Multiple endings

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. Usually, more than two possible endings exist; if there are two endings, the situation is more commonly described as an alternate ending.

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 1980s 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 1860 novel "Great Expectations" underwent a change in ending just before publication. Modern editions often print both versions. (However, this situation is more akin to an alternate ending.) However, perhaps the first true multiple-ending novel was "Hopscotch" by Julio Cortázar in 1963.

In some comic book stories the readers are advised to make a choice, and then turn to another page, from which the story will continue. The 1983 strip "Cliff Hanger" was based entirely around this premise.

Theatre

Ayn Rand's 1934 play "Night of January 16th" allowed the audience to affect the ending by acting as the "Jury" and voting the defendant "innocent" or "guilty".

The 1985 musical "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", based on the incomplete 1870 Charles 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.

Dario Fo's 1970 play, "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.

The long-running play "Shear Madness" has multiple, audience-selected endings. Several characters may end up as the murderer.

Movies

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.

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.

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 appearing on screen and suggesting a different ending, until ultimately deciding on the "mega happy ending". This was done completely for comedic effect.

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.

The movie "Run Lola Run" features three different "realities", with each story having its own ending.

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 [http://www.nick.com 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).

The Rooster Teeth Series, Red Vs Blue, had three different endings (with an additional 4 on the Season 5 DVD) -
*Everyone kills each other
*It was a video game, and they move to play a new map whilst speaking in a Halo 2 post-game lobby.
*They continue fighting the war
*Elites invade and kill both teams
*Church wakes up from a nightmare, and discovers that it was just a dream (Going back to after Caboose hit him with a rocket). But when he tries to explain the dreams events to the Red Team, he and the other Blues are shot dead.
*Tex comes back and blows both teams up
*An explanation of what happened to each character after the series ended.

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). This was innovated and popularized by the RPG Chrono Trigger. 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") does not count as a distinct ending. Also, the "Game Over" outcome is usually not counted as an ending in this context (although "bad endings" are counted).

