This post exists only because I completely forgot to have one ready for today. So, my army of unholy knights, I want to know what are your favorite moments from video games? What moments have made you think? What have emotionally effected you? What have made you feel that the rest of your time with the game has been totally worth it? Oh, and spoilers are completely allowed in the comments, so read them at your own risk! Mine will be in the comment section so no one will get spoiled if they do not want to.
Mine is in Final Fantasy IV when Cecil learns that he is not only a descendant of the moon people, but the brother of the enemy he has been fighting the entire game.
When I found out that the Princess was in another castle. What a twist!
Lets see…
-Crono Dieing. I remember the first time playing CT way back when, My eyes bugged out my skull And I remember laying the controller on the ground and asking “What? You serious?!”.
-Aeris’ death. It was just so emotional and drove it home be playing Her theme even in the battle with Jenova. You could really tell The Guch was channeling some of his emotion from the recent death of his mother into that scene.
Hell… Most of my list is from SquareSoft games.
Killing the Lich King… the whole event is pretty fucking sweet.
The lead-up to the final fight in Final Fantasy VI is one of the best moments in gaming, as is the Zeromus encounter in Final Fantasy IV where everyone joins in to help Cecil and Co. Oddly enough, fighting Edge’s parents is one of the worst moments in gaming.
Irene’s death in Ninja Gaiden was pretty weird.
“Aeris’ death. It was just so emotional and drove it home be playing Her theme even in the battle with Jenova. You could really tell The Guch was channeling some of his emotion from the recent death of his mother into that scene.”
AGREED
Also, the Crisis Core ending. I knew it was coming. I knew it would be depressing. Did that keep me from tearing up? Nope.
Celes’ attempted suicide was a good emotional one, too.
As far as actual FAVORITE moments, it’s hard to say. Various TF2 moments come to mind, as does the entire final section of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Such an amazing final boss battle.
#1 Naked Snake taking 5 minutes to climb a ladder amid occasional ghostly excerpts from the Snake Eater theme-song. Never have I been so blown away by a directors attempts to immerse you in an environment.
#2 The end of FFX.
#3 The end of MGS3. Contains a surprising revelation which forces one to completely reinterpret all events leading up to that point, while also making an intelligent condemnation of the nature of patriotism and politics.
#4 Aeris dies.
*2-4 Are all shinning example of the perfect melding of emotional narrative events with highly fitting music.
#5 “Would you kindly”, being made to feel like an idiot in Bioshock for mindlessly following video game conventions. This was a revelation akin to the end of the sixth sense, forcing players to reinterpret the nature of their actions (to an even larger extent than in MGS3).
-Quickly realizing that the platform I’m standing on is going to descend into lava, and I have less than 10 seconds to find a way off of it in Portal.
-When Saren can’t take the gravity of his actions and shoots himself in the head.
-All of the human, romantic, and endearing moments for FFIX. Too many to list.
-When the power cord burns up in Flower and you enter the urban graveyard nightmare.
-The opening of Kingdom Hearts II after playing through the series once before.
-Stepping out into Hyrule Field in Ocarina of Time
-The butler with his cursed son after the credits in Majora’s Mask
-Driving to Mario’s castle in Mario Kart
-The whole stranded section of Skies of Arcadia
-I also loved the “Would you kindly” moment, SN.
-Midgar
-The really fucking spooky and beautiful surreal field world inside the moon in Majora’s Mask
-The scene with Jack and Ridley under the tree near the end of the game when you chose the non-human route.
-Getting to Ilos
-Getting to get the Kokiri to remember me
-The first time jumping into a picture in Mario 64
-I agree about FFX’s ending too
-Star Fox looking for his thought-to-be-dead father when Peppy asks if something’s wrong: “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”
These are the moments I always look for when playing any game.
The ladder climbing scene in MGS3 was amazing! MGS3 was full of them, what a masterpiece of a game!
Any moment with Steiner and Beatrix in FFIX is amazing.
