I just finished replaying Prince of Persia: Warrior Within for the first time in about 20 years. It still holds up great, even if I find myself liking the more fable-ish, brighter tone of Sands of Time more. But one thing I really hate is the way they hid the "true" ending behing finding all the optional health upgrades.

I understand that some gamers really like to go the extra mile and get some reward for it, but I think it should never be at the expense of essentially saying to all the other players "oh, you didn't waste your time playing more of the game than was fun for you and exploring every nook and cranny, or missed something without even knowing it? Too bad, no canon ending for you!"

It's the fact that they made the hidden ending the canon one that's particularly jarring. In fact, I like the "bad" ending way more, I think it works better for the story and the cut scene is better too. But still, I can't hel thinking it's a crappy thing to do on principal. It doesn't even make sense, why would the health upgrades change the story?

Gotham Knight did something similar, hiding an extra ending behind 100% the game if I recall correctly. Oddworld as well, but at least there it was about something meaningful, saving all the other aliens, so I was less pissed off. Apparently Final Fantasy X-2 also hid an ending behind 100% complition, which you can get cheated out of super easy even by just skipping any bit of random dialogue, but this one I only heard of, might be wrong. If true, that's probably the worst example I know of.

But hey, I'm sure somone must love this stuff, otherwise devs wouldn't keep doing it. Right?

Let me introduce you to Nier Automata...

I feel you. It makes no sense.

Although sometimes you get a nice surprise.

In Max Payne 2, you have an ending when finishing the game in the first difficulty levels, but when finishing the game in the last difficulty level, it changes to a happier ending, which felt good.

Well, yes, but only 5 out of the 26 endings are 'real' endings; the rest are more silly or joke endings. It’s similar to the dog ending in Silent Hill 2, just taken to the extreme. Also, out of those five, there isn’t a single 'canon' ending, rather, all five are considered canon from different perspectives. There’s no single 'true' ending hidden behind some esoteric requirements that most players would never guess or do.

I don't like it when the 'true' ending is hidden behind something that you would never guess. I like how Tower of Guns do have a final boss which is kinda hidden, but it is also not hard to find if you pay attention.

This brings back memories! I still remember when I played the game 20 years ago and the endings. I also didn't get the hidden ending on my first try but luckily for me I missed only the very last upgrade(I even still remember the room it was in) so I managed to use a recent save and redo the ending. I definitely agree that the trigger does not make sense to get the much much better ending. They could've done something that triggers it near the end - like an item or something to get.

That being said I still enjoy secret/hidden endings as long as they don't require doing a lot of very specific actions from the very beginning of the game. Like for example in Pathfinder Kingmaker that I am yet to play I know there is a super secret ending(that I think is the best one) and I have watched it on twitch cohhcarnage following a guide with an absurd amount of choices you have to make to get it right - now this is something I don't like. Hidden endings should be more about getting just a different experience at the end that is not the best but just different. I think the DS/ER games have done that relatively well. I enjoyed the TES Morrowind alternate ending that many are not even aware of! :)

At least there I feel like the happy ending is more of an easter egg than the intended "true" ending. It's explicitly not canon in the third game, but even if Remedy stayed in charge and made a proper sequel I still feel like they would most likely roll with the "basic" ending as the real one.

Part of the problem for me, regardless even of the very annoying practice of hiding endings behind extra busy work or almost random seeming triggers, is the fact that many stories just don't work with multiple endings. It works in RPGs that are all about making choices and influencing the narrative, but something entirely linear like Max Payne or Warrior Within not only it feels a bit weird to know there are multiple endings, but one of those endings usually just doesn't feel like it works. It's a lot like movies - it's a rare film that can work brilliantly like Clue with it's multiple endings. Usually when you look at something like the "love conquers all" ending of Brazil, or the happy end in the theatrical Blade Runner, or the sappy alternate ending to Terminator 2 they just feel "off".

I guess I'm making it sound like I hate happy endings, which is absolutely not the case. I love them when they fit the story. The first Max Payne arguably has a happy ending, or at least as happy as you could possibly count on all things considered, and it all clicks.

I don't like secret endings that you can't possibly work out how to get to from the information the game gives you. Like if you need to go to some specific place at a specific time of day and perform some specific action where none of that is ever even vaguely hinted at anywhere. You're not going to get those without reading about it on the internet, which totally breaks immersion.

I like secret endings that make sense within the game. For instance Far Cry 4, which is normally really short for a AAA game, but there's a whole hidden game to be found if you just don't do as you're told at the start.

One of the worst examples off the top of my head were Metro games. In 2033 "good ending" was tied to some stupid morality points (which are hidden mechanic, playing blindly you would have no clue system like that exists) you collect through the game by doing some random things. And I mean often really random. For example giving money to the poor or not demanding rewards (which makes sense and is pretty obvious), but then there were also things like eavesdropping NPC's conversations or examining random objects. You were also not supposed to kill enemies but apparently only during certain levels. And at the end it didn't even make any sense - you were just not allowed to push the button (or something like that) for no other reason than because screw you, you don't have enough goodie points.

