What moments in gaming will stick with you?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

There are many games which have been created. Many of them are so bad they are memorable, many are simply forgettable, but a few handful of jewels create moments that will stay with you, long after having beaten the game.

Those are the moments I'm talking about. Moments in a video game where you, the player, had to take a moment... either because it hit you in the feels, or because the impact on you was that profound.

Everyone sees games differently, and came into gaming at different times, so it'll probably be different for everyone, but I'd like to open a discussion where we can share those shining moments in your personal gaming experience which made that particular moment memorable, and why.

Since these are likely going to revolve around the resolution of major plot points of various games, assume that spoilers may abound within this thread. Many of these may be years or even decades old by now, but some might not have had a chance to experience them. So fair warning, if someone talks about a game you haven't played yet, it is on you to skip that section if you don't want to be spoiled.

Allow me to begin:

Final Fantasy. Yes, the original, the OG of the four-man-band JRPG, on the NES. You start off with a typical quest of 'save the princess', go rescue her relatively effortlessly, the king orders a bridge built, and... bam. Probably one of the earliest examples of a cutscene in a video game, and one of the most iconic and profound examples. And that music... Uematsu practically invented video game music as a genre of music with this one song. I was hooked, instantly. In many ways, I consider the FF Prelude to be 'the song that saved Squaresoft', because of this one cutscene.

Super Metroid. That final scene with Mother Brain when the Metroid comes back to save you. I dunno, for some reason, this scene really hit me in the feels. I don't know how they could make what is effectively an energy-sucking space jellyfish-vampire into a character with empathy, but they did it anyway. I really never expected to have one of these moments in a Metroid game (this was well before the term 'metroidvania' was coined), but there it is.

Chrono Trigger. In case you didn't read earlier, this thread might contain spoilers, and this is one of 'em. If you care about being spoiled about a game nearly twenty years old, skip to the next part. While this game has many scenes which hit you in the feels, the one that I find most memorable is Chrono's death. Probably one of the earliest instances of a main character dying, and unveils what the game was actually named after. I was a teen when I played this game, and when I ended up facing off against Lavos I was like 'holy WHAT?', expecting either someone to jump in and save the party or having one hell of a boss battle on my hands. And when I lost the battle, and the game DIDN'T end, it blew my mind. Also, anything involving Glenn, but especially his theme.

FF VI. I know, another Final Fantasy game. But come on, give me this. There are so damn many moments here that it was tough to really nail one down. I mean, there's the Doma cutscene where Kefka does his thing. There's the reveal of the relationship between Relm and Shadow. There's the reveal of Terra's heritage and backstory. And there's that damn ending, a pure half hour of ninjas chopping onions. But above all.. it's the opening scene. That march as Terra and the two minions go stomping through a blizzard to start everything off. That song. To this day, it is the only overworld song that I never got tired of, because of its use in that intro in that manner.

Secret of Mana. That opening song is haunting, but the real gut punch is almost near the very end, where the Sprite points out that killing the mana beast is going to end all magic, and like the Sprite as well. And that's when you really realize something about the Sprite... it's been a wisecracking prankster the whole way through, and acting rather immature and childlike... and that's been a mask this whole time, that there is quite a lot that puckish exterior is hiding. The Sprite is the one making the sacrifice play, goes into it *knowing* that it is making itself obsolete, and still on board with it, because it needs to be done to save the world.

Zelda: Twilight Princess. The Zelda series has always been a mainstay and staple of my youth, but while very awesome games, it didn't provide any single moment that was explicitly memorable. Awesome games, yes, awesome moments in a game... not really. Until this offering. Midna is the poster child for Tsundere archetypes, being a snarky and sarcastic little imp who makes it abundantly clear that she is of the opinion that *she* is in charge, and you are *her* pet. Until about half-way through the game, when the dynamic suddenly changes. The kicker here is that it's Zelda who makes a sacrifice for her, and that really makes Midna realize that there is a LOT more at stake than even she realized. She goes from being a snarky condescending b**ch to being a genuinely helpful companion. It wasn't really Midna that made this moment so memorable, it was Zelda who realized exactly who Midna actually was, what had happened, and what she needed to do to help things along. But the effect it had on Midna was also a factor in why this was such a memorable moment.

Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Yea, two zelda games back to back, so sue me. This one, though... for the first time, Zelda is a fully fleshed out and developed character with her own backstory and her own trials and problems (aside from being chronically kidnapped). Zelda in this game is more of a real person than in any previous game, with her own character flaws and problems. And nowhere does this hit home quite so hard as in the next to final memory (chronologically speaking). They've failed, everyone else is dead or dying, it's raining, and Zelda completely breaks down and starts sobbing into Link's chest. All the anger, frustration, guilt, and sorrow break out and all her defenses fall away like bits of broken glass. It is Zelda at her most human and most vulnerable.

Hollow Knight. The Metroidvania genre surprised me with this one with SoulsBorne boss battles. But the cake goes to the only (pre-DLC) boss with a full-screen title card... Radiance. This one isn't a tear-jerker so much as the ultimate gauntlet thrown down by a video game. But, after fighting my way through the whole game, dealing with the White Palace, facing the Hollow Knight, Hornet jumping in, and Dream Nailing him... that scene right there. Your first impression is 'okay, so it's a dream fight. Is he going to drop down or something with some extra moves?'. Then the sun in the background moves. Then you get the full screen title card. And the music begins. Now THAT is a boss intro. Soul Master almost had it, with creeping up in the background before teleporting in, but Radiance... she got treated with the respect she deserved.

So... what are your memorable moments in video games?

[Kesnit]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. (SPOILER)

The moment you realize you are Revan. The first time I played (original Xbox), it felt like it came out f nowhere, but then I realized the clues were there.

Fallout 3: The first time you open the Vault to the Capital Wasteland. The entry area of the vault is dark, but then bright light floods in.

[Aotrs Commander]

"Gamma One is the Emporer's stool pigeon! Gamma Two and Three destroy Gamma One now!"

[Man_Over_Game]

Fall Cry 5 was a big one for me.

When you realize the Cult was right, that the world was ending, and you just went on a spree to end their Doomsday Prepping.

It was a big blow to me, because of the fact that I realized that the 3 Children you killed were all in charge of some major operation that was supposed to help them survive their time underground.

The Child in charge of the drugs was supposed to keep the populace docile, since they were going to never see the light of day again.
The Child in charge of the military/culling was supposed to ensure the strongest survive. When everyone is in such a small space with limited resources, you'll need to thin the herd to make sure humanity can survive.
The Child in charge of propaganda was supposed to make sure that everyone works together and to avoid any kind of insurgencies. With such a small community and high tensions, everyone will need to work together to survive.

It was messed up, but they all had something designed to keep the human race going when everyone went underground. Then, at the end, it's just you, the cult leader, and pretty much nobody else down there. Because you killed them all.

[NEO|Phyte]

"No one's left. Everything's gone. Kharak is burning." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXNQNeLDg5s)

[GloatingSwine]

Fallout 5 was a big one for me.

When you realize the Cult was right, that the world was ending, and you just went on a spree to end their Doomsday Prepping.

It was a big blow to me, because of the fact that I realized that the 3 Children you killed were all in charge of some major operation that was supposed to help them survive their time underground.

The Child in charge of the drugs was supposed to keep the populace docile, since they were going to never see the light of day again.
The Child in charge of the military/culling was supposed to ensure the strongest survive. When everyone is in such a small space with limited resources, you'll need to thin the herd to make sure humanity can survive.
The Child in charge of propaganda was supposed to make sure that everyone works together and to avoid any kind of insurgencies. With such a small community and high tensions, everyone will need to work together to survive.

It was messed up, but they all had something designed to keep the human race going when everyone went underground. Then, at the end, it's just you, the cult leader, and pretty much nobody else down there. Because you killed them all.

Well it's better than what Bethesda have been doing with Fallout...

Although given that when we reach Fallout 76.5 it turns out that about 90% of the named characters have survived and Montana is doing really rather well for itself environment-wise and the whole nuclear apocalypse thing appears to have been more of a mild inconvenience than your more apocalyptic apocalypses.

Anyway:

Ending E of Nier Automata.

Seeing the first Japanese demo for FFVIII and near-immediately buying a Playstation despite the game not getting a UK release for another 18 months.

Entering Polito's Office in System Shock 2.

Sticking it to Kamoshida in Persona 5.

Fighting the Nameless King in Dark Souls 3, then realising who he was reading the item description of his soul.

The first time you revive a tree in Okami.

[Man_Over_Game]

Sorry, Far Cry, not Fallout.

[Lord Raziere]

The pacifist ending of Undertale, jsut tog et tha tout of the way. I still have Hopes and Dreams running through my head every now and then.

lots of moments in chrono Trigger, I couldn't pick out one because there are so many.

beating Iudex Gundyr with a Deprived, on my first run of a dark souls game. or when I beat this mage boss on my first try, though that time on NG plus where I just repeatedly parried the abyss Watchers is good too, as well as the moment where I figured out that I had completely skipped the cathedral and faced the abyss watchers before mages or the priest guys on my first run

finding out that the main character is a clone in Cross Code, as well as beating the game's final puzzle.

beating the elite four way back in pokemon gold. of course I didn't how to play then, so I got a single high level typhlosion and the rest of my pokemon we were completely underleveled, but I somehow made my like, level 5 bird I used for fly defeat an elite four pokemon and they somehow gained like 32 levels. probably wasn't the same run as the one where I beat the elite four though. Pokemon B&W had the most memorable moments with its enemy team, as well as Sun and Moon with beating Kukui or facing Lusamine.

beating Paper Mario for the first time. second form bowser was oddly hard to child me, but the part where Mario had to escape an erupting volcano while inside was memorable as well. Thousand year door made the Glitz Pit and the Dupliss plots memorable as well. Super Paper Mario also had that point where a world gets straight up destroyed, because you'd wouldn't think that mario would ever go that far but it did, because last two chapters completely break formula to switch things up on you its great.

