Most touching game moments (spoilers ahead)

[Jeivar]

Simple enough: In between explosions and puzzles, games sometimes manage to tug at our heartstrings. I'm curious what the other favorites are, besides mine. Which are as follows:

Baldur's Gate 2: Jaheira is my favorite NPC in the game, and while I quite like the romance subplot with her, my favorite moment isn't the conclusion of that. It comes after she's been doing a whole lot of mourning for her murdered husband, and suddenly realizes that she's been walking with her head downcast for far too long, blind to the beauty of nature and life all around her. It's the moment when she truly begins to move on, and it's really well written.
It doesn't hurt that it gives you the chance to say: "You know, you're beautiful when you're having epiphanies." :smallbiggrin:

Knights of the Old Republic: Saving Bastila. Just all around a very well done and powerful scene, given all that has come before. Revan finally gets to return the favor. My favorite moment is when she's given up all hope, and I convince her to recite the Jedi Code, one last time. "Strange . . . but even now I find comfort in these words."

Jade Empire: Two closely connected scenes, really. First, after being murdered and fighting her way through ghosts and demons to return to the living world and finish the job, my Wu The Lotus Blossom looks up to see her friends flying in to join her. The music really makes this scene, I think.
Soon after that, the completion of the romance subplot with Sun Lian/Silk Fox. The haughty princess drops her guard and admits that for all the supposed power of her station, apparently losing Wu for all time left her "as helpless as a lamb", and nervously asks if the journey through has changed her in some way. "Do you . . . still care for you Heavenly Lily?"
What can I say? I like big explosions and macho badassery, but sometimes I can be a total sap. :smallredface:

Metal Gear Solid: It was really the first game I played where the villains had actual depth, and Sniper Wolf's soliloquy about her childhood and subsequent life really got to me. It changed her from a creepy, psycho, stalker-like killer to a truly tragic figure. And then she died. Also, whichever way it goes, Snake's scene with Meryl on top of Metal Gear Rex is very powerful.

[Volug]

Your lack of one of the final cutscenes from Okami disturbs m-*Is shot by anti-fanboy police*

[valadil]

I'll get the obvious one out of the way. Aeris's Death in FF7. There, I said it. Now stop talking about it.

I also found Kratos defending his family at the end of God of War 1 to be touching in a surreal and unexpected kind of way.

[Oregano]

Mass EffectChoosing who out of Kaidan and Ashley dies. Sad moment.

You may want to put a spoiler in the title.

[Destro_Yersul]

Aye, this be a spoiler-filled thread.

One of my favourites is from Bioshock. The end cutscene where you save the little sisters.

I also liked the Light-side ending from the Force Unleashed.

[Raz_Fox]

The last battle in Hordes of the Underdark, with Deekin the Kobold Bard.

Deekin at first listens to Mephistopholes and prepares to fight you, but if you've treated Deekin well then you have the option to tell Deekin one last thing.

You: Alright, Deekin, you can go. But I'll miss you.
Deekin: ...Boss...miss Deekin? THEN DEEKIN NOT BETRAY HIM!!
Meph: What?
Deekin: You may be bigger and stronger than master, but DEEKIN NOT LIKE YOU!!

I love Deekin, and that scene just broke my heart.

[Neon Knight]

MGS 3: Killing the Boss.

Hitman: Blood Money: Killing the theme park owner always bugged me.

Half Life 2: Episode 2 The death of Eli Vance.

[warty goblin]

Aye, Mass Effect is a good one for the emotionalizing. Personally, even over the afformentioned scene, I found some of the side quests to pack a fairly hefty punch. Specifically the one about the Marine's body, and Corporal Toombs. That one just, just, so tragic- and there's nothing I could do.

[SurlySeraph]

Metal Gear Solid: It was really the first game I played where the villains had actual depth, and Sniper Wolf's soliloquy about her childhood and subsequent life really got to me. It changed her from a creepy, psycho, stalker-like killer to a truly tragic figure. And then she died.

This. And in the fight against Rex, when Gray Fox finally gets crushed while urging you to fight on. And in MGS2 when Fortune turns the missiles away. And in MGS4 when Big Boss reappears and tells Snake he's proud of him.

In Half-Life 2: Episode 1, when you've just been dug out of the rubble and Alyx rushes over and hugs you. The first-person perspective helps.

In Baldur's Gate II, redeeming Yoshimo's soul.

[BanjoTheClown]

When all those black mages died in FF IX. Oh and Kuja.
:smallfrown:

[Morty]

There are several of them in Planescape: Torment, I'll list those who were the most touching ones. Big spoilers ahead.

Reading your first incarnation's sensation stone in Fortress of Regrets and reading Deionarra's sensation stone. Amazing how moving can a wall of text that's not even an interactive dialogue be.

[Jeivar]

I'm delighted to get so many replies so soon, but maybe we should all put the games we're bringing up in bold so people have a chance to avert their eyes from spoilers.

I thought of two more:

The Suffering: Strangely enough, this brutal, insanity-filled killfest managed to touch me with the good ending, where the ghosts of Torque's family all confront him and make their peace with him. One last battle later, Torque's repressed memories resurface, and he realizes that he DIDN'T kill them in an insane rage, and is completely innocent. He then sails away, as a flashback of his wife tells him "Love now and always, Carmen."

Vampire, the Masquerade: Bloodlines: As dark as the game world is, there is one possible moment of genuine kindness and humanity. And from a monster, no less. Your vampire character comes upon a woman who is dying of a plague, and who's new boyfriend, unbeknownst to her, has just died of the same plague. If you're a Malkavian, you can use your Delirium power to make her perceive you as the boyfriend, and comfort her in her last moments. After she breathes her last, the Malk says (IIRC) "Fly away, little butterfly", and promises revenge.

[warty goblin]

The ending of Republic Commando. I honestly can't ever remember getting that pissed at a game character as I was at Advisor at the end of that last mission. And then Yoda shows up and we're supposed to be all "oh, Yoda! Yay!" Personally I say screw Yoda sideways with my anti-armor attachment, I want Sev back.

Also, a sequel if you don't mind too much...

[Myatar_Panwar]

Mass EffectChoosing who out of [white doesn't work on quotes]. Sad moment.

You may want to put a spoiler in the title.

In all honesty, this was more frustrating for me. I started the game planning on doing the romantic relationship with Ashley, but then I learned that she was an utterly annoying, overly racist little girl... But I kept it up anyway. Then I am forced to to kill off Kaiden who I liked as a person drastically more than ashley. Sad moment indeed.

And the way Ashley shot Wrex in the back of his head also pissed the hell out of me. I really wish I saved Kaiden instead.

[Querzis]

Phoenix Wright: trials and tribulation. I'd list them all but I'd probably be here all night. Of course, all the Phoenix wright games have lots of sad and touching moment, its games about murder case after all, but Trials and Tribulations is definitly the saddest game ever...god I hate Dalia Hawthorne so much for everything she did.

Advance wars: days of ruin also had a lots of those. Its a post-apocalyptic universe after all. But the worse one was probably when Captain Brenner died.

[Tengu_temp]

Man, I'm a real hound for these. Here are some from the top of my head, although I'll probably remember many, many more later.

Final Fantasy 5
Galuf's death in a heroic sacrifice. Doubles as a Crowning Moment of Awesome as he manages to single-handedly kick Exdeath's ass before collapsing.

Final Fantasy 6
Cyan trying to - and failing - run after the train that takes his deceased family to the afterlife.
Dr Cid's death and Celes' attempted suicide. Probably the most heart-wrenching scene in the history of computer games, ever. The parallels to her opera scene make it even sadder.
Setzer's flashback about Daryl as you go down the stairs in her tomb to recover the Falcon - especially the part where he starts the airship, Falcon's theme starts to play, and a ray of hope appears in the ruined, despaired world.
Locke's all-too-short reunion with his girlfriend.
Shadow's death at the end of the game, when he has done everything he wanted, stays in the crumbling tower and orders Interceptor to stay with Relm.

Final Fantasy 7
Aeris' death. Yeah, who hasn't heard about this one?
Red XIII aka Nanaki finding his father's petrified corpse and learning that he wasn't a coward, but a brave warrior who fought in the defense of his village up until the very end.
The Rocket Town flashback. Seeing Cid struggle between fulfilling his life-long dream and saving a life is really sad. When he does the second you also see that the foul-mouthed and rude pilot it actually a good guy underneath that shell.
The conclusion of Tifa helping Cloud become himself again, when you learn that Cloud wasn't the Soldier, but the Shin-Ra mook. Not only the plot suddenly starts to make perfect sense, but it also shows how much do these two actually care for each other.

Final Fantasy 8
The romance between Squall and Rinoa is usually very annoying, but there is one part where it actually works - and that's when Squall is saving Rinoa from death by catching her in the outer space.

Final Fantasy 9
When the Black Mages try to defend Vivi from the Black Waltz, and he throws them off the airship to their doom. While Vivi watches. You really, really want to kick his butt afterwards!
You Are Not Alone. Just... You Are Not Alone. The scene when all Zidane's friends cure him from emo by fighting along his side is probably the best one in this game. And surely the one with best background music.

