When a Game Concludes Juuuuuuust right

[Tanis]

I LOVED FF9's ending.

Like, tear to the damn eye, ending.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Mass Effect 3's ending. You know, where they all gather at Shepard's apartment for a final round of, "Yeah, we're awesome, so lets party until the sun comes up" and you get to catch up with all the remaining characters from all three games after a long, grueling battle to save the galaxy.

...what? That's how the game ended. I swear it is. SHUT UP!


Otherwise, I think the most recent game that comes to mind is Uncharted 4's ending. A nice, happy, believable close to a long running series.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

I loved those endings even when the Warden dies as well.

When Alistair, at the Warden's funeral said "I'd thought be be together forever", I confess I almost cried. The setting, music and voicework were all excellent.

Oh, I shed tears, alright, and that was when surviving simply because it was so bittersweet; a last goodbye to great characters, and a sense that this bonded group was now heading their separate ways.

Somehow a single line from Oghren always stands out, his "Don't get lost in the shuffle, now", which I'm pretty sure is the last thing he can say to you given certain responses. All of the characters have variously touching things to say (I like Leliana's, especially if she's an LI), but that ostensibly quite casual line from the dwarf somehow best symbolised the unlikely - yet very believable - friendships that had been formed, and the sense that whilst fate or happenstance had brought them together, nothing would likely keep them together, and so given Thedas seems in perpetual danger it'd be easy even for someone as notable as the Warden to be subsumed by events[footnote]Which is kinda what happens by the time of DA:I...[/footnote].

DA:O was a classic fantasy roadtrip tale, and its endings were pretty much perfect for it. I've enjoyed all of BioWare's games since, but whilst I think ME1's is akin to a structural and tonal masterclass (cracking track for the credits, as well), DA:O's will always be my sentimental fave (it works so well across the various permutations, too; the Warden as queen, consort, warden commander, martyr, etc).

While Mass Effect is my favourite franchise, Dragon Age: Origins is my favourite Bioware game.


It just feels so much more varied and a lot of that comes from the simple text screens that come as the epilogue.

I almost cried at the scene mentioned above but I did shed a tear or two at

Leliana remained in the Royal Court for a time, mourning.

She poured her heart into a ballad that would eventually become known throughout Thedas.

But after one performance, Leliana quietly vanished.

Some say that the Maker came to her in a vision again that night. Smiling, tears in her eyes, she told a maid that she would see her love again at last.

Sten bowed once before Megan's remains and then left without a word, returning to his homeland.

His honour had been restored, and when fellow qunari asked if there were worthy people outside Par Vollen, Sten would answer that in all his travels he had only met a single one.

Oghren accepted a position as a general in the army of Ferelden, the first dwarf ever promoted so high, and eventually sobered up and married.

When his first daughter was born, Oghren held her in his arms and wept and named her after the friend who had changed his life so long ago.

I don't know what it was but on that play through those screens just managed to touch me in a way not much ever has.

Oh shit, I forgot about that game. It's coming back to me now, the ending of my first play through

Spoiler

I was a make love interest romancing Morrigan, and I did the thing where you have the baby so you don't die, but Morrigan takes it and fucks off. That was a good ending, my Warden saved the day, was surrounded by the cheers of the people he just saved, by all his friends he made along the way. But he had to sacrifice so much for it. The woman he loved left him, and took his child somewhere we he could never see it. Not to mention the fact that the child wasn't actually human, and there was also this vague sense of dread not knowing what Morrigan planned for the child. Was she going to give birth to a demon capable of wreaking more havoc than the Arch Demon they just defeated? Would the people still cheer for him as loudly if they knew what the victory cost him, what it may cost them?

Gives me chills just thinking about it. Too bad the Dragon Age series hasn't come close to hitting those emotional marks since

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

I always hold appreciation for sequels that not only have the guts to wrap up a series instead of simply leaving everything open for further sequels, but are able to do it in an epic and satisfying way.

Prince of Persia: The Two thrones comes to mind. The nightmare of the sands of time was started by the prince's ego, and it ended with his walking away from the Dark Prince, which is the only thing that could have destroyed him.

Mega Man Zero 4 had a good one, if not quite as character-driven. Even before reading Ghosts of the Machine it was my headcanon that Dr. Weil is either Wily or a reincarnation/clone of him, so Zero finally gets to deliver the coup de grace to the most persistent evil mad scientist in gaming while also giving humans and Reploids a fresh chance at peace between them. If the ZX series is anything to go by, it worked. Finally, they gave a Mega Man series a proper ending.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

Look no further than The Witcher 3. Endings are tough to make. Multiple endings even tougher. Yet they managed to nail every one of them.

 

[Hawki]

How does a game have a 'good' ending?

