My Top 10 Best NES Game Endings!

[@DarthMohammedRules]

Shadowgate had a pretty good ending, imo, and some of the best music EVER on the NES.

[@Fortefyre]

It is up there :)

[@talir71]

The one thing that sticks out in my mind about the ending for Star Tropics is the kid that says to you "YOU CREAMED ZODA!!!" I LOL'd 30 years ago when I read that, and remember that one bit more than I do the rest of the ending.

[@Fortefyre]

I'm so immature I'd laugh at that NOW lmao.

[@LordTeaboBaggins]

I dunno man… a bunch of argonians wanting a creampie is pretty chuckle worthy too

[@marcmarc4776]

Great game

[@jamesreece9502]

I got my NES in '88, I was 12. After about 6 months of playing only Mario and Duck Hunt. I finally talked my mom into buying me another game. All she had was $30, (we were poor), so I was forced to get a black box game. They were $25 at the time. I picked Kung Fu. I was so excited and happy. I got home, turned on my 13 inch black and white TV, popped in the game and played it for a few hours. My mouth and eyes were wide open with awe and enjoyment. Then I beat Mr. X and it was all over. I was shattered, but it was great while it lasted and I'll never forget it.

[@Fortefyre]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful memory James.

[@dan7478]

But it wasn't really over, was it??.... you beat Mr X and saved Sylvia... but their happiness would not continue long... and back to the beginning you go!! Ready??...

[@hthrun]

5:45 How did we not get more Bionic Commando games? The only other one I recall is the Game Boy version. That should have had so many sequels, especially when the SNES came out with more buttons....

[@Fortefyre]

There's actually quite a few, they just didn't sell well :) Here's a list of them if you want to check them out: www.mobygames.com/group/1251/bionic-commando-series/

[@universeexpandingbooksandt2821]

I found out Samus was a lady in the schoolyard back then. Someone beat it and reported it. You might think a bunch of 80s boys would be upset about it, but we thought it was amazing! Sill one of my favourite characters. The Justin Bailey code was a hot recess topic as well.

[@Kryxx07]

My older Brother's name is Justin and we just thought that was the coolest code, ever, haha.

[@Fortefyre]

I remember the rumor of Lara Croft's boobage being a cheat code, and running home to put it in just to have her explode.

[@underlightmusic]

I didn't get into Metroid until Super came to my local video store. I rented it just because the cover art was sick. I was loving it but got my mind blown the first time I died and could see Samus with HER armor blown off. I went whaaaaaaaaaaat. I was stoked that the badass mech armor with an arm cannon hero was a blond girl.

[@johnthompson5335]

I remember beating Metroid as a kid in Eastern Kentucky: a highway crew was blasting part of a hillside to widen the road and straighten the curvy road near my home. The moment Samus was revealed as a female, a dynamite blast rocked my house and I was shaken both literally and metaphorically!

[@Fortefyre]

My wife is from Nicholasville!

[@johnthompson5335]

@@Fortefyre That’s wonderful! She can back me up when I say that there’s not ten miles of straight road in all of Eastern Kentucky!

[@lionspawfilmandphoto]

Mega Man 2's ending touched my soul. A little taste of existentialism rendered in 8-bit graphics and sound chip was revolutionary in my creative mind.

[@cobrajack-official]

Same with me. My buddy and I were playing it at a girlfriend's house and the girls cried watching the ending. I don't recall an "emotional" NES ending prior to that. It was novel.

[@Fortefyre]

I agree! It's a wonderful ending!

[@Fortefyre]

I remember crying after beating Ocarina of Time lol.

[@Kryxx07]

I was 9 when Super Mario Bros. 3 came out. We were so hyped. Went and saw the movie The Wizard, just to get a sneak peek. It released on a Monday, but my Mom said she wouldn't drive me to the game store until the weekend, since the nearest store was 40 minutes away. I found out my friend was going on release day and somehow managed to get them to buy two copies, so I could get the game sooner. Game did not disappoint.

[@Fortefyre]

Oh wow! That's awesome!

[@Ruudos]

Great picks. StarTropics is definitely my number 1. Other endings that I enjoy and are not in this video are Batman, Faxanadu, Gremlins 2, Rad Gravity and Bart vs the World (the good ending).

[@Fortefyre]

Those are great selections!

