Most Memorable/Powerful Moments in Gaming (Possible Spoilers)

richymcdermott

MOD WARNING: Use spoiler tags or don't post at all.

I have played alot of games over the years , since back on the megadrive/snes days and over the years there has being a lot of fun games that i enjoyed but there has been only a few that strike out that struck a chord and being some highlights i never forget , whether it be a boss , cutscene or even the music.


A lot of people here on boards have being playing games longer than myself so i thought it be interesting to hear peoples thoughts of that one part in a game that made them go wow and they never forget ever again.



To me the most powerful moment in gaming was in silent hill 2 where you meet Maria in the prison cell , i found this scene so powerful in storytelling and the way she spoke to you , you started piecing together what was actually happening. I wont go on anyway further but i loved this scene and perhaps the biggest highlight to me that i can think of right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tysvNGGFN3M

the other part in silent hill 2 that i love was its ending

Mary Letter

perhaps the most heart filling thing i ever experienced in gaming

the youtube link explains what im talking about but its a spoiler

SeantheMan

I know it's very cliché these days, but FF7 when Aeris got killed.
It was a WTF moment for me !

Aside from that, a total game changer was in Metal Gear Solid , the fight versus Psycho Mantis...where he starts reading your memory card, and then switches the controls to Port-2 !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojQxRp1V8Q

dreamers75

Actually this year Spec Ops The Line.

Not spoiling cos its a game that SHOULD be played by the masses( and in years to come prolly will)

but it involves Phosporus

..... i actually felt bad

Only time a video game has affected me by the choices i made within it.

Melion

SeantheMan wrote: »

I know it's very cliché these days, but FF7 when Aeris got killed.
It was a WTF moment for me !

Aside from that, a total game changer was in Metal Gear Solid , the fight versus Psycho Mantis...where he starts reading your memory card, and then switches the controls to Port-2 !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojQxRp1V8Q

These are the exact 2 i came in to post

SeantheMan

Melion wrote: »

These are the exact 2 i came in to post

I obviously read your mind :o............"I'll get me coat"

Penn

The ending to Metal Gear Solid 3. For me, the best ending in a game (story wise rather than in terms of gameplay). Everything from the music, the voiceover... Everything about that ending was simply perfect. MGS4s ending suffered from having to be the end of the series as well as the ending to the game.

Sl!mCharles

Jose Gonzales in RDR, entering Mehico. First one that came to mind.

dreamers75

Quatermain wrote: »

Spoiler

uhh your ruining it for others

Quatermain

There is a spoiler alert right in the thread title. If it does cause that much woe, I would be pleased to remove it. Also, c'mon. It's nearly ten years old by this stage.

dreamers75

Quatermain wrote: »

There is a spoiler alert right in the thread title. If it does cause that much woe, I would be pleased to remove it. Also, c'mon. It's nearly ten years old by this stage.

It sold 5 copies noone played it

Such a shame really , fantastic game. And that moment is quite brilliant

K.O.Kiki

Shadow of the Colossus.

That moment when you realise

YOU ARE THE BAD GUY.

I didn't feel like playing it for months afterwards, and had to push myself to finish it.

F1ngers

SeantheMan wrote: »

Aside from that, a total game changer was in Metal Gear Solid , the fight versus Psycho Mantis...where he starts reading your memory card, and then switches the controls to Port-2 !!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yojQxRp1V8Q

And in MGS4 when you try that controller 2 trick against mantis and get politely told to cop the fcuk on.

Retr0gamer

Quatermain wrote: »

There is a spoiler alert right in the thread title. If it does cause that much woe, I would be pleased to remove it. Also, c'mon. It's nearly ten years old by this stage.

Next time don't be so selfish and use spoiler tags, it's not that difficult.

Retr0gamer

I've a few.

Earthbound is pretty much a game that for 40 hours builds up to a huge emotional pay off. It seems like a quirky funny RPG until you finish it. Even if I described the ending here it wouldn't spoil it since you have to experience the entire game for yourself to get the effect but it's one of the most depressing and abrasive climaxes of any game. It's the only game I know that rivals literature for evoking emotion and funnily enough one of japans greatest living authors wrote the story.

Then there's Earthbounds direct sequel Mother 3 which is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Two scenes stuck in my mind. First

Flint going crazy in front of his children when he finds out his wife is dead. The lead up to that moment and the pay off really struck me

. The second was the ending

spending so long in that wonderful world only to see it destroyed was heartbreaking.

