We chart six of the best (and worst) game endings

CLASSIC ENDINGS
Six of our favourite endings throughout the generations…

Double Dragon (Arcade)
Fight side by side with a friend until the very last encounter – then you must turn on each other to get the girl and ultimate glory. Many people would agree that Double Dragon’s ending is a simple but effective way to conclude a retro title.

Super Metroid (SNES)
After a frantic battle to destroy the Mother Brain, everything goes quiet, before a frantic race to escape a crumbling planet in one of the most heart-pounding endings ever conceived. You also get to see Samus semi-naked, too.

Ico (PS2)
Yorda and Ico find themselves washed up on a beach – it’s all accompanied by superbly orchestrated haunting and lyrical music. The contrast to the oppressive castle is profound and the sharing of a sweet melon on the beach touching.

Final Fantasy VII (PSone)
Cloud’s epic quest to save Midgar from Meteor after a last-minute intervention by Holy is emotional enough, but when Red XIII comes on the scene with kids in tow it’s enough to bring a tear to the eye of even the stoniest gamers.

Hitman: Blood Money (PS2)
Dead in a coffin ready for the flames of eternal life – this situation would seem impossible even for Agent 47. But pressing ‘back’ and ‘forward’ repeatedly gives you one last chance to wreak havoc in a crematorium full of your enemies. Sweet.

God Of War (PS2)
Defeating the Ares is satisfying, but when Kratos is saved from his plunge from the top of Mount Olympus and is seen on his new throne as the God of War, it’s a bittersweet moment –
as much a curse as it is a blessing.

ROTTEN ENDINGS
Six of the worst videogame endings ever…

Shadow Of The Beast (Amiga)
It was visually impressive on the Amiga at the time, but tough, too. Reaching the end was a chore that many simply didn’t have the stomach for – and your reward? A message that read: “You have escaped the Shadow of the Beast.” Great.

Doom (PC)
For such a genre-defining game, Doom’s ending really is lame beyond belief. It merely consists of a screen of text informing you that Earth has been overcome by the Hell Spawn – ‘The End’. Even text adventures did things better.

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
(PS2/PC/Xbox)
Sam Fisher places a suspicious briefcase behind two cops in an airport and then decides to do a runner. A bomb squad then disarms it. Sounds dull? That’s because it is, not to mention nonsensical.

Shenmue 2 (Dreamcast/Xbox)
Though much of Shenmue is stunningly realised, to end in a cave in the middle of nowhere with a floating sword seemed somewhat anti-climactic. The fact we’re never likely to find out what it’s all about is even more infuriating.

Knights Of The Old Republic II (Xbox)
It’s rumoured there were to be more endings with greater nuances, but budgetary and time constraints led to cropping and ultimately a set of garbled conclusions. No one knew what it was all about.

Fallout 3
(Xbox 360/PS3)
A controversial choice perhaps, but the endings in Fallout 3 were generally felt to be anti-climactic given the brilliant adventure that led up to them. As one forum poster put it, “It’s like making a great cake and then using shit for icing.”