[@Webhead123]

It's kind of shocking to look back and realize that of the entire NES Super Mario trilogy, only the events of the first game were actually "real". The second game was all a dream and the third game was a stage play. Also, one of the things that made the Samus reveal such a big thing at the time was that the game actively hid it from the player. The instruction manual had some very detailed story and background information and in it, it referred to Samus multiple times as "he". So, the player was misled until you managed to get to the end and then the game rewards you with the truth of Samus' identity.

[@Fortefyre]

This is true! I never really zoomed out mentally to consider that.

[@jeffdaigle5487]

Great video bro . Great way to start my day. Alot of these games i own and have great memories.

[@Fortefyre]

I'm glad I could help you out :)

[@retronate]

I very much enjoyed the Final Fantasy ending. Deep story. Great final boss with Chaos so a rewarding exhale and long ending sequence wrapping up the tale of the warriors. Might’ve had more to do with the length of that game but I always enjoyed that one.

[@Fortefyre]

I adore Final Fantasy 1, it's one of my favorites.

[@jeffdaigle5487]

Sorry last post but have you done a game genie video? Would live to see a video of that

[@Fortefyre]

It's on the list, I just need to get to it.

[@djredshow]

Yeah cheat code it to death, I'm down with that.

[@ZephyreSyx]

I see a lot of people are in love with smb2 ending. This ending as a kid i wanted to scream after busting my butt to beat it. Because just like having a handful of cash, the last thing you want to do is wake up and find out it's just a dream and everything is gone and it didn't matter.

[@Fortefyre]

Yeah I could see that!

[@alanfike]

8:30 Fastest boss defeat ever. Damn. This is educational.

[@Kryxx07]

Haha! Yeah, that weapon MERKS a lot of bosses so quickly.

[@Fortefyre]

In the speed run world it's known as the "KLONK' lol.

[@shadowhenge7118]

I still remember trying to see The Wizard in theaters with my bff. We got the secret guide and reveal of smb3 and then task 2 .. we called a bunch of sears, tjmax and other dept stores to get smb3 on release day. We did it, and every sleepover was focused on beating it. So many core memories.

[@Fortefyre]

That's epic!

[@DongCorleone]

I found out Samus was a girl reading my buddie's Nintendo Power. I was never a fan of anime, to each his or her own, so when I saw the article of Samus without her helmut in anime style I felt violated and never went back to the franchise. I will venture back, since doing research there seems to have been some bangers that I missed out on. I have most of the games on here, but never spent enough time to beat any of them. so thanks for giving me something to shoot for. Great video as always. Cheers sir

[@Fortefyre]

Thanks sir! There are always quality games to unearth, I hope to put out some more 10 games to play videos soon to maybe help that decision process for you :)

[@andyauthor2007]

The Ninja Gaiden trilogy of games should have been number one. The graphics in those endings are second to none, and those are the best sun rises and sunsets on the NES (dare I say it, better than other consoles too.)

[@Fortefyre]

It is tough to rack and stack them, the artistic nature is SO good.

[@mikeburkhart8336]

The Mega Man games had some of the best endings on NES,all were great but Mega Man 4 and 5 were my favorite. Also when I FINALLY got through Ninja Gaiden 1,it also had a satisfying ending for all you when through to get to it!

[@Fortefyre]

Absolutely! I feel the same way. But I didn't want to saturate the list with everything from one franchise.

[@phishstix24]

Maniac Mansion! Loads of alternate endings, depending on who goes on the journey and what you do.

[@Fortefyre]

I've actually never played it. I'd love to though.

[@Lastjustice]

Wendy/Bernard have the best ending if you get their special ending if you do certain events.

[@scottfromderby]

Hell yes!! Wasn't expecting to hear a RetroAchievements shout out in the wild

[@Fortefyre]

You bet! It's an important part of current retro gaming culture.

[@erneststackhouse1133]

Finding out later in life that SM2 was a re-skinned game "Doki Doki Panic" from Japan made that ending all the better! i enjoyed using what u can find in the land 2 use as weapons which i thought was genius! On 2 the next game...i was at my friends house when he beat Metroid & we were all mind blown 2 find out it was a bad ass woman fighting this whole time! Been a Metroid Fan ever since! That was the 1st game that blew my mind! it took a group of us 2 beat it & we had 2 prove it many times! So much Fun!

[@Fortefyre]

I really need to keep playing the metroid series. It does get rather interesting as time goes on.

