16. Sacrifice Ending - Nier
The Image: And now for something a little meta. We're all familiar with a video game asking us if we're sure that we want to delete a save, but not quite like this...
Why It's Powerful: If you haven't played Nier, you should definitely change that. It's far from perfect, but it's a gorgeous, imaginative RPG that features one of the most bizarre and creative endings in video game history. On a third playthrough, players are given the option to kill Kainé or sacrifice themselves in order to save her. The sacrifice ending results in Nier being erased from the memory of everyone he's interacted with throughout the game, and to really hammer the point home, the game actually erases your save after asking the player to enter the name of the character who is being erased. You then have to look on in shock as your progress is wiped away, Nier disappears and the game ends. We've never seen anything like it in a game: Cavia managed to take a basic video game feature and transform it into something beautiful and unforgettable.
