Most emotional moments in games? (possible spoilers)

[Qwerty 42]

I didn't feel like resurrecting the old topic, so I made a new one!

So, to get started:

Robotech Battlecry

At the very end of the game, the final boss uses a warp device to transport you, him, and a large chunk of the city you were previously in out to some random point in space. There is no chance of a return trip. After a meaningless battle to the death, you learn that the entire game has been your character narrating into his ship's recorder as he slowly runs out of oxygen. This game sucked, but the ending was really powerful for me.

Tales of Symphonia

In the final part of the game, the rest of the party agrees in secret that main character Lloyd must survive to fight Lord Mithos, since Lloyd is the only one with the power to stop him. The rest of the party gets themselves seemingly killed in order so that Lloyd may continue to advance. The ridiculous ways that the characters are killed in order is silly, but there is a powerful moment after Lloyd realizes that he's the only one left.

Another great moment is when Lord Mithos, who has been striving for millenia to save his sister and achieve her vision of equality, is told be his sister's ghost that he's been doing it all wrong. Mithos has the equivalent of an emotional breakdown.

Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles

I can't overstate how superb the simple plot of this game was. At the start of each dungeon, a narrator "writes" a diary entry describing something about the dungeon. At the start of your quest, they are full of adventure and energy, talking about the monsters you are likely to face. As you progress, they become more introspective, and more realizing of the horrors of your journey. The final dungeon's entry eventually winds up being a letter to the character's mother.

Another dungeon, Tida village, was once a bustling town. However, the caravan searching for myrrh to protect the village from the deathly poison of the outside world was killed while out searching. The narration indicates that not one person fled the village while it slowly died, all vainly hoping for the caravan to return. The level is fairly creepy, but the emotional point for me is when you find a letter stashed inside a tree. It's completely optional, but it gives depth to the level: it's written by someone who loves a member of the caravan, hoping that he comes home soon. It's really rather sad.

Tida is also the subtle turning point in the mood of the game: it's much less an adventure, as the narrator character realizes that this could just as easily happen to their home village.

Possibly the greatest character in the game is the Black Knight. You learn at the end of the game that he was formerly a warrior from Alfitaria who found out the secret to ending the poisonous miasma in the air. He and another character journey to the crater where it spawns, and fight Raem, the final boss.

Both are driven to the brink of insanity as Raem slowly sucks the memory from them. Gurdy suffers from something like bipolar disorder, thinking he's two people at once. Eventually, he forgets everything except for a poem: where to locate the key element needed to pass to the Crater.

The Black Knight is tormented by Raem. Only the Knight can see him, so he wildly hacks at him to try to get his memory back. People think he's a wild, insane fighter because of this, since he often hurts people around him in his effort to destroy the light (it's not clear whether or not the Knight is aware of those around him or not.) The Knight's son believes that the Knight killed his father, although the Knight is his father (think Vader,) and eventually kills him. At the moment of death, the Knight regains his memory, and dies at peace.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

After you recover each of the three devices you believe will defeat Zant, you turn around... and Zant is standing right behind you. Zant casts you aside effortlessly, scatters the items you've recovered, seemingly permanently transforms you to your wolf form, and nearly kills your guide, Midna. There's a profound sense of hopelessness spurred on by the rainy weather and moody piano music as you race through the night to try to find a way to save Midna as she lays dying on your back, what you thought was your one chance to save Hyrule seemingly destroyed.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

One of the masks you can get is the couple's mask, the symbol of a wedding. For those who don't know, Majora's Mask works like Groundhog Day. You constantly relive the 72 hours before the moon will strike the Earth. Getting this mask requires almost all of that time as you work to reunite two lovers. The final moments of that time cycle are the couple, reunited at last, watching outside as certain doom approaches.

So what are your favorite moments? They can be happy, sad, funny, anything.

[Peptuck]

The very final moments of First Encounter Assault Recon, in the last hallucination Alma creates. The scene where you see her in the hospital through your own eyes, watch Harlan Wade callously order her to be sent away while she's screaming for her baby, and then the camera pans down to show the file with her full name written on it....the entire game comes slamming together like superglued bricks shot out of a cannon at each other. Then, you pop back into place in that pitch-black hallway, and all your hear, aside from that haunting music, is Alma whispering in your ears, "I know who you are."

One of the best damn moments in any videogame I'v ever played. It still gives me chills.

[Braedley]

The ending of Halflife 2: Episode 2. Probably the most emotional moment for me in any game. You grow to care about these characters, and when something happens to one of them, you impossible to not feeling something. I won't give more out about it than that though.

Actually, there was this one other time in a combat flight simulator where I let one of the story critical NPCs get killed. I was sent there to protect her, so I kinda felt bad that I had let her die.

[Nephtys]

Lesse.

Wing Commander 2: Spirit sacrifices herself, you capture Jazz for execution, and in a fit of heroic heroness, singlehandedly fight off an enemy task group/starbase and Prince Thrakhath with a stolen plane against orders.

Fallout: Thanks for saving the vault. Now it's time for you to leave.

System Shock 2: The p-polito unit is DeAd. I am sS-SHODAN. (walls start melting)

Bioshock: "Would you Kindly?"

Homeworld: "...They're gone. Kharak is burning."

Homeworld 2: "Bring Sajuuk to Bear! Bring Sajuuk to Bear! Bring Sajuuk to Bear!"

Homeworld Cataclysm: "This is the Kiith Somtaaw Warship Kuun-Lan..."

Freespace 2: DIVE DIVE DIVE HIT YOUR BURNERS PILOT.

[Stark]

The very final moments of First Encounter Assault Recon, in the last hallucination Alma creates. The scene where you see her in the hospital through your own eyes, watch Harlan Wade callously order her to be sent away while she's screaming for her baby, and then the camera pans down to show the file with her full name written on it....the entire game comes slamming together like superglued bricks shot out of a cannon at each other. Then, you pop back into place in that pitch-black hallway, and all your hear, aside from that haunting music, is Alma whispering in your ears, "I know who you are."

One of the best damn moments in any videogame I'v ever played. It still gives me chills.

Since this was obvious from the first five minutes of the game, it had little effect on me. The only reaction FEAR got from me is 'god not Fettle again' and 'oh yeah now she gets on the chopper LAME'.

I can't think of any recent games that have 'sold' anything enough to be powerful: my list would look much like Nephs, with primarily quite old games. I guess Condemned sold it's atmosphere very well for a game with textures from 1999?

[The Yosemite Bear]

concur with the pink haired one on all points plus add:

FF: that *&$! kefka blew up the planet

[RogueIce]

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories - I felt bad for Louise. I really did. And then to find out as I did that she died later? Man that sucked.

GTA isn't exactly known for its deep emotion, but I felt that was a very sad and somewhat (well, as much as it ever gets in GTA) touching sub-plot.

[Peptuck]

The very final moments of First Encounter Assault Recon, in the last hallucination Alma creates. The scene where you see her in the hospital through your own eyes, watch Harlan Wade callously order her to be sent away while she's screaming for her baby, and then the camera pans down to show the file with her full name written on it....the entire game comes slamming together like superglued bricks shot out of a cannon at each other. Then, you pop back into place in that pitch-black hallway, and all your hear, aside from that haunting music, is Alma whispering in your ears, "I know who you are."

One of the best damn moments in any videogame I'v ever played. It still gives me chills.

Since this was obvious from the first five minutes of the game, it had little effect on me. The only reaction FEAR got from me is 'god not Fettle again' and 'oh yeah now she gets on the chopper LAME'.

Well, yeah. Hell, I read all the spoilers before I actually played the game. That moment still hit me hard, because the delivery was really well done, especially the music. Conveys just the right amount of horrific, shocking sympathy for Alma. I've played through that part at least ten times, and everytime it still gives me chills.

[PREDATOR490]

Call of Duty 4:

The ending was really sad because of all the previous time you had spent fighting side by side with your NPC buddies. I felt especially bad for Captain Price though with his final act giving you the chance to survive.
I felt some rather brutal satisfaction in emptying the clip in retaliation.

[Oskuro]

Final Fantasy 7: When Sephinroth kills the healer.

Knights of the Old Republic: Darth Revan's unmasking.

Starcraft: Tassadar's sacrifice.

Super Metroid: When the Metroid Larva protects its adoptive mother.

[Stark]

Well, yeah. Hell, I read all the spoilers before I actually played the game. That moment still hit me hard, because the delivery was really well done, especially the music. Conveys just the right amount of horrific, shocking sympathy for Alma. I've played through that part at least ten times, and everytime it still gives me chills.

Part of the reason it didn't work for me was that they'd laboured the fucking point since the start of the game, and I'd just started ignoring the flashbacks because I'd already figured it out. Oooo, yet more not quite blurry reveals of something we already know! They massively underestimated their audience. The big reveal of something that was obvious since the goddamn intro was always going to be weaker than otherwise - I've always considered FEAR's biggest problem mood-wise was that fucking intro, which gives the entire fucking game away and yet the game itself tries to slowly build up to it.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Most of Final Fantasy VI. Best FF hands-down, and is particularly notable in that I usually despise most JRPG characters.

Bits here and there of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

Agreed on Knights of the Old Republic with Revan's reveal.

