Guiness Top 50 Greatest Video Game Endings

[BreakABone]

1)I have no idea why this is in Guiness, I don't get how this is a "World Record" or even an objective scale

2)I'm assuming most will disagree with this list

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. Pokemon 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

February 10, 2012 – Spoiler alert! Today, Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking, announced the Top 50 Videogame Endings of All Time as voted for by 13,519 online fans. Conducted for the new Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition book, the list is sure to cause heated debate among passionate gamers.

From the bestselling series, Call of Duty: Black Ops, developed by Treyarch, tops the list. The dramatic finale features a frantic shoot-out inside a submarine and provides our hero Mason the chance to take vengeance for a murdered friend. The closing sequence offers a new twist on the classic JFK conspiracy theory.

Runner up in the list is 2010’s Halo: Reach developed by Bungie. Another First-Person Shooter, Halo: Reach takes place in the year 2552, with humanity locked in a war with the alien Covenant. During the post credits sequence your character, Nobile Six, makes a final stand against impossible odds. Although he is eventually overwhelmed, his sacrifice ensures that the ‘Master Chief’ survives.

More than 13 year’s old, Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time takes third place in the list. One of the best loved games of all time ends in classic fashion with our iconic character defeating Ganondorf and rescuing Princess Zelda.

The rest of the 50 offers a definitive list of the greatest video game endings of all time. Notable entries include Red Dead Redemption (2010) which comes in at number 6. Rockstar’s mega-hit finishes like all good Western films — with retribution, revenge and bloodshed.

At number 7 is Portal (Valve, 2007). The highly memorable ending breaks from tradition, with the final boss, GLaDOS, appearing to be defeated but then going on to perform a musical number titled ‘Still Alive’. The song, written by nerd-folk artist Jonathan Coulton, has become a cult hit and been immortalised in several online tributes.

Quantic Dream’s highly innovative Heavy Rain (2010) makes up the 10. The game features 22 possible endings which add to the excitement of the thriller. Will your in-game choices result in the ‘all round happy-ending’ or will they instead lead to an ending so dark that you’ll witness the deaths of most the game’s major characters?

Gaz Deaves, Gaming Editor for Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition said: “Everyone has an opinion on how to end a game whether it’s an epic boss fight, a clever plot twist or a 90-minute movie. This list recognises some of the greatest endings and hopefully will get gamers talking about their favorites and why.”

The full list is featured in the new Guinness World Records 2012 Gamer’s Edition book out now, and can also be found below. The book is also available in a fully illustrated, full color eBook format at B&N.com, Kobo and Apple’s ibooks. For more information please visit www.guinnessworldrecords.com/gamers

[Angrist]

Meh.

[KillerGremlin]

Terrible list.

[Angrist]

I must have forgotten what the endings of Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 were, because I don't understand why they're in the list.

Also: Starcraft II WOL but Starcraft Brood War? Silly.

[Vampyr]

This looks like it pretty quickly devolved into a "what's your favorite game" list.

[Angrist]

These are the games I played and what I think of their endings:

43. Half-Life 2: Episode Tow
Wasn't it just a simple cliff-hanger for that scary ship? Nothing special.

42. Super Metroid
I guess the baby Metroid coming to your help was nice. And in general Metroid endings are pretty epic because the whole planet blows up.

41. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Uhm... you say goodbye to Midna, which was a bit emotional. Other than that?

40. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
Seriously?

34. Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Pretty good ending, but I think the endings of SCBW and WC3TFT are much better, with the evil guy/gal reigning supreme and leaving everything in chaos.

29. Super Mario Galaxy
Mario & Peach united is a good ending?

20. Super Mario Galaxy 2
Doing it over and over again makes it better?

17. Portal 2
Hm you escape to the surface... was there some sick plot twist that I forgot about?

15. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Ok I have to agree with this one: great ending. Makes me want to play it again.

11. Super Mario Bros
...

7. Portal
Best end credits song, but other than that...

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Hm, pretty good ending now that I think about it. Ganon is defeated, Link travels back in time to change the future, meets Zelda again... Yeah pretty sweet. But top 3?

[Typhoid]

One of the most powerful endings of any game I've played ever was Red Dead Redemption.

The ending of that game when put in context with having to play through the final chapter(s) - so amazing. Something about that ending still just gives me a chill just thinking about it.


