And the Bad Guy Castle Explodes

His mortal enemy finally defeated, the hero makes a narrow escape from the fortress crumbling around him. The danger past, he climbs to a nearby cliff and looks on as the structure begins its total collapse. A chain of explosions bursts from the tallest spires as if the very structure were breathing its last gasp of air, before it all sinks into a crater deep below the earth. The sun rises. The clouds part, and our Hero gazes on in silence at the pitiful remains of this monument to evil, whose imposing presence for so long had darkened the sky. He mourns for the destruction his enemy caused, and that he himself had to cause to put an end to evil. As the wind blows through his hair, one can hear wistful music playing as he ponders the future. Will the peace he fought so hard for turn out as fragile as this seemingly impenetrable fortress? Will another evil take its place to rain death and destruction down upon the earth? Or will his next battle be for the peace of his own heart, finding meaning in a life free from the conflict that consumed it up until this point? No answers are given, for the game ends here. Roll credits. Thank you for playing!

Castlevania III, NES

This is how you end a video game! Though I’ve watched scenes like this play out plenty of times, I’m always a little thrilled to see another take on it. It’s a simple way to add a little poignancy to what may have otherwise been a high-octane action-packed romp. Some may dismiss this as a relic of the limitations of older game systems, a time before lengthy cutscenes or “cinematic” story-telling. But I’ve always been a proponent of “less is more” as a guiding principle, and I think these simple endings still hold up for the type of games they appear in.

Hagane: The Final Conflict, SNES

As I think through the typical examples of the “Bad Guy Castle Explodes” ending, most of these are action-platformers like Mega Man or Castlevania. This isn’t just an excuse to put more explosions on screen though: a video game ending is about more than tying up narrative loose ends. Indeed, many of these games have more straight-forward, simple narratives that leave few loose ends to be tied. A video game ending is meant to celebrate the player’s achievement in overcoming the challenge the game has presented them with. This might mean showing characters you grew attached to getting to live “happily ever after,” or a truly despicable villain suffering a horrible fate. Or it may be as simple as showing your racer standing on the first place podium holding that oversized golden trophy, or even a message that “A Winner is You". In platforming games, however, the main challenge is overcoming the environment. Dracula may be the final boss, and you may even have to fight him in several forms, but that only comes at the end of the game. Dracula’s Castle, however, has been fighting you the entire game? What better way to show that the player has overcome than to show that castle crumbling into the dust?

Mega Man X, SNES

What’s interesting then is how often the accompanying elements take on a wistful, almost sad tone. The music often takes a mournful rather than celebratory tone. The accompanying title scroll, though there isn’t always one, may include some ponderings about the sacrifices necessary for peace. Or the looming threat that evil may one day return. But even where such thoughts aren’t stated: there is one melancholy question that hangs in the air: “What now?” For characters like Simon Belmont whose entire identity rests in fighting against evil, how will they adapt to a lifetime of peaceful tranquility? Will they find new purpose? This question reaches out past the game world to the player himself; after all, the game is over. What will you do now? Will you put down the controller and tend to the mundane things of life? Or would you rather hit reset and continue the battle? Or find a new game to play? This explains the mix of emotions present. Finishing a game is a thrill, but sometimes you aren’t quite ready for it to end.

Turrican II, Amiga

Avenging Spirit, Game Boy

Endings like these may have fallen out of fashion as of late, but they still persist in some form or other. The most pure examples are either from retro-inspired games or long-running series where it’s become a sort of tradition. Watching a giant structure crumble or explode always provides a good deal of spectacle, and may even be necessary as part of the plot to show the villain truly is defeated. So this trope has at least had a little more staying power than the cast of characters or ending the credits with “….and you, the player, as (character)” But as the sun rises over the rubble of this blank webpage littered with my hard-typed words I have to think to myself: was it worth it? Have I truly said what needs to be said on this topic. Or will the never-ending blog continue?

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, Modern Consoles