History Main / DisappointingLastLevel

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. Thanks to a combination of budget restraints and [[DistancedFromCurrentEvents a massive last-second re-editing thanks to September 11th]], [[GainaxEnding the notorious ending]] was considered a let-down by fans thanks to the very long cutscenes, and a fight that felt anti-climactic and incomprehensible.

* The final level of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' is probably the easiest one in the whole game. You're in a medium-sized room with Idunn, the TrueFinalBoss, on the other side, and there are only two other enemies to start with, neither of whom actually block your path. Idunn's stats are also fairly underwhelming, and don't increase on Hard Mode (bar one extra point of HP). On top of that, at this point you should have most of the Legendary Weapons, plus the Binding Blade, all of which are PurposelyOverpowered, and the Binding Blade deals massive damage to Idunn, such that Roy can one-round her without too much issue when trained. Though it's far from the only final level in the series that can be beaten in a single turn, most others require abuse of Warp or similar mechanics to pull that off; it's downright ''easy'' to manage here, with multiple possible ways of doing so.
* The final chapter of the ''Silver Snow'' route in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is a long gauntlet of overpowered enemies, including respawning monsters, and most of them have the Miracle skill, [[LuckBasedMission giving them a random chance of surviving a lethal blow with 1 HP.]] The FinalBoss can use an area attack every turn, which also regenerates their armour, making them very annoying to take down. To top it all off, it takes place on a map you've played already in the last pre-TimeSkip level, and the plot reasons for the battle come out of nowhere after the route's main bad guys have already been dealt with.
* The final mission of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEngage'' takes place on a large flat square arena. [[BigBad Sombron]]'s first form is rather easy, since he only comes with a handful of {{Mooks}}. His [[OneWingedAngel second form]] is a bit more complicated, since he takes up much of the center of the arena, is impervious to damage until you destroy the four Dark Emblems protecting him, has a few AOE attacks and the ability to forcibly cancel your Engaging with Emblems and has four health bars, but it's entirely possible to take him down in one go once the barrier falls. The Dark Emblems, based on other ''Fire Emblem'' games' final bosses, are quite easy to take down, since you get a massive damage bonus if you attack with the Emblem of the hero opposing them (for example, [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight attack Medeus with Marth]]), and if you defeat Sombron before his shield returns, you likely won't see the second or third waves of Dark Emblems.

** The final chapter of ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrangeTrueColors'' has similar issues, though to a lesser degree, as the first game -- a very jarring tonal shift into a nightmare sequence that takes up over half the chapter and feels disconnected from the rest of the game, very little in the way of actual gameplay, and the choices made throughout the storyline have no real bearing on the resolution of the core conflict, which is instead done via the main character giving a PatrickStewartSpeech (albeit they do at least affect the ending in other ways this time). In another odd parallel with the first game, this was largely due to real-life issues facing the production team, namely the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic and having to add UsefulNotes/PlayStation5 and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS versions halfway through development.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Wardner}}'', the final level in the basement of Wardner's castle consists mostly of two small rooms [[CopyAndPasteEnvironments repeating over and over again]], many with identical enemies. The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis version pads this out even more with a BossRush and three vertical climbing shafts which are identical to each other.

* The Battle of Endor scene from ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance'' doesn't really fit in with the main plot--that of the player character's family--that drove the rest of the game. In fact, the main plot itself is ''never completely resolved''. Instead you get four missions covering the Battle of Endor. You wouldn't ''think'' it could be possible to screw this up, but the attack on the Death Star is incredibly boring and tedious, and it gets incredibly annoying listening to Wedge's invincible X-wing constantly taking fire as he follows you through the tunnel. And then you have to escape from a flashing cube of death after blowing up the reactor, rather than a proper wall of flame, or even the chain of explosions you normally get when blowing up a large ship; what's more, said cube will only catch you if you sit around doing nothing for a full minute. Not only does this mission absolutely pale in comparison with the version seen in ''[[VideoGame/RogueSquadron Rogue Leader]]'', but ''[[VideoGame/SuperStarWars Super Return of the Jedi]]'' and the '''UsefulNotes/Atari2600 tie-in game''' had Battle of Endor missions that were much more fun.

