It's not relevant to the topic, but damnit if I didn't find it funny while googling "Crying Gamer" for a picture.
Video games have come a long way in quite a short amount of time, especially in terms of cinematic story, and a good story can evoke any number of reactions from an audience - laughter, anger, sadness, anything is fair game. And, like anything worth debate, there's likely to be some moments in video game history that made you break down like a prepubescent schoolgirl while someone else proved that they misplaced their heart made of pure ice by not reacting to it at all.
So, without further ado, I pose the question to you all of Games & Technology: What scenes or moments from any video game got the biggest emotional reaction out of you?
Before we get started,
The Goddamn Important (but not really) Rules for this thread:1: This is not a poll. I'm super-cereal here. We're not here to take votes on what was the most moving scene of all time in the history of everything, ever. You're more than welcome to comment and discuss on them, and far be it from me to stifle any sort of mutual agreement between posters, but let's not degenerate into mindless "+1 vote for that scene" posts. It doesn't generate any sort of worthwhile dialogue.
2a: Provide a link if you can. If the scene is a famous one, then there's bound to be a clip of it on Youtube. If you can find it, for the love of all that is holy please provide it so we can all experience that moment as well. If the video doesn't really do it justice, then a screenshot/multiple screenshots will do, which brings me to...
2b: Spoiler tags. Use common sense here. If the emotional moment changes the entire plot of the game, or is the culmination of an integral part of the story, warn people and spoiler it so they have a fair chance to avoid it. However, spoilering stuff that you thought stood out but was rather minor to the plot, or games that have been around long enough that everyone (E.G. "I got so mad after the seventh time of reading that the Princess was in another castle I punched through the television") probably won't warrant it.
3: Any reaction is acceptable. The most common one I'm expecting would be a reaction of loss/sadness, but anything goes. Did one bit stand out as completely hilarious? Did the game screw you over so badly you had to walk away for a while and come back later with a clear head? How about moments that scared you so bad you refused to play the game at any time except during the day. With curtains open?
You pansy.
It's all valid in this topic. We're celebrating a medium being able to have an effect on us as an audience that we're used to seeing from real people acting, or singing, or from us reading about.
4: Respec', brah. There's no need to discredit your fellow posters by telling them how much of a sissy they are/how they need to take a chill pill/how their sense of humour sucks because they (or you) didn't "get" what was special about that moment. Common courtesy applies.
And finally...No constant reposting of that "thing" that happens at the end of Disk 1 in Final Fantasy VII.
This is my biggest gripe. Yes it's a pivitol moment in the story. Yes it changes it a lot. Yes it's incredibly famous throughout the gaming community. One post of it is enough, and I'll go with a first-come, first-get basis. If I see more than one video of it in this thread, the gloves are coming off. You're free to discuss it until you go blue in the face (as per rule 1), but let's not hold the thread up with reposts of that bit.
Posts
Debriefing.
Oh, and Silent Hill is probably the creepiest game I've ever played, though I'm not enough of a pussy to have to play in the daytime.
Valkyria Chronicles.
Shadow of the Colossus.
The Darkness.
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actually, i just wanted to slap leon in general
Without looking away from the monitor. No idea how they ballsed it up so badly in F.E.A.R. 2 (with the exception of the school. That level was spot on).
Sophia's suicide run into Solaris
and the aftermath that occurred from this.
The overworld theme is even called "Emotions".
Also, Valkyrie Profile consists of tragic deaths and coping with loss for every playable character.
Let 'em eat fucking pineapples!
That said, the Dreams from the game were also, most times, very, very sad.
Also I remember feeling like a badass when Chris Redfield showed up in Code Veronica. I haven't played it in a while, but I think it's a close up of a rock and you see a hand appear. Then as the camera zooms out, you notice it's Chris scaling a 47,000 foot tall cliff by the sea with no equipment to save his sister.
There's one particular encounter with Alma I remember.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wriaT32v2T0
The nice and quiet battle you had with her beforehand just elevated her death more
Silent Hill 2 is the only horror game to give me nightmares. A friend brought it over one day after high school because he wanted help beating it (turns out he was right at the beginning of the game, in the apartments). I ended up playing through the entire game that evening with him and my brother watching. I remember waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat due to whatever dream I was having.
Mother 3 is the only game to make me cry. The ending, in particular.
they remade the death of sniper wolf in twin snakes?
the original was much better
My biggest "sad panda" moment recently came from Gears of War 2, elevating it from "pretty damn good 3rd person shooterage with chainsaws" to "Now this is an experience I'll cherish with chainsaws". All thanks to this bit:
That required a few stiff drinks afterwards, and I didn't even play Gears 1, so I didn't have the whole story (if there was one).
