History BookEnds / VideoGames

* At the end of the first level of ''{{Killer7}}'', Harmon shoots Kun Lan in the hand; Kun Lan catches the bullet and rides its momentum to the top of the Space Needle. At the very end of the game, the same scene is repeated 100 years later in Shanghai. The implication, as Kun Lan mockingly states, is that their battle will never end.
** Also worth noting, is that in one confrontation Harmon says [[spoiler:"Are you awake from your dream?" and in the other he says "Are you awake from your nightmare?" potentially implying that this is one of the few ways they pass the eternities. Switching sides so that they both get a chance to be "good" and "bad"]]

* In ''{{Ratchet and Clank}}'', the game opens with Clank learning of the a plot, flying from his home planet to Ratchet's and crash landing. This is repeated with both characters late in the game (complete with crash landing after the final boss battle), and the tutorial level is the first part of the last level. The BigBad points out it's poetic.
** Goes BeyondTheImpossible if you consider the games' endings. The first game ended with [[spoiler: the eponymous duo falling from a great height and then, once the danger had passed, apparently splitting up. In this case, it was Ratchet leaving Clank on his own, then coming back.]] Compare A Crack in Time's ending, which includes [[spoiler: the aforementioned topple from a great height (on Ratchet's part) and, once the time crisis is averted, Clank choosing to stay at the Great Clock, then changing his mind and rejoining Ratchet at the last minute.]] Considering that, at the time, [=ACiT=] was speculated to be the last game in the series, I think it qualifies as BookEnds material.

* In ''{{Portal 2}}'': [[spoiler: Beginning: "Catch me catch me catch me!" Climax: "GRAB ME GRAB ME GRAB ME!"]]

* ''{{Call of Duty}}'' ModernWarfare 2's Character Roach's storyline begins and ends with the disposal of a lit cigar. Beginning with Captain John "Soap" McTavish's cigar on Cliffhanger, which he just tosses off a cliff, and ends with [[spoiler: [[TearJerker Shepherd tossing the cigar on the gasoline soaked bodies of Roast and Ghost]] in [[WhamEpisode Loose Ends.]]]]

* A tradition in the ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' series. The first game begins and ends with a party, ''[[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor]]'' begins and ends with Peach obtaining a treasure map, and ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario]]'' begins and ends with [[spoiler: a wedding.]]

* ''FinalFantasyVII'' begins and ends with the same shot of Aeris looking into the lifestream, possibly implying that the whole game was a FlashForward, given her PsychicPowers.

** ''{{Earthbound}}''/''Mother 2'' doesn't actually begin with it, but it happens close to the beginning. You get woken up by somebody banging on the door loudly and Porky/Pokey rushes into the house. After the events, you are woken up again by somebody banging on the door and this time it's the younger brother bringing you his sibling's message .. starting up for {{Mother 3}}

* ''{{Mother 3}}'' has two :

** Even the original ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros'' has some sort of Book Ends: The game's second world apparantly features an underwater level followed by a level taking place on top of a broken bridge, and the third world apparantly takes place at night. This is actually reversed for the game's sixth and seventh worlds.

** Back to ''Galaxy'', also at the very beginning of the game, when Rosalina rescues Mario after he is thrown off Bowser's spaceship while attempting to rescue Peach, he can be seen lying unconscious in the middle of [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal a field full of flowers.]] At the end of the game, after Bowser is defeated for the last time the universe collapses and recreates himself for some reason, and after Mario sees Rosalina's giant floating disembodied head talking to him in the middle of a black void, he, Peach and Bowser are all seen lying unconscious in another field of flowers.

* In BeyondGoodAndEvil, the action begins with Jade opening her eyes during morning meditation and ends with her opening her eyes [[spoiler: unleashing her powers to revive everyone in the Great Crypt]].

