Worst Endings... Ever!

[Darth Marsden]

This was inspired by the 'What are your RPG hates?' thread, but it's somewhat different, so I've started a new thread for it. The question I pose to you is simple:

What, in your opinion, is the worst game ending ever?

You can apply this to whatever game you like, on whatever console you like, in whatever genre you like. There are no limitations - just tell us what you thought sucked the most, and why. I'll kick-start the subject with two of my least favourite endings.


Skies of Arcadia (Originally Dreamcast, later released as Skies of Arcadia Legends on the Gamecube). I spent forever levelling my characters up, gaining all the bonuses, putting up with the horribly cliched writing, and when I finally beat the game - good god.

Endings in RPGs are supposed to reassure you that your time has been well spent, and that the story you've been playing ends as well as it's started. Skies of Arcadia's ending does none of these. It stinks the room up with the most cheesy and appaling conclusion to a story that I have ever beared witness too. The ending was cloyingly stupid, the characters were by the numbers, and, worst of all, the hero was now just an annoying, cynical Cloud/Squall type character whom I had found myself hating long before the game was done. The best thing they could have done was kill him off, but instead they had him sailing off into the sunset. Sigh. (BONUS SEXIST REMARK: You can tell a woman was behind this.)


Half Life 2 (PC). I know, I know, but I'm not blasting the game - that was FANTASTIC (Cue Christopher Eccleston-stye grin). I'm telling it off because of the ending. What the hell happened?

If, like me, you played through the game wondering what the hell had happened to the world, then you lapped up every scrap they gave you. Dr Breen? Never saw him in HL1, but Okay. Dr Vance and whats-her-name finally being together again? Expected, but alright. But the clincher is right at the end - you beat the end boss and... poof. That's it? No magical explanation? Nothing? Oh sure, we get the G-Man giving us blurb about how good we are, but what the hell happened? What's going on? Someone tell me something! WAH! A huge dissapointment, I'm sure you'll agree.


Well, those are mine. Now tell me yours.

[Carcer]

Kirby's Dream Land on the Gameboy, and/or SNES (The Kirby collection thing.) Not only does King Dee Dee Dee fly off in the same direction in the ending movie regarless of the direction when you actually killed him, but the entire ending is awful. You get to watch Kirby inflate to a ridiculous size and simply fly off with the castle full of food. And then you watch him fly all the way back with the credits rolling, and he feeds the other Kirbys. And that's it. Disapointing. But, I suppose it was old. It's still the worst that I can think of.

[Steezy20]

Well, the ending to Halo 2 cannot be ignored. Pretty awful really.

[Orion]

Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Need I say more.

[DarkFlameWolf]

Zelda: Wind Waker. Sure the final boss battle was probably the most kick-ass battle in a Zelda yet, but what happens after was such a cop-out, it was ridiculous.

[Brasel]

Final Fantasy VII was really cool looking sure, but what the fuck? What happens? There is a pretty end sequence, something big happens, and the then credits roll; you don't even find out what happens to the characters in the end...except for Red XIII (Who I named Jones when I last played through it last week). Its a good thing that Square decided to start with the sequel movie for it, otherwise I'd still be pissed about that ending.

Breath of Fire III was just fucking horrible. *Spoiler* Your characters walk through the desert and then it says something about a new beginning...then the credits roll.

[ShadowTiger]

If anyone mentions Tales of Symphonia's ending, they'll be on a pike by the end of the day.

(J/K, to a degree.)

I think Half Life Opposing force (Despite not being an RPG. o.o ) had a fairly sour ending. Didn't ... (SPOILER) ... anyway? ... I barely remember.

I don't think all that many games had that bad of an ending. I was probably too "releived" to have actually beaten then end boss to care about what the ending was. XD

[theplustwo]

Kirby's Dream Land on the Gameboy...Hey, I thought that ending was pretty funny.
Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Need I say more.Mario games are about the JOURNEY, not the destination! I've always liked the mario series' recap of the various worlds as the credits roll.
Zelda: Wind Waker. Sure the final boss battle was probably the most kick-ass battle in a Zelda yet, but what happens after was such a cop-out, it was ridiculous.I felt the opposite. Ganon was rediculously easy on the rooftop, but I really liked the ending.

Mario 3 (as I said, I like the casting call part with the various enemies and worlds) when Princess Toadstool says "I'm sorry, but the princess is in another castle. Ha... Ha... Ha." That always annoyed me because it takes me out of the game. It's like suddenly they break the fourth wall and comment on the fact that you are, in fact, playing a video game in the Mario series.