Dragon Age Origins, my warden going through the ritual because there two people other prospective wardens just straight up die for one reason or another in the process. Dragon age 2 had a very memorable one in Anders blowing up the chantry to cut you off from any third options as well.

that moment in jade Empire where your mentor reveals that he had planned everything and even designed your fighting style to have a weakness only he could exploit- and does to instantly kill you.

the goblin starting zone, and Pandaria in World of Warcraft. I don't care what anyone says, those zones are great. the goblin starter zone is this black comedy satire of capitalism and pulp tropes, while the Pandaria zones just have so much effort put into them! that moment where you use a karate chop to kill a giant insect from the inside because you trained with some martial arts master earlier who made you do this with bamboo then wood then stone is such a great chekov's gun! its some of the best storytelling in WoW.

The moment Asura punches a giant dude larger than the earth to death- as the first boss. that moment I knew, Asura's Wrath was one fun ridiculous train I wanted to see through to the end. facing katana dude with the symphony playing in the background was awesome to.

every time I get off an otk combo in Hearthstone.

[Toric]

"Gamma One is the Emporer's stool pigeon! Gamma Two and Three destroy Gamma One now!"

Yes! Star Wars: Tie Fighter!

The thing that sold that twist for me was the mission briefing and the strong sense of wrongness it presented. How you had gone from high-risk missions against live enemy targets to... a training exercise in the starfighter form of Minesweeper. Even your handler told you "This doesn't add up." And your two wingmen respond to the quoted command with all the surety of a clone trooper being given Order 66.

I'd like to give a nod to Bioshock: Infinite, the first time you set foot in Columbia. Everything from the animations to the soundtrack to the story-motivated bloom presents the place as paradise.... the paradise you'll be fighting for your life in for most of the rest of the game.

[Sermil]

Ultima VII: Serpent's Isle

You and your companions are chasing Batlin, the main baddie from the first half of Ultima VII into a strange land called Serpent's Isle. Batlin is trying to summon these three super-powerful demigods called the Banes, who will destroy the world, and you're chasing him around trying to stop him. You explore pretty much the whole world, get the super-powerful items, and catch up with him just as he's about to complete the summoning. You get ready for the big boss battle...

And then your companions turn towards you with glowing red eyes and black auras. Batlin does complete the summoning, and the three Banes just possessed your companions. They squash Batlin like an insect, knock you unconscious in like one round and leave you for dead, and then proceed to -- pretty much destroy the world. Or least kill almost everyone it in. So now you're running around the same world as before, except all the people are gone and the cities destroyed, trying to fix the damage.

And what's great is that the game makers actually signaled to you that this was going to happen. Right at the beginning of the game, someone tells you that they can't help you, because "The Avatar (you) will be betrayed by those who try to help her most". For most of the game, it looks like it's just an excuse for all the NPCs to not actually do anything useful for you. (You know how games are -- you might be trying to save the world, but no merchant will even give you a 10% discount for trying to save their lives.) But in the end, it's actually true; your companions nearly kill you.

It's also one of the few times I've ever been really fooled by a false ending. I really thought the Batlin battle was going to be the end. It did a good job of not letting the game mechanics give away "you're only halfway though the game". Lots of other games try to convince you that "This boss battle is the end of the game!" but they also obviously have places you haven't been to or powers you don't have access to, and so it's pretty obvious the mechanics of the game are built for you to keep going. (E.g. Persona 3, which tries to convince you that a battle is the final boss -- but you're only 60th level and there are personas up to 80th+ level visible on the fusion screen.)

[thorgrim29]

Mordin's sacrifice in ME3 is a big one for me. Both versions are great but the one where he doesn't know about the countermeasure beforehand is a bit better IMO.

I made a mistake!

I made a mistake, focused on big picture, big picture made of little pictures, too many variable. Can't hide behind statistics, can't ignore new data.
(...)
Difficult decision, why it had to be me, somebody else might have gotten it wrong.


Also in Halo 3 when the UNSC counterattacks.

[NRSASD]

"No one's left. Everything's gone. Kharak is burning." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXNQNeLDg5s)

That scene is carved into my soul. It has NEVER been rivaled honestly.

The final scene in the Last of Us is a close contender though.

[Rynjin]

The scene in Kingdom Hearts where Sora commits suicide to save everyone (https://youtu.be/uMBFd0jkG-g?t=8) (he gets better).

Similar to Nier: Automata's mention above, Drakengard's endings. Yoko Taro clearly has issues he works out through the games he makes.

The scene in Final Fantasy X where I realize Wakka is a terrible human being. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRU4s3Li588) My first conscious memory of realizing that just because a narrative frames someone as being your best friend and ally, and on the good guy's team, doesn't mean they can't be absolutely terrible. (Context for those who haven't played it, the city that blew up is the only homeland of Rikku's people [the person he's talking to there], an ethnic group he repeatedly slurs and puts down as basically sub-human for the entire game.)

The first time I played Team Fortress 2. Offline, just wandering the levels and trying out the characters on the empty maps. It and Halo 3 were my entire impetus to get access to the internet at the time. I was instantly hooked on the game, and it's a game I have a deep personal connection to. I met most of my friends via that game, for a period of about 6 years. I never would have started playing tabletop RPGs without being introduced by someone I met on SPUF. It was my first experience with competitive gaming, and the game that made me realize competitive gaming suuuuuucks, because practicing hours upon hours every week turns the game into a job. It introduced me to forums, which made me realize I really like writing, and I've turned that into a job of its own. Among other things. My life would legitimately be very different without that game, and probably worse in a lot of ways. And it wouldn't have happened without playing the Orange Box offline at a friend's house in high school.

Almost every cutscene in Jak 2 is a goldmine. In particular, I still constantly quote this line (https://youtu.be/0kpXVzylkNM?t=50) and greet friends that way sometimes. ESPECIALLY ones who've never played the game, and have terrible memories.

Similar to TF2 being my impetus to get my 360 connected to the internet, Oblivion was my impetus to get an Xbox 360 in the first place. I borrowed the console and game from my next door neighbor, and the opening scenes and the totally not reused for the next game Bethesda published scene of exiting the sewers and being blinded by the light (which was great both times it wasn't used) and seeing the vast open expanse of space I could explore was amazing.

That game in Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer as the Infected, where my Survivor friends were steamrolling our zombie butts, got within viewing distance of the exit, before I spawned as Tank, immediately mashed the melee button, punched a forklift, and killed all four Survivors at once with it. Beautiful.

A fun match in the criminally underrated Battlefield: Bad Company 2 where I shot my trusty Carl Gustav Recoilless Rocket Launcher (I had three weapons at platinum kills in that game: good ol' Carl, Anti-Tank mines, and the M870 with slugs) from the ground at a guy sniping from a mountaintop, scored a direct hit, and watched his body be CARRIED by the rocket through the air before exploding in midair like "happy festival fireworks, ya". A moment I continue to regret not having the ability to record at the time.

[The Glyphstone]

"No one's left. Everything's gone. Kharak is burning." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXNQNeLDg5s)


That scene is carved into my soul. It has NEVER been rivaled honestly.


This, a hundred times over.

The Wrathgate Cinematic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwngFEIg8Kw) from Warcraft will always stick with me as well.
"Did you think we had forgotten? Did you think we had FORGIVEN?"

[Kaptin Keen]

Well - if the first thing that comes to mind isn't Ravel Puzzlewell, you've basically gamed in vain.

What else tho? The first Deus Ex had a number of moments of brilliance. Oh, the sheer maniacal laughter fun of the first time I created a volcano on my enemy in the original Populous. Life is Strange worked for me. For different reasons, games like Mass Effect or Baldurs Game also work for me - I don't much respond to the emotional pornography of some games, but many games seem like puzzles I need to solve. ME and BG are examples. I'm not particularly adept at the min-maxing such games reward, but I'm stubborn as frag =)

[DaedalusMkV]

Ace combat has a lot of these for me. Ace Combat 4 has pretty much the entire epilogue mission Megalith ("All Mobius aircraft report in." in a game where the player rarely has any allies at all, much less allies able to equal the best the enemy has, followed by one of the most epic bgms in all of video gaming cutting in, followed by the remnants of Yellow Squadron collectively crapping themselves as they realize that this time they are horribly, brutally outmatched, all while meteors rain from the sky and missiles rise to intercept them). Ace Combat 5 had a bunch, but most notably the battle against the Scinfaxi (the Arkbird making its presence known just as all hope seems lost was incredible and unexpected the first time I played the mission), surviving 8492 as the game follows up a straightforward ground-attack mission with the single most dangerous air-to-air fight in the entire series (is that 20+ top-end stealth fighters ambushing you before the mid-point of the game? You bet it is. Get used to the 'Missile Lock Detected' noise, because it's going to be playing until you get out of the combat zone.), and all three of the last three missions having amazing moments that tie the themes of the game together perfectly, not to mention what basically amounts to a high-speed Death Star Run with an enemy ace hot on your tail and another awesome bgm for the last mission, paired with a space station disintegrating as it enters the atmosphere. Oh, and also the fight against the Arkbird. Chasing an aircraft carrier-sized spaceship into the sunrise as it fires its booster rockets at a 45-degree angle into the water in a desperate attempt to stay in the air? Awesome.

And then Ace Combat Zero was... Well, yeah. Listen to the news reports as your allies take back their capitol city one street at a time. Take off as an immense flying fortress strafes your airbase. Dodge instant-kill laser cannons targeting you via satellite. Watch your victory turn to ashes as the desperate enemy nukes their own soil to keep your allies from continuing the fight. Fight your best friend in a good old fashioned knightly joust in the skies (and rail at his bull**** cheater plane, with its omnidirectional laser cannon and Burst Missiles that can pull 360 degree turns and instant kill you in a wide area), while a doomsday clock ticks inexorably down to billions of deaths at the top of the screen. And, of course, Mobius One showing up to wipe out Wizard Squadron at the end of Score Attack mode on a perfect run, then reminding you why he's a legend by making the aforementioned cheater plane look like a silly joke.


... Man, I had some good times with those games. I really should get out and pick up Ace Combat 7 one of these days.

[danzibr]

Wow. This thread takes me down memory lane. First I’ll echo some that we’re already said.

Undertale’s pacifist ending. Hit me in the feels alright.

Chrono Trigger. Yeah, huge surprise at the time.

Zelda: Twilight Princess. But it’s not the Zelda sacrifice scene that did it for me. Rather, the ending.

