Multiple endings
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Multiple endings refer to a case in entertainment (usually video games) where the story could end in different ways, depending on the actions of the characters. Audience interactivity is usually an important factor in determining which ending to use.
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[edit] In Comic Stories
In some comic stories the readers are advised to make a choice, and then turn to another page, from which the story will continue. The strip Cliff Hanger was based entirely around this premise.
[edit] In Movies
It is rare for a film to have true multiple endings, but one notable example is the movie Clue. Three different endings were used in the final version of the film, with each having a different killer. This is a unique case in that the theatrical release had only one of the three endings, depending on the theater. For the DVD and video releases, all three endings were included, preceded by screen text such as, "That's how it could have happened..." A fourth ending (where the butler did it all) was filmed but scrapped. Clue was chosen to be made this way in part because it was based on a board game which could have multiple outcomes. The stage version of Clue also has multiple endings to a certain extent; the killer is randomly selected before the show. However, the true mastermind is always the same at the end. DVDs often include an alternate ending as a special feature. These are often interesting in terms of characterization and provide insight to the production team's vision for the movie, but are usually not considered canon.
Also, in the movie Wayne's World and its sequel, Wayne's World 2, there are three endings, each of the first two end with the two main characters apearing on screen and suggesting a different ending.
Multiple endings also occur in the movies Drift (where the main character is seen to make one choice, then when the movie seems to end it begins again back at a previous point in the film, where the main character makes a second choice, and it happens again for a third time) and Sliding Doors (where we see two versions of the film concurrently after "splitting" when the main character catches, and misses, her train). Neither of these films offers any ending as the "right" ending, but seem to offer both as plausible outcomes to different choices and events.
[edit] In Animation
In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode Shanghaied, the Flying Dutchman gives SpongeBob, Squidward Tentacles and Patrick Star three wishes. SpongeBob and Patrick then waste their first two wishes, and Squidward argues that he deserves the last wish. Before the episode aired on Nickelodeon, there was a poll on their website to choose who got the last wish. SpongeBob got the most votes, and so, all airings of the episode (including the DVDs) show the "SpongeBob" ending where the Flying Dutchman becomes a vegetarian. However, some DVDs have special features that allow the viewers to see the Patrick, Squidward and SpongeBob endings.
The Saturday morning animated versions of laser-disc arcade games Dragon's Lair and Space Ace had multiple situations and endings, with two "false" (wrong), and one "right" (successful).
[edit] In Literature
Since multiple endings usually require audience participation, books are able to capture the concept better than movies or television. However, for the sake of telling a story, this device is rarely used. The best example is the popular children's Choose Your Own Adventure series. However, even in this case, there is usually only one "true" (or "happy") ending - usually the one that results in the longest narrative.
The Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations underwent a change in ending just before publication. Modern editions often print both versions.
Stephen King's The Dark Tower contains a pseudo-epilogue where he advises his fans not to read any further and instead consider the tale finished at that point. If the reader chooses to continue the story anyway, they enter the tower with Roland. The ending (past the epilogue) upset many fans, who felt it unfair.
Dario Fo's Accidental Death of an Anarchist provides two endings to the play. Firstly, the journalist, Feletti, leaves the policemen to die. Once this happens, though, the Maniac, who was off stage, returns to tell the audience that the ending wouldn't appease everyone, and so another ending is played out. The second ending sees Feletti freeing the policemen, who then handcuff her instead, and she dies. This ending serves to show the police's corruption whilst also being comical for the audience, and providing endings that suffice more of the audience.
[edit] In Theatre
The musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood, based on the incomplete Dickens novel of the same name, has several possible endings. In the middle of the second act, one of the actors announces that it was at this point that Dickens died, leaving the mystery unfinished. The audience votes on who they believe committed the murder. Each character -- even the ones considered unlikely of having been Dickens' choice -- has a song in the score claiming that he or she is, in fact, the murderer. The audience also votes upon which of the two sets of lovers they'd like to see together in the end, and these two sing a duet. However, the same number, "The Writing on the Wall", always closes the show.