Yeah. At the end of the day is about fitting or making sense in regards to the rest of the story. Wether there is one or more than one endings, if they fit the narrative and the story is fine. It just so happens that in videogames, the developers sometimes want that extra bit of hype or appeal, and they go out of their way to make decissions like creating more than one ending hidden after certain triggers. A bad decission like extend the lenght of a game artifiacially so that players think that they get more awesomeness when in reality we get absurd grinding.


And there are cases in which we get two endings and both are crap. The Dark Tower is a good example of this. I hoped there was a third ending or something. So many books and so much dissapointment in the end. The journey was great in the first four books, though.


Spoilers ahead

Is the happy ending in Brazil the sequence of the main character and the woman without the sequence afterwards in which we see the main character been lobotomized?

Don't forget Cave Story.

To get the best ending, you:
* Have to make a jump that isn't near a save point and is quite difficult (going to the edge of the platform doesn't work); if you fail, you get a weaker boost item, which prevents you from getting the stronger one later.
* Have to make certain choices. In at least one case, it feels like the game leads you on to making the correct choice. (You're asked if you want to leave someone to rest somewhere; you have to say not.)
* If you do that correctly, you get an alternate version of a late game dungeon that differs in that your weapons drop all the way to level 1 on entry.
* Doing this allow you to unlock an extra level that is, by far, the hardest level in the game. You need to beat *that* level (which has no checkpoints or save points) to actually get the hidden ending.

I have conflicting opinions about hidden endings.
I like the idea in abstract terms, but the execution often leaves a lot to be desired.
I'm thinking about games like the two Pathfinders: the secret endings are great, but they are hidden (Wrath of the Righteous is especially guilty of this) behind cryptic, borderline nonsensical requirements I have no clue how you're supposed to figure out.

Imo, secret endings can be extremely rewarding, but devs should really balance things better so that they're achievable without esoteric rituals!

Oh, most definitely. The ending should be a matter of player choice. You aim for a certain outcome, knowing just what it should be, and if you successfully complete the game, "beat" it, if you will, you obtain that ending.
Now adding some easter eggs or jokes to the ending for those who meet some secret criteria, I guess that's all right. But actual story endings should be clear for the player as they go along, so it's not just the secret ones that I take serious issue with, but also the "unintended consequences" kind.

In case of that game specifically, it actually has a story reason. Finding all the health upgrades provides you with a special sword, with which you can harm Dahaka.

https://princeofpersia.fandom.com/wiki/Water_Sword

The floor in the Hourglass chamber also shows how many you have found, hinting that something might happen if you find them all. It's not the act of finding the shrines, but grabbing the sword (which is the reward for finding them all), which allows the other ending (where you do change fate). It actually made me play through the game twice.

Still miles better than some other stuff I have run into over my gaming career, where there may not be a single hint on what to do or how to affect the ending. My favorite being doing random arbitrary stuff with no hints, rhyme or reason simply just "because". With basically no way of ever being able to figure it out without looking it up.

It could have been worse, they could have just sold the ending as a DLC, part of Season 2 expansion pass. I think you mixed things up, Far Cry 4 is a pretty long game. However if you listen to Pagan Min at the start and wait for 15 minutes you get the easter egg ending and beat the game in 15 minutes. If you don't listen and "go explore" you get kidnapped by terrorist/rebels and all hell breaks loose! And that is the intended full game experience, not a hidden game. That's good to know. Then again the way i play FPSs i have zero chance of getting that ending.

One hidden ending that I think was well done is the developer's ending in Chrono Trigger.

There's two opportunities to get the ending, both possible on New Game + (one might be possible on a first playthrough, but I don't know if there's a way to reduce the boss's opening attack damage to something survivable that's available at that point):
* There is one point, a mandatory part of the main storyline, where you end up in a fight with the final boss's first form. This boss will start with an attack that deals 4-digit damage to your party (party member HP can't exceed 999), causing a party wipe, but the game will continue. But what happens if you somehow win this fight? (On New Game +, you can use late-game equipment from a previous playthrough to boost your defense to the point where you can survive this attack. making the fight winnable. The first phase is harder than normal, but if you win, the rest of the fight is normal.)
* On New Game +, when you reach the teleporters, you'll notice something sparkling in the right teleporter that wasn't there on the first playthrough. Checking it leads you to the final battle in 1999 AD. Before your first trip through time, you don't have a full party, so it would not be able to kill the final boss (with only Crono and Marle), but what if you manage it?

Those are things that a player, playing without a guide, could easily think of checking, and the player is rewarded with the best secret ending for doing so. It also helps that there's more than one way to trigger this ending, and the only thing that can prevent you from getting the ending is progressing past that point without triggering it. (Even then, one of the methods can be done right at the start of the game on New Game +.)