History Main / FinalDungeonPreview

* ''VideoGame/YookaLayleeAndTheImpossibleLair'' begins with an attempt by Yooka and Laylee at the eponymous Impossible Lair. Players [[SubvertedTrope actually can clear the level on their first attempt]]- it's just [[NintendoHard not likely]] without the Beetalion Shield.

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'':
** ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'': From the starting point of Snowy Mountain, it is possible to look over and see a series of towers in the distance. These are a part of Gol and Maia's Citadel, the final area in the game.
** ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'': In one mission, Jak will take control of a robot onboard the Dark Maker's ship to destroy the shield generator. He'll later be transported onto the ship to confront Errol.

* ''VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander'': In one mission, Jak will take control of a robot onboard the Dark Maker's ship to destroy the shield generator. He'll later be transported onto the ship to confront Errol.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'': The Temple of the Ocean King, being the final dungeon explored at the start of the game. Due to a curse, the dungeon will gradually drain Link's health until he obtains the Phantom Hourglass which allows time in the temple without taking damage. As you progress the game, you gain more time and able to explore deeper in the dungeon obtaining sea charts and able to get to the end once you obtain the Phantom Sword to face the final boss.

* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound'', there's a cave in the Lost Underworld that takes you to a small area in a void of black, with grassy jagged pathways out of reach and a reverberating brassy sound. This is actually the present-day version of The Cave of the Past, a barren area full of enemy robots but completely devoid of organic life aside from the final boss that you face at the end of the game.

** ''Videogame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest'': After defeating the Hydra boss in Lava Dome, a path opens up in the Focus Tower that leads to the lowest level of Doom Castle. You can only explore a small part of it that's walled off from the main part of the level, but you can fight some monsters and access a chest containing [[BlowYouAway the Aero spellbook]].

*** At several moments, Morgana has a recurring [[BadDreams nightmare]] where he emerges from darkness standing in front of a mysterious red entrance. Said entrance is the passage into Mementos Depths where the FinalBoss lies.

** Optional in [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the NES game]]; Link can enter the final dungeon any time after he gets bombs, but in the second room he'll be told he needs to have the full Triforce of Wisdom to go any further.
** In ''VideoGame/OracleOfAges'', Link enters the Black Tower while it's under construction early on to get a shovel. After it's completed, it turns into the final dungeon of the game.
** Early in ''VideoGame/TwilightPrincess'', Wolf Link gets dragged to Hyrule Castle, where he is freed by Midna, traverses the high towers with her, and hears about Hyrule's plight from Princess Zelda before getting warped back to Ordon. He goes through the same area almost midway through the game to save an injured Midna. Link finally gets to storm Hyrule Castle as a proper dungeon at the end, though not the section he traversed as Wolf Link.
** Temple of the Ocean King in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Phantom Hourglass]]'' being the final dungeon explored at the start of the game. Due to a curse, the dungeon will gradually drain Link's health until he obtains the Phantom Hourglass which allows time in the temple without taking damage. As you progress the game, you gain more time and able to explore deeper in the dungeon obtaining sea charts and able to get to the end once you obtain the Phantom Sword to face the final boss.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', because the player initially enters Lorule from Hyrule Castle, the first place they see in the other world is the castle's counterpart. They are sent away from Lorule Castle to rescue the Seven Sages and obtain the Triforce of Courage so that they can defeat Yuga, who is restrained by Princess Hilda in the throne room. Once they have done so, the barrier on the castle is removed and they can navigate the entire place, eventually returning to the throne room.
** Downplayed in ''VideoGame/BreathOfTheWild'', since the player is free to make a beeline straight to Hyrule Castle to face Ganon from the moment they get the paraglider (though it isn't recommended since they will be severely under-equipped and the FinalBoss fight will be a lot tougher). They are, however, encouraged to make multiple trips to the castle, both for the sake of several side quests and to grab some high-level weaponry.

** In ''{{VideoGame/The Legend of Zelda Oracle|Games}} of Ages'', Link enters the Black Tower while it's under construction early on to get a shovel. After it's completed, it turns into the final dungeon of the game.
** Early in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Wolf Link gets dragged to Hyrule Castle, where he is freed by Midna, traverses the high towers with her, and hears about Hyrule's plight from Princess Zelda before getting warped back to Ordon. He goes through the same area almost midway through the game to save an injured Midna. Link finally gets to storm Hyrule Castle as a proper dungeon at the end, though not the section he traversed as Wolf Link.
** Temple of the Ocean King in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' being the final dungeon explored at the start of the game. Due to a curse, the dungeon will gradually drain Link's health until he obtains the Phantom Hourglass which allows time in the temple without taking damage. As you progress the game, you gain more time and able to explore deeper in the dungeon obtaining sea charts and able to get to the end once you obtain the Phantom Sword to face the final boss.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', because the player initially enters Lorule from Hyrule Castle, the first place they see in the other world is the castle's counterpart. They are sent away from Lorule Castle to rescue the Seven Sages and obtain the Triforce of Courage so that they can defeat Yuga, who is restrained by Princess Hilda in the throne room. Once they have done so, the barrier on the castle is removed and they can navigate the entire place, eventually returning to the throne room.
** Downplayed in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'', since the player is free to make a beeline straight to Hyrule Castle to face Ganon from the moment they get the paraglider (though it isn't recommended since they will be severely under-equipped and the FinalBoss fight will be a lot tougher). They are, however, encouraged to make multiple trips to the castle, both for the sake of several side quests and to grab some high-level weaponry.

