The 10th Hour 12.07.07: Top 10 Best Endings Ever

Posted by Derek Robbins on 12.07.2007

Endings are often times undervalued in the world of gaming, but this shouldn't be the case a lot of the time. A lot of games have some shockingly good story telling and their endings deserve to be recognized! 411's Derek Robbins ranks his top 10 game endings!

Hello and welcome to the latest installment of The Tenth Hour! Before I get started with my list, there are a couple of things I'd wish to hit on~

-I'm playing through dot hack G.U. volume three right now. I realize the game isn't of the highest quality, but I can't help but enjoy it. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I've always been able to enjoy the dot hack games.

-To get on a quick sports tangent (feel free to skip ahead), I'd like to mention that a Cubs team ADDING Fukudome and Brian Roberts will be pretty sweet offensively. I just hope we don't give anyone up from the pitching staff that we'd need. Namely…Rich Hill. Dude flashed a lot of potential last year.

-Finally, in a couple of weeks…NIGHTS gets a Wii release. You better freaking believe I'm pumped for that one. Hopefully all my Christmas shopping is done by then so I can actually justify a purchase of the game. I was…well, a dope and didn't ask for it from anyone.

Alright, now…let's get on to the viewer mail.

Viewer Mail

Before I get started, I want to apologize to anyone who wrote me this week. I've been swamped with finals and work (Where I get asked stupid questions and have to deal with a PS3 fanboy…but I'll tell more about those things later) so I haven't had a chance to really check my e-mail. I usually personally respond to the stuff I get…so yeah, sorry everyone. Things'll be back to normal next week. Anyhow, here are a couple of mails that were sent my way. As always, their stuff is in italics.

This first one is from Mike

I say two characters need to be added

1.MR.GAME AND WATCH

The first and greatest of all the Nintendo characters. The O.G (Original Gangsta) who goes all the way back to 1980. Mr G&W was on the scene long before todays average gamer was still but a glob of goop stuck between two pages of their Dad's playboy. When Mario was still but a pre-thought, Mr G&W was kicking video gaming ass in the first Nintendo video game ever made. The Game and Watch game "Ball".
You see what makes Mr.G&W so cool, is that he doesn't need to be updated. He is unimpressed with todays 3D world. He'll never change his ways to "fit in with the times". He is who he is. And let's thank him for that.
If Mr. G&W was running for the Presidency, I'd vote for him.
Wouldn't you?

Mr.Game and Watch=Greatness

2. BLOOPER

If a giant white squid with a black face, who shoots ink bubbles and can crawl around on land isn't cool. Then I don't want to know what cool is. One of Mario's oldest enemies, and finally getting the playable treatment courtesy of Mario Party 8, Blooper could supply that face hugging, tentacle whipping, ink squirting, Oceanic ass kicking from the deep, that this franchise sorely needs.

That is all

I have to say, this is just…fantastic. Funny, funny stuff there. I agree that Game and Watch is certainly deserving of a spot, and his motivation makes a lot of sense. I mean, we all know these next gen systems have been nothing but a big disappointment so far, don't we?

And yes, G & W campaign for 2008. It's better than Edwards at least.

Also, I could see Blooper. We are sorely lacking aquatic villains in the game. Also, bonus points for being Blooper. I mean, Sakurai LOVES nostalgia…so it seems to be right up his alley. Then again, the updates have been horrid the past month (and then some)…so really, I'd be okay with just about any character intro.

This next one is from wcwfjojo

Bomberman.

Either one would be cool. It makes sense from the big N's standpoint too, with Rockman being a big hit in Japan. it's probably unlikely though, but maybe for the NEXT Smash Brothers game. So we only have to wait another 4 years!


Bomberman would be kinda cool, I must admit…but his presence has been so diminished in recent years, the average gamer probably has no idea who he is. THEN again, Sakurai loves nostalgia and Bomberman in would be a perfect salute to the old days of gaming. Plus, Smash Brothers isn't for your typical casual gamer…it's basically a salute to Nintendo as whole with references for hardcore Nintendo fan-boys and…well…the casual gamer as well. That's probably why Smash Brothers is one of my favorite franchises ever. It just has such mass appeal.

Also, this is supposed to be the last one. With the amount of money this game will probably make though…I sincerely doubt it'll be the last one we see. I suspect we'll be playing Smash Brothers on whatever Nintendo's next console will be.

Also, just curious, am I the only person to purchase Sonic and Mario at the Olympics simply because I thought it was a historic game. I mean, Mario AND Sonic in the same game for the first time ever. It just feels special.

Lastly, we have one from Fred

OMG ur artikel suks lulz lern how to tipe muthrfuker!! ur opines r suk so is ur list

I assume you sent your government appointed handler to the restroom and decided to type up an e-mail on your lonesome for the first time in your life. Bravo, this is such an impressive first effort. Maybe in a couple of years your sentences will actually be legible!