Suikoden 2 makes FFVII seem like an episode of the teletubbies. It's a story about how a war destroys the lives of three childhood friends. The worst however was watching the intro again which shows them growing up together after you know what happens afterwards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=823C6UWOo6w

Nier was a very emotional journey but nothing can prepare you for when you start new game+.

Massive spoiler here but in new game plus you can understand what the enemies are saying and it's only then you realise what they are and how they had as much right to live as you did.

Panzer Dragoon Orta got to me as a PD fan. Big Panzer Dragoon Saga spoiler as well:

In a bittersweet moment you find that after Saga, Azel never did find Edge after she learnt to love. She did however manage to become more than a drone by creating a child, Orta, from her DNA and Edges DNA stored in Sestren.

Most surprisingly emotional moment, Gears of War 2. For a series that celebrates being stupid macho-ism they some how managed to pull off that Maria subplot really well.

Quatermain

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Next time don't be so selfish and use spoiler tags, it's not that difficult.

Won't happen again.

SeantheMan

I didn't see the post, can you repost WITH spoiler tags ?, some of the above posts make no sense as the one they reference was removed

Quatermain

As I said, in the game Beyond Good and Evil, you play a woman who runs a shelter for war orphans in the middle of an alien invasion. Said shelter is built into a lighthouse, which becomes a comforting influence during the harsh war.

Then,

it all turns bad. About two-thirds of the way through the game, the lighthouse is destroyed by the treacherous special forces meant to be protecting the planet, and the children are abducted. You are treated to the scene of the main character comforting the family pet, while mournfully cursing herself for a misplaced sense of heroism. If she hadn't been haring off around the world looking for evidence of a conspiracy, she would have been able to save them. It's an unbearably tragic moment.

Again, I am very sorry for not spoilering in the first place.

Big Knox

Like everyone else I have my list of games that got to me on an emotional level and I could list them here but in March of this year a game went beyond anything I could have imagined getting from a game. Being the nature of the thread I will share again. I'll just quote myself to save typing it out again.

The game is Journey;

Big Knox wrote: »

That was honestly my favourite 2 hours of gaming ever.

Yes I get that the mechanics aren't spot on for what it ultimately is trying to do but that doesn't matter, the sense of companionship the game invokes is like no other.

I sat down in the sitting room with the lights off and headphones on and just let myself get sucked in. It was probably the most immersed I've ever felt with a game. I don't care about the length or the "value for money is directly related to hours playtime" lark. For me if something can reach me on an emotional level as this did the way it did then it's priceless.

A very close friend of mine died last year, he was as much into games as I am and we would always spend time playing through games together. This is the exact type of game I would tell him about and happily sit and watch him play through or vice versa. We used to spend time playing Demon Soul's together without voice chat and when my companion showed up I immediately thought of him as the feeling brought me back. For this reason to me for that 2 hours I played it was him I was with. I know I sound overly sentimental but fcuk me I feel it. I'll openly admit I cried at the end after the experience and it honestly felt like I had him back for the 2 hours we played. Actually in a way I did have him back.

This game now means more to me than I could have ever possibly imagined and I know it will stay with me for the rest of my life. Sorry if this is a bit much but I thought I would share the experience...

I'll never forget it. It's still an experience I think about almost daily. No other medium could have done that for me and it's a constant reminder as to why I love playing games!

Kiith

Ahh, there's just so many...spoilers obviously.

System Shock 2 - Polito reveal. The greatest twist in a game, ever (imo).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS2_hdaBzWg

Homeworld - Return to Kharak. Barbers Adagio. Brilliant moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJvYZXUT5Bk

Half Life 2 - Gman. The ending had me totally confused, and i bloody loved it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHHbv00nR28

Other honourable mentions...
Freespace 2 ending - 'bad' ending, but the one i consider canon. Just worked for me.
Mass Effect 2 - Intro. Well damn, i was not expecting that...
Half Life 2 - Episode 2 ending. Bloody hell. And you make me wait 5 years after that? :mad:
World of Warcraft - Deadmines. Going in here for the first time was an amazing experience, which hasn't been matched in any mmo since.

johnny_ultimate

Journey does indeed have several such moments, but a particularly joyful and affecting moment to me was a level in the middle. Initially the sliding down sand mechanic seemed like a fun little visual flourish that enhanced the immersion but didn't serve any practical purpose. And then... well anyone who has played the game will know what I'm talking about. The Cheshire Cat had nothing on me during that sequence. The game has more terrifying, dark moments, but that burst of pure joy and elegant movement is what I remember fondly when looking back at the game.