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. A similar multiple-ending scenario, with similar conditions and outcomes, occurs in .
*"" has different endings for locations and certain characters in the game, resulting in different combinations of endings depending on what the player did during the game. For example, if the player helps the local thieves in the city of Shrouded Hills to destroy bridge materials, the player will get the bad ending for Shrouded Hills, with the town stagnated due to no communication with other cities. If the player completes the good quests for Shrouded Hills, however, the ending will be Shrouded Hills flourishing, and eventually becoming a big metropolis. Similar things are done with certain important characters in the game and other locations.
* "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 the whole game is played which also depends 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.
* "" 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. Most of the other games in the series also have many possible endings.
* "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.
* "Deus Ex", and its sequel "", featured three and five 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.
* "" 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 or not 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.
* "Final Fantasy X-2" has- in addition to a bad ending in which Vegnagun is not destroyed in time- 4 additional endings (sad, neutral, good (which also includes the neutral portion), and perfect (which also includes the neutral and good portions). The ending depends on objectives met during 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.
* "God of War II" shows an alternate ending to the boss battle or an alternate ending to God of War 1. If, when fighting Atropos, the player ignores Atropos as she attacks the sword (in which case the sword will start to crack, and eventually will fall apart), the sword parts collapse into the water; Kratos falls in with them, overhearing Atropos saying, "This is the power of the fates, Kratos; none can change their true destiny!" As Ares proceeds to finish Kratos in his final battle in the past, when Kratos looks at the broken sword, instead of picking it up (since it's no use broken), Kratos returns to his sad stance and is then stabbed the same way Zeus did by Ares and is killed, as the present day Kratos also dies from the time paradox, and the player is taken to the You Are Dead screen, making them redo the battle.
* "Grand Theft Auto IV" involves the game's main protagonist, Niko Bellic, having to decide whether to seek revenge, or to strike a deal. But no matter his choices are, someone he cares for dies. If the player chose Revenge, Niko will kill the game's antagonist, Dimitri Rascalov early, his girlfriend eventually gunned down by Pegorino's men, and Niko pursues to take his second revenge. If Deal is taken, it is Niko's cousin, Roman, who is killed, and Niko goes after Dimitri, who will be the final boss of the game.
* "Half-Life" ends with the player having to make a choice (the famous "It's time to choose" sound file used here later having been used in Counter-Strike to let the players vote on a new map) between cooperating with the man in the suit or refusing to do so. Refusal leads to the player being killed by the man, and cooperating leads to being transported into another dimension. Either way, the player has lost control of his/her own destiny, indicating the so-called choice was really a Hobson's choice. The sequel assumes that the player chose to cooperate.
* "Halo 2" has an extended ending if it is beaten on Legendary mode.
* "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.
* "" features two branches: You can either bring back the King and the Queen from the dead, which introduces a large new section, or not.
* "" 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.
* "" has more of a bad ending than multiple endings; however, the "ending" occurs at the start of the game. Should the player 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. The canonical ending is Snake enduring the torture and escaping Shadow Moses with Meryl; this is supported by the report made in "In the Darkness of Shadow Moses" a document featured in MGS2, a document made by Nastasha which stated that both Snake and Meryl escape the island, additionally the claim is also supported with Meryl's return in "".
* In many games, such as "", "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 the path is taken by the player.
* "Myst", "Riven", ', ', ', and ' all have multiple endings, some of which (In "Riven", "Exile", and "Revelation") end in the player's demise.
*"Psychic Detective" has more than a dozen alternate endings; which one is seen depends on the player's actions throughout the game and the outcome of a board game at the end. The best ending is "The Grand Slam", but other endings offer a mix of positive and negative outcomes for the characters.
* In the final boss battle of "", if the player defeats the final boss but depletes Meril's HP in the process, the ending will be almost exactly the same, except that Meril will remain in a coma forever; 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 letting her get killed.
* "Shadow of Destiny" has a series of multiple endings that unlocks game content based on the characters actions during that event sequence.
* 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. For example, in the first title, if the player doesn't save his main supporting character, they will not fight the final boss (who will be shown free to roam the forest.)
* "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 (Eg: "Command & Conquer" series) or that the side the player chooses won/lost.
*"" gives the player the chance to play as Anakin and fight Obi-Wan after he/she defeats Anakin Skywalker in Level 17. On winning, Obi-Wan is killed and Anakin goes to Darth Sidious (Supreme Chancellor Palpatine) and is given a new lightsaber; he then double-crosses and kills Sidious. He becomes the ruler of the galaxy.
* can have multiple endings; an example of which in the "Movie Battle" mode. In this mode, the player, as Guile, must find and defeat M. Bison within an hour. Success in this mode means that the player is 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.
* "Suikoden II" and "Suikoden V" have alternate endings which are unlocked if all possible characters have been recruited and certain other requirements are met. The other entries in the series also have bonuses for recruiting all characters, but in I and IV these are limited to brief extra or changed scenes in the end, while in III, this instead opens up an extra playable portion of the game after the typical end.
* Tales of Symphonia contains two different endings depending on a choice the player makes in Flanoir. If the player waits, and talks to Kratos, Zelos will fight the party when he betrays them, and is killed. Kratos will later rejoin the party later in the game. If the player chooses to talk with anyone but Kratos, Zelos will run away when he betrays the party, but will later rejoin and Kratos will not. This ending has been made canon since Zelos is alive in . The ending also changes slightly depending on the affection levels of your party.
* 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.
* 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".
* "Seiken Densetsu 3" has 3 different endings depending on who your main character is: one for Duran and Angela, one for Carlie (Charlotte) and Kevin, and one for Lise (Riesz) and Hawk (Hawkeye).