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

one of my favorites was always Astyanax. I loved the story in that game, start to finish (some of the gameplay mechanics left much to be desired though). Also, Journey to Silius, not because the end was anything special, but the music was amazing through that whole game (the title tune is one of my favorite NES songs, up there with Zelda and Castlevania music). The final music just felt SO GOOD to get to.

[@Fortefyre]

Journey to Silius is one that I REALLY want to check out at some point.

[@DoorsInTheLabyrinth]

@@Fortefyre oh, yeah, you'll love it. solid sidescroller, and again, some of the best music on the console! not super hard, but tough enough that it's a satisfying victory!

[@WizardoftheGhost]

Best way to describe the first time beating mario 3 as a little kiddo....magic

[@Kryxx07]

Agreed. I was 9. Was awesome essentially growing up alongside video games as they evolved.

[@Fortefyre]

Absolute magic.

[@Waytigo]

The later Final Fantasy games always had epic endings.

[@Fortefyre]

Yeah the era of 10 minute cutscenes really brought in the worth of busting your ass to beat the big baddie.

[@mikylak7983]

Dragon quest was the first RPG I fell in love with and finished. Finally fantasy however, was the first game I was interested enough in to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to the end...more thrm once. When 2 and 3 came out I, of course, got them and played the hell out of them too. Then FF7 and FFT came out, I honestly would how much of my life was spent playing finally fantasy games?

[@jonraymondchua2388]

Nice, a good Fyre vid before I sleep for work❤ good endings in games give me melancholy feelings.. take care by way... Our clients are from Florida, hope they are safe when the hurricane hits

[@Fortefyre]

Thanks for your kind words as always!

[@tidepoolclipper8657]

I like Kirby's Adventure ending. There's some satisfaction in MM6 seeing Mega Man not accept Wily's plea and bring him to jail. Even if it turns out a couple Robot Masters and Bass were built off-screen before MM6 itself started.

[@jessragan6714]

"Your honor, in my defense, it was plainly obvious that I was Mr. X all along. Fool me once, shame on me! Fool me SIX times, shame on you!" "Fair point, Dr. Wily. Case dismissed."

[@Fortefyre]

Kirby is great!

[@huffdaddy89]

Looooooove mario 2 and its ending! The music does it for me, goes from absolute triumph to calm in the same composition

[@Fortefyre]

Same here!

[@HelloMyNameIsRED]

I appreciate you putting Mario 2 at the top. That's one of the earliest games i can ever remember finishing so that ending is especially nostalgic to me.

[@Fortefyre]

You bet! The animation alone was AWESOME.

[@j.lindback]

One game I really missed on this list is "Wizard & Warriors II: Ironsword". That ending, and the way the end credits were designed, made it feel really cinematic! One of the best NES games for sure. Extremely difficult, but totally worth it!

[@Fortefyre]

It was EXTREMELY close to making this list.

[@michaelmarriott1177]

yeah that was a good game with a good ending. A Stark contrast to the 3's Ending

[@geechspeaches8604]

Mario 2 was my first game I’ve ever beaten. Without my dads help anyways. The ending kinda pissed me off when I found out it all just a dream lol

[@Marc_Araujo]

Dat music tho?!

[@Kryxx07]

I dressed up like Mouser for Halloween when I was around 7, heheh.

[@geechspeaches8604]

Don’t get me wrong. I very much enjoyed Mario 2. Just after so many of my early years of life to find out the game was a dream got me

[@Fortefyre]

That's magical Geech, but also relateable lol.

[@GavinMasters]

I first found out Samus was a woman while reading the Captain N: The Game Master. (By Valiant Comics... It was a cartoon too, but I don't remember if Samus also made it into the TV series.) Princess Lana was gushing about how Samus Aran was a big hero and basically her ideal perfect guy, making Kevin jealous. Then she takes her helmet off, Kevin is immediately smitten, and Lana starts getting jealous. That comic was delightful! XD

[@Fortefyre]

Haha I'll need to check it out. I've always wanted to watch some Captain N.

[@jeffdaigle5487]

Bro hope you're doing well and you and the family are safe. Take care and ttyl

[@Scribblerjohnny]

SMB 2 was the first game I ever beat. I have fond memories of getting the bikini ending in Metroid. But my favorite ending was River City Ransom. You beat up all the bad guys and they become honor students.😅

[@Fortefyre]

I forgot about the River City Ransom ending LMFAO.