Zelda: BotW. What got me was... Link had this group of buddies, and they all friggin’ died. The Zora one in particular pulled at my heart strings.

Now for some new ones...

I played the original Resident Evil when I was 10. My first exposure to a horror game. The first zombie scene, the one munching on the dude down the hall, scared the crap out of me.

FFVII (again I played when I was 10, maybe 11). You know the scene. I cried like a baby. And then you fight a boss!

FFII, played this one later in life. Minwu, that’s all I gotta say. What happens later though is really awesome, after you beat the main game. And Ricard. Bamf.

Resident Evil 6 (dang, seeing a pattern). When Chris’s buddy, can’t even remember his name, saves Chris’s bacon at the end, but at what price?

The Witcher 3, when you make some bad decisions and Triss ends up holding a certain somebody’s remains.

Final Fantasy XV, what Noctis has to do at the end. You know.

Breath of Fire 3, a few come to mind. Getting Peco. The reveal with Garr.

Breath of Fire 4, the scientist dude and the sister. Mami.

I’m sore there are tooooons more but I’m blanking.

[Arutema]

Bioshock: Meeting Andrew Ryan at last.

[Man_Over_Game]

Transistor. When you beat the game the first time, replay it, and realize the first boss fight song isn't an insult...it's a premonition. I feel a pit-like feeling from my stomach when I think about that on occasion.

[danzibr]

Doki Doki Literature Club. *shudders*

[Brother Oni]

The last scene of the Game of Thrones ARPG by Cyanide Studios.

When you approach Alester's house in the flashback, knowing what's going to happen and what you're going to do to his family - it's the first and only time I've been reluctant to play a scene in a game. The only way I could convince myself to do so was due to the fact it had already happened, and nothing I could do could change the outcome.

I've got two for Warframe: The Second Dream quest, when that music starts and The Sacrifice Quest: "To take its pain away".

[halfeye]

Dunno whether they'll stick, but so far:

The proper ending of Dungeon Master. In the game you can't kill Lord Chaos or Lord Order, but in the start of Chaos strikes back allegedly you killed Lord Chaos, then have to start again or something? I didn't play that, probably based mainly on price, but the end of the first game was very good.

Firing up the rocket engine in Half Life.

Zooming around in Domark's MiG 29 on the ST (you had to run it from a RAM disk (with the original in the floppy drive, write protected), which meant you couldn't save the game permanently, so had to start from scratch every time), there have been games with better graphics, but nothing that felt as if flying was as easy.

Winning Carrier Command on the ST, always a struggle, but worth it.

Closing a Gate in Oblivion and seeing which sigil stone goody you got.

That bit in Homeworld was a bit strong for my tastes, but I can see why some would like it.

Connecting up a long rail route in Transport Tycoon.

The results of killing a dragon in Skyrim, you never know what you'll get.

[Aspheric]

Transistor. When you beat the game the first time, replay it, and realize the first boss fight song isn't an insult...it's a premonition. I feel a pit-like feeling from my stomach when I think about that on occasion.

Ahhh I love Transistor! I never thought of that moment until now, but wow, this is very true. Transistor is filled with great moments, especially the anticlimax of meeting Grant and Asher. They's this grand set-up where you feel like you're going to confront them in a huge boss battle, only for you to arrive and see they've killed themselves. There's a lot of beautiful and sad anticlimaxes in this game, but that moment in particular was really effective for me.

As is Bastion, by the same developers. There is one scene in particular, though, when you find Zulf again, and choose to carry back his body. Walking that gauntlet while all the Ura just watch, after you've fought and killed so many of them, with Zulf's sorrowful theme playing in the background... the whole thing is intense. The fact that their Captain also strikes down one of the Ura that tries to shoot you while you're defenseless is just really intense. And this is right before the ending, which presents what has to be one of the most interesting moral choices I've ever been presented with in a game.

Final Fantasy Tactics has a special place in my heart as well. I never got through it entirely, but Delita telling Agrias to "Blame yourself or God" always stuck with me in particular. It's one of the places where the terrible translation redeems itself with a line that's equal parts brutal and funny. There's some more serious moments that are also great, but yeah... good times.

[bobthehero]

The ending of Republic Commando, the chaos it causes within your squad, the emotions felt by Clones, who before that game were nearly faceless CGI props used in a movie, how much I wanted to tell Yoda to piss off, and with the lack of a sequel (and lack of book 6 of the Republic Commando) it will likely never be concluded.

[Brookshw]

Bioshock: Meeting Andrew Ryan at last. +1

There are some moments from MGS1 & 2 that stick with me, usually for breaking the 4th wall or just their ridiculousness. Plugging the controller into port 2 so my mind can't be read? The colonel going crazy and telling me I've been playing the game too long, or, well, just about everything he says? Perfection. And now I know what to do when a purple space worm does a raw blink on Hara-kiri Rock.

[AdmiralCheez]

The end cinematic of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne was a big one for me when I first finished it. Watching the protagonist character for three campaigns sacrifice his friends, his family, his people, and his armies, turning from a paladin prince to an undead knight, all to get to the frozen top of the world where the titular throne sits. Then fighting off even more enemies trying to stop him or seize it for themselves, all while losing his strength and power, to just barely succeed at the end. And as he climbs the stairs, his past sins haunting him, he at last succeeds and claims the throne and its power, and then just sits there, presumably to rule alone for all eternity. It was an awe-inspiring moment for me back in the day to just witness so much loss in the pursuit of one's goals.

[Morgaln]

So many, but here's a selection:

Shadow of the Colossus: Everything. It's just that good.

Lunar:Silver Star Story/Lunar:Eternal Blue: Both games have several memorable moments, but one unassuming one was in Eternal Blue, when Nall reminisces about his friends and their quirks; for me, it just suddenly hit home that all the characters from the first game really were dead and gone.

Legend of Dragoon: Most of the cutscenes, but especially Lavitz's death (that one really came unexpected), the flashback to the previous Dragoons' last battle and the ending sequence.

Parasite Eve: The opening cinematics, with Eve signing while everyone around her burned will forever stay in my mind.

Enslaved:Odyssey to the West: The whole ending sequence was a gut punch.

Uncharted: That moment when it switched from action-adventure to survival horror.


And for completely different reasons:
X-Com: Hearing a sectopod walking somewhere in the dark; getting your high-level Assault mind-controlled, and the only way to reach the enemy is past them; and the first time you go into the mission investigating the fishing village, not knowing what is in store for you.

[Corlindale]

I distinctly remember a particular moment in Fahrenheit (aka. Indigo Prophecy). The game switches between multiple viewpoint characters, so you alternatively play both a suspected murderer and the policemen trying to catch him - and also there a ton of strange paranormal things going on.

In one scene with the police officers, I was asked to recreate an image of the culprit in the murder case. At first I tried to complete the little picture-matching mini game as well as I could, as you are used to doing as a player. But suddenly it occurred to me that it might be in my best interest to perform poorly. You see, I identified more with the suspected killer than the cops, so I didn't want them to catch him. I reloaded the scene, and tried to mess up the challenge as much as possible.

Now, I never finished the game as it got increasingly weird, so I don't know if what I did actually had any bearing on the final outcome, but just the way the game turned all my usual assumptions about games and goals on their head was memorable in itself. I know that multiple viewpoints and actions that have consequences down the line are par for the course in the era of a billion Telltale games, but back then it felt really novel, and really made me think.

[Man_Over_Game]

Spec Ops: The Line.
The moment at the end when you realize the bad guy you've been hunting down, and talking to on the radio, had killed himself before the conversation could ever happen. You realize that you had been crazy the entire time, that all of the "terrorists" that you've been killing were just people trying to get rid of this psychopath who's been turning their city into a war zone.

YOU are the bad guy in this story, turned insane from witnessing horrific acts of war. When you were told to stop by your superiors, you snapped, and "continued" the mission, which is where the game begins. The Player is the Main Character's mental breakdown as he shoots up a city, killing militia that he is "getting intel" regarding them as terrorists.

[DavidSh]

What most sticks to my mind from Ar Tonelico, is after doing the fetch/synthesis quest of lute strings for Claire, when everything stops while she sings a song to the accompaniment of the repaired lute. This prefigures that other characters will be doing a lot of significant singing, but this was the first. I don't think I had come across singing video game characters before.

[Wookieetank]

I distinctly remember a particular moment in Fahrenheit (aka. Indigo Prophecy). The game switches between multiple viewpoint characters, so you alternatively play both a suspected murderer and the policemen trying to catch him - and also there a ton of strange paranormal things going on.

In one scene with the police officers, I was asked to recreate an image of the culprit in the murder case. At first I tried to complete the little picture-matching mini game as well as I could, as you are used to doing as a player. But suddenly it occurred to me that it might be in my best interest to perform poorly. You see, I identified more with the suspected killer than the cops, so I didn't want them to catch him. I reloaded the scene, and tried to mess up the challenge as much as possible.

Now, I never finished the game as it got increasingly weird, so I don't know if what I did actually had any bearing on the final outcome, but just the way the game turned all my usual assumptions about games and goals on their head was memorable in itself. I know that multiple viewpoints and actions that have consequences down the line are par for the course in the era of a billion Telltale games, but back then it felt really novel, and really made me think.

Quantic Dream is really good about your choices changing how things turn out, and most of their games have a wide variety of endings. Beyond 2 Souls does fall a bit short, cause you kinda get to pick your ending at the last bit, instead of the ending happening organically from everything else that happened.

On Topic:
Playing Heavy Rain and finding out who the Origami Killer actually is. Such a gut punch.

2nding Last of Us.

The final boss and ending of Portal 2. Absurd, epic, and oh so satisfying.

Finding out that Id and Fei are the same person in Xenogears.

Solving that one puzzle that's been giving you grief in any given puzzle game.

[sleepy hedgehog]

A lot of moments from Tales games.
Most of Tales of Symphonia. The first real RPG I played.
Especially playing through it, getting to the "end", and wondering why there's a second CD, still unused.

Killing Ragou in Talkes of Vesperia.

The betrayal in Baten Kaitos.
It's still my favorite betrayal that has ever happened in any game.
Also I really liked how items aged over time, in the game.

Ascending in Nethack.
Doing it again without a helmet of change alignment.