[ZeldaFan001]

Zelda: Wind Waker. Sure the final boss battle was probably the most kick-ass battle in a Zelda yet, but what happens after was such a cop-out, it was ridiculous.

I thought the ending was pretty cool, and if not, the cool music you hear when the credits scroll more than makes up for it. ;)

[Kairyu]

If anyone mentions Tales of Symphonia's ending, they'll be on a pike by the end of the day.

(J/K, to a degree.)

It's certainly not the worst I've ever seen, but it still sucked.

<SPOILERS>
You kill Mithos, and suddenly his ghost appears. He talks about how he's just tired and wants to die. So you kill him. And then your party feels SORRY for him. He tries to destroy the world because his sister tells him to stop killing people, and you're supposed feel sorry for him?
And after that, your magic talking sword tells you you're still screwed, unless Lloyd wants to do the hero thing. Like he's been doing the whole game. So naturally, he sprouts wings out of nowhere, flies up to the plant, and saves the world.
Finally, the magic mana alien elf lady appears in front of the magic mana alien tree sprout, and asks him to name, since he saved the planet and everything. So naturally, Lloyd chooses the name of an annoying dead guy who kicks people for fun. Except they don't actually tell you that, they just cut the scene early and you need to have played the first game in the series to figure it out.
Then, Kratos decides to leave forever on Derris Kharlan, everyone else scatters all over the world, and Lloyd leaves with someone to go get rid of all the Exspheres.
Wow.
<\SPOILERS>

How about Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing?
Here's an ending synopsis:
<SPOILERS>
YOU'RE WINNER!
<\SPOILERS>

[SleepingDragonX]

I liked Wind Waker more compared to OOT
oot loses it's cheerfulness when you become an adult...
I enjoy playing as a kid carrying a massive sword.
In OOT every things to0 dark & shady and it makes it more solem.
But as for the endings. OOT was better.

[ShadowTiger]

... Ending.True, but there are other endings, I think. o.o I haven't seen them though. I thought that the part where Lloyd sprouts the (rather large) wings was the savior of it. When Colette got her wings, I was like, .. totally .. ecstatic. When Lloyd got his, (Though nobody knows WHY.) That just cracked me; I was jumping for joy, tearing, whatever you do when you see a really good ending. The rest of the ending was just standard cinema. You guys gotta get into it more. :p

[Darth Marsden]

That just cracked me; I was jumping for joy, tearing, whatever you do when you see a really good ending. I'm sure it was. Having never played the game, nor ever really having the inclanation to, I'll trust you on that. But your reaction is the sort of thing that makes a ending great - you really feel happy that the story has come to a good end. Having seen the whole thing, did you walk away feeling satisfied? A good ending does that to you.

And I'd also like to give an honourable mention to Zelda : The Minish Cap. They had the PERFECT opportunity to tie it into the Four Swords games, and they didn't! Here's how I think it should have gone...

SPOILERS-A-GO-GO
After you defeat Vaati, he is transfered into the Four Sword. Once Ezlo transforms back into his true form, he takes the sword back to the Minish World with him, telling Link and Zelda that he will place it in a sacred place - the very sacred place the two stumble upon in Four Swords GBA.
END-OF-MAD-SPOILERS

It makes sense, right? Oh well.

[AlexMax]

I love Half Life 2's and Halo's ending, because they piss so many other people off.

I liked them.


Final Fantasy VII was really cool looking sure, but what the fuck? What happens? There is a pretty end sequence, something big happens, and the then credits roll; you don't even find out what happens to the characters in the end...except for Red XIII (Who I named Jones when I last played through it last week). Its a good thing that Square decided to start with the sequel movie for it, otherwise I'd still be pissed about that ending.

No it's not a good thing. Final Fantasies do not need sequels, and merging with Enix is about the worst thing that could have happened to Square.

[DarkFlameWolf]

Um, if you guys have been paying attention, cruxis crystals in Tales of Symphonia gestate and evolve into themselves if they feed off of a living person long enough. This results in that host having angel-like abilities including wings, like Collette. If you all remember Lloyd's crystal that was his mother's life force? That has been on him for a very long time. That probably evolved into a cruxis crystal of his own and helped gain Lloyd his new 'angel' powers. And since it was the end product result of that one Desian guy (very early in the game, forgot his name, but he was older and with white hair), it was probably more powerful than any other cruxis crystal made to that point, making Lloyd possibly more powerful than Mithos himself in his prime. (but take note that the crystal probably didn't evolve into a cruxis crystal until just near the end of the game where you really didn't need that power as much anymore) But anyhoo, that should explain Lloyd suddenly sprouting wings. :)

[Daarkseid]

No it's not a good thing. Final Fantasies do not need sequels, and merging with Enix is about the worst thing that could have happened to Square.