* ''VideoGame/GhostHunter'', a UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 game that was the closest you could get to a good Ghostbusters game before they actually made one. The story of the game feels increasingly rushed the further into the game you get. For example, in the game is your own containment unit where you can view the ghosts you've captured and read up information on them. Halfway through the game, you are prevented from taking a break in between levels to view the ghosts and just drops you off at the next level. The game also concludes without revealing who the BigBad was working for.

** The final track of the final Retro Cup in ''DS'' is merely Yoshi Circuit from ''Double Dash!!'', which is not only anticlimactic on its own but also in comparison to the other ''Mario Kart'' games with Retro Cups that do end with more memorable tracks (SNES Rainbow Road in both ''Super Circuit'' and ''7'', [=N64=] Bowser Castle in ''Wii'', [=N64=] Rainbow Road in ''8'').

* ''VideoGame/{{Contra}}: Legacy of War'' ends with a disappointing platforming section, followed by a final battle on a sphere.

* ''VideoGame/FZero GX'' features the final chapter of Story Mode. After winning an [[ThatOneLevel extremely difficult]] championship race to [[spoiler:defeat and humiliate a BigBad who then undergoes YouHaveFailedMe from the champion of the underworld]] and then [[spoiler:defeating said underworld champion]] on a course with [[SceneryPorn awesome scenery]] exclusive to Story Mode, the race against [[spoiler:the creators of the universe]] not only features the epitome of the game's [[{{Narm}} cheesy]] cutscenes, but the race is [[spoiler:just a glorified time attack against a staff ghost.]] The only thing keeping it from being an outright AntiClimaxBoss is that the course is rail-less and can lead to [[HaveANiceDeath "OFF COURSE! RETIRE"]] if the player is not careful, but even then the track design, that gimmick notwithstanding, is quite dull and unexciting to race on especially given the previous two chapters' courses.

* The final true gameplay portion of ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' is regarded as being one of the best, if not the best, portion of the game. The portion immediately preceding it? [[ThatOneLevel Well...]]

* The final level of ''VideoGame/{{Trine}}'' exchanges physics-based puzzles which may involve lots of character-swapping for a thief-only, TrialAndErrorGameplay gauntlet that forces you to sit through a loadscreen every time you fail it. The creators later admitted that they had ran out of time and the final level was tested only by a single outsider. Fortunately a patch made it less frustrating.
* In ''VideoGame/QuantumConundrum'', the FinalExamBoss gets progressively easier as you move through the level. [[SubvertedTrope Then you get a pretty unique section involving an elevator shaft.]] [[DoubleSubversion Then you complete a very easy puzzle which is designed to keep you busy and let Professor Quadwrangle narrate for a bit.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}''[='=]s stages are quite good, especially if you can put up with the NintendoHard difficulty. But then comes Stages 7 and 8, which make heavy use of Monster Blocks--blocks that can move in random directions--and Mystery Blocks--blocks that change into a random other block--a couple of [[LuckBasedMission Luck-Based Missions]], especially if you're playing on Hard difficulty or otherwise going for a no-Undo run. And these blocks really are random--trigger one of these blocks, then hit Undo--the direction they move or block they turn into, respectively, will change!
* While ''VideoGame/{{Antichamber}}'' was very well received overall, some critics noticed that the game started to tone down the MindScrew it did so well in favor of more standard BlockPuzzle mechanics as you upgraded the block gun.

* ''VideoGame/ContraLegacyOfWar'' ends with a disappointing platforming section, followed by a final battle on a sphere.