Chrono Trigger
The blue robots kicking the crap out of Robo, while he refuses to defend himself and calls them friends. It's worst at the first gameplay, when you think they have killed him. Like with the Black Waltz example above, you really want to make them suffer in the boss battle afterwards!
Frog's flashback before the venture to Magus' lair, when you really see how much does he regret Cyrus' death... and then the sad background music gets silent, Frog Glenn draws Masamune, his awesome leitmotif starts to play, and he cuts a passage to Magus' castle in a mountain - he's back, bitch! Best scene in this game.
Another example with Frog - when he mourns Cyrus at his grave, only for Cyrus' ghost to appear and tell him that he has become a great knight. And then Masamune gets a powerup.

Xenogears
Maria's confrontation with her (now fused with a Gear and turned into a war machine) father. Especially the part when he regains enough of his previous self to tell her how much he loves her and asks her to kill him. What makes this battle even more touching and epic is the music - Flight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GvpjwTM8p0) is one of the best, most heroic battle themes I've ever heard.
I'm 100% sure there are more such moving moments in Xenogears, but I don't remember more of them at the moment. And haven't witnessed everything, as I haven't finished the game yet (stupid second disk).

Planescape: Torment
The scenes when the Big Bad confronts each of your friends alone, and you see they're so loyal in you that they are willing to fight a hopeless battle, and die, for you.
And, soon after, the good ending, when you ressurect all of your companions and bid them farewell before descending to Hell and fighting an endless war there. "What can change the nature of a man?"

Metal Gear Solid
The deaths of Psycho Mantis and (especially) Sniper Wolf. You shouldn't feel so bad for cold-blooded killers! Especially cold-blooded killers you killed yourself!
Meryl getting shot and her talk with you afterwards. Especially sad if you give up during the interrogation and she dies because of you.

Metal Gear Solid 2
Emma's death. Damn, universe really likes to kick Otacon in the balls, doesn't it?

Metal Gear Solid 3
If you played this game, you know what will it be about. If you haven't played this game, it will be a complete spoiler to you anyway.

Super Robot Wars OG 2
Daitetsu's death - the (seemingly...) invincible old admiral gave orders till the very end, refusing to die until his forces defeated the much more numerous enemy. His funeral was so sad even Katina cried (probably for the first time in her life).
The whole battle at the Earth Cradle - but especially Ouka's death. Wired to her mech and doomed to died in a few hours, when she regains her memories (thanks to Dr Cero who finally grew a pair) and reunites with Latooni, Arado and Seolla, she sacrifices herself to kill the &$%&*^% witch who caused her brother and sisters so much suffering, once and for all. Sniff.

Disgaea
The ending to Red Moon, when Laharl learns who the pink prinny was - even with the way he acts and talks, he's still a kid, and he misses his mother.
And the good ending, when Laharl is willing to give his life up to bring Flonne back.

[DraPrime]

In Starcraft when Fenix died was sad. I had gotten attached to the bastard, and being ordered to kill him made me despise Kerrigan so much.

And while this isn't touching so much as incredibly cathartic, the moment when in Gothic you can go to the Old Camp and kill EVERYONE there is so damn enjoyable. You get to eliminate so many of the bastards that irritated you.

[Enlong]

Secret of Mana: when you finally, FINALLY make your way to Popoi's village, having finally cured the sprite of his amnesia, and are expecting a happy reunion, only to find that everyone has died. It helps that there's a boss fight afterwards. DIE STUPID EVIL CHICKEN THING!!!

And then when you prove your way through the Pure Lands and find yourselves on a cliff overlooking the Mana Tree, only for the Fortress to destroy it in a flash of light. The heartbreaking revelation that the Tree was Randi's mother just makes you want to kill Thanatos even more.

Illusion of Gaia: When Hamlet sacrificed himself to feed the tribe and save Will's party from death. YES IT WAS TOUCHING, don't laugh at the poor piggy...

Tales of Symphonia: Corrine's death. *sniff* why Corrine? He was so cute and fluffy...

[Khanderas]

The prayer scene in Okami.

Several moments in FF6, noticable the Doma scenes (damn you Kefka, you trecherous poisonous bastard, and poor Cyan and the train scene).

[Setra]

Sad touching or happy touching?

Sad... hmm I thought the scene in Shadow Hearts 2 Where the resurrection of Alice fails was very sad.

As for Happy? Hmm... I can't think of any off the top of my head.

I just realized I haven't played a new (non-mmo) game in a long time.

[Dragor]

Twilight Princess:

Carrying a wounded Midna on your back across a raining Hyrule Field to some tear-inducing piano. She was so vunerable and weak and the situation felt so dire that I cared so much for her at that point, more than any other time in the game.

[Ravens_cry]

Grim Fandango


Manuel Calavera has just said goodbye to his best fried/driver demon Glottis, He is now in the seat of the of the coach on the train to the Ninth Underworld, with the love of his death, Mercedes Colomar. They are waving out the window of the train when Mercedes turns to him and asks 'Manny, when we get to the next world. . ." she pauses, and Manny puts his hand on hers, "What is it, Angel?" she looks him and ask, with a certain amount of fear, "Are we going to be together?" Manny confidently says " You know sweetheart, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that nobody knows what's going to happen at the end of the line," holding her hands up to where his heart was, "so you might as well enjoy the trip." she closes the blinds on the train window, and they both lean together for a kiss, as the train leaves the platform, and into the portal to the Ninth Underworld, never to return, as Glottis and his new friends friends wave goodbye for the last time,
leaving a bone mariachi band playing around a small stone lined pond.

I think Grim Fandango is the most touching and beautiful graphic adventure game I have played so far.

[Muzzafar]

In Starcraft when Fenix died was sad.
Death of Tassadar when he sacrificed himself to finish the Overmind touched me a lot more.

[Triaxx]

Legend of Dragoon:
Lavitz' death. I wanted to kill Lloyd so badly. Then when Lloyd died, I felt cheated.

Final Fantasy 2 US:

No mention for the twins? Sacrificing themselves to save the others so they could defeat the evil?

[Cubey]

Final Fantasy 2 US:

No mention for the twins? Sacrificing themselves to save the others so they could defeat the evil?

It might be because they get better... or that they were annoying in general.

[DraPrime]

Death of Tassadar when he sacrificed himself to finish the Overmind touched me a lot more.

Yeah that was sad too. But Tassadar dies on his own terms. Fenix has to be killed by you, and damnit I had gotten attached to the guy over the many missions.

[Terraoblivion]

And not only that, several characters had already sacrificed themselves. Also the need for that particular solution to the crushing walls was never apparent to me when i played the game.

[NEO|Phyte]

Homeworld
The third mission, where you return to Kharak to find it burning, everyone dead except the 600,000 colonists in the cryo trays. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJvYZXUT5Bk)

Beyond Good and Evil
Towards the end, when the lighthouse is destroyed. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYsPSm3ojQ8) (starts at 3:20, couldn't find a youtube of JUST the event)

[MeklorIlavator]

Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance
Not only does General Clark die in the opening trailer, but in the 4th mission Elite Commander Dostya dies as well. Then Dr. Brackman comes on and asks you to return her body, and its really clear how she was like a daughter to him. It doesn't help her killer is this really annoying character from the first game who basically blackmails his own faction. Killing him in the next mission is oh so satisfying, but still, why must all the nice characters from the first game die?

[Dhavaer]

Mass Effect: I Remember Me.

[Nychta]

I know not all my friends consider this touching, but
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core
When Zack dies, on his way to see Aerith. This is just after we see him receive her final letter, and realise that the Turks have been holding Aerith's other letters for ages. I don't know. I found Zack likeable.

[Dihan]

The death of Mia Fey from the first Phoenix Wright game was sad. Or at least I found it sad.

[jamroar]

The ending of Fallout 1

Where the hero returns home to learn he is no longer welcome in the Vault he saved, and wanders off alone into the radioactive wasteland as the now ironic song "Maybe" plays over the credits.


The ending of Planescape Torment

Where the Nameless One says his farewell to each of his friends before shuffling off the mortal coil for the final time to bear the consequences of all his past sins as the newest conscript in the eternal Blood War.


The Bolivian Army ending (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BolivianArmyEnding) of Phantasy Star II where

After long hard fight and pyrrhic victory against the final boss Mother Brain (you condemn your world to a new dark age in order to save it), you are unexpectedly confronted with several hundred earthmen who reveal they set up the whole thing to begin with as a prelude to an invasion. They then attack your party en masse as the credits roll, as your party members shout out their defiant last lines in the game, with an implied mutual TPK.


The "true" (but bad) ending of Tactics Ogre - the Knight of Lodis

Where you learn Alphonse's real name in the epilogue and realize that the dark events of the game capped by the loss of Eleanor turned the initially idealistic and naive young knight into a cynical bitter man, and that Eleanor sacrificed herself to redeem the soul of a fallen angel, only to inadvertently push Alphonse himself over the edge onto a dark road, someday to be a major villain of Tactics Ogre: LUCT.

[Texas Jedi]

Baldur's Gate 2: I thought the moment Jaheria finds Kalide (spelling?) murdered. The character's anquish is very evident in the character's voice. I always get a shiver when I play thru the first dungeon because of that.

Final Fantasy IV: When Palom and Poram sacrifice themselves to save you and Tellah's valient effort to save them. I always kinda liked the twins and I didn't want to see them turn into statues.

When Rydia's village burns down and you find out that you killed her mother. That was very unexpected and heart wrenching.

When Edge has to fight his parents and they wake up mid fight. I always liked that part of the game. It makes Edge one of the most human characters other than Kain.

Dragonquest IV: When the hero's best friend transforms to look like you so the hero can get away from the monsters was a great scene

Warcraft III: I was so moved by the scene when Arthas gets Frostmourn. That was the only time that I really wished that you could change a characters fate.

The movie with Gromm and the demon. I watched that movie over and over again. I also watched the end of the human campaign over and over again. I felt so angry towards Arthas for picking the easy way out.

Starcraft: The moment you find out Kerrigan is getting left behind and the other human character gets pissed off. I was happy when you got to kill the prick that did it to you though. :smallbiggrin:

[Khosan]

Starcraft: The moment you find out Kerrigan is getting left behind and the other human character gets pissed off. I was happy when you got to kill the prick that did it to you though. :smallbiggrin:

Actually, there's no retribution for that. Arcturus is still alive and well.

[Texas Jedi]

Actually, there's no retribution for that. Arcturus is still alive and well.


Not if you play the expansion. :smallcool: I forgot if it was in the original game or the expansion that you dismantle the Confederacy.

[Headless_Ninja]

OK, may not seem that touching, but always gets me:

Half-Life 2: Episode 2: Alyx and I are talking to Magnusson via some kind of videochat. Magnusson says something like
'If my calculations are correct - and I have no reason to doubt myself - then...'.
At that moment, Alyx looks over at me, rolls her eyes and grins. That single expression just seemed so real, so fluid - it was like Valve's much-hyped realistic faces were actually living up to the spiel. That moment is why I was mortified when she nearly died.

[SurlySeraph]

Not if you play the expansion. :smallcool: I forgot if it was in the original game or the expansion that you dismantle the Confederacy.

The Terran Dominion, you mean. And yes, you pretty much cripple Arcturus's empire, but he himself is fine.

[Texas Jedi]

The Terran Dominion, you mean. And yes, you pretty much cripple Arcturus's empire, but he himself is fine.

He lives thru it? Shoot I need to go back and play it again. I know all of the main games plots. It has been a few (decade) years since I played the expansion.

[Destro_Yersul]

Speaking of Starcraft,
The Death of Alexei Stukov.

[Drascin]

Final Fantasy 6
Dr Cid's death and Celes' attempted suicide. Probably the most heart-wrenching scene in the history of computer games, ever. The parallels to her opera scene make it even sadder.

Very seconded. First time I had tears rolling down my cheeks while playing a console game.


Disgaea
The ending to Red Moon, when Laharl learns who the pink prinny was - even with the way he acts and talks, he's still a kid, and he misses his mother.
And the good ending, when Laharl is willing to give his life up to bring Flonne back.

It's worse on the Normal ending. He's not simply willing to. He does. And then comes back as a prinny. But yes, this is still a powerful scene despite the amount of times I've watched it. "If there is a God, may he hear my plea...!" Rock on, Harlie, rock on :smallfrown:

Anyway, apart from the huge moments of drama, I also like the little stuff, the bits that don't have grandiose dialogue or music but are still wrenching.

For example, in Cave Story

after you, together with Curly, beat the core. The Doctor inundates the room you're in, and you start drowning. You can run towards the exit, but you can't make it in time, so you die.

...only, after the black death screen flashes, you suddenly come to. You have a bubble shield - the one Curly was using. She's there at the bottom, inert. She just sacrificed herself for you, and she did so offscreen. Which only served to underline the un-epicness of her death. It was a simple choice between herself and you... and she chooses you. Even the music's stopped, and you can only hear your own steps as you get out of the room.

Forget the whole worldconquering stuff. The reason I wanted the Doctor dead and his ashes disintegrated is this. And for Momoko and King.

Thankfully, you can at least get Curly to live if you are heading towards the secret ending

[Khanderas]

how could I have not included the movie with Grom Hellscream from Warcraft III ?
Now I gotta go watch it again (Problebly had it on repeat 10 times in a row first time I saw it).

[DigoDragon]

Wild Arms 1:
The king's funeral near the beginning of the game, after the demon attack. The way they play the music and split the screen with credits... it just made it feel like a little movie instead of just a game.

[Airk]

I always cry at the end of Phantasy Star 4. It's such a bittersweet ending.

Also, the Gondor Calls for Aid (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GondorCallsForAid) moment towards the end of Skies of Arcadia where like...everyone shows up to help.

Also, yes, the prayer scene at the end of Okami.

[Cristo Meyers]

Also, the Gondor Calls for Aid (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GondorCallsForAid) moment towards the end of Skies of Arcadia where like...everyone shows up to help.


That scene is so many different versions of awesome.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Somebody already said Metal Gear Solid 3...and Final Fantasy VI. Damn.

[DarknessLord]

Final Fantasy 8
The romance between Squall and Rinoa is usually very annoying, but there is one part where it actually works - and that's when Squall is saving Rinoa from death by catching her in the outer space.


Unless you end up failing it six times, and can't really appreciate the cut scene afterward cause you're just glad you're done... Errr... So I've heard... (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OrSoIHeard)

Personally, I liked the Aerie romance in BGII, and while there are some stuff that should be nice in any of the lines, the Resurrection, right before the final battle, was the semi-final LD, where she asks to sleep (if you know what I mean (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfYouKnowWhatIMean)) with you, and the right (or better, I don't remember which) answer is to say no (but nicely), and you end up just sleeping (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/InnocentCohabitation), together, that scene, plus the one that SHOULD play after you wake up from your rest (sometimes, it doesn't, and it plays a week or two later instead), I found really sweet.
Then there's the whole irony with this scene given that in ToB...
She's the only one of the three female love interests that will have your baby (ingame at least, I don't remember the epilogues).
That's right, the one you DIDN'T sleep with in the previous game, is the one who will have your child. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IAmNotMakingThisUp)

[DariusAPB]

All this mention of Baldurs gate 2 and not a single Imoen moment from either of the two games. I mean come on, right after You leave Candlekeep the "Hey, it's me, Imoen" moment says it all.


However, I will trump all of that anyway with Icewind Dale.

Seldarines hand anyone? (Entire plot arc) I consider that one of the most well written arcs ever, As well a the drow woman later on. I remember finding the drow responsible for the fall of S.H. and wanting so badly to tear his throat out of his rear end. I was furious when he teleported away, and when i found him again.... Yes, it was bloody.

I know I am in a minority, when I say that i think IWD is way way a better game than BG1 or 2. But I love it, the story and writing make it less about the party characters, more about the NPCs, the music and artwork are just... better than anything. Truly a fantastic game. I wish i could say the same for IWD2...


HK 47's definition of love.

NWN's Aribeth, her fall and possible redemption in HOTU.... a few of the endings of that were... special.
NWN2. Both the Jerro's for different reasons. Anything with Elanee.

Mass effect: the choice between Kaiden or Ashley, of course. The dead marine, Toombs, Julia, Wrex.... Heck, the rachni queen. That game does emotions well. By the end i was even sympathising with Saren.
Also, my interpretation of the Quarian opera your character hears in the geth stronghold. I think that the Geth are tragic villians, in that they only fought the Quarians in self defence, secretly since they are sentient A.I. They love them. The Entire Prothean race.

Back to BG2TOB.. Saravoks good endiing.
Heck you know what? I am just gonna say Bioware. Most touching game moments, anything by bioware.

Halo3, Cortana, a certain characters death near the end.
A certain character's death an episode or two before that too.
"were it so easy".

Jedi knight, the light side death of Yun. ("He is a Jedi.... he deserves.. a battle.... ack")

JK2 Jan's supposed death.
Unreal2: All your friends die.
Unreal1: reading some of the logs.

Soldier of Fortune 1. Your partner's sucky death
Soldier of Fortune 2. Your partner's sucky death

Lastly Final liberation, in a cutscene i never actually saw in game.
Captain Agrippa "The gunships are destroyed, there is no energy to reserve teleport, leave orbit now". Comms officer: "Itis done, Brother Captain". Agrippa: "Hail to the emperor..<smile>" Planet: "boom".

[Atomsized]

Golden Sun: When i finally beat Satrous and Mernardi using everything i had full blast until i was so shocked that i had to fight another consecutive fight afterwards against a 2 headed dragon approx 20 times the size of your party and that almost every move it had deals damage to your entire party. Also, it would attack twice in a turn (:smallsigh:) and like i said, my party was battered up during that previous fight.

Ok, so maybe that wasn't exactly touching, but to me, it was touching in a shocking way.

