The most startling "Game Over" screens

[J T]

Friday the 13th (NES)


Ninja Gaiden (arcade)


Resident Evil 2

[Ivo]

I think stuff like Diablo 2 when playing hardcore counts!
Losing a high level char must really sting.

Ivo.

[hashiriya1]

Any Mortal Kombat fatality (when it happens to you).

[Yancakes]

Honestly, for some reason, in OoT when Link dies, the surroundings fade to black and he, as a child, just kinda drops to his knees and flops forward on his face... there's something really visceral about it.

[J T]

In Phantasmagoria, you can't die at all until the final chapter, and then the deaths are exceedingly gruesome:

[Luke]

Interesting.

This thread made me notice that GAME OVER screens aren't around as much as they used to be. You respawn, start from a check point, are healed at a hospital, get to "try again", or have the option to quit. I can't remember the last recent game I played where when I died I didn't get a screen that basically states "You fucked up. Start over."

Without a doubt it is wayyyy harder to die in games these days. Not saying that games are no longer difficult, but it seems you always get as many chances as possible to complete a new game. This takes away a lot from me in my "gaming experience", as I know I can always come back and play later. There is no sense of urgency nor the threat that the game could be over and all progress would be lost.

When Jason did his little twirl of death or when Sophia exploded in Blaster Master, the screen would turn black and let you know how many lives you have left, and it's going to be three or under. It's not a life count, it's more of a warning and a reminder that you better be on top of your game. When you ran out of lives, Game Over and cut to the Blaster Master start screen.

Sewer Shark is as equally as brutal. One wrong turn, and hours of gaming turn into a time suck with no reward.

But these are only a couple of games where the Game Over screen encouraged me to be better at gaming. These days gamers are coddled by developers who make sure that just about anyone can beat almost any game with minimal effort and a bit of luck.

[brunoafh]

The first time this happens in Demon's Souls and you lose all your souls.

[sevin0seven]

ZAMN:





FF:

[ExedExes]

Tecmo Knight (Arcade) -- pretty bloody and gruesome for 1989, but the Game Over screen --


After ending up being some food source for something....


I guess not after you've been eaten!

[J T]

Dragon's Lair was most entertaining in the many death scenes.