History Main / WhereItAllBegan

* Firelink Shrine serves as this to the entire ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' trilogy as this is the beginning hub where the Chosen Undead begins their quest in earnest in Lordran. Then, in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'', the Ashen One must return to Firelink Shrine in order to reach the final battle. In another twist, the final battle is with the Lord of Cinders, who contains the soul of the Chosen Undead themselves, making it come full-circle in more ways than one.

* Evolution has done this many, many times, most commonly when a species whose ancestors left the oceans and adapted to land then returns to a marine habitat.

** Done again in Season 5 with the Sirenix Quest. After the Winx obtain the three gems but learn the quest is not yet over and they must find the Source of Sirenix; said source is found in the same place where the quest began: Lake Roccaluce.

** ''VideoGame/Persona2InnocentSin'' begins at Seven Sisters High School. While the final dungeon - a massive, shrine-like spaceship called Xibalba - isn't there per se, the Narurato Stone, a small monolith that sits behind it, serves as the entrance to said dungeon.

* ''VideoGame/ObsCure II'' does this twice. The FinalBoss fight takes place at the abandoned ruins of the HighSchool where the first game was set, and where Herbert Friedman conducted his experiments on the [[TheCorruption mortifilia plant]] that led to the events of the series. Then comes TheStinger after the end credits, and TheReveal of the GreaterScopeVillain who financed Friedman's experiments. What comes next is a NoGearLevel set in their headquarters where you learn about all of their machinations and their role in the story, just before the TrueFinalBoss.

* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', if you upgrade Travis's sword to its fullest, you end up fighting the TrueFinalBoss; Henry, in the parking lot right outside Travis' own home where he'd be after every Ranked Fight.

** Also the climax of ''Film/TheArkOfTruth'' takes place in the City of the Ori, a place that Daniel and Vala visited early on in the ninth season. While not the start of the show itself, it was the start of the Ori storyline.

* ''Film/ResidentEvilTheFinalChapter'' sees Alice return to the Hive underneath Raccoon City, [[Film/ResidentEvil where the series started]].

* The lasr ruin you explore in ''VideoGame/AtelierRyza2LostLegendsAndTheSecretFairy'', the Ethereal Dragon's Coffin, is located in the depths of the Mausoleum of Eternity, which is the first ruin you explore. There's a wall which blocks you from advancing past the first room until near the end of the game.

* The third season of the ''WesternAnimation/WinxClub'' uses this. When Valtor challenges them for the final battle, he deliberately chooses the very world he first invaded after breaking out of prison.

This is an EndingTrope, so '''Spoilers Ahoy'''.

* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', the city of Shighanshina is where the Colossal and Armored Titans first appeared and breached the Walls. Five years later, both are defeated in battle against the Survey Corps. Notably, Eren and Armin are the ones to bring down the Colossal Titan, while Mikasa strikes the final blow to defeat the Armored Titan. [[spoiler: Reiner narrowly escapes thanks to his superiors, while Bertolt is abandoned to his fate. He's later EatenAlive, allowing Armin to inherit the power of the Colossal Titan]].

* The FinalBattle of ''Manga/FairyTail'' between Ishgal's wizards and Acnologia takes place in Hargeon, the same PortTown where Lucy first met Natsu and Happy at the beginning of the series. [[LampshadeHanging She makes note of this to Happy]], since part of the reason for the battle is to [[spoiler:save Natsu and the other Dragon Slayers from the [[PrisonDimension Space Between Time]], essentially "meeting" Natsu again.]]

* Subverted in ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'' when, just as Mithril is making its final preparations to recapture Merida Island, Amalgam seizes a Soviet nuclear missile base in Badakhsha, Afghanistan, and threatens to launch its arsenal. Having basically grown up in the middle of the UsefulNotes/SovietInvasionOfAfghanistan, Sousuke considers the location to be utterly life-defining... which leads him to realize that Amalgam chose the location specifically to lead Sousuke ''away'' from the actual battle he's needed for so that Leonard can enact his plan without Mithril's trump card, the Laevatein, around to counter him. Thus, Sousuke decides to let the rest of Mithril's SRT handle Afghanistan while he and Tessa themselves confront Leonard at Merida.
* Kagome, from ''Manga/InuYasha'', was first sucked into Feudal Japan via the Bone Eater's well. This is where Naraku's ([[spoiler:and the Shikon Jewel]]'s) final destruction takes place.

* The final battle of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' does this not with a ''location'', but with its HumongousMecha. It is not between overpowered machines and a culmination of the LensmanArmsRace. No, it is [[spoiler: Setsuna reclaiming his old Gundam Exia, his first machine he used, going up against Ribbons using a suspiciously-recolored 0 Gundam, the first ever made using the first GN Drive. Made doubly more interesting since Ribbons is [[FanNickname Evil Amuro]] due to his voice actor and the latter Gundam is a deliberate homage to the original [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam RX-78-2.]]]]

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', the final duel between Naruto and Sasuke takes place at the Valley of the End, where they both fought once before as children [[spoiler:and where their past incarnations Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha also battled long ago]].

* The [[BigBad obsessive collector]] in ''Anime/{{Pokemon 2000}}'' quotes this at the end, when he finds the first card he ever collected [[spoiler:in the smashed ruins of everything ''else'' he collected]].
--> "How it all began. [[spoiler:And how it will begin, again.]]"

* In ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'', the secret behind the [[FlowerMotifs Rose Gate]] turns out to be [[spoiler: Anthy's resting place as the witch impaled by the million swords...which is where Utena first made her pledge to become a prince and save her as a child.]] Since the series is a bit of a MindScrew and full of CharacterDevelopment, even Utena doesn't remember the importance of it until about three episodes before the finale.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen almost ended like this.]] [[spoiler:The Wuxi Finger Hold]] was still going to happen, only Po and Tai Lung would crash land in Po's bedroom, where Tai Lung would see all the Furious Five merchandise, and be confused. Basically the script would not change aside from taking place in a different location. The writers moved the final confrontation to outside Ping's noodle shop, since the original version did not make as much sense.
** Played straight in the [[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda3 third film]]. [[spoiler: After defeating Kai and being made the new master of the Jade Palace by Oogway, Po trains the others to use Chi in the Palace Arena, the same place where he was chosen to be the Dragon Warrior in the first film]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' ends with Simba returning to the Pride Lands to [[spoiler: defeat Scar and take his rightful place as king.]]

* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' opens with the Avengers attacking HYDRA at Sokovia. [[spoiler: The final battle with Ultron also takes place in Sokovia.]]

* Both versions of ''Film/TheButterflyEffect''. The original does it well when the main character [[spoiler:goes back to the birthday party where he first met the love of his life and gets her to not want to see him again effectively erasing her from his life]], but the director's cut takes it to the ultimate extreme where the main character [[spoiler:commits suicide by strangling himself (in utero!)]]
* In a cruel twist of fate, the test subjects in ''Film/{{Cube}}'' [[spoiler:learn that the exit room was the very room they started out in, making their trek through the titular deathtrap dungeon a pointless waste of time and human life]].

* ''Film/TheLastSharknadoItsAboutTime'' 's last scene takes place [[spoiler: in Fin's bar from the first film, but because they've been erased from history, there's no sharknado this time around]].
* ''Film/LordOfIllusions'' opens in the Cultists' compound in the Mojave desert before moving to Los Angeles, and the climax takes us back there when [[spoiler:Nix is revived]].

** ''Film/{{Saw|I}}'' features a duo of cops attempting to arrest the infamous Jigsaw Killer at his hideout, which is where the [[spoiler:now solo cop, his partner died in the first attempt to apprehend him,]] officer pursues him to yet again near the end.
** ''Film/SawII'' drops the bombshell that the entire film [[spoiler:took place in the same area as the first movie, and that the bathroom (the centerpiece of the original film) is merely one room in its catacombs]]
** ''Film/Saw3D''. It is revealed that [[spoiler:Dr. Gordon from the original films survived and was nursed back to health by the Jigsaw Killer to aid him as an apprentice. His final task was to lock another apprentice in the same bathroom he was chained to in the first film.]]

** ''Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker'' brings the whole Skywalker Saga full circle, as in its last scene, Rey returns to the moisture farm on Tatooine to [[spoiler: bury Luke and Leia's lightsabers]], with the very last shot being her and BB-8 looking out at the setting suns just like Luke did back in the original film.

* Happened in the ''Literature/CodexAlera'' series. In the first book, Tavi is a young, powerless shepherd who takes shelter from a storm full of angry [[ElementalEmbodiment air elementals]] in a prince's tomb. In the final book, [[spoiler: he has now learned to use his vast power and learned his true identity as the son of that very prince, and he pursues the [[HordeOfAlienLocusts Vord Queen]] across the landscape, finally killing her at his father's tomb, using two immensely powerful elementals to weaken her.]]

* ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' starts out in the Louvre, and [[spoiler:we end up back at the Louvre only to discover that the museum is the final resting place of Mary Magdelene]].
* In the first ''Literature/DeltoraQuest'' series, Lief and co. traveled back to Del after they [[GottaCatchEmAll gathered the]] [[PlotCoupons seven gems of the Belt of Deltora]] to drive back the [[EvilOverlord Shadow Lord]] from their land with the power of the belt and heir, Dain.

* In ''Literature/DragonBones'' the protagonist leaves castle Hurog, travels far away from home ... and in the end, it is all about the eponymous dragon bones, which he has already seen at the start of the novel. The villains meet their end in the very cave where Ward found the dragon bones.

** When Harry is hit by [[spoiler: Voldemort's killing curse]] in the Forbidden Forest, he finds himself in King's Cross Station, where his new life truly began.

* ''Literature/TheSagaOfDarrenShan'' has the protagonist going back to his hometown to battle [[spoiler: Steve]] in the 11th and 12th books. Same with TheMovie, although much, much sooner.

* A character arc went like this in OpeningAtlantis by Creator/HarryTurtledove. Francois Kersauzon's story starts in the fortress of Noveau Redon. One long military campaign against the English later, and he is waiting out a siege. The siege ends with [[spoiler: the English destroying the source of the fort's spring. This forces Kersauzon to move against them. He dies.]]

** The series finale also ends on the same beach where Chuck and Sarah ended their first date, only this time [[spoiler: Chuck is telling an amnesiac Sarah to trust him, rather than her telling him]].

* It has been revealed that the final goal of the heroes of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' is to [[spoiler: protect a magical light]] that is located in the same bamboo grove Jack awoke in in the first episode.
** [[spoiler:The final scene of the series mirrors its beginning, with Jack lying down in the bamboo field. Only this time he closes his eyes as he dies.]]

** ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy's'' "Journey's End" ends with the inhabitants of space-station Terra Venture escaping from it to the planet [[spoiler:Miranoi, where the Rangers escaped from in the premiere.]]
** The ending of ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' has Dillon revisit the lone flower he passed on the way to Corinth [[spoiler: now part of a beautiful garden in a healing world.]]

* The stage adaptation of Music/AmericanIdiot has the two protagonists who left town returning in the second to last scene and each of the play's storylines finally coming together to reach the climax when they do. Specifically Johnny comes home from the city, apparently sober or at least attempting to be, Tunny returns from his military service [[spoiler: having lost his leg but with the Extraordinary Girl now his girlfriend,]] and Will and Heather [[spoiler: appear to finally reach a point where they can be friends and raise their baby together despite no longer being a couple]] when they welcome their friends home.

** Apparently, the Arkham series loves this trope, because in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' the final confrontation with [[spoiler:Bane and Joker]] takes place at Blackgate Prison, where the game began.
** And ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' does it twice during the endgame -- first off, the final confrontation with Scarecrow takes place in [[spoiler:the ruins of Arkham Asylum]], and then a hallucination takes Batman to [[spoiler:Crime Alley]]. Furthermore, the game's opening cutscene takes place in Pauli's Diner, which can be seen during the opening cutscene of ''Arkham Asylum'' -- where the series itself began.

** ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'': The player's LastStand is held at the temple of Dirge, where the Spirit monks were all killed before the beginning of the game. It's also straight up invoked by [[spoiler: [[BigBad Master Li]], who sends you to a dream-version of [[DoomedHometown Two Rivers]] and forces you to fight your fellow students as the school burns around you.]]