[Toric]

The betrayal in Baten Kaitos.
It's still my favorite betrayal that has ever happened in any game.


And when said traitor comes to his senses and rejoins your side.

My IRL response: "Don't you ever do that again! You're on friend probation until further notice!"

[Wraith]

Fallout (the first one from 1997).
The ending cinematic broke my heart (spoilers for a 22 year old game, by the way). You start the game as some schmuck tasked to cross the desert, find another Vault and grab a new processor chip for your water purifier, and you have a hundred days to do it before your own Vault dies of dehydration. Along the way you recruit allies, uncover a world-domination plot and an intended genocide by a mutated Vault Overseer, and you almost single-handedly take them all down and narrowly escape with your life to go back home...
...and the Overseer refuses to let you back in. Your time in the wasteland has changed you too much, and the Vault-Tec protocols insist that it would be an irreparable detriment to Vault 13 if you were to try and reintegrate.
Your body is scarred and wounded
Your allies are gone.
Your best and most loyal friend is (canonically) dead.
You saved your Vault and everyone in it; your friends and family included.
You saved the world.
And the game ends with you, alone, limping off into the wasteland as the wind pulls at your ragged Vaultsuit and the Inkspots play the haunting melody of "Maybe" as you fade away into the dust.

Baldur's Gate 2: The Throne of Bhaal
I spent several hundred hours grinding through some of the worst and most dangerous places in the Forgotten Realms (and beyond) and Viconia was with me every step of the way. The romance dialogues with her were funny, tragic, witty and scathing and I did everything that I could to show her that life in the Overworld was... tolerable, if only because she was there with me. In the very end I gave up Godhood and let Bhaal die forever, for I would rather be with her. I couldn't bare to have shown her so much of the world when there was still so much more for us to see together.
And then... she dies. The closing credits reveal the end of the story; we marry and have a child together, but she is tracked down by Drow Assassins who poison her, and she dies slowly in my arms telling me how much she loved me. I didn't cry, but I damn well could have while reading that.
The last line of the game is me and our son heading into the Underdark and burning every last bit of it down in her memory. And by that point, I was a 7 Fighter/Epic Level Druid with all of the most powerful magical artifacts ever known in any of the Realms; there would BE so very much burning...

Red Dead Redemption
Again the ending, and specifically the death of John Marsden. RDR2 was pretty good, but I kind of knew what to expect by that point - John's sacrifice was inevitable, but at the time still startlingly poignant and one of those moments that you kind of knew had to come, but deeply wished that it would not.

The Mass Effect series.
There are a lot of moments throughout the games that stay with me, pretty much all of the set-pieces in fact. The bomb at Virmire, the confrontation with Saryn, the death of the SR-1, the rousing speech at the Collector Base, the invasion of Earth, Kalroth, Legion's ascension/saving of Rannoch, the armada arriving at the Sol system, the moment where your friend/love interest is wounded and Shepherd goes on alone... They're all pretty breathtaking.

But none of it more fondly than the party at the end of the Citadel DLC, where everyone of the crew gets together and remembers those who aren't there. I don't have many head-canons in video games, but for me this is how Mass Effect really ended; the Crucible worked, the Reapers were defeated, and then everyone had a party to celebrate. Even now, I'll occasionally sit and watch the whole thing played through on Youtube, just for nostalgia's sake.

[IthilanorStPete]

Bastion, the first time you meet Zia. The gorgeous graphics, Build That Wall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jz8c17upEwM) playing...it's just a moment that'll stick with me for a long time.

Oh, and...


As is Bastion, by the same developers. There is one scene in particular, though, when you find Zulf again, and choose to carry back his body. Walking that gauntlet while all the Ura just watch, after you've fought and killed so many of them, with Zulf's sorrowful theme playing in the background... the whole thing is intense. The fact that their Captain also strikes down one of the Ura that tries to shoot you while you're defenseless is just really intense. And this is right before the ending, which presents what has to be one of the most interesting moral choices I've ever been presented with in a game.

This scene, too.

[0wca88]

Conversing with the companions of Planescape: Torment about...anything.

[Varen_Tai]

Conversing with the companions of Planescape: Torment about...anything.

Truth. Morte is particular gets me. He's so hilarious and light-hearted but that one memory of yours where you remember the heartbreaking truth of the two of you meeting while he is casually telling you a lighter (and mostly untrue) version of the same encounter seared its way into my memory and I have never forgotten it.

Also P:T - unlocking the Unbroken Circle of Zerithimon was an incredibly cool experience - I loved the philosophy and always look forward to unlocking it every time I play.

[Misereor]

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.

I played the second game first, and the reveal was even more awesome after spending an entire preceding game hearing stories about this Revan dude without realizing. It certainly explained some of the more odd Revan related dialogue options in "The Sith Lords".




In the very end I gave up Godhood and let Bhaal die forever, for I would rather be with her. I couldn't bare to have shown her so much of the world when there was still so much more for us to see together. And then... she dies. The closing credits reveal the end of the story; we marry and have a child together, but she is tracked down by Drow Assassins who poison her, and she dies slowly in my arms telling me how much she loved me. I didn't cry, but I damn well could have while reading that.

I quit Pathfinder: Kingmaker after a certain character was turned into a book, and have never touched it again. It was the only characer in the game I actually liked and took pains to remain on good terms with.

[AlanMac]

One of my favorite moments in RPGs in the last few years was the moment when Geralt finally finds Ciri in The Witcher 3. That was pretty heartwarming.

[TheRatAlliance]

Man quite a few. Wraith has already said Red Dead Redemption and I second that, and add on Red Dead 2. I only played the first one a couple years ago and managed to avoid spoilers until I finished, so it was a complete shock. And Red Dead 2 instantly became one of my top three games.
The moment that comes to mind though is when you lose your horse. The fact that Arthur and John are literally running for their lives and Arthur still takes the time to comfort and say goodbye to your horse just, man. Just hits RIGHT in the feels.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Okami as well. Such a good game with so many heartfelt moments. My main one is when you figure out about Rao and Queen Himiko. Sprinting back to the palace and walking into the throne room is just... man. I can hear that music and feel the atmosphere when I think about it. So good.

[Hunter Noventa]

Finding out that Id and Fei are the same person in Xenogears.


I figured that out well before the true reveal, but that was still good stuff.

Also, the first time Grahf just descends from the heavens with his awesome music to bestow someone with THE POWER.

Or when Id recovers from having the Yggdrasil dropped on him. "Well that was interesting. but dropping a warship on me is cheating. Take it back!"

So many good moments in that game. I wish I could see it be remade properly.

[Traab]

FF6 The opera song (https://youtu.be/nEuf9ZSJrdg?t=248) I dont know why it feels so powerful even in all its original nintendo glory, but I didnt even need to click the link to hear it again. That music will never be gone from my mind.

[Velaryon]

I can think of quite a few over the 30-ish years I've played video games. In no particular order...

Arc the Lad (PS1): When I made it to floor 50 of the Forbidden Ruins, not knowing whether anything was down there (my friends who got me into the game assured me that there was no reason to bother with the place, that it was just an endless dungeon where you could do some leveling up). I stumbled into an insanely difficult boss named Choko, who I was NOT prepared to fight. I barely managed to eke out a victory after exhausting all my healing items, all the MP on all my characters, and with all but one of my characters (Tosh) dead... and then I had to climb back out of the dungeon!

It was all worth it in the long run, though, as Choko joined my party (sort of) for defeating her! (She becomes a summon that you can call on, but only during random, non-story fights. But if you convert your save file to Arc the Lad 2, she is a fully playable and ridiculously powerful character there).

Dragon Warrior (NES): Defeating the dragon that was guarding Princess Gwaelin for the first time and taking her back to Tantegel Castle. It's one of only a couple big milestones in the game (which had a very simple story) and it was the first big breakthrough I had in the game, which I played the heck out of while I was home sick with chicken pox in... 2nd or 3rd grade, I think.

Chrono Trigger (SNES): Uh... the whole game, pretty much. I played through this game SO many times that I'm not sure I can narrow down to a single most memorable moment. Some of the standouts, though:
-seeing Lavos arrive on the planet in the distant past, and realizing that Magus wasn't really the one behind him after all
-Crono's death
-seeing the Kingdom of Zeal come crashing down
-beating Spekkio's final form for the first time
-beating Lavos from the beginning of the game on New Game+ and getting the special ending where you meet the game's development team
all among many others.

Castle Crashers (Xbox 360): The crazy humor and fun throwback to the beat-em-ups back I enjoyed back in the 16-bit days were so awesome that I ran out and bought a 360 after playing this at a friend's place, just so I could keep playing.

Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360): John Marston's death scene. I should have seen it coming, but somehow I didn't, at least not until the cutscene where he rushes Abigail and Jack out the back door.

Final Fantasy VII (PS1): I had two moments for this: 1) finally recruiting Cid, who looked like the coolest character in the instruction book and who I wanted to get so badly. 2) when I finally made it out of the Great Glacier on disc 2. This one requires a bit of explanation. I first got the game on PC because I had a Nintendo 64 and not a Playstation. Turns out the PC game was a buggy mess (especially on my old Windows 95 computer) that would crash regularly. By the time I got to the beginning of disc 2, the game crashed on my PC after literally every encounter, so I had to give up playing. Fast forward a couple years, and a friend who I didn't see very often lent me his Playstation, but only gave me the first disc of the game! I played through and eagerly waited to see him again so I could borrow the next disc, but then he wanted his console back. It wasn't until college (late 2001) that I finally had the chance to buy my own Playstation and finish the game.

[Brookshw]

Have we mentioned Dead Space and finding out that not only was your girlfriend dead the entire time, but that the character knew it and had blocked it out?

[Toric]

I have a few more:

Final Fantasy 6: The departure of the ghost train. It's a poignant end to a party member's tragic backstory. This effect is somewhat tainted by the fact that another party member suplexed the entire train in the preceding boss fight, but really, how can that be a bad thing?

Deus Ex 2: Invisible War: The conclusion of the "Coffee Wars" sidequest chain. Arpund the world you've been meddling in a feud between two coffee shop franchises - one using 100% organic non-GMO beans and another using genetically designed, hydroponically grown beans. Finally the owner of one side's shop wants you to investigate why all his lawsuits against the rival shop in town keep disappearing, so you have to break into government records and learn ... the two chains are subsidiaries of the same parent company, which started this feud to drive coffee drinkers to one end of the spectrum or the other, eliminating any middle-ground competition and giving the company an invisible monopoly.

