Games with great postgame content

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I collect VHS tapes

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I just beat Mario Odyssey yesterday. the game was absolutely incredible and has me very excited for the new DK game since it will be done by the same studio.

after beating the game, I was pleasantly surprised to find a meaty postgame. it made me realize how much I appreciate a good postgame. I do think the degree to which I'm interested in postgame is greatly dependent on how good the game itself is, but for a game like Mario Odyssey, where it is perfect, having a significant postgame with whole new areas to explore is fantastic

what are some of your favorite games with strong postgames?
 
I loved the postgame content in Galaxy 2. They just add another 120 stars for you to collect, and that was awesome.
 
Dragon's Dogma. Even without the expansion, after the credits roll there's still game there including some grindy super boss that could keep you busy for a while, plus the true ending.

Dragon's Dogma 2 has a similar approach, but lacks the super boss. Instead you get a bunch of quests which vary depending on what you did during the main game. Kinda cool approach as well imo.
 
Plies said:
What does postgame mean?

You didn't really say much in regards to Mario Odyssey.
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too good to spoil, play the game my dude

when I say postgame, I mean additional, new content that is available after the credits roll

Odyssey spoilers:
## 🎮 *Super Mario Odyssey* – Postgame Content Breakdown

Here's everything that unlocks after you beat the main story:

---

### 🌟 New Kingdoms to Explore

* **Mushroom Kingdom (Peach's Castle)**

* A full new kingdom styled after *Super Mario 64*.
* Collect Power Moons instead of Stars.
* Yoshi appears! You can ride him and use his tongue ability.
* Contains Toadette's achievements checklist (she rewards Power Moons for in-game milestones).
* Classic throwback music, visuals, and nods to the N64 era.

* **Dark Side Kingdom**

* Unlocked after collecting 250 Power Moons.
* A tough enemy gauntlet on the dark side of the moon.
* Includes the Broodal boss rush and challenging platforming sections.

* **Darker Side Kingdom**

* Unlocked after collecting 500 Power Moons.
* A single, massive platforming challenge with no checkpoints.
* Considered the hardest level in the game—a true final test of your skills.

---

### 💫 More Power Moons Everywhere

* **Hundreds of new Power Moons appear** in every kingdom postgame.
* Hidden behind advanced puzzles, tougher platforming, and new challenges.
* Many require full mastery of Mario's movement abilities.
* Some previously inaccessible areas open up.

---

### 👑 Peach's World Tour

* After the final battle, Peach goes on vacation across the kingdoms.
* Find her in each location wearing region-specific outfits.
* Talking to her gives you an extra Power Moon per kingdom.
* Adds more charm and motivation to revisit earlier areas.

---

### 🛍️ New Shop Items and Costumes

* Tons of new outfits are added to the Crazy Cap shop after beating the game.
* Costumes inspired by past Mario titles (*Dr. Mario*, *Mario 64*, *Wario*, etc.).
* Some require regular coins, others need regional currency or achievement unlocks.

---

### 🗺️ Hint Toad & Uncle Amiibo

* **Hint Toad** becomes more useful postgame—pay coins to get hints for Power Moons.
* **Uncle Amiibo** helps scan for hidden Power Moons using compatible Amiibo.
* Great tools for completionists trying to 100% the game.

---

### 🎈 Luigi's Balloon World (Bonus Mode)

> *(Note: This mode is part of a free update, not unlocked through story progression, but available anytime postgame.)*

* A time-based hide-and-seek mini-game hosted by Luigi.
* Hide balloons in creative spots or search for other players' balloons.
* Great for mastering movement and earning extra coins.

---

### 🏆 Achievement Tracking

* Toadette in the Mushroom Kingdom gives you Power Moons for hitting milestones:

* Number of jumps, captures, regional coins collected, and more.
* Feels rewarding to chase all the small in-game goals.

---

### 🧠 Increased Challenge & Mastery

* Postgame moons often test deep understanding of Mario's acrobatic moveset.
* Expect wall jumps, dive combos, cap bounces, and precision timing.
* Ideal for players who want more than just exploration.
 
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Pokemon Gold/Silver is also a very good one in that regard. Might be the best even? Shit was unbelievable to me as a kid lol.
 
Strangers of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins is the peak. There are another two games (DLC content packs) behind the initial campaign. Chaos/Bahamut difficulty unlocks/narrative and Gilgamesh rifts change the game. With new buffs, skills, jobs, challenges, summons, items, and strategies to employ. It is actually absurd how much the game expands in mechanics and narrative.
 
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Lies of P. In Lies of P NG0 you don't really get into much of the available power. The power continues to scale into NG+1. Unlike other games, NG+1 is not a victory lap. It is much harder than NG0 but the neat part is that the upgrades continue as well. Even once you have completed NG+1 you will still have weapons to max out, quartz to find to max out your porgans, increase character level, and the game actually changes some things across ng+1 and ng+1. With the new xpak and the new porgan upgrades it actually scales properly for power gain all the way up to the end of NG+2 and you feel like you are gaining power that whole time. The game got even better in NG+1 which is not something I've experienced in other games.

Vagrant Story. It's been a long time but it seems to me that there were some interesting upgrades that would require multiple playthrus to fully implement. IIRC that game had amazing replay value.

Hades. No spoilers. Hades.

Somebody in another thread told me Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin had a great endgame.
 
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The original Dragon's Dogma had an excellent endgame dungeon run and online bosses that you could beat. Ofc your favorite game dev, capcom, decided they didn't need that for the sequel.
 
TintoConCasera said:
Pokemon Gold/Silver is also a very good one in that regard. Might be the best even? Shit was unbelievable to me as a kid lol.
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Going to kanto after beating the elite four was a fantastic WOW moment. Going there and beating the other gym leaders was legendary as a kid.

Now it's obvious it wasn't developed well and the gym leaders were weaker than the elite 4, that you need to beat to get to them.
The whole game has quite the troubled level curve.

But of course mods come to the rescue.
 
DMC has the bloody palace, floors of enemies that increase in difficulty.

Bayonetta has the witch trials. They are levels without any story, just combat that becomes more and more difficult. You also can't change the difficulty of these levels. Fun for when you want to play the game's combat without the story getting in the way.
 
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Hashassin said:
Going to kanto after beating the elite four was a fantastic WOW moment. Going there and beating the other gym leaders was legendary as a kid.

Now it's obvious it wasn't developed well and the gym leaders were weaker than the elite 4, that you need to beat to get to them.
The whole game has quite the troubled level curve.

But of course mods come to the rescue.
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Yeah it could have been balanced better, but hey you were able to fight a 2nd elite team in kanto, no? don't remember, but that final fight against the protag from Red/Blue was absolute cinema.
 
Dragon's Dogma. With it's very own BERSERK Eclipse moment putting tougher enemies in the world and a bleak atmosphere all leading you to the Everfall. And then later with Dark Arisen the mega dungeon Bitter Black Isle.

Pokemon Gold/Silver where beating Johto let you take a train and let you tackle Kanto region in it's entirety.

Nioh 2/Stranger of Paradise giving you ever more difficult battles.

Astral Chain's final chapter being comprised of at least 50 combat encounters to test your skills with the battle system.

Granblue Relink where the game truly begins after you beat the story with Proud Mode having all the cool stuff.

Any Monster Hunter specifically 4G where G Rank was the true endgame.

Honorable mention to Parasite Eve's Chrysler building megadungeon.

Postgame in Dragon Quest IX was something special. Main Story was just a tutorial.

Most Xenoblade games have superbosses and lots of quests you only really tackle at endgame.

The recent Clair Obscur has plenty of postgame content that adds to the lore and plenty of tough fights.

Hyrule Warriors opening up tons of missions after the main story that require leveled characters and careful attention on completing objectives in a specific order in 15 minutes or less.

Most Mario games where after you beat the main game....the real game and challenge starts.
 
Rush2112 said:
The original Dragon's Dogma had an excellent endgame dungeon run and online bosses that you could beat. Ofc your favorite game dev, capcom, decided they didn't need that for the sequel.
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Yeah, am still holding out for that unlikely expansion. Fuck crapcom for that.
 