** In ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' you face the BigBad and Dragon on [[spoiler: the Citadel, the space station what was where you were at the end of the tutorial-linear opening of the game.]]

*** [[spoiler:For Legion, who is strongly implied to be the first geth to take up arms against their creators (when the latter decided to begin genocide of the former), their story begins and ends on Rannoch, the quarian homeworld.]]
*** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' [[spoiler:starts on Earth and ends on Earth. Not only that, the first game also began in Earth orbit.]]

** In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', the entire quest consists of [[spoiler:Revan retracing his/her steps]], only to end up back on the [[spoiler:Starforge]]. In the sequel, ''The Sith Lords'', the Exile also has to retrace his/her steps, returning to many of the key locations of the Mandalorian War, and ending on the ruins of Malachor V, the world the Exile destroyed to stop the Mandalorians and save the galaxy, the act which transformed [[spoiler:the Exile into a hole in the Force]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'': Remember the locked gate in Hunter's Dream? [[spoiler: This is the place where you put [[DeathSeeker Gehrman]] out of his misery.]]

** Inside the Great Chasm is the Celestial Realm, [[spoiler:also known as our world, with you visible through the 3DS camera, meaning it goes back to where you first turned on the game console]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'': [[spoiler: The first game starts you landing on Lingshan, and the final cutscene other than TheStinger has you return to Lingshan.]]

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfMana'' begins and ends with a chase through the same LostWoods... but the second time around, you're going after [[spoiler: the evil Sorceress after she's pulled a GrandTheftMe on UnluckyChildhoodFriend Ritzia]] and the monsters have all been corrupted by Echoes.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'': In a way. The whole game started at the church to when Nero was heading. By the end, [[spoiler:Nero and Dante fight [[BigBad Sanctus]] and [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever "The Savior"]] near the very same church]].

* ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'': The final battle takes place in [[spoiler:an almost identical equivalent of]] the building where the player first arrived in the Digital World.

* ''[[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Dynasty Warriors 8 XL]]'' makes reference to this during the final stage of Lu Bu's Hypothetical route, [[spoiler: Recapture of Chang'an]], when [[spoiler: Zhang Liao comments that Chang'an was where all of Lu Bu's troubles began, having been forced out of the city earlier in the story. Lu Bu replies that this is different; this time, he is free to do as he wishes on the battlefield.]]

* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin'' sets out on a quest to find out what happened to his pod after it is abducted from his home bay. [[spoiler: When he discovers they were abducted by aliens, his only decent way of chasing them is to use time travel to return to his home bay at the time of the incident and get abducted with them.]]
* The very last scenario of the Russian campaign of ''Videogame/EmpireEarth'' is not only at the exact same place as the first, but [[spoiler:at the exact same ''time'', as you have betrayed Grigor II and used TimeTravel to get there and stop him at the very beginning. Unfortunately for you, Grigor II has done the same to protect the original Grigor and his rise to power, and he's brought much more to bear than you]]. A Bad Case of Deja Vu indeed.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' the main character [[spoiler: is born at the Jefferson Memorial, but is led to believe he/she was born in Vault 101.]] [[WideOpenSandbox Sooner or later]], the player storms that same place twice in the main storyline.

* The final mission of ''VideoGame/FarCry5'' is outright called "Where It All Began", as Joseph is waiting to offer his final deal at the church where you first tried to arrest him. [[spoiler:Unfortunatly, neither option really goes your way...]]

** Also, the final "confrontation" with Alma takes place in a hallucination of the same building from the game's first level, which is revealed to be [[spoiler: the labratory where Alma gave birth to your character]].

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'', the final task of the Light Warriors, after killing the four elemental Fiends and [[CosmicKeystone reviving the power of the Crystals]], is to go back to the ruined Temple of Fiends, site of their first quest. Using the power of the Crystals, they travel two thousand years into the past, to the true Temple of Fiends, in order to battle the four Fiends and their master Chaos on their own home turf. And to take it even farther, [[spoiler:the FinalBoss Chaos and the first boss Garland are the same person.]] [[spoiler: The remakes call the temple the "Chaos Shrine". That's right; Garland's hideout at the beginning of the game is a shrine to himself.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', the first scenario is in Castle Tycoon and the journey starts in the kingdom of Tycoon. [[spoiler:When the two worlds merge, the Void will absorb Castle Tycoon and leave a dark portal in it's place. This dark portal is the entrance to the Interdimentional Rift, the game's FinalDungeon.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'', it is revealed that the main characters all grew up together at Edea's Orphanage. As part of Odine's gambit to find Ultimecia, far into the future, they allow the Time Compression to occur and then concentrate on returning to the Orphanage in order to emerge from the timestream... only to reveal that Ultimecia's Castle is ''anchored'' to it.
** Thematic parallel: in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'', Tidus' journey begins in [[spoiler:Dream]] Zanarkand, which is then destroyed by Sin. At the end of the game, when the party has gone inside Sin to destroy Braska's Final Aeon, only to find its deepest layers a ruined recreation of Zanarkand. Also, before the fight with Sin, the entire game has been a pilgrimage to the real Zanarkand. Not only that, but when you are traveling to Spira at the beginning of the game, you pass through the same ruined Zanarkand recreation...

*** The game's backstory reveals [[spoiler:Chaos was created in the Cardian Islands laboratories at the behest of Onrac, his lair and the site of the final battle in the Land of Discord is on a floating island off the shore of Onrac, and the Cardian Islands link the Land of Discord to the mainland. The title of a Report, "Hill with View of the Water Temple" (the Water Shrine's approximate location underwater would be beneath Chaos's island) also implies that this is where Cid, Garland, Chaos and Cosmos arrived in World B and the cycles of war began]].
*** And as a meta-example for the entire series, in the ending sequence [[spoiler:the Warriors of Cosmos appear outside Cornelia in World A, and the Warrior of Light begins walking towards the castle, revealing the ''Dissidia'' games to be a prequel to the original ''Final Fantasy'' which started out the same way]].
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'': Serah's journey starts when a meteorite (actually a Time Gate) crashes just outside New Bodhum, her home since Cocoon's fall, and Noel appears. The pair end up in a ruined version of New Bodhum ([[AfterTheEnd in 700 -AF-]]), just before the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. The game also ends in Valhalla, where the tutorial and prologue took place ([[spoiler:on the same beach where Caius was shown laying Yeul to rest]]).
** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'' continues the trend by ending in Insomnia, the protagonists' DoomedHometown AfterTheEnd. Unlike most examples however, it was not accessible as a playable area in the beginning of the game, only appearing in cutscenes, the tie-in movie [[Anime/KingsglaiveFinalFantasyXV Kingsglaive]], and a short demo that was released before the game.

** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', the first battle in the war between TheEmpire and the Church of Seiros is the Battle of Garreg Mach, which is fought within the borders of the eponymous monastery. In the Silver Snow route, the same map serves as the final stage [[spoiler:when Lady Rhea loses control of her powers and goes on a rampage.]]

* ''VideoGame/Geneforge5Overthrow'' has one if you join Ghaldring's faction. One of the final quests [[spoiler: but not the last one]] is to kill Shaper Rawal, who just happens to have his base in [[FirstTown Isenwood Spire.]] Even better is the fact that you can bypass most of his defenses by coming in through the [[NoobCave Foundry Core.]]

* A ''when'' variation occurs in ''Videogame/GhostTrickPhantomDetective''. [[spoiler:Not returning to the start of the night at the junkyard, oh no, but to the event ''ten years prior'' that set everything into motion that culminated on the night in question]].

** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', the last few missions take place in the city where the first few did. The final mission ends [[spoiler: on Grove Street]].

* ''VideoGame/GrimFandango'' plays this trope for all it's worth. Near the end, Manny returns to the city where he began the game working as a travel agent, now a [[FilmNoir corrupted cesspool of sin and debauchery]]. He infiltrates the heart of the criminal conspiracy, where the BigBad unwittingly [[spoiler:''offers Manny his old job. In his old office.'']]

** Likewise, in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 3}}'', the final battle takes place in the Halo Control Room, identical to the Halo Control Room in ''Halo CE''. [[spoiler:You even face off against the same enemy.]]
** In addition, the entire final level in ''3'' is on [[spoiler:a recreation of the first Halo]]. Clever gamers will note that the final Warthog-run course is designed to be a near-exact silhouette of the island from popular ''Halo CE'' level "The Silent Cartographer".

* In ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'', [[spoiler:after Yorda is taken by the Queen, and you maneuver your way through the castle's underground waterway, you come upon the very dock that you were taken to in the game's opening scene. And it turns out the Queen's throne room was right next to the room you were first imprisoned in.]]

* The finale of ''VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast'' takes you back to the Jedi Temple on Yavin, where you [[JustifiedTutorial retrained in the ways of the Force]] near the start of the game. This time around, however, [[spoiler:[[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs the Temple is under siege by Desann and the Empire Reborn]], and you get to go through all the areas you held back from earlier as you lead the defense and [[FinalBoss face off with Desann one last time]].]]

** The final battle with [[spoiler:BigBad Ansem]] in the first ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' begins on (what's left of) [[DoomedHometown Destiny Islands]], the first stage, before switching to the standard AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield.
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'', Ven's story ends at The Awakening. Not only is that where we first see Ven, but it's also a tutorial level that appeared at the beginning of near every game in the series. Later, [[spoiler:the final battle between Aqua and the possessed Terra occurs at Radiant Garden, where Terra had his true StartOfDarkness]]. [[spoiler:Vanitas was created from Ven at the Keyblade Graveyard]], bringing their battle full-circle as well.
** Inverted in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', where Hollow Bastion [[spoiler:/Radiant Garden]], the penultimate stage of the first game, is the new hub world since Leon and Sora's other allies took it back between games. Played straight with Twilight Town, the world the game begins in and that Sora returns to at the end of the game to find the portal to The World That Never Was, the lair of the Organization.
** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' takes this to a logical extreme. The almost final area is Twilight Town, which is where Roxas gets his name from Xemnas, where he met Axel, where his first mission with Xion was, and where he, Axel, and Xion meet up to hang out. Not only is it the final area, but [[spoiler:the clock tower is the setting for the final part of the fight with Xion, which also drags you to three other worlds you visited throughout the game. Then, you're taken to The World That Never Was, which is where your main hub has been for most of the game. You then reenact the secret ending to Kingdom Hearts, which means it loops all the way back to the ending of the ''first game''.]]

** A series-wide example in ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII''. The final battle takes place in [[spoiler:Scala ad Caelum, which is heavily implied to be the ruins of Daybreak Town, the hub world for ''Kingdom Hearts χ'' and implied to be the very first world in the realm of light.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheLastStory'', The Reptid's Cave in Chapter 1. You return to this location again in Chapter 39, but named as The Reptid's Cave Revisited. [[spoiler: Chapter 40 is the final chapter in the main game.]]

* The final dungeon in ''VideoGame/LegendOfLegaia'' takes place in the Heroic Mute's hometown... at least, where it USED to be before a giant monster consumed and assimilated it.

* ''VideoGame/{{Loom}}'' has the big showdown on the very island you grew up on and left at the start of the game. It also takes place in [[spoiler:the cathedral where the events setting off the plot took place, and the draft that caused it (still echoing in the Loom) is used to save the day]].

** The first stage of ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' is an important location in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero4''.
** The first stage of ''VideoGame/MegaManX7'' has Zero return to the first stage of ''VideoGame/MegaManX1''.
** The final battle in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero3'' takes place in the ruins of the underground laboratory where Ciel found Zero resting in ''Mega Man Zero''.
** The final battle in ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' takes place in the Slither Inc. building, the very same building outside of which [[spoiler:Vent/Aile [[FightingYourFriend fought a brainwashed Giro]], watched him die from his injuries inflicted by them and [[BigBad Serpent]], and where the first [[TransformationSequence transformation into Mega Man Model ZX]] occurred.]]
** The final battle in ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'' takes place in [[spoiler:the collection Model W fusion of]] [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Ouroboros]], [[spoiler:which heavily resembles the space station Ragnarok, the final stage of ''Zero 4'' and the original structure whose wreckage the Model Ws were created from]].