[@jessemasters1446]

STARTROPICS! Such a great game. The end where Mike has the bananas in his ears. I love that.

[@Fortefyre]

It's a great game indeed!

[@ZSBrian]

As soon as you started, my first thought was SM2. The longer you went, the more I was stressing it wasn’t on the list. Cute ass ending indeed!

[@Fortefyre]

Also mad props to the animation department for that too.

[@tidepoolclipper8657]

As for the original Game Boy platform, my favorite endings have to be; Kid Dracula, Metroid 2: The Return of Samus best ending, Kirby's Dream Land 2 good ending, Kirby's Block Ball, Donkey Kong '94, Wario Land 1 castle ending, Wario Land 2, Castlevania 2: Belmont's Revenge, Mega Man IV, Mega Man V, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible 2, Final Fantasy Legend 3, Adventure Island, and Adventure Island 2. Favorite endings for Gameboy Color; Super Mario Bros Deluxe, Wario Land 2, Wario Land 3, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible 2, Pocket Bomberman, Bomberman Max 100% ending, Metal Gear Solid GBC, Mario Tennis, and Mario Golf.

[@Fortefyre]

Great breakdown!

[@UltimateGamerCC]

SMB 2 & 3 i both beat as a kid, several times over, i enjoyed playing them and didnt have more than 5 games in my NES Collection before i had to migrate to SEGA Genesis, so why not right?

[@Fortefyre]

Absolutely!

[@imadeitupinmyheadakaimiuim3617]

Yay SMB2 made it

[@Fortefyre]

It did!

[@d-fyant1925]

Metroid and Megaman 2 are two of my favorites on the NES. Learning Samus was a lady for the first time was epic! And watching Megaman walk through all 4 seasons and leave his helmet on the hill at the end was perfect.

[@Fortefyre]

They are certainly memorable endings :)

[@bcsdscar]

I won’t call you in horrible names, but Super Mario Bros 2 was always my favorite of NES releases 😂. I was definitely the minority though for sure in my circle of friends

[@Fortefyre]

Haha, call me anything you'd like, except Jimothy.

[@N3Selina]

the mario endings had some impact on me the first time :) especially the one from 3 - it was kinda odd for me. didn't really pick up on the stage play theme of it either. i thought i got like a bad ending or something initially

[@Fortefyre]

Yeah it took me a while to pick it up as well lol.

[@Fallout2Forever]

I wanted to ask if you can recommend NES action games(not rpgs or puzzle games.) that are story rich the same way that Ninja Gaiden are, where you get at least at least a paragraph full of actual dialogue between almost every level. Here's the 3 good ones that I know of. All have really great dialogue: Wurm: Journey To The Center Of The Earth(my fave NES game.) Astynax Vice: Project Doom All of these were made after 1988, presumably when devs knew how to fit more dialogue onto an nes cartridge.

[@Fortefyre]

You hit all the ones I would say. I know it doesn't fit the bill, but Crystalis.

[@Fallout2Forever]

@@Fortefyre Aww, I know that and Faxanadu.

[@Elix10]

Congraturation. The story us a happy end . From ghost and goblins

[@Fortefyre]

Haha yeah, I remember that one.

[@danhamberg4582]

ASTYANAX AND RYGAR

[@Fortefyre]

GREAT CHOICES

[@MyNegaJay]

Love Startropics ending, glad to see it and some of the Megaman endings, and not surprised they're here.

[@Fortefyre]

They are great endings!

[@VonSpyder]

Good list. Ironically I have the opposite opinion of SM2 than you do; I loved the game and detested the ending. Might as well have called it Super St. Elsewhere Brothers 2.

[@jessragan6714]

"KITT! KITT! Are you all right?" "Michael, I had the strangest dream! I was a doctor at a prestigious hospital, but it turned out to be a fantasy by an autistic child! And then I was a school principal... Oh dear, I really overdid it on the ethanol last night, didn't I?"

[@Fortefyre]

Haha, well if we agreed on everything I'd be concerned LMAO.

[@justineld4905]

Blaster Master. You get your frog back!

[@Fortefyre]

This is true!

[@djredshow]

Mario 2 wasnt even a mario game but it was great.

[@Fortefyre]

Indeed!

[@jessejace]

Mega Man 2's ending hits HARD. He has a crisis of conscience and walks the earth for a whole year, wondering why he is doomed to wage war.

