History Main / TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon

[[folder:Role Playing Game]]
* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'' had an ominous abandoned temple of Bhaal in an underground city, but ''Baldur's Gate 2'' ramped it up to Hell itself, and the ''Throne of Bhaal'' expansion had the final fight at, you guessed it, the Throne of Bhaal (which looked rather futuristic, for the home plane of a god in a fantasy setting).
* ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos'':
** ''[[VideoGame/BatenKaitosEternalWingsAndTheLostOcean Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean]]'': Cor Hydrae, the ancient castle of Malpercio currently floating in the middle of a dimensional rift.
** ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins'': Tarazed, a colossal machina construct powered by [[spoiler:captured afterlings]] and serving as both the new capital of TheEmpire and said empire's continent-shattering superweapon.
* ''VideoGame/BloodBorne''
** The base game has the Nightmare of Mensis, a DreamLand only available to enter after the blood moon rises. Essentially, it's a large castle-laboratory filled with nightmarish creatures, madmen cultists, and ''three'' [[EldritchAbomination Great Ones]], one of them an infant that powers the entire dream dimension. [[spoiler:However, it's only the final ''area'' that is explored, the actual end of the game and true final boss is in the Hunter's Dream, the hub zone.]]
** ''The Old Hunters'' DLC has the Fishing Hamlet - the place the Healing Church and the Byrgenwerth institute desperately attempted to keep secret, recreated within the Hunter's Nightmare and the center of the dreadful curse casted upon all Hunters and their descendants for the unforgivable sin they committed there: [[spoiler: slaughtering the Kos-worshipping villagers, and then murdering Mother Kos herself]]. It's as dreadful and moist as a village filled with half-human half-fish hybrids can be, and at the very depths lays the FinalBoss of the DLC: [[spoiler:The Orphan of Kos, a HumanoidAbomination stillborn child birthed from Kos's beached corpse, understandably VERY angry and lashing out at anything that approaches it like a wild and scared animal - killing it and putting its soul to rest is the only way to break the curse of the Old Hunters.]]
* ''VideoGame/BlueDragon''
** The first game has Primitive Cube, a huge lava-filled... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin cube]], floating [[spoiler: in the void between the two halves of the planet, revealed after Nene saws the world in half]].
** The Abyss serves as one for ''Blue Dragon Plus'' and is the deepest part of the Atomic Cube where the party descends in order to finish off Balaur once and for all.
** ''Blue Dragon: Awakened Shadow'' has the Dimension Sanctuary which has two guardians Ghost Demon Malboro and Devil Cupid who need to be taken down to access the final area. The player and their party travel there in order to [[spoiler:stop the Egg of Light from devouring their planet.]]
* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'': The normal path ends with "Her World," Arianna's twisted tech domain beyond the Firewall, where she's been assembling her "perfect" new reality. If you're on track for the [[GoldenEnding True Ending]], then the ''real'' last dungeon is the Sky Abyss, a harrowing climb through five strata of Bubbly Clouds guarded by some of the toughest enemies and bosses in the game.
* ''VideoGame/BugFables'': [[spoiler:The Giant's Lair, an abandoned human house that borders Bugaria on the east. Because it is a "Dead Land," bizarre powerful monsters unlike anything else in the game roam here, and the whole place has an oppressive and dark atmosphere.]]
* ''VideoGame/ChildOfLight'''s final dungeon is the Palace of the Sun [[UnderTheSea beneath the Cynbel Sea]], where the last of the {{Plot Coupon}}s, the Sun of Lemuria, is held by Nox. Immediately following her BossBattle is Aurora's [[BackFromTheDead death and resurrection]] {{cutscene}}, then the FinalBoss battle with Queen Umbra. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Umbra's castle was planned to be the Very Definitely Final Dungeon]], [[ScrewedByTheNetwork but the developers ran out of time to program it.]]
* The Black Omen in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger''. An ominous evil edifice constructed by pure evil out of the remains of the Ocean Palace that floats above the earth for eternity, and it's black and covered with spikes, domes, and weird eyes. The first half of the final battle takes place inside Lavos's shell; the second half, meanwhile, is fought at a point where all time converges, shifting from one place in history to the next.
* Terra Tower in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross''. Another floating edifice, constructed by the now extinct Dragonians, risen by the power of the Dragon God, and inhabited by the embodiment of the forces of nature as well of the already mentioned Dragon God. The final battle, meanwhile, goes down at the junction of all possible dimensions. Both of these are really an aversion, since you don't need to go to a dungeon to get to the final boss, and in fact, the MultipleEndings require you to fight the final boss at arbitrary points in the middle of the game.
* Most of the settings in ''VideoGame/{{Contact}}'' are lush, peaceful islands with the occasional high-tech military base or [[FantasyCounterpartCulture island version of Akihabara]] in between, but the game makes no bones about it when the last island has a great big sinister castle.
* In ''VideoGame/CthulhuSavesTheWorld'' it's, surprise surprise, [[spoiler:R'lyeh]]. In the ''Cthulhu's Angels'' bonus campaign, the final dungeon is instead [[spoiler:the Grand Library, where the [[AmazonBrigade all-female team of heroes]] face off against the game's narrator]].
* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' boasts a good example of this. The final confrontation takes place inside [[spoiler:the Kiln of the First Flame]], what is essentially a giant fire pit filled with ash, twisted metal, and Black Knights, and the place where [[spoiler:Gwyn burned himself alive to link the fires and ultimately caused the curse of the undead]]. Oh, and the door granting you access to this area requires the ''souls of your enemies'' to open.
** The ''Artorias of the Abyss'' DLC has the Chasm of the Abyss, a dark rocky cavern situated deep underneath the Township of Oolacile in which [[BigBad Manus, Father of the Abyss]] resides.
** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has Drangleic Castle, the former seat of power of King Vendrick and Queen Nashandra covered in constant rain. Interestingly, you get access it right after you get the 4 Great Souls, and it's fully explorable, however the door to the final boss won't open until you go ''beyond'' Drangleic Castle. However since you do return to it to finish your run, and it's the place where the final boss resides, it still counts as the final dungeon.
** ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' sets its final level inside [[spoiler:Lothric Castle]], with gauntlets of extremely tough enemies and apocalyptic scenery. Another contender would be the Ringed City from the eponymous DLC, which technically serves as the final level of the entire series. There are loads of traps, enemies, and brutal boss fights.
* The final battle with the title archdemon of the original ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' takes place on the lowest level of Tristram Cathedral, which thanks to Diablo's fell influence has turned into a scene out of Hell itself!
** ''VideoGame/DiabloII'''s final showdown takes place in the Chaos Sanctuary, a gigantic hellish pentangle in an infernal cathedral at the end of a river of lava. The expansion, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, ends in the Worldstone Chamber, in the deepest level of a holy cavern, at the top of a very tall mountain.
** The final battle with Diablo in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' takes place [[spoiler:atop the Crystal Arch, the very heart of Heaven itself]]. The final battle against [[spoiler:Malthael]] from the expansion, ''Reaper of Souls'', takes place [[spoiler:in the very heart of the Pandemonium Fortress]].
* ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'' ends with you going to [[spoiler: a ruined Sea Fortress off the coast of Revachol to confront [[FinalBoss The Deserter]] and learn the truth about the case.]]
* The ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'' series has several:
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'' has HellInvadesHeaven. Enough said.
** ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' has you inside [[spoiler:Zenon's castle,]] which is the lair of the main villain that has been present the entire game. It looks awesome in itself.
** ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'' pulls a WhereItAllBegan for this one. [[spoiler: It's the Overlord's Castle, albeit immensely cleaned up. Originally, everything was black-colored, and now it's a stark white. Quite the contrast, which is noted by the cast.]]
** ''VideoGame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'', which has you [[spoiler: inside a planet-destroying weapon known as Fear the Great, controlled by God himself and fueled by pure malice.]] The place is bleak, mostly black, grey, and white, and has a bunch of beings of [[spoiler: pure malice]] running around, converging towards the center. The [[spoiler:malice creatures]] were all [[spoiler:made by one guy's malice,]] by the way.
** ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2ABrighterDarkness''[[note]]The sequel to Hour of Darkness above[[/note]] has deepest innermost part of the Netherworld, where the game's BigBad is keeping the kidnapped angels of Celestia.
** ''VideoGame/Disgaea5AllianceOfVengeance'' brings us a two-parter. [[spoiler: The Netherworld Dark Demise is the home base for Void Dark's machinations. You land at the outer areas and have to fight your way in.]]
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' doesn't get more final than the assault on Darkspawn-occupied Denerim, which is a PointOfNoReturn, marked by the fact it gives you an entire sequence in which you speak to ''each member of your party'', whether reassurances, final farewells or {{Badass Boast}}ing. As a sort of final-dungeon-within-the-final-dungeon, at the far end of Denerim is [[{{Pun}} Fort Drakon]]. The Archdemon's at the very top--and it's rude to keep him waiting.
** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOriginsAwakening'' features Drake's Fall, a [[VestigialEmpire Tevinter]] ruin designed to channel power from bones of the dead dragons outside. Also gives you a nice perspective of how far you've come when you [[CurbstompBattle essentially curbstomp]] a [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere High Dragon from nowhere]].
* ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' has [[spoiler:The Everfall]], which only appears after [[spoiler:you kill the Dragon]] and has 12 levels full of stronger versions of earlier enemies. Notable because [[spoiler:you're introduced and even go into it fairly early into the game.]]
* ''Franchise/DragonQuest''
** [[VideoGame/DragonQuestI The first game]] sets your final battle in Charlock, the home of the Dragonlord.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' has its final battle in Hargon's Castle, which has you facing off against Hargon and Malroth.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'', after beating the DiscOneFinalBoss, Baramos, has you journeying to the Dark World (actually the world of the original game) and has you returning to Charlock for the showdown against Zoma.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'' sends you to what is essentially Hell and has you battling demon lords before storming the palace of Psaro the Manslayer and then climbing his mountain to do battle with him.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'' returns to the Demon World and eventually has you climbing another mountain to face Grandmaster Nimzo.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVI'' has you facing Mortamor in his castle in the Dread Realm.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVII'' has you battling Orgodemir in what was once the Cathedral of Light.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', in which the very definitely final dungeon ''becomes'' the final boss. Since the DiscOneFinalBoss's dungeon had done such a good job of imitating a Very Definitely Final Dungeon, the real deal had to be something outside the box to top it.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'' has [[FluffyCloudHeaven the Realm of the Almighty,]] twisted into a hellish place by [[BigBad Corvus]].
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestX'' has a whopping total of 6 final dungeons throughout the game's history.
*** The first Version has the Heart of Hell, a gloomy version of the Reidametes Temple where the Hero can finally fight the Netherlord Nelgel.
*** Version 2 has the Abyss Gate, where Maldragora and Toma are after the Spiritual Core of Creation needed for the former to enact his plan of replacing Rendacia with his Rendacia.
*** Version 3 has Nadolagram Temple, where [[SinisterMinister Patriarch]] [[EvilAllAlong Orstov]] is offering Estelle as a sacrifice to revive Nadraga.
*** Version 4 has the players going back deep into the Kingdom of Tenton's Alchemy lab to fight Kyronos.
*** Version 5 has Doomsday's Garden, Jagonuba's base of operations located at the very bottom of the Netherworld.
*** Version 6 has players finally infiltrate the Evil Eye Moon to put a stop the Jia Kut Clan, a group of crystal alien invaders that Jagonuba, or as he was once known, Jia Gonuba, was once part of.
** ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'': The Fortress of Fear, where the Lord of Shadow awaits, is the final dungeon of Act 2. Act 3 (or the postgame, as it's sometimes called) has the Dark Star, which houses the TrueFinalBoss, though it's less of a dungeon and more of an arena since the battle starts as soon as you enter it.
** Most of the dungeons in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonstersJoker'' take place in your typical temple locations. However, the final dungeon, in order to stand out, takes this trope way over the top. Basically, [[spoiler:Infern Isle, which was once merely desolate, has been transformed into a barren hellscape covered in dark purple clouds, soaring demonic monkeys, and a couple lava flows here and there. Then you get to the top of the island, enter a creepy-ass stone face, and end up in Tartarus, which is somewhat of a mix between a WombLevel and Hell; all the scenery is purplish, veiny, and occasionally even ''pulsating'', the enemies are all some manner of undead, one room features a sea of ghastly purple faces, and another features a pair of giant pulsating organic tubes that continuously spit out and swallow what appear to be ''enormous balls of tormented human souls''.]]
* The final dungeon in ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' is [[spoiler:the skies above Tokyo]].
* ''VideoGame/DungeonSiege'' (the game, not the terrible movie) concludes with a final fight against the [[BigBad resurrected master]] of [[TheLegionsOfHell a long dead evil race]], in a cavern below a castle, with walls made of human faces and screams echoing in the air.
* ''VideoGame/EldenRing'' has Crumbling Farum Azula, a gigantic, floating mausoleum in the sky, surrounded by tornadoes and whose skybox has dozens upon dozens of flying ancient dragons, said to be a place placed out of time itself. You get hints at its existance ever since the first area of the game, get to briefly visit it in an optional zone in Liurnia, and is the place where [[spoiler: the Rune of Death is sealed, which the Tarnished needs to complete their quest]]. However, [[spoiler: While technically Farum Azula is the last proper dungeon in the game, the actual final area is Leyndell Capital of Ash, which is more of a sequence of bosses up to the final boss.]]
* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'':
** The series in general ''loves'' housing the main quest {{Big Bad}}s (and some expansion villains) in such dungeons.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'' - Has you battle BigBad EvilSorcerer Jagar Tharn in the Imperial Palace itself.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'' - A number of islands and structures ''floating'' just outside of reality.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'':
*** The main game's main quest has [[BigBad Dagoth Ur's]] [[{{Mordor}} Red Mountain]] citadel, an ancient [[OurDwarvesAreDifferent Dwemer]] ruin inside an active volcano surrounded by a constant Blight storm.
*** The ''Tribunal'' expansion has [[spoiler: Sotha Sil's]] [[SteamPunk Clockwork City]], full of strong [[OrganicTechnology fabricants]] and numerous death traps.
*** The ''Bloodmoon'' expansion has the inside of the Mortrag Glacier, a giant ice maze full of werewolves and your very dangerous fellow competitors [[spoiler: in Hircine's "hunt"]].
** The [[PathOfInspiration Mythic Dawn's]] Paradise from ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion Oblivion]]'' is [[spoiler:ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, an [[{{Arcadia}} idyllic paradise inhabited by the souls of those slain in the service of the Mythic Dawn]]. Oh, except for [[CrapsaccharineWorld bloodthirsty daedra who assault and torture the land's inhabitants]]... and that's only the fate of the loyal servants of Dagon. Those who question him receive a worse, and more [[FireAndBrimstoneHell traditional treatment]].]] Not to mention [[spoiler:the Imperial City afterwards when Mehrune's Dagon launches a full scale assault on the city.]]
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'':