** ''VideoGame/MetroidIIReturnOfSamus'' ended with Samus taking the baby Metroid back to her ship. In the [[VideoGame/MetroidSamusReturns remake]], [[spoiler:Ridley appears out of nowhere right infront of Samus's ship for the final boss battle, playing the trope much straighter]].

** ''VI'': The Hive, the heart of the Kreegan infestation of Enroth during and before the game and one of the landing points during the Night of Shooting Stars is located in the region of Sweet Water... [[DoomedHometown which is also your characters' home village, from which they fled during the intro of the game]], saved from death by a benign mage. (Of course, this only counts if the cinematic opening sequence at the start of the game is considered the beginning.)

* In the endgame of ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'', you can [[spoiler: emerge from a door on Melee Island, last seen locked in the original game]].
* ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterStories2WingsOfRuin'' begins on Hakolo Island, where the player character lives. Hakolo Island is also where [[spoiler:Oltura, an EldritchAbomination and a monster with the power to destroy the world,]] is fought as the game's final battle. The battle site is also just a bit further up the path from where the player character fights a Rage-Rayed Anjanath, the game's first major boss battle.

** Also, the last area unlocked in ''VideoGame/{{Uru}}'' is [[spoiler: Myst Island]]. Note, however, that Uru was intended to be -- essentially -- a ''Myst'' MMORPG, so it's not really the end of the Uru storyline. It's kinda complicated...
** Subverted, however, in ''VideoGame/MystVEndOfAges''. [[spoiler: Even though you have the option to, you don't WANT to return to Myst Island. [[DownerEnding Trust me on this one]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', if you upgrade Travis's sword to its fullest, you end up fighting the TrueFinalBoss; [[spoiler:Henry]], in the parking lot right outside Travis' own home where he'd be after every Ranked Fight.
* In ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'', the entrance to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon is located at [[spoiler:the ruins of Hornburg, Olberic's DoomedHometown]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Omori}}'' begins in [[WhiteVoidRoom White Space]], the place Omori calls home. [[spoiler:Sunny and Omori's BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind, to determine whether Sunny either [[EpiphanyTherapy faces the future]] or [[DrivenToSuicide takes his own life]]]] occurs in the exact same spot.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has a variation: [[spoiler:the last dungeon of the game is the lowermost depths of Mementos, the same underground maze that you have access to right after the first major [[EldritchLocation Palace]] is destroyed. The variation comes in that Mementos is completely optional, as its main purposes are serving as a hub for all of the game's sidequests and for extra grinding. However, it is ''not'' recommended that Mementos be skipped, because if you did not delve into it throughout the game, you will have to do so during the Endgame, and once December 24th comes and you go in, [[PointOfNoReturn you cannot come back out]].]]
** Furthermore, the stairway and entrance to TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon is in [[spoiler: a hellscape version of Shibuya Station Square]], where the protagonist first gets off his train in Tokyo, and one of the first areas the player character is given the ability to move around before entering any dungeon.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''/''Yellow'' comes close -- nothing much happens in Pallet Town after the beginning of the game, but Viridian City, the first stop immediately thereafter, turns out to be the home of the last Gym Leader, who also happens to be [[spoiler:[[BigBad Giovanni]], the leader of Team Rocket]]. The dwelling place of Mewtwo, the BonusDungeon, is behind Cerulean City, the town of the second Gym.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''/''Crystal'': The path to Indigo Plateau from Johto? Surf east from New Bark Town. ''[=GSC=]'' also lets you go to Kanto after beating the Elite Four, where you can collect the badges there and gain access to Mt. Silver; waiting at the end is [[spoiler: Red, the protagonist of ''[=RGBY=]'']] and the strongest opponent in the game.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', you receive your Z-Ring as a stone from [[OlympusMons Tapu Koko]] just outside the Ruins of Conflict, which is also where you meet Lillie and Nebby. [[spoiler:After capturing Nebby yourself and becoming the Champion, Lillie takes you back to the Ruins, where you finally face off against Tapu Koko and prove that it was right to choose you. Tapu Koko itself even says "IT IS TIME" before the fight, which is extremely noticeable because Pokemon speaking human language is ''very very rare''.]]

* ''VideoGame/ProjectXZone'' starts off at the Koryuujii estate. [[spoiler: The party goes back there twice, and the second time, it is revealed that the base of the enemy is ''underneath the fountain''.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' [[SubvertedTrope sort of]] does it. The very first true level of the game takes place in the mind of Coach Oleander. The very last level of the game, after beating the [[spoiler:[[DiscOneFinalBoss Brain Tank]]]], takes place in a nightmarish hybrid of Coach Oleander and [[KidHero Razputin's]] minds. It could be argued that this is actually a double-dose of the trope, since Raz also revisits the environment that he grew up in and escaped from immediately before the game started.

** The final battle with Emperor Tachyon in ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction Tools of Destruction]]'' takes place on [[spoiler:Planet Fastoon]], which isn't the first stage, but [[spoiler:Fastoon was where Tachyon destroyed the Lombaxes, marking the first conquest of his empire.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'', the final level is the same part of town as the first level, [[spoiler:only with zombies and other assorted chaos occuring]].
* The climax and ending of ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' is set in Mid-Ocean, the territory and home region of Vyse and his father's legion of Blue Rogue pirates and the starting point of the game. The finality is threefold: the climactic last stand against Galcian's world-dominating faction that splintered from [[TheEmpire Valua]] takes place in Mid-Ocean, [[spoiler:the lost continent of [[TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Soltis]] turns out to be sitting below the ominous Vortex that lingers in Mid-Ocean's lower sky and is bought back, and it is revealed that [[NoobCave Shrine Island]], the game's first true dungeon, used to be a part of Soltis and serves as its entrance.]]

* ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'' does this in a bit of a roundabout way. [[spoiler:While in the original, Citadel Station was destroyed, the very last section of the sequel dumps you into a still-forming recreation of Citadel's medical level, big blue tiles and all -- said medical level being the place where the Hacker first woke up in the original. It's still-forming because SHODAN is rebuilding it ''out of her own memory''.]]

