History EndOfAnAge / VideoGames

* The end of Chapter 5 in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' is mourned as such, as the 111-year-long reprieve from TheEmpire is ended with the deaths of the last nobles preventing its return... [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Most of whom Sigurd got killed]], whether through killing them himself (because they were out for blood) or by inspiring them to acts of heroism that didn't end well. Houses Dozel, Freege, and Jungby are left to ill-taught or half-taught fools without an ounce of moral integrity, Houses Chalphy and Edda are put down, and the countries surrounding Grannvale are completely spent. [[spoiler: It's possible for Seliph to at least redraw the borders to what they once were, but he's just as likely to end up as the only noble left in Jugdral, left to try to be [[TheGoodKing The Benevolent Emperor]] of an entire continent.]]

** The storyline of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' deals with this, as it opens with the line "This is how it happened. This... is how [[spoiler:the Batman died.]]" Batman himself recognizes this, as a major part of the end of the Riddler and Penguin side-quests is Batman making it clear that this will be the last time he'll see ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, respectively, even if you complete those sidequests before the finale of the main plot, which [[spoiler:ends with his identity as Bruce Wayne outed to the world, and Wayne Manor blowing up, seemingly with Bruce and Alfred in it. It can also be considered the end of much of Batman's RoguesGallery as well, what with the villains having depleted their resources in hiring the Arkham Knight and preparing his army. The game's DLCs deal with Riddler, Penguin, Two-Face, and Black Mask all making attempts to rise again, only to be respectively foiled by Catwoman, Nightwing, Robin (with Oracle's help), and Red Hood (in the latter case, Black Mask ends up ''dead'')]].

** The storyline of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' deals with this, as it opens with the line "This is how it happened. This... is how [[spoiler:the Batman died.]]" Batman himself recognizes this, as a major part of the end of the Riddler and Penguin side-quests is Batman making it clear that this will be the last time he'll see ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} and ComicBook/{{Nightwing}}, respectively, even if you complete those sidequests before the finale of the main plot, which [[spoiler:ends with his identity as Bruce Wayne outed to the world, and Wayne Manor blowing up, seemingly with Bruce and Alfred in it]].

** ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'' has this being the reason for Merlina's FaceHeelTurn as she refuses to let Camelot fall and seeks to entrap it and the world around it in stasis. Sonic is adamantly opposed to the idea and has to battle her as [[SuperMode Excalibur Sonic]] to get it through to her. In a {{Meta}} sense, this game is also the end of its era of Sonic games. It was the final game to be dubbed using the [[Creator/FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] voice cast, the only 4Kids actor sticking around being Creator/MikePollock as Dr. Eggman. VideoGame/SonicFreeRiders also marks the series' transition towards LighterAndSofter plots and more comedic writing, as opposed to the more dramatic, serious plots that had become prevalent in the series by then starting from VideoGame/SonicAdventure.

** ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'' has this being the reason for Merlina's FaceHeelTurn as she refuses to let Camelot fall and seeks to entrap it and the world around it in stasis. Sonic is adamantly opposed to the idea and has to battle her as [[SuperMode Excalibur Sonic]] to get it through to her.

*** ''Endwalker'' is this for both the plot and on a meta-level; it concludes the 10 year Ascian plotline started back in ''Legacy''/1.0, and be the start of a whole new story.

* ''VideoGame/{{Pentiment}}:

* ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters 2000'' has a more meta example. Being the last game from the original SNK team before the company's bankruptcy, they ended it by destroying South Town, one of the most long-standing and important locations in the entire SNK [[TheVerse Verse]], to symbolize the end of the old guard. Once said old guard tried to regain control of their old [=IPs=], they made a show of South Town being rebuilt in ''King of Fighters 2003'', to symbolize the company slowly coming back from the ashes.

*** ''Endwalker'' will be this for both the plot and on a meta-level; it will conclude the 10 year Ascian plotline started back in ''Legacy''/1.0, and be the start of a whole new story.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'''s ''Dragonborn'' DLC offers a smaller-scale example. On Solstheim, there is only one silt strider remaining. Its caretaker explains that when Red Mountain exploded, [[KillEmAll almost all of them were wiped out]]. [[DyingRace Now, they are extremely rare]] and the one the player encounters is one that happened to be discovered by chance, protected in a cave and is now dying of old age. For players used to ''Morrowind'' and the almost ubiquitous use of silt striders as a form of transportation, [[PlayerPunch this can come as a huge shock]].

** ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' shows this, as the power behind her basic spells used by the servant Caster (who lived in the Age of Gods from the Ancient Greek legends) would take a modern-day magi around a month of to accomplish, and her multi-word spells are seen as bordering True Magic. She casts in one word spells that would take an excellent magus around a full minute of casting. Even the two known True Magicians in the setting, [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Kishua Zelretch Schweinorg]] and [[VisualNovel/MahouTsukaiNoYoru Aoko Aozaki]], would not be capable of defeating Caster in a WizardDuel.

