Point of no return

The point of no return refers to the in-game point a little before the final boss from where it is impossible to turn back, and, as such, the only way to go is to complete the game by defeating the final boss. Usually, a save point can be found right before it.
The player is commonly notified about the point of no return, e.g. by the main character questioning if the party is ready to continue. In several remakes there is no true point of no return because once the final boss is defeated, the player can save their game and return to the world map where they can access version-exclusive bonus dungeons. Saving may still be restricted between the original point of no return and the post-game save, however.
More recent entries in the series tend to not have true points of no return as they have New Game Plus or similar mechanics that allow replaying the game from the same save file, however they do still often have points in the endgame where the player cannot return to the rest of the game until after beating it.
The point of no return should not be confused with unrevisitable locations or with missable things, although strictly speaking nearly everything in the game becomes unrevisitable once the point of no return is crossed. The game might also have lesser "points of no return" in the middle of the game, such as if the game world changes drastically during the story and it is impossible to return to the previous state of the world.
==Appearances==
===Final Fantasy===
While entering the Chaos Shrine of the past can be considered the point of no return as the player cannot walk out of the dungeon, the party can still return to the world map by casting Exit. Assuming a party member has that spell, the player only passes the point of no return when they speak with Garland at the end of the dungeon.
Starting from Dawn of Souls, it is possible exit the past Chaos Shrine by walking back through the portal.
===Final Fantasy II===
Similarly to the original Final Fantasy, in the original version entering Pandaemonium may be considered the point of no return as the portals only allow the player to enter, but do not allow the party to leave. The party can still return to Jade Passage by casting Exit, and from there to the world map. The true point of no return is initiating the final battle. There is no point of no return in the remakes since the PlayStation release; after the party defeats the final boss on the top level of Castle Pandaemonium, the player is returned to the world map. All progress is saved and the player can fight the final boss again.
A temporary point of no return occurs aboard the Dreadnought: after Princess Hilda has been rescued, the Dark Knight blocks the exit, preventing the player from leaving until they have destroyed the Dreadnought. Another point exists in Castle Palamecia where the player cannot return to the world map by any means once they have entered the castle using the airship until they have talked to the Dark Knight on the dungeon's top floor. However, in the Pixel Remaster version, the Warp and Teleport spells can be used to exit Palamecia and return to the airship.
===Final Fantasy III===
The point of no return is the top of the Crystal Tower where the party walks in front of the center mirror right before fighting Xande. Following that battle, the party cannot leave the room, and must enter the World of Darkness to battle the final boss.
===Final Fantasy IV===
The point of no return is after climbing the stairs and confronting Zemus on the final floor of the Lunar Subterrane in the Red Moon core. This will lead to the final battle. In the Advance and Complete Collection remakes, there is no true point of no return, as after the party kills the final boss, an all-clear file can be saved and the bonus dungeon, Lunar Ruins, can be accessed.
====Final Fantasy IV -Interlude-====
The game is entirely linear: after being flown to a new location the previous region and nearby locations are inaccessible.
====Final Fantasy IV: The After Years====
After traveling to the True Moon in the final Tale, the player cannot return to Earth. Within the Depths and Bottommost Depths of the True Moon, however, the player can turn back any time until the final battle.
Earlier Tales have individual points of no return. In Rydia's Tale, after going to Agart the player cannot return to the Underworld. In Yang's Tale, after boarding the ship to Baron the player cannot return to Fabul, but when the Tale is reloaded after completion, they will be back at Fabul to explore Yang's Challenge Dungeon. Likewise in Edward's Tale, the ship to Baron is the end point, but reloading it after it is completed puts the player at Kaipo before boarding the ship. In Kain's Tale, the point of no return is Damcyan; after the events there, the player flies to Baron.
Porom's Tale is divided into three parts over different periods of time, and the player can only proceed through the first two points once. Similarly, Edge's Tale is divided into five parts, and the player can only explore each area once. The last area in both storylines can be explored freely as the player wishes.
Palom's Tale and the Lunarian's Tale have no points of no return.
===Final Fantasy V===
The point of no return is in the narrow path between the party and Exdeath's tree form at the final area of the Interdimensional Rift. After the Warriors of Dawn break the player party out of the Void, if the narrow path is approached, Bartz will leap towards Exdeath and start the final battle.
If the player exits the zone just after the cutscene before the final battle, and returns to the zone where Exdeath is fought, the music changes from "Ahead on our Way" to "In Search of Light". This could be considered an error due to the music event being switched off when the player leaves. This could have been fixed if the developers removed the event that allowed the player to leave the zone.
