Nintendo Endings - will they ever get better?

[edandersen]

I beat Paper Mario on my Xbox the other week - lovely ending, happy as ****. You could wonder around in the saved world and everyone things you're bloody great etc. Couldn't ask for anything more really.

Until it had a typical Nintendo N64 "The End" screen that only a reset can sort out. What was the deal with that?

[Concept]

I remember being completely hooked into Ocarina of Time at the time it first came out and getting the same feeling Boog did upon completion... The ending felt anti-climatic and a bit of a cop-out to be truthful. After investing around 60 hours I was hoping for something with a little bit more intelligence, emotion and substance.

But then I suppose at that point I was benchmarking all game endings to the one I experienced in FFVII, which I maintain still has one of the most rewarding, satisfying and think-inducing endings of any game I've ever played...

... If it wasn't for ICO and it's own unbelievable conclusion.

As for Nintendo titles mostly having poor ends altogether, for me it depends on the game. I agree with Ady that A Link To The Past had a satisfying conclusion to it...

As does Super Mario 64 (upon 120 star completion).

[hub]

I beat Paper Mario on my Xbox the other week - lovely ending, happy as ****. You could wonder around in the saved world and everyone things you're bloody great etc. Couldn't ask for anything more really.

Sorry to go OT, but can I ask what emu you are using and the settings? I tried to get PM to work on my xbox but may have the wrong emulator or an older version version.

[Brats]

The ending of SMB3 is CLASS!!!!

'Mario, the princess is in another castle......ONLY JOKING!!!'

Plus what about the original Metoid where Samus is revealed for the first time? It was a big deal in its day.

Nintendo endings are subtle. You don't need hours of FMV to have a brilliant ending.

[Tetsuo]

I remember being completely hooked into Ocarina of Time at the time it first came out and getting the same feeling Boog did upon completion... The ending felt anti-climatic and a bit of a cop-out to be truthful. After investing around 60 hours I was hoping for something with a little bit more intelligence, emotion and substance.

Really? Ocarina's ending I still enjoy watching to this day.

It was quite similar to Link to the Past, surely? It lasted for a good 15 mins or so (which felt like plenty reward to me) tied up a few loose ends, had a powerful, shiver-inducing score at the 'final' scene "Presented by Nintendo" , mellow music played over credits (which was the time you could relax and ponder over all you have acheived as you see each of the games locations, finally at 'peace') and had a thought provoking end shot (especially when the second scarecrow song plays if you leave the game standing for 5 mins at a time to hear each of the instruments). It's got it all, I love it, my favourite Nintendo ending.

Honestly, it still gets me in the throat everytime I watch it....did we play the same game?

[James Harvey]

I beat Paper Mario on my Xbox the other week - lovely ending, happy as ****. You could wonder around in the saved world and everyone things you're bloody great etc. Couldn't ask for anything more really.

Yes!! This happened in Earthbound too! I think the game ended with you going to bed, and your mum tells you 'Before you go, if there's anything you'd like to finish doing you should do it now', so you then go back over the whole world seeing whose lives have changed since you defeated Gigyas. Man I love that game.

Looking forward to playing Paper Mario one day, it sounds awesome

[Adam Stone]

Yep, im another one who was totally content with the OOT ending. The music, the atmosphere, the feeling of making a difference to the world, the feeling of completing something truly special. I loved it?


By contrast however, Wind Waker?s ending was fairly under-whelming. Aside from that fantastic end-of-battle sequence where Link owns Ganondorf (which is up there with the best imo) the before, during and after credits scenes were fairly poor. Why couldn?t we have a camera span across all the islands and ocean? Or a little celebration song from the forest folk or something like that? Those images in the bubbles (which were mostly repetitions of the same image!) were disappointing?

Meh. Sorry ? doesn?t distract from the utterly fab time I had with the title I just expected a little I suppose. Especially cause I enjoyed the OOT, MM and Lttp endings so much?

I really liked Pikmin?s end though

Just like at the end of Super Mario World, there were various scenes with all the enemies from the game. Subtle yet effective. Suppose it all comes down to expectations.

Prime's ending was subtle yet effective - and even had 3 different endings, all of which were fairly Satisfactory. The final (after getting 100%) was surprisingly tantalizing.

[James Harvey]

Prime was pants for me. Especially to see how weird Samus looked, they really bodged that face model...

Majora's Mask- what an ending! It was the events leading up to the end that did it for me, though. I knew the the

Giants would stop the moon,

but it was what you find when you're sucked inside the

moon

that was the amazing thing... completely surprising and reminded me of Earthbound at its best, so obviously I loved it.

