Everyone's heard of the ME3 controversy. Everyone has an opinion. But, we're not here to talk about that today. Instead, I'm here to show you games that I personally, felt were worse in the ending department, just to show the masses that no matter how things are, they could be a hell of a lot worse. I'll try not to give too much away, I'll just explain in basic terms why these endings fail, fundamentally, as endings. This list is in no particular order, and if you do like these endings, do feel free to share why you like them, or, feel free to share your own particular pet peeve endings. So, without further ado, Enjoy!
1. SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA
A few years ago, the exact same thoughts were running through my head as they are now. How could such a great and venerable series be ruined in such a short space of time? Well, before Mass Effect 3 took it's shot at the shitty ending throne, Atlus' Digital Devil Saga 2 mastered the art back in 2007. Digital Devil Saga was a great story, with memorable and interesting characters, great plot twists, and symbolism up the duodenum. But then, it pissed it all away in the final moments, where you fight a boring, repetitive final boss, and then it goes all 2001, and we are left with no closure, no satisfaction, and no idea what the fuck just happened. The Shin Megami Tensei is really hit-and-miss in the ending department, when it hits, it can be awesome. But when it misses, oh, god does it miss. In the context of Lord of the Rings: Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli all die in the battle of Mordor, Frodo and Samwise throw themselves into a pit of lava, they all come back as ghosts, fight the Eye of Sauron, then become angels, or clouds, or something.
2. HALF-LIFE 2
Shock! Horror! Blasphemy! How dare I criticize Half-Life? Well, before the massive Episode 1 retcon, Half-Life 2 had an utterly woeful ending. To be fair, the original did something rather similar, but at least it closed out the story to some degree. Half-Life 2 did not. In a massive case of Deus Ex Machina, we are snatched away from the story in its final, critical moments. This was an ending that was actually fixed, but it bears repeating just how bad this ending originally was. In the context of Lord of the Rings: Just as the ring falls into the lava, Saruman appears out of nowhere and imprisons Frodo in limbo.
3. Final Fantasy XIII-2
This is technically "Any game with the gall to end on a To Be Continued screen" , but FFXIII-2 is the most recent example. To elaborate, there is nothing wrong with leaving a game open for sequels. What is reprehensible, however, is cutting off a story before we reach any sort of conclusion. Halo 2 was perhaps the worst example of this, although that was a serious case of executive meddling. To Be Continued screens are, at best, drawing out the tension for no good reason, and, at worst, cut off a story before its conclusion, with no chance of a sequel. DO NOT DO THIS. There is no better way to piss people off than make them pay more money to see the conclusion of the story that should have been resolved by that point. In the context of Lord of the Rings: After it appears Frodo has been seduced by the ring, the screen fades to black, and the words "To Be Continued" flash up.
4. RAGE
Because there is no ending. The overarching threat is still out there, you haven't made the world any better in any meaningful way, you've really only gave Cthulu a rash, rather than punching him out. Rage's ending was fucking putrid, for a game that was turning out to have a suprisingly decent story. Shame it forgot to end. In the context of Lord of the Rings: After the battle of Minas Tirth, Aragorn and the gang pat themselves on the back, and after saying that they still have to help Fordo, the screen fades to black. Roll Credits.
5. FALLOUT 3
Here it is. The grand ************ of shitty game endings, mainly because it railroads you into doing one thing, and for a game that offers so many choices and so much freedom, that's unforgivable. You are forced into a situation, for no good reason, despite the fact that what you must do is entirely pointless and easily avoidable, if only the game would let you pick the options that make sense. Much has been made of this ending, and with damn good reason, and while it has been fixed with Broken Steel, it still stands, along with Digital Devil Saga, as the 101 guide of How not to make an ending.
So, there we go. Five endings, which, in my opinion, suck worse than Mass Effect 3. Thanks for reading!
1. SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI: DIGITAL DEVIL SAGA
A few years ago, the exact same thoughts were running through my head as they are now. How could such a great and venerable series be ruined in such a short space of time? Well, before Mass Effect 3 took it's shot at the shitty ending throne, Atlus' Digital Devil Saga 2 mastered the art back in 2007. Digital Devil Saga was a great story, with memorable and interesting characters, great plot twists, and symbolism up the duodenum. But then, it pissed it all away in the final moments, where you fight a boring, repetitive final boss, and then it goes all 2001, and we are left with no closure, no satisfaction, and no idea what the fuck just happened. The Shin Megami Tensei is really hit-and-miss in the ending department, when it hits, it can be awesome. But when it misses, oh, god does it miss. In the context of Lord of the Rings: Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, and Gimli all die in the battle of Mordor, Frodo and Samwise throw themselves into a pit of lava, they all come back as ghosts, fight the Eye of Sauron, then become angels, or clouds, or something.
2. HALF-LIFE 2
Shock! Horror! Blasphemy! How dare I criticize Half-Life? Well, before the massive Episode 1 retcon, Half-Life 2 had an utterly woeful ending. To be fair, the original did something rather similar, but at least it closed out the story to some degree. Half-Life 2 did not. In a massive case of Deus Ex Machina, we are snatched away from the story in its final, critical moments. This was an ending that was actually fixed, but it bears repeating just how bad this ending originally was. In the context of Lord of the Rings: Just as the ring falls into the lava, Saruman appears out of nowhere and imprisons Frodo in limbo.
3. Final Fantasy XIII-2
This is technically "Any game with the gall to end on a To Be Continued screen" , but FFXIII-2 is the most recent example. To elaborate, there is nothing wrong with leaving a game open for sequels. What is reprehensible, however, is cutting off a story before we reach any sort of conclusion. Halo 2 was perhaps the worst example of this, although that was a serious case of executive meddling. To Be Continued screens are, at best, drawing out the tension for no good reason, and, at worst, cut off a story before its conclusion, with no chance of a sequel. DO NOT DO THIS. There is no better way to piss people off than make them pay more money to see the conclusion of the story that should have been resolved by that point. In the context of Lord of the Rings: After it appears Frodo has been seduced by the ring, the screen fades to black, and the words "To Be Continued" flash up.
4. RAGE
Because there is no ending. The overarching threat is still out there, you haven't made the world any better in any meaningful way, you've really only gave Cthulu a rash, rather than punching him out. Rage's ending was fucking putrid, for a game that was turning out to have a suprisingly decent story. Shame it forgot to end. In the context of Lord of the Rings: After the battle of Minas Tirth, Aragorn and the gang pat themselves on the back, and after saying that they still have to help Fordo, the screen fades to black. Roll Credits.
5. FALLOUT 3
Here it is. The grand ************ of shitty game endings, mainly because it railroads you into doing one thing, and for a game that offers so many choices and so much freedom, that's unforgivable. You are forced into a situation, for no good reason, despite the fact that what you must do is entirely pointless and easily avoidable, if only the game would let you pick the options that make sense. Much has been made of this ending, and with damn good reason, and while it has been fixed with Broken Steel, it still stands, along with Digital Devil Saga, as the 101 guide of How not to make an ending.
So, there we go. Five endings, which, in my opinion, suck worse than Mass Effect 3. Thanks for reading!