[edit] In Video Games
Due to their interactive nature, multiple endings have become popular in video games. This device is most often used in games that are story-driven, such as RPGs or certain Survival Horror games, as opposed to games that are action-driven (like puzzle games, first-person shooters, platform games, or sports games). Many such games will artificially enhance their length by encouraging more than one play-through via multiple endings. Generally, endings have to be vastly different in terms of plot to be considered multiple endings; having obtained certain characters to get slightly different results at the end of the game (as in Final Fantasy VI or the Suikoden series) does not count as a distinct ending. Also, the "Game Over" outcome is usually not counted as an ending in this context.
Examples of multiple endings in video games:
- And Then There Were None has four possible endings, depending on whether the player saves the last two victims or not. Saving both results in a happy ending, saving one and not the other results in a semi-happy ending, and not saving either results in an unhappy ending.
- Blade Runner on the PC is notable for its many multiple endings, all of which can be deemed authentic. It has been argued how many endings there really are, but thirteen is the most accepted answer. Many of the endings depend on the way you play the whole game depending on random events, different decision making, and different sequences of triggers. The endings deal with either the main character realizing he's a replicant, fulfilling the title of being a true blade runner, or running off with a loved one.
- Bubble Bobble was possibly the first game to feature multiple endings (or at least the forebearer of the concept). The player would receive different outcomes at the end of the game depending on whether the second player was alive, and whether they had completed the "bonus" levels.
- Clock Tower had different endings based on where the player goes and which methods are used to escape. They may escape by themselves, or with other members of the party, or they may not escape.
- Chrono Trigger (and its sequel, Chrono Cross) is the most prominent early example of multiple endings. A few endings could be obtained on the first play-through depending on the player's choices during the game; however, most of the endings were granted as a bonus available on subsequent play-throughs, depending on when the player transported to defeat the final boss.
- Final Fantasy X-2 has several different ending full motion videos, in addition to an extra real time rendered scene if the player obtains a 100% completion rate. In the International + final mission version available only in Japan, an additional mission becomes available as well.
- Deus Ex, and its sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War, featured three and four endings, respectively, based on which of several factions the hero sided with. The endings depended mainly on the player's actions at the very end of the game. The sequel also featured a joke ending accessed by a bizarre sequence of actions in the final level.
- Disgaea: Hour of Darkness included a character who explicitly mentioned "multiple endings." The main plot could end in several ways depending on whether Prince Laharl killed any allies as collateral damage during battles, and whether he defeated a certain optional boss. Radically different endings would also appear if Laharl accumulated many "ally kills" before certain moral decisions, or let comic-relief character Vyers defeat him, or attacked the Netherworld Senate one hundred times, or conquered a secret area instead of fighting the normal boss. Finally, defeating a hidden, extremely hard boss would give an "ending" that resolved a plot thread without actually ending the game.
- Guilty Gear X2 possesses a Story Mode in which, if certain criteria are met, the character that the player is playing as can see a number of varying plot points, which end with three endings which usually differ from each other in that the character interacts with characters not seen in the other two endings.
- The Tekken series of video games all contain several endings, depending on which character you choose. The character chosen inevitably ends up being the one who wins that particular King of Iron Fist tournament. Each sequel, however, selects only one character's ending to be the 'true' canonical one, and its plot surrounds the events that took place after that particular character's ending. Typically, Jin Kazama's ending is used as he is the primary protagonist of the series, although this is not always the case.
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has two endings; if the player earns enough points for Gryffindor House, then it shows an ending with Gryffindor House's victory in the House Cup. If not, then Slytherin wins.
- La Pucelle: Tactics featured multiple endings to individual chapters. For instance, in one chapter heroine Prier could respond to reports of a monster in the forest by simply killing it or by investigating the matter further, leading to completely different outcomes without changing the game's overall plot.
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask has more of a bad ending than multiple endings, however the "ending" occurs at the start of the game. If you wait the three days without going back in time, the world ends, because the moon crashes into Termina.
- Metroid and its sequels featured slight variations on the ending depending on how quickly the player finished the game, or on how many of the game's items and "scans" were found.
- Metal Gear Solid has two endings concerning the fate of the character Meryl Silverburgh. At one point, the player is presented with a choice; either they must endure and survive a torture, or submit to the torture. If they choose to submit, Meryl dies. Because of the multiple endings, fans debated which ending was canonical until it was announced she would return in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
- In many games, such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Baldur's Gate, and Fable, the player can choose whether to side with the forces of good or evil. This will affect many aspects of the game, including the ending.
- Meteos has multiple endings in the Space Trip mode, depending on what path you take.