[Concept]

Tetsuo -

I just found the ending typical, formulaic and without any signifcant surprises. After spending (and enjoying) a huge amount of time from the game I was perhaps hoping for something a little extra special. But then being a Zelda game, and knowing most of the console-based titles in the series all end in the similar fashion, I can't criticise too much. A Link To The Past felt right in that because I first experienced it from a retro point of view through buying a SNES, I didn't expect all that much to be wowed from the host hardware, but for some reason it 'felt' right.

But with regards to the last generation, I guess Final Fantasy VII raised the bar for me in that it delivered an emotional punch together with a beautifully chereographed and wonderfully scored finale. I can't say Ocarina of Time's conclusion ever gave me the shivers down my spine, but that's probably just due to personal preference.

Structurally, I found it very similar to Super Mario 64's ending too, in that the bad guy is quickly vanquished, before you're whisked into a goodbye from the princess and a fly-by of the environments during the credits. Now it worked in Super Mario 64 because after the game's completion you could return to the world to do other stuff, meet Yoshi, get a super jump and fly around the castle... Like GTA III, there was an openess to the ending, and the content of Super Mario 64's conclusion seemed to fit the context of the game perfectly. I wasn't disappointed in that regard.

Unforunately, I was hoping for something a little more expansive and daring from Ocarina of Time as in my opinion, I just felt it played a little safe. Hopefully, you can understand my reasons.

[Alf-Life]

I kind of do agree with you about Ocarina's ending being a bit of a let down, however, I really do believe it's all about expectations. The first time I was like... wha-- nothing poignant or especially exciting (unless you count the 2nd part of the boss encounter), but once you know what's coming, the 2nd and 3rd times you watch it it's very enjoyable.

For some reason, I find this with films too -- several years ago I heard how Hard Boiled was such an amazing action-packed film, and when I finally got it and saw it I was slightly disappointed. I've recently watched it again, and it's amazing! I can't believe how I didn't love it from the off. I just think that's the danger/power of expectation, once you know what's coming you can relax and enjoy it. I found this with each subsequent viewing of Kill Bill, all the way to the first time I saw The Big Lebowski - a film I hated but upon 2nd viewing has become a favourite.

Speaking of Ocarina, though, it's interesting in that it's easy to overlook but the identity of Shiek at the time was such a big deal at school - the playground buzz. I remember it because even though there were loads of kids I knew who played GoldenEye they never really mentioned it, while coming back after Christmas 98, Zelda was the talking point with people who I didn't even know were *that* into games talking about it at lunchtimes and stuff.
Anyway, I had the aforementioned identity spoiled for me while I had just finished the Forest Temple by a friend who had completed it, and it was well annoying, but I did see the whole relationship in the cutscenes differently. Still, it's like being told spoilers from Fight Club or Sixth Sense, it's never nice. >:/

[Tom Salter]

Nintendo endings, whilst charming though, just seem to lack the 'epicness' of other games.

The thing I hated about Ocarina of Time was the fact that you had to reset the game, and you got NOTHING for finishing it. Even collecting the 200 Golden Skulltulla's was completely pointless. Majora's Mask improved on this though. Play a game like Final Fantasy VII and compare the endings though - there is no comparison.

I loved the Mario World ending, of the credits going through all the different levels. Fan-bloody-tastic.

[Ady]

But then I suppose at that point I was benchmarking all game endings to the one I experienced in FFVII, which I maintain still has one of the most rewarding, satisfying and think-inducing endings of any game I've ever played...

It really goes to show that it's all about personal taste, as I found FFVII's ending vague and anti-climatic.

[Commander Marklar]

Meh, there are so many games that have **** endings though. It isn't just a Nintendo thing. In fact (fanboy mode, I guess), I like a lot of Nintendo's games because they usually contain some kind of reward for completing them so it goes beyond "The End" that is usually displayed.

Worst is some crappy predicatble FMV sequence, like Ghost Recon (just off the top of my head like, although Ubisoft don't seem to be able to get their FMV right at all).

[Ady]

Galerians on the PS1 has one of my favourite endings; it's bleak, but suits the game perfectly (though the awful sequel completely undoes its impact, in the same way Terminator 3 spoils its prequel's ending).

This begs the question; does a good ending always have to be a happy one, and should developers risk using an unhappy ending if it suits the story?

[Moodmon]

From my own personal tastes, a good ending needs a Jimmy Saville impression...

Jet Force Gemini as you asked.

As for sad endings, it depends on the game. Anyone who has completed the wonderful Robotech: Battlecry will find one of the best endings of modern times.

The hero, after being folded into space, defeats the final boss. He has no chance of getting home. It turns out the whole story has been his own obituary, told by himself, in his cockpit. The last screen is of the UN Spacy logo drawn in the condensation of the cockpit.

I thought all the 3D Zelda endings were a bit rubbish. They all do exactly the same thing, as it were. Prime's was poor. Does anyone have an opinion on Mario and Luigi? The game is supposed to be good, just wondering about the ending.