Anyways, it looks like this list was compiled by someone who only owns an Xbox, and has a little brother who owns a Wii.
So only games from the current gen, and XBL are valid for best endings? Oh. Sweet list.

[Combine 017]

These are the games I played and what I think of their endings:

43. Half-Life 2: Episode Two
Wasn't it just a simple cliff-hanger for that scary ship? Nothing special.

The Combine were cut off from Earth and one of the main characters was killed.
Plenty special.

[Jason1]

Yea, I have to disagree with Angrist on the HL2 episode 2 ending. They killed Eli Vance. I think about that ending more than probably any other, just becausse it was such a major cliff hanger. Still no word on HL3...

But I agree overall this list is horrible. Black Ops is #1? Is that some sort of joke? I will admit I have no idea what the ending to black ops is like, but I know it sucks.

[DarkMaster]

List 50 popular games from the past 20 years.


Yea that's 50 games alright.

[BreakABone]

List 50 popular games from the past 20 years.


Yea that's 50 games alright.

Well.. how much longer would you have?

20 years is most of the history of the industry.

More like last 10 years

[Combine 017]

But I agree overall this list is horrible. Black Ops is #1? Is that some sort of joke? I will admit I have no idea what the ending to black ops is like, but I know it sucks.

I think there was a submarine, or maybe some underwater sea base in Cuba? I dunno, it was kind of lame and not at all memorable.

[BreakABone]

I think there was a submarine, or maybe some underwater sea base in Cuba? I dunno, it was kind of lame and not at all memorable.

Is that so?

My podcast co-host told me it dealt with the assassination of JFK
And some Fight Club-esque mental break with your main character.

[Combine 017]

Is that so?

My podcast co-host told me it dealt with the assassination of JFK
And some Fight Club-esque mental break with your main character.

That happened before the ending, im talking about the last mission. I dont remember anything about JFK, but I think Castro was there doing stuff.

edit:
Nvm, I remember the JFK thing now. It was still rather meh to me, maybe cause im not american and patriotic or something?

[TheSlyMoogle]

That happened before the ending, im talking about the last mission. I dont remember anything about JFK, but I think Castro was there doing stuff.

edit:
Nvm, I remember the JFK thing now. It was still rather meh to me, maybe cause im not american and patriotic or something?

Who is JFK?

HueHueHueHue

Games I've played:

50. Resident Evil 4

Err... Really? It was Ok I guess.

42. Super Metroid

Nothing spectacular, but I did have a twinge of love when baby metroid came to the rescue.

41. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Definitely Meh. Totally predictable ending to a totally shitty game.

36. Gears of War 2

Cliffhanger!!! Well it was alright I guess.

35. Bioshock

Bioshock was a good game in general and I enjoyed the ending.

26. Assassin's Creed II

Probably shouldn't be on list, but it was satisfying.

24. Shadow of the Colossus

This should have been much higher on the list. Much higher.

17. Portal 2

Erm No.

16. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood

Just your typical cliffhanger. The ending to this game wasn't resolved in the next game either.

12. Pokemon Black and White

Same ending as every pokemans game basically with a slight twist on the way the elite 4 stuff worked out. EITHER WAY... You beat the elite 4, save the day, catch a legendary pogeymans, and then you are the hero. Red and Blue had a better ending for fucks sake.

11. Super Mario Bros

Hmm... Classic I guess.

10. Heavy Rain

This game has like 10 endings. I guess the best ending is pretty good though.

9. Final Fantasy VII

Err... Uhm... There were better final fantasy endings to be honest. VI and VIII in particular.

8. Metal Gear Solid 4

For fans of the series apparently this was the most satisfying ending of a video game ever. The 3 hour long movie that was the end of the game apparently answered everything.

7. Portal

I disagree with Angrist here. The whole ending mission was epic, and then the best credits song ever made it even better.

6. Red Dead Redemption

One of the best on this list actually.

4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

The only one I played, and I don't remember much more than crawling to stab some guy. Something like that. Maybe that wasn't even the end.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Err... LttP had a better ending.

[Vampyr]

I actually can't think of any video games that had truly great endings. Video games, more than any other medium, are more about the journey than the end.

[KillerGremlin]

I'd have to agree with Vamp. For me, the memories are rarely the game's ending. The memories I have are me holding my breath, or clenching a sweaty controller, amazed that I just defeated a final boss. Especially in a lot of the old 2D platformers and Mario and Sonic games.