The 50 Best Video Game Endings Of All Time

12 years ago

February 14, 2012 at 5:00 am

More than 13,000 fans voted for their favourite video game ending of all time for the Guinness Book of World Records 2012 Gamer Edition, and this is what they came up with? Call of Duty: Black Ops is the greatest video game ending of all time? Maybe I need to go play it again. Oh wait, BioShock made the list, it’s obviously complete BS.

“Conducted for the new Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition book, the list will cause heated debate among passionate gamers and provide further evidence of the growing sophistication and popularity of video games.” So reads the official announcement that accompanied this list which, upon further scrutiny, is indeed a list of 50 video game names placed in some sort of order.

Just how accurate that order is remains up in the air.

Some of these make perfect sense. Metal Gear Solid 4? I’m not that much of a fan, but that ending was some powerful stuff. And who can forget the sweeping cinematic ending of Sonic the Hedgehog. Wait, are thy talking 2006 Sonic the Hedgehog? Oh god, I hope not.

Check out the full list below and wonder with me where they found the 13,000 gamers that helped vote it into existence. Sounds like one or two of them might have misunderstood and just voted for their favourite game.

50. Resident Evil 4
49. Star Wars: Knights of the old Republic
48. Ratchet & Clank: a Crack in Time
47. Crysis 2
46. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
45. Call of Duty: World at War
44. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II
43. Half-Life 2: Episode Tow
42. Super Metroid
41. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
40. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
39. inFamous
38. Fallout 3
37. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
36. Gears of War 2
35. Bioshock
34. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
33. Sonic Adventures 2
32. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
31. Kingdom Hearts II
30. Mass Effect
29. Super Mario Galaxy
28. Sonic the Hedgehog
27. Metal Gear Solid
26. Assassin’s Creed II
25. Assassin’s Creed
24. Shadow of the Colossus
23. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
22. Kingdom Hearts
21. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
20. Super Mario Galaxy 2
19. Mass Effect 2
18. Grand Theft Auto IV
17. Portal 2
16. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood
15. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
14. Halo: Combat Evolved
13. Halo 3
12. Pokémon Black and White
11. Super Mario Bros
10. Heavy Rain
9. Final Fantasy VII
8. Metal Gear Solid 4
7. Portal
6. Red Dead Redemption
5. God of War
4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
2. Halo: Reach
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops

Comments

53 responses to “The 50 Best Video Game Endings Of All Time”

READ THE COMMENTS

majorpain

February 14, 2012 at 6:50 am

i dont see how heavy rain made the list since the ending i had was probably different from the ending another person may have had

Reply
1. Joshy206
  
  February 14, 2012 at 5:28 pm
  
  That’s the beauty of it. I loved both endings I got, and both were very different. It was personal.
  
  What’s wrong with Bioshock’s ending, people, by the way?
  
  Reply
Will Sparrow

February 14, 2012 at 7:02 am

Yes, 3 halo games within the top 20
But really, what was the ending of Black Ops? I never played it but for a one off in a series of repetitiveness I don’t expect very big things

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1. Little Zero X
  
  February 16, 2012 at 9:24 am
  
  To be completely honest the single player campaign was the only decent thing in black ops, but it still didnt make up for the abysmall multiplayer and terrible textures.
  
  Reply
Sesshomaru

February 14, 2012 at 7:14 am

Call of Duty games being listed there implies they have stories to start with. I find that funny.

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Phantom

February 14, 2012 at 7:24 am

Really? who are these people that were surveyed? 5 year olds, Call of duty for a start doesnt have a story. Its just alot of flash (but fun). These are all main stream games. There are way better games with fantastic stories like Ace combat 5, Tales of vesperia etc.

How did super smash bros get in there, there is no story what so ever!

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Irvyne

February 14, 2012 at 7:28 am

FF7’s ending was crap. I even thought that the first time I played it. “All those hours of playing… as THIS is the best they can give me?”

FF8 or FF12 would have been a much better choice of ending. Heck, even FF10-2’s ending was more meaningful.