* The entirety of ''VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2 : Fall of the Samurai'' is the end of the samurai reign in Japan, as Westernization marches in and the old ways are no longer viable in facing the foreign threats. Bye bye swords, welcome [[MoreDakka Gatling guns]]. You can be one of the Shogunate clans and try to preserve the regime, but no matter how you achieve that, the old days are over. See also the Japan entry in the RealLife, below.
** You can take this UpToEleven-- you can declare that Japan doesn't need either Shogun nor Emperor, and turn the land ruled by your clan into an independent Republic. [[EnemyMine Be prepared for the onslaught, though]]. Historically, only Satsuma Domain and Republic of Ezo attempted it. They ended ''very'' badly.

* ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza 6}}'' in game and for the series as a whole; the old Yakuza clans are slowly crumbling from the combination of souring public opinion and encroachment of new, more dynamic forms of organized crime that aren't as steeped in the GoodOldWays. Numerous powerhouses in the previous games such as Daigo Dojima and Goro Majima are arrested and imprisoned, and by the end of the game the once vaunted Tojo Clan is practically on life support [[spoiler: and eventually dissolves between ''6'' and ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon'', with it's chief rival the Omi Alliance following not too soon after]]. On a meta level ''6'' acts as the final chapter for Kazuma Kiryu's story as [[spoiler: he fakes his death and goes into hiding to protect his adoptive daughter Haruka and her family, leaving room for a new protagonist to take over in ''Like A Dragon''.]]

** The background lore first mentioned in the [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog2 classic]] [[Videogame/Sonic3AndKnuckles games]] and finally explored in ''Videogame/SonicAdventure'' established that there was once a powerful Echidna civilization that used the Chaos Emeralds for prosperity. It all came to an end overnight when they attempted to [[AbusivePrecursors seize them for selfish purposes]], prompting the rage of the Emeralds' guardian, [[EldritchAbomination Chaos]]. His retaliation resulted in the destruction and collapse of their civilization, the scattering of the Emeralds, the creation of Angel Island, and the eventual extinction of the Echidna race.

** The background lore first established in the [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog1 classic]] [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog2 games]] and finally explored in ''Videogame/SonicAdventure'' established that there was once a powerful Echidna civilization that used the Chaos Emeralds for prosperity. It all came to an end overnight when they attempted to [[AbusivePrecursors seize them for selfish purposes]], prompting the retaliation of their guardian, [[EldritchAbomination Chaos]]. This led to the destruction and collapse of their civilization, the scattering of the Emeralds, the creation of Angel Island, and the eventual extinction of the Echidna race.

** The background lore first established in the [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog1 classic]] [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog2 games]] and finally explored in ''Videogame/SonicAdventure'' established that there was once a powerful Echidna civilization that used the Chaos Emeralds for prosperity. It all came to an end overnight when they attempted to [[AbusivePrecursors seize them for selfish purposes]], causing certain events that led to the destruction and collapse of their civilization, the scattering of the Emeralds, the creation of Angel Island, and the eventual extinction of the Echidna race.

** The background lore first established in the [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog1 classic]] [[Videogame/SonicTheHedgehog2 games]] and finally explored in ''Videogame/SonicAdventure'' established that there was once a powerful civilization that used the Chaos Emeralds for prosperity. It all came to an end overnight when they attempted to [[AbusivePrecursors seize them for selfish purposes]], causing certain events that led to the destruction and collapse of their civilization, the scattering of the Emeralds, and the creation of Angel Island.

* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight'' has this being the reason for Merlina's FaceHeelTurn as she refuses to let Camelot fall and seeks to entrap it and the world around it in stasis. Sonic is adamantly opposed to the idea and has to battle her as [[SuperMode Excalibur Sonic]] to get it through to her.

* ''Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}'': In the Age of Gods, True Magic, Miracles, and Mystery were as plentiful as the air we breath. Over the course of many millennia however, The rising influence of the Human Order and the various defeats handed to them by [[VideoGame/FateExtellaTheUmbralStar Sefar]], Gilgamesh's rebellion against gods, and the death of King Solomon led to the complete decline of the Age of Gods, and gave rise to the Age of Man. This also has the side effect of Mystery and True Magic [[GenerationalMagicDecline declining over the generations]], due to the many scientific and technological advancements of humanity weakening the Mystery inherent in many forms of True Magic to near nothing.

** Being time travelers, your Characters are around to [[BeenThereShapedHistory be the cause.]] Specifically it got knocked out of the sky by Lavos, and the survivors reformed into different kingdoms.

* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'', the seemingly trendful paradise, pulled from the height of its prosperity into the abyss of infinite isolation. How could such a land simply vanish from the face of the earth?"
** The real Gotterdammerung in that series happened when [[WingedHumanoid the Eldeen civilization]] got submerged in water due to [[spoiler:humans' trying to control WeatherControlMachine for their own ends]]. Comparatively, the titular Ys was a minor case as [[spoiler:it was a small empire built by the two survivors of the Eldeen civilization with the power of [[ArtifactOfDoom the Black Pearl]].]]

*** XIII-2 results in the [[spoiler:destruction of Pulse]]. XIII-3 results in the destruction of [[spoiler:BELHEUZE]]. Which is even more epic than the first two games combined.