Secret of Mana/Sword of Mana: Like Enlong said above, but also with that dust covered robot that wishes he had a real life. Also, how the villians were brutal and would stop at nothing to take over the world (or something like that, it has been ages since i played that game)

[SilentNight]

The ending of Republic Commando. I honestly can't ever remember getting that pissed at a game character as I was at Advisor at the end of that last mission. And then Yoda shows up and we're supposed to be all "oh, Yoda! Yay!" Personally I say screw Yoda sideways with my anti-armor attachment, I want Sev back.

Also, a sequel if you don't mind too much...

Agreed. Also FFX which I never saw the end of thanks to a glitch after the second-to-last boss but was still touching.

[DarknessLord]

All this mention of Baldurs gate 2 and not a single Imoen moment from either of the two games. I mean come on, right after You leave Candlekeep the "Hey, it's me, Imoen" moment says it all.
The thing with Immy and me is that, her whole emo thing at the start of the game, is perfectly justified, except it happened between games (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NotAsYouKnowThem). That's fine on it's own, makes for a good story and all that, until you get to the point where you have to kill her, only you don't, cause fans were so pissed when they found out about it, they took it out at the last second. Once again, fine, they're trying to make the game more like what the fans want. However, after that point, they put so little dialogue back in for her, that it was basically like having another PC for most of the OC, only minus cool god powers. That' why I don't really have that many moments with Immy, she's just not in it enough. She is better in ToB, though.



I know I am in a minority, when I say that i think IWD is way way a better game than BG1 or 2. But I love it, the story and writing make it less about the party characters, more about the NPCs, the music and artwork are just... better than anything. Truly a fantastic game. I wish i could say the same for IWD2...
That's WHY you're in the minority, I'm not saying you're wrong, that's perfectly understandable, but a lot of people love BGII because of how much personality and how fun all the party characters are.

[Neon Knight]

The ending of Republic Commando. I honestly can't ever remember getting that pissed at a game character as I was at Advisor at the end of that last mission. And then Yoda shows up and we're supposed to be all "oh, Yoda! Yay!" Personally I say screw Yoda sideways with my anti-armor attachment, I want Sev back.

Also, a sequel if you don't mind too much...

Seconded. Twice over. So Quadrupled.

[Malachite]

How about the ending of Shadow of the Colossus? The PC's going around the country defeating all these massive enemies and slowly becoming corrupted all to bring back his love, and then the ending hits you. Perhaps it's just that I saw this video first, set to Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. Major spoilers for the game, obviously.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_qBTdDZpGMY

[Wraith]

The ending of Fallout 1

Where the hero returns home to learn he is no longer welcome in the Vault he saved, and wanders off alone into the radioactive wasteland as the now ironic song "Maybe" plays over the credits.


Excellent choice - when I first saw this scene, it felt like a kick in the nuts. All that effort, all that sacrifice, all the things you've seen and done... for THIS!?

In the same game, I was almost traumatized when...
...Dogmeat stepped on a mine in the Missile Base. That dog survived knife-wounds to the head, miniguns to the gut and dodged grenades for weeks on end after tearing into Super Mutants and Armoured Battle Robots with his bare teeth - only to hit a trap and be snuffed out while loyally following his master into the endgame. :smallfrown:

Next is Tales of Phantasia...
1: Being sent back in time, forced to leave your friend to (apparently) die.
2: Archie's long-lost Mother being executed to save her daughter.
3: Cless volunteering to sleep on the floor to protect Mint's modesty... And she gently drapes a blanket over him before she goes to sleep herself.

And an unlikely candidate, Unreal 2...
...listening to the farewell messages form your crew after being the only one to reach an escape pod.

Most dramatic moments in Baldur's Gate 2 and ToB can also be counted, for me - all 3 of the Romances were quite well done, the relationship with Imoen and the other NPC's, even the motivation for Irenicus - I loved them all. Good times.

[Tengu_temp]

Next is Tales of Phantasia...

2: Archie's long-lost Mother being executed to save her daughter.



Um, doesn't she survive? I recall her and Arche reuniting in the ending.

The mention of SoC reminded me:
The ending to Ico, when Yorda puts unconscious Ico in the boat and pushes it down the stream, saving him from the collapsing castle. Especially powerful when combined with the song in the background... and if you're not glad when in the epilogue Ico finds Yorda on the beach, you don't have a soul. Especially when you finish the game for the second time - who'd have thought two kids eating a watermelon can be such a moving image?

[Wraith]

She does, but at the time it's implied that she's taken away and killed before Arche can fully realise who she was - same way that Chester is apparently left to die, but the Party returns to save him about 10 seconds after they originally left.

You might even consider the actual reunion to be another touching moment :smalltongue:

[Kimusabe]

These are the best three I can think of right now

FF7 Crisis Core When Angeal died, when Aerith is waiting in the church for Zack to return, and especially when Zack Died at the end.

Half Life 2 Episode 2 When the Hunter Stabs Alyx, and also when Eli is killed

Devil May Cry 4 When Nero and Dante part ways after the Savior is defeated and when Nero attempts to reach Kyrie inside the Savior

[Colmarr]

Mass Effect: The final cutscene with the Normandy taking out Sovereign and you trapped under the rubble almost made me cry.

Fallout 1: The ending mentioned above. I'm forever haunted by that song. It's funny how much a single piece of music can represent a game.

Bioshock: The nice ending was touching.

Half-life (the original):I was awestruck when the game let me choose whether Gordon accepted or rejected G-man's offer.

[Staven]

Originally Posted by warty goblin
The ending of Republic Commando. I honestly can't ever remember getting that pissed at a game character as I was at Advisor at the end of that last mission. And then Yoda shows up and we're supposed to be all "oh, Yoda! Yay!" Personally I say screw Yoda sideways with my anti-armor attachment, I want Sev back.

Also, a sequel if you don't mind too much...

Thirded, or whatever. He was a lovable little sociopath.

Mass Effect
I'm going to vouch for the "who do you choose" scene from Mass Effect (I chose Ashley. Maybe she's xenophobic, but I didn't like seeing her die), along with the second to last part of the romantic subplot with Liara (the most likable of your choices). Also, Saren's suicide, if you play your cards right, is a little touching too.

All I can think of right now.

[Ganurath]

Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion: Marten's sacrifice didn't really impact me. What touched me, hurt me, was being ordered to kill the only family the character ever really has a chance of having in the Dark Brotherhood campaign when you wipe out the Sanctuary.

Shivering Isles: Was I the only one who was unnerved by the desolation of The Fringe? Seeing the Gatekeeper restored was especially satisfying... Especially since I got to finish off that dunmer backstabber personally.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Shinjiro's
death in Persona 3. I did not see that coming. Aside from the massive drama of the moment, there's the reactions from the team, the horribleness of everyone else, even the principal's crappy yet heartfelt eulogy. Really makes me appreciate the writing, translation, and voice acting in this game.

Also, I accidentally left the bastard with a Vitality Ring on. There's 200,000 yen down the drain. Nevermind, found it.


What makes this worse is that I've had other parts of Persona 3 spoiled for me, the thoughts of which are so tearjerking that it's a struggle to keep playing. I'll let you know if they end up choking me up when I get to them.

[Enlong]

From Metal Gear Solid 2.

"Hal, I miss you."

Poor Otacon. *sniff* You just want to hug the poor guy.

[KillianHawkeye]

Illusion of Gaia
-The scene where Will and the Princess are stranded on a raft in the middle of the ocean and almost starve to death. It's like the first time in the game she stops being such a biatch.
-Also, when Will finally finds out what happened to his father.

Final Fantasy 4
-Finally getting to Damcyan just in time to see the place get bombed by Baron's airships, followed by the Anna's death scene in the throne room.
-The scene where Edward struggles to get out of bed and lurch to the other side of the room to get his harp, brushing off the attending nurses, so he can save your party from the Dark Elf with the power of song.
-Light Cecil vs Dark Cecil at the summit of Mt. Ordeals.
-When Dark Knight Cecil defends the Child Rydia from Baron's soldiers after carrying her through the desert to Kaipo.
-Curing Rosa of the desert fever.
-Rydia telling a young phantom beast that they're not so differant from humans.
-At the end when all of your friends and companions at the Tower of Wishes send the party their energy.
-The scene where Golbez beats Cecil down and kidnaps Rosa, and later when you finally rescue her at the Tower of Zot.
-When Cid sacrifices himself so that the Enterprise can escape the Red Wings and return to the surface world.