[@Fortefyre]

It's gorgeous.

[@tidepoolclipper8657]

What made the two best endings effective in the original Metroid was Nintendo intentionally lying abut Samus's gender in the English manual and even the original Japanese manual was vague about Samus's gender. Zero Mission pays homage by having the better endings show Samus with her helmet off or her wearing civilian clothes. It also pays homage by not letting her start off with the Long beam (which she usually has by default and doesn't lose).

[@Fortefyre]

Oh wow, I didn't know that!

[@broncosbreaks]

You’ve never played startropics?! How did you make it this far in life?! I’m beside myself. I need a beer

[@Fortefyre]

Clinical depression mostly lmfao. I hope to play it at some point.

[@reyvgm]

Hey Fortefyre, this is my favorite topic! Thanks for making a video about this. I actually wrote two books about game endings (called the NES Endings Compendium, maybe you've heard of it). If you do book reviews on your channel, I can send you a copy if you want. I can't post links here, so I'll send you an email with more details (check your spam folder just in case).

[@Fortefyre]

I'm always down. [e-mail] let's talk.

[@Narrator007]

The one NES ending I remembered most that didn't make your list was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. That curtain coming down on Link and Zelda, but not completely covering them before they embraced, was quite the unexpected spicy moment!

[@nashvillan4lif]

This one doesn't really count since it wasn't on the original NES console, however, try beating Abobo's Big Adventure. Now THAT was an ending. Also, the ending in The Adventures of Bayou Billy was a bit of a tear jerker.

[@pharmcat8484]

Abobo’s Big Adventure was peak silliness

[@Fortefyre]

I need to check out more silly games :P

[@darian235]

Crystalis, Blaster master, Jackal, and POW

[@Fortefyre]

Great choices!

[@bildo1977]

Belmondo is a more appropriate name as opposed to Belmont, considering where and when Castlevania takes place.

[@Fortefyre]

Trevondo Belmondo!

[@bildo1977]

@@Fortefyre Simondo. Christophero! Ricardo!

[@Iohannis42]

He was French

[@Jussi.Ihander]

The reason why SMB2 doesn't feel like a Mario-game is because originally it wasn't. It's like a ROM hack of the original game, the japanese version (Doki Doki Panic maybe??). The japanese SMB2 was the one we know as "The Lost Levels". The reason Nintendo did this was because they thought the original SMB2 would be too tough for western audiences. This is your first video I've watched and I just subscribed

[@Fortefyre]

Indeed, it was based on a Yume Kōjō '87 event that revolved around the mascots.

[@newmusicmark]

Did a castle crumble at the end of every Castlevania?? Simon was quite the demolitions expert!! :D

[@Fortefyre]

He is certainly an implosion expert lol

[@RandomBitzzz]

I loved the Ninja Gaiden games until I realized it was basically a rhythm game - like Punch Out. Once you learn the rhythm of the level you can fly right through it.

[@Fortefyre]

Oh wow, I didn't think of that....interesting!

[@ZuzNewsReviews]

Before the video began my first thought was Super Mario Bros. 2 and you came through! The whole "it was all a dream" thing is a bit cliched but that shot of Mario in bed sticks in my mind as one of the greats (Much better than reading, "Congraturation!") Personally I'd have included Blaster Master too. Apparently there's a number of NES endings where you look off into the horizon, but how many of them include a reunion with your pet frog? The cool thing about Mega Man 2's end is that they figured it'd be the last Mega Man game, so it really does have that sense of finality.

[@Fortefyre]

Yeah I can't wait to cover the bad NES endings lol. It'll be interesting lol. Mega Man was a lucky franchise. Their sales for 1 were horrible, but I LOVED 1.

[@djredshow]

Did you get tons of power tails in the og mario 3 or was that just the all stars version? Im 42 my memory aint so good anymore.

[@Fortefyre]

You got tons of EVERYTHING if you memorized the card configurations for the toad house lol.

[@familianigasak]

You nailed with SMB2. I remember playing this game and beating it every day for a few weeks just for the ending. (Luckily it was relatively easy compared to the other NES games).

[@Fortefyre]

I still got my butt kicked lol

[@mystbunnygaming1449]

I would say Kirby's Adventure has a great ending, SPOILER -- The game seems like an upgraded version of the same Kirby game you've probably already played, with way more levels and the debut of the copy ability. You even fight King Dedede with the same moves +1 that he did in the gameboy version, the plot feels exactly the same, Dedede has stolen something valuable and split it into pieces just like he did in the original Gameboy game, and then the game hits you with an incredible plot twist that just has to be experienced.