The merger was more of a buyout, that can only be characterized as a merger because Enix gave executive positions to a handful of Square business managers.

There wasn't any alternative. Square had too many debts from its failed foray into motion pictures and the disasterous start of FFXI.

The only game coming out by Square Enix that I'm looking forward to is Dragon Quest VIII, and thats about it.

Few RPGs have the endings worth their play, but Chrono Cross takes the cake. You kill the boss, and then the credits play.

[goKi]

I agree with Super Mario Sunshine. Why the hell couldn't they leave FLUDD dead?

[Kairyu]

True, but there are other endings, I think. o.o I haven't seen them though.
<SPOILERS>
There are, but the only differences at all are who leaves with Lloyd.
</SPOILERS>


I thought that the part where Lloyd sprouts the (rather large) wings was the savior of it. When Colette got her wings, I was like, .. totally .. ecstatic. When Lloyd got his, (Though nobody knows WHY.) That just cracked me; I was jumping for joy, tearing, whatever you do when you see a really good ending. The rest of the ending was just standard cinema. You guys gotta get into it more. :p
It takes a little more to make me happy than magic wings, but whatever floats your boat.


Um, if you guys have been paying attention, cruxis crystals in Tales of Symphonia gestate and evolve into themselves if they feed off of a living person long enough. This results in that host having angel-like abilities including wings, like Collette. If you all remember Lloyd's crystal that was his mother's life force? That has been on him for a very long time. That probably evolved into a cruxis crystal of his own and helped gain Lloyd his new 'angel' powers. And since it was the end product result of that one Desian guy (very early in the game, forgot his name, but he was older and with white hair), it was probably more powerful than any other cruxis crystal made to that point, making Lloyd possibly more powerful than Mithos himself in his prime. (but take note that the crystal probably didn't evolve into a cruxis crystal until just near the end of the game where you really didn't need that power as much anymore) But anyhoo, that should explain Lloyd suddenly sprouting wings.
I know, but I still think it was just silly. Especially with the rest of the ending.

[Archibaldo]

The worst ending in a game I've ever played was a Yu-Gi-Oh game. I can't remember the name, it was like the first Yu-Gi-Oh RPG for the GBA, it might have been The Sacred Cards, any who.
/////////Spoilers\\\\\\\\
Basically when you win the three god cards, you give them back, and the game ends. The worst part is, you don't even get to use Ra. That and it took a whole 2 days to beat. :(

//////////End of Spoilers\\\\\\\\\

[Brasel]

Few RPGs have the endings worth their play, but Chrono Cross takes the cake. You kill the boss, and then the credits play.
I got this ending too, but apparently, if you kill the boss in such a way that you save the person floating inside of it, you get the good ending. Don't take my word for it though, I haven't seen it myself.

[vegeta1215]

I got this ending too, but apparently, if you kill the boss in such a way that you save the person floating inside of it, you get the good ending. Don't take my word for it though, I haven't seen it myself.

The story was bad and convoluted enough, and to make things worse they try to explain everything right before fighting the last boss - which might I add is a pathetic last boss! Even if you do save Schala using the Chrono Cross, the ending you get isn't very good.

The only thing I can say about Chrono Cross is that it's better if you don't play it.

[Daarkseid]

The only thing I can say about Chrono Cross is that it's better if you don't play it.

Uh uh, it's an excellent game, ending beside.

[Darth Marsden]

Uh uh, it's an excellent game, ending beside. Really? I'll have to look into getting it. I was always irritated that Chrono Trigger didn't get the rumored 'proper' sequel it deserved, but apparently CC wasn't all that bad. Was it Glenn who was the link?

[vegeta1215]

I'm not getting into another debate with Daarkseid about Chrono Cross, but I think he'd agree that if you were looking for a proper sequel to Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross is not it.

Even so, in my opinion the game is pretty bad on it's own, despite a few of it's merits:
- Graphics and character design
- Sound and music
- Weapon crafting system
- Level up system
- Some really cool "stages" (the Sea of Eden, the Isle of the Damned, Fort Dragonia, etc)

There is a Glenn in Chrono Cross, but it is not the same one from Chrono Trigger. He is a really good character though, and does an X-Strike with Serge similar to what Frog did with Crono.

[Carcer]

I know, but I still think it was just silly. Especially with the rest of the ending.