Ace Combat 5: When in the second-to-last mission
Also, when in MGS3
and to add to that more of the well written and well acted BG2 dialogue with your party members? Fuck yes, that shit brought chills to my spine.
Also the ending of HL2Ep2 was pretty fucking gut-wrenching.
In Stage 9, it is revealed that this girl is a warrior for the alien empire you've been fighting against the whole game. She begins attacking you, but you refuse to fight. Instead, you play an arena rock remix of the song that previously soothed her. She changes her mind, and instead of fighting you, joins in a back-to-back guitar duet. The song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inTEN5zsgeo&feature=related
The ending of Contact:
After collecting enough power cells, the professor, who agreed to bring the boy you control home, abandons him on this remote planet.
He sends you a message that states the he is sorry for deceiving everyone, but that it is just the fault of the way he's been programmed. He says that, even though he endangered and lied to the boy, you did the same thing. "How many times did you bring him into danger just because he was a videogame character?" This "We Aren't So Different" speech ends when the professor says, "I have one more thing to tell you."
The next thing to scroll down? Your secret.
Shit. I can't believe I left that one out. That's always good for a cock-punch when someone isn't expecting it.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
They always cue up the music and have some planes/tanks roll in to save your ass after you've been fighting tooth and nail for the past fifteen minutes.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
Heh - that one would be one of mine: the first time doing the ending of Super Metroid. I had never played Metroid and didn't know about what was about to happen. I made every wrong turn but I was fucking swiftness incarnate.
Thanks, I just pissed my pants again. I remember that one clear as day. It was such a perfect trick, because that moment is exactly the moment that every player is not going to be paying full attention.
Oh god. I was playing this game with my brother, sister, and even parents watching.
"Whew, I won. I killed it ... SELF-DESTRUCT? Oh crap. OH CRAP. OH CRAAAAAAAAAAP."
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2C_7QLwsnc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9t10jd5rGw
It's one of few games that had me choking up and the first that comes to mind. I'll have to think harder to recall any others.
Yeah, CoD4 has some outstanding moments.
Still though, The Darkness is, I think, the game that has moved me the most out of anything I've played.
Some backstory...
It was the part on the couch that got me most. I happened to glance over at the empty spot on my couch, her spot, where she'd sit while I played games or we'd watch movies together, where we'd cuddle and just sit...and I broke down and cried for an hour.
Operation Flashpoint: great development from "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!!!" to "Actually, we might pull this one off" to "Fuck yeah!" that went hand in hand with the learning curve. And I'm pretty much an anti-army pacifist pussy in real life.
ICO and Shadow of the Colossus: this is an obvious one. However, I think in both games, but especially in the case of ICO, it's the music that got the strongest emotional reactions out of me. Case in point: the tune that played when you made it to one of the stone sofas and sat down with Yorda.
Grim Fandango: God, the sadness when I thought that Glottis was actually dying! And the bittersweet sense of accomplishment at the end.
Planescape Torment: encountering Ravel Puzzlewell. God, I need to play this game again. It evoked a whole series of emotions through its characters and writing.
Lego Star Wars: it actually made me enjoy the prequel trilogy as much as I enjoyed Episodes IV and V: childlike glee. Still don't like the prequel films, though.
Stalker: walking through Pripyat or exploring some of the underground labs. Felt extremely oppressive, yet utterly fascinating.
"Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
Edit: Alright, that video showed nothing, but you know what I'm talking about. Or, at least, you should.
Then the (first?) mission where you're testing the FTL drives on the completed mothership, get attacked and return home to find your planet burnt to cinders, the only survivors of your race those few who are already in statis aboard the ship.
And finally the ending - faintly remembered - a pitched battle in the orbit of Higara against the empire that exiled your people all those years ago. Just as all hope looks lost other ships begin warping in - other members of whatever kind of galatic council exists in the homeworld lore if I remember correctly, finally stepping in and saving your ass.
Pure heart wrenching loss in the beginning ending with hairs standing on end awe at the end. All backed by the swirling colours of space and that goddamned emotional laxative Adagio for Strings.
I challenge anyone not to fall in love with Glottis after five minutes of him appearing. Those people are robots.
Specially the first play through without a guide and if you've ever read The Shadow Over Innsmouth.
Waiting for The Last Guardian to come out is emotional for me firstly, and then secondly, knowing that looking forward to it is so weird since I know how it's going to make me feel when I play it.
It's like being between a pillow and a soft place.
Thirith- I concur when it comes to the couch music for ICO, it's perfect, makes you feel like you're both alone, and it's sorrowful, but also beautiful.
I'm such a softie.:oops: