What games totally nail the ending?

With Firewatch launching tomorrow, reviews are all praising it as a fantastic game, with the only noticeable nitpick being that the game's ending was not what some folks were expecting, which got me thinking about other great games held back by their ending [Mass Effect 3 ending haters nod here] (Oxenfree has similar complaints, if I recall).

I remember having a talk with some DBO folks about how, of all of the pieces that make up a game, the absolute most difficult (yet vital) part to get right is the ending. So what games have avoided this pitfall and totally nailed their ending?

The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

I assume you are talking about narrative endings, as opposed to the quality of the final encounter.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is right up there with Last of Us in my opinion. It's very emotional, offers fantastic closure, and says so much with so little.

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

I assume you are talking about narrative endings, as opposed to the quality of the final encounter.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is right up there with Last of Us in my opinion. It's very emotional, offers fantastic closure, and says so much with so little.

I really liked BioShock Infinite's ending. One of my great regrets is that I haven't played The Last of Us.

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I really liked BioShock Infinite's ending.

:-/

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I really liked BioShock Infinite's ending.

:-/

I had to work twice as hard to follow the entire story (credit to the writers), so the ending actually did make sense in the sense that it was playing by its own rules (given the pivotal baptism setting the stage for everything). The only question that lingered past that was Anna's birth, which is why the true ending (post-credits) was so perfect for me. It answered the question without answering it, which is a great way to hold back from talking down to the player after respecting their intelligence throughout the game.

#AnnaLives

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

I assume you are talking about narrative endings, as opposed to the quality of the final encounter.

Metal Gear Solid 3 is right up there with Last of Us in my opinion. It's very emotional, offers fantastic closure, and says so much with so little.

"Says so much with so little"

Except for the fact that the ending is a nearly half-hour-long cutscene... But yeah, you could say that that ending was... solid.

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"Says so much with so little"

Except for the fact that the ending is a nearly half-hour-long cutscene... But yeah, you could say that that ending was... solid.

For a Metal Gear Solid game, that is very concise :-p

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Hmmmm....

Halo. - They've been either trying to replicate that end run or trying to ignore it for over a decade without huge success. Plus, "No... I think we're just getting started."

Halo 2. - Maybe some got mad, but to me the dilemma of a primed Halo Array and the Earth being the Ark had me anticipating Halo 3 from the moment I finished Halo 2.

Bioshock Infinite. - Ok, maybe it was a bit convoluted, but I like Elizabeth getting godlike powers and putting them to use to fix everything. (Never played the DLC so I have no idea what happened next...)

Mass Effect 1. - Ok, the final Saren fight was dumb, but the ending scene where I had united the Council and we were going to work together to defeat the Reapers was great... Not ME1's fault that we didn't actually work together and the Reapers were disavowed and I didn't get to play alongside half my squad ever again and so on...

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Bioshock Infinite. - Ok, maybe it was a bit convoluted, but I like Elizabeth getting godlike powers and putting them to use to fix everything. (Never played the DLC so I have no idea what happened next...)

IMHO, the DLC nearly ruined the game, and diluted the original ending.

Mass Effect 1. - Ok, the final Saren fight was dumb, but the ending scene where I had united the Council and we were going to work together to defeat the Reapers was great... Not ME1's fault that we didn't actually work together and the Reapers were disavowed and I didn't get to play alongside half my squad ever again and so on...

You're reminding me how much I liked the end of Mass Effect 2. So satisfying to have the squad survive.

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Mass Effect 1. - Ok, the final Saren fight was dumb, but the ending scene where I had united the Council and we were going to work together to defeat the Reapers was great... Not ME1's fault that we didn't actually work together and the Reapers were disavowed and I didn't get to play alongside half my squad ever again and so on...

You're reminding me how much I liked the end of Mass Effect 2. So satisfying to have the squad survive.

Yeah... except it wasn't really my squad! Liara, Ashely / Kaiden, and Wrex were all too busy being somewhere else which always felt like a huge slap in the face to me. Not that I didn't like some of the others but they took away my squad... and killed me for no darn reason other than having a fake misleading initial trailer... and I never forgave them. :(

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Great game, played it all weekend and finally finished it. The ending was ok, with the exception of a particular mechanic:

After you beat the game, the island resets all of your work. Having ~425 completed puzzles wiped out is a very bad last impression, despite it's thematic connection. I can't bring myself to start over.