* The final chapter of the episodic indie horror ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'' feels rushed, ends rather abruptly, fails to conclude or even acknowledge a handful of plot threads, and [[spoiler:tacks on a MindScrew ending for seemingly no reason other than to get people talking about it]].

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

'''As this is on the verge of being an EndingTrope, beware that there may be things you consider unmarked spoilers up ahead.'''

* "Polarized", the [[BrokenBase appropriately-titled]] fifth and final episode of ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange''. A huge chunk of the episode is composed of a long NightmareSequence that was divisive for the fandom, with some viewing it as pure NightmareFuel with a good dose of PlayerPunch and others viewing it as a tedious series of long walks with an annoying StealthBasedMission thrown in that doesn't really mesh with the plot. And then you get into the actual conclusion to the story, with regards to whether or not the endings available negate all the decisions you made over the course of the game -- and if so, whether or not that was the entire point. WordOfGod is that they had bigger ideas for the ending, but didn't have enough money to realize all of them.

* ''VideoGame/TrioThePunch'', after an entire game of [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs strange enemies, bizarre imagery, and general unrepentant insanity]], starts to cool off toward the end as you enter a seemingly endless series of factory stages populated by nothing except {{palette swap}}ped blobs of goo for enemies--while they occasionally take on reptilian shapes or wear suits of futuristic armor, they're quite uninteresting compared to the parade of Karnov clones and man-sized daruma dolls you've been fighting for the rest of the game. Without any surreal goings-on to distract you, the basic, repetitive nature of the core gameplay loop becomes quite readily apparent. Fortunately, the craziness comes back in full force just in time for the finale.

** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain's'' narrative, despite setting up Venom's future actions with Diamond Dogs and fight against Cipher, all culminates in Mission 46 (Truth: The Man Who Sold The World). [[spoiler:It's actually the tutorial mission played over again, ''complete with button/tutorial prompts''. When you complete it, you're treated to a twist (Big Boss is the Medic from ''Ground Zeroes''), a boatload of "Truth Record" audiotapes dumped on you for no reason (with conversations that Venom had no way of learning about otherwise) and a final cutscene that [[VoodooShark raises more questions than it answers]].]] It doesn't help matters that a final mission clearing up [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse the biggest unresolved plot point]] ([[spoiler:what happened to Eli, the child soldiers and Sahelanthropus]]) was only resolved in an intended "Mission 51" that was cut early in development and reportedly planned as DLC, but never finished due to Kojima's firing. The mission now only exists as a video on the Collector's Edition Blu-Ray disc.

* ''VideoGame/SyphonFilterTheOmegaStrain'' becomes very frustrating around the halfway-2/3 mark, with an excess of [[StealthBasedMission stealth missions]] and TrialAndErrorGameplay, where blowing your cover just once means the mission is FUBAR, [[FromBadToWorse made worse]] by [[CheckPointStarvation the lack of in-level save points]], the single-player mode using the same [[RespawnOnTheSpot respawning system]] as multiplayer.
* ''VideoGame/ThiefTheDarkProject,'' near the end, takes a bit of a dip. The level "Escape!" is considered by some to be the weakest chapter, and the game's final level, while by no means a bad level, is more a linear rush to the final confrontation with none of the stealth or exploration elements that defined the game.
* The final level in ''VideoGame/{{Thief 2014}}'', "Dawn's Light", is blatantly thrown together and unpolished, a symptom of the game's [[TroubledProduction fractured development cycle]]. The level itself feels like it's made up of pieces from three different plots haphazardly sewn together - the standard city hub, an indoor avoidance game with infected civilians, and a final confrontation on a ship that feels incredibly rushed and anticlimactic. Shopkeepers randomly appear in places they have no need to be (inside the infected stronghold, on the rocks outside the ship), and the final boss ([[spoiler:Primal Erin]]) consists mainly of avoiding [[spoiler:her]] and activating a device three times. Incredibly, the segue to the final cutscene goes from a rainy standoff between Garrett and [[spoiler:Erin to her inexplicably hanging off the ship at daybreak]]. Even the final cutscene leaves the narrative on a vague SequelHook, which (to date) hasn't been addressed.