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Andy

February 14, 2012 at 7:36 am

Mike what the hell is going on??? This was posted by Tracey yesterday http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/02/call-of-duty-black-ops-sets-world-record-for-greatest-video-game-ending/

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1. AerintheADEQUATE
  
  February 14, 2012 at 7:57 am
  
  People on the US-site can’t see articles that originate from Kotaku AU. So you’ll see US writers regurgitate AU articles from time to time. It’s just something that happens.
  
  Reply
Bigfoot

February 14, 2012 at 7:59 am

Pokemon made the list? That’s not right, considering half of the game unlocks after you complete the main storyline. There’s hardly an ending to it.

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1. El Kapitan
  
  February 14, 2012 at 10:19 am
  
  Are you kidding? Professor Oak came as quickly as he could. There’s your big finish.
  
  *suppressed giggles*
  
  Reply
Telextial

February 14, 2012 at 8:06 am

Half Life 2: Episode Tow Truck. Quite.

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How is it a WR

February 14, 2012 at 8:12 am

I thought Guiness Wirkd Records dealt with facts, not opinions.

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That Teemo

February 14, 2012 at 8:21 am

I guess I can see why Black Ops is number one, due to the screen cap above that whole “America Fuck Yeah!” style of the end made me laugh.

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oldmate

February 14, 2012 at 8:28 am

43. Half-Life 2: Episode Tow
I remember the all mighty Tow, best Towing I ever had.

Reply
ZenMarx

February 14, 2012 at 8:29 am

KOTOR should have been wayy higer than that, especially the dark side ending.

Final Fantasy X should have been on there too, like no 1. Possibly the most bitter sweet ending of anything I’ve read/watched/played.

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1. Ash
  
  February 14, 2012 at 12:42 pm
  
  Totally agree on both points. The ending of Final Fantasy X emotionally moved me in a way that no movie or game had before.
  
  As Phantom said, given that Super Smash Bros is on here it looks like everyone just voted for their favourite game.
  
  Reply
  1. Will
    
    February 14, 2012 at 12:55 pm
    
    Correct, and as CoD fags are likely to be K:D figure loving fags they’re likely to buy a douche fag figure fag book.
    
    Did I fit in enough fag references for CoD? I might go listen to some XBL CoD chat and see how many times I hear ‘fag’ now.
    
    Reply
Sam

February 14, 2012 at 8:41 am

The 50 Best “Mainstreamish” Video Game Endings Of All Time
Fixed it for you.

Also my vote’s with Nier… maybe To the The Moon.

Reply
Invid

February 14, 2012 at 8:49 am

What utter BS, I love MGS but the endings tend to be fairly preachy, they don’t really belong in theis list, FF VII does not realy belong as high as it is (and maybe not on the list at all) and it’s still one of my favorite games, now the ending of FF VIII was wonderful…

This seems more like “peoples favorite games” than “best endings”

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Nobody

February 14, 2012 at 8:53 am

Wait. Halo: Reach? As in, Halo: The one in which everybody knows from the start exactly what will happen? Halo: Everybody dies you have to be deaf blind and dumb not to know that?
And Black Ops? I played the campaign twice maybe three times, and I still don’t remember it’s ending.
Maybe my definition of a good video game ending is wrong or something.

Reply
1. mattroe
  
  February 14, 2012 at 1:06 pm
  
  I assumed it got that position because of the “Lone Wolf” mission, which I actually thought was a brilliant way to end it.
  
  Reply
  1. red t-rex
    
    February 14, 2012 at 4:49 pm
    
    +1. To be able to play on after the cinematics and last as long as you can was an awesome way to end.
    
    Reply
Gemini

February 14, 2012 at 8:59 am

Black Ops???? WTF people??? Where is Zelda3? That ending eats OoT for brekky.

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Brandonmac10

February 14, 2012 at 9:02 am

Soon the 13 thousand gamers who voted for this will get a reward of my foot up their ass!

Were they high when they voted?

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Roh

February 14, 2012 at 9:08 am

MGS4 and MGS1 BEFORE MGS3? Wha? I’m a massive MGS nerd and even I realise that snake eater had a much more cohesive and interesting plot as well as an amazing ending (that was kind of a beginning at the same time).