And another vote for Half-Life 2: Episode 2.

The Dig. Period.

Can't think of anything else at the moment.

[Nephtys]

I dunno about FF7. I didn't feel a shred of sympathy for Aeritthhthththththhh(s) when she got killed. It was a stupid death because she was stupid and decided not to move, and the party conveniently ran out of Phoenix Downs.

Cait Sith #1 getting crushed by the shrinking temple and taking a hit for the team was even more compelling. It was more moving because it was actually relevant, instead of dying stupidly for no reason. Even though #2 popped out of nowhere a moment later.

Revan's reveal was pretty good. I dunno if it was emotional though.

[Bounty]

Floyd's suicide bombing in Jet Force Gemini. He's the cute flying robot sidekick, and the last time you see him is when he stares into the camera, terrified, with a pack of TNT strapped onto him. Boom.

[Zablorg]

I know this sort of doesn't count, but I feel bad whenever I see the cutscene where I wipe the Necrons off Kronus in Dark Crusade.

[Tolya]

Knights of the Old Republic, part I. When Malak tells you who you are.

I know that to most people it was obvious who the main character is after few minutes of play. But it wasn't the case with me, which led me to a huge OMFG.

It was the first time I wished I could have a memory wipe to go over that game again. It was brilliant.

There were a couple of games where I felt some similar moments, but never that strong.

[pucky18]

Bits here and there of The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

True dat. Going in and effortlessly murdering Vivec to avenge his probable murder of my previous incarnation was awesome. Another moment for me was when I realized that I had the corprus disease, which there was no way to cure, and which would continue draining my critical attributes until I was completely useless. Although the eventual cure quest was a bit of a pushover.

The ending of Halflife 2: Episode 2. Probably the most emotional moment for me in any game. You grow to care about these characters, and when something happens to one of them, you impossible to not feeling something. I won't give more out about it than that though.

Hmmmm. I dunno about that. I never really got attached to the deceased, seeing as you rarely met him, and his character was not particularly interesting to me. A much more powerful moment in that game was when your co-adventurer was about to get shot in the back, and you were powerless to warn them.

[Ford Prefect]

I'm something of a God of War fanboy, but there really has to be something said about all the moments involving the Elysium Fields in Chains of Olympus. Beware spoilers, obviously. Pretty much the entire game was built around Kratos' relationship with his daught Calliope. He keeps on hearing this melody, which she made up and played on a flute he carved for here. When he reaches Hades, he actually catches sight of her, and so begins the chase for Calliope.

Eventually, you discover Hade's wife Persephone, and Kratos demands that he be able to see his daughter. Persephone tells him that she lives within the Elysium Fields as a pure soul, and that he - a monster and a murderer - cannot be with her. Unless he gives up all his power. She tells him to pour his guilt and anger and evil into this here tree, and wanders off. So he does. He gives up everything; his magic and the Blades of Chaos. He loses his coating of ash and his warpaint, leaving Kratos as a normal looking guy in a loincloth. And so he enters the Fields, and is reunited with his daughter. This is everything Kratos, who killed Calliope and spent ten years trying to geto ut of his head, has wanted more than anything else. I'm fond off Kratos' voice actor, and his deep, menacing voice, but it's times like these I'm really impressed. He sounds so genuinely happy that I was happy. He's found peace, and found his humanity with his daughter. Kratos and Calliope promise to never be apart again.

Except Persephone shows up and reveals that while Kratos was having his bonding experience, she put her plan to destroy reality into effect. Atlas was, at that moment, in the process of using the power of the sun to destroy the pillar holding up the world. It's not quite Ozymandias, but it's close. Persephone rubs Kratos face in it for a bit then buggers off to enjoy her nihillistic self-annihilation thing. Kratos is torn; he wants to stay with Calliope, yet if he does, she will die (even though she's already dead). Nothing wwill survive this, not Olympus, not the world, and not any part of Hades. Everything will cease to exist. To save his daughter, Kratos must abandon her again - which he promised he would not do just moments ago - and become the Ghost of Sparta once more.

What follows is a button-mashing sequence unlike any other. You have to push Calliope away. I was jamming my thumb down on the circle button and watching this little girl try and cling to her father, as he tries to break her hold on him. Ready at Dawn did this quite well; Kratos won't look, and his pushes seem almost half-hearted.

And then, in order to gain your power back, you have to start snapping the necks of the departed souls enjoying their purity in Elysia. I can't think of many games which have actually managed to make me feel like a despicable monster, chasing down the innocent to brutally murder them. Even if the ends were good (saving Calliope and the rest of the world) the means was gut-wrenching, especially because you can hear Calliope screaming in terror. Killing Persephone was all the more sweet after that. I thought the Last Spartan/Kraken scenes in God of War II were strong scenes, but nothing quite like that.