*** The base game has [[spoiler:the Nordic afterlife of [[WarriorHeaven Sovngarde]], where the Dragonborn confronts BigBad Alduin for one last time, and can only be reached from the distant temple of Skulldafn. The background music actually chants [[TheChosenOne your title.]]]]
*** The ''Dawnguard'' expansion has the chapel at Castle Volkihar. It also has a DiscOneFinalDungeon location at the top of the Chantry of Auri-El, featuring a balcony overlooking the entire Forgotten Vale.
*** The ''Dragonborn'' expansion has the top of a tower in Apocrypha (the realm of the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora), which you can only reach by commanding a dragon to fly you there. Appropriately enough, the title of the final quest is "At the Summit of Apocrypha".
* ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy'' series:
** The Rift in ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy3'', an outer space-like PocketDimension with a straight path leading up to Akron at a black hole.
** ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy4'' has the Temple of Godcat, a giant set of ruins that extends to the sky. The final stretch of the game is on a bridge through the clouds, leading to a shrine where the final boss is fought.
** ''VideoGame/EpicBattleFantasy5'' has the Rapture, the area where the massive meteor landed. It's a huge black wasteland with a lake of lava and a mechanical zone with toxic water. At the center is a portal to the Beyond, a smaller sub-area in space that houses the final boss.
* In ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'', the Final Dungeon is just some tower out in the desert. [[spoiler:However, that desert is located on the Moon, which acts as the dreamworld's Purgatory. The final battlefield (accessed by a portal at the top of the tower) is implied by Website/ThatOtherWiki to be the core of the dream, but by others to be the ruins of the [[WhereItAllBegan Tenuto flowerfield.]]]]
* The fifth stratum in every ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' game is where the story ends (there's a sixth stratum, but it's a BonusDungeon).
** [[VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyI The original game]] has [[spoiler:Lost Shinjuku, whose existence provides the horrifying reveal that the characters are living in a post-apocalyptic world]]. ''[[VideoGameRemake The Millenium Girl]]'' has Claret Hollows. A stratum with suspiciously organic features located within the deepest insides of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth, even below the ruins of [[spoiler:Lost Shinjuku]]. [[spoiler:The corruped core of Yggdrasil awaits at the center, serving as the FinalBoss.]]
** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIHeroesOfLagaard'' has the Heavenly Keep, a regal castle located at the top of the Yggdrasil, and inhabited by the Overlord. ''[[VideoGameRemake The Fafnir Knight]]'' has Ginnungagap, an ancient temple located within a ravine of stone and where [[spoiler:the core of High Lagaard's Yggdrasil Labyrinth is sealed.]]
** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIITheDrownedCity'' has the Porcelain Forest, a disorienting maze that serves as the grounds for the final outcome of the conflict between the Deep City and Armoroad.
** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIVLegendsOfTheTitan'' has the [[spoiler:Forgotten Capital, revealed once the Yggdrasil Tree withers and dies]]. It can only be properly explored after opening the Kings' Gate, for which the player's party has to look for the credentials of the Four Kings while venturing into the secret parts of the previous main dungeons.
** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyVBeyondTheMyth'' has the Untamed Garden, which is [[spoiler:a half-natural, half-artificial forest located well beyond the planet's atmosphere. It is the homeland of the Eternal Tyrant, the most powerful monster in Yggdrasil and the world.]]
** ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyNexus'' has the Yggdrasil Labyrinth itself as this, being the ''13th'' dungeon. It serves as the prison for [[spoiler:Jormungandr, falsely believed to be the source of unlimited treasure when it's actually an apocalyptic monster that is sealed by the four Shrines built across the corners of Lemuria]].
* ''VideoGame/EVOSearchForEden'' has Africa after clearing the Final Ocean in the final era as the climax of the game. After fighting revived bosses, a giant caveman, and mutated dinosaurs, you face off with the only other creature trying to enter Eden: Bolbox, a mutated algae cell who can summon strong creatures from all of history.
* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
** ''VideoGame/Fallout1'' had either the subtle cult's main base: a cathedral built over a Vault infected by its resident, the Master OR a former military base in the Sierras filled with Super Mutants and [[AppliedPhlebotinum vats of the F.E.V.]] Both were pretty ultimate and like everything else in the game, you got to choose!
** ''VideoGame/Fallout2'' had the Enclave oil rig. After juryrigging a (extremely large) supertanker to sail out to it, you're treated to an FMV of the city-ship being dwarfed by a ''figurehead'' on the side of the base. As a bonus, the Enclave are so well equipped, they even have a spare [[PlotCoupon G.E.C.K.]] sitting in a storeroom closet, after you've scoured the wasteland for one the entire game. After everything you'd done to get there, the FMV of the ship leaving the harbor felt like a happy ending all its own. Quite a grandiose example of enforcing the Chosen One's will on the post-war world.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout Tactics|BrotherhoodOfSteel}}'', set in the Midwest, takes it to a bit of an extreme. Pretty much everything from your first run-in with Super Mutants is basically leading up to the end of the game, which sends you further west than you've ever been, up into the mountains, where you do battle at the entrance of freaking ''Cheyenne Mountain''. Just getting into the vault beyond involves ''carting a nuclear warhead up to the door then setting it off''. And once you're inside? All bets are off. Once you leave for Cheyenne Mountain, you can't go back to your home base. And you're surrounded by angry robots who want to murder you, and once you've blown the door off the whole place is a radioactive hellhole.
** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has this inside the game's MacGuffinLocation, Hoover Dam. The game asks you if want to commit to this final quest before you start, and automatically creates a savegame either way (not an autosave, an actual permanent save) so that you can go back and explore more of the Vegas sandbox if you so choose. The end result will be a fight with either [[MadeOfIron Legate Lanius]] or [[FlunkyBoss General Oliver]], depending on who you sided with (though only [[VillainProtagonist Caesar's Legion sympathizers]] will fight Oliver).
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder''
** ''Observer on Timeless Temple'': The [[spoiler:[[EldritchLocation Solomon Singularity]], The fusion between [[TheArchmage Solomon]]'s Temple, Ars Paulina, and the [[EldritchAbomination 72 Demon God Pillars]]]], Where Chaldea goes to prevent [[spoiler:[[ArcVillain Solomon]]/[[BigBad Goetia]]]]'s Incineration of Humanity.
** ''Epic of Remnant'': The town of Salem, [[spoiler:Which Raum has trapped in a time loop in order to summon Sut-Typhon/[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Yog-Sothoth]] in order to create a HellOnEarth.]] The FinalBattle of the arc against [[spoiler:Sut-Typhon in Abigail Willaims' body]] takes place within [[spoiler:a courtroom twisted into an EldritchLocation filled with keyholes.]]
* The ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series is big into this. In order:
** ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy|I}}'': The [[NoobCave Chaos Shrine]], only this time [[WhereItAllBegan it's 2000 years in the past!]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'': Pandaemonium, the capital of hell which [[BigBad The Emperor]] emerges in Palamecia after his death. The ''Soul of Rebirth'' questline has Arubboth, the castle of heaven, [[spoiler:which the Emperor's [[LightIsNotGood light half]] has taken over.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'': The World of Darkness, where the Cloud of Darkness resides.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'': The Lunar Subterrane, a pathway leading down to the crystalline core of the moon.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'': The core of the True Moon, a massive spacecraft used by the [[BigBad Creator]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'': The Interdimensional Rift, composed of the pieces of the world destroyed by the Void.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'': Kefka's Tower, a monument to death and destruction formed from rubble collected from around the destroyed world.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'': The Northern Cave, a complex cave system leading to TheLifestream.
*** ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'': Banora Underground, a dungeon hidden beneath the namesake town, where Genesis awaits Zack for their final showdown.
*** ''VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'': The insides of Omega, the planet's last resort when all life on it is threatened.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'': Singularity, a portal guarded by the Whispers of Fate and an incarnation of Sephiroth.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': Ultimecia Castle, a giant floating fortress in compressed time.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'': Memoria, a land comprised of Gaia's memories that the heroes chase Kuja through into the Crystal World, where the Crystal resides.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': [[spoiler:The Insides of Sin, with the final battle taking place within a recreation of Zanarkand.]]
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'': [[spoiler:The Farplane, where Yuna, Rikku and Paine go to stop [[BigBad Shuyin]] from using [[MechanicalAbomination Vegnagun]] to destroy Spira.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'': The Sky Fortress Bahamut, a flying fortress designed by Doctor Cid to be Archadia's ultimate airship.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIIRevenantWings'': A floating temple called the Womb of Feolthanos in outer space with a nice view to the planet below.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'': Orphan's Cradle, a strange, shifting, "digitized" dimension that is the "cradle" for Cocoon's power source.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Academia in the year 500 AF, totally deserted and in the midst of being torn apart by chaotic energies. Might not be the most impressive, but certainly the most unnerving.
*** ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'': Luxerion Cathedral, the seat of power for the [[KnightTemplar order of Salvation]] surrounded by chaos as the world gets destroyed. [[spoiler:After that, the FinalBoss battle takes place in Cosmogenesis, the seat of the God of Light who watches over the creation of the new world.]]
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': The ruins of [[spoiler: Insomnia, where mutated humans and literal hellspawn freely roam the streets after the world fell to darkness.]]
%%** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXVI'': Drake's Spine, with Origin, the home of [[BigBad Ultima]], serving as the PostFinalLevel.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyMysticQuest'': [[spoiler:Doom Castle, the [[BigBad Dark King]]'s lair situated at the top of Focus Tower]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'': A dead city called the Necrohol of Mullonde, where Saint Ajora was burned and where Ultima can be resurrected.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'': Ambervale, a royal palace in the throes of excessive reality warping.
*** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'': Zellea, the Forbidden Land being torn apart by an interdimensional rift.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyCrystalChronicles'': Mount Vellenge, isolated far away from known civilization and right at the edge of the visible world, bearing the meteor which first brought miasma to the world. Then right when you are about to destroy the [[spoiler:Meteor Parasite]], [[spoiler:Raem]] intervenes and teleports you to an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield called the [[spoiler:Nest of Memories]]. Interestingly, after [[spoiler:Raem]]'s defeat, you are returned to right where you left off -- dealing the finishing blow to [[spoiler:the Parasite.]]
** ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' has the Edge of Madness, the throne of the god of destruction and disorder. Interestingly, the representative stages for each game are the final dungeons listed above, with the exception of ''I'' (the present day, wrecked shrine) and ''IV'' (the moon's ''surface''). Same goes with ''Duodecim'', but is named the Edge of Discord instead.
*** ''[[VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy2015 Dissidia Final Fantasy NT]]'', in a unique case, reuses the Interdimensional Rift from ''V'', simply named here the Dimensional Rift. It's where Shinryu, the ancient dragon that is the cause of the cycles of war, resides.
** ''VideoGame/WorldOfFinalFantasy'' has Exnine Castle, where the three Heralds, Brandelis, Segwarides and Pellinore, await.
* ''Franchise/FireEmblem''
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' has Dolhr Keep in the depths of Dolhr.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'': Duma's Tower, located at the northernmost extreme of Rigel. It is tackled in two parts: [[spoiler:the main part of the building is initially tackled by Celica with the intention of confronting [[SinisterMinister Jedah]], but she and her party are captured and trapped in its basement. The second half of the tower is its sprawling, cavernous, [[ZombieApocalypse Terror-ridden]] basement, which Alm and his party have to traverse in order to obtain the Valentian Falchion and rescue Celica's party.]] Duma is situated in the deepest cavern below.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'' has the Dragon's Table, a plateau on the border between Dolhr and Macedon, and the massive altar attached to it.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'' averts this, as the final map is like all the other map in the game, which are much larger in scale then in any other game, spanning large regions with many different locations in them. The last boss fight takes place OUTSIDE Belhalla Castle (which is a location visited previously in the game).
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThracia776'' has the Altar of Loptous, a castle under the Loptous Cult's control that stands near Munster.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'' has the Dragon Temple.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' at first uses the Dread Isle as the DiscOneFinalDungeon, but eventually you return there as the Dragon's Gate, which is located on there, is the real Very Definitely Final Dungeon.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'' has the shrine in the Darkling Woods.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' averts this with the final battle once again taking place outside the "final dungeon", in this case the Crimean Royal Palace.
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' has the Tower of Guidance, a sacred tower dedicated to the Goddess Ashera [[spoiler:who is said to sleep there for 1000 years - only she wakes up prematurely thanks to war. She will be your final opponent, though not before you finally get to take out every other villain you've wanted to throttle, plus a couple of [[TheReveal unexpected]] foes.]] And the ''tower itself'' [[PowerGlows is glowing]] like a beam of light. As a bonus, the dimensions are distorted inside, though you only get to find out when it is already firmly established as The Very Definitely Final Dungeon. It's also the only place in the entire game where simply standing on a tile can boost one's magic power or defense. Before then, only mundane terrain like bushes could help with defense.
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]'' ups the ante: [[spoiler:the evil dragon Grima, whose revival you've been fighting to prevent for the whole game, has been brought back to life. The last stage takes place ''[[ColossusClimb on his back]]'' as you fight to [[MultipleEndings either]] put him back down for another thousand years or so, or kill him outright.]]
** ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemFates Fates]]'' has one for each of the three routes, with the final battle being in the throne room of the castle of a different faction depending on which one you picked:
*** ''Birthright'' has Castle Krakenburg of Nohr, where the Avatar faces King Garon.
*** ''Conquest'' has Castle Shisaragi of Hoshido, where the Avatar faces both the monstrous Garon and a [[spoiler:possessed Takumi]].
*** ''Revelation'' has Castle Gyges of the Kingdom of Valla, where the Avatar and the united royal families of Hoshido and Nohr face the true BigBad, [[spoiler: Anankos]].
** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' plays with this depending on which route you pick:
*** The Azure Moon route appears to have a straight example with the Imperial Palace in the Adrestian Empire's capital city of Enbarr. However, the exact same map is used in the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes as the DiscOneFinalDungeon.
*** The Crimson Flower route, likewise, has the final map be the streets of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus's capital city of Fhirdiad, but you also fight there in a climactic battle most of the way through the Azure Moon route. Though, the difference is that in the Crimson Flower version, [[spoiler:[[BattleAmongstTheFlames the city is on fire]]]].
*** The Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes seem to have a straight example with [[spoiler:Shambhala, the underground AdvancedAncientAcropolis of "those who slither in the dark", the remnants of the ancient Agarthan civilization]]. However, in both routes, that is only the penultimate map, with the actual final battles being set in much more mundane locations. For Silver Snow, the Outer Wall of [[HubLevel Garreg Mach Monastery]] (where you've already fought multiple times). For Verdant Wind, the Caledonian Plateau, which has been turned into [[SwampsAreEvil a toxic swamp]] by dark magic.
* ''VideoGame/FullmetalAlchemistAndTheBrokenAngel'' uses the highest tower on a castle, which was built for some inexplicable reason by the leader of the town, who isn't even a villain. ''VideoGame/FullmetalAlchemist2CurseOfTheCrimsonElixir'' goes even further by having the final area be an enormous super-pyramid (the Spire of Lebis) in the middle of a reconstructed ancient city (complete with Golems imitating era-accurate people), and then when you reach the top of that, you're transported to the basement of the Spire, which is a humongous cavern (the ceiling fades to black), characterized by stone ledges built seemingly in the middle of an abyss with torches of blue fire set along them. And the far-off walls have rocks with glowing red eyes carved into them.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' series plays with this a good deal, with most sequels playing the trope more straight than the last:
** ''1'' averts this to a certain extent; the game's climax will always take place in the Research Core, the series of warrens sprawling the northeast corner of the island the game takes place on, all building up to [[spoiler:the [[TitleDrop Geneforge]], the final experiment that got Sucia Island barred]]. Depending on your faction, the game's final major challenge can also potentially take place in the Great Temple, a massive, ancient structure overlooking the wastes to the northwest. However, the actual final location the player will always be forced to visit is the Guarded Docks... a small, moderately guarded fort situated on a grassy plain over the ocean. The player can even sneak around the south end of the fort if they have the right Spore Baton, bypassing the fortress entirely and beating the game on even more of an AntiClimax.
** ''2'' and ''3'' play the trope a bit more straight, with Benerii-Uss in ''2'' and Benerii-Eo in ''3'' taking the place and the role of the Research Core, and [[spoiler:Dhonal's Keep, the center of all Shaper affairs on the Ashen Isles]] taking the Great Temple's place in ''3''. The games themselves will only end when the player returns to the entrance of the Drypeak Valley in ''2'' or goes to the final docks to Terrestia in ''3''; however, with the exception of the Rebel-aligned docks in ''3'', all of these final areas are simply walks to the end and can't really be considered any sort of "final dungeon" in the same way the Guarded Docks can.
** ''4: Rebellion'' is the first game to play this mostly straight; the game will end regardless of faction in Northforge Citadel, a massive Rebellion stronghold and the seat of [[spoiler:both a Geneforge and the final undertaking of the Unbound project]]. If the player aligns with the Shapers, the place's final dungeon status is taken a bit more literally, while if the player sides with the Rebels, they will have to investigate the warrens before going to the Inner Shaping Hall to defend from the Shapers' final seige.
** ''5: Overthrow'' plays this totally straight, with 4 of the 5 major factions ending the game at [[spoiler:Gazaki-Uss, a massive underground city that serves as the heart of the Rebellion and the home of its leader, [[FinalBoss Ghaldring]]]], while the fifth faction ends at [[spoiler:the Shaper Citadel, the largest seat of Shaper government in which the leaders of the Council and the Shapers as a whole convene.]]
* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'':
** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'': has [[EvilTowerOfOminousness Mars Lighthouse]], the final CosmicKeystone that you've hiked across six continents (and [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo two games]]) to reach, located at the very edge of the world. It isn't even marked on your map.
** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'' has the Apollo Sanctum, which sits on top of the world's tallest mountain, and has you spend a good chunk of time scaling the mountainside just to reach it! If that doesn't scream final dungeon, the last portion of it also has you walking through a [[spoiler:shower of light that is so strong it will completely destroy you unless you use the Umbra Gear, which creates a shadow barrier to protect you temporarily from the intense light]].
* ''VideoGame/GrimDawn:''
** In the base game, the final dungeon is the Necropolis, an ancient and absolutely massive graveyard of old where thousands upon thousands of the Empire's citizens lay buried, and where the Cult of Ch'thon has holed up to finalize their summoning ritual, causing the very last floor of the Necropolis' central tower to overlap with the very Void itself; it is here that the Loghorrean awaits to be unleashed upon the world, and where you must put it down.
** ''Ashes of Malmouth'' has the Fleshworks, right at the heart of the titular Malmouth (one of the greatest cities of the empire, and that which fell fastest and hardest to the Aetherials due to infiltration). A titanic construct of amalgamated, living human flesh created by Theodin Marcell, the Flesh-shaper and effective commander of the Aetherials. It is here that he runs his operations to provide bodies to his troops, where he constructs some manner of weapon that will end all resistance in Cairn forever if he gets his chance to use it, and where he must be dug out and finally killed if the Aetherial menace is to ever end.
** ''Forgotten Gods'' keeps escalating as the endgame approaches. First you have the ruins of Korvan, the city that Korvaak, the Eldritch Sun (the titular forgotten god) once ruled and was worshipped by, followed by the Tomb of the Eldritch Sun, the gigantic temple at its very heart where the clergy and the god himself once resided, with a portal right at the bottom leading to the Eldritch Realm, an EldritchLocation of pure magic that the Witch Gods usurped from Korvaak... and finally, the Throne of the Three, the drifting, skyborn prison where the Witch Gods chained the Eldritch Sun up, and from where they had to flee in a hurry before he could finally break free and take his awful vengeance on realms both material and immaterial.
* ''VideoGame/HeroesMustDie'' has [[spoiler: Skullcrusher Mountain, the BigBad's base where you worked prior to your HeelFaceTurn.]]
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' - the Imperial Palace is [[OminousFloatingCastle a gigantic, floating palace]] inhabited by the BigBad and the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild source of their power]]. The entire purpose of the fourth chapter, the Lotus Assassin Fortress, is to gain access to the palace. Then you [[StormingTheCastle storm the palace]] and defeat the BigBad, only to [[spoiler:be killed in turn by [[MagnificentBastard your teacher]], who set the whole thing up. You get better and promptly come ''back'' to the Imperial Palace to kick even ''more'' ass.]]
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' has the End of the World, a twisted world formed from the shattered remains of worlds lost to the Heartless.
** Played with in 1, as Hollow Bastion fits this trope more despite being a DiscOneFinalDungeon. The End of the World isn't the fortress of the Heartless, it is their leftovers (and largest concentration). The area is impressive, but closer to a protracted FinalBossNewDimension. However, fitting ''that'' trope more is the final battle in an expanse of swirling darkness, and that is only after you finish the part where you fight in a battlefield formed from the [[WhereItAllBegan broken remains of Sora's world]].
** Sora spends all of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'' in Castle Oblivion, but the last floor still fits. Every previous floor had retold the story of a world from his memories. The [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteenth floor]], however, is simply the stark white halls of Castle Oblivion itself.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' has The World That Never Was, home to a sprawling yet empty Dark City, above which floats the central headquarters of Organization XIII, the [[OminousFloatingCastle Castle That Never Was]].
** Subverted in ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]]'' in that while the Keyblade Graveyard -- an eerie barren world [[FieldOfBlades filled entirely with abandoned Keyblades]] created from the titanic Keyblade War -- serves as the final dungeon for all three scenarios and certainly has the tone and style to match, there is still one more scenario [[spoiler:with Aqua, culminating in a boss battle against the newly minted Xehanort at Radiant Garden]]. Also, said graveyard pops up as a dungeon early on in Ven's scenario as well as in various cutscenes in Terra and Aqua's scenarios. ''[[UpdatedRerelease Final Mix]]'' adds another new scenario [[spoiler:where Aqua wanders the [[EldritchLocation Realm of Darkness]].]]
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' (as well as ''[[UpdatedRerelease Re:coded]]'') has a data recreation of [[spoiler: Castle Oblivion]], where the cast ''finally'' gets to figure out the meaning of the mysterious message in the journal.
** ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHearts3DDreamDropDistance Dream Drop Distance]]'' features The World That Never Was again, only this time it's even more ruined, warped, and twisted after the destruction of ''II'''s final battle.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'' has the Keyblade Graveyard once more, the fated setting for Xehanort's final bid to recreate the Keyblade War. [[spoiler:While the actual last world visited is Scala ad Caelum, a grand, long-abandoned city floating atop an endless ocean, it serves more as a FinalBossNewDimension as very little of it is explored before launching right into the final battle.]] The [[DownloadableContent Re: Mind DLC]] on the other hand [[spoiler: does have Scala ad Caelum as the final dungeon, since Sora has to find five pieces of Kairi's heart scattered around the town before the game begins the final battle (starting with Sora fighting a Darkside Heartless holding the fifth piece and ending with Sora and Kairi facing off against a copy of Armored Xehanort)]].
* The ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' games were based on the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise, so the final battles (and most boss battles, for that matter) were guaranteed to take place at impressive locations. In particular, the first game ended at the Star Forge, an ArtifactOfDoom [[LostTechnology factory]] that could pump out [[OffscreenVillainDarkMatter entire fleets]]. And it siphoned a sun for a power source. The sequel set the finale on Malachor V, a less visually impressive but still very definitely final dungeon - a planet literally torn apart by a gravity weapon. Again, don't TakeOurWordForIt. You can see it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrBk2VKlrws here]]. And because there's also a secret academy under the surface, with the final boss fight taking place in the center of a hole in the force, above a pit of fiery death.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'' has the Moon That Never Sets.
* The Dominion of Hate in ''VideoGame/LiveALive'' is [[spoiler:what remains of the Kingdom of Lucrece, once a vibrant and magical medieval kingdom, after it was scourged by the wrath of the demon king Odio. The castle is barren, the village depopulated, and all that remains besides wandering monsters is Odio and his boundless hate.]]
* [[SpoilerTitle As predicted by the title]], the last battle of ''VideoGame/LufiaAndTheFortressOfDoom''... is in the Fortress of Doom, which sits on a floating island. Not too surprisingly, this is also where the game usually sends the players in all the other games...
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** The final battlefield of ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' turns out not to be the planet Ilos, as initially suspected, but [[spoiler:the [[BookEnds Citadel itself]]. And you climb a kilometer-high tower in zero-gravity fighting [[KillerRobot many Geth along the way]] while being buzzed by their {{Big Damn Gunship}}s. And then the {{Foreshadowing}} really hits - near the beginning of the game, Ashley mentioned that the stair arrangement in the Council chamber makes for a great defensive position. Now you have to fight through it just to get to Saren!]]
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' has [[spoiler:the Collector base. An enormous (Citadel or bigger) biomechanical space station, suspended in the middle of a huge ancient debris field. [[RuleOfCool In the accretion disc of the supermassive black hole at the very center of the galaxy]].]]
** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' [[spoiler:the final dungeon consists of two separate areas. The first area is London, which is on Earth, which is where [[WhereItAllBegan the third game began]]. The second area is the Citadel, a major area throughout the trilogy, now in the hands of the Reapers. The final battle takes place in London, while the trilogy's conflict is resolved on the Citadel.]]
* The ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' games have their own [=VDFDs=] as well, each on their own more VDF than many of the ''[[VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork Battle Network]]'' games.
** ''Leo/Dragon/Pegasus'' take place inside a space station that went missing for ''three years'', and everyone onboard with it. [[spoiler:The [=FMians=] who came to invade Earth under a Gemini-influenced Cepheus use it as their staging point and a place to store EM wave-eating Andromeda as well.]]
** ''Zerker x Saurian/Ninja'' has the [[FloatingContinent floating continent of]] [[{{Atlantis}} Mu]][[spoiler:, which Lady Vega raised as part of her misguided agenda to take over the world. While she does earn woobie points for how she suffered due to idiots being in charge of her home nation, it doesn't completely justify raising a continent as well as restoring all its weapons with it.]]
** ''Black Ace/Red Joker'' [[spoiler:takes place inside Meteor G, a meteor-sized cluster of ''[[TheCorruption Noise]]!'' King tried using it to take over the world, Jack and (Queen) Tia want to use it to destroy the world's technology, and in case you thought a plot thread was left hanging for two games, ''Kelvin Stelar'' has been in there for over ''three years'' as an EM body slowing the damn thing down to the best of his ability. Saving your dad, and the world with him, put this head and shoulders above the others easy.]]
* In the ''VideoGame/MightAndMagic'' franchise, you can usually tell that you are close to the end of the game once SciFi-elements start showing up. The VDFD is usually some kind of starship or control room for the planets, though in MM IX it changed the theme significantly, making the VDFD a hellish crypt called the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Tomb of a Thousand Terrors.]] ''VIII'' had the complication that whether it had a very definitely epic final dungeon or didn't really ''have'' a final dungeon depends on how strictly you define "dungeon" -- the Plane between Planes is a strange, alien place with skeletal remains of a truly giant creature found towards the centre, actually done as a full landscape (meaning flight and such works) and where even creating the key to enter the crystal dungeon that has its entrance was the work of a third of the main quest... but it also has smaller, more proper dungeons inside it, and while Escaton's Palace could itself be called epic (it's built out of the skull of the aforementioned giant, and harbours the closest-thing-to-a-BigBad, Escaton the Destroyer), the quest structure also means it will always be the first dungeon in the Plane between Planes you complete, with one of the four small and rather less impressive elemental prisons in each corner of the plane being the actual final dungeon (any one -- they can be done in any order).
