I learned a useful term tonight:

[xiphias]

For the situation in video games, and, to a lesser extent, in movies, where, when the big bad guy is beaten up and defeated, the whole base/lair/whatever starts blowing up and the hero has to escape:

"Load-bearing end-boss."

Comments

[warren8472.livejournal.com]

Kinda like the finale of Super Metroid. I never understood the logic of that. The final boss rigged the whole complex to explode upon his death?

[lazy-boring-man.livejournal.com]

Super Metroid's what I immediately thought of, too. Though technically it's her death.

[warren8472.livejournal.com]

How sad is that, that I finished that game nine and a half years ago, and I remember the countdown on the escape sequence like it was yesterday.

[lazy-boring-man.livejournal.com]

It sucks because you get that AWESOME gun at the end, but never get to use it in the real game.