To clarify, I'm not referring to that whole good/bad/non-canon ending scenarios that often pop up in games that do the whole multiple ending thing.

Rather, the whole idea of how an ending concludes a game experience.

Like seriously, what makes a good ending? A cliffhanger? A wrapped up story? An Ultimatum? A Prelude?

What makes an ending so good, that it's a goal that any player is willing to play through? As bloody predictable as some of them are.

What are your thoughts about how a thing ends?

An ending is good when:

-It feels like it has structure of its own, and isn't just tacked on. E.g. a bad ending would be "boss is defeated, congratulations." That said, in a game with little story, a short ending can still work (e.g. the original Sonic the Hedgehog).

-It maintains tonal consistency with everything that's come up to the point.

-I'm fine with cliffhangers provided they're actually followed up on. Ergo, a bad cliffhanger ending can only be called bad by me in retrospect (off the top of my head, I can forgive Halo 2's cliffhanger ending because Halo 3 came along, while Golden Sun: Dark Dawn ended on a cliffhanger, and we haven't got a sequel seven years later.

-Also fine with open-ended material in the ending, but how open-ended is a potential issue.

Really, comes down to a case-by case basis, and this isn't exclusive to games.

Speaking of specific examples:

The first Mass Effect had a fine ending, as it resulted in a satisfying sense of accomplishment and victory, whilst also seamlessly establishing the coming threat without undermining itself.

Ditto. Also, since I brought it up, ME2 is an example of a good cliffhanger ending IMO. I think cliffhanger endings usually work better in the second rather than first installment as well, as by that point they've 'earned' the right to it.

An ending should make the plot have felt worth the effort. Bioshock is about rescuing children from an underwater hell, and it ends with those same children at your deathbed, thanking you. Boom! Worth it.

It might have been worth it if the ending went on for more than a few minutes with a monologue from a character whose name I can no longer remember (yes, I know I can look it up).

I like BioShock, and its ending fits thematically, but it just feels tacked on to the overall experience. And while it didn't affect mer personally, it might have been nice to have some grey areas between "save all the Little Sisters" and "you're a bastard."

DA:O was a classic fantasy roadtrip tale, and its endings were pretty much perfect for it. I've enjoyed all of BioWare's games since,

Including Inquisition and Andromeda?

Can't comment personally, but, well, surprised this hasn't been torn apart yet. 0_0

Prince of Persia: The Two thrones comes to mind. The nightmare of the sands of time was started by the prince's ego, and it ended with his walking away from the Dark Prince, which is the only thing that could have destroyed him.

And then Forgotten Sands happen. Scuttlebutt is that a lot of PoP fans don't like that game much...

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

And then Forgotten Sands happen. Scuttlebutt is that a lot of PoP fans don't like that game much...

Haven't played, but I thought that was a 'midquel' anyway- a story that took place between Sands of Time and Warrior Within, and didn't have any lasting effects on the main plot. No problem really, it's like an anime filler arc. Viewing is optional.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

Gives me chills just thinking about it. Too bad the Dragon Age series hasn't come close to hitting those emotional marks since.

It's ultimately all subjective, but I'd heartily disagree with that; DA:I's main 'story' may be impressively listless, but some of the character narratives are superb, particularly certain scenes of Solas' romance arc.

While Mass Effect is my favourite franchise, Dragon Age: Origins is my favourite Bioware game.

DA is my preferred IP between the two (swords'n'grit > sci-fi pews), but it's a trilogy that went through a severe identity crisis, whereas ME mostly just stuck to its course and got better.

I don't know what it was but on that play through those screens just managed to touch me in a way not much ever has.

Heh, I have absolutely no recollection of those epilogue outcomes on account of my bias for a living, breathing Warden. ;-) My only dim memory of the martyr/sacrifice ending is an LI Zevran standing near the funeral pyre, I think.

Ditto. Also, since I brought it up, ME2 is an example of a good cliffhanger ending IMO. I think cliffhanger endings usually work better in the second rather than first installment as well, as by that point they've 'earned' the right to it.

I dunno, if ME2's is a cliffhanger, surely 1's is as well? I don't feel either are, really. We're not exactly left guessing what happens next in either case - we know exactly what's going to happen.

Whilst I much prefer 2 to ME1, I feel 2 is--- well, objectively a lesser game in terms of technical narrative design, i.e. ultimately the game is a self-contained narrative that just spins its wheels re the grand threat in order to explore the underbelly of a galaxy still at peace/pre-invasion. That's why I love it (arguably some of the best world building ever created), but it results in a fairly meaningless entry in context of the trilogy, and that obviously then goes for the ending, too; it's more or less a repeat of ME1's 'we need to be ready/they're on the way' plot beat.

Including Inquisition and Andromeda?