** "The Final Battle" in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'' is a straight hallway with easy platforming, pathetically avoidable enemies, and power-up blocks placed generously enough that the main obstacle, Bowser Jr. in his protected Junior Clown Car, comes across as a small inconvenience at worst, even when going for the Star Coins. And since the final battle with the giant-sized Bowser is a more traditional fight — three-hit formula and all — instead of [[AdvancingBossOfDoom a chase sequence]] [[LevelInBossClothing that expands the level's length]], there's no excuse. Bowser is not even that hard, either.

* ''VideoGame/RaymanLegends'' is truly spectacular up until Living Dead Party. The world has one new level — Grannies World Tour, which is really cool and awesome, but much easier and shorter than the other [[MusicalGameplay music levels]]. Afterwards, the rest of the world is just 8-bit rehashes of the previous music levels, except with [[InterfaceScrew horrific visual distortions]] that do nothing but add on FakeDifficulty, and [[CheckpointStarvation no checkpoints]]. And at the end of the world is "Grannies World Tour, 8-Bit Edition", which is yet another 8-bit rehash... with ''all'' of the distortions combined!

* ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' has Act 4. Whilst having the final chapter in the pits of Hell is pretty cool, there are far fewer areas in Hell than in any other chapter, only a handful of [=NPC=]s in the 'town' of the Pandemonium Fortress(Tyrael, Cain, and the equipment and potion merchants, the latter of whom doubles as the healer), and only three quests, two of which are needed to win the game anyway. Your blacksmith and healer in that town have noticeably been given fewer lines to say and have no discernible personality. "Hail to you, champion" will be stuck in your head after a while.

** The Sewer Trial and The Eden Trial, as well as the first few versions of the Hamidon raid, were slapped together from half-completed ideas to fill the high-level content checkmark. The Sewer Trial in particular remained an afterthought for the entire life of the game -- it was [[GuideDangIt hidden from all but the most cautious explorer]], it was timed, it was filled with multiple copies of ThatOneBoss, and until an update, it could be completely outleveled. The rewards of both are really worthless. The Shadow Shard looked beautiful, but it was filled with ScrappyLevel after DemonicSpider after ScrappyLevel, had significant bugs fester for years, and lacked a lot of content that other zones had.

** Same deal with ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankUpYourArsenal''. The second-to-last planet is Koros, which is a great experience given the original setting, new enemy type and hard but balanced battles. Then you get to Mylon, which is on the other hand visually bland, with easy puzzles and while battles are hard, they are against enemies you encounter since Metropolis. Once you get to FinalBoss, you get into an awesome fight with few elements mixing it up, but the fight afterwards against Bio-Obliterator MkII is uninspiring at best.

* ''Super VideoGame/MeatBoy''[='s=] bonus world, the Cotton Alley, is [[BrutalBonusLevel predictably insane]], [[NintendoHard given the rest of the game]]. It uses all the gimmicks seen in previous worlds, it could be considered a level version of a FinalExamBoss, and unlike the rest of the game, the DarkWorld versions don't seem like they tinkered with the normal levels to make them harder. They're actually very different from their counterparts. But the final level (appropriately entitled "4 Letter Word") is just plain boring. The "gimmick" is corridors filled with the games favorite trap, spinning sawblades. Each corridor is harder than the last. That's it. Nothing exciting. The DarkWorld version (just as appropriately entitled "Brag Rights") is just plain ''lazy'': it's the ''exact same thing'', but ''backwards''. Oh, and there's an [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Advancing Ceiling Of Doom]], but it's kinda slow.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsBartVsTheSpaceMutants'', you spend the first four levels platforming, detecting space mutants in disguise, solving minor puzzles, finding secrets, and playing the occasional minigame. Then comes the fifth and final level... and it's a friggin' maze. All you do is navigate the Springfield Power Plant looking for 16 plutonium rods and taking them to the basement. Oh, and to make matters worse, you know that 16th rod you can't find anywhere? [[spoiler:It's Maggie's pacifier. The game doesn't give you a clue and it makes zero sense, but just touch her after you took the other 15 rods to the basement, and you win. Yeah, you read that right: there's no final boss either]].

* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'':

** The developers listened to the complaints about the ending being easy, and so for ''Chaos Rising'' they upped the difficulty of the ending to absurd degrees. Again, it ''should'' be party central, with the entire Chapter coming to your aid in a big pitched battle, but your allies are [[ArtificialStupidity criminally inept]] and every one that dies gives the final boss more health. Said boss is the nastiest thing in the whole series, with potential health in the millions that regenerates almost as fast as you can hurt it, multiple attacks that can wipe out a squad if they connect, and [[FlunkyBoss frequently calls in]] {{Elite Mook}}s. Adding insult to injury, you ''can't'' use all your heroes this time, which makes no sense at all, seeing how, again, ''the entire chapter pulls in'' for that battle.

** ''The Frozen Throne'' Alliance Campaign's final mission, ''Lord of Outland'' can qualify. It is mainly due to the UnexpectedGameplayChange, where the level is an unusual mix of the normal base mission and a BaselessMission. Instead of harvesting resources, Gold is collected from gold coin items in the Black Citadel, lumber is not a resource in the level at all, there are no workers, upgrades, or towers. Instead there is a set number of buildings that are just there by default to train land units from. The level has no air units available to train, and Kael can't use his Phoenix spell. Heroes are allowed to die, but reviving them is [[ContinuingIsPainful so costly and time consuming]] you are better off restarting the mission (due to how little gold you will be able to get for most of the mission). The level effectively has 3 groups to move. Illidan and Kael with the Blood Elves on the left, Lady Vashj and the Naga on the right, and Akama with his invisible Draenei also on the left. The Draenei are out to complete the sidequest that is effectively required [[note]]they have a StealthBasedMission to destroy the power generators that power Magtheridon's defenses, and not doing this sidequest makes it next to impossible to break into these bases[[/note]]. These 3 groups each take turns exploring their parts of the maps, attacking enemy squads and bases, and group up to fight bosses and their minions near the end of the map. These encounters can turn into complete bloodbaths, since this mission is the only with 4 playable heros and no workers, so there is at least 20% more units than usual to micromanage. The only sense of urgency is that the orcs send some squads to attack Illidan sometimes. Some players actually enjoy the change in gameplay, since it can be considered a reasonable representation of a raid on a fortress, but it is not what anyone expects for a final level, which tends to be a fast-paced and intense base mission with full techtree access.

* VideoGame/StreetsOfRogue's Mayor Village can feel like this on most runs. The Mayor is surrounded by a gaggle of [[EliteMook highly armed Supercops]] but that should only be a moderate obstacle for any decently equipped character and there are a wide number of easily available items in the game like cyanide, rage poison, time bombs, tranquilizer guns and such that can wipe them out with absolutely no effort or risk on the player's part. It's even worse if you go for a political victory [[TheUnfought since you just walk up to the clerk in city hall and have them call over the Mayor to hand you your new hat]], but at least that's unlikely to happen on someone's first time beating the game since the rules for elections aren't actually explained until you get to the final floor. In either case it's very common for the entire final level to take less than a minute or two to clear with no real chance of failure, in stark contrast to [[ThatOneLevel the Uptown floors immediately preceding it.]]