Final Fantasy 6
-Helping Terra regain her confidence in the ruined world, and when the orphans of Mobliz come to accept her after seeing her morphed Esper form.
-When Kefka interrupts the peace treaty between General Leo and the rogue Espers, followed by Leo's futile last stand.
-The scene when the party finally confronts Kefka at the very end of the game, and they tell him all their individual reasons for wanting to defend the world from such a maniacal psychopath.
-The flashback of how Rachel lost her memory, and her family tossing Locke out of the town, after they had agreed to get married.
-Dressing Gau up in normal clothes and taking him to meet his crazy, estranged father, who refuses to recognize his own son.
-The flashback of Maduin trying to save Madonna and baby Terra, even though he knows they'll probably be trapped outside in the real world once the Espers' world is sealed.
-The flashbacks between Edgar and Sabin about how their father died, and how they settled the succession with a coin toss. Also, Sabin's reaction when he later learns that the coin Edgar used was rigged.
-When everyone realizes that Terra might disappear along with the other Espers if they go through with their plan of destroying the Goddess statues.
-Any time when Shadow abruptly leaves the party.
-In my game, when Interceptor's Wild Fang struck the finishing blow against the Guardian in Kefka's Tower. :smallbiggrin: That was awesome!

Final Fantasy 10
-When Yuna and the rest of the party learn the truth about Sin and the Final Summoning.
-When we find out that Auron has really been dead all this time.
-When Tidus learns that his Zanarkand (and he himself) is just a dream and he can never go home.
-When Tidus learns what really happened to his father Jecht.
-The scene where they try to rescue Yuna from her forced marriage, only to find she's been going along with it in order to get close enough to banish Seymour.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
-When you find Link's uncle dying beneath Hyrule Castle, even though he somehow gets better at the end of the game.
-When Princess Zelda is kidnapped, and you bust in just in time to see her getting sacrificed by the evil wizard (I can't believe I forgot how to spell his name!).

Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
-At the end, when Link wakes up after the island vanishes and sees a seagull and is reminded of Marin, whose one wish was to become a seagull so she could fly to different places and see the world.

Lunar: Silver Star Story
-The scene when Ghaleon comes with you to talk to the white dragon and reveals himself to be the main villain, simultaneously trapping Quark and kidnapping Luna, and laughing evilly before making his escape.
-The scene when Luna and the other kidnapped girls all sing together, and somehow the song combines with Alex's ocarina to open the entrace of the Lake Palace, which can only be opened by the song of true love.
-When Alex uses his ocarina to stop the brainwashed Luna from killing him and destroying stuff, saving her with the power of song!
-The scene when the flying city Vane gets shot down by Ghaleon's Grindery, which also gets destroyed.
-When you're inside the Grindery and you discover that it's powered by the energy being drained by the Four Dragons of Althena.

Lunar 2: Eternal Blue
-When you leave Lucia with Nall's orphans, and she starts to learn about her own humanity.
-Ghaleon's redemption scene.
-The scene when Lucia absorbs all the magic in the world in order to fight Zophar, but she gets captured when she saves the party from Zophar's blast.
-Lucia's goodbye after the threat of Zophar is eliminated, and she returns to her solitude on the Blue Star.
-Hiro and Lucia's reunion at the end of the epilogue quest.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
-When brainwashed Richter forcers Alucard to fight fake copies of his former allies from Castlevania 3.
-Alucard telling Dracula about his mother's death.

Super Metroid
-When the giant Baby Metroid sacrifices itself to save Samus from the Mother Brain, and gives Samus her ultimate weapon.

Star Fox 64
-On the hardest path to Venom, when James McCloud mysteriously appears to lead Fox out of Andross' exploding fortress, and then mysteriously disappears again once they escape.

Chrono Trigger
-Crono's death scene and later resurrection.
-When Ayla tries to save Azala right before Lavos crashes into the Tyrano Lair.
-In the ruined future, when you find a dead guy clutching the last plant seed, and the reactions of the people when you bring it back to them.
-The scene when Lavos destroys the kingdom of Zeal, and the remains come crashing into the sea and cause a huge tsunami.
-The flashback when young Glenn and Cyrus are on the bridge talking about becoming knights, and Cyrus gives Glenn some encouragement.
-The scene when Robo is forced to fight his girl Atropos.
-Turning the greedy nobleman into a generous nobleman by being generous to his family in the past.
-When Ayla scolds Kino for stealing the Gate Key.
-When Marle finds out that she was wrong about her father and that he really did care when her mother died.
-Saving Lucca's mom from becoming crippled.
-When Robo takes 400 years off to help Fiona regrow the forest.
-The scene when you can choose to take Magus into your party or to defeat him once and for all.
-Visiting Toma's grave to find out the location of the Rainbow Shell.
-When Schala uses the last of her magic to teleport the party to safety, leaving herself to her doom as the Undersea Palace is being destroyed/becoming the Black Omen.



Okay, I think I've spent way too much time on this post already, so I have to cut myself off there. :smallamused:

[Archangel Yuki]

I am insulted no one has mentioned the only video game that has ever made me cry.

Final Fantasy Tatics, for the playstation.
Just... the whole story line. Sacrificing yourself to try and save your sister, Your brother who loves you being killed then warped by your brother that hates you, just... I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

Time to pull out the Playstation. And some Tissues.

[DarknessLord]

Lunar: Silver Star Story
-The scene when Ghaleon comes with you to talk to the white dragon and reveals himself to be the main villain, simultaneously trapping Quark and kidnapping Luna, and laughing evilly before making his escape.


Not Ghaleon, MAGIC EMPEROR GHALEON! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anp4lD6E5NU)

Best scene evar.

[Arioch]

Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion: Marten's sacrifice didn't really impact me. What touched me, hurt me, was being ordered to kill the only family the character ever really has a chance of having in the Dark Brotherhood campaign when you wipe out the Sanctuary.

Yeah, especially since it's obvious which one's the traitor (psst, it's the Khajit), and the others have never been anything but kind towards you. Hell, even Lucien Lachance's death was touching for me, since he was entirely innocent of teh crime he was killed for.


Shivering Isles: Was I the only one who was unnerved by the desolation of The Fringe? Seeing the Gatekeeper restored was especially satisfying... Especially since I got to finish off that dunmer backstabber personally.

Well, I was well into the "staving off boredom" part of the game experience by then, so I just 100% chameleon'd my way through.

[KillianHawkeye]

Not Ghaleon, MAGIC EMPEROR GHALEON! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anp4lD6E5NU)

Best scene evar.

"No, no... Ghaleon YES!!"

I think you mean best villain ever. :smallamused::smallwink:

[The Orange Zergling]

Bioshock:

When Atlas's family gets blown up in the sub. At least on the first play through, you feel really bad for the guy. And then, later on:

When Atlas betrays you after you kill Ryan and turns out to be Fontaine. I, at least, genuinely felt betrayed, even if it's been done to death.

[Fan]

The death of Aeris, and the Celles song.... Easy...

[Kranden]

The ending to MSG2!

Hahah just kidding!


the best moments were

1. Watching Aries die in FFVII
2. Being banished from the Vault at the end of Fallout1:smallfrown: and watching the hero wander off into the wastelands
3. The first time I beat Starfox 64 when Fox's Father's Ghost leads him out of the burning base.
4. The end of Final Fantasy Mystic quest when the hero Sails off alone only to be accompanied by Tristram (by far the coolest character in that game)
5. The Axem Rangers battle in Super mario RPG (by far one of the coolest RPG Boss batles of all time)
6. The ending of Legend of Zelda: Links awakening, when I Found out the entire world was just a dream I actually yelled out NOooooo!!!
7. When Tassadar crashes his Carrier into the Overmind and when Kerrigan got left behind In Starcraft

[hanzo66]

Shinjiro's
death in Persona 3. I did not see that coming. Aside from the massive drama of the moment, there's the reactions from the team, the horribleness of everyone else, even the principal's crappy yet heartfelt eulogy. Really makes me appreciate the writing, translation, and voice acting in this game.

Also, I accidentally left the bastard with a Vitality Ring on. There's 200,000 yen down the drain. Nevermind, found it.


What makes this worse is that I've had other parts of Persona 3 spoiled for me, the thoughts of which are so tearjerking that it's a struggle to keep playing. I'll let you know if they end up choking me up when I get to them.
My life is a Goddamned mess... (http://fromearth.net/LetsPlay/Persona3/Update%2036/index.html)

[Zarah]

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Anyone who's played this knows how brilliant the ending is. It probably hit me hardest when Farah dismisses his entire story as something he made up. Although he manages to have a stroke of genius as his last line of dialogue before leaving, but it's still a fairly sad scene.

The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The game is full of them, but only if you pay attention.

There's one that sticks out in my mind pretty clearly. When your mission is to go kill Dagoth Ur on Red Mountain late in the game, most people usually stop at Ghostgate on the way there. Inside the local tavern there, you'll meet an old, retired soldier for the Imperial Legion. When you talk to him, he asks about your mission and gives you his lucky coin. After that, you never see or hear from him again, but you get to keep the coin. I didn't realize it until I was reading about it later, but he was a manifestation of Tiber Septim, the main deity of the Nine Divines (whose armor plate you stole in Oblivion). When I first read about that, I thought it was one of the greatest little touches I'd ever seen in an RPG.

I think one reason I didn't like Oblivion as much was because, unlike Morrowind, there was not a real morality issue on display. In Morrowind, Dagoth Ur believed every word of what he preached, and made a pretty convincing argument when you talked to him about it at the end. It's hard not to think about the fact that he might actually be right. But the real touching moment comes from talking to Vivec afterward when he talks about how the Tribunal has lost most of their power, but will try to rebuild the temple and gain redemption. I thought it was a great piece of dialogue.