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Great game, played it all weekend and finally finished it. The ending was ok, with the exception of a particular mechanic:

After you beat the game, the island resets all of your work. Having ~425 completed puzzles wiped out is a very bad last impression, despite it's thematic connection. I can't bring myself to start over.

It should save the game right before that happens. You can load the save and just walk out of the magic elevator.

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It should save the game right before that happens. You can load the save and just walk out of the magic elevator.

Thanks, got so frustrated after I explored the credits, I just turned off the PS4. If I can load a save and complete all the remaining puzzles, I probably will.

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time. Halo: Reach's ending is amazing. It was a perfect way for Bungie to end its involvement with the Halo franchise. By turning off a prime game mechanic (respawn), it communicated several things: the realism of the struggle for guardians who can't come back, and a signal the show was over--the first set of lights clicked off before the building goes completely dark.

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I was going to put Reach, but your hold out against the Covenant wasn't the ending. The Halsey voiceover and unidentifiable rebuilding effort was... :/

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I was going to put Reach, but your hold out against the Covenant wasn't the ending. The Halsey voiceover and unidentifiable rebuilding effort was... :/

To say it wasn't the ending doesn't make sense to me. It was the last action of the protagonist. In a real sense, the voice over was only commentary.

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time. Halo: Reach's ending is amazing. It was a perfect way for Bungie to end its involvement with the Halo franchise. By turning off a prime game mechanic (respawn), it communicated several things: the realism of the struggle for guardians who can't come back, and a signal the show was over--the first set of lights clicked off before the building goes completely dark.

I just realized I said "guardians" instead of "spartans" above. Something felt off when I was typing, but I couldn't figure out what!

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time. Halo: Reach's ending is amazing. It was a perfect way for Bungie to end its involvement with the Halo franchise. By turning off a prime game mechanic (respawn), it communicated several things: the realism of the struggle for guardians who can't come back

Spartans.

See how quickly the mind adjusts to new things?

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The most obvious one that comes to mind for me is The Last of Us, which haunts me to this day (and hits me every time I replay the game).

Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time. Halo: Reach's ending is amazing. It was a perfect way for Bungie to end its involvement with the Halo franchise. By turning off a prime game mechanic (respawn), it communicated several things: the realism of the struggle for guardians who can't come back

Spartans.

See how quickly the mind adjusts to new things?

I know, right? A 343-era Halo fan would be completely confused by my terminology.

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Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time.

I've got to really disagree with you here, friend. I was really let down by Bioshock: Infinite as a whole, and the ending was (heh) the last straw.

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Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time.

I've got to really disagree with you here, friend. I was really let down by Bioshock: Infinite as a whole, and the ending was (heh) the last straw.

That's cool. You're certainly not a first person here to disagree with me on that. I've never been primed for a game like I was for BI. I watched every interview with Ken Levine, read The Devil in the White City (a requirement for BI developers), watched documentaries on the World's Fair--it didn't hurt that my great grandmother was Elizabeth's age and played many of the tunes featured in the game on the piano while I was growing up. I had a strong emotional connection to the game.

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Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time.

I've got to really disagree with you here, friend. I was really let down by Bioshock: Infinite as a whole, and the ending was (heh) the last straw.

That's cool. You're certainly not a first person here to disagree with me on that. I've never been primed for a game like I was for BI. I watched every interview with Ken Levine, read The Devil in the White City (a requirement for BI developers), watched documentaries on the World's Fair--it didn't hurt that my great grandmother was Elizabeth's age and played many of the tunes featured in the game on the piano while I was growing up. I had a strong emotional connection to the game.

Totally understandable. For me most of the intrinsic value in games comes down to two things: Novelty of gameplay, and predictability of story.

The gameplay of BI was fine, nothing inherently wrong with it. But, for me, it just felt like playing Bioshock all over again.

The real kicker was that the game had far too predictable a plot. I really hate seeing where a story is going, and to do so from the word go was more than a little irritating for me.

But I'm glad you had fun with it! All things considered, it is definitely a solid game in a world filled to the brim with sub-par entries.

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Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time.

I've got to really disagree with you here, friend. I was really let down by Bioshock: Infinite as a whole, and the ending was (heh) the last straw.

That's cool. You're certainly not a first person here to disagree with me on that. I've never been primed for a game like I was for BI. I watched every interview with Ken Levine, read The Devil in the White City (a requirement for BI developers), watched documentaries on the World's Fair--it didn't hurt that my great grandmother was Elizabeth's age and played many of the tunes featured in the game on the piano while I was growing up. I had a strong emotional connection to the game.