* ''{{VideoGame/Touhou}}'': The general consensus is that ''Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom'' would be a much better game if Junko, the final boss, was better designed. All but a few of her attacks are variations on expanding bullet rings, which, as several big-name ''Touhou'' players have pointed out, are the easiest and quickest danmaku patterns to program. The fight is also overly reliant on extremely tight micrododging[[note]]at the expense of other, more well-regarded techniques like reading tricky patterns, reacting to fast patterns, macrododging (i.e. large movements to dodge large bullets/clusters) and manipulating patterns with aimed elements[[/note]], which makes playing as anyone but Reimu[[note]]who has the smallest hitbox[[/note]] painfully difficult and leads to a lot of clipping deaths.

** Act 5 of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', at least when compared to Act 4. Act 4 gives us a nostalgia bomb where you [[spoiler: revisit Shadow Moses Island, which has been untouched since the first game, completely overhauled in next-gen graphics and culminates in [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome piloting Metal Gear REX to blast your way out complete with taking on Ocelot's Metal Gear RAY in the end]]]]. Act 5 is rife with cutscenes that go on for way too long, cases of MoodWhiplash [[spoiler: (the microwave corridor scene juxtaposed with Johnny's marriage proposal)]] and tons of exposition clarifying events from ''[=MGS2=]''. Stick with that, another half-hour to fourty minutes of cutscenes and the [[spoiler: fake-out "suicide"]] scene, and you'll be treated to a post-credits [[TheStinger stinger]] of [[spoiler: Big Boss]] attempting to [[MrExposition explain]] every lingering plot hole in the series, via a massive Infodump that takes twenty-plus minutes. To call it EndingFatigue would be putting it lightly.

* The final chapter of the episodic indie horror ''VideoGame/BendyAndTheInkMachine'' feels rushed, ends rather abruptly, fails to conclude or even acknowledge a handful of plot threads, and [[spoiler:tacks on a MindScrew ending for seemingly no reason other than to get people talking about it.]]

* ''VideoGame/EatLeadTheReturnOfMattHazard'' falls right into this in the last two levels; the parody dries up, and you are stuck fighting the same enemies from earlier (after gradual additions in each of the earlier levels) over and over again. The little parody there is feels more like a parody of generic action movies rather than of VideoGames (which there are already many examples of, and it therefore loses any of the potential of its concept). There are also Lampshading opportunities that are missed, for example, the penultimate level (the Docks) has you take a half-hour detour through a ship and then come out the other side with it having no purpose whatsoever; this would have been a perfect time to parody convoluted level designs (and the [[FollowThePlottedLine trope]]) in shooters, yet its not even mentioned. One of the few bits of VideoGame parody there is (of [=MMO=]s) has the enemies be {{Palette Swap}}s of enemies you've been fighting throughout the game (again with seemingly no ironic invocation of it).

* ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}''

* The final level of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' is probably the easiest one in the whole game. You're in a medium-sized room with Idunn, the TrueFinalBoss, on the other side, and there are only two other enemies to start with, neither of whom actually block your path. Idunn's stats are also fairly underwhelming, and don't increase on Hard Mode (bar one extra point of HP). On top of that, at this point you should have most of the Legendary Weapons, plus the Binding Blade, all of which are PurposefullyOverpowered, and the Binding Blade deals massive damage to Idunn, such that Roy can one-round her without too much issue when trained. Though it's far from the only final level in the series that can be beaten in a single turn, most others require abuse of Warp or similar mechanics to pull that off; it's downright ''easy'' to manage here, with multiple possible ways of doing so.

** After the original three ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' games were all lauded for having fantastic final cases that made playing through the game well worth it, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' stands out as having a final case that's very weak by comparison. It starts out well enough, with a compelling mystery over the death of an artist, but then rapidly falls apart after the first trial day, with an awkwardly out-of-place "flashback case" that puts you back in control of Phoenix, and then possily the most confusing and convoluted investigation in the entire series, courtesy of the illogical MASON System. You go back and forth between seven years ago and the present day, often getting evidence from the past that you need for the prsent and vice versa. By the time you return to Apollo, all that's left is some dialogue and presenting the last piece of evidence before losing control of him again to decide the final verdict as someone else.