- In the final boss battle of Shaman King: Power of Spirits, if you defeat the final boss but deplets Meril's HP in the process, the ending will be almost exactly the same, except Meril will remain in a coma forever while if she survives the battle, she will still be in the hospital but will wake up in the end. Note that it is extremely difficult to defeat the boss without her dieing.
- The Silent Hill series has become known for its multiple endings, each with a different outcome for the player and thus a different theme or tone to view the entire game's events. Most of the games have also included a "joke" ending, for the consummate gamers.
- The Resident Evil series' multiple endings varied in the fates of the main characters or final bosses.
- Shadow the Hedgehog has many endings, ranging from Shadow destroying the Earth with the Eclipse Cannon, to Shadow destroying the Black Comet. However, there is a true, canonical ending that is unlocked by gaining all of the endings.
- Many strategy video games have mutually exclusive campaigns, each leading to a different ending. When a sequel is made, the designers can decide that one side won the previous game (Ex: Command and Conquer series) or that the side the player chooses won/lost.
- Street Fighter: the Movie can have multiple endings; an example of which in the "Movie Battle" mode. In this mode, you, as Guile, must find and defeat M. Bison within an hour. Success in this mode means you are regarded as a hero, and Shadaloo City is rebuilt to be recognized as a symbol of world peace. Failure to find Bison in the hour will result in the AN being forced to pay Bison the ransom, Guile is court martialed and Bison uses the ransom money to finance his plot to mass-produce his army of "Perfect Genetic Soldiers" and seize control of the world.
- The Fallout series had a set of multiple endings which changed with the player's actions through the game.
- The Ace Attorney series (also known as the Phoenix Wright series) contains special game over sequences in some cases which can be considered multiple endings (such as when the defendant is given a "Guilty" verdict). The best example of this is near the very end of the fourth case of the second game, where a series of three correct choices will result in the canon ending, whereas making a mistake results in a much shorter, "bad" ending.
- In a few cutscenes in Star Fox Command, the player will see choices for the character to take. The different types of choices will result in one of the 9 endings the game has.
- Multi-character Tournament games such as the fighting game Mortal Kombat and the deathrace game Twisted Metal feature multiple canonical endings, one for each character. The final actual canon ending is comprised of parts of these endings. It isn't known which parts of which endings would be picked as the true endings until the next game. For example, in Mortal Kombat 3 Cyrax's ending finds him being reprogrammed by Sub-Zero to defeat Shao Kahn and ends up lost in Jade's desert ruins. While Liu Kang defeated Shao Kahn in the canon storyline, Cyrax still ended up lost in the desert and would return in Mortal Kombat Gold.
- Star Ocean: The Second Story is one of the most elaborate examples of multiple endings in a videogame. There are 88 possible ending cutscenes, which depend on the relationship system to determine which you get. The finale will usually consist of a couple of these cutscenes mixed with the fixed ones that will always be part of the ending.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II had two endings depending on whether the hero, Kyle Katarn, turns to the Dark Side of the Force or not, which in turn is based on the player's actions towards NPCs and choice of Force powers. In the first ending, Kyle refuses to kill his love interest, fights his way through the villains and releases the power of the Valley of the Jedi. In the second ending, Kyle murders Jan in cold blood, kills most of the villains, and uses the Valley's power to rule the galaxy with the main villain's sidekick, Sarris, as his side.
[edit] Multiple Endings and Continuity
In terms of continuity, only one of a film or game's different endings could possibly have occurred. Sometimes this is left unresolved, allowing an individual to interpret the end of the story as they will. However, if a sequel is made, it usually becomes important to establish a narrative conclusion to the previous story (unless the sequel has little to do with the characters or certain settings of the previous game). Generally, one of the multiple endings is explicitly established as the "true" ending through the description of past events, with the other endings assumed to be speculation as to what might have happened. However, in some cases (such as the Resident Evil games), elements of more than one ending are drawn together to create a story that doesn't quite make sense if only one ending is to be accepted as canon. This is usually seen as a plot hole. Recent Mortal Kombat games, namely Mortal Kombat 4, Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon have an ending for all characters, however, many of the endings either contradict one another or have no purpose story-wise, and the next game in the series would normally tell which endings had happened. Sometimes, like in the Sonic the Hedgehog games, the player must beat more than one or all of the possible endings to reveal the "true", or canonical ending.