Totally understandable. For me most of the intrinsic value in games comes down to two things: Novelty of gameplay, and predictability of story.

The gameplay of BI was fine, nothing inherently wrong with it. But, for me, it just felt like playing Bioshock all over again.

The real kicker was that the game had far too predictable a plot. I really hate seeing where a story is going, and to do so from the word go was more than a little irritating for me.

But I'm glad you had fun with it! All things considered, it is definitely a solid game in a world filled to the brim with sub-par entries.

Your predictive powers exceed mine, friend. I played the original BioShock a bit too late to appreciate it as groundbreaking. In fact, it was part of my BI prep. I liked it, but I'm one of those odd people who liked BI more. (And I certainly wouldn't have appreciated BI as much without having played the first BioShock.)

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Nothing else compares. The ending of BioShock Infinite blew me away at the time.

I've got to really disagree with you here, friend. I was really let down by Bioshock: Infinite as a whole, and the ending was (heh) the last straw.

That's cool. You're certainly not a first person here to disagree with me on that. I've never been primed for a game like I was for BI. I watched every interview with Ken Levine, read The Devil in the White City (a requirement for BI developers), watched documentaries on the World's Fair--it didn't hurt that my great grandmother was Elizabeth's age and played many of the tunes featured in the game on the piano while I was growing up. I had a strong emotional connection to the game.

Totally understandable. For me most of the intrinsic value in games comes down to two things: Novelty of gameplay, and predictability of story.

The gameplay of BI was fine, nothing inherently wrong with it. But, for me, it just felt like playing Bioshock all over again.

The real kicker was that the game had far too predictable a plot. I really hate seeing where a story is going, and to do so from the word go was more than a little irritating for me.

But I'm glad you had fun with it! All things considered, it is definitely a solid game in a world filled to the brim with sub-par entries.

Your predictive powers exceed mine, friend. I played the original BioShock a bit too late to appreciate it as groundbreaking. In fact, it was part of my BI prep. I liked it, but I'm one of those odd people who liked BI more. (And I certainly wouldn't have appreciated BI as much without having played the first BioShock.)

It was just all the talk about quantum locking and the coin toss and the "will he, won't he" with Elizabeth that kinda hit the nail on the head for me. I never played Systemshock, and so the first Bioshock was a treat for me. The final hours of that game are still a fond memory. But to each their own! :)

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Halo 1
Halo 3
Mass Effect
Mass Effect 2
Portal 2
FTL

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Man, back in the day as a little little kid playing on my Sega not using cheat codes, if I run out of lives or turned that game off, I was starting over from square one. And those final boss battles could absolutely decimate you, what with no rings and all that. Nightmare. I was beyond thrilled when I beat that game. I think I love Sonic 3 more, though (especially with Sonic and Knuckles plugged in underneath, because playing as Knuckles is total badassery [even in Sonic 2]). :D

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Enter The Matrix had a great ending. The Simpsons Game, Child of Eden(God, she's so beautiful...) Dead or Alive 4(I cry every time), Sonic Colors, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Heroes, Portal 2, The Stick of Truth...

Good stuff.

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- Halo CE
- Mass Effect 2 (the boss fight was a bit ''meh", but the final mission was a fantastic payoff to the build of the entire game).
- The Last of Us (the entire game is perfect, including the ending ;p)
- Limbo (The "leap" gives me chills every time).
- Journey
- Transformers Fall of Cybertron (the most crazy bombastic end to a crazy bombastic campaign).

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What is the meaning of the ending? I was going to add that game to my list, but just left this game off because I couldn't accurately give an opinion on the ending.

which theory do you believe?

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What is the meaning of the ending? I was going to add that game to my list, but just left this game off because I couldn't accurately give an opinion on the ending.

which theory do you believe?

For me, the thing about Limbo (and Journey) that I love so much is the feelings they convey. I don't really think much about "what they are about" because those specifics don't effect the emotional reaction I have while playing.

In the case of Limbo, I think any of the interpretations in that article are totally valid. Personally, the way I felt while playing would fit within any of those versions of the story. For me it was all about the slowly-building sense of stress, anxiety, and fear. The feeling of being slowly overwhelmed that all builds to a sort of euphoric release and sense of finality. I love that the game made me feel so strongly without ever needing to tell me what was explicitly happening. It somehow didn't matter. The moment I saw that little girl near the half-way mark, I knew she was what I was looking for. And when I finally found her at the end, I felt at peace.