* Near the beginning of ''VideoGame/{{Terranigma}}'', you are sent through a portal from your hometown at the inside of Earth to outside. Near the end, this same portal is opened again and you visit your hometown. [[spoiler: However because of the changes you've made on the surface, it has subtle changes and right when you talk to anyone, they turn into spirits and attack you.]]

* After traveling all over the US and touring to Canada and Moscow, ''VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderGround'' ends with a skate showdown with [[spoiler:Eric Sparrow]] across old neighborhood in New Jersey.
* ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'': In the Pacifist ending, [[spoiler:after the final boss fight with Asriel, Frisk wakes up in the ruins, where the game begins. In the playable epilogue you can find Asriel in the flower bed from the very beginning of the game. In the Neutral and Pacifist endings Frisk ends up in the surface world where they come from, in the former the objective of the game is to go home in the latter the monsters get to go home with you.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWitness'': The GoldenEnding [[spoiler: is accessed by solving an environmental puzzle using the gate from the starting area. Of course, one of the first things the player does is turn the gate off, making solving it impossible; to turn it on again, they have to activate all of the lasers and complete most of the puzzles in the End to access the Caverns and find the gate's reactivation pattern. This journey clues the player in on the existence of environmental puzzles, which they'll need to find the ending, and, through audio logs, gives them backstory context they'll need to appreciate it]].[[note]][[spoiler: Of course, if the player just so happens to have figured out environmental puzzles within the first few minutes of the game, they can [[SequenceBreaking access the Golden Ending right away.]]]][[/note]]
* ''VideoGame/WorldsEndClub'': Upon reaching the area where MAIK is presumably, the Go-Getters find out MAIK is not there. Using a variety of clues picked during the journey, Pochi [[spoiler:[[AddressingThePlayer along with assistance from the player]]]], managed to discover MAIK is located beneath the underwater park in Kagoshima, where the Go-Getters began their trip.
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' [[spoiler:Garrosh and Thrall]] agree to have their final battle to the death at the place where the two met and bonded over [[spoiler:Thrall's memories of Grom]].
** The first battle in ''Warlords of Draenor'' takes place at the Dark Portal, which is also where the final battle against [[spoiler:Archimonde]] takes place.

* At the end of ''Videogame/YakuzaLikeADragon'' after Governor Aoki is not only beaten in a fight but [[EngineeredPublicConfession publicly outed for corruption]] he ends up escaping and making his way to [[spoiler:the coin lockers where he was found as an infant]]. Ichiban, who not only knows Aoki very well but [[spoiler:was also a fellow "coin locker baby"]] easily tracks him down and takes this as Aoki wanting a fresh start deep down.

* In ''Literature/MaleRising'', Paulo Abacar the ex-slave lived in a house at Oyo Square, Sokoto. [[spoiler: 177 years later, his great-great-great-granddaughter Laila Abacar visits the house - now a museum and shrine - in the epilogue. She considers moving her family there at the end.]]

** In ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'', [[MacGuffin Malachite's Hand]] is buried [[spoiler:in the same field that the team start off in]].
** In ''WebVideo/ToBoldlyFlee'', the swallowed team ends up [[spoiler:in the same field as the final battle in ''WebVideo/SuburbanKnights'']].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'': [[spoiler:The game ends at the same place it started: the bunker. Except that everyone now has their memories, knows more-or-less what's going on, and there's a big green button in the middle of the room that allows them to win the game]].

* ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy's'' "Journey's End" ends with the inhabitants of space-station Terra Venture escaping from it to the planet [[spoiler:Miranoi, where the Rangers escaped from in the premiere.]]

* The final showdown in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' takes place in the very same castle you began the game in.

** In the spin-off ''VideoGame/CrisisCoreFinalFantasyVII'', Zack finds out Genesis's base is under the ruins of Banora, which was bombed in Chapter 2 after the initial confrontation with Genesis.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HomeOnTheRange'', the final battle takes with the BigBad takes place on the same farm that the Maggie, Grace, and Mrs. Calloway all left at the start of their adventure.
* In ''WesternAnimation/KuboAndTheTwoStrings'', Kubo fights the BigBad, the Moon King, in [[DoomedHometown the ruins of the village where he used to spend his days]]. The battle actually ends at the nearby graveyard, however--which also happens to be where the Moon King's forces first go after Kubo.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{The Lion King|1994}}'' ends with Simba returning to the Pride Lands to [[spoiler: defeat his uncle Scar and take his rightful place as king.]]

** Twice in ''VideoGame/ALinkToThePast'' -- first, you rescue Zelda from the Hyrule Castle dungeons, then return to the castle after obtaining the Master Sword to climb its [[DiscOneFinalDungeon central tower]]. In the Dark World, after completing the final dungeon the final boss crashes through the top of the Dark Pyramid you entered the world on to reveal a chamber inside where the final battle is held. Just to top it all off too, the Dark Pyramid and Hyrule Castle are in the same place between the two works. There are two other instances, as this game is the TropeNamer for DarkWorld -- the first dungeon for each of the two worlds is in the same place, and the final dungeon of the Dark World is in the same place as the final dungeon of the Light World.
** The eighth dungeon in ''VideoGame/OracleOfAges'' is in the same location as the first dungeon, merely in the past rather than the present. It's not as simple as just warping to the past once you've got the Song of Ages, however.
** ''VideoGame/OcarinaOfTime'', Link begins the second part of the game in the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town, and later returns to the town to infiltrate Ganon's Castle floating where Hyrule Castle once stood.
** In ''VideoGame/MajorasMask'' the player starts off in Clock Town and has to wait until the end of the 3rd Day to climb up the clock tower and get their ocarina back from the Skull Kid to begin the game proper. Once the dungeons are complete you have to do the same and this time use the song you've learned to call the dungeon guardians to your aid.
** For ''VideoGame/TwilightPrincess'', the game proper begins in Hyrule Castle's dungeons where you meet Midna, and the final dungeon takes you through the rest of the castle.
** In ''VideoGame/TheMinishCap'', the final dungeon is once again Hyrule Castle.
** In ''VideoGame/SpiritTracks'', it is noted that the entrance to the Dark World is located not far at all from Link's hometown.
** In ''VideoGame/ALinkBetweenWorlds'', the two of the first rooms of Lorule Castle you see are the final rooms of the game. You can even use the first portal located between the two princess's studies to use Princess Zelda's study as a makeshift Fairy Fountain before the final battle.
** In ''VideoGame/SkywardSword'', the entrance to the final dungeon is about ten steps away from the cave where Link rescues his bird at the beginning of the game. And then the final battle takes place in the same place Link first descended to the surface.