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1. greg
  
  February 14, 2012 at 3:20 pm
  
  Yeah I was shocked at that. MGS1 didn’t have so much of an emotional ending as it was extremely revolutionary for the time. I mean CODs style of blockbuster direction can be compared to MGS1. But yeah MGS4 – im not gonna go on a rant but this is my least favourite interactive movie i have watched
  
  Reply
McGarnical

February 14, 2012 at 9:10 am

Blah blah something something don’t agree wtfbbq lol wut etc etc.

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Roh

February 14, 2012 at 9:10 am

Oh and Red Dead’s ending SUCKED. It was so flat and anti climactic. The first, sort of ‘half’ of the ending was almost out of nowhere and then the ‘second half’ was just… nothing. Lucky the game itself was so good.

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Greg

February 14, 2012 at 9:24 am

The first Mass Effect had a way better ending than Mass Effect 2. Climactic space battle with choices that carry across to the next game. It gave me chills, I’m actually struggling to remember how the second one ended, I can only remember the stupid human reaper boss.

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Jiff

February 14, 2012 at 9:52 am

I actually laughed at the Black Ops ending. Total Bay-gasm
All it needed was a superimposed American flag in the background to be complete

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Erebus

February 14, 2012 at 9:53 am

What? No Wing Commander 3? C’mon, he blows up the entire Kilrathi planet ffs!! And a war that’s been going on for generations finally ends with the Kilrathi surrender.

No Ico? A heart wrenching ending to an amazing game.

lulz at this “list”

I guess gaming in the 90s didn’t exist…

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1. DeeK
  
  February 14, 2012 at 2:23 pm
  
  ICO definitely deserves a place in the top 10. Such an incredible ending to an awesome game!
  
  Still, you know how these lists are. None are ever the way you think they should be.
  
  Reply
Blake

February 14, 2012 at 10:03 am

*facepalm*

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Rob

February 14, 2012 at 10:07 am

Presenting the top 50 most mainstream games in order of mainstreamness.
Where the hell is Braid? That had an awesome ending.

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1. Jethro
  
  February 14, 2012 at 5:46 pm
  
  To witness the awesome ending in Braid, one must first be able to complete Braid. An accomplishment which I doubt most of the people who voted in this poll were capable of.
  
  Reply
El Kapitan

February 14, 2012 at 10:20 am

CoD games have a single player mode? News to me.

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Chris Mac

February 14, 2012 at 10:30 am

Red Dead was awesome. How many games kill off the protagonist in such a way. Portal 2 should be number one. I’m in SPACE!!!

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Velnica

February 14, 2012 at 11:01 am

FFX or GTFO. The only game ending that successfully made me cry for days…

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1. Jethro
  
  February 14, 2012 at 5:47 pm
  
  I didn’t cry but the ending in FFX, then going through and getting the 100% ending in FFX-2 has to be some of the best gaming I’ve ever experienced.
  
  Reply
Khazidhea

February 14, 2012 at 11:31 am

So this is just a list of popular games that have endings?
If there was an actual list of good game endings, one of my votes would be for Syberia.

Reply
1. jaded buddha
  
  February 14, 2012 at 1:24 pm
  
  +1
  
  Reply
unlustig

February 14, 2012 at 12:16 pm

agree, red dead redemption was awesome! fyi the game ended with the burial scene. everything after that is not the game. its just messing around.

also: freespace!

blowing up that giant ship in the subspace to save earth, at the same time destroying your only way back home.

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Dave

February 14, 2012 at 1:03 pm

Black Ops ending was generic if anything and shouldn’t even be on the list as well as Super Mario Bros, really? “Your Quest is over we present a new quest, press B button to select a world”

Games I would have included would have been Final Fantasy X and Command and Conquer Tiberium Sun Nod Campaign,

I also think Red Dead Redemption and Portal 2 should have been 1 and 2 respectively

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jaded buddha

February 14, 2012 at 1:23 pm

Sigh… god forbid there would be a game from the nineties in this list… something that isnt sonic… like wtf Sonic?

