So back in the days before the Famicom/NES, most games were content to loop until they finally wore you out. But very rarely, there were times where a game would call it for you. I'd like to discuss these, starting with two examples.

Capcom's 1942 outright tells the player that the game has given up and gives you a massive bonus.

Nintendo's Arm Wrestling has the crooked barker run out of money and kick you the heck out. A bit of an anticlimax compared to becoming champion of the boxing world.


So, are there any other games before Super Mario Bros that eventually tell you off? I'm not counting definitive endings like Bubble Bobble, either. Nor anything that yanks your chain until you play the second loop.

Anticlimaxes are more attuned to what I'm seeking.

So about that deagel si...

No, no, wait. Wrong thread.

Honestly, with both of these threads each time I read the title I just hear Uka Uka's voice.

https://youtu.be/y3KBua_k6mc

As great an actor as he was, I never really cared for Aliens too much and that sadly includes the character he was known and loved for in PFC Hudson.

I'm recalling to a naff old "GAME. OVER." clip probably lifted from a bad game.

I got the gist of what you were going for, beyond the obvious and deliberate aping of the now locked other thread with the title choice.

Nearly 40 years to recollect and I can't pick out a particular example of what you're asking for. I mean... maybe Castlevania 2? But, that wasn't "before Super Mario Bros", so maybe not. It was also just dependent on how long it took to finish it with regard to how it ended.

Would you consider the Pacman 256 level glitch where the map becomes a killer glitch? I think some versions of Galaga did that too.
True, it isn't programmed, but you never get to destroy all the invading galaga saving Earth, or see what Pacman was trying to accomplish in the first place, so it is kind of anticlimactic.

I vaguely recall a game in which the gods were pissed that you were doing so well so they reset time forcing you to compete forever, kind of like what they did to Sisyphus in the Greek legends. I think there were a few games that did something to that effect every time you were about to reach the 8bit level cap.

I know you said not games that make you play twice, but this wasn't a one time thing, before showing the true ending. These were games where there was no true ending, just a reset screen, usually just before the goal, or at an absurdly high level.