In the Game Boy Advance and 2013 Matrix Software versions, after the ending credits, the game will return the player to the world map from where they can continue playing. The Sealed Temple will be unlocked, and the final bosses can be fought again.
In the 2013 versions, exiting the Interdimensional Rift immediately before the point of no return earns the "Forget Something" achievement.
Entering Galuf's world could be considered a point of no return because the player cannot return to Bartz's world the way it was. After defeating Exdeath in Castle Exdeath in Galuf's world, the worlds merge and there are notable changes in the game, from certain towns becoming inaccessible to items becoming missable.
===Final Fantasy VI===
The point of no return is in Kefka's Tower, at the latest possible point before triggering the final battle by stepping on the switches behind the Warring Triad. This point of no return is removed in the GBA, mobile and Steam remakes, where defeating the final boss allows the player to save the game and resume outside the tower.
Once the player approaches the Warring Triad on the Floating Continent after defeating Ultima Weapon, the player can no longer return to the World of Balance—the player must proceed to the World of Ruin. At a point before fighting Ultima Weapon, the player can return to the Blackjack to continue to explore the World of Balance. This can also be used to trigger the airship glitch.
===Final Fantasy VII===
The point of no return is within the Northern Cave right above the Planet's Core. The exact spot is the room where the party regroups after splitting up.
The room of the Northern Cave where the party first splits up can also become a point of no return due to the Save Crystal glitch.
After giving another party member the Black Materia to hold onto, the player approaches the third atmospheric wall in the Whirlwind Maze. The player cannot return to the state of the world before Meteorfall after going beyond this screen.
The Temple of the Ancients is a minor point of no return, as once it is entered, it cannot be exited until it is completed. The game warns the player about this when they attempt to save within the temple. It is also the last time Aeris is playable, as she leaves the party after the boss battle against Demons Gate.
====Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-====
The point of no return is a large door in the Banora Underground, which requires seven Goddess Materia to open. Lying beyond are only the final battles.
Since the game is largely linear, once a player completes a chapter they can never return to that location, and any treasures found there are lost. Once the player finishes Chapter 8 and proceeds to Nibelheim in Chapter 9, Midgar and all missions unlocked by doing sidequests in Midgar cannot be revisited. Up until this point, most of these sidequests carry over between chapters and can be done at any time until the player leaves for Nibelheim. The final chapters, like the rest of the game, take the player to areas that cannot be revisited once left.
====Final Fantasy VII Remake====
There isn't a true "point of no return" due to the chapter selection that's unlocked after finishing the game, but there are still prompts at certain points warning the player that they haven't finished all the chapter's quests or, in the case of the robot arm parts of Chapter 9, that the player won't be able to get an item once placing Aerith down near the ladder. Just before entering the final battles in Chapter 18, Aerith tells Cloud that it's the point of no return.
====Final Fantasy VII Rebirth====
As in Remake, there isn't a true point of no return due to the chapter selection feature; numerous in-game prompts as well as those from playable characters remind the player of unfinished missions, as well as multiple lesser points of no return where a dungeon or other combat sequences must be completed before returning to the open world. The game will explicitly warn the player about this, as well as list the recommended level of the current main scenario quest when asking to proceed.
The first "true" point of no return is during the beginning of Chapter 12 upon entering the Gold Saucer, as the player is required to progress through the story events, after which Cait Sith will leave the party upon exiting for the Temple of the Ancients.
The second point of no return is when docking the Tiny Bronco at the Northwood Region port in Chapter 13, locking the player into the final dungeons for the rest of the story. 
====Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII-====
The game is entirely linear, so there is no special point of no return. Old battles can be replayed by returning to that chapter and selecting the point at which one wants to start the game up again.
===Final Fantasy VIII===
The fight with Seifer atop Lunatic Pandora is considered a point of no return, as once he is defeated the player must fight Adel next, and time compression happens after she is defeated. While the player can still access the world map in the time compressed world, nearly all locations are inaccessible, with only Chocobo Forests and bonus dungeons containing Guardian Forces free to explore. The only means of shopping after this is via the Call Shop ability, or CC Joker's general shop aboard the Ragnarok (the player needs a chocobo to get to it on the Kashkabald Desert). The point of no return to the final battle is when the party enters the Master's Room of Ultimecia Castle.
===Final Fantasy IX===
thumb|Shimmering Island portal.
Going through the Shimmering Island portal can be considered a point of no return, as many areas will be inaccessible once the party returns to Gaia, and the game warns the player of this when they proceed. Inside Pandemonium, the moogle Mozme warns the party when they approach the exit, as the player won't be able to explore any more of Terra when they progress to the next boss battle.
