Considering how historically difficult the “NES Hard” era of gaming was, developers at the time didn’t have to put a ton of time or effort into their endings; very few players would actually see them. Besides, NES cartridges did not have a ton of memory space, so conclusions were the first thing on the chopping block.
Sure, some ending screens were more complex in terms of graphics or dialogue but, again, we’re talking about NES games. That being said, not all titles followed this formula. Some developers went above and beyond to reward their victorious players. Here are our picks for the best endings to NES games.
Updated May 26, 2022 by Cameron Roy Hall: The Nintendo Entertainment System is the definition of a classic video gaming experience. As such, it’s not uncommon for gamers, new and old, to look back at its catalogue of stories with fond eyes every so often. To best ensure a wide berth of knowledge for potential readers, we’ve spruced up this article and included a few “new” additions. Here’s the updated list of best NES game endings. Enjoy!
12 Super Mario Brothers 3
Since the dawn of Mario, the Mushroom Kingdom – and its surrounding territories – has been occupied by a strange race of creatures known as Toads. They… look nothing like toads and only sort of like mushrooms. It’s complicated? It’s complicated. Anyway, these little folk’s primary in-game function is to inform Mario that, unfortunately, Princess Peach is in another castle.
At this point, the line is a meme because it’s dolled out at the end of every set of levels but, hilariously enough, Nintendo knew it was ridiculous pretty early on. At the end of Super Mario Bros 3, players are treated to that cursed sentence at the very end of the game, ostensibly the point when it’s not supposed to be heard. Right before the urge to rage quit sets in, the text box switches to say, “just kidding!” Then the game laughs at you, just to rub it in.
11 Rampage
Long before Dwayne Johnson made Rampage into a middling blockbuster movie about bonding with a giant monkey, it was a videogame about causing irreparable damage to American society. In fairness, it was America’s turn to deal with the Kaiju. Victory in Rampage requires surviving the US military and razing every city in the game to the ground.
Although the ending is as visually bland as most NES titles, there’s a delightfully ridiculous twist to Rampage’s final moments. Lizzie, the copyright safe Godzilla, falls from the sky onto a darkened map of America (which for some reason includes sections of Canada) and proceeds to punch California. Then the word “congratulations” flashes across the screen. That’s it!
10 Mega Man 2
After besting Dr. Wily, Mega Man walks dramatically toward the player with an image of the countryside to his right. The color of his suit and the picturesque setting both change as he strolls. What’s particularly moving about this image is that the seasons are changing as his costume does. As Mega Man sheds the powers and guilt he gained from slaying his robot brethren, time moves on and he finds peace.
The final image is a beautiful summer’s day above the village, Mega Man’s helmet sitting disused and abandoned, his battle now over forever. Or at least until Megan Man 3.
9 Ninja Gaiden
Ninja Gaiden (and its NES sequels) is known for its use of excellent cutscenes. These mini-graphic novels inserted between stages were surprisingly advanced for their time, especially in terms of graphics and storytelling.
The ending sequence is the best of the lot because it delivers a last-minute twist: the woman Ryu has been helping this whole time has been ordered to kill him! Luckily love prevails and the two ditch the whole murder thing in favor of holding each other on top of the world’s teensiest peak.
8 Batman
Batman has a lot in common with the Ninja Gaiden. They both heavily rely on wall jumps and weaponry and enemy designs and, most notably, dramatic cutscenes. In 1989, little else came this close to an actual movie on an 8-bit system.
While the story does closely follow the Tim Burton-directed film, there’s a massive change to the ending. Instead of The Joker falling to his death while trying to escape the tower via a helicopter, the NES game variant of Batman just tosses him off the building! Maybe the Japanese developers at Sunsoft thought the movie went too easy on the clown prince of crime.
7 Crash N’ The Boys Street Challenge
Despite its simple “Track and Field in the hood” premise, Crash N’ the Boys Street Challenge actually has a big story, with lengthy animated scenes and dialogue. If Crash (N’ his boys) wins the competition, an extended ending plays out that lasts over five minutes, which is longer than some NES games in their entirety.
