Post-credits Scene - Post-credit Scenes in Video Games

Post-credit Scenes in Video Games

Video games, particularly those that make use of complex stories, have begun using post-credits scenes. Many long-running series use the device. The Monkey Island series has used post-credits scenes or text in all its games. Similarly, the Metroid series games feature a post-credits scene that generally involves Samus Aran's revealing her identity. The entire Halo series has also made a tradition of having short cutscenes after the last level of the game is completed on the highest difficulty.

The 1998 Videogame Spyro The Dragon, the ending hints at a sequel. In 1999 the game got a sequel, Spyro 2 Riptos Rage. The third title in the trilogy and final of the original trilogy released in 2000 and had a post credit scene, which was a message from Insomniac Games, thanking the fans for their loyalty to the series.

In the adventure game Day of the Tentacle, the LucasArts "golden man" logo appears on the screen, and hears the "Purple Tentacle" antagonist of the game approaches, is terrified and runs away. The "Purple Tentacle" takes his place on the logo and lifts his "arms".

Certain post-credit sequences are playable. One early use in console games is the SNES game EarthBound, which features a very short gameplay sequence after the credits, rather than a cutscene. Games such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo: Reach, Hitman: Blood Money and the seventh-generation version of Splinter Cell: Double Agent thrust players into missions after the credits. In Kid Icarus: Uprising, after Pit defeats Medusa, the credits stop right in the middle for the players to find out that Pit has to now defeat Hades and the game continues.

Just as in films, some video games use post-credit sequences to set up sequels. In Final Fantasy VII, a short scene is shown after the credits revealing an overgrown Midgar, confirming that the world has not been destroyed by Meteor and preparing for the sequel movie Advent Children. In Final Fantasy X, after the credits Tidus could be seen appearing in the middle of the ocean while he swims with a smile on his face, this signifies another new "happy" ending that was concluded on it's sequel Final Fantasy X-2. The Kingdom Hearts series is notorious for using post-credit scenes as bonuses that allow the player to see a preview for the next game. The post-credits scene has been a recurring motif in the Metal Gear series as well since the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, with each game setting up the plot of the sequels. In Batman: Arkham Asylum after the credits a Titan container is seen floating in the water and one of three characters (Scarecrow, Bane or Killer Croc) reaches up and grabs it. In the sequel, Batman: Arkham City, Harley Quinn's voice can be heard near the end of the credits saying "There there... hush little baby don't say a word, mommas gonna kill for you the whole damn world!", implying that Harley Quinn and The Joker had a child. In Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, a scene after Sonic turns into Super Sonic, Metal Sonic's face shows as a spoiler alert for Episode II. Or such as in Half Life 2, right after the credits Dr. Kleiner's pet Headcrab, Lamarr appears onscreen while he says "Lamarr? Lamarr? Blast that- Where did she get to?" Followed by her leaping right at the screen. In Deus Ex: Human Revolution, a post-credit sequence shows villain Bob Page talking to Morgan Everett and Megan Reed, discussing events leading up to the start of Deus Ex. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow uses this technique to reveal that the main character has transformed into series antagonist Dracula. In BioShock Infinite, a post-credit scene is a flashback to the year 1893, after protagonist Booker DeWitt has been sent back at time to New York with his daughter.