Multiple Endings: Difference between revisions

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== Video Games: Adventure ==
* All the ''[[Princess Maker]]'' games, depending on what your daughter grows up to be, and who she marries.
* Another very old ending comes from the ''[[Myst]]'' games. The first game offers the choice between freeing either Sirrus or Achenar from their books {{spoiler|resulting in them trapping you instead}}, or touching the Green Book, which both claim is another trap, which gives you two more possible endings: either you have the white page and can let Atrus back into Myst, or you don't and you're stuck with him in D'ni. ''Riven'' and ''Exile'' carry this furthest; in ''Riven'', you can trap yourself, release the villain in a variety of locations, be shot by the villain, destroy the universe without capturing the villain, destroy the universe without saving the [[Distressed Damsel in Distress]]... or capture the villain, evacuate the Damsel and her tribespeople, and destroy the universe. (And that's the good ending.) One of the bad endings of Riven is only accessible by beating most of the game, writing down the combination to a lock (randomly generated each game), and then going back to an earlier saved game. In ''Exile'', there are at least five different ways for the villain to smash you with his hammer; the best ending cures the villain's psychosis and saves the [[MacGuffin]] without getting squashed. ''Revelation'''s finale confronts the player with Achenar and the abducted Yeesha, with only seconds to decide who to trust though even a casually-attentive player will have learned by this point [[Grand Theft Me|that Sirrus was planning to possess Yeesha]] and that Achenar has undergone a thorough and complete [[Heel Face Turn]]; choosing incorrectly results in the player's immediate death, while choosing correctly sets off one final puzzle {{spoiler|where the player must put Yeesha's memories in their proper order to exorcise Sirrus from her}}. Taking too long to choose also results in death. Finally, throughout the course of ''End of Ages'', the player encounters the adult Yeesha and an old man named Esher, each of whom seek a [[Cosmic Keystone|mysterious tablet]] that only the player can obtain. Once the player does so, he can choose who to give it to; however, {{spoiler|Yeesha has already tried and failed to obtain the tablet, meaning she can never touch it again, and Esher is actually a deranged maniac who will leave the player stranded on Myst Island while he goes off to conquer the universe. The right thing to do is to [[Take a Third Option]] by dropping the tablet, returning it to its rightful owners}}.
* [[Sierra|Sierra On-Line]], in its middle years, frequently offered different endings based on the final decision the player made in the game. Some examples:
** ''[[Gabriel Knight|Gabriel Knight: The Sins of the Fathers]]'' allowed the player to choose whether to kill or save the villain, a woman Gabriel loved but who had been irreversibly possessed by an evil spirit. Interestingly, whatever the player chooses, the villain dies and Gabe receives a scar on his arm that is visible in the live-action sequel. If he chooses to kill the villain, however, she takes him with her to her death.
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** In the final mission of World at War's the American Campaign: {{spoiler|Roebuck and Polonsky get themselves into hand-to-hand combat with two Japanese soldiers that pull an I Surrender, Suckers. The player is given the option to save Roebuck or Polonsky. After the final battle, the character you picked to survive will go up to the body of the other, remove his dogtags, and hand them to you, as Roebuck gives a final narration. }}
** Before the final mission in World at War, Reznov will read a passage from Chernov's diary. If the player went and slaughtered helpless Germans during the Soviet Campaign, the passages will be critical, if the player spared them, the passages will praise the player. If the player did a mixture of both, the passages will paint the character as a moral question mark.
* In ''[[Metal Gear Solid]]'', you can get an ending with either the [[The Woobie|loser sidekick]] (Otacon) or the [[Faux Action Girl|love interest]] (Meryl), depending on whether or not you pass the torture minigame and if Meryl makes it out alive. While the Meryl ending has now been confirmed as [[Canon|canonical]], with Meryl reappearing alive and kicking in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'', neither ending is explicitly referred to as the Good or the Bad ending (the game calls them Ending A and Ending B). Interestingly, the revelation from the ''non-canonical'' ending of ''Metal Gear Solid'' is also confirmed as canon ({{spoiler|Meryl is actually Colonel Campbell's illegitimate daughter, not his niece}}) in ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'', setting up a major conflict.
** Before that, ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'' featured Snake sporting (and explicitly referencing) the infinite ammo bandanna, the player's reward for reaching Meryl's ending in the previous game, as a subtle hint that the Meryl ending was actually canon. The in-game novel, "The Shocking Conspiracy Behind Shadow Moses", offers a different explanation, suggesting that the protagonist of the novel found the bandanna on the beach at Shadow Moses, where Meryl found it in the game. The 'alien' who rescued the protagonist (Snake through the eyes of a [[Conspiracy Theorist]]) took the bandanna from him, and escaped with it, thus subtly implying that Snake got the Otacon ending. (Nastasha's book contradicts this ''again'' by saying it seemed Snake managed to rescue Meryl. Incidentally, the theme of the game was about choosing the path to follow when presented with conflicting information about the world, and not fussing about absolute reality.)