[@Fortefyre]

I found it so interesting that Dedede has the same succcc power lmao.

[@mystbunnygaming1449]

@@Fortefyre Well.. I mean.. >.>

[@RodGozenya]

The Samus reveal was spoiled for me cause my buddy put in the Justin Bailey code

[@Fortefyre]

Ahhh yeah that'll do it.

[@gamingtheologian8515]

The best part of the Star Tropics ending was the beautiful background music

[@Fortefyre]

Absolutely!

[@joeszymanski3540]

Even as a kid I think I made the connection that "The Master" was in fact bad mustache man. I will never forget beating that game 😳

[@Fortefyre]

It was so good!

[@pharmcat8484]

Metroid…. I thought Samus was hot at the end. Pixel perfect hot.

[@Fortefyre]

Same!

[@jerseyjon73]

Literally, the minute I saw the title, my Top 3 were: 1) Mega Man 2 2) Jackyl 3) Blades of Steel

[@Fortefyre]

Great choices!

[@pharmcat8484]

Ducktales, Final Fantasy, Ultima 4, and Crystalis are among my top choices.

[@Fortefyre]

Great choices!

[@robertanderson2898]

I'd have put all 3 Ninja Gaiden games on here (I'd remove a few from this list), along with Tecmo Super Bowl and Dragon Warrior 4. Continuity is great! When the SNES put out Mega Man 7, they continued the story from MM6 on the NES.

[@Fortefyre]

Continuity is the best thing EVER.

[@jessecolbert104]

As a Child of the 80’s, yes, yes, discovering Samus was a woman blew our minds.

[@Fortefyre]

:P I'm glad to hear!

[@djachmedd]

Good list! The only game I would add spontaniously is the ending of shadow of the ninja/blue shadow. Mainly because of the awesome ending song

[@Fortefyre]

That's a great choice as well!

[@pharmcat8484]

I was told the Castlevania anime was bad after the first season. Thoughts?

[@Fortefyre]

Correct. It jumped the shark hard after the first season.

[@54raynor]

Season 2 can drag a bit but has plenty of good moments, but the 7th episode is exactly what every fan of the series was waiting for.

[@autobotstarscream765]

​@@FortefyreDo you mean before or after Dracula was defeated?

[@Marc_Araujo]

Gee, I wonder who the "John Candies" who played a "zombie" in Castlevania was based off of? Must have been a big "zombie" too lol. P.S. RIP John Candy.

[@Fortefyre]

John Carradine :)

[@Marc_Araujo]

@@Fortefyre Really?! It wasn't a nod to John Candy? Mind blown.

[@buckit7837]

Metroid was a surprise when I was a kid but no one was mad it was just a holy shit moment did you see that shit dude kinda thing

[@Fortefyre]

Haha, just a "wow" moment.

[@DaisyAzuras]

Ninja gaiden series was epic and totally underrated.

[@Fortefyre]

I have my reasons for judging it :P

[@LS-Z]

I think the first Ninja Gaiden game takes place in South America. Not %1OO on it though.

[@Scribblerjohnny]

Travels all over. Ends in South America though.

[@Fortefyre]

Yeah Ryu travels all over the place.

[@tidepoolclipper8657]

In regards to SNES and Genesis endings, my favorites are; SNES: Star Fox & Star Fox 2, Yoshi's Island, Super Mario RPG, A Link to the Past (aside from it claiming the Master Sword is asleep for all eternity; especially as it can be upgraded to Master Sword Level 3 once more in A Link Between Worlds), Chrono Trigger, Mega Man X3 (even with that mistranslation of X needing to "destroy" Zero), Super Castlevania 4, Final Fantasy 6, Donkey Kong Country 2 (a surprisingly not entirely happy ending; you even have to feel bad that many Kremlings perished and that the mad king has no regret about that fact), Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War both generation endings, Kirby Super Star Meta Knight's Revenge and Milky Way Wishes endings, Earthbound, Street Fighter 2: World Warrior Ryu ending, TMNT: Turtles in Time, Super Bomberman 3, Shin Megami Tensei 2 chaos alignment ending, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible 3, and F-Zero Master Difficulty King League. Genesis: Sonic the Hedgehog 2's canon good ending, Sonic&Knuckles both good endings, Phantasy Star 4, Golden Axe 1 (better than the arcade ending), Golden Axe 3 good ending, Streets of Rage 2, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi, Mega Bomberman (shares ending with its PC Engine counterpart Bomberman '94 and is very important to Super Bomberman 3 and Bomberman Hero), Valis 3, TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist, Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Ristar, Dynamite Headdy, Contra: Hard Corps, Comix Zone good ending, Beyond Oasis, Zero Wing, and Shining Force 2.