* In ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'', we have the creepy, otherworldly [[spoiler:and aptly named Otherworld, which sets the game's AstralFinale.]]
* ''VideoGame/MinecraftDungeons'': The Obsidian Pinnacle, a.k.a. the ramparts of Highblock Castle and the place where you finally fight the Arch-Illager.
* ''VideoGame/{{MOTHER}}'' series examples:
** ''VideoGame/EarthBoundBeginnings'' has either a very small final dungeon, or a very large final dungeon if you count all of Mount Itoi.
** In ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', the final stage, the Cave of the Past, is achieved after crossing the PointOfNoReturn. While its present-day version is a series of green platforms floating in the middle of somewhere very mysterious, its past version, where the final battle occurs, is a ghostly mass of gray cliffs and otherworldly shapes floating amid a foggy void. Such an eerie place is fitting for the BigBad, [[EldritchAbomination Giygas]], to take up residence.
** The final chapter of ''VideoGame/Mother3'' takes your party to New Pork City. It's clear that there's no going back, since the overworld has been [[DoomedHometown completely abandoned]], and just about every NPC you've ever met is there with you. The final battle itself takes place deep underground, like in ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994''.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' has the Source Stone in the original campaign, the Netherese city of Undrentide in ''Shadows of Undrentide'', and Cania, the freezing-cold eighth circle of hell, in ''Hordes of the Underdark''.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' ends with one of these as you attack the Big Bad's stronghold. Of course, you just drove his army away from yours minutes earlier...
** And even though it's ''really'' short, ''[[ExpansionPack Mask of the Betrayer]]'' has you fighting through ''the depths of your own soul''.
** The second {{expansion|Pack}}, ''Storm of Zehir'', has the Temple of the World Serpent. Subverted in that you can continue adventuring afterward ''a la Franchise/TheElderScrolls''.
* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{NieR}}''. There's a giant door of no return that leads to what the characters are calling the Shadowlord's Castle, all the {{Plot Coupon}}s have been found, and everyone's gearing up for the final battle. They go through the door...and find that it looks like a cross between a high-end apartment building and an office. [[TheEndingChangesEverything This is the first sign that something is]] ''[[TheEndingChangesEverything deeply]]'' [[TheEndingChangesEverything wrong]].
** Played with even more in the remaster, where the final dungeon that composes Ending E is ''completely different'' from the rest of the game: [[spoiler:a virtual-looking space made out of blocks and recycling architecture from the Shadowlord's palace, with Grimoire Weiss' powers gaining a blocky appearance as well and '''[[PaintingTheMedium the HUD itself]]''' changing to the one featured in ''Videogame/NierAutomata'']].
* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata'' pulls this thrice. The first is the Copied City, a blank white replica of a Renaissance city, with Adam waiting inside, littered with corpses of [=YoRHa=] corpses, possibly from the battle with Grun you just struggled through, as 2B. Later, you have to escape from a suicide cult in the depths of the Abandoned Factory's basement, with assistance from 9S in hacking space, making it one for both Sides A and B. The final battle of Sides A and B just takes place in the City Ruin's crater. [[spoiler:The true final dungeon, The Tower, doesn't reveal itself until after 2B is corrupted and commits [[SuicideByCop suicide by A2]], which causes 9S to snap and swear [[{{Pun}} revengeance]].]] [[spoiler: Both 9S and A2 trek through it, with 9S getting a MirrorBoss ZergRush of 2B clones to fuck with his head, while A2 sneaks in after him and reaches a replica of Devola and Popola's library from ''VideoGame/{{NieR}}''. Then both battle against [[UndergroundMonkey Ko-Shi and Ro-Shi]], two revamps of So-Shi and Boku-Shi, fought at the end of Sides A and B, A2 on the ground, 9S in the air. After beating them individually (and briefly teaming up to kill Ko-Shi and Ro-Shi's combined form, 9S and A2 then face off, who you choose to control decides whether you get Endings C or D.]]
* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'' has the Gate of Finis, which as the player learns during the endgame is where the fallen god Galdera is sealed.
** ''[[VideoGame/OctopathTravelerII The Sequel]]'' has [[spoiler:the Isle of Illusions Vidania, where [[TrueFinalBoss Vide the Wicked]] is sealed away.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'': The place where Basil is being help captive; [[spoiler:Black Space, a ''[[VideoGame/YumeNikki Yume Nikki]]''[=-=]esque area with a nexus with multiple doors leading to several nightmarish areas- you must go through a little more than half of them to be able to reach the Church of Something and the game's endings. Unusually, you reach this area after fighting the standard FinalBoss, Humphrey. The TrueFinalBoss is fought at White Space, where [[WhereItAllBegan the game began]].]]
* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' has the Museum of Natural History as its final area for you to explore. It has multiple floors, lots of backtracking, powerful enemies, creepy atmosphere, and the BigBad is waiting for you to show up at her room. The actual final battles take place in a different location, but the museum pretty much screams that it's the beginning of the end.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar''; King Lassic's tower of Baya Malay is at first glance the Very Definitely Final Dungeon, until you reach its peak and discover it's merely the gateway to King Lassic's ''invisible flying city'', the Air Castle. The game then subverts the trope the second time when, after finishing the dungeon and killing Lassic, the ''real'' final dungeon turns out to be an unimpressive catacomb beneath Paseo, where [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere Dark Force]] has taken up residence. The other games in the ''VideoGame/PhantasyStar'' series, however, usually play it straight: [[VideoGame/PhantasyStarII The control center for the entire solar system]], [[VideoGame/PhantasyStarIII an ancient city]], [[VideoGame/PhantasyStarIV the other side of a dimensional prison]], etc....
* The Fortress of Regrets in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'' is a fortress that stretches for hundreds of miles, located in a Plane of total entropy, [[spoiler: built from the regrets of all the vastly terrible deeds in the main character's countless past lives and populated by the shadows of all the people who have died because of him. And the portal leading to it turns out to be in [[WhereItAllBegan the room you started the game from]].]]
* Most main ''VideoGame/{{Pokemon}}'' games have ''two'' of these, one for the evil team plot and another for the Pokémon League challenge. Before you can face the EliteFour and the [[FinalBoss Champion]] at the Pokémon League, you must go through each region's [[DeathMountain Victory Road]], a long cave or series of caves filled with powerful wild Pokémon and trainers that you pass through while scaling a mountain. You also generally have to fight [[TheRival your rival]] either before you enter or at the exit. In addition, while early installments had the League Building itself be a normal skyscraper, from [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Gen IV]] onward, they're ornate buildings designed to look like either Eastern- or Western-styled castles. There are also different "final dungeons" for the villainous team plotlines, which typically end at a different point to the League plotline. Each of these takes its time to hammer home what you're getting into here, with dramatic music, face-offs against the villainous bosses and Legendary Pokemon, large and complicated puzzles, and sometimes certain features being disabled (such as music overrides not occurring or bottom screen features not functioning).
** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'': Silph Co., a ten-story skyscraper filled with teleporters and Team Rocket members, where you fight Giovanni at the top.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' (and by extension ''[=HeartGold=] and [=SoulSilver=]''):
*** The Team Rocket plot Goldenrod Radio Tower, which has you fight ''three'' Executives in one building to stop them from broadcasting a message to Giovanni.
*** Victory Road and the Champion are the last challenge of the main game, but the post-game final dungeon is Mt. Silver, a gargantuan mountain in-between Kanto and Johto. And at the top you fight [[spoiler:''Red'', the protagonist from the first games]].
** ''VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire'':
*** Seafloor Cavern, where Groudon and Kyogre are awakened by Teams Magna and Aqua respetively, which is shortly followed by the smaller but no less majestic Cave of Origin.
*** The ''Delta Episode'' of the remake has the Sky Pillar, a tower where Rayquaza must be awakened to get its help in saving the world.
** ''Videogame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'':
*** The original games have Mount Coronet, which must be scaled to reach the Spear Pillar and stop Cyrus from destroying the universe.
*** ''Platinum'' turns Mount Coronet into a DiscOneFinalDungeon as afterwards the player must go into the [[EldritchLocation Distortion World]], which is essentially Pokémon's version of ''Hell''.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', has [[spoiler:N's Castle, which [[BigBad N]], the leader of Team Plasma, summons after you battle the Elite Four. After you go through the castle and reach him, the version legendary appears (who [[ButThouMust you must catch]]) and you must fight N, who has the opposing legendary. And after you defeat him, ''[[TheManBehindTheMan Ghetsis]]'' appears and reveals the true intentions of Team Plasma and [[FinalBoss you have to take him down]].]] That's where the game ends. Going back to properly challenge the League and actually battle the Champion is treated as something to close out the ''[[PlayableEpilogue epilogue]]''.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'': The Great Chasm is the final area of the Team Plasma story, though most of it is spent in the second visit to the [[CoolAirship Plasma Frigate]] within the Chasm.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'': Team Flare Secret HQ, a huge, clinically-styled ElaborateUndergroundBase hidden below [[spoiler:a civilization-ending weapon]].
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'': Vast Poni Canyon, a Victory Road-esque cave which is the only place you can summon your version legendary and access [[spoiler:Ultra Space]].
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'': Instead of a Victory Road and an Elite Four, you go to Wyndon Stadium, where a [[TournamentArc single-elimination knockout tournament]] takes place. Instead, your final dungeon is [[spoiler:Rose Tower, which you must climb in order to stop Chairman Rose after learning of his plans]], which happens just before your Champion match.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'':
*** Due to the open-world formula change in this installment, there is no Victory Road (although the questline for the traditional eight gyms and the Pokémon League is named after it). In fact, the Pokémon League is just a short walk away from the central city of Mesagoza and all of the Pokemon up the path are low-level. However, upon completing all three main storylines, one final storyline takes place which takes the player and their friends to [[spoiler: Area Zero, a crystaline biome deep within the Great Crater of Paldea where powerful Pokémon roam, including very dangerous Paradox Pokémon brought from the distant past/future whom threaten to break free of their containment within the Crater and overun Paldea's ecosystem if not stopped.]]
*** The DLC adds [[spoiler:the Area Zero Underdepths, a cave beneath Area Zero filled with Tera Crystals. The cave is fittingly filled with crystalline Pokémon such as Carbink and Glimmora. It is also the first place you can encounter the [[AllYourPowersCombined Stellar Type]]. At the deepest point in the cave, there is a large crystalline room housing [[TrueFinalBoss Terapagos]].]]
** ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' ends in the Realgam Tower. It spends the entire game being constructed, and in the final act it opens as a glittering Vegas-style resort complex run by the Cipher syndicate. You dismantle Cipher at the top of the spire by battling in Realgam's private Colosseum, while thousands upon thousands of screaming spectators view your final struggles.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness'', the sequel to ''Colosseum'', sees Cipher confronted in their newest base, Citadark Isle. This hideout is still under construction, and the tunnels in the complex weave in and out of an active volcano.
* ''VideoGame/RadiataStories'' ends in the City of White Nights, a decaying structure located at the literal end of the world that is shrouded in perpetual night. At the top is the castle of the Gold Dragon, where all reality is due to be reset any time now...
* ''VideoGame/ResonanceOfFate'': The Basilica. If the entire gameworld is an enormous tower, where else can the ultimate confrontation be but at the very top? And then the BonusDungeon takes place at the bottom of the tower.
* "Mother's Lair", the core of the GhostPlanet you've spent 90% of the game trying to reach, serves this role in ''VideoGame/RogueGalaxy''.
* ''VideoGame/SaGaRPG'':
** ''VideoGame/TheFinalFantasyLegend'' has the heroes ascending the tower for the second time, after falling victim to a booby trap after the battle with Ashura. Once they finally make it to the top, they meet the Creator.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendII'' has the Central Temple, which is in the verge of collapse and will take down the entire world with its destruction as a result of BigBad Apollo's abuse of the MAGI.
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyLegendIII'' has Xagor's Castle, the BigBad's base of operations atop Mt. Goht.
** ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa'' has [[spoiler:Quietus, the prison of the evil god Saruin, sealed beneath Isthmus Keep.]]
** ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa2'' has the Sealed Dungeon, where the Seven Heroes retreat to after their defeat by the generations of emperors that ruled Avalon.
** ''VideoGame/RomancingSaGa3'' has the Abyss itself, where the personification of the destructive power that the Rise of Morastrum represents resides.
** ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' has several final dungeons depending on the chosen scenario. A traditional example is the HQ of the evil organization Black X in Red's scenario.
** ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier2'' has the Last Megalith, where the Egg, the ArtifactOfDoom, SealedEvilInACan, and EldritchAbomination rolled into one, resides.
** ''VideoGame/UnlimitedSaga'', like ''[=SaGa=] Frontier'', has several final dungeons depending on the chosen scenario. Here, however, the FinalBoss is always Chaos.
** ''VideoGame/SaGaScarletGrace'' has Ei-Hanum, the mystical city where the BigBad, the Firebringer, resides.
* ''VideoGame/SaltAndSanctuary'' has [[spoiler:the Still Palace, where the actual Nameless God resides. A gigantic, luxurious palace that is floating upside-down in the middle of a black void, where only the roofs and the undersides of stairways can be properly traversed. There is nothing inside except for you, him, and thousands upon thousands of lit candles that give the entire place an eerie look of pure, white light against endless dark. It's also the only place in the entire game to get unique music, setting the tone for the final battle of the game]].
* ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts'' series:
** The first ''VideoGame/ShadowHearts1'' game had its final dungeon be a gigantic castle that acted as a beacon for an [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien alien of godlike power]]. This castle was also a biomechanical space station. In a game set in Asia and Europe in 1913. Telltale shift in scenery doesn't even begin to describe it.
** ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsCovenant'' has the Asuka Stone Platform, which when activated teleports one to the Vessel, a massive series of tiers powered by crystals, with bizarre shapes floating by in the distance.
** ''VideoGame/ShadowHeartsFromTheNewWorld'' has The Gate to the World of Malice, basically the very dimension where all Malice originates, complete with a black sun that's the game's FinalBoss [[spoiler:(well, [[DualBoss him and Lady/Grace Garland]])]].
* The ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' series has no shortage of epicness, and the final dungeons are no exception. In particular:
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' ends at the great Cathedral of the Messians, a [[EvilTowerOfOminousness towering monument built for the glory of God]] after He has flooded the world and left only you, tiny island pockets scattered across Tokyo, and people already at the Cathedral as the only survivors to the End of the World. Who you fight there depends on your alignment.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' sends you to the Ark, a space station ''also'' dedicated to God, from which He intends to cleanse the entire planet forever, and filled with His various avatars and incarnations.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' climaxes in a climb up a tower which leads to the center of the inside-out Vortex World.
** ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga: Avatar Tuner 2''. The final dungeon of that game is [[spoiler:the afterlife, after all the main characters have died and Serph and Sera have fused into a superbeing on the way.]] And [[spoiler:the afterlife is inside the sun, and the reason they're going there is to speak to God and convince him to stop destroying the world.]] Also, [[spoiler:the inside of the sun is apparently purple and kind of sparkly. Looks pretty, though.]]
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'': While the entire game takes place in the Schwarzelt, the final sector, [[spoiler:Horologium]], just plain screams '''FINAL AREA'''. The influence of [[spoiler:Mem Aleph]]'s presence is so great that the area ''takes the form of primordial Earth'' -- ie, FireAndBrimstoneHell. The fact this sector is '''''absurdly large''''' and filled with powerful demons, as well as featuring a ''very'' confusing move-tile maze, contributes to making this sector one ''hell'' of a trek.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'': The Law path goes through [[spoiler:Lucifer Palace, a gilded palace with an infinite hall puzzle]]. The Chaos path has [[spoiler:Purgatorium, a flying golden clockwork city with reversing gravity]]. The Neutral path gets [[spoiler:both]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'': The final dungeon of both Peace and Anarchy is [[spoiler:an entire alternate dimension ruled by God called YHVH Space, where Nanashi and Flynn fight through both the dead armies of Law and Chaos before confronting Metatron, Satan, and YHVH]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'': The final destination is the Empyrean, the pathway to the throne of the world's Creator, which is a pure white space with a tower made of cathedrals stuck together in Alien Geometries that ascends into the heavens.
** Interesting aversion from the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'': The alternate path has you battle the Snow Queen, whose final dungeon is the school the kids go to, as she's really one of the teachers. The normal path ("SEBEC Route") however, sends you into the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avidya Avidya]] World -- a cavern deep beneath Mikage-cho which Pandora (the creature born from Maki's innermost sense of denial and delusion) has hidden herself in. That is, ''the entire final dungeon is Maki's willing ignorance and self-denial made manifest''.
** ''VideoGame/Persona2 Innocent Sin'' takes you aboard the Xibalba, an ancient spaceship that rumors across Sumaru City have just recently brought into existence... in time to see the ''entire'' rest of the world be destroyed. Its sequel, ''Eternal Punishment'', sends you to the Monado Mandala, Nyarlatothep's domain in the deepest reaches of the Human Collective Unconscious.
** ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has also a downplayed example since the final dungeon is the only dungeon. Doesn't stop it from being difficult to reach the top, especially if it is the first play. (It also has the fact that most of the time, there's timed barriers.)
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is tricky, given that there are many wrong choices the characters and even the player can make.
*** [[spoiler:While Mitsuo's dungeon is an obvious DiscOneFinalDungeon, both Heaven and Magatsu Inaba could very well count, depending on what ending the player gets. The ''real'' deal is Yomotsu Hirasaka, where the game's real BigBad lurks. Yomotsu Hirasaka is also a GeniusBonus for those aware of Shinto mythology: it is the path that leads down to Yomi, the Shinto underworld.]]
*** The UpdatedReRelease, The Golden, adds in another such place with [[spoiler:the Hollow Forest, unlocked only when the player maxes new character Marie's Social Link before the new winter events and then asks Margaret on January 2nd to look into her disappearance. Made even more convincing by the boss having the combined power of both Namatame and Adachi's powers given by the true final boss forced onto herself.]]
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' will have the following examples if you're able to avoid making the wrong choices.
*** The original game is strange in that [[spoiler:the dungeon is really a place you've already been exploring for leveling up: Mementos, the collective unconscious. Turns out this "side area" is mandatory in order to complete the game unlocking the last area where the GreaterScopeVillain is hiding.]] But it's only part of the endgame (assuming you avoid [[EarnYourBadEnding an obvious choice that leads to a bad end]]). Part two is [[spoiler:the real world, which is starting to fuse with Mementos.]]
*** The UpdatedReRelease, ''Royal'', will have a new dungeon take place after the above example if the player manages to reach the highest possible rank for the Councillor Confidant before the start of the third term. When the protagonist and Akechi notice some oddities in the world despite the destruction of the Metaverse, it is revealed the cause is [[spoiler:Takuto Maruki, Shujin Academy's guidance counselor and the Councillor confidant, who is revealed to be a Persona user in control of his own Palace[[note]]The [[ChekhovsGun very same Palace]] where Kasumi awakened to her Persona.[[/note]]. Yaldabaoth's influence, the stress brought about by his failures, and his anger at his research being stolen by Shido have caused Maruki's Persona to go berserk, carrying the risk of bringing back the Metaverse and forcing the Phantom Thieves to go on one last heist through his Palace before their school term ends.]]
* Soltis in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is a whole continent, but fits this trope perfectly. It appears ominously from [[WhereItAllBegan the happiest and lowest-level area in the game]], raising up dark clouds and the game's strongest monsters with it to change everything around. Everybody in the world automatically fears it, even when they can't see it. It was the original home of the CrystalSpiresAndTogas civilization that bore the MysteriousWaif, and [[spoiler:inside is the power to [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt destroy the world]].]] [[spoiler:Not only does Soltis appear in the lowest-level area of the game, but the ''entrance'' to the dungeon is Shrine Island, [[BookEnds the first dungeon in the game,]] which turns out to have been a piece of Soltis that broke off when the continent originally sank.]]
* ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'' has [[spoiler:Clyde's Fortress]], an enormous [[spoiler: treehouse in the backyard of Clyde's house, who has just revealed to be the one who stole the [[MacGuffin Stick of Truth]]. ]]
* Lampshaded in ''The Speris Legacy'', when [[TheHero Cho]] enters [[BigBad Gallus]]'s imposing fortress of Spiral Castle:
-->'''Cho''': I've finally got here! What a journey!
* ''VideoGame/StellaGlow'' has the Moon where [[spoiler: [[BigBad Mother Qualia]] rests, which the Tuning Knights must put a stop to save both the world and [[EveryonesBabySister Marie]].]]
* The ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series subverts this trope by relying on the series' emphasis on war: the last dungeon in most of the games is usually the other army's biggest fort or capital city. In the latter case, it almost feels anti-climactic, as the player had to fight ''to'' said city, ensuring most of the enemy army would be in tatters. The examples are as follows:
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenI'': Gregminster Palace, the home of TheEmperor, and [[WhereItAllBegan the building where the game begins]].
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'': L'Renouille, the capital city of Highland, the nation which has been the main opposing force for the entire game. However, [[spoiler:the last dungeon is not the [[PostFinalBoss last (optional) confrontation]], which occurs at Tenzan Pass, [[WhereItAllBegan where the game began]]]].
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenIII'': [[spoiler:The Ceremonial Site, a suitably ancient series of ruins, which also happens to be the LostSuperweapon central to the WellIntentionedExtremist antagonist's plan]].
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'': Fort El-Eal, the southernmost stronghold of the Kooluk Empire.
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'': [[spoiler:The Sindar ruins of the Ashtwal Mountains, where Lord Godwin has threatened to use the power of the Sun Rune on the country, and which requires three parties to get through]].
** ''VideoGame/SuikodenTierkreis'' has a more traditional example: [[spoiler:the tower of the Order of the One True Way functions as this well enough the first time through, but after that, The One King arrives and turns the whole thing into a giant, but hollow, statue of himself, which you have to go through again]].
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' had a double subversion. Bowser's Castle. The sword sticking out of appears to be the final boss... except that the sword is the gateway to the ''true'' final dungeon, Smithy's weapons Factory (complete with Smithy, the FinalBoss and BigBad, at the very end).
** ''VideoGame/PaperMario''
*** The final dungeon of the original ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' is a flying castle ([[BigBad Bowser's]]). The final ''battle'' is on a special Bowser-boosting arena mimicking the appearance of his Clown Car, and is accessed via a temporary bridge leading from Peach's Castle, which is on top of Bowser's Castle. And all this happens IN OUTER SPACE.
*** The final dungeon of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor'' is behind the titular door, a gigantic downward-going complex that houses powerful monsters and ''[[SealedEvilInACan the entombed soul of a demon.]]''
*** The final dungeon of ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' was an entirely black-and-white castle ''in the middle of a void that threatens to devour all of existence.'' In both cases, with the way they are designed, as well as the dark and bleak moods of the places, there is no doubt of their validity as TVDFD.
*** Although far more mundane, World 6 of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' takes place in the skies of the Mushroom Kingdom and sees Mario [[BattleshipRaid attacking Bowser Jr's airship]] to reach Bowser's Sky Castle, having a final confrontation with [[TheDragon Kamek]] and finally confronting [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity Bowser]] in a battle that ends on the edge of the castle, right in front of Peach.
*** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioColorSplash'' has Black Bowser's Castle, which looks almost the same as Bowser's Sky Castle from the previous game... except this one is floating in the middle of a island, and you can only reach it by traversing a rainbow.
*** ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheOrigamiKing'' has Origami Castle, which [[BigBad King Olly]] used his power to turn Peach's castle into. Aside from being positioned on top of a volcano, the castle is filled with powerful enemies, monuments to Olly and Olivia, and pits full of living cootie-catchers that can kill Mario in a couple of hits.
** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi''
*** In ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga'', the final dungeon happens to be Bowser's Castle... a giant castle floating in mid air that even LOOKS like a giant statue of the Koopa King. Done differently though in that Bowser isn't actually the BigBad; the villain who hijacked his body took his castle, army, and technology for the invasion.
*** Shroob Castle plays this role in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime'', being the Shroobified version of the past Peach's Castle complete with [=UFOs=], Mordor style conditions, and a giant statue of [[BigBad Princess Shroob]] on top.
*** Peach's Castle in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory''. It's huge, it looks extremely ominous on the upper levels, is filled to the brim with Fawful-style decor, and turns into a giant black hole shooting mecha to fight Bowser directly.
*** On the Bros' side, there's the Airway, Bowser's insides final location, which is full of enemies corrupted by the [[ArtifactOfDoom Dark Star]].
*** Neo Bowser Castle in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam''. It's huge, it looks like something from a nightmare itself, floats high in the sky, has a dark forcefield around it, a death ray that it demonstrates on a few nearby islands, and is even shown being wished for by the [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bads]].
*** A completely different Neo Bowser Castle in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam''. [[RuleOfThree It's huge]], floats in the sky (and you actually storm it while it is flying, unlike Dream Team where you had to send it crashing to the ground) and sports a giant cannon used to destroy Peach's Castle.
* ''VideoGame/SweetHome1989'': The game is spent wandering around Mamiya's mansion, in gardens, courtyards, inner quarters, ballrooms, basements, and even underground caves. The final stretch, however, takes place in a strange, glowing, red-and-purple twisted nightmare scape with chasing specters, as well as {{Doppelganger}}s of the party to act as bosses.
* The Hanging Gardens/Eden in ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre''. A surprisingly tranquil looking place full of palm trees and waterfalls...until you get to the final stages, which are crawling with undead and a ''gate to hell''.
** ''VideoGame/TacticsOgreTheKnightOfLodis'' features the prison of a fallen angel. It's surprisingly beautiful.
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
** The final dungeon of ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' is Dhaos's Castle. Not the ''same'' Dhaos Castle that was the DiscOneFinalDungeon; this one has a totally new layout and it's hidden in a ''different time period''. The heroes have to bend space-time to their will to even make it to the front door.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'':
*** The game has Derris-Kharlan, which is a purple, gaseous planet that is just a bit too close to the planet where most of the game takes place. Inside you've got really powerful [[OurZombiesAreDifferent undead monsters]], [[spoiler:[[LightIsNotGood evil angels]]]], and it ends with a busted up castle with what appears to be a black hole behind it. Yeah, AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield. Oh, when Derris-Kharlan appears, it is started with the BigBad [[spoiler:''hijacking the body of TheHero's closest friend (who may be his lover)'' then causing [[EvilTowerOfOminousness the Tower Of Salvation]] to EXPLODE, sending chunks of it raining down as meteors. If that's not enough, when the dungeon does appear, it is seen with it so close that bolts of space lightning are raining down from it and its gravity is causing huge storms on the planet.]] And it turns the sky purple.
*** [[spoiler:The sequel sets the final battle at the Ginnungagap, the gateway in between the heroes' world and Niflheim, the realm of the demons. Failure means the heroes' world will become one with Niflheim. But seriously, no pressure.]]
** Due to it having 2 mostly independent stories, ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' has 2 of these. First is the Wings of Light, which is ridiculously obscenely long and has 3 distinctive sections, each of which could qualify as a full dungeon on its own. The second, the Cradle of Time, isn't so impressive length-wise, but it's a place that exists outside of time, and is made of small floors that on each one is a boss fight.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'' ends at the Absorption Gate, a castle located at the North Pole where all the world's energy returns to the Core. [[spoiler:Then the game pulls a YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle on you and it turns out that the real Final Dungeon is Eldrant, a replica of an entire island, which is now capable of flight (until it crashes by way of your party), and resting place of the CrystalDragonJesus.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' has the Tower of Tarqaron, a floating city which has been converted to a {{Magitek}} weapon of enough power to annihilate an EldritchAbomination... by sacrificing the life force of ''every human on the planet'' for its power source.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfGraces'' has the Lastalia, the core of the planet Ephinea and the source of all eleth that gives life to the planet. [[spoiler:It was about to be corrupted by Lambda until Asbel and co. put a stop to his plans. The final dungeon for the ''Lineage and Legacies'' storyline is another Lastalia, but this time, of the dead planet Fodra.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'' has as its final dungeon the Temporal Crossroads. [[spoiler:It is located somewhere between the worlds of Rieze Maxia and Elympios, but is not normally accessed except via dimensional scars. You visit it twice -- first, when Jude and Milla unite to confront the real Maxwell; and second, when the united party faces the final bosses of the game, Gaius and Muzét.]]
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' ends at the Land of Canaan, where some say that it leads its travelers to the "Promised Land".
