How Many TImes Do I Do?

These are my top 10 endings to video games. It took me a long time to think of 10 endings to video games, because honestly, most video game endings leave me a little disappointed. There isn't enough reward for getting to the end of the game most of the time, just kind of an "Oh cool, you beat the game! See ya later!" These 10 reward you much better than most other games I've played, I think. A few runners up would be Metal Gear Solid 3 (great ending, but I didn't actually play it, so that's like cheating) The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (great bittersweet ending that just doesn't last long enough) Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (nice epilogue, but the game doesn't really end there, so...) Mass Effect 3 (with the edited ending. The original ending drags it down unfortunately) and Dragon Quest VIII. Anyhoo, without further ado...

10. Walking Dead This was a really sad ending to a game that's fairly sad all the way through. The last episode to this game ends the stories of at least two great characters in video games. This isn't higher because it's not really an ending so much as a cliffhanger to the next season. Also it hasn't really left as much of an impact on me as these next games did...

9. Crystalis My favorite game ever, ever since a little kid. The concept behind this game's plot is a really cool one, combining magic with science kind of (or is it psychic powers?) and it even had one or two plot twists, one of which comes out in the video linked. The funny thing is that they predicted the apocalypse to happen in 1997, heh...

8. Portal This is not a very long ending at all. Then again, the game is a very short one too. And given that the game rewards you with an awesome pop song, written by Jonathon Coulton and sung by GLADoS.... and I was totally not expecting it either. Took me completely by surprise and made me very happy.

7. Super Mario RPG Hey, what's more fun than a parade featuring most of the characters you ran into throughout the game? Also a last farewell to one of the Mushroom Kingdom Universe's best characters, Geno. No dialogue at all iirc, but there doesn't need to be.

6. Bionic Commando This is probably higher than it deserves to be, lulz, but I love this ending. So much nostalgia. Hitler calls you a "damn fool," then you shoot him with a bazooka in the HEAD. Then the base's self-detonation system informs you that it's going to "explod" in 90 seconds.

5. Earthbound Giygas... what a fuggin' freak. That swirling mass of nothing really friggen' messed with me the first time I beat this game. That whole last area was really kinda distressing. It's really cool though that in the last battle, Paula calls on all party's family and friends to lend their strength in defeating Gigygas. And then when that's not enough... she calls on the you, the player to to help, too! After the final battle, you get to walk around the entire world again too, which I really liked.

4. Super Paper Mario This is a very bittersweet ending, celebrating love, as is a common theme throughout Nintendo games, and is the final send off to two really neat characters. There's even one final scene of the two after the end credits (which isn't in the video I linked )

3. Final Fantasy 9 This ending is pretty cool because it has a nice epilogue featuring all the characters you met throughout the game. It even revisits the beginning of the game, with a surprise! Zidane didn't die! (but Vivi probably did, given the black mages' short life spans...) Melodies of Life is cheese to a lot of people, and normally I should probably feel the same way, but I like it.

2. Mother 3 All the feels with this one. All the feels I told Julie I didn't like this ending, but upon further reflection, it was a really good ending. Very sad, but with a ray of hope at the end. A black screen with some dialogue from all the characters assures you that everyone's okay, and you can come back to visit them again any time you want, although the fact that the game doesn't show you them makes me feel suspect. Maybe it's just trying to make you feel better about the end of the world and trick you into thinking that everything will be okay, when really it won't... Gosh, this game is so dark. But so good too.

1. Final Fantasy 6 I honestly wasn't expecting to put this as my favorite ending, but really, it's a good one. It features every character in an epilogue as they're escaping Kefka's tower, and even plays each character's theme, including an overlay of Locke's and Celes's, which I thought was really pretty. Then at the end, it shows you that life will go on and people will rebuild the ruined world in time. And Terra's ALIVE and FREE, finally.

Yup, that's my list. A lot of old video games on this list, and a lot of all ages video games, but that's how I ROLL. Also, there are a lot of great games (or games that people SAY are great) that I've never played, so maybe they'd be on here if I'd played them. Ah wells. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom