Bonus content in a
Video Game (and
RPGs in particular) that is available during the final chapter, but does not become unlocked until having defeated the
Final Boss and watched the credits roll. These games will often prompt the player to update their save file after the end credits, often displaying a special icon with the file to indicate the game has been cleared.
This differs from a
Playable Epilogue in that the
Playable Epilogue is set
after the final chapter has concluded, and acknowledges that you've saved the world; an
Endgame Plus returns the player to the world as it looked
during the final chapter, with the
Big Bad still waiting for his
ultimate plan is to come to its final fruition, and the player standing just before the
Point of No Return or outside
The Very Definitely Final Dungeon to throw that critical
Spanner in the Works and
Save The World.
This is distinct from games that unlock bonus content via an "Extras" option on its frontend menu; here, the bonus content is something accessible
in-universe, like a bonus shop, minigame, or dungeon...or
even just clothes. The exact bonuses
may or may not be immediately obvious when the player reloads their completed save file — but hey,
Take Your Time....
Note that games featuring a level select screen cannot exemplify this easily, because they allow the player to re-play any segment of the game at any time.
A form of
Extended Gameplay. See also
New Game Plus, where reloading the completed save file restarts the
entire game over with added bonus features. Both of them are subtropes of
Post End Game Content.
Examples
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Action Games
- A very early attempt at this was Intellivision's TRON: Solar Sailer. Once you defeated the datastream puzzle, you could either cash out and win or go double or nothing at level "insanity" for bragging rights.
Action Adventure Games
RPG — Eastern
- After the credits roll in Breath Of Fire IV the game creates a "Clear Game" file, which resumes your saved game with an added bonus shop (with rare items) run by two characters from Breath Of Fire III. The Final Boss is still waiting for you to challenge him (and any items stolen off him during the final battle are yours to keep).
- Chrono Trigger (the DS version) allows you to access the dimensional vortexes. Beating all three of these gives you access to the True Final Boss, which is an immature form of the final boss in Chrono Cross.
- A staple of the Dragon Quest series is to unlock a Bonus Dungeon or two upon beating the final boss; beating it is necessary to get the Golden Ending in the games that have one.
- Variation in Earthbound: You lose the ability to save after the Final Boss, the idea being that you can reload and beat the Final Boss again.
- Golden Sun Dark Dawn has Crossbone Isle accessible once you beat the final boss. It contains rare items, powerful monsters, and the ultimate Bonus Boss, Dullahan.
- Final Fantasy XIII unlocks the last layer of the Crystarium for beating the final boss, but story still rewinds to the point before your confrontation with him. You can then backtrace your steps to the beginning of the Very Definitely Final Dungeon and from there, to the locations you visited in chapters 11 and 12. This was probably done because Vanille and Fang are permanently crystallized at the end of the game, while the rest of the party are presumably de-powered, as they are no longer l'Cie.
- Final Fantasy XIII-2 allows you to "Lock" eras and replay the story from there (Required for 100% Completion in some instances). Plus, you unlock an era after the final boss (although the era in question only really for fun).
- Kingdom Hearts Recoded gives you access to a number of things, including new shop items, the last chunk of your stat grid, and the Bonus Dungeon. You can replay everything anyway, but the game does count you as being at the end of the last world.
- "Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories has a complex version of this, where after you finish Sora's story you unlock Riku's, and after finishing Riku's you can get two new cards, an invincibility card, and a premium-reloading one.
- Beating the final boss in MS Saga: A New Dawn unlocks the Bonus Dungeon. The game even provides a small Lampshade Hanging as The Hero complains that he's about five seconds away from the ultimate battle to save the world when Mission Control phones in and orders him to go conquer the Bonus Dungeon instead.
- While the mainstream Pokémon games generally utilize a Playable Epilogue, in the original Pokémon Red and Blue titles, the rewards for becoming the Pokemon League Champion were limited to a "Hall of Fame" option on the PC and access to one Bonus Dungeon near Cerulean City; no one else even acknowledged the fact that the player beat the Elite Four and The Rival.
- Defeating the Final Boss in Rogue Galaxy adds the game's Bonus Dungeon to the Galaxy Map; everything else (including the recap) is still as it was before defeating the Final Boss. An NPC within said dungeon even comments that the player has already beaten the game.
- In Final Fantasy Tactics A 2, beating the game unlocked certain missions and made is possible to unlock the last stage of Brightmoon Tor.
- The [1] series does this in every game, following the trope description almost exactly, with the single exception of 4. It also carried over to its pseudo-sequel series, [2]. One annoying thing about this though, is that even though you beat the game? The crisis music (which plays in the regular areas -all the time- during the last part of each game) doesn't stop, besides in 3.
- The Bonus Dungeons in the Game Boy Advance versions of Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V and Final Fantasy VI become available after beating their respective Final Bosses once.
- Mega Man X Command Mission lets you replay the final chapter over and over again, which allows you to power level your characters and save any items you find each time. You can also revisit any level in the game as well as fully explore your headquarters; in fact, completing the game at least once is a requirement for facing Ninetails.
Platformers
Simulation Games
- Harvest Moon A(nother) Wonderful Life (Special Edition) has a chapter after the game ends titled Heaven. The game sets things back the way they were in chapter 5 and the chapter doesn't end, unless you decide to start a new game.