That was the first example I'd seen of a staged feud and I couldn't believe it was uncovered by something as mundane as following a lawsuit paper trail.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Dragon Age Origins: Morrigan’s offer before the final battle. Twice, in fact. In my first play through I was so stunned that I rejected it outright. In my second play through I gave it a try and found the overall effect disturbing. Thankfully the flow of the game didn’t give me much time to dwell on it.

Fallout: New Vegas. Meeting Mobius face to face. Coming off the back of an over the top boss fight against a huge robot, the reveal was jarring in how subdued it was. I found myself genuinely thinking that killing him and the Think Tank would have been the merciful choice, even though the ending narration seemed to indicate I had gotten a “good” ending by sparing their lives.

[oxybe]

FF6: Celes' bad start to the world of ruin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok6qjPj7O3g

After her sickly and aging grandfather figure dies in her (and the player's) care, Celes is now alone on a deserted and desolated island in the post-apocalyptic future she and her (possibly dead) friends failed to stop due to the ambitions of the Empire the former General once called home.

And then it kicks you in the feels with her hauntingly beautiful leitmotif, a version of the in-game opera score, Aria Di Mezzo Carattere, which Celes performs... this plays as she attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff.

Note that it's possible, if difficult, to save Cid

FFIX will always be my favourite FF, but IMO FFVI will always be the best.

[TaRix]

FF6: Celes' bad start to the world of ruin


After her sickly and aging grandfather figure dies in her (and the player's) care, Celes is now alone on a deserted and desolated island in the post-apocalyptic future she and her (possibly dead) friends failed to stop due to the ambitions of the Empire the former General once called home.

And then it kicks you in the feels with her hauntingly beautiful leitmotif, a version of the in-game opera score, Aria Di Mezzo Carattere, which Celes performs... this plays as she attempts suicide by jumping off a cliff.

Note that it's possible, if difficult, to save Cid

It's not that hard to save Cid, actually. Just grab the faster-moving fish instead of the slower ones. The slow ones are apparently sickly and show up in key items as "Fish" and "A rotten fish". However, I don't know if this is different in any of the remakes.

[The Glyphstone]

Another one that just came to mind - the prologue to Descent 2, with the corporate suit signing off after weaseling the player into doing another set of missions.

"Good luck, Material Defender. Dravis, out."

Even to this day I can still hear his smug voice.

[oxybe]

It's not that hard to save Cid, actually. Just grab the faster-moving fish instead of the slower ones. The slow ones are apparently sickly and show up in key items as "Fish" and "A rotten fish". However, I don't know if this is different in any of the remakes.

yeah but it's never explained the first time around or ever to the player that the mechanics of Cid's life is on a timer and fast fish raise timer, slow fish decrease it and to save him you have to keep doing getting fish until you get his timer well above the starting point.

i remember going on Gamefaqs as a young'un to figure out how to save him.

Canonically, I believe Cid is meant to die which is why even if you save him he doesn't add much else to the story past giving Celes a home to return to and less depressing start to the second half of the game.

[Wookieetank]

So many good moments in that game. I wish I could see it be remade properly.

Indeed, and with a fully fleshed out 2nd half. I didn't mind the info dump bits since I'm a rabid reader, but actually getting to play through them instead, yes please.

If I wasn't in the middle of working through the Kingdom Hearts series with my family (and just started Persona 5 earlier this week), I'd be firing this up when I got home tonight.

[danzibr]

Oh man. Doki Doki Literature Club. Some moments, never forget.

Edit: ha, wrote that one already.

K, I got one. Star Control 2, when you free the Chmmr.

[Malphegor]

Extremely modded Skyrim: That moment when I discovered that the Superman mod's ludicrously fast flight speed and passive slow time aura meant that he could move stupidly fast, where often you were waiting half an hour real time for a person (who is often still in the T-pose even after you hit them with your laser vision) you've killed to fall down. Probably the most excruciatingly memorable example of what it's like to play a speedster I've ever experienced in a video game.

Fable 1: Discovering the trophy-rent loop in Bowerstone. Bash down door, put house up for rent, place trophy inside, evict tenants, remove trophy. I forget the exact loop but was the first ever infinite gold loop I ever exploited.

Mass Effect: Finding the other Prothean Beacon that suggests that humans were uplifted by the Protheans, and then later on discovering that this doesn't really come up in the sequels.

[ellenate]

just cause 2, a mission involving blowing a space shuttle/missile out of the sky... with a jet

Jak 2, docks mission. every quest or so would just find a way to bring you to the brink of a complete and utter mental breakdown.

ratchet and clank deadlock, announcers' banter.

all of the old gta's radio banter.

(banter in video games is so underrated.)

The original Fable. just about everything about that game has stuck with me.

God of war 2's combat system. parrying was so rewarding in that game.

[Tentreto]

One moment I rememer is from Mystic Quest (Final Fantasy Adventure) where, at the end of everything, you realise that although you saved the world, you have to leave the girl behind, so the world can continue, with the knowledge that if she dies at any point for the rest of eternity, the world is doomed.

Another was from Rimworld, where my first colonist survived with her pet direwolf until the end of the game. At this point, the direwolf had lost a paw, an eye, and was brain damaged, while the colonist had lost an eye as well, but was otherwise fine. I decided that, as the base was to be left to the wildreness, that the wolf needed to be euthenised. The first colonist did it with a single shot, and walked straight into the spaceship, bringing on the credits music. This almost brought me to tears, as it was the cumulation of an entire playthrough into a single moment.

[Man_Over_Game]

Fable 1: Discovering the trophy-rent loop in Bowerstone. Bash down door, put house up for rent, place trophy inside, evict tenants, remove trophy. I forget the exact loop but was the first ever infinite gold loop I ever exploited.

There's also the apple-selling loop.

See, the game had an algorithm for "supply and demand" with each merchant, where they'd lower and increase costs based on their stock and money available. This makes sense...except for the fact that you can buy/sell in bulk, bypassing any cost scaling. That is, you can buy 100 apples at the lowest price, and then turn around and sell 100 apples for the highest price. If an apple ranges from 1-3 gold and he buys them at half value, you can flood his market with apples (reducing them to 1 gold each), selling them at maximum value at 3g apiece (halved, because he's a merchant, to 150 gold), then buy them back at 1g apiece (for 100g), sell them back for 150... You see where I'm getting at.

Apples in particular were a good way of abusing this, because they're commonly found and their shear quantity causes the entire loophole to be exacerbated.

[JNAProductions]

Beating Binding of Isaac for the first time.
And then subsequently realizing that the game added MORE final bosses.

Pretty much anything from Undertale.

[NRSASD]

A few more moments:

Figuring out the Nameless One's name in Planescape Torment. Discovering how the Nameless One's resurrections affected the setting.

The ending of Baldur's Gate 2 Throne of Bhaal. Not because anything especially cinematic happened, but because the saga was finally over. I loved every moment of its 200+ hours, and knowing that the story had finally come to an end, and that there would be no more, forever, was quite the moment.

In Rimworld: when I had to choose between performing a life-saving surgery on my best sniper, a 17 year old girl named Jaguar, or using the last of our medicine to give our best surgeon a 30% chance of surviving the plague. I chose to rescue Jaguar, but man that decision haunted me for days afterwards.

The ending of Bioshock Infinite. Even if the story got a bit muddled, the music and the scene were beautifully done.

There's many more, but I can't think of them at the moment.

[danzibr]

Wait... I don’t recall figuring out his name. Huh. Time to go do some reading.

But yeah, lots of sweet moments from that game. As earlier said, the banter. And figuring out the NO’s past. Very memorable.

[NRSASD]

You... sorta figure out his name. It's never explicitly stated what his name actually is, because the writers correctly realized that any name would fail to live up to expectations. But in the true spirit of PT, the actual name is not nearly as important as *knowing* the name, because by knowing your name you *know* yourself.

[Kitten Champion]

I was thinking about this, but I couldn't find a moment which wasn't already famous for being iconic like the FFVI Opera Scene or the final scene in The Last of Us. Then I remembered back when I was 6 playing through my dad's vast catalogue of retro-games - which included most NES titles at the time - and my somewhat frustrating experience with Metroid. I had played through the NES Megaman games before it and developed a taste for the whole jump-y shoot-y platformer thing and Metroid kind of resembled that so it was my next choice, but the whole Metroidvania style of backtracking and puzzle solving was new to me and I frequently found myself lost and annoyed with my life in general. This being prior to the time I could just Google walkthroughs to get over serious roadblocks to my enjoyment, so I was left with just trying all the things until something worked. So, after dying at a point I didn't enjoy dying at, I pushed random figures into the password menu and...suddenly my robot character became a woman runnin' round with green hair and a leotard.

This was quite a thing for me. I mean, this was well past the point where Samus' sex was known but I wasn't exactly participating in the gamer discourse in the second grade and didn't bother my parents with the ins and outs of what game I was playing, so it was news to me. I found myself excitingly expressing my wonderment to my parents that evening, which they've subsequently recalled in stories as being cute.

[tonberrian]

The ending of the second act in Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. You've finally confronted the Valsharess, the drow who stole your stuff and tried to kill you. She's been played up as the biggest bad, commanding an Archdevil in her plans for conquest of the Underdark, and then the surface world. You're already epic levelled, ready to take on whatever she throws at you...

And then the Archdevil Mephistopheles throws off whatever control she had over him. And proceeds to free you to destroy her. Because the entire game thus far has been him maneuvering you to this confrontation, because through a fluke you've become metaphysically linked - and he can use that link to not only escape the bindings the drow put on him, but send you down to Cania in his place while he conquers the surface world. And to make absolutely sure you don't come back to interfere, he has your mysterious magical ally, who it's revealed serves Mephistopheles through an arcane binding and thus you through the link, trap you there so that even if you find a way out, the spirit who has grown fond of you is forced to bring you right back to Cania, a frozen over hellscape of ice. The sheer level of spite elevates that scene from the rest of the merely enjoyable yet forgettable plot of the rest of the expansion, and indeed the game.