** ''Substance'' features five non-canonical 'Snake Tales' missions. Four of these have two endings, and which one is chosen is usually determined by whether the player kills the final boss or not. Snake Tale A has ''five'', as skipping a large chunk of the mission makes it possible to fight the boss almost straight away with two alternate endings. The player can also re-enter the elevator Snake uses right at the beginning to end the scenario on a weird note. This could be considered a [[Nonstandard Game Over]] as it does lead the player to a game over screen (with no continue option though).
* ''[[Oddworld|Abe's Oddysee]]'' features four endings: Standard Good, Standard Bad, Perfect Good, and Perfect Bad, depending on how many of the 99 mudokons you managed to save. The end of the gameplay shows you being captured by the baddies. If you have rescued 50 or more mudokons, they band together and rescue you, and you are hailed as a hero (Standard Good). If you rescued fewer than that, they let you die (Standard Bad). If you rescued all 99, you get the Standard Good ending, but also a teaser for the next game and some production art (Perfect Good). If you killed as many mudokons as possible (some mudokons must be rescued in order to progress in the game), you are appointed Head of Employee Relations by the baddies (Perfect Bad). Oddly, the Perfect Bad ending is arguably the best, as it is the only one that gives you any future advantage in the game -- you are provided with a cheat code that will only work once the Perfect Bad ending has been completed. The sequel ''Abe's Exoddus'' has a similar ending setup, only the number of mudokons is raised to 300 (with the Good/Bad threshold raised to 150).
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** The sequel/expansion pack provides a far more interesting array of different endings concerning both the PC's fate and that of his/her companions. For example, {{spoiler|if you gathered all Mask Fragments, you can get the ultimate good ending and put Akachi's soul to rest while also freeing yourself and the land of the curse. Regardless of whether you have the mask pieces, you can choose the selfish ending and rid yourself of the curse, but leave it free to continue plaguing Rashemen. If you failed to collect the Mask Fragments, you may choose the completely selfless ending, locking the curse inside yourself and eternally staying in the City of Judgment to contain it, praised as a hero, but forever trapped. Or, there's the ultra evil approach; bending the curse to your will to become an unstoppable god-killing abomination with all of the benefits of the curse but none of the drawbacks. Similarly, the endings for your companions vary depending on both your choices in the game and the actual influence with them. For example, if you've pursued a romance, your beloved may choose to stay with you in the City of Judgment in the selfless scenario. At the other end of the spectrum, you may reach the end of the story with all of your companions dead by your hand.}}
** The second expansion "Storm of Zehir" has a similar conclusion if you've played the main quest to the end, showing the fates of your companions and the towns you visited according to your actions. Unusually, after seeing this, you can Bluff or Intimidate the storyteller into giving the different endings by telling him how to set each variable. This even extends to companions you never actually recruited (or even encountered, since several are found randomly wandering the world map) and side-quests you never found out about.
* In ''[[Sailor Moon: Another Story]]'', there are two endings that will play out depending on how you defeat [[Big Bad|Apsu]], who {{spoiler|has fused with Sin the second time you fight her}}:
** [[Golden Ending|If you beat her with Sailor Moon's team]], {{spoiler|Sailor Moon will use the Silver Crystal to finish her off, and get Sin to do a [[Heel Face Turn]] like her brother Anshar and the other Oppositio Senshi have. Anshar will then give Chibi-Moon the pendant she accidentally lost on the day they first met and they'll kiss. The Sailor Senshi, Tuxedo Kamen, Luna, and Artemis go back to the present, Hotaru turns back into an infant, and everyone goes home.}}
** If Sailor Moon's team falls, it's up to Chibi-Moon's team, [[Bittersweet Ending|but... ]] {{spoiler|with her last bit of strength, Apsu tries to attack Chibi-Moon, but Anshar saves her and tries to convince his sister Sin that she's not evil. Once Sin snaps out of it, Luna tells Chibi-Moon to use the Silver Crystal, but the fates of Chibi-Moon and Anshar will change, and she isn't happy about this because they loved each other. And then, the next day, Chibi-Usa bumps into Anshar again like when they first met. Due to his fate being altered, Anshar doesn't remember Chibi-Usa, and neither does Sin. Chibi-Usa asks Setsuna if it's right to leave Anshar alone, and Setsuna says it is because it is fate. Chibi-Usa accepts this, and says that she'll never forget him and she loves him.}}
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* In ''[[Marvel Ultimate Alliance]]'', once you've defeated [[Doctor Doom]], the Watcher explains how the decisions you made throughout the game (mostly whether or not you completed the [[Sidequest|Sidequests]]) will affect the [[Marvel Universe]] for the better or worse.
** Notable in that one quest results in a bad ending, no matter how you completed it. Mephisto offers you a [[Sadistic Choice]] between saving Jean Grey or Nightcrawler. Saving Jean results in Mystique murdering Charles Xavier for allowing her son to die, whereas choosing Nightcrawler causes Dark Phoenix to escape hell and come to seek revenge on the X-Men for abandoning Jean.