@Oyashiro: MGS3 was indeed a class act. It has the most immersion, interactivity and easter eggs of any game I’ve ever played.
Lavitz dying in Legend of Dragoon. It was like “this guy, right here, he’s my new best friend, and he fucking kicks ass…. – OH MY GAWD YOU KILLED HIM!?!?! Arrrgh asshole!”
Jowy/Joei’s ‘betrayal’ in Suikoden 2 when he murders Lady Annabelle.
Finding out that Karin is Yuri’s mom in Shadow Hearts 2. Lawl. AWKWARD.
The Psycho Mantis encounter in MGS. It blew mymind back in the day.
Oh and I bawled like a friggin’ babby in FFIX when all those Black Mages protected Vivi and then died. It was soooo sad, watching them fall down and go boom, and their little pointy hats flying around ….
Oh yeah, one more. Sue’s departure in Grandia 1. It really hit home all of a sudden how far from home they are, and that there’s no airships or warp spells in that game to bridge the distance for you. It was, man, so harsh.
Lessee…the Celes/Cid scene after the Floating Island in FFVI is the first thing that came to mind. And when I found Terra again in Mobliz.
Surviving that one real pain in the ass Sharking battle in Vanguard Bandits.
When I found Rydia in the land of monsters in FFIV. I was completely bummed when she disappeared.
The opening scenes of Persona 3 through the first encounter where you get your persona.
And I have to agree with Ethos about the power cord area in Flower
@Ginia – And one of his better FMV musical cues too. An incredibly sad moment.
FAVOURITE GAMING MOMENT OF ALL TIME#1 When I stopped playing FFXIII!
#2 When I stopped playing Legend of Dragoon!
When I learned Lady Gaga will be in DJ Hero 2!
-the ending of Shadow of The Colassus. I’m surprised no one mentioned that yet.
-when you find the Scrptures of Germonique in Final Fantasy Tactics and also the final scene where you learn Daravan’s last name.
-any scene in Blazblue involving Taokaka and Booby Lady.
-the whole crossdressing segment in Final Fantasy VII. if the whole game were that funny I probably would’ve liked it a lot more…
-the beach trip in Persona 3 and the camping trip in Persona 4.
-when I guard impacted a real person for the first time in Soul Calibur III. words cannot describe how proud I was of myself.
- Agreed with Deimosion about the ending of Crisis Core. I’m a hardcore FFVII fanboy, but I’d argue the ending to CC had more emotional impact than anything that happened in FFVII proper.
- Adding to the opening and beach scene from P3, I’d say the ending was fantastic, especially after playing through The Answer and actually understanding what happened.
- I’m still a sucker for the end of Kingdom Hearts 1. I don’t think the series has hit that kind of emotional peak since.
- Getting back from a mission in Mass Effect 1 and knowing that all your teammates would have new things to say :D
- This is a much baser emotion, but the hammer in Red Faction: Guerrilla was the most satisfying melee weapon I’ve ever used in a game.
- Pretty much all the first Uncharted before it became all zombie-infested.
- Oh yeah, and beating Alma’s first form in Ninja Gaiden. This didn’t have anything to do with the story or anything, but it felt SO SATISFYING to finally smash her whore face in.
-@DG: I’m with Ethan, my favourite KH moment is the opening of KHII, that’s the sequence which has had the most credible emotional depth for me.
-I’m also a huge fan of the last 30 minutes of Vagrant Story.
@breaka – as much as I adore Shadow of the Colossus, I wasn’t big on the ending. The events were fine, but I wasn’t drawn in at all. I would list other moments from that game. Like standing on your horse’s back while it’s riding full speed and leaping off of it onto a dragon’s wing. That was a more emotional moment for me.
The ending sequence of Persona 3: FES. (Even the music was cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsakt9d7aXM )
Murdering most recognizeable mythological creatures in God of War I & II was pretty good. I didn’t play three because I’m poor and don’t have a PS3.
Giving a speech as you’re heading out on the Normandy for the first time as captain in Mass Effect was pretty awesome.