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What is the meaning of the ending? I was going to add that game to my list, but just left this game off because I couldn't accurately give an opinion on the ending.

which theory do you believe?

For me, the thing about Limbo (and Journey) that I love so much is the feelings they convey. I don't really think much about "what they are about" because those specifics don't effect the emotional reaction I have while playing.

In the case of Limbo, I think any of the interpretations in that article are totally valid. Personally, the way I felt while playing would fit within any of those versions of the story. For me it was all about the slowly-building sense of stress, anxiety, and fear. The feeling of being slowly overwhelmed that all builds to a sort of euphoric release and sense of finality. I love that the game made me feel so strongly without ever needing to tell me what was explicitly happening. It somehow didn't matter. The moment I saw that little girl near the half-way mark, I knew she was what I was looking for. And when I finally found her at the end, I felt at peace.

Excellent way of putting it. I defenitely put how a game makes me feel above what is actually being told. The way Limbo's music, darkness, and machinery gave way to the silent crashing and final meeting... That was great. Same as Journey.
And for Gone Home, Sammy and I had a discussion about it for a while, and I explained to her the elements that made it a tragic horror story, because of the lack of closure that you get from the game... Good stuff.

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Early on in my gaming life I think that one of the best gaming endings there was had to have been the ending to Super Metroid. The fight against mother brain and then the timed escape to get off the planet with the heart pounding music was a thing of beauty. That's why the ending of Halo CE felt so right to me. It had some heart pumping nostalgia! If you've never played Super Metroid, please go watch one of the videos on youtube showing the last fight and escape.

Besides the original Halo, I loved the ending to Reach. That last fight and inevitable death followed by Halsey's voice over was a perfect ending. It hit on the idea that your death was not in vain and that you helped to save humanity even though you were not there to witness it yourself.

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I always liked how in the opening cutscene Carter says something to Noble 6 like, "That lone wolf stuff stays behind!"

On first listen, it sounds like he's telling you, no, you're on a team now.

Then when you play the last mission, that lone wolf stays behind. Pretty cool.

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I always liked how in the opening cutscene Carter says something to Noble 6 like, "That lone wolf stuff stays behind!"

On first listen, it sounds like he's telling you, no, you're on a team now.

Then when you play the last mission, that lone wolf stays behind. Pretty cool.

Heh, yep.

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I know the main plot of Halo 3 had its problems (Truth's personality change to name a big one), but I thought the cinematic portion of the ending was beautiful. Master Chief and Cortana won the costly war against the flood, and he crawls into his cryochamber for a well-deserved rest.

"I'll miss you"
"Wake me when you need me"

It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space awaiting a new adventure.

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I know the main plot of Halo 3 had its problems (Truth's personality change to name a big one), but I thought the cinematic portion of the ending was beautiful. Master Chief and Cortana won the costly war against the flood, and he crawls into his cryochamber for a well-deserved rest.

"I'll miss you"
"Wake me when you need me"

It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space for the rest of eternity.

Fixed that for ya! ;D

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It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space for the rest of eternity.

Fixed that for ya! ;D

Yeah. That is how my headcannon thinks about it. I wish they would have let him rest for 20 years and pulled him out when they had something powerful to say or write rather than the crap they woke him up for.

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It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space for the rest of eternity.

Fixed that for ya! ;D

Yeah. That is how my headcannon thinks about it. I wish they would have let him rest for 20 years and pulled him out when they had something powerful to say or write rather than the crap they woke him up for.

Ah well, if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

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It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space for the rest of eternity.

Fixed that for ya! ;D

Yeah. That is how my headcannon thinks about it. I wish they would have let him rest for 20 years and pulled him out when they had something powerful to say or write rather than the crap they woke him up for.

Ah well, if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

Have you ever eaten horsemeat?

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It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space for the rest of eternity.

Fixed that for ya! ;D

Yeah. That is how my headcannon thinks about it. I wish they would have let him rest for 20 years and pulled him out when they had something powerful to say or write rather than the crap they woke him up for.

Ah well, if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

Have you ever eaten horsemeat?

Not to my knowledge!

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It isn't triumphant, but it is fitting. He's done his job, returns to the state we originally met him in and they float adrift in space for the rest of eternity.

Fixed that for ya! ;D

Yeah. That is how my headcannon thinks about it. I wish they would have let him rest for 20 years and pulled him out when they had something powerful to say or write rather than the crap they woke him up for.

Ah well, if wishes were horses we'd all be eating steak.

Have you ever eaten horsemeat?

Not to my knowledge!

You don't eat it so much as chew it until it sort of disintegrates inside your mouth. Like meaty gum.

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The Last of Us.
Ori and the Blind Forest has a solid ending (fantastic game if you haven't played it)
The Last of Us.

- CC

The Last of Us

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Epic endings that gave me goosebumps:

Halo 3
Mass Effect 1
Knights of the Old Republic
FFVII
FFVIII

Fulfilling/revealing endings to a story:

Braid
Alan Wake
Red Dead Redemption

Most exciting ending ever:

Halo 1 - up until that point I just didn't realize you could raise the stakes and make such an exciting, emotional, and fun ending in a video game - AND make it playable too!

Honorable mentions:

I remember Tomb Raider Legend made me excited to play whatever came next.
And Tomb Raider's (2013) ending supplied a satisfying last rung in the ladder to 'rebuilding' Lara. Two Pistols!
Metal Gear Solid would be on here if flipping Liquid off the Metal Gear wasn't so annoying.

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And Tomb Raider's (2013) ending supplied a satisfying last rung in the ladder to 'rebuilding' Lara. Two Pistols!

Yeah I was a little disappointed in Rise of the Tomb Raider that you never get to use two pistols, but the game is still awesome regardless.

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I thought of Alan Wake, but it's ending was a bit inconclusive... though thinking about it it was good while hinting at bigger things to come. Maybe it's all the odd DLC that they released that has soured me on it a bit...

And yep, I never cared about Tomb Raider before 2013 but the two pistols thing was iconic enough that even I was giddy when it happened! :)

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The ending to the original game was super cool!!!

AW: American nightmare had none of the same Twin Peaks/Twilight Zone vibe for me and just felt like a shooter, which was disappointing.

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Yeah, I loved the first game, but all the DLC afterward was just kinda, "eh." American Nightmare had only one thing going for it, and that was the setting and being alone. But it quickly gave it up, I was bummed.

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Epic endings that gave me goosebumps:

Halo 3

True, that ending was pretty perfect. Shoulda stayed asleep, imo.

Mass Effect 1

That ending was freaking unreal. Mass Effect 2's was also pretty bad ass.

FFVII
FFVIII

I almost threw FFVI into my post below, but much like the long list of Zeldas, I left it out. And Halo. And Mass Effect. I felt like everyone else covered it pretty well up to this point. :P

Fulfilling/revealing endings to a story:

Braid

Ohhhh, I forgot about Braid. I still have that on my 360. Yeah, that ending was pretty nifty.

Alan Wake

When the game "ends" the first time, sans DLC, nothing but disappointment. I seriously thought that was the end of the game. Horrible. But then when I got the DLCs that actually ended the story, excellent payoff. Too bad it looks like we're never gonna get a proper sequel that really closes the book.

Red Dead Redemption

While this game is far and beyond one of my most favorite games of all time, I'm still not sure, even after all of these years, how I feel about jumping ahead and into John's kid's shoes for a scene.

Most exciting ending ever:

Halo 1 - up until that point I just didn't realize you could raise the stakes and make such an exciting, emotional, and fun ending in a video game - AND make it playable too!

Wildcat destabilizations are where it's at for all the fun, action, and excitement!

Honorable mentions:

I remember Tomb Raider Legend made me excited to play whatever came next.
And Tomb Raider's (2013) ending supplied a satisfying last rung in the ladder to 'rebuilding' Lara. Two Pistols!

I haven't played a Tomb Raider since Sega Genesis, so I have no idea about these.

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I was also going to rattle off a list of a lot of Zelda games dating back to the NES, but I think those are self explanatory. In line with Lost Odyssey, I feel like The Last Story's ending really did it right, too.

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I was also going to rattle off a list of a lot of Zelda games dating back to the NES, but I think those are self explanatory. In line with Lost Odyssey, I feel like The Last Story's ending really did it right, too.

I love that Sakaguchi just keeps making games with titles synonymous (or close to) 'Final Fantasy'. :)

For the life of me I can't remember how Lost Odyssey ended, but it was definitely my favorite traditional RPG from the last... decade?

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Totally agreed. Lost Odyssey left a huge impression on me. Near the end of the game, some of the staple JRPG elements were getting on my nerves (particularly taking a step or two and ending up in yet another battle in certain areas I was trying to power my way through), but the game as a whole was amazing. The story was beyond fantastic, and I loved the visuals. The atmosphere of the world, the characters, their interactions, and the 1,000 years of stories were so well written and touching.