* The final chapter of the ''Silver Snow'' route in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' is a long gauntlet of overpowered enemies, including respawning monsters, and most of them have the Miracle skill, [[LuckBasedMission giving them a random chance of surviving a lethal blow with 1 HP.]] The FinalBoss can use an area attack every turn, which also regenerates their armour, making them very annoying to take down. To top it all off, it takes place on a map you've already played twice already (even more if you've played the other routes), and the plot reasons for the battle come out of nowhere after the route's main bad guys have already been dealt with.

** After the original three ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' games were all lauded for having fantastic final cases that made playing through the game well worth it, ''VisualNovel/ApolloJusticeAceAttorney'' stands out as having a final case that's very weak by comparison. It starts out well enough, with a compelling mystery over the death of an artist, but then rapidly falls apart after the first trial day, with an awkwardly out-of-place "flashback case" that puts you back in control of Phoenix, and then possily the most confusing and convoluted investigation in the entire series, courtesy of the illogical MASON System. By the time you return to Apollo, all that's left is some dialogue and presenting the last piece of evidence before losing control of him again to decide the final verdict as someone else.
** The final case of ''[[VisualNovel/AceAttorneyInvestigationsMilesEdgeworth Ace Attorney Investigations]]''. The pacing becomes very slow, and it starts to drag out after [[spoiler:Shih-na's reveal]]; unfortunately, you'll still have several more confrontations to go. The main problem is that the game's length isn't balanced by the emotional tension, as unlike the previous antagonists Edgeworth had no personal connection to the BigBad, only an ideological one, and can make it hard to care at times. On top of that, despite the case's extreme length, it fails to do more than make the game's overall storyline feel like a series of massively improbable {{Contrived Coincidence}}s. As a result of all this, it's widely considered to be not only the worst final case in an ''Ace Attorney'' game, but a strong contender for the single worst case in the entire series[[note]]("Turnabout Big Top" and "Turnabout Serenade" from ''Justice For All'' and ''Apollo Justice'' respectively are the only ones generally considered to be worse, and even then there are those who'd point out that they're just filler cases with little bearing on the overall plot of those games, meaning their poor quality isn't as damaging to the game as a whole)[[/note]].
** While not nearly as poorly-regarded as those of the aforementioned games, the final case of the first ''VisualNovel/TheGreatAceAttorney'' game has been criticised for its investigation phase being slow-paced and ''incredibly'' heavy on exposition, to the point where less than half of the phase is spent actually investigating anything. Things pick up for the actual trial, although even then it's not considered to be anything stand-out compared to other final cases in the series.

* ''VideoGame/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'' games, simply due to the nature of how it works. Winning the game involves taking over every single last city in the country, and if that last faction consistently refuses your offers of surrender...well, there's no fun in a curb stomp that takes hours to finish up. Later games allowed the option to have the AI take over, letting the game finish itself when it's obvious you're gonna win by that point.

** The final level of the vanilla campaign should in theory be a big dramatic climax, but the HoldTheLine segments are far easier than they look, and while the FinalBoss is objectively powerful it dies laughably quickly, as you have control of all your heroes at once ''and'' [[spoiler:Gabriel Angelos]]. The suits of Terminator armour make the level even easier, and getting all the suits means defeating the two {{Bonus Boss}}es, both of which completely outclass the final boss in every way, making them the real climax.

