Games that at first appear to end soon but have a plot twist

[Evie ❤✿]

I think you see this every once in a while. You think you may have beaten the game or are soon to but something seems off, it didn't take long to complete at all. Then a plot twist happens and another large story arc begins.

Be warned as this thread will naturally contain spoilers.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - Cackletta finds the Beanstar, and Mario and Luigi track her down to find her with the intention of defeating her and taking it. Unexpectedly, the Beanstar reacts hostile to 'Princess Peach's voice' and (if I remember rightly) escapes. It is revealed the real Princess Peach was kept safe and the Beanbean Kingdom gave Cackletta a false Princess Peach voice. Cackletta is also saved by Fawful for her body to possess a new form if needed. Mario and Luigi (and Rookie who soon realises he is Bowser but passes out) grab on to the beanstar and it shatters, so now the brothers have to find it. Cackletta fuses with Bowser to become Bowletta and now instead of simply stealing Princess Peach's voice she decides to kidnap Peach entirely like Bowser in the Koopa Clown Car.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - The part of the story where Link enters the Door of Time and becomes the owner of the legendary Master Sword (The Blade of Evil's Bane). Link collected the Spiritual Stones and used the Song of Time to break the lock, but then while Link travels through time to properly wield the sword Ganondorf enters the Sacred Realm and steals the triforce.

(writer's note: while I played this iconic game a long time ago many of those details I have forgotten or not retained so my details might not be fully accurate)


Pokémon Gold and Silver - Not as much as a plot twist as others, but it's said for many the Kanto post-game was a pleasant surprise for people at the time of release with a brand new region to explore and another 8 badges to collect. If you know what to do in Kanto it doesn't take as long to do it, but thanks Iwata.

What other examples do others remember?

[nocturnal YL]

I don't know if I can think of any obvious examples right off the bat. The ones I have are quite close to end-game.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl — In The Subspace Emissiary, I certainly did not expect the Labyrinth after the fighters banded together for the first time.

New Super Mario Bros. — Right after the first World 8 castle. Not exactly unexpected, since it's suspiciously short without the expansion at the end.

Not a plot-related one, but I count Super Mario Odyssey as this. You've completed the game for the purpose of the story, but there's a rather long post-game after that.

Also a non-plot one, but in Rhythm Heaven (GBA), I thought the game would end after Remix 6. I didn't expect to see two more columns of games, up to Remix 8.

[Evie ❤✿]

Mar 12, 2018 9:17:31 GMT -5 nocturnal YL said:

Not a plot-related one, but I count Super Mario Odyssey as this. You've completed the game for the purpose of the story, but there's a rather long post-game after that.

I agree. The Legendary Starfy series is like this as well (other than the fifth game/Daīru Kaizokudan which I feel has a much less impressive post-game). In the context of the player thinking the game will end soon, Densetsu no Stafy 1's story quest is notably short and can be finished as quickly as an hour. The real meat of that game is collecting all of the treasure and exploring new paths. 2, 3, 4 while with longer stories (especially 2) still have many additional bonus levels to explore after finishing the story, such as levels that make use of upgraded vehicles.

Wario Land is like that as well, and it makes me wonder if both Densetsu no Stafy 1 and Wario Land II-4 share a bit of Takehiro Izuhi (producer of Starfy 1 and those Wario Land games)'s touch in relation to optional paths.

Thinking about it too (though I'm definitely not as big as a Kirby expert as you) I get the impression both Kirby and Mario offer a good variety of optional things to do, such as collecting all 120 stars in Super Mario 64 or 150 stars in Super Mario 64 DS. Looking at it in a different way, you have Pokémon (catching them all) and Xenoblade (clearing all the quests) as well. A long story as it is but very long to fully complete. For instance I beat the story in Lego City: Undercover on Wii U but didn't decide to 100% it, I've become less serious about completing my games now unless it's from a series I really like.

[Nester the Lark]

The first example to come to my mind is Final Fantasy VI. Playing it back in the day, the buildup to fighting Kefka and the Emperor on the floating island feels like you're near the end of the game, but then Kefka betrays the Emperor, the heroes fail, and the world is destroyed. And it turns out you're actually only halfway through the game.

This wasn't really a surprise to me back then because I subscribed to Nintendo Power, but the game still gave me that feeling just due to the narrative.

I'll have to think about if I know any other examples.

[Leon]

Kid Icarus Uprising? Everyone thought the game ended with Medusa, but then Hades shows up and reveals that the game isn't even half over.

[The Qu]

The first Dragon Quest sort of subverts expectations with how rescuing the princess is only halfway through the game, though its clear that you've still got to beat the Dragon Lord. I'm sort of 50/50 on this one.

[Evie ❤✿]

Kirby Star Allies: To put it in a very brief way after beating King Dedede the credits roll, only for them to rewind back and you discover that was not the final boss and there is still a lot more to the game.



Now I remember the first Donkey Kong Country game did something like this with its "Kredits", but it was during the final boss.