And Vivec manages to strike another one out of the park in the expansion, Tribunal. After the story is over, you can go and talk to Vivec again about Almalexia. And I think what he says is absolute brilliance: "That is very sad. I presume she killed Sotha Sil. I thought she might harm me. And I presume she tried to kill you, Nerevarine. It is all very sad. But death comes to all mortals -- and we are all mortal now. In time, death will come to me, Nerevarine -- perhaps even at your hands. It is futile to deny one's fate. But, nonetheless, I'm afraid I find it all very, very sad that it should end this way, something that began in such glory and noble promise."

In retrospect, I think Vivec is one of the best characters I've ever seen in an Elder Scrolls game.

[Fri]

My personal touching moment is from Grandia, an underdog Saturn/PSX RPG. It's one of my first rpg, so it got one of my first touching game moment. It's not that touching, in retrospect, but back then it made me really sad.

It's when Sue, the main character's best friend and the one character that started the journey with us, decided to step away from the adventure because she realized that she can't catch up with the rest of the party.

It's really sad for me. She was the one that started the adventure with us. The whole thing won't happen without her.

Another one was from a SNES game, Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistral.

The ending. It's a major spoiler, but let's just say that it didn't end up well for some of the main characters.

The touching moment was, the other party member still hold hope for them. They prepared a party and kept waiting for their comeback. But this time, the power of hope and friendship won't help.

The only one that realized their bad end was the main character's unlucky childhood friend. She travel the world alone after she realized that she can't catch up and that the main character was fallen in love with the one true pairing.

So she's alone, in her travel, always loving the main character though she can't be with him. And she realized that it didn't end up well for the main character.


Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion: Marten's sacrifice didn't really impact me. What touched me, hurt me, was being ordered to kill the only family the character ever really has a chance of having in the Dark Brotherhood campaign when you wipe out the Sanctuary.

And this one.

[Quxelopqr]

Similar to Grandia was the first Lunar game (I think, could be wrong here) where one of your first characters realizes something similar and opens a shop to help out (I think he gives you stuff for free at the end too).

Also, while aeris' death never did anything for me, the death of Galuf in FF5 was pretty sad, mainly because the party tries everything they can to save him and it doesn't work.

Lufia 1 and 2, because in the first game, I believe you had to kill the main character's love interest/she was one of the Sinistrals (could be wrong on this one, it's been years since I played it and my memory on it is hazy). The second game, half the party (Maxim and Selan) dies at the end (although Maxim does get to save the day just before it's over).

[KillianHawkeye]

6. The ending of Legend of Zelda: Links awakening, when I Found out the entire world was just a dream I actually yelled out NOooooo!!!

Dude, you find that out WAY before the ending. The freakin' owl tells you that barely a third of the way through the game, and the last couple of bosses IIRC taunt you about what will happen to the villagers etc. when the island disappears.

Unless you didn't read any of the game's text, in which case it might have come as some surprise. :smallsigh:

[Ponce]

Many of the scenes of The Illusion of Gaia were very touching.

...but even these pale in comparison to its sequel, Terranigma. I can't name all the events, the whole game brings about a wide array of emotional response. IoG is definitely the runner up, though.

[Sequinox]

Fire Emblem. Chapter 19xx. The villain who is just insane the first 5000 playthroughs becomes tragic. If you haven't played 19xx and you have fire emblem, its worth the replay. HUGE plot twist.

Also, when did Ashley shoot Rex in the back of the head?

[Colmarr]

Also, when did Ashley shoot Rex in the back of the head?

On Virmire, when Wrex is opposed to destroying the antidote for the Genophage. If you can't talk Wrex down, he gets shot and killed.

[Phase]

Another from Half-Life 2: Episode 2:
When you're going down to deal with the "crow problem" and the combine zerg rush the base. As you're walking down the corridor that you're sealed in, a rebel calls from the room you are about to enter, when Hunters come. He tries to run out the door, but he's stabbed like Alyx was and dragged away as he reaches out for help. I would have stayed and mourned if the Hunter wasn't trying to break down the door.

[warty goblin]

On Virmire, when Wrex is opposed to destroying the antidote for the Genophage. If you can't talk Wrex down, he gets shot and killed.

Virmire might, in my opinion, be the most awesome mission ever put in a videogame. So many wonderfully difficult choices, so much havoc to cause, so many robots to shoot in the face.

[The Orange Zergling]

Oh! Forgot this one from Call of Duty 4:

When the nuke hits and you're controlling the USMC guy as he limps around the red, silent, burning playground and you can see the mushroom cloud and the collapsing building in the background, then you trip and the camera slowly pans towards the sky and the screen whitens. Just wow.

[Nerd-o-rama]

My life is a Goddamned mess... (http://fromearth.net/LetsPlay/Persona3/Update%2036/index.html)I love that Let's Play...

...Seriously, I wish Takaya's boss fight was actually difficult so I could have hit him more. Oh well, he fell off a bridge, so I'm sure he'll be back.

I've been through a couple more plot events, one of which would have been shocking if I hadn't watched enough anime to see it coming a mile off
Sorry Ikutsuki, but the glasses were a dead giveawaybut the aftermath of it, namely the effect on Mitsuru, was almost as heartbreaking. I didn't know the casualty of that event as well as I knew Shinjiro, but, well...poor senpai. The resulting bonding with Yukari, however, was very touching in another way if you know what I mean.

Oh, and did someone say Lunar? God, that was the first time I cried in happiness at a video game ending (slightly; I was 13)...ironically, also the first time I pumped my fist and said "HELL YEAH!" for the villain. Ghaleon...something about that laugh...or maybe its the sheer revelry in his over-the-topness.

[Terraoblivion]

Persona 3 does indeed have some heartbreaking moments. I think that there might come one up soon that has that effect on you as well. At least it had for me. Fall of 2009 is just depressing according to that game.

[Faceist]

Yeah, especially since it's obvious which one's the traitor (psst, it's the Khajit), and the others have never been anything but kind towards you.
It's not. The khajit was just a grump, and even he lightens up towards you by the time you're ordered to wipe out the base. (Hell, it made it even more difficult, talking to him about the mission beforehand. "Who are you supposed to kill? Anyone I know? Heh heh!") That's why it's so tragic, the fact that you killed them all for no reason, since the traitor's already left the base.

Didn't feel bad for killing that creepy vampire, though.

[Cristo Meyers]

Ah, forgot one.

The scene just before you fight the #10 ranked assassin in the ballpark in No More Heroes. The one after beating him is good too, but the first one...I had my friends over at the time and we all just looked at the TV and went "Damn..."

[Cyclone231]

Knights of the Old Republic: Saving Bastila. Just all around a very well done and powerful scene, given all that has come before. Revan finally gets to return the favor. My favorite moment is when she's given up all hope, and I convince her to recite the Jedi Code, one last time. "Strange . . . but even now I find comfort in these words."
That moment was ruined by the fact that Persuasion failed the first time I got to that scene, so I had to reload.

EDIT: Though I have to agree with the Star Wars: Republic Commando moment. When the Advisor was like "no way guys," I had already started running back to Sev, totally ignoring him.

[Ganurath]

Yeah, especially since it's obvious which one's the traitor (psst, it's the Khajit), and the others have never been anything but kind towards you. Hell, even Lucien Lachance's death was touching for me, since he was entirely innocent of teh crime he was killed for.None of them are, they just thought one of them was because the guy who tricks you into killing the DB leadership used to belong to the Sanctuary. So, they died because Lachance's intel was bad.

[hanzo66]

In the first God of War, when Ares puts Kratos in an illusion to revisit the memory of him slaughtering his wife and daughter, I loved how this is a scene where Kratos actually shows heroism rather than barbarism protecting the people he loves from doppelgangers and how the idea of sacrifice is enhanced by the fact that he can transfer his HP to them, showing that they mean more to him than his own life.

[Return of Lanky]

I'll admit that a few of the already-mentioned scenes brought a sniffle to my nose, but I'm surprised that the only series to ever pinch a tear out of my manly, manly eyes has gone unmentioned. Specifically, Lufia & The Fortress of Doom and the sequel, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals.

The original Lufia did it right at the end. You kill the Sinistrals, you've saved the day... and you find out that the girl who's been in love with the main character is gone. Said hero wanders off, alone and hurt, and a year later discovers that she's alive and well, and remembers nothing of him. He knows that he must start anew with her, knows that her being alive will eventually cause the return of the Sinistrals, but he just sits down for tea anyway.

Lufia II did it twice to me: First, when Maxim and Selan get married, leaving a heartbroken Tia behind. Sorry, I loved the character and hated the way she just got squeezed out of things. Given that it was a prequel, I expected it, but it was still a throat-tightener for me.

The second time was Selan's death, right at the end, combined with Maxim expending his own life force to deflect a giant ****ing falling island. Again, I knew it was coming, but I had much more invested in the storyline this time than I did with the introduction in the first Lufia game.