Great postgame content:

Ff12. Hunts, beastiary, ultimate weapons, rare and trophy game enemies, secret bosses and espers, it has it all.

Crystal project. The whole game is kind of post game of you think about it.

Parasite eves 2. While it's all kinda new game plus, it's still after the credits hehe. 4 different modes and all kinds of wacky weapons and armor to unlock, this game is replay: the value.

And like many others mentioned, the biggest, the greatest, the DRAGON'S DOGMA DARK ARISEN.

Games with terrible post game content:

FF13.
 
TintoConCasera said:
Yeah it could have been balanced better, but hey you were able to fight a 2nd elite team in kanto, no? don't remember, but that final fight against the protag from Red/Blue was absolute cinema.
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Yes red was peak on the peak. Especially because he's probably around 20 levels higher than you thanks to that majestic curve.
You talk about the elite four getting buffed after you beat the kan to gym leaders? Not sure either. Played too many hacks.
 
Hashassin said:
Crystal project
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denzel washington GIF


That game needs to get way more attention.

To whoever is reading: if you like job systems like in FF V or Bravely Default paired with a good combat system, check out the game right now.
 
I enjoyed Astro Bot's post game a lot but it wasn't too hard. I enjoyed Odyssey's postgame content but it kind of overwhelmed me and I guess I wasn't quite as good at the cappy skillset as I thought I was.
Angry_Megalodon said:
Expedition 33
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This one came to mind for me too. Many of the late game side content seems mandatory for story appreciation.
 
Dragon Quest XI (the game is ended, credit rolls, but the story are continue, not just once again, but third)
Dragon Quest IX (You have lot of new quests and new bosses, not counting lot of new dungeons)
Dragon's Dogma series (i won't say spoilers, although it's not new games)
uuf enough with all these dragons

MH series (You know MH, the game is really started after credit's roll)
Pokemon Series (never completed, but i heard they are cool)
Torchlight 2, more dungeons!

I can remember some of them ( should be more of course )

There is other thread way long time before, and i'm not member yet at the time
https://www.neogaf.com/threads/jrpgs-with-the-best-optional-content-in-the-end-post-game.1334831/
 
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Some that people haven't mentioned yet:

Megaman Battle Network series, especially from 3 onwards:
Entire chapters of story full of challenges and the hardest bosses so you can really put your skills and chip combinations to the test.

Dragon Quest 8:
Still the best in the series in my opinion, with again some very challenging fights and cool rewards. Also reveals new information about the protagonist that ties back to things that happened in the main story. A game that absolutely deserves a remaster, right now it's stuck on PS2 and 3DS and none of these versions are perfect.
 
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NeverYouMind said:
Strangers of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins is the peak. There are another two games (DLC content packs) behind the initial campaign. Chaos/Bahamut difficulty unlocks/narrative and Gilgamesh rifts change the game. With new buffs, skills, jobs, challenges, summons, items, and strategies to employ. It is actually absurd how much the game expands in mechanics and narrative.
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All the Nioh derived titles are like that, and why I personally rate them above FROM's games. If you get into them, the value for money they offer is top-tier.
 
Clear said:
All the Nioh derived titles are like that, and why I personally rate them above FROM's games. If you get into them, the value for money they offer is top-tier.
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I have played Nioh 2 and Wu Long post game, but it just devolved to grinding for set bonuses without any sort of novelty offered.
 
diablo 3

the game starts at max level full stop.
the main game is a fucking tutorial.
they patched out the game years later because they understood what the game was.
 
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NeverYouMind said:
I have played Nioh 2 and Wu Long post game, but it just devolved to grinding for set bonuses without any sort of novelty offered.
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That's a very very reductive way of putting it.

Lets talk about Nioh 2:

For a start off the DLC areas are always pitched at a higher level of difficulty than the base game's given cycle, so you really need to go to NG+1 to stand a chance,
Every other NG+ cycle uses the alternate version of mob placements so 2 playthroughs is a minimum just to see all versions of the base levels.
Then each NG+ level not only adds an additional tier of rarity for weapons and armour, but usually adds extra systems like multiple guardian spirits, perks etc.
Also over the course of the 3 DLC's new weapons get added, which admittedly get added back into the base game because TN are pretty good like that.
Each weapon has its own skill tree, and a usually a unique master of that particular art to beat.

