List: Top 5 Favorite Endings

The Best Final Acts

         Since video games have advanced in storytelling in more recent years, their endings have become more and more memorable. They have progressed from "you saved the princess, congratulations!" to something far more interesting. It's the end of the year, so I am going to celebrate by making a list of my favorite video game endings.  

Warning: All kinds of spoilers down there. Scroll at your own risk.

5. "Lunacy"-Portal 2
 

         
        The ending to Portal 2 is not only one of my favorite endings, but also a serious contender for the most "WTF" moment in a game. After reattaching the personality orbs onto Wheatly, Chell plants a portal on the freaking moon, and sucks everyone in the building out into space! At first Wheatly doesn't want any help from Chell, but quickly begs for mercy. He's not able to be saved, though, and spends his days drifting around in an infinite vacuum. Later GLaDOS realizes that she doesn't need Chell to test her chambers for eternity, because she has new subjects and allows her to go free while listening to a beautiful laser turret symphony.  

4. A Sword to the Skull-The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

         Certain fans of The Legend of Zelda were disappointed when they first saw the graphics for The Wind Waker. They were worried that the new cel-shaded, cartoon visuals the game had meant that the series was becoming too childish. One look at the final battle between Link and Ganondorf showed that despite the seemingly light-hearted vibe that the story is as serious as ever. After defeating Puppet Ganon, Link chases Ganondorf to the top of his tower for the final confrontation. The end result shows Link putting the Master Sword right between Ganondorf's eyes and into his head which turns him to stone somehow. The world is saved and Link and Tetra set out to find a new land.

3. The Real Hero-Braid

        I'm not about to explain what the ending to Braid all means. It's something for the players to determine themselves. The hero, Tim, finds the princess escaping the grasp of what appears to be an evil knight. The princess runs along the top of the screen pulling levers to open doors to help Tim down below. When Tim finally reaches the princess's room outside, the player hits the rewind button and reveals that Tim was chasing after her and she was setting traps to stop him. You find out that Tim was basically the bad guy in all of this, and you can't help but feel sorry for the little guy. The epilogue shows that there is something more to the story, but it's cryptic and means something different to each person who plays the game.

 

2. "T-Minus One"-Half-Life 2: Episode 2

         If you're not a fan of Half-Life then you probably wouldn't understand why people are desperate for any kind of hint of the existence of Half-Life 3. Well, I'll help you out a little. The ending of Half-Life 2: Episode 2 left off on such a gigantic cliffhanger that it's driven us all crazy. After defeating a horde of striders, the rebels are able to launch their rocket that is able destroy a gigantic portal in the sky which prevents a repeat of the events that led to the enslaving of earth. Before Alyx and Gordon are able to set off to find the Borealis, two Advisors crash through the building and kill Eli before being fought off by Dog, and the game ends right there. Since then, fans haven't heard a word from Valve about a sequel.

1. John Marston's Final Stand-Red Dead Redemption

  
        So after John Marston finally rids the world of his former gang members, the government allows him to go back to his family. From there, the missions consist of hunting and rounding up cattle, just like the introductory missions. The last mission in the game shows that a platoon of American soldiers led by the same man John was working for throughout the game are invading John and his family's home. They fight off the soldiers until they get to their barn and John tells his wife and son to leave and that he'll catch up. They leave but John never catches up. He faces his attackers as the game jumps into Dead Eye mode one last time to allow you to pick off as many as you can before they shoot you down.

        The game shows him being buried, and then jumps to a few years later which shows his wife buried next to him with their son looking down on their graves. The game gives control of John's son, Jack and a side mission shows up which involves hunting down and killing the man who was responsible for his father's death. All John ever wanted was for his son to grow up and live a better life than he did, but he's now become an outlaw just like him.

        There you have it. My favorite endings in all of video games. From the weird, to the awesome, to the heart-breaking, these are the endings that stick out the most to me.