I dunno. The Lufia series has just connected to me in a way no other series has before. Both games are bittersweet, acknowledging that something as epic as battling gods for the sake of the world is a task which will NOT end with everyone getting a happy ending. Perhaps it was the fact that everything was NOT okay at the end which captivated me. It was unlike other games, where everyone got out more or less intact.

I honestly consider it criminal what happened to the series beyond the first two games. Portable crapfests were not what the series deserved.

[Texas Jedi]

The original Lufia did it right at the end. You kill the Sinistrals, you've saved the day... and you find out that the girl who's been in love with the main character is gone. Said hero wanders off, alone and hurt, and a year later discovers that she's alive and well, and remembers nothing of him. He knows that he must start anew with her, knows that her being alive will eventually cause the return of the Sinistrals, but he just sits down for tea anyway.


I always thought that the Dual/Twin swords destroyed the evil within Lufia and she started fresh with no knowledge of her past. I have thought that as one of the best game endings of all time. Yeah it is bittersweet because the main characters love has died by his unwilling hand so he goes through the grief of loosing her. Then he finds her but without any knowledge of who you are or who and what she was. I always did like the depth of that ending. I might have a hard time getting my point across (because words escape me at the moment) but here it is in easy terms (I hope), but it all comes down to nurture vs. nature. Is the New Lufia (NL) the same person that she was but without any memories of her past (nature), or is she a completely different person because without the memories of her past she can't possibly be the same (nurture). But can he truly love the (NL) even though outwardly she looks just like the Old Lufia (OL) but without her memories, or would he always remember what she was rather than who she is now.

The prequel established the fact that Eris (Lufia's Sinistarl name I think) had some good in her and was just over taken by her connection with the head Sinistral.

[Nano]

It pissed me off so much in BioShock, when you

Kill Andrew Ryan. "A man chooses... A slave OBEYS."

[Jophes]

Tactics Ogre (the original on the PSX) - When you have to choose whether or not to do mass genocide or to sit back and watch it happen Also if you choose to save your sister or watch her die

Chrono Cross - Going back in time to watch Lucca and her orphanage burn to the ground

[Colmarr]

Virmire might, in my opinion, be the most awesome mission ever put in a videogame. So many wonderfully difficult choices, so much havoc to cause, so many robots to shoot in the face.

QFT.

And despite it being blindingly obvious in hindsight, I must admit that the revelation about Sovereign towards the end made me say "ooh".

[warty goblin]

QFT.

And despite it being blindingly obvious in hindsight, I must admit that the revelation about Sovereign towards the end made me say "ooh".

Yeah, it is kind of blindingly obvious, but still totall badass. "I am Sovereign. I am beyond your comprehension."

Tragically, after the awesome that was Virmire, I felt the last mission was something of a let down. No awesomely wrenching choices, and that annoying Mako section. Still lots of robots to shoot repeatedly in the face. Plus by the time I got there, my assault rifle was more like a really heavy machine gun. I had a couple of heat sinks in there, and could pretty much fire it all day for total killage.

[Colmarr]

Tragically, after the awesome that was Virmire, I felt the last mission was something of a let down. No awesomely wrenching choices, and that annoying Mako section. Still lots of robots to shoot repeatedly in the face. Plus by the time I got there, my assault rifle was more like a really heavy machine gun. I had a couple of heat sinks in there, and could pretty much fire it all day for total killage.

True, but I must admit that I pooped my pampers at the size of the Geth guarding the gate controls on Ilos. What was it called, a Geth Prime?

The Mako sections were really the only thing stopping Mass Effect from being my favourite RPG of all time. It's the only one I completed twice (Paragon Soldier and Renegade Adept) and I'm currently in the early stages of an Engineer so that I can get the Asari Ally, Turian Ally and Engineering powers achievements.

Although the Mako was mostly annoying, even it had its moments:

Such as when you drove it through the portal on Ilos and it reappeared on the citadel, crushing the two Geth. Made me laugh :smallbiggrin:

[Nerd-o-rama]

Persona 3 update:

They just keeping making these things worse, dammit. And yet, artistically, better.

Takaya! Goddammit! Stop shooting main characters, *******!

[Terraoblivion]

Persona 3 has some great and touching scenes, right? Like i have been trying to tell people.

[Jibar]

Plus by the time I got there, my assault rifle was more like a really heavy machine gun. I had a couple of heat sinks in there, and could pretty much fire it all day for total killage.

I was an adept, so all I had was a pistol.
Now, a pistol armed with high explosives rounds, a heat sink and a player with a knack for head shots makes for one wicked cool ending mission.

"Is it true that there's a spot on the back of a man's head where if you shoot it his head will explode?"

Yes Danny. And on Geth that spot is everywhere.


I must give Mass Effect a lot of credit for actually making sure Shepherd turned out how I wanted him too. Big Bad about to destroy everything forever? Talk to him.
And succed.
Touching and amazing for so many reasons.

[Fawkes]

Not exactly 'touching,' but the last mission of Braid definitely dropped my jaw. Holy crap.

[TurkeyTGNom]

6. The ending of Legend of Zelda: Links awakening, when I Found out the entire world was just a dream I actually yelled out NOooooo!!!


Was wondering if anyone else still remembered this game. Wrenched at my heart when it was time to 'wake up' after you fall in love with whats-her-face, maria or something. that had to be one of the most frustrating and heart breaking endings ive seen. i was like 'dude, screw zelda, stay in dream land'


as well as the infamous FF7 Arieth death scene.

[Bouregard]

"Mafia - City of lost Heaven"

Actually the whole story. Like a real movie, a good one.


"Gothic"
(primary a german RPG game, bit old but a big explorable world. Could say Morrowind gone dark. If you like RPG's and understand german languaga its a must have. PS: don't waste money on Gothic 3, Gothic one and two are good Part 3 is a lookgood-playawfull game")

Whole story, the atmosphere the charackters. And the good voiceacting (only problem is that for maybe 160 diferent charackters they use like 10 voiceactors. But like I said good work) create multiple events where you feel right in Myrtana.

Deus Ex
Well, the holy grail of actionrpg/ stealthrpg for me. Love the optional discussion with the prototype KI. And the End is pretty great done.

[Texonidas]

Does noone remember Klonoa: Door to Phantomile?

I actually cried when Klonoa got sucked away cause stupid Lephise had to sing her song. I hated her so much! :furious:

[Dogmantra]

Fallout 3: The first moment being when you find out the activation code, I found the 2:16 thing pretty cool. The other moment is the "cheesy" ending slideshow. Very poignant.

TES III: Morrowind: Hmm... Pretty much the whole game, but talking to Vivec, Crassius Curio, Dagoth Ur, finding out that you're the Nerevarine (and later finding out that you made the prophecy come true because you could, and that you could have said "screw destiny") and meeting all the failed Nerevarines are the moments that stick out for me.

Portal: An unlikely suggestion, but the "secret" areas, implying there are other people in the facility, and at the end, when you come to, on the ground outside, then the credits roll with "Still Alive" playing, I felt guilty, for breaking GLaDOS's heart.

[AgentPaper]

Am I the only one that didn't really care when Aeris was killed? Now if he had run Yufie through, on the other hand, I would have been far more upset. (She showed much more character, in my opinion, instead of just being a cliche staff chick. Don't bother trying to sort me out, I know you all hate Yufie so :smallyuk:)

Anyways, can't think of many touching moments, but the earlier mentioned scene in Twilight Princess where Midna is injured is the biggest I can think of right now. The end scene of Midna was also somewhat touching, though it was more just a surprise than anything else.

[Terraoblivion]

Going to be non-specific here, because i know as well as everybody else that a pair of spoiler tags or whited-out text is just an invitation to look and see what is going on. And i really don't want to spoil this for anybody.

Valkyria Chronicles is just rife with some of the most touching moments in gaming. What particularly springs to mind are the middle part of chapter eight with Welkin and Alicia in the woods and even more so the ending of the Marberry Shore chapter. Stupid chapter kept me awake for an hour despite being tired because it was so sad.

[Remmirath]

Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion: Marten's sacrifice didn't really impact me. What touched me, hurt me, was being ordered to kill the only family the character ever really has a chance of having in the Dark Brotherhood campaign when you wipe out the Sanctuary.


Yes. Definitely that. As well as what happens to Lucien LaChance. (Wish there was something you could do about that, especially since, in hindsight, the switch was rather obvious...)
I kind of liked Martin, but not that much.


None of them are, they just thought one of them was because the guy who tricks you into killing the DB leadership used to belong to the Sanctuary. So, they died because Lachance's intel was bad.

Somehow I always assumed that was part of the traitor's plan and he implicated them, since he apparently hated those people specifically. Although I admit I thought it was Talaendril for a while, since she was the only one who wandered around a lot (and I didn't really like her, true).

It's pretty rare for me to actually think something was touching. The Baldur's Gate series and Icewind Dale are great games, but I can't recall any (I've never played through with the NPCs in Baldur's Gate, so that's probably got something to do with it).