* The [[Play StationPlayStation 2]] game ''[[Shadow of Destiny]]'' had five different endings (actually six -- two of them have the same ultimate result, but achieve it in different ways), determined by the choices you made at certain junctures and whether or not you'd witnessed certain missable events. Each ending filled in different details of the overarcing plot, so it was necessary to play to all five of them to get the full picture of what was going on. Upon having seen all five of the endings, a new sixth (seventh) ending became available.
** There are actually two extra endings, one is the happiest possible ending and one is happy but leaves some unresolved issues. The first involves {{spoiler|the hero helping create the Elixer of Life instead of releasing Homunculus, thereby healing Dr. Wagner's wife.}} The other ending involves {{spoiler|removing the Homunculus from existence via a temporal paradox, but Dr. Wagner doesn't get to heal his wife.}} Both endings still achieve a similar result: {{spoiler|without Homunculus setting his plans into motion, underlying reasons of the story never come to pass, and Eike no longer exists because Wagner never wished for eternal youth.}}
* The ''[[Suikoden]]'' series of games use these. The Good Ending invariably requires that you find and recruit all [[108]] possible allies, possibly among other requirements; some even have [[Guide Dang It|INCORRECT allies to recruit]] to add [[Fake Difficulty]] to this task.
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* ''[[Haunting Ground]]'' has four endings: {{spoiler|"Fortes Fortuna Juvat" - Fiona escapes Belli Castle with Hewie after Lorenzo is killed. Debilitas is still alive, but bows to Fiona before she leaves. "Ignis Aurum Probat" - Fiona and Hewie escape, but everyone else they encountered (including Debilitas) is dead. "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Fiona and Hewie escape thanks to a key given by Debilitas, as Lorenzo pleads for Fiona to not go. "Tu Fui, Ego Eris" is the worst ending - Fiona's poor relationship with Hewie causes him to die in the forest. With no one left to save her, she is captured by Riccardo and ''possibly raped''. Fiona wakes up, but is now pregnant, Riccardo's wish fulfilled. [[Go Mad From the Revelation|She lets out a long, hollow (and freakin' creepy) laugh as the camera pans away from her...]]}}
* Each of the ''[[Fatal Frame]]'' games have multiple endings. Usually, the more tragic ones are considered canon.
** The first game had three endings: one gotten on Easy/Normal, where {{spoiler|only Miku escapes, Mafuyu choosing to stay behind}}, one on Nightmare: {{spoiler|both Miku and Mafuyu escape}}, and one on the [[X BoxXbox]] {{spoiler|where Kirie is reunited with her lover.}} Only the first one is canon.
** ''Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly'' had four endings: one where {{spoiler|Mio runs away}}, one gotten on the easier difficulties {{spoiler|where Mio sacrifices Mayu to the Hellish Abyss}}, one for the harder difficulties, ({{spoiler|Mio and Mayu both escape, but Mio is now blind}}), and another [[X BoxXbox]] exclusive ending {{spoiler|where Yae and Sae reunite and Mio and Mayu escape.}} The second ending is canon.
** ''Fatal Frame III: The Tormented'' only has two endings. In the first one, {{spoiler|only Rei and Miku are implied to have survived.}} The second ending requires a sidequest to be completed {{spoiler|but has everyone surviving.}}
** ''Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse'' has two endings: one where {{spoiler|Misaki's fate is not revealed}} and one gotten by beating the Hard difficulty {{spoiler|where it's clear she survived.}}
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* ''F-29 Retaliator'', a flight sim, handles this rather oddly -- you don't have to complete every mission to get to the end of the game. But, if you complete the minimum number, you have a nuclear war where your side loses and there is nuclear winter; if you complete the maximum number, you have a nuclear war where you side wins, but Mankind Has Lost (nuclear winter). If you complete somewhere between these two, Peace Is Declared.
* The ''[[Code Geass]]'' [[Nintendo DS]] game features slight variations in its endings depending on which [[New Game+|storyline]] you're playing and who you've recruited or antagonized. Notably, one can avert {{spoiler|Euphemia's massacre}} simply by choosing not to go, earning a "Happy Ending, I guess", as C.C. puts it. As aside, you also get special endings if you perform [[Too Dumb to Live]] actions (such as Geassing people into killing you) which causes C.C. to berate you.
** The game ''Lost Colors'' features a vast number of alternate endings; given that it's a [[Visual Novel]], this should be no surprise. Most famously, the [[Play StationPlayStation 2]]-exclusive Blue Moon Festival opens up most of the show's female cast for romantic endings. Yes, even Nina and Nunnally.
*** Not to mention, one of the Bad Endings has you {{spoiler|geassing Suzaku into joining the Black Knights}}. That doesn't sound bad, so what's the downside? {{spoiler|Lelouch was actually planning to ''personally'' recruit Suzaku, so he gets pissed off at ''you'' and geasses you into a [[Convenient Coma]]. This is especially strange when considering in the Nintendo DS game, an alternate route has Lelouch recruiting Suzaku with this method (though reluctantly).}}
*** Another notable thing about the game is that {{spoiler|in nearly all of the endings, Euphemia's massacre is averted completely, but unlike the Nintendo DS game, you get to see some more results of this action.}}