Not only that, but I think it's Kvar that mutters: "So it's evolving... interesting." Or perhaps it is Yuan. Anyway, there is more than anough evidence to make that valid. Remember that the Exsphere was the first of the Angelus Project? And Presea had the same thing done to her?
I expected him to have something happen at some point, I thought for the last boss battle, but still, the ending was a good one, I think, although the voice acting deteriorated in a matter of seconds for that final scene.

I agree with the Wind Waker. It is dire, and the music in the credits is appaling. It left me feeling cheated, with no real Zelda music to be heard. I was hoping to see what they'd do with the new world that was theirs... anyway, let's hope that they don't do it again with this new game.

[The Ion Extreme]

I have 3 rants that might have some spoilers so...
Spoiler Warning



ActRaiser 2
Okay, not only is it not as good as the first one. It has a really bad ending.
So, The Master just goes away. It's kinda odd for a god to do that.

Adventures of Lolo
It's kinda odd that when you complete 10-5 (Which isn't that hard of a puzzle, you would think they would at least throw a Don Medusa in there). You see Lolo just walk into the Throne Room of the Great Devil and he's standing there about 4 times the size of Lolo. You would expect some sort of struggle, but Lolo just eggs him once and he's gone. Thank God they compensated in the other 2 with Boss Battles.

Gradius Series
One of the hardest horizontal shooters of all time and every one of them suffers in the end. The last boss is always a cakewalk to beat. Good thing there is a speed up part in the end of some of them.

[Yoshiman]

-SPOILERS-

Silent Hill 3: Good ending- It just didn't suit a game of it's genre. When you get this ending, all Heather really does is explain that she's actually Cheryl. And then Douglas asks if Heather is going to let her hair go back to black. She replies with:

"Oh, I don't know... Don't you think blondes have more fun? *little girly hair swish*"

I liked the Possessed ending much more. It gave you chills when you saw it. Still have to get the Revenge ending, though.

Silent Hill 4: Escape Ending- It wasn't much different from the Mother ending. In both endings, Henry visits Eileen at the hospital and gives her a bunch of flowers. The only difference in the Escape ending is that Eileen gets an added line:

"I guess we're gonna have to find a new place to live, huh?"

And a less depressing verse of 'Your Rain' was played. I kinda wanted a bit of variety. :shrug:

Sonic Adventure 2- Dr. Eggman tried to blow up the Earth, but when Sonic and Shadow stop FinalHazard, they let Eggman go. I mean, Sonic chases this madman constantly, but then they're all of a sudden buddies. :odd:

[Dark_Cloud]

Silent Hill 4 The Room 21 scarfice ending, yeah it was supposed to suck, yet it kinda leaved you hangging.

Tomb Radier 1 Too short.

Silent Hill 1 The best ending. Was it just me or was there no talking at all at the end of it o_O. I mean you get more out of it in teh worst ending (So it seems).

Resident Evil 1 Yeah its cool they were done with real people, but they were too short for the amount of stuff you had to go through in that game

Doom 3 Alot of you might not have beaten it yet, so I won't say anything other then, I was dissapointed highly.

[Darth Marsden]

Doom 3 Alot of you might not have beaten it yet, so I won't say anything other then, I was dissapointed highly. Personally, I was more relieved I didn't have to go sufferany more 'monsters leaping out of cupboards' then anything else. I kinda liked the ending - especially the hidden PDA with messages from the team who made the game! (If you didn't find it, it's right before the end boss - When the corridor splits both ways, head LEFT and look for a brick with the iD logo on it. Push it, and you're there.) Have yet to get the add-on, but I'm looking forward to that as well.

On a sidenote - I didn't like to cheat during D3, but there was one point where I had to. I t was one of the minibosses, at the end of your first proper journey to hell, right before you get the SoulCube (cool weapon, btw). My framerate went through the roof and I had to cheat just to stay alive. Stupid games pushing the limits of my poor old system... Grr.

One more bad ending for you all - Final Fantasy I. Not sure if they changed it for the Dawn of Souls edition (which is what I played), but it made absolutely no sense.

SPOILERS-A-GO-GO!
So Garland was nearly killed by four wimps and got sent back in time. Fine. What makes no sense at all it the idea that he had thousands of years to get strong again... only to get to the same point in time where he gets defeated by those four wimps! Again and again and again, until he can't take it any more and blows his own brains out! Where's the logic in that? It goes against every law of time I've ever been taught!
END OF SPOILER MADNESS

Maybe someone can explain it to me? I'm not easily confused, but this has me baffled.

[DarkFlameWolf]

yeah, the Guardian boss battle in hell in Doom 3 is a very taxing area on any one's computer. lol