Another unique aspect of this ending is that the dialogue sets up a new hockey event which is then advertised in a full-screen ad reading “Coming Soon! Crash N’ The Boys Ice Challenge.” While this game was developed, it sadly never left Japan, making this world-building attempt at the end even stranger.
6 Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus was developed using the same engine as Metroid and, like its spiritual sister, Nintendo gave Kid Icarus multiple endings. Four endings, in fact. The “best” ending sees Kid Icarus promoted to full-on Man Icarus, complete with buff muscles and normal height (whatever that may be for an angel).
Now that he’s become a real boy, the goddess Palutena can’t resist his charms and plants a big ol’ kiss on Icarus while cherubs float by dropping hearts on the mythological couple. Is this ending painfully dated? yes, yes it is. Thank you for asking.
5 Monster Party
Monster Party is one of the strangest and most goriest games on the NES. Balancing great design with off-kilter humor, it features a surprising amount of blood for the famously squeamish Nintendo. The ending seems like a typical NES wrap-up with static images and white text on a black background until Bert gives Mark a present. The box contains…a princess? The girl’s face then horrifically melts away revealing a monster that scares Mark so much that he explodes and wastes away.
This bizarre, disturbing scene is revealed to be a dream making the player think that Mark had fantasized the whole monster world thing. That is until the game psychs you out again and reveals that it was all real! Mark’s been simultaneously Inceptioning and Groundhog Daying in the Monster Party world for eternity it seems.
4 Startropics
Nintendo’s excellent, sprawling epic plays like an awkward American Legend of Zelda clone. After a huge gameplay experience, the main character Mike returns to the village where he finds his lost uncle and a whole mess of extra storylines to wrap up.
Whereas other games often show in-game clips at the end featuring side characters, bad guys, etc., Startropics opts for scenes that didn’t happen in the game. They’re rendered in an entirely new art style closer to a hand-drawn fantasy look. It’s both unexpected and a nice treat for gamers who pushed through Startropics’s difficult grind.
3 T&C Surf Designs II: Thrilla’s Surfari
The original T & C Surf Designs plays like a simplified – but funky – version of California Games. Its sequel, Thrilla’s Surfari, goes even further focusing just on Thrilla the gorilla as he navigates rivers and streets while spouting tubular surf lingo.
At the end, Thrilla is reunited with his bikini-clad human girlfriend Barbi. There’s nothing particularly gripping about this ending from a story or graphical perspective, but there’s something uniquely bizarre about this anthropomorphic gorilla nonchalantly kicking it with his blonde California girlfriend. Wildly enough, this isn’t the only NES game that rewards the victorious player with pixelated skin.
2 Metroid
Metroid didn’t invent the multiple endings in video games, but it did add the most memorable twist. Depending on how long it took the player to complete the game, the final screen would show the main character Samus facing the camera, helmet and armor removed.
In the age before the internet, there was no way to know that the multiple endings existed let alone that if the game was beaten quickly enough, Samus was revealed to be female. It seems tame by today’s standards, but it was a mindblower in the mid-80s. Even crazier was the discovery that, if the game was beaten in less than an hour, Samus would appear wearing only a maroon bikini.
1 Bionic Commando
Bionic Commando was initially released in Japan as Hittorā no Fukkatsu: Toppu Shīkuretto (Hitler’s Resurrection: Top Secret) with the main villain being the mustachioed gremlin himself. While there are certainly some clues in the enemy designs, outside of Japan all references to the Nazis were removed. However, while Capcom did change the dictator’s name to “Master D” for Bionic Commando, they left the pixel art unchanged.
The main ending is pretty typical: the hero leaves the enemy base right as it explodes. However, before the main character Spencer gets helicoptered out, he has a violent showdown with Master D. Killing one of the worst evils of all time may be all the rage in recent games and even films, but in 1988 seeing a detailed, horrific, image of his head exploding was completely unexpected.
NEXT: Weird NES Games Everyone Forgot Existed