[Geno9999]

Two interconnected moments I had while playing Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker. Now, I hadn't played either of those games when they came out, but I was at least already aware of the plot of those games. I only got around to them about when Ocarina was released on the Wii shop/Virtual Console, picking up Wind Waker roughly the same time, so ended up playing both of them at the same time, though I beat Ocarina of Time before Wind Waker since the former didn't have the padding in the second act that latter did.

When I beat Ocarina, I didn't feel happy despite watching all of the characters dancing. I felt grief. Hyrule Historia wasn't released yet to confirm it at the time, but the general theory about the Zelda timeline was that Wind Waker comes about from one of the timelines after the events of Ocarina; specifically the "Adult" timeline, the Hyrule that Link left behind to return to his childhood. And would be the Hyrule without a Hero to save them when Ganon returned. A Hyrule that had to be drowned. A Hyrule that I was sailing over in Wind Waker. It didn't feel like I truly save those people after all.

Then I got to the end of Wind Waker. Before the final fight, Ganondorf has a monologue about his motivations, how he envied the land of Hyrule. I felt angry at him, because I had walked through those plains in Ocarina of Time. It was a ruined Hyrule. A Hyrule of monsters. A Hyrule that suffered seven years of his rule. After I had beaten Ganondorf, I felt relief not just from beating Wind Waker, but it felt like I also put to rest Ocarina of Time as well.

[Traab]

One other amusing thing in ff6 was learning the narshe river leveling trick. Basically, you are traveling on a raft and at several points have to decide which way to go. However, at one spot, you can make a choice that leads you in a loop. If you setup your party so bannon I think it was, casts his heal ability every round, and own a turbo controller, you can tape down those buttons and go take a nap, coming back hours later to see all your characters many many levels higher than they should be at this stage. Its one of my favorite things about the ff games, all these level grinding spots. Sometimes its simple like the dino head forest, other times there may be a trick involved, but its always amusing.

[Gnoman]

One other amusing thing in ff6 was learning the narshe river leveling trick. Basically, you are traveling on a raft and at several points have to decide which way to go. However, at one spot, you can make a choice that leads you in a loop. If you setup your party so bannon I think it was, casts his heal ability every round, and own a turbo controller, you can tape down those buttons and go take a nap, coming back hours later to see all your characters many many levels higher than they should be at this stage.

It is, however, a stupid thing to do, and leaves you much weaker than leveling normally would.




More on-topic, one of the most powerful moments I've experienced was the intro video for Civilization 4 with one of the expansions. As is common with Civ intros, it showed various historical segments, one of which was Abraham Lincoln giving a speech - and morphing into the Lincoln Memorial midway through. I always found that to be a very powerful image, helping to cement the notion that today's history was yesterday's present - and today's present is tomorrows history.

[ArlEammon]

Crono Trigger: The music, especially Lavos'es theme and Magus'es theme, and Lavos'es scream is haunting even after all these years, especially if YOU FAIL!

Final Fantasy VI: Very beautiful music. I love the game mechanics as well, and the summoning system. Celes'es attempted suicide is only one moment in gaming that sticks with me in that game.


Dragon Quest V: A very good and beautiful, but sometimes sad story line. The murder of a certain Papa, the "Stoning" of a certain main character, and later, the murder of a certain mama are all hallmarks of good story telling for early video games.


Dragon Quest IV: A five chapter system, charming and the original Dragon Quest IV's Taloon theme song, and Mara and Nara's theme song all sound great! I feel sorry for Psaro too, especially in the remake.

Dragon Age Origins: I hate Arl Howe. The Human Noble Origin is wonderfully written. Getting to kill Arl Howe is so satisfying.

[Toric]

For a less "warm and fuzzy" moment that stuck with me, I present American McGee's Scrapland for the original X-Box.

You move between on-foot sections using Frankenstein ships you build from parts you find. At one point, a character (the Crazy Gambler I think) goes rogue and tries to shoot you down, with both his juggernaut of a ship and a horde of wasplike drones. I fought, died in seconds, respawned with the crappy starter ship that only exists so you can fly to the garage to repair your other ships. The garage was on the other side of said Gambler and swarm. Cue montage of me raising funds on foot, blitzing through the death zone, building the best Frankenship I could make, and blitzing to (ironically) the Crazy Gambler's den where I could complete my battle preparations by hiring mercenary ships.

What ensued was a Dark Souls-esque "gitting gud" period of fighting, losing, refining my tactics, and repeat. I learned when to stage a fighting retreat, where the best chokepoints were, and what targets to prioritize. On I think my twelfth run I could feel things going differently. I was holding my ground. Enemy numbers were dropping and I was under less pressure. I was winning.


And then the world froze.


The game crashed, forcing me to reset my Xbox. Which I interpreted as the game's software committing suicide rather than allow me the victory I had so tenaciously fought for. Even worse when I loaded my game I was back to the default Scooty Puff Junior with no mercenary backup. I accepted my symbolic victory, ejected the disk, threw it in the trash, and moved on to KOTOR.

[danzibr]

For a less "warm and fuzzy" moment that stuck with me, I present American McGee's Scrapland for the original X-Box.

You move between on-foot sections using Frankenstein ships you build from parts you find. At one point, a character (the Crazy Gambler I think) goes rogue and tries to shoot you down, with both his juggernaut of a ship and a horde of wasplike drones. I fought, died in seconds, respawned with the crappy starter ship that only exists so you can fly to the garage to repair your other ships. The garage was on the other side of said Gambler and swarm. Cue montage of me raising funds on foot, blitzing through the death zone, building the best Frankenship I could make, and blitzing to (ironically) the Crazy Gambler's den where I could complete my battle preparations by hiring mercenary ships.

What ensued was a Dark Souls-esque "gitting gud" period of fighting, losing, refining my tactics, and repeat. I learned when to stage a fighting retreat, where the best chokepoints were, and what targets to prioritize. On I think my twelfth run I could feel things going differently. I was holding my ground. Enemy numbers were dropping and I was under less pressure. I was winning.


And then the world froze.


The game crashed, forcing me to reset my Xbox. Which I interpreted as the game's software committing suicide rather than allow me the victory I had so tenaciously fought for. Even worse when I loaded my game I was back to the default Scooty Puff Junior with no mercenary backup. I accepted my symbolic victory, ejected the disk, threw it in the trash, and moved on to KOTOR.
Wow. That is epic. That game did not want to be beaten.

Anyway, one I recalled, the song Eyes on Me from FFVIII. When you play the game and realize who sings it and the meaning of the lyrics... nearly moves me to tears.

[LansXero]

Wow. That is epic. That game did not want to be beaten.

Anyway, one I recalled, the song Eyes on Me from FFVIII. When you play the game and realize who sings it and the meaning of the lyrics... nearly moves me to tears.

Its not the girl thats also a witch?

[Gnoman]

Its not the girl thats also a witch?

"Eyes on me" was written by Julia about Laguna, and serves as a token of the never-was relationship between them. Thematically, it also plays into the Rinoa-Squall relationship, as she is Julia's daughter and Squall is (possibly) Laguna's son.

[danzibr]

"Eyes on me" was written by Julia about Laguna, and serves as a token of the never-was relationship between them. Thematically, it also plays into the Rinoa-Squall relationship, as she is Julia's daughter and Squall is (possibly) Laguna's son.
Nailed it. I would’ve omitted that parenthetical word.

It’s weird though... the stuff on YouTube has Squall and Rinoa, when it’s not even about them.

[Gnoman]

Nailed it. I would’ve omitted that parenthetical word.

It’s weird though... the stuff on YouTube has Squall and Rinoa, when it’s not even about them.

The parenthetical word is an extrapolation that's never stated in-game. However much it makes sense, I don't like to treat that as absolutely confirmed.

However, Squall and Rinoa do have a connection to the song, and it serves as a harbinger of their relationship. They are having the connection that their parents should have had.

[Calemyr]

Two come readily to mind for me, one of which is game related, the other a personal victory.

Drakengard 2: The party walks into a trap, and finds themselves boxed in by armies to the left, right, and center, and air forces filling the horizon on all corners. They're outnumbered to a comical degree. The main character's honest, entirely sincere, response to this development? "There's four of us, we can do this!" I'll readily admit that this is a setting where each member of the party is a one man (+ one mythical creature sidekick) army, but that scene and that assessment has stuck with me ever since.

Final Fantasy VII: This is going to date me, but tough. As a freshman in college, I didn't have much in the way of money and lived in a town without much in the way of entertainment. I relied on an old Playstation I to amuse myself by and large, but it eventually stopped working. I managed to scrounge up a second broken PSX and tore apart both of them, mixing and matching parts. Since I didn't have a cord long enough to reach the TV from my desk, I just plugged the audio into my little sound system, dropping Final Fantasy VII on the CD spinner and tested each combination I tried. I swear, hearing Prelude to Fantasy still gives me a grin as wide as when I heard it trickling through those speakers. FFVII may not be my favorite Final Fantasy, but that song is still so sweet...

[danzibr]

The parenthetical word is an extrapolation that's never stated in-game. However much it makes sense, I don't like to treat that as absolutely confirmed.

However, Squall and Rinoa do have a connection to the song, and it serves as a harbinger of their relationship. They are having the connection that their parents should have had.
Hear hear!

100% agree.

However, personally I would’ve omitted it.

[Thrawn4]

The end of Planescape: Torment almost made me cry. It's even more disconcerting once you find out that there were suppossed to be different endings. So close...
Also, the main character's refusual to give in is so damn inspiring.

Kotor 1: I was so annoyed by Jolee, who always believed that he was so much wiser but actually was just obnoxious. But in this game every party member stays with you...
I was so happy when I finally reclaimed my lost identity and had the opportunity to kill him. I enjoyed it even more than the actual ending.

[danzibr]

Wait... but there *are* different endings. Unless there were supposed to be even more???

[Magic_Hat]

Off the top of my head...