The story in Braid was mostly told through strange, obtuse and overwritten passages of text before every level. Then comes the ending, which marries mechanics and narrative in a startling and unexpected way, making you completely reevaluate your relationship with the game. It's a scripted sequence, but interestingly that's what makes it all the more heartbreaking. Similarly, the ending of Half-Life 2 Episode 2 is memorable because - in a series that has always prided itself in giving the player full control of their movement even during story and dialogue series -

it, for a terrifying and tragic moment, takes control away. It makes you feel truly useless, which is particularly inspired given it directly follows what was probably the series' most empowering, open action sequence.

KilOit

Most recently ME3 fleet battle is pretty awsome, the 3 games built up to this point so was fantastic to see it and it didn't disappoint. The end of course was a little off but meh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHIAibDr3yM

Retr0gamer

I have a soft spot for the endings of Persona 3 and 4, especially 4.

After spending 80+ hours with your classmates it really did feel like saying goodbye to close friends.

Mr.Saturn

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Then there's Earthbounds direct sequel Mother 3 which is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. Two scenes stuck in my mind. First

Flint going crazy in front of his children when he finds out his wife is dead. The lead up to that moment and the pay off really struck me

. The second was the ending

spending so long in that wonderful world only to see it destroyed was heartbreaking.

I love the game dearly, as I've mentioned to the point of exhaustion, but I've long since had a minor gripe with the opening act of Mother 3.

Namely, the residents of Tazmily went ahead with the vast majority of Hinawa's funeral without Flint. Bit of a dick move, lads.

Regardless, I came into Mother 3 fresh off Earthbound, and was expecting something similar, in that it's a laxidazical affair that doesn't make whole 'til you've finished it, and it sticks with you a bit, when you start to feel what you've been through. Not in Mother 3, oh nope, boof! less than an hour in:

Hinawa's dead and Claus is missing

Wasn't ready for that at all, bit of a suckerpunch.

I guess I'd mention Chrono Trigger too, if we're talking bits that stick.

Chrono's sacrifice was a bit leftfield, for anyone's who watched more than five minutes of telly and, as a result, aren't used to the main protagonist properly kicking the bucket.

jill_valentine

That conversation from Silent Hill 2 is absolutely incredible. It means something a little different every time you play through it, knowing a little bit more. Almost Shakespearian in its elegance, I'd argue, if I was in a mood for sounding pretentious.

Full speech here. It's just an astonishing bit of voice acting by the Maria lady. It was absolute madness to even consider changing it for the re-release.

I also - and this is dumb, and probably not what OP was looking for - was deeply traumatised by the first time I killed a guard in MGS2. I was used to tranquilising them, and then I got hold of a real gun and was playing around with it for the first time, when I accidentally shot the terrified, shivery held-up guard. It was awful. And weird, I mean I've never felt bad about murdering virtua people before.

Retr0gamer

The letter being read at the end of Silent Hill 2 gets me as well. Jeremy Blaustein said that when they were recording it the actor was in tears by the end and so was everyone in the recording booth. I was close to tears listening to it.

Retr0gamer

I forgot about the ending of Majora's Mask as well which was very bittersweet:

You saved Termina but were now leaving it and nobody recognises the it was you that just saved it. Also all those subquests you did like reuniting the lost lovers never happened.

Actually that whole game was extremely dark what with everyone expecting to die and trying to tie up loose ends before it happened and the whole Skullkid story. The subquest on the farm was particularly harrowing if you read into it.

Potential-Monke

Nice one, i get to mention something before someone else!!

The easy was to say this is basically the entire Soul Reaver story. The ending to the first one was, well, abrupt, but left you sitting there going "That bastard!". Bring on SR2. And then, during SR2, you find out that Kain

turned his enemies into his loyal subjects, and you were originally his most feared enemies, and in your journey to get Kain you've killed all your old brethern

. That moment will live with me forever. Or even the ending to Defiance, where

you find that this has happened before, many times, and will continue to do so.

Destine abhors a paradox.

