One of the best parts of a video game is the ending, but who has the time to go back and play through every game? Let me introduce you to Game Over: The Early Years, the weekly show where we dive into classic games and spoil both their stories and endings. From the biggest hits to obscure classics, we're taking a look at some of the best and most memorable conclusions in video game history.

Long before Gears of War, Grand Theft Auto III and Vanquish, arcade developers were hard at work trying to invent the third-person shooter genre. We already covered the two Crossed Swords games that SNK released in the early 1990s, but there were other memorable attempts that predated the Neo Geo by several years. One of my favorites is the unofficial Seibu Kaihatsu trilogy, which consisted of Empire City, 1931, Dead Angle and Dynamite Duke. These three games helped to lay the groundwork for what would eventually become one of the industry's most enduring genres. Turn back now if you don't want to hear what happens next, because today we're going to spoil the story and ending for Empire City, 1931, Dead Angle and Dynamite Duke. This is Game Over: The Early Years!


Still want more endings? Then I recommend you discover 23 Endings: The Early Years, the holiday series that ran during the 2017 holiday season. We cover Ninja Gaiden, Street Fighter II, Super Mario Bros. 2, Ghostbusters, Golden Axe, Metroid, Double Dragon, Flashback, Final Fight and many more!

And while you're just clicking on stuff at random, I suggest you head over to the Defunct Games YouTube page and subscribe to the channel. We're posting new episodes of Game Over: The Early Years every Monday, along with brand new game reviews throughout the week.