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has Artorius' Throne, an enormous ruined temple, where [[BigBad Lord of Calamity]] lurks. The skies here has [[RedSkyTakeWarning blood-red color]], and the sun is turned black. Curiously, it's actually [[spoiler:the DiscOneFinalDungeon of the [[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria prequel]]. What appears to be a random final dungeon in the first game suddenly makes a lot more sense, given what happened in the epilogue of the second one]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria'' has [[spoiler: Innominat's Domain]], a huge palace in the sky where the party confronts [[BigBadDuumvirate Artorius and Innominat]].
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' has [[spoiler:Del Fharis Castle in Ganath Haros, where it's built up to be the Final Dungeon as it is the residence of Big Bad Vholran, the last Renan lord to be fought against. As per Tales series tradition though, it is actually a Disc-One Final Dungeon, with the real one taking place in the decimated planet of Rena.]].
* ''VideoGame/TokyoXanadu'':
** The base story has Pandora which opens up on the Final Chapter, [[spoiler: caused by Shiori remembering that she's an outright paradox: she died during the Tokyo Twilight Disaster and it was the Twilight Apostle who brought her to life. Killing her saves the city, but it makes her RetGon to everyone that isn't able to manifest soul devices. It isn't until dealing with the FinalBoss of the base game, the Nine-Tailed Fox, that Shiori is brought back to life and undoes her RetGone.]]
** The After Story, set three months after the end of the base game, has the Boundary of Death. [[spoiler: Because of the Nine-Tailed Fox undoing Shiori's death, the Twilight Apostle is free to pick up where it left off, throwing Morimiya into a shadowy purgatory and plans to do it to the rest of the world.]]
* ''[[VideoGame/TrailsSeries The Legend of Heroes - Trails]]'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky'':
*** ''First Chapter'' sets up the finale to be in Grancel Castle, which you've been to earlier in the Final Chapter but has now been taken over by the Intelligence Division. The party is sent on a mission to [[StormingTheCastle break into it and rescue Queen Alicia]], but then you find that the real final dungeon is the Sealed Area, a secret multi-level ancient ruin hidden beneath the Castle.
*** ''Trails in the Sky Second Chapter'' has [[spoiler:the Liber Ark, a [[FloatingContinent floating]] AdvancedAncientAcropolis built by the ancient Zemurian civilization that's been perfectly preserved by being sealed in a pocket dimension for 1,200 years, with a large part of the villains' plan throughout the game being spent just getting it to reappear]]. The very last part of the game is spent [[spoiler:climbing to the top of the Axis Pillar, a tower in the center of the city, then taking an elevator down the middle of it into the very core of the Ark, where [[MacGuffin the Aureole]], is kept]].
*** ''Trails in the Sky The 3rd'' has Phantasmagoria Castle, which is the home of [[spoiler:Anima, the living core of the artificial dimension of Phantasma]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZeroAndTrailsToAzure'':
*** ''Trails from Zero'' has the Sun Fort, a centuries-old military fortress now being used as the lair of the [[ReligionOfEvil D∴G Cult]].
*** ''Trails to Azure'' one-ups that with [[spoiler:the Azure Tree, a massive, tree-shaped tower made of blue crystal formed by the [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] powers of [[LivingMacGuffin the Azure Demiourgos]]]].
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel'' has a rather different approach to this in the first few games.
*** For the first game, the final main dungeon, the Realm of the Great Shadow, is in the seventh floor the Old Schoolhouse outside of Thors' Military Academy where Class VII has been going all year long investigating its depths. The final dungeon is not only longer and larger than any of the floors they've been to at that point, but they then have to deal with an EldritchAbomination in Loa Erebonius, which is very much a ClimaxBoss. The TrueFinalBoss is set well after the events of this dungeon.
*** In ''Cold Steel II'', the Finale ends with the Imperial Palace in Heimdallr transformed into a hellish fortress called the Infernal Palace. While it's quite the big dungeon for the story, it only marks a turning point at the end of the civil war. It's only during the end of the school year in March, in the Epilogue, that Class VII and their allies have one last adventure in the Old Schoolhouse, which has been transformed into the Reverie Corridor, the true final dungeon of the story.
*** ''Trails of Cold Steel III'' ends in a bizarre pocket dimension called the Gral of Erebos, located underneath the Karel Imperial Villa.
*** ''Trails of Cold Steel IV -the end of saga-'' has [[spoiler:the Tuatha Dé Danann, [[OminousFloatingCastle the "Phantasmal Mobile Fortress"]], the ultimate weapon created by the Gnomes for their war against the Witches, that disappeared in the space-time disruption caused by the clash between the two clans' Sept-Terrion. Now recovered and rebuilt by the Gnomes' descendants, the Black Workshop, it emerges above Osgiliath Basin, then moves to floating above the capital city of Hemidallr. Its appearance is accompanied by five duplicates of the mysterious "Salt Pale" that destroyed the country of North Ambria that emerge across the Erebonian Empire and sustain a barrier around it, necessitating the party to split up and destroy all of them just to get inside.]]
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsIntoReverie'' has [[spoiler: Reverse Babel, the massive tower that houses the Elysion system and acts as the base for the Eighth Awakener, [[BigBad Ishmelga]]-[[RogueProtagonist Rean]]]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsThroughDaybreak'' has [[spoiler:[[ItsAllUpstairsFromHere Genesis Tower]], a tower with the ability to stop time created by the Seventh Octo-Genesis, where the heroes go to stop the Armata mafia syndicate, with [[BigBad Gerard Dantès]] at the very top]].
** ''Trails through Daybreak II: Crimson Sin'' has [[spoiler:Octradium, a phase space where multiple parallel dimensions overlap and a place for the Oct-Genesis to observe humanity's sins.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Ultima}}'':
** The last level set its final confrontation in a cavern beneath a volcano, 1000 years in the past. It may have been monochrome and not that visually impressive, but it was about as very definitely final as one could hope for on an Apple II computer in 1980.
** ''The Great, Stygian Abyss'' from the fourth and ''Dungeon Doom'' from the fifth installment of the series should also qualify, if only for its name and the damnable somersaults you have to perform to get in there. In ''VideoGame/UltimaIV'', the player characters need to have completed a number of highly virtuous tasks in a highly virtuous manner, learned the Word of Power, and collected several {{Plot Coupon}}s; in ''VideoGame/UltimaV'', you have to drag your tired arses halfway across the Underworld, the Word of Power is needed again, as are several other items (actually usable items with other functions) and it's combined with the fact that once you go in, ''you can't leave until you reach the very bottom'' and hopefully have everything you need to complete the final puzzle.
* ''VideoGame/VagrantStory'' takes place in the city of Lea Monde, which was governed by a theocracy. The [[CosmicKeystone entire city is a giant Grimoire]], its walls inscribed with magical runes and ancient languages. At the very locus of the city, where all the power of the Dark gathers, stands ''the Cathedral''.
* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles''
** The first game has [[spoiler: The Marmota, an enormous vehicle commanded by [[BigBad Maximilian]] that's much less a tank and more of a land dreadnought. In addition, it also serves as a platform to utilize the largest Valkyrur weapon ever created, [[WaveMotionGun the Valkof]].]]
** [[VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesII The second game]] has the Dandarius, a heavily armed battleship given to the Gallia Revolutionary Army by the Atlantic Federation that's crawling with soldiers and tanks, equipped with a powerful rail cannon that will [[OneHitKill one-shot]] anything caught in its blast, [[spoiler: and where [[FinalBoss Baldren Gassenarl]] [[OneWingedAngel turns himself into the strongest Artificial Valkyria]]]].
* ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'': Venture Tower, a massive high-rise visible from almost every location in the game. A long climb up impeded by elite vampires, [[DemonicSpiders SWAT agents]], and some villains who ''really'' had it coming.
* The ''VideoGame/WildArms'' games have a tendency to employ this. Given that they have a Wild West theme (with some steampunk elements thrown in), their final dungeons are really out there. In order, we have had:
** [[VideoGame/WildARMs1 A space station/colony]]
** [[VideoGame/WildARMs2 The living heart of the planet, reached through an inverted spiral tower that stretches on for deities know how long full of its own mini-bosses]]
** [[VideoGame/WildARMs3 A fortress/mansion in an alternate plane of reality]]
** [[VideoGame/WildARMs4 A deranged, ARM-particle-infested Alcatraz overgrown with crystal and bizarre ARM mutants, with its own Load Bearing Final Boss]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} 8'' has Ascension Peak. The top of a mountain, where the player's party must find three temples where the {{Plot Coupon}}s must be placed. It also has a teleporter to the Cosmic Circle, residence of the universe's gods, the Cosmic Lords, where the player party will ascend in order to become Cosmic Lords themselves.
* ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'' decided that an awesome spot for the final several fights would include [[spoiler:God (or a god)'s drinks parlor/pad]] and that the ultimate final [[spoiler:cutscene]] would occur [[spoiler:in a massive room where soul-stuff gets refined and remade. And promptly does, post scene.]] The door to the former is lampshaded by one of the characters - "This door just screams of endgame!"
* The final dungeons of the ''VideoGame/WorldOfMana'' games tend to take place in or near the [[WorldTree Mana Tree]]. One exception is ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana'', with a [[ThatsNoMoon floating superweapon that's big enough to be mistaken for a]] FloatingContinent.
%%* Enix games aren't innocent, either:
%%** Outer space in ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer''.
%%** [[spoiler:Between two planets bound for impact]].
%%** The Dark World.
%%** A comet in ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia''.
%%** Death Heim (which rises from the sea) in ''VideoGame/ActRaiser''.
%%** [[spoiler:Atop an endless staircase inside the sun of the internal face of the planet]] in ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}''.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': The final area takes place inside an large artificial constructed body formed by the FinalBoss, who is within the core at the epicenter.
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'':
** Episodes 1 and 2 have the Proto Merkabah and Omega System, respectively. Both are weapons of mass destruction awakened by that game's BigBad, with the latter being especially notable for [[spoiler: erupting from the core of the original planet Miltia everyone's been trying to locate throughout both episodes]]. 2 also has a sort of "epilogue" final dungeon: [[spoiler: a Space-Time Anomaly created by Albedo, Episode 1's BigBad, where Jr's confronted with a lot of disturbing memories and has a final showdown with his twin brother.]]
** Episode 3's final dungeon is so massive that it'll easily make up at least 1/5th of your total play time. [[spoiler: Planet Michtam, once home to the antagonist organization Ormus and one of your party members Ziggy, also houses the device Zarathustra BigBad Wilhelm's planning to use to enact Eternal Recurrance.]] All of the mysterious artifacts and important players of the story have gathered here; what follows is a line-up of climactic cutscenes and boss battles against all the remaining antagonists as the party [[spoiler: starts on the planet's surface, descends into an ancient factory, before navigating the maze-like crystalline control structure of Zarathustra before finally reaching the planet's core for the final showdown.]]
* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'':
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' has you entering [[spoiler:the massive titan controlled by the BigBad, and fighting a boss in its heart. Then, you are returned to one of the {{Disc One Final Dungeon}}s, a demonic prison now sunken into the titan's head, and completing ''that'' takes you to ''outer space'']].
** The final story mission in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' takes place inside [[spoiler:the Lifehold Core, located very far from any of the five continents explored up to that point]].
** The World Tree, and Elysium up top, has long been hinted to be the final destination in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'', but few anticipated that [[spoiler:it and the landscape around it are what remained of the old world with massive roots entwined around a high-tech orbital elevator]], and fewer still suspected that [[spoiler:the very satellite where Klaus conducted his fateful experiment]] was at the very top.
** ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' has [[spoiler: Origin, the super-computer floating in the center of Aionios created by the Queens of Agnus and Keves which has become Moebius and Z's base of operations for sustaining the eternal war.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}'' series by Falcom is a big fan of these. Let's elaborate:
** ''VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen'': The Darm Tower - the huge architecture built by demons to reach the floating continent Ys, blocked off to the outside world by a [[PointOfNoReturn one-way door]]. Unusually for this trope, it takes up about half the game (except in the combined ''Ys Book I and II'', where it's [[DiscOneFinalDungeon only the final dungeon of the first part of the game]]).
** ''VideoGame/YsIIAncientYsVanishedTheFinalChapter'': The Center of Ys - the headquarters of the ancient kingdom Ys that houses [[ArtifactOfDoom the Black Pearl, the source of all magic]].
%%** ''Videogame/YsTheOathInFelghana'': The Genos Island.
%%** ''Ys IV / ''VideoGame/YsMemoriesOfCelceta'': The Temple of The Sun (or the Golden Temple in the SFC version).
** ''VideoGame/YsVLostKefinKingdomOfSand'': The inner keep of Kefin Castle, the capital of the titular lost kingdom of sand.
** ''VideoGame/YsVITheArkOfNapishtim'': The titular ark.
** ''VideoGame/YsOrigin'': The Darm Tower (same tower from Ys I since it is a prequel) - rare case where ''the whole'' game takes place in one of these.
%%** ''VideoGame/YsSeven'': The Well of Souls.
** ''VideoGame/YsVIIILacrimosaOfDana'' has Octus, an alien dimension inside of the Great Tree of Origin filled with otherwordly beings. However, if you reached the True Ending, the ACTUAL final dungeon is the Abyss of Origin, a strange primordial location in which lies the [[TrueFinalBoss Origin of Life]].
** ''VideoGame/YsIXMonstrumNox'' has the Balduq Fortress of Yore, a timelocked version of the Balduq Prison from 500 years ago from the Hundred Years War where the BigBad of the game has been conducting his experiments to end the Grimoire Nox. The party fights through all of his hellish creations to learn what he had been up to, especially involving Adol: To make a godlike being from Adol's memories named Atra Nox Philius who wipes out [[TheHeartless the Lemures]] outside of the castle, but now decides that humanity is to blame for the Grimwald Nox and is the final boss. Luckily there's a NO TURNING BACK door that lets you know this is where the game ends.
[[/folder]]