Finding Yoshi in Mario 64:smallredface:
The Wesker fights from RE4:smalleek:
The regenerators from RE4:smalleek:
The ending to Shadow of the Colossus:smallfrown:
Final boss fight from Yoshi Island:smalleek:
Fighting Ares and the ending to the first God of War:smallamused:
Continuously running into the sailor that got swallowed by the hydra in the first God of War game:smallbiggrin:
Certain quicktime events with two ladies from the God of War series that yield a LOT of XP:smallwink:
The boss Dagron in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse:smallbiggrin:
Too many instances to count from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask (but the ending on the moon really sticks out)

[Thrawn4]

Wait... but there *are* different endings. Unless there were supposed to be even more???

Well, there are slightly different endings, but the result is basically the same. But the soundttack has unused songs like "neutral ending".

[Marillion]

I've experienced lots of great moments, but the ones I find myself thinking about most often comes from Dishonored. You play as Corvo Attano, a soldier who became Royal Protector to a foreign empress. You're forced to watch helplessly as she is assassinated and her daughter is kidnapped, and you are then framed for those events. On the eve of your execution, (the first capital-M Moment) a demon/spirit/god/????? known only as The Outsider appears to you in a dream and offers you power so that you might be able to exact your vengeance - in any manner you see fit. In this dream, you get a haunting glimpse of the Void outside of your world, where time doesn't pass and an enormous whale-like beast, horrific as it is majestic, swims through the aether. In addition to a brand on your left hand that imbues you with magical power, he also gives you a soul imprisoned inside of a human heart, kept beating by a terrible clockwork device.

This heart, when pointed at a place or person, will whisper some of their secrets to you. I spent hours pointing it at civilians ("She starves so that her children can have bread.", ) thugs ("His mother’s dying words to him were: Give us a whiskey, darling."), guardsmen, ("The pain in his head drives him to do unspeakable things."), and my supposed allies, ("He has killed whales and men for profit - and pleasure."), and it was a very clever way of driving home the despair that permeates the city - and indeed, world - that the game is set in. And though it's never explicitly stated in the game, slowly realizing that the soul being tortured and imprisoned in that heart is the woman you were in love with, who bore you a child secretly, who was murdered in front of you, the Empress herself, was almost physically sickening to me.

In games with morality systems, my first playthrough is almost always evil, challenging myself with a paragon ghost/pacifist run the second time. In Dishonored, it is VERY satisfying to be brutal. Of course you have a sword and a pistol, but it doesn't stop there. You can lay proximity mines that explode with razor wire; you can trap a man in a sauna and cook him to death; you can turn their automated defenses against the enemy, instantly vaporizing anybody in the room; You can use a gale-force wind to throw people into a wall and turn them into paste; You can summon a swarm of rats to messily devour any poor bastards in your way; and if you're feeling particularly extravagant, you can stop time as someone shoots at you, take control of that person's body, walk them into the path of the bullet, and unfreeze time, forcing them to kill themselves. So naturally, I did ALL OF THOSE THINGS as I unraveled the conspiracy against my Empress, rescued the twelve-year old heir to her throne (who is revealed to be your daughter), and deposed the tyrant usurper. Then I of course am betrayed and left for dead by my supposed allies, who kidnap the princess once more. So I set off on ANOTHER murderous rampage.


My lone remaining ally, seemingly the only man with a truly good heart in the entire game, brings me to the island stronghold of the evil Admiral. He tells me that he is disgusted by the person I've become, that he owes me nothing more, and that he hopes I meet my fate on this island. Realizing that he's about to fire a pistol into the air to alert the guards, I slit his throat, dump his body into the ocean, and swim to shore. Security is tight, and I'm grievously wounded, needing to expend almost all of my resources in order to survive. Nevertheless I persevere, fighting my way to the top of the lighthouse, killing every one of the traitors if they haven't already turned on each other. I find the Admiral on a ledge at the very top of the lighthouse, holding my young daughter, the only living person that Corvo cares about, as a human shield. Realizing that there's no way he's getting out of this alive, the Admiral decides to rob me of my victory and jump over the edge. I have no spells left. He's too far away to attempt to grab. I desperately fire my last bullet....and miss, watching helplessly as my daughter plunges screaming to her death. I let out a frustrated sigh and wait to reload at the last save, intending to take much better aim this time. After all, I couldn't possibly fail, having come this far....Could I?

And then, the Outsider appears again. He shows me scenes in still life from the city as it descends into chaos and martial law, mocking me and making it very clear that because of my ruthlessness, the rightful queen was dead and an entire empire was mortally wounded by my hands.

I remember staring in disbelief as the credits rolled, eyes burning, feeling somehow BETRAYED by the game. I recovered. I reloaded my last save, playing it again, intending to prove that it was too late and I couldn't have saved the child. This time, I succeeded and I got another ending, but it didn't impact me nearly as much. It didn't feel real, because in that first moment, I'd panicked. When it mattered, I didn't do the right thing. I wasn't GOOD enough. And I put myself in that position by demanding bloody vengeance, by not caring about anyone or anything in my way, believing that because my cause was Right it justified anything I did in pursuit of it. Without realizing it, I'd crossed the line that separated men from monsters, and only too late understood that there ARE no monsters. Only men. And it had cost me everything.

It truly changed the way I think about evil.


Still gives me chills.

And another great moment, somewhat more lighthearted: Metal Gear Rising, fighting against Jetstream Sam. You're a cyborg supersoldier with white blood, sword-fighting against other cyborg supersoldiers with white blood, all of whom are ridiculously faster and stronger than a flesh and blood human. Sam, in particular, casually defeats and maims you the first time you meet, and the action in this game is so over-the-top Xtreme that you'd previously swung a 40-ton walking tank by the tail. So you meet Sam for your rematch, and although you're stronger than before, Sam is still almost too fast and skilled for you. Almost. It's a very difficult fight, but in the end you finally mortally wound him, sending a splash of red blood through the air. He slowly collapses, and - wait, RED blood?

That's right, aside from his prosthetic arm, he was entirely organic. No neural enhancements to speed up his reflexes, no steel skin to deflect bullets, no nanomachines to heal his injuries. He was mere flesh and blood, and he was just THAT good. That was a very cool twist.

[danzibr]

Oh yeah, Jetstream Sam. That dude was awesome. Playing as him was... a bit of a letdown.

Metal Gear Solid had that super awesome moment near the end with Gray Fox.

And MGS4 had the return to Shadow Moses Island. Also very cool.

[Thrawn4]

I've experienced lots of great moments, but the ones I find myself thinking about most often comes from Dishonored. You play as Corvo Attano, a soldier who became Royal Protector to a foreign empress. You're forced to watch helplessly as she is assassinated and her daughter is kidnapped, and you are then framed for those events. On the eve of your execution, (the first capital-M Moment) a demon/spirit/god/????? known only as The Outsider appears to you in a dream and offers you power so that you might be able to exact your vengeance - in any manner you see fit. In this dream, you get a haunting glimpse of the Void outside of your world, where time doesn't pass and an enormous whale-like beast, horrific as it is majestic, swims through the aether. In addition to a brand on your left hand that imbues you with magical power, he also gives you a soul imprisoned inside of a human heart, kept beating by a terrible clockwork device.

This heart, when pointed at a place or person, will whisper some of their secrets to you. I spent hours pointing it at civilians ("She starves so that her children can have bread.", ) thugs ("His mother’s dying words to him were: Give us a whiskey, darling."), guardsmen, ("The pain in his head drives him to do unspeakable things."), and my supposed allies, ("He has killed whales and men for profit - and pleasure."), and it was a very clever way of driving home the despair that permeates the city - and indeed, world - that the game is set in. And though it's never explicitly stated in the game, slowly realizing that the soul being tortured and imprisoned in that heart is the woman you were in love with, who bore you a child secretly, who was murdered in front of you, the Empress herself, was almost physically sickening to me.

In games with morality systems, my first playthrough is almost always evil, challenging myself with a paragon ghost/pacifist run the second time. In Dishonored, it is VERY satisfying to be brutal. Of course you have a sword and a pistol, but it doesn't stop there. You can lay proximity mines that explode with razor wire; you can trap a man in a sauna and cook him to death; you can turn their automated defenses against the enemy, instantly vaporizing anybody in the room; You can use a gale-force wind to throw people into a wall and turn them into paste; You can summon a swarm of rats to messily devour any poor bastards in your way; and if you're feeling particularly extravagant, you can stop time as someone shoots at you, take control of that person's body, walk them into the path of the bullet, and unfreeze time, forcing them to kill themselves. So naturally, I did ALL OF THOSE THINGS as I unraveled the conspiracy against my Empress, rescued the twelve-year old heir to her throne (who is revealed to be your daughter), and deposed the tyrant usurper. Then I of course am betrayed and left for dead by my supposed allies, who kidnap the princess once more. So I set off on ANOTHER murderous rampage.


My lone remaining ally, seemingly the only man with a truly good heart in the entire game, brings me to the island stronghold of the evil Admiral. He tells me that he is disgusted by the person I've become, that he owes me nothing more, and that he hopes I meet my fate on this island. Realizing that he's about to fire a pistol into the air to alert the guards, I slit his throat, dump his body into the ocean, and swim to shore. Security is tight, and I'm grievously wounded, needing to expend almost all of my resources in order to survive. Nevertheless I persevere, fighting my way to the top of the lighthouse, killing every one of the traitors if they haven't already turned on each other. I find the Admiral on a ledge at the very top of the lighthouse, holding my young daughter, the only living person that Corvo cares about, as a human shield. Realizing that there's no way he's getting out of this alive, the Admiral decides to rob me of my victory and jump over the edge. I have no spells left. He's too far away to attempt to grab. I desperately fire my last bullet....and miss, watching helplessly as my daughter plunges screaming to her death. I let out a frustrated sigh and wait to reload at the last save, intending to take much better aim this time. After all, I couldn't possibly fail, having come this far....Could I?

And then, the Outsider appears again. He shows me scenes in still life from the city as it descends into chaos and martial law, mocking me and making it very clear that because of my ruthlessness, the rightful queen was dead and an entire empire was mortally wounded by my hands.

I remember staring in disbelief as the credits rolled, eyes burning, feeling somehow BETRAYED by the game. I recovered. I reloaded my last save, playing it again, intending to prove that it was too late and I couldn't have saved the child. This time, I succeeded and I got another ending, but it didn't impact me nearly as much. It didn't feel real, because in that first moment, I'd panicked. When it mattered, I didn't do the right thing. I wasn't GOOD enough. And I put myself in that position by demanding bloody vengeance, by not caring about anyone or anything in my way, believing that because my cause was Right it justified anything I did in pursuit of it. Without realizing it, I'd crossed the line that separated men from monsters, and only too late understood that there ARE no monsters. Only men. And it had cost me everything.