That video for Dead Rising. Even though the game didn't get the emotion of that video, it was a powerful moment in gaming.

The ending of Assassins Creed: Revelations.

The death of Altair and the death of Ezio in Embers.

Two moments that got to me. Very well done.

I'm sure i'll think of more, they are just the stand out ones at the moment.

Gunmonkey

KilOit wrote: »

Most recently ME3 fleet battle is pretty awsome, the 3 games built up to this point so was fantastic to see it and it didn't disappoint. The end of course was a little off but meh.

Kinda related to that, but the very very end of Mass Effect 2

when it pulls out to the fringes of the galaxy and shows Harbinger light up....followed by the hundreds and then thousands of other Reapers slowly come online and start slowly advancing forwards and then END! was :eek: In context you had a tough time fight 1 and a half Reapers, now there are thousands......great setup of the stakes for ME3

krudler

Shadow Of The Colossus

Agro's fall

SeantheMan

Would ye kindly - forgot about that one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afMJmgszv-s

Potential-Monke

And i'm also reminded in Mass Effect 3 when

Legion sacrifices himself

. God that one tugged at the heart strings.

SeantheMan

Potential-Monke wrote: »

And i'm also reminded in Mass Effect 3 when

Legion sacrifices himself

. God that one tugged at the heart strings.

One of the few times I felt sorry for an AI - the other time was Terminator 2 :P thumbs up at the end

krudler

SeantheMan wrote: »

Would ye kindly - forgot about that one

such a great moment when you realise what's been going on the whole game.

Ocarina Of Time, when you first get the master sword in the temple of time, Zelda always ahs some pretty epic moments.

Gears of War 3:

Dom's sacrifice, when Mad World starts playing over the fmv scene as everything is blowing up, equal parts cheese and awesome.

krudler

the God Of War series has tons, (spoilers for all 3 main games)

the minotaur, finally solving the labryinth, seeing the island of creation and running across the chains for the first time, the sisters of fate boss, Atlas, Kronos, fighting Hercules and beating him to death, the ascent from Hades, so many epic moments in those games

Dave_The_Sheep

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmlMVmAeQdw

The

death of Mordin Solus

takes it for me. The actions of the man coupled with the

circumstances of curing the genophage

... Great. Easily the most powerful moment of the series.

Gunmonkey

Sadly Mordin died in ME2 in my playthrough so never saw that vid, but man the way he shouts "I mad a mistake!" just shows the ME series has some fantastic voice acting.

Another moment from ME2, Legions Loyalty mission

Do you choose to brainwash a species to give up their faith, or murder them all?

Hardest choice I ever made in that series of games, sat for about 5 minutes trying to decide the fate of a bunch of game characters :pac:

Sarky

Kiith wrote: »

Homeworld - Return to Kharak. Barbers Adagio. Brilliant moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJvYZXUT5Bk

Jesus, I'd never had a game affect me on such a level as the opening section of Homeworld. That music, combined with such masterful voice acting, it just evokes so much loss and numb grief, puts a lump in my throat every time.

The only moment since then to have as powerful an effect on me was the credits to Arkham City. After the, ahem, looseness, of the main story, the end scene was a massive slap across the face in a "holy crap did that just happen?" sort of way, and then while I was sitting there, watching the credits roll, with a confusing mix of emotions, they went and punched me in the gut with this little number:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UfsIvwzMeY

Maybe I take Batman a bit too seriously, but I actually felt melancholy for days after finishing that game.

Banjo Fella

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I forgot about the ending of Majora's Mask as well which was very bittersweet:

You saved Termina but were now leaving it and nobody recognises the it was you that just saved it. Also all those subquests you did like reuniting the lost lovers never happened.

The ending shows that

Romani Ranch's cows haven't been abducted, the Deku Princess and the monkey have been saved, Grog's chicks have become fully-grown Cuccos, Pamela's father has been healed, Anju and Kafei get married

, and so on… so it seems to suggest that the positive outcomes of at least some of the sidequests are still retained. I definitely agree that it's an incredibly dark game, though -

even though the ending is mostly happy, you have other scenes mixed in like the Butler weeping over his son's disfigured corpse

. I can't think of any other game or narrative work that so strongly and pervasively conveys the dread of being alive and knowing you will die.