[@Fortefyre]

EPIC list!

[@aaronmnowak]

Loved bionic commando. One of the few on NES that I actually beat

[@Fortefyre]

I adore Bionic Commando!

[@miketompkins2312]

Start off by saying that Super Mario Bros 2 is my favorite of the 3 Mario games on the NES, but i feel that using SMB2 on the list is a cop out. But you didn't say original endings, so I get semantically it counts. Ok, fine. As always, love the video!

[@Fortefyre]

Whew, got away with a semantic! Hope you're week is going well Mike!

[@pharmcat8484]

Banana cream pie is the best pie. Just don’t put it in your ears.

[@Fortefyre]

No promises lmao

[@anthonybooth1005]

All 3 Castlevainias were the bane of my childhood. I never beat them until I was an adult. And confession time. I played Bionic Commando before the internet. Without a manual. Why is this important? Because I had no idea that you could leave a level you were in when you brought the wrong weapon or communicator..... i restarted so many times while adding to my book of notes. A book I wish i had because it made Gamefaqs look like elementary work. I had maps of Wizardry games, Bards Tale, notes on various games and levels. What certain spell symbols meant in Dungeon Magic:Sword of Elements meant. I got the book as a gift from my uncle, who looked really similar to Tommy Chong. But i grew up in a hyper religious household in the South and my dad was convinced Wizardry was witchcraft stuff and ended up getting rid of my book. As for Samus being a female. JUSTIN BAILEY ------ ------ is how I found out. I cant remeber where i learned of this. Probably game informer.

[@Fortefyre]

This is a wonderful memory. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[@boosk2127]

Ninja gaiden 2 was by far the best in the series. Can't even guess how many times I finished it.

[@Fortefyre]

I need to play it at some point lol.

[@Lastjustice]

I'd say this a pretty good list. Monster Party probably belongs on this or worst list depending on how you feel about it hehe.

[@Fortefyre]

I could see that!

[@Zeph_918]

Little nemo the dream master was a good ending. Great music and art too

[@Fortefyre]

Absolutely!

[@Wilky2526]

As hard as it was to beat Mike Tyson in Punch Out, the ending really did not justify that insane task.

[@Fortefyre]

100%

[@viktorwolfe8333]

I played Metroid when it was new. And when Samus took the helmet off, I had the same disappointment of a new father wanting a son. I was like ... "WTF? It's a girl?!" But after beating it several more times, b/c I only had, like 5 or so games, I got used to the idea. I thought of her as a futuristic Wonder Woman and then everything was all right. lol

[@Fortefyre]

That's awesome! I love hearing about people's childhood experiences.

[@joshalmeida1821]

When I was a kid I thought the ending of Trojan was awesome, it should be on this list imo

[@Fortefyre]

I don't remember it lol

[@DaisyAzuras]

The Samus reveal was amazing and all my friends and I instantly developed a crush on her and really wanted to get a naked ending. We believed it was real.

[@Fortefyre]

I think so many people felt the same for Tomb Raider lmao.

[@bartsullivan4866]