By NG+2 the abyss opens, but you won't stand a chance beyond the first few floors until way of the Nioh at NG+4, which is when you'll likely hit the level cap and start earning prestige points.

Abyss adds new upgrade systems, affixes, set bonuses etc. Distribution is split by floors for the grace sets so there's a farming meta-game built in.
If you are hardcore and get past floor 100 of Abyss, you get deeper abyss which adds multi-boss fights and unique armour sets.

There were other systems added too I think in NG+ like the scroll-type arena battles, and stone of penance upgrade system for accessories.

Basically, its an absolute shit-ton of additional content beyond the base game at launch.

Wo Long probably adds the least new stuff of them all, mainly because it was trying to step back on the insanity of Nioh 2's loot and associated systems. Longest Journey was fun though, and a pretty solid subsitute for Abyss... even if it was significantly easier.
 
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I mostly don't care about post-game content when it's pretty much only hard boss fights that require minmaxing everything and planning specific strategies for every single fight. I guess it's a solution RPG devs found to solve a problem they themselves created, ie putting in a lot of skills and items and weapons that never get fully utilized in the main game. I tend to consider it extra grinding for the most part, and I rarely do it even if a lot of people rave about it.

Stuff like Kanto in Pokemon Gold/Silver and the Luigi game in Mario Galaxy is post-game content done right in my book. Or the extra modes in classic Resident Evil games, even if they are borderline ridiculous with their difficulty at times.
 
MagiusNecros said:
Dragon's Dogma. With it's very own BERSERK Eclipse moment putting tougher enemies in the world and a bleak atmosphere all leading you to the Everfall. And then later with Dark Arisen the mega dungeon Bitter Black Isle.

Pokemon Gold/Silver where beating Johto let you take a train and let you tackle Kanto region in it's entirety.

Nioh 2/Stranger of Paradise giving you ever more difficult battles.

Astral Chain's final chapter being comprised of at least 50 combat encounters to test your skills with the battle system.

Granblue Relink where the game truly begins after you beat the story with Proud Mode having all the cool stuff.

Any Monster Hunter specifically 4G where G Rank was the true endgame.

Honorable mention to Parasite Eve's Chrysler building megadungeon.

Postgame in Dragon Quest IX was something special. Main Story was just a tutorial.

Most Xenoblade games have superbosses and lots of quests you only really tackle at endgame.

The recent Clair Obscur has plenty of postgame content that adds to the lore and plenty of tough fights.

Hyrule Warriors opening up tons of missions after the main story that require leveled characters and careful attention on completing objectives in a specific order in 15 minutes or less.

Most Mario games where after you beat the main game....the real game and challenge starts.
Click to expand...
Hyrule Warriors is insane

howlongtobeat.com

How long is Hyrule Warriors? | HowLongToBeat

How long is Hyrule Warriors? HowLongToBeat has the answer. Create a backlog, submit your game times and compete with your friends!
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main+ sidequest, 38.5 hours, completionist, 222 hours
 
diffusionx said:
Hyrule Warriors is insane
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Wish there was a sequel to HW Definitive.

I like both HW and AoC but HW and the Adventure Maps is packed with content to do. Probably my favorite Musou. 2nd favorite is probably Warriors Orochi 3.

And of course it features the best iteration of Ganondorf. That Super Saiyan 3 hair is top tier.
 
Plies said:
What does postgame mean?

You didn't really say much in regards to Mario Odyssey.
Click to expand...
Honestly, that's like required reading. You're on a video game forum. You don't know what "post-game" means? If not, this thread isn't for you. Which is fine. But I don't get posts like this.

Your sentence about Mario Odyssey wouldn't need to be asked, either. Because that game has an *excellent* post-game. Totally agree with OP.
 