You should check out some videos on YouTube to remember how the game ended. It ended really appropriately, and I feel like it was earned for all characters involved.

Have you played The Last Story? While not as spectacular as Lost Odyssey, it's still a really solid game with a really solid story, and it's yet another world that one can just fall in love with.

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Totally agreed. Lost Odyssey left a huge impression on me. Near the end of the game, some of the staple JRPG elements were getting on my nerves (particularly taking a step or two and ending up in yet another battle in certain areas I was trying to power my way through), but the game as a whole was amazing. The story was beyond fantastic, and I loved the visuals. The atmosphere of the world, the characters, their interactions, and the 1,000 years of stories were so well written and touching.

Same. I loved those short stories and Uematsu was stellar. The world was interesting and the art was unique. The gameplay mechanics were just good enough to keep me pulled in for the length of the story, which, I might had, must have one of the saddest death scenes ever in a video game. They put a LOT of effort into trying to make me cry, heh.

The game sort of felt like a followup to FFVI-VIII to me, which were my favorite of the series (X was the last I played - I decided to follow Sakaguchi around instead of the FF name). One of my favorite memories was walking around Numara with the beautiful art and the hum-able music soothing me. It was like I was back in 6th grade playing FFVIII again!

You should check out some videos on YouTube to remember how the game ended. It ended really appropriately, and I feel like it was earned for all characters involved.

Will do! I still listen to the OST on a regular basis.

Have you played The Last Story? While not as spectacular as Lost Odyssey, it's still a really solid game with a really solid story, and it's yet another world that one can just fall in love with.

I have not. I didn't have (or have access to) a Wii until my girlfriend got one three or so years ago. I put Last Story on my wish list for a while, just never got around to it. But I have listened to the soundtrack!

I picked up Blue Dragon when it was cheap and again it had great music for the most part and it was fun to see Akira Toriyama designs after many years away from his work, but it was just... SO basic, so kid-friendly that I couldn't keep at it. I realized I'd enjoy it more if I just watched the cutscenes on Youtube and put the soundtrack on while I draw.

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Had to think about it for awhile, but I think I have a good list of games that really blew me away with the ending.

Halo and Halo 3 obviously. Honestly just the whole last act of Halo 3's story is just awesome.
Bioshock (the good ending) and Bioshock Infinite. Very few FPSes make me connect with my character as much as the Bioshock games do, especially since even the cutscenes are in first person, and the endings tie that together so well.
Last of Us. What else is there to add?
Marathon Infinity. Just a note perfect end to the Durandal storyline in my opinion.

And then 2 choices I haven't seen, and may even be somewhat controversial:
Transistor. Very few games have driven me to immediately replay the story again, love the themes and somewhat bittersweet ending.
Chrono Trigger. My favorite game of all time. Picking it something of a cheat since it actually has 12-14 endings (depending on the version and if you count losing), one with 5 variations on the ending. In my opinion the only game with branching endings that truly accomplishes feeling like your actions have a drastic change on the outcome. You can even not even revive the MAIN character in one ending! And for another ending you either have to defeat the main boss with only one character or defeat him when you most likely assumed he is impossible to beat the first time through! Seriously, I can't say enough good things about this game or about the multiple endings.

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After you defeat Gygas in Earthbound, you get to go trough the entire world and see the effects your victory has on all the characters you have met in your long playthrough. One of my all time favorite games, and that's mostly because of the characters and writing. The fact you get to see all those characters at the end really wraps the story up nicely.

- MacGyver10

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The game is revolved around your relationship with Delilah, another firewatcher. She started off as Leela, but with a personality. I expected her at some point to turn into Durandal. She did not. I expected a massive twist at the end where she was pulling all the strings for everything that happened. There was not. I left, and she left. We were both just people.

The story was just a story. It's consistent with the characters, and the end was happy. It's a fine game.

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The story was just a story. It's consistent with the characters, and the end was happy. It's a fine game.

I did like the end, but calling it happy is a pretty big stretch, I think. It's pretty neutral at best.

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You have resolved to stop running from your problems and visit your wife, you completed your job, solved a mystery, and got out of the fire. Seemed happy to me.

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You have resolved to stop running from your problems and visit your wife, you completed your job, solved a mystery, and got out of the fire. Seemed happy to me.

I see where you're coming from for sure, but it still just doesn't really feel happy to me. Responsible, maybe even slightly hopeful, but not really happy.

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What games totally nail the ending? (Gaming)