What are the best final chapters in video games?

When I say this, I don't mean something like the final game in a series. Rather, the final section of the story within a game- the climax, so to speak.

Games usually aren't very good at telling stories, but every now and then we get one that's really, really good and manages to get us invested in its world and the conflict that it has set up. These stories take a long time to build up their narrative and then have incredible payoff at the end. These are the games that have extremely great final sections- whether that be because of the game's gameplay, how the story is unfolding in its culminating moments, the final boss fight(s), the final level(s), a combination of all of these, or even more.

Which games do you think do this sort of thing best? And why? Was it their gameplay, their story or just how you felt when you were playing them?

These are mine:

Mass Effect 2: Suicide Mission- The Suicide Mission was the boss. The final boss fight, the Human Reaper itself may not have been a very well designed fight, but the way the story culminated in the end- all your choices coming together, all your relationships with your crewmates making an actual impact on how the mission turns out, the general atmosphere of the mission, the music and that epic speech by Shepard that we get to make ourselves- makes for probably the best conclusion I have ever personally experienced in a game.

Persona 3: The Battle For Everyone's Souls- Oh man, that boss fight with Nyx. What an incredible culmination of everything that the entire game was all about. The music was probably the biggest reason for the conclusion's awesomess, but the boss fight itself was also a very well designed boss fight. The final 60 minutes also wrapped up the story of the game in a very satisfying manner, and though the protagonist's death was a heart-wrenching moment, it felt true to the tone of the entire game and what it had been trying to tell us all along.

The Last of Us: The Firefly Lab- This one isn't about the gameplay or a boss fight. Like much of the rest of The Last of Us, this one is more about astonishingly incredible writing. The game had the balls to give us a thought provoking conclusion that was far from a happy ending in the larger scheme of things, but ultimately made perfect sense. It ended on such a high note. Those last few minutes of TLoU will stay with me forever.

The Walking Dead Season One: No Time Left- Wow, what a depressing two hours this was. Everything went wrong. But it was all so well written. Most of the choices we made in the game finally came together in the end- they didn't really affect how the story turned out, but they did have an impact on some great, personal character moments, which is what TWD was all about for me, ultimately. Clementine's final moments with Lee will haunt me for a long time to come.

What are your top ending chapters?

NOTE: PLEASE MAKE SURE TO SPOILER ANY POTENTIALLY REVEALING CONTENT. Let's be considerate towards people who haven't played these games.

So you have, like, two of mine up there:

• MASS EFFECT 2: SUICIDE MISSION: This was so badass. I don't think any game has ever had a better ending. I'm not talking about how the story unfolds, or even the writing, it's just how this game manages to conclude everything that it has been building up over the last 30 hours so neatly in an interactive manner, embedded into its very gameplay. Mass Effect 2's Suicide Mission is something the game itself builds up over the course of the entire game- and then the final thing actually lives up to it. I adored this, and it is emblematic of why I love Mass Effect 2 so much as a whole.
• PERSONA 3: THE BATTLE FOR EVERYONE'S SOULS: Persona 3 was going to be the last game in the franchise, and that shows with this ending, which is flat out incredible. The Battle for Everyone's Souls is my favorite final boss, as well as my favorite piece of gaming music, ever. It single handedly elevates Persona 3 from being just a very good game to a great one- that final battle, everything leading to it, and everything that comes right after is gut wrenching. The game concludes its story in the only way that makes sense, given its themes, and it doesn't pull any punches. The fact that it makes you, the player, pull the trigger on you, the character, so you can take your own life and seal Nyx away is ballsy as ****. Persona 3 is the ballsiest video game story ever told- and that ending is what sells it.
• 999: MORPHOGENIC SORROW: This is so hard to talk about without actually spoiling the game, and what good is 999 if it is spoiled? The fact that it manages to pull everything together as incredibly as it does, the fact that it manages to pull off a narrative twist that is legitimately only possible in video games as a medium, and only on the DS no less, the fact that it actually makes sense of everything that happened throughout the game is just nothing short of incredible.
• FINAL FANTASY X: A FLEETING DREAM: Such a bittersweet ending. This is a lot like Persona 3's ending, in that the entire game has been building up to this, but you don't see it coming, and it hits you when it does. It's very satisfying, very tragic, and ultimately the only sensible way the game could have ended. Like Persona 3, Final Fantasy X mostly doesn't pull any punches (though I think the post credits scene ruins it a bit), and everything here- the bosses, the difficulty, the music, and the culmination of the story itself, works in making this ending as memorable as it is.