As always, if you wish to comment on this column, talk about games, talk about sports, request a column, bitch at me, play X-Box LIVE (My tag is Croix22), write a top-10 list to me, or simply…whatever…e-mail me at [e-mail] or [e-mail] Your choice.

And that's that, let's get started with the actual list.

The Top-10 List

For this week's list, originally I planned to do racing games as was requested by a reader…but I had a rough time coming up with a good list, so I decided to delay it (Don't worry, it's still coming!) for a bit and hit on something else. This week, it's the top-10 endings ever. The rules are…the game HAS to have an English translation so I can have played the ending and not reference a translation guide to understand what I am doing. This sadly disqualifies Mother 3. Everything else is fair game.

Oh, also, look out for spoilers please. They're everywhere and I'm not denoting them. If you have yet to beat a game that's listed, please read with caution.

Now let's get this started-

10-) Cubs win the World Series! (Any baseball game with a season/franchise mode) - As a lifelong Cubs fan – and I realize that I am only 20, so I haven't suffered as much as others have – I have to take wins where I can get them. Well, I found that it can be particularly satisfying to play through a season and have them win it all, even if it is only a video game. It's cool playing through the year as the 2004 Chicago Cubs – who in my opinion had no business missing the playoffs that year – and having them win it all. Hell, ANY Cubs team winning it all is fine by me. Sometimes I think it won't ever happen, so this is the only way I can live out this fantasy. It doesn't feel as good, but I'll take what I can get. It should also be mentioned, in MVP 2005 my All-Star team's starting lineup was basically my Cubs roster. Derrek Lee hit 80 homeruns that year. It was madness.

- MVLEE.

9-) Final Fantasy X (PS2) - A lot of Final Fantasy fans hate on FF X for some reason. Then I remember that a lot of Final Fantasy "fans" consider Final Fantasy VII the best game of all time and suddenly I don't care anymore. Before FF X-2 came along to ruin the ending, X's was quite perfect. It showed the protagonist Tidus making peace with his father Jecht, it showed Yuna transforming from weak, shrewd young woman to a strong character. Final Fantasy X did a good job in making you care for the world and the characters that inhabit that world. So when you save the world from the spiral of death you actually feel quite relieved. Not to mention the total surprise when they had both Tidus and Auron fade away, and you have a winner. Yuna's speech at the end is pretty amazing and totally compliments everything that had happened prior to that point. It's a shame that X-2 came along to ruin everything. I mean, did Tidus REALLY need to come back? Blah.

- I don't hate X-2, but I do hate that it ruined FF X's ending.

8-) God of War (PS2) - I am a big sucker for plots that tie things together by going back to the beginning of the game for the end. As you finish God of War, Kratos kills Ares which would be enough, but then he goes and tries to kill himself by jumping off of a cliff. This was featured in the opening cinematic for God of War, so it was pretty cool to see it come full circle. Upon deciding to end his life, Kratos is promoted from a mere slave…to a God and he is officially the new God of War. God of War is a tad bit over-rated in the eyes of critics (in my eyes, anyhow), but nobody can debate how awesome this ending is.

- Kratos does look pretty badass.

7-) Metroid (NES) - Before you get on my case for putting an NES game without much of a plot on this list, please hear me out. The ending featured PROBABLY the most brick-shittingist moment in videogame history to that point of time. Samus Aran, the character you had controlled the entire game…the tough, kick ass robot-like-character was in fact…a girl. This shattered stereotypes of the "tough guy" always being the hero and allowed for the inclusion of strong women in videogames. Plus, the grammar at the end of the game – "Pray for a true peace in space" – is enough to etch it in my memory. As far as plot goes, I wouldn't put it up here…but for significance alone it makes the list.

- Admit it, the first time you beat Metroid you were surprised, too.

6-) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time (N64) - This game is the highest reviewed game of all time according to Gamerankings, so it's safe to say a large number of people enjoyed it. When you're playing, you get completely immersed in the world and when you feet Ganon at the end, you feel good. What I like is that after all is said and done, you get to see Hyrule celebrating, characters you've met throughout the game are ecstatic that finally they've escaped Ganon's rule. Link then gives up the master sword, navi, and goes back to his life as a normal kid in the Kokiri forest. This sets up for the under-rated (In my opinion, better than OoT) Majora's Mask. I do think games like Windwaker and Twilight Princess blow this game out of the water, but I never was as emotionally invested in those two as I was in this one. Truly a classic.

- Probably one of the most recognizable characters ever.

5-) Chrono Trigger: Crono is Dead ending (SNES, PS1) - I have to give this ending some props. Though it isn't the best ending in the game (see further ahead for the best!), I thought it was very interesting that you could beat the game with your main protagonist dead…and the game not reviving him for you. It's very sad and almost tear inducing as you see everyone in your party – in particularly Marle – mourn the death of Crono. Games don't have the guts to pull a main character dieing ending off these days, mainly because they are eager to milk as many sequels outta' things as they can…so I have to give CT some props…even if it wasn't the ‘true' ending.