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Due to the open-world formula change in this installment, there is no Victory Road (although the questline for the traditional eight gyms and the Pokémon League is named after it). In fact, the Pokémon League is just a short walk away from the central city of Mesagoza and all of the Pokemon up the path are low-level. However, upon completing all three main storylines, one final storyline takes place which takes the player and their friends to [[spoiler: Area Zero, a crystaline biome deep within the Great Crater of Paldea where powerful Pokémon roam, including very dangerous Paradox Pokémon brought from the distant past/future whom threaten to break free of their containment within the Crater and overun Paldea's ecosystem if not stopped.]]

* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'': The Source Stone in the original campaign. The Netherese city of Undrentide in ''Shadows of Undrentide''.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'': Due to the open-world formula change in this instalment, there is no Victory Road (although the questline for the traditional eight gyms and the Pokémon League is named after it). In fact, the Pokémon League is just a short walk away from the central city of Mesagoza and all of the Pokemon up the path are low-level. However, upon completing all three main storylines, one final storyline takes place which takes the player and their friends to [[spoiler: Area Zero, a crystaline biome deep within the Great Crater of Paldea where powerful Pokémon roam, including very dangerous Paradox Pokémon brought from the distant past/future whom threaten to break free of their containment within the Crater and overun Paldea's ecosystem if not stopped.]]