* Metal Gear Solid 4 : The intense microwave sequence genuinely one of the best moments in gaming, ever... Followed by the absolutely epic boss battle between Snake and Liquid Ocelot (best boss fight ever imo) that goes through each stage of previous Metal Gears... Life bars change, soundtracks change, etc..

* The Last of Us: Pretty much exactly what you said.

* Bioshock Infinite: the wow factor at the end. Mind was literally blown even after I knew it HAD to have a mind blowing plot twist like the first. I was waiting for that moment every step of the way, yet they still caught me off guard... Stared at my screen in silence, quietly and slowly removed my headphones and just sat there silently. Those who played, you know what I mean.

As much as I enjoyed the game, that Bioshock Infinite ending was dumb.

@Mozelleple112: As an ending to the franchise, did the final sequence of MGS4 suit your liking more, or the one in MGSV?

Came in to say Mass Effect 2, that was already covered.

FFX and Bioshock Infinite definitely qualify.

I guess for my original contribution, I would say Spec Ops the Line. Don't now how to spoiler tag, so I won't specify, but the last bit was pretty intense (though the part with the sandstorm and boat was next-to-impossible for some reason).

Definitive ME2, the speech Shepard gives got me going..lol

The Last of Us winter chapter was amazing, that's definitely at the top of my list! The story and characters are among the best I've seen in video games and they really put it all on the line during the winter chapter.

Then there is Mass Effect 2's Suicide Mission. I really liked how the accumulation of your choices throughout the game affect this final mission and the cinematics were really cool.

And Bloodborne! No spoilers, but that final boss fight and what happens near the end is just awesome.

Mass Effect 2 has the best ending I've ever seen in a video game.

Tearaway Unfolded. They did a lot of crazy stuff in the last few levels.

Mass Effect 2 takes the crown !

Bioshock Infinite

The Last of Us

Dragon Age Origins/Inquistion...man that ending, the companions were closer to me than ones in Mass Effect specially Leliana, Alistair and Wynne. The design was awesome. And this Warden soundtrack after the talks with your team, was so shivering. The Archdemon was so easy for me, but the final choice kept me thinking for days as I chose the Ultimate sacrifice. DAI had a really satisfying ending, those celebrations after Corypheus' death were amazing as most games' endings are now really gloomy, except Solas he kinda ruined that lol.

Witcher 2, (can't put Witcher 3 haven't finished it yet, I haven't played yet SC2LOV but would've probably been here if I did.), the Saesenthessis choice. Letho's conversation with this soundtrack is one of the best and moving conversations I've had in a game, the ending was so satisfying for me in each case either leaving with Triss or with Triss and Roche and I left the game proud. Also Witcher 1 had an amazing ending, not enough time to talk about it.

Mass Effect 1/2/3, the mission design, the speech and soundtrack were so epic. The speeches, entering the Omega 4 Relay with suicide mission soundtrack got me every time, this final escape/run from Harbinger after mission completion was nicely put. ME1 I loved Saren's last encounter, how we thought Shepard was dead and that last image of him next to earth. ME3 with or without MEHEM was a really overwhelming ending for me, when the Normandy was preparing to enter the Relay and fight...man that was so epic, seeing all those many, many ships from different homeworlds unite and Shepard giving commands, Hackett's speech, ships firing at same time and appear in a one form crushing the reapers. I loved seeing flashes of my loved ones, finally defeating the Reapers and Shepard living after all that.

StarCraft II WoL/HotS, also felt satisfying, even though I loved Tychus I couldn't care less about him after his betrayal. Was really happy to save Kerrigan, finally, didn't think that was going to happen and then the scene ended in a spectacular way. HotS ending was special as well, killing that SOB Arcturus by Kerrigan never felt better, after 2 campaigns! was a nice reunion of Kerrigan/Raynor.