* At the beginning of ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIIVohaulsRevenge'', when Roger is captured by Vohaul's goons, you get a sneak peek of his asteroid fortress. Similarly, in ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'', the first trip to the Space Quest XII era allows you a preview of the entrance to its FinalDungeon.

* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'': Partway through the game, Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario reach Bowser's Castle, where they rescue Peach and Paper Peach and defeat Bowser Jr. and Paper Bowser Jr. Afterward, Bowser and Paper Bowser rocket the castle into the sky and upgrade it to Neo Bowser Castle; the heroes spend the rest of the game getting back up there.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5 [[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'': At the start of October, Joker and Morgana enter an unknown Palace to rescue Kasumi when she suddenly gets dragged into the Metaverse. After the rescue, the duo decide to ignore the area since it isn't related to their current target. It's not until the third semester when the Palace becomes the final level against the TrueFinalBoss.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/switch_dragonquest1_03.jpg]]

** Temple of the Ocean King in ''{{VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass}}'' being the final dungeon explored at the start of the game. Due to a curse, the dungeon will gradually drain Link's health until he obtains the Phantom Hourglass which allows time in the temple without taking damage. As you progress the game, you gain more time and able to explore deeper in the dungeon obtaining sea charts and able to get to the end once you obtain the Phantom Sword to face the final boss.

[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' game, the AbandonedMine has a seemingly redundant room behind the boss chamber, which turns out to be part of the FinalDungeon of the ''second'' game, after the eponymous FloatingContinent returns to Earth.

* ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesZeroNoKiseki The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero]]'' [[HowWeGotHere starts with]] Lloyd and the team entering the underground tomb where the mastermind of the recent crimes in Crossbell is waiting and begins to head in, though said introduction actually occurred in an entirely different AlternateTimeline.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', Link enters ''Ages''' Black Tower while it's under construction early on to get a shovel. After it's completed, it turns into the final dungeon of the game.

* In ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'', at one point you go down a well, where you find a hallway leading to an entrance within the mouth of a lion gargoyle, to King Boo's room, where he is holding Mario captive. Luigi reaches out from the lion's head, but can't do anything, so he is forced to go back and continue his adventure until he finally gets into the room.

* ''Videogame/RatchetAndClank'' starts peacefully on Veldin, when suddenly Clank crashes there, Ratchet notices it and goes to check what the hell happened. The only enemies are some frogs and robots that followed Clank, all quite easy to dispatch. However, over the course of the game, the BigBad decides to destroy Veldin and station his [[EarthShatteringKaboom Deplanetizer]] there, so you must trek over on this place, except you now can and have to continue well beyond Clank's crash site and the enemies are EliteMooks and Dropships.

* The endgame of ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' features two successive dungeons which both have been visited earlier in the story on separate occasions.

** Early in ''VVideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', Wolf Link gets dragged to Hyrule Castle, where he is freed by Midna, traverses the high towers with her, and hears about Hyrule's plight from Princess Zelda before getting warped back to Ordon. He goes through the same area almost midway through the game to save an injured Midna. Link finally gets to storm Hyrule Castle as a proper dungeon at the end, though not the section he traversed as Wolf Link.

* The Museum of Natural History in ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' has nothing to find or explore the first two times you visit since you're only there to progress the plot. The hallways leading to other parts of the museum are blocked off. By the end of day 5, the museum is fully explorable and serves as the final area to navigate before dealing with the BidBad.

** In ''VideoGame/OracleOfAges'', Link enters the Black Tower while it's under construction early on to get a shovel. After it's completed, it turns into the final dungeon of the game.
** Early in ''VideoGame/TwilightPrincess'', Wolf Link gets dragged to Hyrule Castle, where he is freed by Midna, traverses the high towers with her, and hears about Hyrule's plight from Princess Zelda before getting warped back to Ordon. He goes through the same area almost midway through the game to save an injured Midna. Link finally gets to storm Hyrule Castle as a proper dungeon at the end, though not the section he traversed as Wolf Link.
** In ''VideoGame/ALinkBetweenWorlds'', because the player initially enters Lorule from Hyrule Castle, the first place they see in the other world is the castle's counterpart. They are sent away from Lorule Castle to rescue the Seven Sages and obtain the Triforce of Courage so that they can defeat Yuga, who is restrained by Princess Hilda in the throne room. Once they have done so, the barrier on the castle is removed and they can navigate the entire place, eventually returning to the throne room.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5 [[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'': At the start of October, Joker and Morgana enter an unknown Palace to rescue Kasumi when she suddenly gets dragged into the Metaverse. After the rescue, the duo decide to ignore the area since it isn't related to their current target. It's not til the third semester when the Palace becomes the final level against the TrueFinalBoss.