Your favorite fake final dungeon

[Second Duke Revier]

Among general RPG tropes, this has to be up there. Whether it be chasing after Gestahl and Kefka on the Floating Continent, or rushing to stop the Mammon Machine from summoning Lavos, faking out the player with a purported "last" dungeon only to pull the rug out at the last possible moment is a long established classic. And who can deny the appeal of a nice, spicy twist? Post your favorite fake dungeons here! Fake final levels from non RPGs are also welcome.

 

[Issun]

Chrono Trigger's Ocean Palace is definitely a contender. That music! I'll have to think on some other examples.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Gotta give it to the Ocean Palace

 

[MetManMas]

Baramos's castle from Dragon Quest III.

 

[Kazin]

Does the Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal Elite Four count for this? I've never been so delighted to find out I wasn't done with a game as when I realized all of Kanto was packed into that Gold cart...

 

[gorha]

Deva Yuga in the original Persona is up there for me. It's a great fake-out, largely because the game really does end there if you're on the bad ending path, so the dungeon and its boss have to be suitably climactic. The music is also incredible:

 

[Second Duke Revier]

Oh wow, that's a really trippy track! Especially with those subliminal voices...I kinda wonder what they're saying.

 

[JBear]

Dragon Quest III has a really cool one in Baramos' Castle that leads to a really cool and fun twist for the final leg of the game, so I'll second that.

Also, I haven't played the remaster yet, but I seem to recall Star Ocean 2 having a really good one at the half-way point.

 

[FelixSH]

Dragon Quest III has a really cool one in Baramos' Castle that leads to a really cool and fun twist for the final leg of the game, so I'll second that.

Oh, that one was good. Agreed.

I probably should have quoted MetManMas, but point is, I'm agreeing.

 

[gogglebob]

Going to highlight the Trapezohedron of Wild Arms 2, as it not only has plot build up for "this might be the end" and is a trippy dungeon with a significant boss; but it also goes you multiple warnings before entering that you should get your affairs in order, because you might never leave. That is the usual warning before a "real" final dungeon, so there was probably at least one person that was tricked by that.

However, I hesitate to call it a "favorite", as the dungeon is an awful maze and a complete waste of time...

 

[Pajaro Pete]

Also, I haven't played the remaster yet, but I seem to recall Star Ocean 2 having a really good one at the half-way point.

it honestly looks and feels way worse in the remake

 

[4-So]

Maybe the intention here is for this to be RPG-centric but my favorite fake final dungeon has always been Dr. Cossack's castle in Mega Man 4. It was a big, "Wait, what?" moment in 1992.

 

[Second Duke Revier]

it honestly looks and feels way worse in the remake

Yeah, unfortunately. I wish there was more of the ruined palace and less of the weird sci fi cube floors. And I definitely miss the weird statues they had in said space before.

 

[Beowulf]

I feel like the "fake final dungeon" thing was really popular in the PS1 era, when the existence of multiple discs was generally enough to spoil any surprise.

It's amusing when it comes up in a KEMCO game or an indie jrpg, because you never know if you're actually going into the final dungeon after 8 hours of gameplay, or if that's only the halfway point!

 

[Second Duke Revier]

Lol yeah it's a bit funny when the fake final dungeon becomes a real one either because of hardware limitations, or because the devs ran out of budget.