Deus Ex HR, each ending had an epic speech by Jensen and also epic soundtracks but still felt they could've been better.

Prince of Persia WW/T2T, killing the Dahaka and changing both fates for the better with that cool water sword was really legendry, Vizier fight was kinda an annoying one for me, I liked this weird dream then waking up free from the dark prince and every burden. Credits roll was fantastic. :')

Bioshock infinite, such a strange ending that keeps you thinking about it.

Assassin's Creed Revelations is probably the only good/epic and satisfying ending in an AC game, three epic characters that should've never met somehow met each other and epic soundtrack.

Mass Effect 2, is there anything else to say about the suicide mission at this point?

Parasite Eve,being on the ship and fighting the U.B. as it continues to evolve throughout the fight along with the escape from the ship was very tense

Majora's Mask,the inside of the moon, the children, that final fight, the ending, perfection.

Fatal Frame 2,that final rush to save Mayu, followed by the ending, those final moments are what seals this one in my favorite games around.

MGS4, the microwave, the showdown with Liquid, just fantastic all around

As others said, ME2's suicide mission is terrific, and is probably the peak moment of the trilogy.

But I also wanna say Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. Final mission just oozes out that 80s cheese in the best way.

MGS3.

The whole last section of that game. Lord have mercy. Ditto FFX as @charizard1605 said. Also ME2's Suicide Mission, which is awesome, even with the stupid fucking Space Terminator.

Uncharted 2's final chapters, from the Monastery til the end, are phenomenal IMO.

Also, All In, Wings of Liberty's final mission, is amazing.

The only game I can really think of is Persona 4:DAN but that's because of the music. I remember memorable endings but not final stages.

• Mass Effect 2
• Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne
• Max Payne 2
• Thief 2: The Metal Age
• Splinter Cell: Double Agent
• Company of Heroes
• Crysis
• Wing Commander 4
• The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition

Can't believe I forgot to mention this one: Bayonetta. A million times over.

Valiant Hearts and Halo are the only ones coming to mind right now

Bayonetta 1. They take the absurdity and fun and just ramp it up to 11. It's awesome.

Bravely Default. After a very, very rough middle section, the game manages to come together in the end for a satisfying conclusion with awesome music.

Mass Effect 1. I know the end of ME2 gets a lot of points for a good ending, but I think everything past the endgame cutoff in ME1 is incredible, a very satisfying conclusion for the first game of a planned trilogy.

Portal 2. Very satisfying puzzles and buildup, to a kinda meh boss, but with great twists and humor throughout.

Dragon's Dogma. The story is so bland and basic, but then the game has a seriously awesome boss fight. After that, the game derails HARD and goes completely bananas, yet somehow in a good way.

999. Kinda dumb final puzzle, but still, the true ending is one of the best and most satisfying story conclusions to any game I've ever played.

That's just from what I've played recently. I'm sure if I went back I could come up with several others from older games.

Ultima 4: Quest of the Avatar: Basically, the whole game was built around you living up to Richard Garriot's philosophy, that is seemingly inspired by the Dharmic Religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, ect). Throughout the entire game you were expected to adhere to 8 virtues (maxing 8 morality meters so to speak). Anyways, the reason I brought up the whole premise of the game is because it all ties so well together with the ending of the game. While the main portion of the game tested your ability to adhere to the philosophy, the ending tested you in your understanding of the philosophy. And perfectly tied up to what Richard Garriot wanted to do for the entire game. No villain or final boss at all, but that only added to the beauty of the final chapter.

Wing Commander 4: A battle of wits, not who has the biggest guns.

World of WarCraft (Vanilla): Naxxrammas is considered to be one of the best raids in mmorpg history for a reason. It was the ultimate test of a player's skills back then. And few raids even today comes close.

mmhmm adding The Wonderful 101 into this, the rest of Platinum can come up with some dope endings in terms of how Revengeance ends (I like Senator Armstrong lol), Vanquish, or even recently Transformers, none of them match up to Kamiya, that man knows how to have fun. And his one giant celebration of everything that was dope about shit like Power Rangers and VR Troopers made me fucking having the widest fucking smile on my stupid face the entire time I was playing that ending. To think that dope game was wasted on Nintendo plebs.