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batdan

February 14, 2012 at 1:42 pm

Why isn’t Final Fantasy X on here? that had such a touching and amazing ending.

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wheres

February 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm

Wind Waker?

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[Razor]

February 14, 2012 at 2:30 pm

I already discussed Portal 1/2 in the other article, and the part I mentioned about FF7 got cut off because text limit. So let’s talk about Halo.

When I first played Halo’s campaign with a friend on his xbox 8 or so years ago, it was a great night. We stayed up until the wee hours and made it to the library before we had to go to bed. The next day we finished it off. I don’t know where “the ending” starts, but the last level or two were pretty awesome. You had to go back to the crashed spaceship, blow its engines and get the hell out of there. And then The Maw happens and it remains one of my favourite parts from the Halo franchise. 6 minutes to speed through hell on a warthog, there’s no real time to kill anything. You barely make it to your ride in time, fly the hell out of there and then everything explodes, saving the universe from the Flood (well this was before Halo 2 etc existed). It might not sound like much on paper, but it was awesome and has left quite the impression.

So when Halo 3 decided that the last part of the game would be spent on an in-universe recreation of the original Halo instillation, the last level would be both a homage to Halo 1’s Maw and in another way, Halo 1’s Silent Cartographer, well, yeah. That ending blew my tits off. Very similar to the Maw, except this time the ground your treading is constantly falling, and if you’re not fast enough you’re either trapped or you fall to your death. At the end you just make it in time, pull off a sweet jump and barely make it in the ship. But then its not over! You nearly fall out. You see the new Halo activating behind you, destroying itself. It’s all very pretty.

But then you go through the portal BUT WAIT Master Chief doesn’t make it. Were it so easy! The Arbiter’s story is over, Master Chief is stuck in deep space and it’ll be a long, long time before he’s rescued.

BUT THEN THERE’S A MYSTERIOUS PLANET.

So Halo 3’s ending, it was pretty good I guess. It wasn’t just Halo 3’s ending, it was also the end to Halo as a story.

Then Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach and Halo 4, 5 and 6 came out.

Halo Reach’s ending is pretty good too. All hope is lost, everyone you’ve come to known dies, except for Jun and Halsey, you make sure the Pillar of Autumn can leave and that Halo 1 can begin. After the ship flies off, you decide to take as many covenant bastards out as you can. You kill a few, yeah. But they keep coming. Your ammo’s getting low. You’ve taken too much damage, and now your helmet is cracking. You decide to take it off and fight some more. But then they eventually get the jump on you and you get shanked. Congratulation, you win! It was a pretty good ending.

Are any of those better than Blops? I don’t know. You decide.

Did Portal 2 and MGS3 deserve to do better? I sure think so.

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TSpence

February 14, 2012 at 3:06 pm

so just wanna put it out there, Brothers in Arms: Hells Highway had an amzing story based on what its like to be a soldier and dealing with the loss of fallen brothers, as far as war stories go i’d say its on par with that of Saving Private Ryan.

And where’s L.A Noire???? that had an ending worthy of a top 50 list…. :insert professor farnswoth caption “i dont want to live on this planet anymore”:

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Cats

February 14, 2012 at 7:30 pm

Why is starcraft 1 not there?

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N0NEoftheAB0VE

February 15, 2012 at 4:31 am

Really not the kind of thing that should be included in “World Records” – looks simply like a popularity list – I mean how is Twilight Princess on there but not Wind Waker – well probably more people played Twilight Princess more recently!

I notice though Halo 2 missed out completely – seems like everyone still hates that ending!

Reply
t

February 15, 2012 at 5:03 pm

Ahahahaha, Reach at #2, that’s the funniest thing i’ve seen in a long time.

Reply
Gary

February 15, 2012 at 6:17 pm

Kotaku, this calls for *our* own poll of best video game endings.

Reply

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The 50 Best Video Game Endings Of All Time

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53 responses to “The 50 Best Video Game Endings Of All Time”

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