** The final battle in ''VideoGame/MegaManZXAdvent'' takes place in [[spoiler:the collection Model W fusion of]] [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Ouroboros]], [[spoiler:which heavily resembles the space station Ragnarok, the final stage of ''Zero 4'' and the original structure whose wreckage the Model Ws were created from]].

* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' the 2003 series had Liore. also lampshaded in Episode 41 with a bar in Liore called Motherland.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen almost ended like this.]] [[spoiler:The Wuxi Finger Hold]] was still going to happen, only Po and Tai Lung would crash land in Po's bedroom, where Tai Lung would see all the Furious Five merchandise, and be confused- basically the script would not change aside from taking place in a different location. The writers moved the final confrontation to outside Ping's noodle shop, since the original version did not make as much sense.

** But subverted in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate I'': Your hero returns from Baldur's Gate to the hometown of Candlekeep in what appears [[DiscOneFinalDungeon to be the last chapter]], only to be sent to Baldur's Gate again for the final showdown.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' DLC ''Claptrap's New Robot Revolution'' ends in Fyrestone, the place where the Vault Hunters met the Claptrap that would be the Interplanetary Ninja Assassin Claptrap and the place where they started the game.
* ''Videogame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' brings you back to Fyrestone, the first area of the first game, in the penultimate mission of the main campaign.

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Contra}} Contra: Shattered Soldier]]'' one of the final stages is located Galuga Archipelago. The Stage Select screen even says, "This is where it all began before, and where we can put a close to this war."

* ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'', sort of. The final battle takes place in [[spoiler:an almost identical equivalent of]] the building where the player first arrived in the Digital World.

* Very subtly done in ''[[VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon F.E.A.R.]]''. The game's first level is a non-combat tutorial where you search an abandoned building in a run-down neighborhood for the game's TheDragon. At the very end of the game, you emerge from an ElaborateUndergroundBase into a run down warehouse. If you look out the window, you'll see that you're in the very same neighborhood that the game's first level took place in.

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' brings us many, many examples:

** In the spin-off ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', Zack finds out Genesis's base is under the ruins of Banora, which was bombed in Chapter 2 after the initial confrontation with Genesis.

** A rather meta example in the Tellius duology: the very first thing you see when booting up ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' (after the Nintendo and Intelligent Systems logos) is [[http://serenesforest.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/fe9cg01.png an ominous-looking still image of the Tower of Guidance.]] Guess where the last few battles of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' are fought...

* ''VideoGame/{{Geneforge}}'' 5 has one if you join Ghaldring's faction. One of the final quests [[spoiler: but not the last one]] is to kill Shaper Rawal, who just happens to have his base in [[FirstTown Isenwood Spire.]] Even better is the fact that you can bypass most of his defenses by coming in through the [[NoobCave Foundry Core.]]

* A ''when'' variation occurs in ''Videogame/GhostTrick''. [[spoiler:Not returning to the start of the night at the junkyard, oh no, but to the event ''ten years prior'' that set everything into motion that culminated on the night in question]].
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', the last few missions take place in the city where the first few did. The final mission ends [[spoiler: on Grove Street]].
* In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'', choosing the "Revenge" option takes you back to the ship you came in on.

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}''

** In ''coded'', this occurs across games -- the goal of the heroes is to find out the source and meaning of a mysterious message that's appeared in Jiminy's journal, and the final world ends up being Castle Oblivion, the very place Sora lost his memories and the journal was originally left blank back in ''Chain of Memories''.
** And once again occurring across games in ''Dream Drop Distance'' -- the final boss takes place in The Awakening once again, after which the environment shifts to Destiny Islands, and the player must answer questions mirroring the ones asked at The Awakening in the first game.
** A series-wide example in ''Kingdom Hearts III''. The final battle takes place in [[spoiler:Scala ad Caelum, which is heavily implied to be the ruins of Daybreak Town, the hub world for ''Kingdom Hearts χ'' and implied to be the very first world in the realm of light.]]

* In ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain : Blood Omen'' Kain receives his quest at the Pillars of Nosgoth, which is also where the final boss is fought. In ''Soul Reaver 2'', Raziel begins the same fighting his way out of the Sarafan keep, and the game ends with him fighting his way back in.

** Twice in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'' -- first, you rescue Zelda from the Hyrule Castle dungeons, then return to the castle after obtaining the Master Sword to climb its [[DiscOneFinalDungeon central tower]]. In the Dark World, after completing the final dungeon the final boss crashes through the top of the Dark Pyramid you entered the world on to reveal a chamber inside where the final battle is held. Just to top it all off too, the Dark Pyramid and Hyrule Castle are in the same place between the two works. There are two other instances, as this game is the TropeNamer for DarkWorld -- the first dungeon for each of the two worlds is in the same place, and the final dungeon of the Dark World is in the same place as the final dungeon of the Light World.
** The eighth dungeon in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaOracleGames Oracle of Ages]]'' is in the same location as the first dungeon, merely in the past rather than the present. It's not as simple as just warping to the past once you've got the Song of Ages, however.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]'', Link begins the second part of the game in the ruins of Hyrule Castle Town, and later returns to the town to infiltrate Ganon's Castle floating where Hyrule Castle once stood.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendofZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'' the player starts off in Clock Town and has to wait until the end of the 3rd Day to climb up the clock tower and get their ocarina back from the Skull Kid to begin the game proper. Once the dungeons are complete you have to do the same and this time use the song you've learned to call the dungeon guardians to your aid.
** For ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'', the game proper begins in Hyrule Castle's dungeons where you meet Midna, and the final dungeon takes you through the rest of the castle.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap The Minish Cap]]'', the final dungeon is once again Hyrule Castle.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks Spirit Tracks]]'', it is noted that the entrance to the Dark World is located not far at all from Link's hometown.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds A Link Between Worlds]]'', the two of the first rooms of Lorule Castle you see are the final rooms of the game. You can even use the first portal located between the two princess's studies to use Princess Zelda's study as a makeshift Fairy Fountain before the final battle.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'', the entrance to the final dungeon is about ten steps away from the cave where Link rescues his bird at the beginning of the game. And then the final battle takes place in the same place Link first descended to the surface.
** In the Satellaview remake of [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI the original game]], the final fight with Ganon takes place in the first cave where you got the wooden sword.