Can't comment personally, but, well, surprised this hasn't been torn apart yet. 0_0

Well, it'd be objectively impossible for anyone to tear it apart, unless they can get inside my brain and somehow prove I did not enjoy DA:I and ME:A... This isn't the thread for it, but whilst DA:I's arguably the worst game they've made overall (certainly in terms of the inane combat and SP MMO zone design), it still has some classy elements to it (character narrative, cast, visuals, dialogue, etc). No game has to be perfect to be enjoyed.

And ME:A? I played it months after launch in a glitch-free state, and seen as a continuation of DA:I's design ethos it was an improvement in every way, with the best visuals BioWare have ever knocked out, and a sci-fi premise I vastly preferred to the trilogy (ditto for the PC - Shepard became a badass icon, but she was never a good or interesting character. Ryder's perfect for ME:A's premise, and like Hawke they have their family dynamics to make for a more emotionally engaged personal narrative).

In the context of this thread, though: DA:I's ending was rather terrible, in that it was an anticlimax which required the [mostly excellent, Citadel-esque] Trespasser DLC to have any kind of resolution to the game's real thematic focus (the rise and potential fall of the Inquisition), or any teasing lead-in to the next game's possible events (and setting).

ME:A's ending was arguably a retread of ME1's last stretch, and it also shared that game's sense of a satisfying accomplishment/victory, whilst also clearly throwing forward to what may've come next (both directly and indirectly). ME:A loses points for being one of the biggest teases I've ever seen in gaming, though... You ostensibly acquire something, can see it, but never get to enjoy it. If the Andromeda narrative does continue, then they have an awesome location to explore from the off.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

When it comes to game endings I want to feel like I've achieved something.

It's a boring, finicky answer, but...

A good ending is something that suits the game, so it will vary across genres, styles, stories, etc.
...
The first Mass Effect had a fine ending, as it resulted in a satisfying sense of accomplishment and victory, whilst also seamlessly establishing the coming threat without undermining itself.

...so I suppose, in short: it depends.

Also this.

 

[Weresquirrel]

I could go on forever about some of my favourite endings., but I'll try to limit them to a short paragraph each...

Mass Effect 2

Spoiler

The whole suicide mission was a masterclass. It took the formula of both making choices and having the consequences of earlier choices and framed it with some fantastic music and some nice character moments. It was the perfect climax. I honestly really hoped that the final mission in ME3 had some of the same trappings but on a galactic scale, whith Shepard deciding where to commit forces and testing loyalties of whole species. But I'll leave ME3's ending alone, it's had enough savagery heaped on it.

Undertale

Spoiler

Yeah, already been said a few times, but I'mma say it any way. All 3 of the major endings were great and hammered home the themes of each. The true pacifist run is wonderful and is one of the reasons Undertale is so highly ranked by me.

Spec Ops: The Line

Spoiler

Yup, another from the already mentioned a bunch of times list. But again, it boils down to it being a compelling story well told. The whole final act of the game was terrific, where Walker's mind is falling apart at the seams. The line "Welcome to Hell, Walker... We've been waiting for you..." sends chills down my spine.

Portal 2

Spoiler

Not much to say on this. It was just a perfect climax to the game. Silly, epic and rounds off nicely with a catchy song.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Spoiler

This is a game I don't often see a lot of love for and it's a bit of a shame. It's told mostly as a series of tall tales told by a bounty hunter in a bar, but through the story you're never 100% certain how much is truth, embellished or outright fabrication. But the last level before the end sees the narrator going a bit off the deep end. He's confronted with hallucinations from his past and the growing knowledge that his quest for revenge turned him into a monster who's killed far more people than the person he set out against. The narrator's delivery of some of the lines are haunting. "I was furious as hell at that bastard for making me who I am. A man with no family, no friends... Nothing was gonna stop me from takin' his life..."

 

[Hawki]

I dunno, if ME2's is a cliffhanger, surely 1's is as well? I don't feel either are, really. We're not exactly left guessing what happens next in either case - we know exactly what's going to happen.

Bearing in mind I've only played ME1 and watched ME2, ME2 has more of a cliffhanger feel to me. ME1 does end with the warning that the Reapers are coming, but it has a more triumphant feeling (least it does if you don't vote for Udina). The feeling that there's a looming threat, but we've just shown that said threat can be defeated, that humanity has come into its own, and the crew of the Normandy is a microcosm for how the people of the galaxy can work together.

Contrast that with ME2, how (Arrival aside), its last shot is on the Reapers approaching the galaxy, and Shepard either having parted ways with the Illusive Man, or given him the go-ahead to research the Collector base. Either option is ominous, and coupled with the Reapers actually coming, there's the feeling that shit is really about to go down.