Mass Effect 3 had so many subtle moments that proved to be extremely powerful, especially for those that paid attention -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK-PgXkmWMs

This wonderful moment where during different segments you would listen to this Asari soldier tells this story about her experience during the War

I really think that ME3, if you overlook how bad the original ending is, was one of the best games of this year.

pablomakaveli

Deleted User wrote: »

Mass Effect 3 had so many subtle moments that proved to be extremely powerful, especially for those that paid attention -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK-PgXkmWMs

This wonderful moment where during different segments you would listen to this Asari soldier tells this story about her experience during the War

I really think that ME3, if you overlook how bad the original ending is, was one of the best games of this year.

I remember that.Id often stop to listen to those conversations. There was another one in the Citadel where you could listen in on a conversation between a human woman and her asari lover about breaking the news to the womans husband that she was leaving him.

degrassinoel

I'd agree with a lot of the mass effect ones and definetly the homeworld return to kharrak! brilliant.

But here's an old one..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOWw2Iu2a4M

jones

The first time you come from underground and see the jungle in Farcry has always stuck with me!! Wonder will the third game be any use

Beefy78

SeantheMan wrote: »

Aside from that, a total game changer was in Metal Gear Solid , the fight versus Psycho Mantis...where he starts reading your memory card, and then switches the controls to Port-2 !!

This moment gets mentioned a lot and it's obvious why as it was so innovative. But I can't say that I remember how I reacted to it the first time I played it. What I can remember about that first play through of MGS though was something that happened about 20 minutes after the Mantis fight finished which was

Meryl getting shot.

It blew my mind how bothered I was about what had just happened and I can pin-point it as the exact moment that games went from being something I loved but a form of entertainemtn and that's it to being something that I was capable of emotionally investing in.

MGS really was a sensational game.

Rockstar have got good with their powerful moments in recent years. The events towards the end of both GTA IV and RDR knocked me for six.

Deano7788

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned Red Dead Redemption and

Marston's last stand

. I thought it was a brilliant moment and the fact that it came after playing a few missions with his family made it even more powerful imo

Edit: although this may have been what Beefy78 was referring to above

Beefy78

Yeah that's pretty much what I meant at the end of my post there. It was a very powerful moment.

Mr.Nice Guy

From MGS4...

When you go back to Shadow Moses.

As a sucker for nostalgia this brought tears to my eyes.

jill_valentine

Beefy78 wrote: »

This moment gets mentioned a lot and it's obvious why as it was so innovative. But I can't say that I remember how I reacted to it the first time I played it. What I can remember about that first play through of MGS though was something that happened about 20 minutes after the Mantis fight finished which was

Meryl getting shot.

It blew my mind how bothered I was about what had just happened and I can pin-point it as the exact moment that games went from being something I loved but a form of entertainemtn and that's it to being something that I was capable of emotionally investing in.

MGS really was a sensational game.

Very good one.

On paper, Meryl should have been the most annoying conceit ever, but she worked really well - like you say, I was really invested in trying to rescue her. Even though I kinda new there wasn't any real time limit on getting the PSG1, I still raced back like a crazy bitch because it was as if a real person in real pain while I was dawdling. Being rendered so close and yet so helpless was really intense.

My first playthrough I cracked under torture and she bit the dust and that traumatised me terribly.

SeantheMan

jill_valentine wrote: »

Very good one.

My first playthrough I cracked under torture and she bit the dust and that traumatised me terribly.

I was brilliant at tapping that square or whatever the key.
The Irish song (Ceard a tharla ?) at the end was more poignant if

"Meryl"

dies

RobertFoster

SeantheMan wrote: »

I was brilliant at tapping that square or whatever the key.
The Irish song (Ceard a tharla ?) at the end was more poignant if

"Meryl"

dies

I remember reading PLAY magazine at the time and them saying the haunting end theme was sung in Inuit or something :eek:

According to Wikipedia it was written in Japanese and translated by Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh of all people.

SeantheMan

RobertFoster wrote: »

I remember reading PLAY magazine at the time and them saying the haunting end theme was sung in Inuit or something :eek:

According to Wikipedia it was written in Japanese and translated by Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh of all people.

Couldn't tell ye, I remember hearing it originally and immediately recognising that it was being sung as Gaeilge, and was able to understand and translate it too.

DrumSteve

SeantheMan wrote: »

Couldn't tell ye, I remember hearing it originally and immediately recognising that it was being sung as Gaeilge, and was able to understand and translate it too.

I think it was recorded in Ireland...