** End of the World in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'' takes this to new extremes. The level is a horribly broken mess where you have to play as every single character in the game...''except'' for Sonic himself (the ''main character!'' Who happens to be dead at this point of the game) and Blaze, who are considered the only two bearable characters in the game to play as. As if that weren't enough, the level is a full-blown MarathonLevel separated into seven different sections...which the game has to spend time ''[[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading loading each and every one.]]'' As if that weren't enough, the level's main gimmick are time holes that suck you in and [[OneHitKill instantly kill you even if you have rings]], [[ClassicVideoGameScrewYous which pop up out of nowhere]] and [[FakeDifficulty can often lead to a cheap death]].[[note]]There are actually ''two'' types of time hole — purple and orange (the main colors of Mephiles and Iblis, respectively). [[DemonicSpiders The purple ones]] are the ones that suck you in and instantly kill you; the orange ones throw boxes at you, which is [[GoddamnedBats annoying but manageable]]. However, time holes continuously spawn as you progress, and if too many appear at once (and you haven't been sucked into a purple hole or a BottomlessPit next to a purple hole by then), you immediately die even if you're far, far away from every single InstantDeathRadius.[[/note]] ''And'' you only get five lives to do this incredibly long level, even if you collected a bunch throughout the game. [[LetsPlay/SonicTheHedgehog2006 pokecapn's LP]] of the game has five videos of about 30 minutes each (and copious amounts of SanitySlippage) for what should have been 12 minutes of gameplay, largely due to just how broken and unplayable this sequence is.

* The UsefulNotes/SuperBowl was this during the 80s and 90s, a NFC team won 16 of the 20 games and 13 straight from 1985 (XIX) to 1997 (XXXI), and most of those games were blowouts. This led fans (and even some commentators) to refer to the NFC Championship game as the "real" title game and treat the Super Bowl itself as a mere formality that had to be played to fulfill TV contracts. The Denver Broncos beat the Green Bay Packers 31-24 in Super Bowl XXXII to finally put the AFC back in the win column[[note]]Through Super Bowl LVI (played in 2022 following the 2021 season) the NFC has a 29-27 lead[[/note]].

* The final act of ''VideoGame/{{Snatcher}}'' may have the benefit of actually giving the game an ending (earlier versions ended at Act 2 on a cliffhanger), but is otherwise the game's low point. After quizzing the player on the events of the first two acts, the game then takes the player to a ruined church and sticks them on a very linear path. The adventure gameplay and investigation vanishes almost entirely, with the player being shoved into the two hardest gun battles in the game back-to-back with no option to save in between. The rest of the game is almost entirely comprised of a cutscene, which lasts around a half-hour as the main villain gives an obscenely long InfoDump. Though said half-hour is full of important plot reveals and has one hell of a climax, it also gives you no input whatsoever beyond watching things play out.

* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'': The final area, the Formidable Oak, is widely seen as being a massive let down. To start, it is extremely linear, unlike all the other areas in the game. It is also an EscortMission where the captains need to [[spoiler: get Olimar out]]. While it is suppose to feel suspenseful, it is very easy to use a bug that causes [[spoiler: The Plasm Wraith]] to be unable to find the player if they stay in a puddle of water, which, if abused, can remove any danger whatsoever. Add on to the fact there are very few enemies to fight and the fact nothing resets should the player take longer then a day makes the level feel like a disappointment. The final boss fight with [[spoiler:the Plasm Wraith]] is generally agreed to be really awesome though.

* VideoGame/SuperMarioBros.

** "The Final Battle" in VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU is a straight hallway with easy platforming, pathetically avoidable enemies, and power-up blocks placed generously enough that the main obstacle, Bowser Jr. in his protected Junior Clown Car, comes across as a small inconvenience at worst, even when going for the Star Coins. And since the final battle with the giant-sized Bowser is a more traditional fight — three-hit formula and all — instead of [[AdvancingBossOfDoom a chase sequence]] [[LevelInBossClothing that expands the level's length]], there's no excuse. Bowser is not even that hard, either.

*** The final level is a very rudimentary "underwater" stage[[note]]it actually takes place inside a drain pipe, with the "water" being some kind of poison[[/note]] with one obvious difference... your play control is reversed the whole time, doubling this as an example of ThatOneLevel.