Completing a game + Game endings

[JU!]

I have just completed the Japanese version of Anubis and as i don't complete games often anymore it felt good to do it again. It also felt like a bit of a void had hit me, this also happened when i completed Zelda: Wind Waker. I was wondering how completing a game makes you feel if you feel anythin at all? You know what it's like when u get that adrenaline rush on the last boss then it's all over only to get a weak ending you worked so hard to get. Endings can have a great impact on a game and i find really bring it down a few notches if its not up to scratch.

I was also wondering what people think about the ending you recieve and how this affects the way you felt about a game as a whole? Even though i did not fully understand the Anubis ending i felt it was good and enjoyed the game whole heartedly. But occasionally i knw endings can dissapoint, and when they do this can make you feel you were not rewarded enough for all the work u put in, alot perhaps like when a movie has a rubbish end to it. Some endings are just plain silly, and make u think y u put in as much effort as u did to complete that game. What are your thoughts on completing a game and the endings given? Any games where u thought the ending was total pap or games where u simply did not want them to end.

[?pint]

Final Fantasy games have always hit me the hardest when they finish. You play them for so long, devoting so much energy into them, that it leaves a big gap. I often immediately restart the games just so that I don't have to think of something else to play instead . The endings almost always live up to the game, usually between 10 minutes and half an hour long. The FF7 ending was so ambiguous at the end with Aeris I did go online and read all these essays and stuff people have written. I was properly .

Hehe.

[Adam Stone]

Nice topic

For games that I didn?t want to end? Zelda Ocarina Of Time is the primary game that springs to mind. I just didn?t want the experience to stop? yet I also really wanted to beat Ganon and save Hyrule. I kept putting it off for way over a month. I went back to the world, collecting items, going fishing, meeting people and playing mini games....

When I did finally beat it I was satisfied. The ending was very emotive and made me feel it was all worth it. Of course it would have been worth it even if the ending was pants, but you know that feeling inside when u sense the icing on the cake?

During Wind Waker I felt the same ?not wanting to end? feeling. When I did beat it I wasn?t overly satisfied with the ending. It didn?t make me enjoy the game any less? not at all. But it left a little sour taste in my mouth, if that makes sense. The boss battle (not including the exceedingly silly and disappointing puppet battle) was intense and impressive... but the actual ending was disappointing and seemed rushed imo. But because the actual game was such a wonderful experience the ending really didn?t have a long term effect on me.

Metroid Prime is another game I didn?t want to end? but also funny enough wanted to end so I could re-play on Hard

The boss battle and atmosphere created, building up to the end, was incredible imo. The sheer satisfaction alone was enough for me. Then the ending was just the icing on the cake. Nothing long? but it did what it needed to do perfectly.

One game though that stands out from the cloud for totally disappointing ending is Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64) My god that was a long and difficult game. Hour after hour after hour spent? and a lot of them were in frustration and annoyance. But still and great game but the ending was stupidly short and pointless and made me feel completely cheated. To be treated to a ?Game Over? screen didn?t make me smile?

[?pint]

Just read Adam's post - I too put off finishing games like Zelda, and Final Fantasy. In FF7, I got my characters up to level 80 or something (a bit achievement for that game), and did absolutely everything. In FF8, I found my own levelling up technique (!!!) and got everybody and everything up to level 100 (w00t). In FF10, I started completely optimising everybody, then curiosity got the better of me and I went to kill the final boss. While holding out til the end is great for prolonging the game, it kind of kills the fun because my characters got so fricking strong that it was a case of one-shot-kills . Ahh well .

[Vaipon]

A game I really didn't want to end was ICO. I enjoyed playing that game immensely. Good job the ending was good, simply beautiful.

I loved the ending(s) to Silent Hill 1. The soundtrack to the Good ending as Alyssa's world is collapsing is amazing. I was thinking about it for hours afterwards, and I was actually really looking forward to challenging the game again to find out what the other routes were like.

[Spatial]

The ending was really make or break stuff for me at one time, but I found that I was being dissapointed far to often so I tend to get more satisfaction from actually beating the last boss / level these days

I think this multiple ending craze is an absolute farce

The only game where its worked IMO is the original Silent Hill because it suited the way the game was designed.