- Marle is one of the more likable characters in gaming, I think.

4-) Chrono Trigger: Dev. Room (SNES, PS1) - The only game to have TWO entries on my top-10 endings list, so that in itself is pretty impressive and speaks to the quality of Chrono Trigger's ending sequences. When you start up Chrono Trigger from a new game plus and beat Lavos solo – (That is to say, right when the game starts, after Marle gets transported to the dark ages) you get the special ending where you get to talk to the people who make the game. It was super unique and really hasn't been recreated as awesomely since then. Sure, sometimes game will implement a developer character in the game for you to talk to and he'll often just say a throw-away line: ("HEY, I'M THE CREATOR OF POKEMON. TALK TO ME WHEN YOU CATCH THEM ALL.")…but none of those games made it such a challenge to reach them. I also love the blatant promotion for FF II (FF IV). Such a unique ending deserves such praise.

- The silent protagonist.

3-) Final Fantasy IX (PS1) - Without a doubt my favorite PS1 Final Fantasy. This is another the ‘newer age' Final Fantasy fans dislike for some reason, but I can't see why. Out of the PS1 era games, IX's has the most realistic characters and the most interesting plot. It blows VII's out of the water at least. The ending is very lovely, because it wraps things up for every character. Some things are sad – Vivi dieing – while other things are quite touching – Freya and Sir Fratley hooking back up, Eiko being adopted by Cid – but nothing compares to what happens to the main two characters. When you beat the game, it's thought that Zidane is dead after beating Kuja. He tried to save him and it's assumed that he died in the process. Well, the play "I Want to Be Your Canary" is playing in Alexandria. This choice is good for two reasons: 1-) This is the play Garnett was captured during at the start of the game and 2-) It was Queen Brahne's favorite play, the late adopted mother of Garnett. So while all of this is going on, the main protagonist in the play is cloaked…and at the end, as he is proclaiming his love for the female lead (by wishing to the moonlight), he whips off his cloak to reveal…ZIDANE. He says: "Bring my beloved Dagger to me." (That's Garnett's nickname). This is one of two endings I've ever cried during. Just an incredible, incredible job by Squaresoft here. Even while I type this up, I get chills down my back. Really, it's something you need to see to believe.

- Awww gee, I am such a wuss. How sweet is this?

2-) Earthbound (SNES) - I know, I know. I definitely reference this game too much, but I must remind you: It's one of my favorite games of all time and you're probably doing yourself a disservice if you have yet to play it. What Earthbound does so great is that after you beat it…you get to explore the world after you saved it. In most games you just get treated to some cinematic or some congratulatory screen, but in Earthbound? The world is your oyster, you can explore it for hours on end if you so wish, and you can see how all your favorite NPCs are doing after all is said and done. You can also explore some areas solo to see just how strong Ness is. After all that, you get to go back to your house and…surprise! That annoying photographer that used to drop in on you at random times throughout the game had a purpose! As the credits roll, you can relive your game experience through various screenshots…it's interesting seeing who in your party is dead during certain shots, an it's fun to relive the entire experience one final time. As I have previously mentioned, I have beaten Earthbound countless times and the ending never grows old on me. I love the concept of checking up on everyone after everything is said and done. An amazing, amazing game that NEEDS to have its sequel released over here.

- DAMMIT MOM, FOR THE LAST TIME...IT'S GIYGAS! That steak better be delicious.

1-) Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (PS2) A lot of people have (fairly) gotten onto the Metal Gear Solid franchise for being nothing more than little gameplay followed by a lot of cinema. Frankly, I don't care…I love the story of Metal Gear and I also love the action, so the games have always been a total blast for me. With that said, you go through the entire game thinking that "The Boss" is a traitor to your country…you even end up killing her. (The Boss, for those who didn't know, was Big Boss's teacher). Well as the ending unfolds, you find out that she was actually a double agent and was doing something for the United States. She hadn't betrayed anyone at all, in fact…she gave her life for her country. It was extremely touching to see Big Boss's reaction to all of this…as he had previously been an unwavering patriot, but all of a sudden he started to question his country. As he salutes Big Boss's grave in the credits with a tear running down his eyes…well…I have to admit, I got a bit emotional. This would be the second game I have cried during. I know it's a bit of a sappy thing to admit it, but man…it got to me. Hideo Kojima told an amazing story and it got to me. Seeing as all of this was flopped on Big Boss, it's not surprising at all that he turned against his country and was the main boss of Metal Gear 1. It's weird…every time I watch it I get just as choked up. I think it's a sign that the story was just wonderfully crafted.

- Manly Tears friends. Manly Tears.

Well, that's it for this week. Feel free to write in at [e-mail] or [e-mail] about anything, really. I'm sure I'll be given some complaints about the number of square games, but hey! It's my opinion, and I'd love to hear yours. Give me your best endings. Or really, anything you'd wanna talk about…

Until next time!

Til' the crossroads