* In ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', even though it's not really the last battle, you fight the BigBad in the meeting room of Peach's Castle, where Mario first battled Bowser at the beginning of the game. Adding to this, you play as Bowser in the same position but with a different perspective.
** And in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPartnersInTime Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time]]'', after defeating the elder Princess Shroob and returning to Peach's castle yet again, her essence revives Bowser and you have to battle him one last time in the throne room, where baby Mario fought Baby Bowser before the Shroobs first appeared at the beginning.

** The first stage of ''VideoGame/MegaManX5'' is an important location in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 4''.

** The final battle in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 3'' takes place in the ruins of the underground laboratory where Ciel found Zero resting in ''Mega Man Zero''.

** The final battle in ''VideoGame/MegaManZX Advent'' takes place in [[spoiler:the collection Model W fusion of]] [[VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon Ouroboros]], [[spoiler:which heavily resembles the space station Ragnarok, the final stage of ''Zero 4'' and the original structure whose wreckage the Model Ws were created from]].

** The original ''[[VideoGame/{{Metroid1}} Metroid]]'' requires you to return to the first vertical shaft near the beginning in order to access Tourian. In a more literal sense, the final hallway with Mother Brain is just 2 screens above the start area. Also, if you beat Ridley before Kraid, you'll again be going through the area from the very beginning of the game to fight Kraid before heading up to Tourian. Less so in the [[VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission remake]], as there's more game to go after Tourian.

* In the [[MindScrew endgame]] of ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'', you can [[spoiler: emerge from a door on Melee Island, last seen locked in the original game]].

* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', if you finish the higher difficulty mode, you end up fighting the TRUE final boss [[spoiler:Henry]], in the parking lot right outside your own home where you'd be after every Ranked Fight.

* ''VideoGame/PaperMario'''s first battle is against Bowser at Peach's castle. The [[spoiler: second-to-last]] boss, Bowser, is fought in the same room where the first battle was. As if that wasn't enough, the post-game scenes almost directly mirror the opening sequence, including why Mario is going to Peach's castle.

* ''VideoGame/Persona2'': ''Innocent Sin'' begins at Seven Sisters High School. While the final dungeon - a massive, shrine-like spaceship called Xibalba - isn't there per se, the Narurato Stone, a small monolith that sits behind it, serves as the entrance to said dungeon.
* The entrance to the final dungeon of the normal ending of ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is in one of the first places you see in the TV world. The final dungeon of the true ending is the same place that the protagonist dreamt of at the beginning of the game and where the first fight took place.
* ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has a variation: [[spoiler:the last dungeon of the game is the lowermost depths of Mementos, the same underground maze that you have access to right after the first major [[EldritchLocation Palace]] is destroyed. The variation comes in that Mementos is completely optional, as its main purposes are serving as a hub for all of the game's sidequests and for extra grinding. However, it is ''not'' recommended that Mementos be skipped, because if you did not delve into it throughout the game, you will have to do so during the Endgame, and once December 24th comes and you go in, [[PointOfNoReturn you cannot come back out]].]]

* ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue''/''Yellow'' comes close -- nothing much happens in Pallet Town after the beginning of the game, but Viridian City, the first stop immediately thereafter, turns out to be the home of the last Gym Leader, who also happens to be [[spoiler:[[BigBad Giovanni]], the leader of Team Rocket]]. The dwelling place of Mewtwo, the BonusDungeon, is behind Cerulean City, the town of the second Gym.

** TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon of ''[[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Pokémon XD]]'' is located right off the coast of Gateon Port, the FirstTown.

* The final battle with Chairman Drek in ''[[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank2002 Ratchet & Clank]]'' takes place on the first stage, Ratchet's home planet of Veldin.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' is an unusual example given that it has a somewhat non-linear storytelling. However, Episode 1-1 shows that the plot for the game essentially starts on the shore overlooking the ruins of Terragrigia. It is here that Jill and Parker find the sample of the T-Abyss virus and they are told that Chris and Jessica have disappeared, prompting the rest of the game where they go to the Queen Zenobia to search for them. At the end of the game, O'Brian reveals that the third and final ship, the Queen Dido, is where they'll find what they need in order to end everything. Where is the Queen Dido? Underwater at the ruins of Terragrigia, where the plot started.

* ''VideoGame/Sly2BandOfThieves''': The final battle ends in Paris, the area where [[VideoGame/SlyCooperAndTheThieviusRaccoonus the first game]] begins Sly's quest to avenge his father and his family's name. Paris is also the first level of the second game as well. It comes full circle in ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'', where the final level (also the tutorial level) takes place in Paris.

* ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' begins and ends the same way, with Sonic crashlanding on Windmill Isle after a massive fight as Super Sonic.

* ''VideoGame/SystemShock 2'' does this in a bit of a roundabout way. [[spoiler:While in the original, Citadel Station was destroyed, the very last section of the sequel dumps you into a still-forming recreation of Citadel's medical level, big blue tiles and all -- said medical level being the place where the Hacker first woke up in the original. It's still-forming because SHODAN is rebuilding it ''out of her own memory''.]]

* After travelling all over the US and touring to Canada and Moscow, ''[[VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater Tony Hawk's Underground]]'' ends with a skate showdown with [[spoiler:Eric Sparrow]] across old neighborhood in New Jersey.

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* The conflict in ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' begins when Jack, in feudal Japan, fights Aku in his lair, only for Aku to open a time portal and fling Jack into the far future. After spending almost the entire series in the future, Jack is ''finally'' able to return to feudal Japan and finish Aku off once and for all in that very same place, and quite fittingly, shows up ''immediately'' after Aku had sent Jack into the future.