* "Starfox 64" has, for the most part, two different endings with minor variations based on the route taken to Venom. Taking the easier default route, by either performing in a typical manner or rejecting every choice of moving to an alternate-route planet throughout the game, the player will face the main boss as a robotic head. By taking mostly the alternate routes, which are somewhat harder, the player will face the main boss as a floating, teleporting brain. The alternate ending also introduces the main character's father in a cut scene. Finally, certain levels that can be avoided involve facing Star Wolf. Depending on where the player defeats him, or if he/she defeats him at all, and which route the player took, he/she may face him as a sub-boss instead of the regular stone robot in the Venom temple.
* "StarFox Command" has nine different endings that depend on the pathway chosen by the player, that is, the order of the stages played. The initial ending involves Krystal rejoining Team Star Fox, but leaving Fox McCloud broken-hearted, and alone for life, to be with Panther as part of Star Wolf. The "best" ending quite possibly may be one in which the Star Fox team regroups, adding Amanda, a pink frog resembling Slippy, to the team, and where Venom, now peaceful is under the care of Dash Bowman, Andross' grandson. Three other endings range from Fox and Krystal marrying and having a child, to Krystal separating from Lylat, under the name Kursed. Other endings include Dash, following in his grandfather's footsteps attempting a takeover of Lylat, after he takes charge, and globalizes Venom. Fox and Falco joining the G-Zero GP (a parody of the F-Zero Grand Prix), Falco creating Rival Team "Star Falco", and Slippy leaving the team to settle with his fiance Amanda. The game is reported to be non-canonical however, so it is assumed that all turns out well for everyone. (There was going to be a ninth ending that tied up all of the loose ends, but it was ultimately scrapped. Hackers were eventually able to find its leftover code.)
* ' (and ') 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 the player gets. The finale will usually consist of a couple of these cutscenes mixed with the fixed ones that will always be part of the ending.
* "" 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, at his side.
* "": There are three different endings for the game. The endings are Bad, Average, and Good. The Good ending for the game (by completing the longest mission track) is very different from the other two endings, which are completed by taking alternate mission tracks. The Bad and Average endings are similar as the narration says the same thing for both endings, but the scene is different. While there are three endings, there are also different versions of all of these endings, depending on if the player is defeated by the enemy or defeats the enemy. Technically, there are 6 endings overall that can be obtained by either completing the mission tracks and either being defeated, or defeating the enemy.
* "" has four different endings, depending on which of the three men the main housewife chooses or the fourth, in which she chooses none of them.
* The "Wing Commander" series has had a tradition of multiple endings, determined by success or failure on certain key missions, but even in some cases, ending up on the 'losing track' can be diverted by success in later missions. An example comes in "Wing Commander III", where if certain missions are failed, the momentum slides in the Kilrathi's favor, and the player has to fight a losing battle to protect Earth, while staying on the successful track will take the fight to Kilrah.
*"" featured five endings, based on the player's ultimate loyalty.
*"" featured three endings based on character choices, availability of the choices was affected by Humanity.
*In "", failing to traverse all of the bonus life upgrades causes the end boss fight to be another fight against Kaileena, where the Dahaka takes her body and the Prince's Amulet. But, if the player do traverse the life upgrades, he/she will find the Water sword, which has the ability to defeat the Dahaka and save both the Prince and Kaileena. This is the true ending.
*"Dead Rising" on the Xbox 360 features 8 different endings depending on how to game was played. The standard endings, ranked 'A', being the best, to 'F', being the worst, had certain conditions to be meet in order to view them, for example, completing all the case files would unlock ending 'A' or 'B' depending if Frank meet with Isabella before 12:00, however if Frank didn't complete all the case files but got to the heli-pad a different ending would play. Ending 'F' would be played if Frank didn't find all the bombs in the maintenance tunnels. Two other endings could only be unlocked if the player obtained the 'A' ending in normal mode and then played through Overtime mode.
*"Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" includes two unique endings based on whether or not Revan chooses to join former ally and ex-Jedi Bastila Shan during a confrontation with her. If he falls to the dark side and chooses to join her, then part of his party is killed or runs away, Darth Malak is killed, the Star Forge remains intact, the Republic fleet is destroyed, and Revan becomes the new Sith Lord with Bastila as his apprentice. If he follows the light side and does not join her, which is the canon ending, then the party stays together, Bastila is redeemed, Darth Malak is killed, the Star Forge is destroyed, the Republic fleet survives, and the Sith are routed.
*"" offers two different endings. In the light side ending, The Exile leaves Malchor V on the Ebon Hawk which arises from beneath the platform. In the dark side ending, The Exile remains on Malachor IV.
* is a game which includes two different play campaigns: one for the Autobots and one for the Decepticons. Ultimately, the use of the Allspark and the fate of Earth would depend on the character alliance. Completing the Autobot campaign will have the game end where Megatron makes one final bid to kill Optimus Prime and take the AllSpark. Optimus Prime shoves the AllSpark into Megatron's chest, killing him and peace continues on Earth. Completing the Decepticon campaign ends with Megatron savagely killing Optimus Prime and using the AllSpark to give life to Earth's machines, leaving the Earth in ruins.
* also has multiple endings like its predecessor. However, instead of 88, the game has 19 multiple endings (10 of them which are solo endings while the other 9 are shared with the main protagonist).

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. Most Fighting Games have an ending for all characters, however, many of these endings either contradict one another or have no purpose story-wise, The next game in the series will tell whose ending, if any canonically happened, and often has parts of other characters' endings happening under different circumstances. For example, Guilty Gear X had many of events that occurred to characters in their Guilty Gear endings, such as the rebellion on Zepp and May's "rescue" of Johnny, all happen, even though only Sol Badguy canonically fought and defeated Justice.

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. "" dealt with all three of the endings of the original game by positing they "all" happened. The video game, , allows the player to choose which ending to the first game actually occurred, however, the Light-sided ending is considered canon.

ee also

* Alternate ending
* Interactive fiction
* Bad ending
* Game Over