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Totally agreed. Odyssey has a great post-game, especially for a Mario title. Odyssey's got so much more to it after credits roll. All the alien blocks spawn new challenges in every area, there's like a whole planet just for post-game boss rushing. It's awesome. Odyssey has lots of excellent, quality, optional challenge for those looking for it.

My Top 3 post-game list is:

TTYD- I always talk everyone's ear off about how great this game is on here, whenever I have the chance. But that's for a whole other thread. One of this game's best attributes is the excellent post-game. Not just for how much there is to do, but for how the game lets you save after the final boss, and when you come back to Rogueport for the post-game, the whole town knows you saved the world, which for me in 2004 was mind-blowing for a game to do. So cool.

DQ XI- needs no introduction. DQ games are known for great post-games. XI is almost like a second game inside the main game, it's just insane how much there is to do. And as always, some excellent super boss challenges to be had. Just such a great game, through and through.

Lost Odyssey- so, so much to do in this game. A solid few dozen hours of quality post-game super bosses, entire new optional dungeons, treasure hunts, side quests, etc. An amazing JRPG that has aged like fine wine, and a superbly satisfying post-game. Also has a full-fledged superb New Game Plus, which frustratingly not all great JRPGs have.

Great thread topic, OP. 😘
 
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kevboard said:
yup, that shit was crazy! Gold and Silver generally were just insanely good for GBC games
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I think Platinum has the ultimate Pokemon post-game. And was designed that way from the outset, with that as the main goal. To be the Ultimate Pokemon game (for the time).
 
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Seyken said:
Dragon Quest 8:
Still the best in the series in my opinion, with again some very challenging fights and cool rewards. Also reveals new information about the protagonist that ties back to things that happened in the main story. A game that absolutely deserves a remaster, right now it's stuck on PS2 and 3DS and none of these versions are perfect.
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DQ VIII 3DS handily beats out PS2 if you're awarding merit based on volume and quality of the post-game. It's not even close.

The fact that the best version is stuck on 3DS is an absolute travesty. Some day we'll get a re-release.
 
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Dr. Wilkinson said:
Honestly, that's like required reading. You're on a video game forum. You don't know what "post-game" means? If not, this thread isn't for you. Which is fine. But I don't get posts like this.

Your sentence about Mario Odyssey wouldn't need to be asked, either. Because that game has an *excellent* post-game. Totally agree with OP.
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What does pregame mean?
 
red dead redemption 2 / red dead online. there's practically a big part of the map that you really don't get to explore in the base game

poly bridge 2. when you complete all worlds (you should get all stars) you get a full new world that has really unique and difficult maps

all arkham games, especially with riddle puzzles and random missions that you will most likely miss here and there. it is just insane postgame content. gives you a chance to explore every corner of their beautifully crafted maps

celeste has tons of postgame content. like the actual game is the postgame lol
 
Dr. Wilkinson said:
DQ VIII 3DS handily beats out PS2 if you're awarding merit based on volume and quality of the post-game. It's not even close.

The fact that the best version is stuck on 3DS is an absolute travesty. Some day we'll get a re-release.
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Agreed and it should be a slam dunk, but it's Square Enix we're talking about here, so common sense doesn't really apply...

Watch as we eventually get a uprezzed 3DS version that looks worse than a PS2 emulated game.
 
Nier Automata... When you finish the game the first time... You just find out that you're barely scratching the surface of what the game is about..
 
Grounded has a pretty amazing post game content loop. You can remix the yard making it harder and it also adds new gear and tech. Now the interesting thing is if you complete the harder new game plus it then goes to new game plus 2 and more weapons and tech unlocks. You can basically goto new game plus 10 where a single regular infused ant is basically like an end game boss. It's a crazy amount of content in an already fun as hell world to mess around in.

More recently fantasy life i has a nice chunk of post game content a while new mechanic opens up which rewards you with a shitload of really cool recipes to craft for some top tier end game items. Which will be useful when le el 5 release that free rougelike endgame content to make use of all this grinding and crafting.
 
Pokémon Black/White and X/Y

You have a lot of side quests opened after beating the Elite 4. I can even say that it has more content post game than the main game - not because it's more fun, but from my 20h in the main game and more than 100h after means they're amazing
 
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