It truly changed the way I think about evil.


Still gives me chills.

And another great moment, somewhat more lighthearted: Metal Gear Rising, fighting against Jetstream Sam. You're a cyborg supersoldier with white blood, sword-fighting against other cyborg supersoldiers with white blood, all of whom are ridiculously faster and stronger than a flesh and blood human. Sam, in particular, casually defeats and maims you the first time you meet, and the action in this game is so over-the-top Xtreme that you'd previously swung a 40-ton walking tank by the tail. So you meet Sam for your rematch, and although you're stronger than before, Sam is still almost too fast and skilled for you. Almost. It's a very difficult fight, but in the end you finally mortally wound him, sending a splash of red blood through the air. He slowly collapses, and - wait, RED blood?

That's right, aside from his prosthetic arm, he was entirely organic. No neural enhancements to speed up his reflexes, no steel skin to deflect bullets, no nanomachines to heal his injuries. He was mere flesh and blood, and he was just THAT good. That was a very cool twist.

Had a similar experience on my second run in Bloodlines. I figured to try bloodthirsty vampire might be amusing. Being a roleplayer I tried to immerse myself... but for some reason, maybe the atmosphere, it struck a chord insight me. I could symphatize more and more with the suppossed morals of my character, zu the point it gut scary. Furthermore, my Dialoge options were limited to violence due to my low humanity. That was when I decided to spend precious XP to bump my humanity, because I as a player grew concerned about myself.
Very eery...

[LibraryOgre]

Fallout 3. I fast-travel to the Jury Street Metro Station and witness a battle royale between some Outcasts, a Super Mutant Abomination, an albino radscorpion, some raiders, and IIRC, some Talon Company Mercs. I just sat back and watched.

[Marillion]

Oh yeah, Jetstream Sam. That dude was awesome. Playing as him was... a bit of a letdown.

Metal Gear Solid had that super awesome moment near the end with Gray Fox.

And MGS4 had the return to Shadow Moses Island. Also very cool.

I can almost recite every line from that Gray Fox scene from memory. The Metal Gear series is chock full of moments. Snake Eater probably has the highest Moment Density, though. Action? Lots of cool hand-to-hand combat, awesome explosions, sharp-shooting, and my favorite rail-shooting sequence ever, hanging on for dear life from a motorcycle as a giant monster-tank smashes through the military base trying to crush you. Boss fights? A guy who vomits BEES, a guy who DISLOCATES his own ARMS to skitter up trees like a spider, the BEST counter-sniping sequence against a photosynthetic senior citizen, a pyromaniac cosmonaut with a jetpack, wading through a river as the souls of all the people you've killed try to drown you, a scenery-chewing sadist who detonates bullets with the electricity his body detonates, and the emotional final confrontation with your former lover/mentor. Plot? Probably the most coherent and straight-forward storyline in the Metal Gear series that nevertheless has some of the most emotionally-charged and tragic twists in a video game. Overall, I'd say it's probably one of the best video game experiences ever crafted.

[Hunter Noventa]

Given its recent resurrection, I'm going to call zoning into Atlas Park in City of Heroes after 6 years, seeing the massive statue and hearing that little bit of music that just sounds so triumphant isn't leaving my memory anytime soon.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

I used to do a lot of MMO's back in my misspent youth. Played Everquest, was a raiding monk, it was a blast. Played up to... I think Depths of Darkhollow, then just kind of gave up. There were many moments that I will carry with me, most of which probably no one will understand anyway. I played WoW briefly, well before Cata came out. I think the last expansion I played was Wrath of the Lich King, so Pandas weren't even a thing yet.

The thing that WoW hit me with was Pamela Redpath. She's cut content now, last I heard, which is a shame. This was the sort of questline that Blizzard used to make back in the day that got players engaged, rather than the Skinner's Box edition churn they're putting out today. For those unaware, I'll link an excellent Music Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LcJXckn0Lo) which tells her tale, but in brief: Girl's father was a guard, was subdued by the initial invasion of the undead, got turned into undead and forced to lead the undead troops into his own hometown. Her spirit still resides in her burned out home, not entirely aware of what happened. As you try to help a ghost find release, you begin to understand the magnitude of what happened. And you end up helping the spirit of her father find a measure of solace, and the two ghosts go off together to wherever ghosts go.

Pamela, herself, is almost insignificant in terms of the overall plot. She's one of countless hundreds of thousands of victims. But how it was presented sent chills up your spine. And in WotLK, when you finally defeat Arthas, the whole guild was shouting and cheering. And then I say over the teamspeak channel "And that, for Pamela Redpath." and the whole channel just goes dead silent a moment in respect.

It is little stories like this that can make an MMO so immersive and memorable. Every time someone tries to beat WoW at their game, this is what critical element they often miss. In their rush to send players off to fetch-quest their way into the leaderboards, they often forget that it is these little sorts of things that can bring people back to your game.

[LansXero]

. And in WotLK, when you finally defeat Arthas, the whole guild was shouting and cheering. And then I say over the teamspeak channel "And that, for Pamela Redpath." and the whole channel just goes dead silent a moment in respect.


What did it for me was in the northern version of Ungoro, where the zombies are dragging the proto-murlocks around by chains. You cant save them, just let them die instead of having to keep suffering. Their quotes are awfully childish: 'take shinies, dont hurt more', 'was I bad? I give more shinies just stop'. They are this ridiculously innocent race from a land shielded from time that add NOTHING to Arthas plan, why the cruelty? I mean, sure, plenty of innocents in Kalimdor and Lordaeron, but those people had a civilization, armies, government, and were between Arthas and whatever screwed up goal he was chasing. But the little things? They did nothing other than eat fish and throw shiny crystals to their altars. Or well, just kill them, whatever. Why torture things that cant even understand why any of it is happening? Ugh.

I just wanted to raid that ******* down so hard after that.

[AdmiralCheez]

The MMO talk just reminded me of so many moments in different games, I'm ashamed I didn't remember them sooner.

Everquest - I only played this one a little bit, piggybacking off of my dad's account. One of my characters didn't do too well, but I remember earning something like 10 levels in a day attacking all the monsters in this one tower just outside the starting area. The other memory of that character was accidentally wandering into a high-level dungeon and dying many times trying to get my body back. Some high-level player decided to help me, but he ended up getting overwhelmed too; it was a tough fight to recover some cheap equipment spread out among 12 different corpses of mine.

Everquest 2 - My first character had so many good moments, but among my favorite were when the game first came out. The class selection was a process. At level 1 you could choose between four archetype classes (fighter, mage, rogue, cleric) and learn the basics of the game that way. At level 10 you chose a specialization, and at level 20 you made your permanent choice of which city you aligned with, which determined your final class. I went the path of fighter, to crusader, to paladin, and the quests to choose your path made it feel so natural, like my character was actually learning from nothing and organically choosing his own destiny.

But then at some point they made the decision to make the game like every other MMO and dropped the whole thing in favor of just choosing your class at the start. Starting a new character never felt the same after that.

Star Wars Galaxies - Probably my favorite moments come from this one. This game is where I truly started roleplaying and started a whole thing for me. The game itself was kinda dull on it's own, but the roleplayers there made it something special. My bounty hunter character had so many adventures that you just couldn't get from the mechanics of the game.

Like the time my character drunkenly harassed a stormtrooper squad of players in a back alley of Mos Eisley, and ended up beaten up, arrested, and transported to Naboo for interrogation regarding connections to the rebellion. And then a botched rescue attempt by a friend ended us both in jail, and his ship getting shot down.

Or the time my guild leader hired me to assassinate another guild leader, and when it came time to do it, he trapped me in the basement of his house until we worked out a deal to mess with the first guild leader.

And then another time, we were farming space XP in orbit of Tatooine, and the game server glitched or something, and spawned in far more pirate fleets around us than usual, so we rolled with it and just said we uncovered an invasion fleet, took out as many as we could, and then fled to "warn" our friends on the surface.

It was a great game.

[Talyn]

Given its recent resurrection, I'm going to call zoning into Atlas Park in City of Heroes after 6 years, seeing the massive statue and hearing that little bit of music that just sounds so triumphant isn't leaving my memory anytime soon.

Welcome back, City of Heroes - for however long it will last.



- For me, one of the things I can remember is, in Bioshock, seeing the board with all the pictures on it and 'would you kindly' scrawled across it. That was when I had to sit back, go 'wait, what?' and really think about what had been going on.

- the second map in Doom 3, when you only have the dinky pistol and a flashlight. You can hear the security forces making fighting retreats all over the map through your radio, hearing people getting murdered and/or turned into zombies and there is nothing you can do about it. Then, as your radio starts to get quieter and quieter are there are fewer people fighting back, and you are stumbling lost through this burning and falling apart facility, a freaking imp crawls through a broken ladder to launch itself at your face. Say what you will about the overall quality of that game, that second level was freaking terrifying.

- playing Duke Nukem 3d, and in the first level realizing that you are in a street in a ruined city that ACTUALLY LOOKED LIKE A STREET IN A RUINED CITY. After Doom, Wolfenstein and Quake, whose level designs were never particularly immersive, seeing an actual city in a shooter game blew my mind

- when you return the healer's lost wedding ring in Quest for Glory, and the old woman just tackles you and gives you a huge hug and kiss in thanks. Not only do you feel like a real hero for the first time, but your on-screen avatar looking embarrassed and just awkwardly sidling out of the room afterwards while the narration snarks at you is just fantastic.

- the firs time I accidentally sailed over a reef in Sid Meier's Pirates! and actually tore a hole in the bottom of my boat and it sank! The music and art as you wash ashore on the reef, just looking at the sunset and feeling like a fool, made me honestly inspired to learn how to sail for real and do better. (Also, how many games make you learn the best points of sail for different rigs of ships or have you use an actual navigation device and the freaking height of the sun to make you find your latitude - which you will then have to mark on the actual paper map of the Caribbean the game came with? I learned SO MUCH from that game.)