* ''SonicUnleashed'' ends the same way it began, with Sonic crashing face-first into the ground from a great height, except [[spoiler:this time Sonic is cured of his werehog problem, and the unconscious Chip is just an illusion.]]
** ''SonicTheHedgehog2006'', due to a ResetButtonEnding, ends by showing how the opening cutscene plays out differently in the new timeline.
** The first thing you'll see in SonicColors is the title character running along side the Wisps. In the final battle, just before dealing the final blow, Sonic and the Wisps run side by side, ready to bring their powers together.

* BatmanArkhamCity begins with a painting of a man carrying a corpse (assuming you have Catwoman installed), and ends with [[spoiler: Batman carrying the deceased Joker out of Arkham in exactly the same fashion.]]

** The prequel Crisis Core begins with a scene that bears striking resemblance to the opening of the original FFVII (a train pulls into a station, with the exact same cinematography even, then Cloud/Zack does a flip off of the roof of the train and strikes a dramatic pose). Crisis Core ends by showing... the original opening of FFVII, but remastered with modern graphics. Can you have three bookends?

* ''{{Call of Duty}}'' Modern Warfare 2's Character Roach's storyline begins and ends with the disposal of a lit cigar. Beginning with Captain John "Soap" McTavish's cigar on Cliffhanger, which he just tosses off a cliff, and ends with [[spoiler: [[TearJerker Shepherd tossing the cigar on the gasoline soaked bodies of Roast and Ghost]] in [[WhamEpisode Loose Ends.]]]]

* ''ModernWarfare'' chronologically starts with (trying to) kill Ultranationalist leader Zakhaev. You finally succeed, albeit with a different player character, at the end. Fast forward to the third game: final "boss" is [[spoiler: his follower Makarov, and you're using the same player character (Price) as tried to kill Zakhaev the first time around.]]

* The Infocom text adventure game Trinity ended with a time loop; you go back to the beginning of the game. This time, of course, you know what needs to be done, and the game ends with text to this effect just a few moves in.

* The [[Infocom]] text adventure game Trinity ended with a time loop; you go back to the beginning of the game. This time, of course, you know what needs to be done, and the game ends with text to this effect just a few moves in.

* It's not the same locale, but in Kirby64TheCrystalShards, Stage 1 of Pop Star is almost visually identical to Stage One of Ripple Star and shares the same stage music.

* Dead Space begins on board the USG Kellion where Issac Clarke is watching a video in which his significant other, Nicole Brennan, is obviously distressed. The video ends with static just before the player learns that this transmisson came from the USG Ishimura, which ominously has been sending out distress signals. Issac watches the same video immediately before fighting the Final Boss. [[spoiler: Where it is revealed that the video ended with his wife commiting suicide by lethel injection. Meaning that the Nicole he had just been taking orders from was a hallucination produced by the Marker]]

* Crysis2 has [[spoiler: "They call me Prophet."]]

** As the plot of ''{{The Legend of Zelda}}: TheWindWaker'' kicks off, Link leaves his hometown with the pirates. In the last scene of the game... Link leaves his hometown with the pirates. The tone of the latter scene is much more positive, though.
*** Exspecially notable is, that the first departing-scene had Link waving his grandma and neighbours goodbye with one hand, stoping for a few seconds, suddenly running foreward a few steps and then starting to wave at them again, but this time with both hands. The second departing has his sister Aryll (who stays behind on Outset) doing this just the same way.

** As a Meta example, TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess is a launch title for the Wii, while TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword will be released towards the end of the Wii's life cycle.
* A notable gimmik of {{Hitman}} series - you tend to return to where the story began at the end.

* A notable gimmik of [[Hitman]] series - you tend to return to where the story began at the end.

*** The final dungeon of the Fused Shadows arc is accessed from a cave at the bottom of Lake Hylia, and the boss is fought at the lowest point in the entire game world. The final dungeon of the Mirror of Twilight arc is accessed by a cannon that is also at Lake Hylia, and the boss is fought at the ''highest'' point in the entire game world. Both bosses have the same music, and both eventually involve latching onto and attacking some round object on the boss's back.