, so we weren't waiting for Fallout 2 to conclude the story of the Vault Dweller just as we werent't waiting for F3 to conclude the story of the Chosen One. Which is why Me1 and Me2s endings were satisfying endings; because nothing was expected of them except to provide short transitional cutscenes in preparation for the next game.

ME3 however, as the last game in the series, was expected to deliver heavily in its end game closure because unlike most RPGs it was concluding a larger(non-single-game) adventure. When it fell far short of that expectation the outcry was effectively amplified by 3 games of waiting for that closure.

 

[guitarsniper]

Lessee
MW3--THAT CIGAR SHOT
Mirror's Edge--ending really fit the overall tone of the game
Mass Effect 1--probably don't really need to explain why
DA:O--haven't played in a couple of years, but I remember it being good
NWN: Hordes of the Underdark. Really the entire third chapter, but the ending was pretty damn awesome

I'm noting after making that list that 3/5 of these endings are Bioware endings. Huh

 

[Legion]

Hmm, Portal 2 I'd say. It was so random, crazy and generally insane, but it worked beautifully.

I rather enjoyed all of Fallout New Vegas' DLC endings too.

 

[kabooz18]

Final Fantasy XIII
or Ghost Trick
dunno which I played last

though both had awesome endings
Ghost Trick is one of the best of all time and FF XIII just a good one.

best ending of all time is a TIE between The Whispered World and Fallout 2

 

[SweetShark]

Final Fantasy XIII
or Ghost Trick
dunno which I played last

though both had awesome endings
Ghost Trick is one of the best of all time and FF XIII just a good one.

best ending of all time is a TIE between The Whispered World and Fallout 2

I agree with all the games you said exept XIII. Sorry, but the ending was....meh....

 

[TP Potatosalad]

I would have to say the "Good" ending to Metro 2033. It struck that nice balance for me of leaving you wondering about what would happen next in the world but at the same time having a good sense of closure.

 

[teh_Canape]

Cryostasis
boy that one made me feel good

Maybe it's a stupid question, but is Cryostasis worth playing then?...
I own it, but I got it when my pc was to weak to play it >.<

ot: Binding Of Isaac, I like the endings however I'm sure I can think of something better in the middle of the night when I don't want to.

to me, yes it was
it's very, VERY slow
but I don't think it could've worked without such slow pace, and I think it's an atmospheric masterpiece ^-^
granted there's some gameplay things that aren't exactly... perfect, like the flaregun being worthless or the slow reloads, but I think the reload thing makes sense, he is a scientist after all, not a soldier =P

 

[Dfskelleton]

Recently released or recently played?
I can't think of any recent releases, but I recently finished the original Deus Ex, and all 3 endings were perfect. Each had benefeits and faults, and more importantly, it felt like your choice had impact, unlike it's predecesor, Human Revolution (which is the second game, as there weren't any others ever), which felt like you had just changed the fate of the corporation you work for.

 

[Castian Blake]

Xenosaga Trilogy was my most recent; "OMG that ending rules so hard!"
My All time Favorite ending are from the Suikoden series.

EDIT-----------------> My real Most Recent Best OMGWTFFTW ending it's Saint's Row the third, secondary ending, when you deicide go after killbane, crap shaundi dies, take over the city, and announce you just created a City Estate in war againts the US of A.

 

[Frozen Donkey Wheel2]

Infamous 2 it ends appropriately and guarantees no sequels to ruin it Bravo Sucker Punch

I feel I should second this. Both endings of Infamous 2 were fantastic.

However, the best ending in a game that I've ever seen is most definitely Portal 2. It had excitement, heart, humor, catharsis...The whole deal. It was pretty much perfect.

 

[kyogen]

Dark Souls. Both of them.

Spoiler

To Link The Fire just has this horrible sense of bewildered betrayal, and this horrible realization that you've just been played.

Dark Lord is just epic. No clue what happens to humanity, or the undead, or anything else, but whatever's left, you're the new boss of it.

My favorite part of those endings is that they both lead straight back to your cell in the Undead Asylum for New Game+. Closure? Ha! There's no escape. Ever.

 

[Quantum Star]

So the general consensus nowadays is that video game endings are doomed to suck. If it's not Deus Ex's or Mass Effect 3's "press button to see this ending" business, it ends on a bull shit cliffhanger or has no closure and leaves the player completely unsatisfied like Final Fantasy XIII-2. The last game I finished with a great ending was Persona 4. You end the murderer's killing spree, discover the truth behind the murder cases, you've done everything that you needed to do, and it all wraps up on a positive note that makes you feel like you really accomplished something big. So I ask: what was the last game you finished with an ending that you were completely happy with?

Closure isn't a necessity, sometimes the ending can be that much more poignant when it leaves you asking questions, instead of rattling off everything that happens. For example: Would you have remembered the ending to Inception if it had ended with the spinning-top falling down? Probably not, because leaving you with something to think about AFTER you're done makes it much more interesting.

Epilogues that explain what happened to everyone and everything is like the easy way out, it might leave you satisfied, but it won't have an impact on you whatsoever.

That's true, a game or any kind of fiction for that matter should leave a few mysteries for the viewer to think about after the story is over, however, all stories do need to have a certain amount of closure to end the story and answer the questions that should be answered. Not necessarily everything, but at least the most significant issues.
I mentioned in my original post that Final Fantasy XIII-2 ended on a very unsatisfying note because the last thing we see is the world ending and a "to be continued" before the credits. That was incredibly disappointing because it didn't end the story, and it brings you right up to the climax and abruptly ends with no indication to what would happen afterwards. The most important questions were left unanswered,(is the world going to end? Can the main characters still change this future?).
Since this is getting kind of long, I'll just end by saying that leaving some things in the story unanswered for the viewer/player/whatever to think about afterwards is a great thing to do since it can, as you mentioned, make the ending much more poignant, but not getting any answers to the driving questions of the story is not the same.

 

[Robert Ewing]

God this thread is hard... Erm...Disgea? That was satisfying as fuck.

 

[dark-mortality]

Bastion is the last game that gave me a great ending. Despite the fact that it looks childish, the story is actually quite heart-wrenching. The ending(s) only amplified that bit in my opinion

 

[TheMann]

As far as games I played in the last year or so? Well, it's been mentioned quite a bit already but I have to say that Portal 2 had one of the best endings I've ever seen in a game. I actually found myself applauding to my computer screen as the credits rolled.

Also, despite being a bit bittersweet, I recently found the ending to Alice: Madness Returns to be damn satisfying. If you're one of the people that's actually played through this game you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I have high hopes for how Bastion turns out but I haven't finished it yet. I'm grinding a bit so I can upgrade some of my weapons before the final level.

 

[scar_47]

Just finished LA Noire and thought the ending worked really well not only neatly tying up the last case, but the city corruption angel, and Jack and Coles story in a satisfying if sad note.