EDIT: This isn't the only one that coems to my mind though. I'd like to talk about The Darkness, for example, and what it did for emotional storytelling, but the Calliope and Kratos stuff is more recent.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

Hmmmm. I dunno about that. I never really got attached to the deceased, seeing as you rarely met him, and his character was not particularly interesting to me. A much more powerful moment in that game was when your co-adventurer was about to get shot in the back, and you were powerless to warn them.

I think part of it is nostalgia. I played Half-Life ten years ago, and seeing one of those original characters go down was a bit of a blow.

[wautd]

Wing Commander 3
Hobbes being a dirty double agent

Bioshock
Would you Kindly?

Max Payne
Intro. Loss of his family

[Darth Yoshi]

*snip God of War stuff*

Wow, that's fucked up.

[pucky18]

Another moment that I forgot to mention was the end of Hitman 2. the second to last mission was brilliantly done, leaving you with a sense of betrayal and paranoia. The last mission gave great closure to the game, finally resolving the nearly forgotten beginning. It gave off an air of desperation, redemption, and almost "homecoming." 47 leaving Vittorio to continue his work, while a bit of a cliffhanger, was very well done too.

I can't think of many games which have actually managed to make me feel like a despicable monster

One game that I thought did this well was one mission in Warcraft 3, where you must demolish buildings to get to the people inside, who have been infected with a virus that will turn them into undead minions. in the brief period after you have destroyed their home and before they transform, they mill around helplessly, and die extremely easily. While the best strategy was to kill them before they transformed, it felt so heartless to just cut them down.

[Brother-Captain Gaius]

While the best strategy was to kill them before they transformed, it felt so heartless to just cut them down.

Pffft, you're obviously not prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse (it's coming). No mercy for the infected!

[TheFeniX]

The end of LoZ: Windwaker was pretty good with the King talking about the destroyed world he is leaving Link and Tetra with and how he would leave them a new world to live in. Then (some of the only voice acting) Gannondorf begins taunting you with that laugh and the final fight commences. I also enjoyed his rant about the desert bringing death to his people and him viewing Hyrule as some twisted form of heaven. It gave a lot of perspective to our once pig-faced generic bad guy.

Mass Effect: I could go on about the whole Galaxy-wide epic storyline, but that's been done to death. By far my favorite part was fighting in vacuum in order to get inside the citadel. You're fighting scores of Geth and in the background Sovereign is constantly moving into position and growing larger and larger. The use of scale was perfectly done and the muted combat noises shifted your focus to the background.

CoD4: Johnson crawling out of the downed chopper after the explosion. I knew it was coming after watching the Escapist review, but it was still very well done and capture the horror of the situation perfectly. What really added the the effect was the overview map pinpointing Johnson's position, then zooming in. After his death, it fades back about and gives you the Red K.I.A.

Jedi-Knight: Finding the Lightsaber. Ah, Hell yea. Also one of the better moment was after fighting Yun, you have to escape from the tower. You come out of a ventilation shaft and look down to see no ground for miles with wind blowing at high speed. Then Kyle says: "There has got to be a better way to make a living."

A lot of people panned the live acting in that game, but I found it pretty good. The look of agony on Sariss's face after she instinctly cut down Yun when he defended Kyle as she tried to kill him. "Why?"

Yun: "Because he's a Jedi, he deserves to fight." Not the exact quote, but it was delivered perfectly. And it really got me pumped up for the ensuing duel.

[Peptuck]

Well, yeah. Hell, I read all the spoilers before I actually played the game. That moment still hit me hard, because the delivery was really well done, especially the music. Conveys just the right amount of horrific, shocking sympathy for Alma. I've played through that part at least ten times, and everytime it still gives me chills.

Part of the reason it didn't work for me was that they'd laboured the fucking point since the start of the game, and I'd just started ignoring the flashbacks because I'd already figured it out. Oooo, yet more not quite blurry reveals of something we already know! They massively underestimated their audience. The big reveal of something that was obvious since the goddamn intro was always going to be weaker than otherwise - I've always considered FEAR's biggest problem mood-wise was that fucking intro, which gives the entire fucking game away and yet the game itself tries to slowly build up to it.

I personally found the big reveal to be less powerful than experiencing everything from Alma's perspective. While the Point Man's origin is a cool plot twist (if they hadn't thrown everything out in the open in the first thirty seconds) I personally found it a lot more compelling to experience the storyline and seeing what they put Alma through, and how emotionally and mentally screwed-up she was. Made me feel some serious pity for the girl. The final hallucination just brought all that together really well.