Multiple endings usually smack of a writer or team of writers who can't decide how the game should end ( and then they disguise this by trying to create the illusion of multi-branching pathways and a non linear story - I've yet to see a truly non linear game where the outcome is decided by more than just a few set choices or stats )

Metroid Prime's ending is a good example of how multiple endings just don't work. I mean, was it really worth collecting the full 100% for that small extra snippet of ending ? Of course not, it was the prospect of the bonuses that kept you intrested in achieveing that full percentage.

Multiple endings also cause untold havok on any sequels produced - it wasn't a problem too long ago because there weren't that many sequels produced, but now........ Silent Hill 3 anyone ?

[3rdnode]

I alway though game endings have been a disapointment after fmv was introduced to games. I remember the days where I would play a game all the way to the end to see the digitised picture or the cool end game graphics. Now we are too used to it and there is not much that can be done to impress.

Although I do remember one old school game that only had a "game over" screen at the end ft: really disssapointing as it was really hard to finish.

[nips]

Chrono Trigger:

Great ending(s). There are about 6 of them depending on how you play the game. Great one I think.

[dataDave]

One of the main reasons I still play LttP through every couple of years is to view the ending. Fantastic stuff, probably the best ending ever IMO. Even the credits kick ass.

I remember Ocarina being slated for having a pap ending back in '98 - if you look at it now though it's very good compared to what's out there at the moment.

As for the FFVII ending...

I'm was never really that attached to Aeris - I never used/use her as I saw her as a weak character. Now Red is where my heart lies - When he realises the truth about his father mid-game is a truly heart-stopping moment for me and almost brought a tear to my eye as it does with Seto. Watching Red run through the canyon 500 years later with his pups and then finally climbing up the cliff face for the horizon to cast over the now tropical Midgar was the perfect ending for me. Got me out of my seat shouting "YES!!" when I first saw that one.

[Lebowski]

i really like to finish games and get that end screen up, but some times you think i could of done without that ending, there area lot of endings i do like but the last level in devil may cry and then that rubbish end sequence really spoiled the feel of the game for me, and dont even get me started on metal gears endings there is just so much wrong

shooting peeps in that jeep and the battle with metal gear was ace, then what does he do rides of on a skiddo to live in a cabin, and how the hell did osalot survive i seem to rember putting about 20 caps in his arse. ????? or that rubbish bitty final battle in 2 right lets fight 20 metal gears then beat up some bloke with a sword, then all you get is all that **** about your destiny and choseing your own path. listen nobody cares about ****y raiden

ft:

[bush_monkey]

A friend of mine finished Chu Chu Rocket on the GBA (2500 puzzles ) and for his effort he received a code to send to sega, which he did. They sent him a letter signed by the game's producer and a plastic chuchu rocket card that confirms him as being the 12th player ever to have finished the game . I am now playing this game through as we speak ...Must have chuchu card...

[dataDave]

A friend of mine finished Chu Chu Rocket on the GBA (2500 puzzles ) and for his effort he received a code to send to sega, which he did. They sent him a letter signed by the game's producer and a plastic chuchu rocket card that confirms him as being the 12th player ever to have finished the game . I am now playing this game through as we speak ...Must have chuchu card...

That's fantastic!!!

Which region is that? Japan?

[Kieran76]

Like someone has already said game endings used to really matter, but not anymore. I remember feeling cheated though when I completed Super Mario World and timed it so when I defeated Bowser I had done all 96 levels. Nothing special, a real poor ending. I remeber the ending to Toe Jam and Earl on the Megadrive being ace though, really funny and like a little game in itself.
It's been a long time since I have completed a game *sobs*.

[Jay]

Recently I completed Donkey Kong on the Gameboy. 100 superb levels. Probably the best platformer on any handheld. I didn't expect the ending to be much, and it wasn't, so no real disappointment there. What annoyed me, however, is that after the lame ending sequence, you get a Game Over message and have to switch off the machine. Switching it back on again, you find that the save file hasn't been touched. So if you play again using that save file, you start at level 9-5 and have to complete the last 5 levels again. The least Nintendo could have done is added a final save to acknowledge completion and then allow the player to choose to play any of the levels. In effect, the game can never really be completed. Grrr.

Jay

[The Sheriff of Nottingham]

On the other subject mentioned - how you feel after finishing a game - I always feel a little bit, well, lost. It depends on the length and intensity of the game (story-driven games particularly have this effect) but for a while afterwards (days or even weeks) I don't feel like playing anything else. It's like I've put so much into completing that game I need time to recharge my batteries and reset my mind before starting anything else.