Castlevania 3 was harder than shit I couldn't get past the damn doppelganger stage near the end I would have loved that game as an NES classic 2nd edition game just to have the damn save states would make it so much easier I know its technically cheating. Castlevania 1 I remember getting all the way to Dracula in 1991 kept dying big shocker I don't think I ever forgave my brother for turning off the power system because he wanted to go to bed. Who needs sleep we're at Dracula!!!!!! it took me literally about 2 hours to finally make it past death and just to get to Dracula years before Gamefaqs or walkthroughs showing you what to do. Metroid was pretty damn cool I had beaten the game without ever using the Justin Baily code had the worst ending but I didn't care. I think the trick to really making it through the original metroid was to avoid damage be cautious because if you kept running into shit you'd die or have to spend way to much time farming to get health back. Back then didn't know that Samus was female didn't care. I always liked the bomb race to the top ending like in Bionic Commando for the Gameboy as well makes it a lot more thrilling racing the clock. I would love to play through Bionic Commando for the NES sometime. Beating Ninja Gaiden for the NES took me about an hour and a half marathon playthrough died about 50 times before finally beating that sucker to this day its kind of the feather in my cap of actually completing that game that 6-1 loop bullshit is brutal dying at the 3 forms of the final boss over and over sent back to 6-1. Batman on the NES was another game where you finish and the ending is great because the game was so god damn hard. I personally love a good ending you put the time and effort into the game you should be rewarded get the girl, save the world, have a fucking parade your the man the mack daddy king shit whatever you want have your hero on the beach drinking a beer like in a corona commercial. I liked Super Mario RPG really comes to mind, Castlevania 2 Belmont's Revenge for the Gameboy, Zelda 2 The Adventure of Link, F-1 Roc for Gameboy had a fun ending, Double Dragon 2 had a great ending, Punch Out or Mike Tyson's Punch Out was able to beat Mr. Dream but never Tyson. Just the idea that there was an end or final boss to make it through set the Nintendo games apart from that era of gaming where Atari had the never ending games just playing for a high score you could get a sense of completion YOU DID IT BEAT THAT MO FO. Earn your soda pop and candy celebrate brag to everyone you know because it wasn't easy. Quest games typically had the longer endings.

[@Fortefyre]

Castlevania 3 took me to school and didn't pick me up after lmfao.

[@kurtmager1626]

While the NES version of Strider was nowhere near as good as the arcade game, it stood well enough on its own as its own game. It was also one of the first NES games to have a "cinematic" ending.

[@Fortefyre]

This is true!

[@thatguyyouis]

I like blaster master. Because the beginning and ending are so different

[@Fortefyre]

And extremely out of this world lol/

[@Paraboarder]

Great video

[@Fortefyre]

Thanks!

[@tediz8280]

Mario Bros 2 ending is one of my favorites.

[@Fortefyre]

I love the animation so much.

[@tediz8280]

@@Fortefyre for me its the music.

[@TehAnshiTunes]

I loved the end to the Barbie game. The notes level can go to hell...okay, moving on. Anyways, you go through the game collecting stuff for her date with Ken (Prom?) and at the end you get to see her wear it. Loved that game as a little girl.

[@yozarian86]

I don’t remember if I ever beat the original Metroid. Doubtful. I’m sure I learned about her playing super Metroid and my mind was blown. Mario 2 doesn’t feel like a Mario game because it literally isn’t lol. Or wasn’t originally. It’s just a reskin of another game. I loved Star tropics as a kid, but I recently saw someone try it and quit after ~10 minutes, and I was so confused. The beginning of the game really is terrible. I don’t remember that at all. Then again it was a game. Back then (probably a couple years after it came out) we didn’t didn’t drop games that were bad. We played anything we got because those were the games we had.

[@Fortefyre]

Metroid was a daunting task. Truly daunting.

[@joek5882]

I hated endings that told you "another quest begins now". Mario 1, The Legend of Zelda, Ghosts and Goblins! It's like the programmers reached into my chest and ripped my triumphant heart out and said "Fuck you kid...after all this time and effort we are not giving you a moment to celebrate your achievement, we are just gonna give you more to do!". To that same principle I was never bothered that Samus was a girl. I was 12 and hot damn ..YES...I wanted to see her in a bikini. Like most kids of the 80s I learned about it on the school yard but you know what bothered me? Not that I had to do this adventure all over again...but with a kind of "time limit"! DAMMIT! In the end, I just "Justin Bailey"ed it so I could see that smokin' bikini! 😝

[@Fortefyre]

Those irritate me as well.

[@jessragan6714]

I was hoping that a happier subject would make you swear and scream less. Anyway. Super Mario Bros. 2 delivered a lot of what I'd call tonal whiplash for players. It's not a Mario game, but a game adapted to _be_ a Mario game, and it feels totally different from the original. I still loved it, though. A seminal moment in gaming for Gen-X.

[@Fortefyre]

I never know what will make me swear and scream less, lol, it just happens :P

[@patrickroberts439]

Metal Gear…perennially overlooked. 😔

[@Fortefyre]

I do enjoy Metal Gear, it almost made the list.