Super Metroid: You get a dope final boss, a solid sacrifice from a Super Metroid (right?), but there is the escape sequence which is a classic. Metroid in general knows how to end. Metroid Prime ends with a fight with Meta Ridley and then the fight with Prime herself, Metroid Prime 2 has that awesome Emperor ing fight, the escape with the countdown, and that fight against Dark Samus as time is counting down. It's fucking brilliant.

Narrative wise: Big fan of Shadow of the Colossus, Ico, The Last of Us, and The fucking Darkness. The first time I died is well executed and arguably the best scene in the game, but that ending is no slouch. It happens to be a great use of the gameplay as well, or lack there of if you will.

Spec Ops The Line.

That ending is probably the biggest twist in any video game I've played. The game's storytelling and pacing was almost perfect to focus on the wanted context and then finally nailed the ending. Gameplay mechanics aside.

This is a good topic.

I'm on my phone now so can't elaborate, but I found Ori and the Blind Forest's ending to be well done that tied up everything very well, was touching, and left things open to future installments.

Spec Ops the line

Bioshock Infinite

Portal 2

These are the ones that I can thin of right now.

@Vaasman: The final puzzle of 999 is a crime against humanity. I was in disbelief that this was the 'final boss,' so to speak.

@heguain: Indeed Dragon Age origins was awesome. Loved the character development in that game, easily one of my favorite RPG games ever.

Ryse Son of Rome

http://youtu.be/om6PgdmQlig

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRWkniXDC_4

Final Fantasy X

If you paid attention to the game, there were hints of you knowing Titus was a spirit/dream.

Loving all the ME2 loving.

Me too :D . Suicide Mission is up there as being the best mission ever !

Encapsulates the masterpiece that is ME2 itself.

Lufia II

Final Fantasy VII

Alundra

Shadow of Memories

Metal Gear Solid 2

Soul Reaver 2

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Clannad

Steins Gate

@Mozelleple112: Sadly there's a lot of pseudointellectuals who think they're too smart for Infinites ending.

Bioshock 2 also had a pretty hectic last chapter. Constant influx of big sisters always kept you on your toes.

@khoofia_pika: Honestly it wasn't that great :\ It was alright.

Metal Gear Solid 3 blows everything else out of the water. The whole lead-up to that final boss fight and that incredible ending cutscene is just something else. Really an absolute pinnacle of gaming IMO. Never gotten so emotional because of a game before or since.

Bioshock Infinite was another great one. That ending is pretty crazy and really drops the bomb on ya.

Bioshock Infinite (the last hour of the game)

Walking Dead Season 1 (Episode 5)

Zelda Ocarina of Time (Ganon's Tower)

Pokemon Red/Blue (The Elite Four)

Phoenix Wright Trials and Tribulations (Case 5)

Paper Mario 2: Epic boss battles

LOZ OOT:Just the stairway

MGS3: Just memorable from the battle to the epilogue

The Walking Dead Episode 5 Season 1 the ending

RDR: Just perfect everything about.

Suicide Mission? 2 greatest hours in a video game ever, at least in my experience.

Guess it boils down to opinions, as always.

Ocarina of Time > _____

Escaping from the tower and watching Ganondorf turn into Ganon as a young lad was awe-inspiring.

What? Bioshock is one of the most psuedo-intellectual franchises out there.

I like the yakuza endings, everything culminates to a final showdown with the enemy whether it be a former friend or not 1 on 1 no holds barred beatdown.

@GreySeal9: How so?

Yeah it'd definitely be up there... although I really liked 3's final mission too (I know I'm in the minority on that one).

I'm one of the seven people in the world who agree with you there.

If only there had been a final boss battle against Harbinger... *sigh*

Marauder Shields was the final boss. He tried to save you from the shitty endings.

Nevr 4get.

At any rate, I don't think most people's distaste is with the Earth section, it's basically just with everything past a certain point. The last 10-15 minutes or so.

Personally though, I hated the final Earth level. I think the level and encounter design is a huge step down from the rest of the game, but that's just my 2 cents.

Yeah I would've liked a big boss battle with Harbinger as well... maybe just before you're beamed up into the Citadel.