*** The UpdatedReRelease, The Golden, adds in another such place with [[spoiler:the Hollow Forest, unlocked only when the player maxes new character Marie's Social Link before the new winter events. Made even more convincing by the boss having the combined power of both Namatame and Adachi's powers given by the true final boss forced onto herself.]]

* The final stages of ''VideoGame/DmCDevilMayCry'' have Dante and Vergil assaulting Mundus's headquarters. [[spoiler:However the final battle itself happens in the ruins of Limbo's collision with reality ''after'' you succeed in your mission to unseat Mundus]].

* From the {{VideoGame/Rayman}} series:

** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD'' has Metallic Madness Zone, the factory in which Eggman slowly mechanizes Little Planet. In the past, it is still under construction. In the present, it is simply an ordinary factory. In the BadFuture, it is a horrific wasteland devoid of plants and life slowly crumbling and perpetually malfunctioning, with the entirety of Little Planet implied to be in the same state. In the GoodFuture, it is a SolarPunk utopia where Eggman's machinations have all but been eradicated and plants and animals grow freely assisted by the same machines that once subjugated them, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick with only a few lingering deathtraps here and there.]]

** ''VideoGame/SaGaFrontier'' has several final dungeons depending on the chosen scenario. A traditional example is the HQ of the evil organization Black X in Red's scenario.

Interestingly enough, it's usually stressed that it will be incredibly difficult, maybe even [[PointOfNoReturn impossible]] to leave the final dungeon once you've entered it. This only applies in gameplay. Most characters who enter the final dungeon simply leave after the boss has been defeated, sometimes barely finding a means to escape, but at other times with no explanation at all. [[TheHeroDies Unless they die there.]] This sometimes does not come into play, as it is the boss's power causing some obstruction to leaving. The game will sometimes warn players that there's no turning back and ask them if they ''really'' want to move forward. If they're not lucky, they could be walking into [[ThatOneLevel that one level.]]

* Depending on the game, the final battle can take place in the inner sanctum of the final boss (such as Rugal's airship ''[=BlackNoah=]'' in ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '94'', Krauser's great hall in ''VideoGame/FatalFury 2'', Seth's secret laboratory in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'', or Murakumo's operation room [[spoiler: that also houses the biggest of the Blitz Engines]] in ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'').

* ''[[VideoGame/ExtrapowerGiantFist EXTRAPOWER Giant Fist]]'' has Zett's compound and the tunnels beneath, filled with his BodyHorror experiments forming the last defense until the final bosses.

** ''Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'': Cor Hydrae, the ancient castle of Malpercio currently floating in the middle of a dimensional rift.
** ''Baten Kaitos Origins'': Tarazed, a colossal machina construct powered by [[spoiler:captured afterlings]] and serving as both the new capital of TheEmpire and said empire's continent-shattering superweapon.

** The base game has the Nightmare of Mensis, a DreamWorld only available to enter after the blood moon rises. Essentially, it's a large castle-laboratory filled with nightmarish creatures, madmen cultists, and ''three'' [[EldritchAbomination Great Ones]], one of them an infant that powers the entire dream dimension. [[spoiler:However, it's only the final ''area'' that is explored, the actual end of the game and true final boss is in the Hunter's Dream, the hub zone.]]

* ''VideoGame/ResonanceOfFate'': The Basilica. If the entire gameworld is an enormous tower, where else can the ultimate confrontation be but at the very top?
** And then the BonusDungeon takes place at the bottom of the tower.

* ''VideoGame/TrailsSeries'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsInTheSky First Chapter'' sets up the finale to be in Grancel Castle, which you've been to earlier in the Final Chapter but has now been taken over by the Intelligence Division. The party is sent on a mission to [[StormingTheCastle break into it and rescue Queen Alicia]], but then you find that the real final dungeon is the Sealed Area, a secret multi-level ancient ruin hidden beneath the Castle.
** ''Trails in the Sky Second Chapter'' has [[spoiler:the Liber Ark, a [[FloatingContinent floating]] AdvancedAncientAcropolis built by the ancient Zemurian civilization that's been perfectly preserved by being sealed in a pocket dimension for 1,200 years, with a large part of the villains' plan throughout the game being spent just getting it to reappear]]. The very last part of the game is spent [[spoiler:climbing to the top of the Axis Pillar, a tower in the center of the city, then taking an elevator down the middle of it into the very core of the Ark, where [[MacGuffin the Aureole]], is kept]].
** ''Trails in the Sky The 3rd'' has Phantasmagoria Castle, which is the home of [[spoiler:Anima, the living core of the artificial dimension of Phantasma]].
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsFromZero'' has the Sun Fort, a centuries-old military fortress now being used as the lair of the [[ReligionOfEvil D∴G Cult]].
** ''The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure'' one-ups that with [[spoiler:the Azure Tree, a massive, tree-shaped tower made of blue crystal formed by the [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] powers of [[LivingMacGuffin the Azure Demiourgos]]]].

** ''Trails of Cold Steel III'' ends in a bizarre pocket dimension called the Gral of Erebos, located underneath the Karel Imperial Villa.
** ''Trails of Cold Steel IV -the end of saga-'' has [[spoiler:the Tuatha Dé Danann, [[OminousFloatingCastle the "Phantasmal Mobile Fortress"]], the ultimate weapon created by the Gnomes for their war against the Witches, that disappeared in the space-time disruption caused by the clash between the two clans' Sept-Terrion. Now recovered and rebuilt by the Gnomes' descendants, the Black Workshop, it emerges above Osgiliath Basin, then moves to floating above the capital city of Hemidallr. Its appearance is accompanied by five duplicates of the mysterious "Salt Pale" that destroyed the country of North Ambria that emerge across the Erebonian Empire and sustain a barrier around it, necessitating the party to split up and destroy all of them just to get inside.]]

* The ''[[VideoGame/WildARMs Wild ARMs]]'' games have a tendency to employ this. Given that they have a Wild West theme (with some steampunk elements thrown in), their final dungeons are really out there. In order, we have had:

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' have you fight ''inside'' the big bad itself.

** [[spoiler:Arsenal Gear]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''

* You always know when you're at the end of a ''Franchise/SilentHill'' Game - if the {{bizarrchitecture}} and increasing grossness of the environs don't tip you off, the increase of monsters surely does.

** ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'': Hideout Helm is the last major world, and is accessed by entering the mouth of K. Rool's Island (which only opens when when almost all Boss Keys are used in K. Lumsy's jail[[note]]The only Key that isn't required is that from Frantic Factory, but you'll need that one eventually to fully open the jail anyway[[/note]]). It consists of disabling the large energy machine to prevent K. Rool from destroying DK Isles, but there's a time limit whose duration will depend on how many blueprints you retrieved. Interestingly, even after you succeed in your mission, K. Rool isn't fought here because he plans to escape before he's found; you even manage to grab the last Boss Key (provided that you have the required items) without any boss fight. K. Rool is only fought after you free K. Lumsy, in DK Isles.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTearsOfTheKingdom'': Hyrule Castle is [[spoiler: NOT the final dungeon this time. Rather, it's the Chasm ''beneath'' the castle where Ganondorf lies waiting beyond a series of tunnels teeming with Gloom-infested monsters, a Silver-Maned Lynel, and one last round versus Phantom Ganon, ending WhereItAllBegan in the cavern Link and Zelda explored in the opening. Like before, this can be visited at any point, although this time there's little incentive to visit early.]]

** Interesting aversion from the original ''VideoGame/Persona1'': The alternate path has you battle the Snow Queen, whose final dungeon is the school the kids go to, as she's really one of the teachers.
** The normal path ("SEBEC Route") however, sends you into the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avidya Avidya]] World -- a cavern deep beneath Mikage-cho which Pandora (the creature born from Maki's innermost sense of denial and delusion) has hidden herself in. That is, ''the entire final dungeon is Maki's willing ignorance and self-denial made manifest''.

** ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has also a downplayed example since the final dungeon is the only dungeon. Doesn't stop it from being difficult to reach the top, especially if it is the first play. (It also has the fact that most of the time, there timed barriers.)

** ''VideoGame/Rayman3HoodlumHavoc'' Has The Tower of Leptys, where the BigBad and TheDragon have gone to absorb power from the god Leptys. It's filled with all of the game's toughest enemies in large swarms, the most difficult platforming sections in the game, driving sections, and turret sections all leading to the FinalBoss at the top.

* ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' has the Cathedral at the top of the seemingly endless tower; from the beginning of the nightmares everyone's major goal is to reach the Cathedral and obtain "true freedom." [[spoiler:Suberted; everyone, including the villains, thought Vincent's journey would end once he reached the Cathedral, but the game actually ends in the Empireo, the heavenly realm above the tower where the gods Dumuzid and Astaroth can be challenged.]]

* While Mizar's Palace in ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'' is hyped as this, it's revealed to be only a DiscOneFinalDungeon. The true last level is the Asteroid Mizar is travelling with to reach Earth in a desperate attempt to cause a doomsday there.

** ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeonII'': The Mountain; it's ominous enough from a distance, but when you're on its slopes, it loses all pretense of being a normal Earthly place, as a lightning storm starts over it and the ground becomes awash in shadowy mist as you approach the cult Ziggurat at its center, where the chapter boss awaits.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia2'' ends at the Land of Canaan, where some say that it leads its travelers to the "Promise Land".
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfZestiria'' has Artorius' Throne, an enormous ruined temple, where [[BigBad Lord of Calamity]] lurks. The skies here has [[RedSkyTakeWarning blood-red color]], and the sun is turned black. Curiously, it's actually [[spoiler: the FirstDiscFinalDungeon of the [[VideoGame/TalesOfBerseria prequel]]. What appears to be a random final dungeon in the first game suddenly makes a lot more sense, given what happened in the epilogue of the second one]].

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' has [[spoiler: Del Fharis Castle in Ganath Haros is built up to be the Final Dungeon as it is the residence of Big Bad Vholran, the last Renan lord to be fought against. As per Tales Series tradition though, it is actually but a Disc-One Final Dungeon with the real one taking place in the decimated planet of Rena.]].

** The SNES game has Fire Field as the final track in the King League. Not only it's [[MarathonLevel longest track in the game]], it also has every kind of obstacle thrown at you all at once; sharp turns, mines, dirt patches, ice, and magnets that pull you in from the sides. The race also takes place over what seems to be a field of lava.
** ''GX'' on the Gamecube has two of these. The second-to-last race in the storyline takes place inside a volcano, while the final race takes place on an ethereal virtual track that cycles through the colors of the rainbow.

** ''VideoGame/SuperKirbyClash'': The game not only brings back the Decisive Battle as a DiscOneFinalDungeon, but also has [[spoiler: the Dreamscape, a stage somehow even more surreal and eye-catching than the Decisive Battlefield, and also where that game's final bosses are all fought]].

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' doesn't get more final than the assault on Darkspawn-occupied Denerim, which is a PointOfNoReturn, marked by the fact it gives you an entire sequence in which you speak to ''each member of your party'', whether reassurances, final farewells or {{Badass Boast}}ing. As a sort of final-dungeon-within-the-final-dungeon, at the far end of Denerim is [[JustForPun Fort Drakon]]. The Archdemon's at the very top--and it's rude to keep him waiting.