The point of no return to the final battle is after defeating Deathguise. The player can leave after defeating it, but a second trip in the room in will start the boss fight with Trance Kuja. Defeating Deathguise is the final advancement point for the lost family sidequest in Lindblum.
===Final Fantasy X===
The player passes the point of no return when they approach the Tower of the Dead and enter the Nucleus inside Sin by examining a glyph on the side of the tower. There are still various treasures the player can obtain before the final battles, but as the player cannot return from here, any weapons and armor obtained here can only be used in the final battle.
====Final Fantasy X-2====
The point of no return occurs shortly after crossing the portal in the Farplane to fight Vegnagun. Though Rikku warns about the point of no return, it is still possible to backtrack to the save point even after defeating the lesser parts of Vegnagun. Once the party faces the main part, they must proceed to the end of the game.
===Final Fantasy XII===
The point of no return is entering the Sky Fortress Bahamut. The game helpfully warns the player while saving in locations they cannot leave before defeating a boss, such as the Dreadnought Leviathan.
===Final Fantasy XIII===
The point of no return is in the Narthex of Orphan's Cradle. At the end of the Narthex is a door; upon approaching it, Lightning will announce, "Let's do this", and the door will open. Passing through the doorway is the point of no return. However, completing the final battles unlocks the final tier of the Crystarium and the player can keep playing by loading their save. During the post-game, the door will always be open and Lightning will give no warning prior to entering it.
====Final Fantasy XIII-2====
The point of no return is reaching the final platform and approaching the Academy's headquarters in Academia at 500 AF. Triggering the following cutscene will mean the player has passed the point of no return. However, after the ending credits the game will bring the player back to the Historia Crux menu and they can continue playing.
====Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII====
Advancing to the last day is considered a point of no return, as only the final dungeon is available then, the rest of the game's locations being cut off. The final point of no return occurs when Lightning enters the distortion formed at the middle of the fifth corridor within God's Sanctum in the Luxerion Cathedral.
===Final Fantasy XV===
The true point of no return is in the throne room of the Citadel, after Noctis asks Prompto for a photo to take with him.
The player can return to both past Lucis and Altissia by talking to Umbra at a lodging upon reaching Chapter 9. Once the game is beaten, the player is brought back to the last lodging they stayed at in Insomnia. The player can still return to the past, but Insomnia is the only location accessible in the present.
===Final Fantasy XVI===
Entering Oriflamme as part of the story is a point of no return, as the player can no longer return to the prior state of the world, and all sidequests that are yet to be completed will become unavailable.
Entering Twinside leads to the sequence where the atmosphere of Valisthea changes, with Primogenesis and new versions of overworld enemies appearing on the map.
Entering the final location puts the player on the path to fighting the final boss and for the end credits to roll, but the player is prompted to save their game afterward; loading this "completed game" file returns the player to before the last mission with all quest rewards retained, as well as any sidequests and notorious marks that have yet to be completed, and additional Chronolith trials. 
With the addition of the "Echoes of the Fallen" and "The Rising Tide" expansions, the Thousand Tomes contains extra Active Time Lore entries for a completed save file.
===Final Fantasy Tactics===
The final point of no return is entering the Orbonne Monastery at the end of Chapter 4, as if a location is home to a series of battles, the player cannot leave until those battles are completed. Since the Orbonne battles lead directly to the final confrontation in the Necrohol of Mullonde, the player can never return to the world map again after saving following one of those battles.
===Final Fantasy Type-0===
The point of no return is advancing to Mission Day for the "Capturing the Imperial Capital" mission in Chapter 7, as the player will be forced to accept the mission and transition to Chapter 8, which leaves many locations unrevisitable and is a linear sequence leading to the final mission. After the "Capturing the Imperial Capital" the cadets are left on the world map to make their way back to Akademeia, but the party's airship is unusable, and the only towns they can visit are Azurr and Cetme.
In Chapter 8, Celestia warns the party that they cannot return from Pandæmonium once they depart. Prior to leaving for Pandæmonium, missions can still be replayed from the title screen, and the Class Zero orderly is available to purchase items from; neither of these functions are available upon saving at a relic terminal in Pandæmonium, and the game difficulty cannot be changed, so advancing on a harder difficulty can prove risky. The final relic terminal is right before the final battle, but the player can get the bad ending earlier by accepting the Vermilion Bird Crystal's request for the cadets to become l'Cie.
===Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles===
Like all dungeons, the player can leave Mount Vellenge and return to the world map by traveling back through the entrance. Thus, the real point of no return is when the player confronts the Meteor Parasite as the first of the game's final battles.
====Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates====
The game contains four temporary points of no return in Story Mode.
The first one occurs after the party defeats the Coelacanth, the boss of Rela Cyel. Once the players are transported to the Crystal room, they cannot go back to the bridge and into the dungeon area. To leave, the player takes control of Yuri and must talk to Gnash to make him press jump up and press a button hidden from view. The player must talk to Alhanalem and Meeth about Yuri's past and eventually Gnash will come back, having pressed the button. A portal then appears and the party can leave, allowing them to free-roam again. The room and the bridge that leads to it cannot be visited from that point onwards or in multiplayer, and instead a portal appears directly after defeating the boss.
The second one occurs when the party is sent to Sinner's Isle. The party is unable to leave until they beat the Dragon Rider and his Dragon. Artemicion and his moogle employees decided to take a vacation at Sinner's Isle, and replace the shopkeepers for the duration of the area. After beating the boss, an earthquake sends the party falling into the ground.
The third point of no return is in Shadowland, which takes place directly after the earthquake with Artemicion and his moogles again replacing the shopkeeper, having fallen with the party. After the player defeats the Lich, a Carbuncle allows the party to travel to his father's memories of Rela Cyel's past, the fourth point of no return.
Once again, Artemicion will sell items, having attempted to loot the castle before it collapsed. After defeating the Coelacanth again, they leave the memory and are transported back to the world, being allowed to free-roam again.
====Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King====
====Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time====
====Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord====
The game has no point of no return; all levels can be challenged freely both before and after the final boss.
====Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers====
Following the cutscenes at Victory Monument Hill and Cid's Workshop in Bridge Town, Layle must return to Alfitaria Capital City and board a shuttle to see Althea and obtain the third Crystal Idol. Boarding the shuttle (which carries a warning of there being no return) will begin the cutscenes leading to the final battle.
===Final Fantasy Adventure===
The first point of no return occurs near the start of the game, as once Sumo is knocked away from Glaive Castle, he can never re-enter the arena or the slaves'quarters behind it, though he does visit the castle two more times.
The second point of no return is the bridge atop Dime Tower. When the player defeats Garude at the top they can no longer exit and return to the world map. Attempting to do so will have Marcie inform they can't leave while the tower is unstable. The player can still save the game beyond this point. Once the player ascends the reversed waterfall, the entire lowerworld is also cut off. 
Venturing through the Temple of Mana and reaching the Mana Shrine means one can no longer return to the Temple of Mana and revisit prior sections of the area. The player should always bring plenty of keys to this section, because not having enough and saving the game here means they'll be permanently stuck, since they can't turn around and buy more.
===The Final Fantasy Legend===
Depending on the player's current situation, there can be a point of no return. Paradise won't have an exit, but if the player has the Door item, or a monster with the Telepor ability, they may warp out of the area and to another floor of the tower itself. The player will be out of luck if they do not have the item or ability, and saved their game while in Paradise.
===Final Fantasy Legend II===
After the battle with Apollo inside the Central Shrine, the player is forced to descend and fight the two Arsenals. Simply entering the Final World can be hazardous, as Apollo will strip the party of its MAGI after the battle with Minion permanently hampering the party's combat abilities and access to the Pillar of Sky. However, a character called Isis joins the party whose teleportation magic lets the player visit previous towns.
The point of no return is in Central Shrine Passageway. At the end of the 7th floor, there's no turning back; moving onto the dark area will initiate the final boss battle.
===Final Fantasy Legend III===
There are two points of no return. The first is when the player defeats Maitreya on Floatland, whereupon the entire Floatland will no longer be accessible. The second one is after the player warps to Pureland, at which point the player cannot warp back to the original world, nor explore the Past, Present, and Future of that world any longer.
===Dissidia Final Fantasy (2008)===
Dissidia Final Fantasy does not have a point of no return. During encounters in a board system it is impossible to escape the battle or use any skill, but the player can still quit the current progression.
====Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy====
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy does not have a point of no return as the player can quit a gateway at any point. During Chapter 8 of "Main Scenario 012: Treachery of the Gods" at Floor 3 in the Last Gateway, some of the back stones for the player to walk on disappear, giving the impression of a point of no return, but the player may still exit the gateway.
===Final Fantasy All the Bravest===
A point of no return seemingly exists when the player reaches the Interdimensional Rift, as it is no longer possible to page between zone maps. This is not the case, as the player can (and must) use the Map menu to jump to a desired area.
==Etymology==
The is the point beyond which one must continue on his or her current course of action because turning back is physically impossible, prohibitively expensive or dangerous.
Category:Locations
Category:Recurring gameplay components