I guess Icewind Dale II kind of had some, but maybe that's just because I couldn't stand most of the people you're supposed to be working for, and I'd rather have worked for Isair.

And I guess the whole thing with Larrel in Icewind Dale was a bit.

Baldur's Gate, though, was awesome and epic, but not really touching. Which is fine with me. I don't usually like that sort of thing.


"Mafia - City of lost Heaven"

Actually the whole story. Like a real movie, a good one.


Also true. Though I haven't played most of the game, I've seen other people play through it.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

I'm surprised no one's ever thought of this one before but Fallout 3 actually had some majorly touching moments for me.

While it's mostly the main quest that gets the touching moments, I felt there were at least several sidequests that it just felt awesome to finish the good way. First would have to be Those! When you first meet Bryan Wilks, he's scared and all alone, and the way he reacts when you bring him the unfortunate news of his father's death made me feel genuinely sorry for him, and that much more proud when I found him a home in Rivet City. Also, the end of Blood Ties was pretty heartwarming when I handed Ian West the letter his sister Lucy gave me, and he realized just how much his family loved him. And then there was the wonderful icing on the cake when I got the Family to not only make peace with Arefu, but defend it as well. It made me feel like I'd really done a good deed there.

And then there's the Main Quest. For me, the first touching part would have to be immediately after the Tranquility Lane quest, when you're reunited with Dad. I could just imagine the two of them hugging, and it felt like a real payoff for the amount of running around I'd done. But then the happiness of that moment is brought to a crashing halt by the second touching moment, which is Dad's sacrifice to save you and the project. I remember being shocked and enraged when Colonel Autumn shot Janice Kaplinski in cold blood, and stunned when Dad looked like he was going to give in, all the while I'm standing on the wrong side of the door, so all I can do is watch helplessly. And then when he floods it with radiation I get shocked again, as he stumbles towards the glass and gives his final words. "Run...Run!" I know this isn't possible in the game, but I could just imagine my character pounding on the glass and yelling "DAD!" as he breathed his last.:smallfrown:

[Thane of Fife]

I'll admit that a few of the already-mentioned scenes brought a sniffle to my nose, but I'm surprised that the only series to ever pinch a tear out of my manly, manly eyes has gone unmentioned. Specifically, Lufia & The Fortress of Doom and the sequel, Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals.

...

I honestly consider it criminal what happened to the series beyond the first two games. Portable crapfests were not what the series deserved.

I can't really comment on the first two games, but I very much enjoyed the third, and it was certainly one of the first games to come to mind for this list.

The ending of Lufia: The Legend Returns
where Seena, the woman who basically recruited you and who the main character has fallen in love with over the course of the game, reveals that she's actually one of the bad guys and you have to kill her.

And then, once you do, she reveals that she actually wanted you to kill her for the good of humanity. It seems kind of corny or cliche now, but when I was playing it, it managed to shock me twice.


In Tales of Symphonia

when your party members all sacrifice themselves to allow Lloyd to get to the top of the tower, you're close enough to the game's end that you wonder "Did they really all just die?"

[FatJose]

Was wondering if anyone else still remembered this game. Wrenched at my heart when it was time to 'wake up' after you fall in love with whats-her-face, maria or something. that had to be one of the most frustrating and heart breaking endings ive seen. i was like 'dude, screw zelda, stay in dream land'

Sadly Nintendo, back then, didn't care or think about making things emotional so its kinda glazed over in Link's Awakening when that happens. You basically come to the conclusion on your own.


"Yay, I wo-uuhhhh wait...No!!!!"

"She's dead, Jim. Her and her father and everyone else on that island...or rather non-existant"

[Gorgondantess]

Hmmm... for the life of me, I can't think of any. And I have a lot of games where this kindof stuff happens, even if I usually end up laughing at it... ah. Cave Story, greatest freeware ever. when curly dies. I got so incredibly emotional... so much so that I went online and then restarted my game so I could beat the insanely difficult secret dungeon and get the good ending, where you save her. King dying and the empty Mimiga village were good too.
Torment had some good ones, too... oh, and while I found the end of Bioshock to be horrifically cheesy, Andrew Ryan and his death really got to me... poor guy really believed in what he said.

"Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?"
DAMN STRIAGHT HE IS!

And while the little sisters did nothing for me, even when you meet the ones you save, some of the audio files are really, really poignant. I know there are others, but I just can't think of them.

[Khaeta]

Another touching moment is in Zelda: Phantom hourglass (the new one that nobody ever mentions) when Linebeck shows that he's not a total ass by just asking for his boat, and the final goodbye. Not to mention the boat sailing off into the sunset.Kinda stereotypical, but there was some good character development.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I was going to post this when I finished, but was worried about Thread Necromancy. Since it seems okay...

The entire last month of Persona 3. All of it. So many lows, so many highs, so...bittersweet in the end. The epilogues to most of the social links were also deeply touching, especially Sun (Akinari), Temperance (Bebe), Hanged Man (Maiko), and...and...all of them.

And your party. I love my freaking party so much.

Phew.

[arguskos]

Honestly, the most emotionally powerful character in a game I've ever played was in Baldur's Gate 2:
It was Jon Irenicus, towards the end of the game, when you unravel who he was and what he lost. I mean, here's a man who had everything, and lost it all, and really, in the end, he was doing it all because he forgot how to love and accept he was wrong. It practically makes me cry to think about the way it could have gone, and didn't. The speech between him and Queen Ellesime at the Tree of Life is my favorite moment in that whole game.

"Once, my thirst for power was everything. Now, I hunger only for revenge, and I WILL HAVE IT!!"

Of course, I also got the mod that brings him back in the expansion, so you can explore his character further (and even redeem him if you're skilled).

[Tirian]

Am I the only one that didn't really care when Aeris was killed? Now if he had run Yufie through, on the other hand, I would have been far more upset. (She showed much more character, in my opinion, instead of just being a cliche staff chick. Don't bother trying to sort me out, I know you all hate Yufie so :smallyuk:)

I don't think that Aeris' death was sad so much as exciting. I mean, "a major and likable PC is dead, please insert disk 2 of 4" was giving a sign that they were going to take chances with the story, and I liked that.

Now, if you're going to say that finding out about Red XIII's father wasn't one of the most touching moments in a game, then it's clear that your pervy Yuffie fancying has gone too far.

[Mushroom Ninja]

The ending of Republic Commando. I honestly can't ever remember getting that pissed at a game character as I was at Advisor at the end of that last mission. And then Yoda shows up and we're supposed to be all "oh, Yoda! Yay!" Personally I say screw Yoda sideways with my anti-armor attachment, I want Sev back.

Also, a sequel if you don't mind too much...

Seconded. Sev was my favorite. :smallfrown:

[Ascension]

In Tales of Symphonia

when your party members all sacrifice themselves to allow Lloyd to get to the top of the tower, you're close enough to the game's end that you wonder "Did they really all just die?"

I'd say Collette gradually losing her humanity was more touching for me, though the section you mention is emotional.

[Inhuman Bot]

In mother 3
When the Magypsies dissapear... and when Claus and Hinawa are killed.... and when You pull the final needle and... You know what? I'll say mother 3 period and be done with it

[Dublock]

In Tales of Symphonia

when your party members all sacrifice themselves to allow Lloyd to get to the top of the tower, you're close enough to the game's end that you wonder "Did they really all just die?"

Thank you, I was reading these moments and I remember a few, Starcraft, Half-life, and others I forgot about. But this one always gets me.

specifically

When Rain says "My soul will live on in the world you create. But if your ideals die,
then my hope dies as well. Living on without hope is worse than death, don’t
you think?"

That always gets me. I love that character.

[Altima]

Homeworld 1

Kharak burning was especially grief-filled, as it was quite vivid. The Taiidan pretty much curb-stopped a race that was pretty much centuries behind them, technologically.

Homeworld 2
"Hiigarans...you are beaten."

Legend of Mana
The entire City of the Jumi segment. I still can't hear that song without tearing up.

Xenosaga Ep 3
First when KOS-MOS is junked, and then again, shortly afterwards, when T-elos junks her again.

Shadow Hearts
The bad ending, when Alice slumps against Yuri.

Shadow Hearts 2
Pretty much any scene involving Alice. Special mention goes to Kato and the mutant ape after Asteroth offs her. Special mention goes to the good ending which hints that Yuri goes back in time to SH1 and does it right.

Shadow Hearts: From the New World
Lady's scene with the dying Killer

Neverwinter Nights 2
The death of Shandra was particularly moving, especially if you can get AJ to open up about it later. Also, pretty much the entirety of Mask of the Betrayer, especially meeting Myrkul.

Black and White
First Nemesis nukes your animal friend, then he nukes your god friend in the next map...HE'S A JERK!

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner
When Jinana dies and its effect upon Argilla

[AgentPaper]

I don't think that Aeris' death was sad so much as exciting. I mean, "a major and likable PC is dead, please insert disk 2 of 4" was giving a sign that they were going to take chances with the story, and I liked that.

Now, if you're going to say that finding out about Red XIII's father wasn't one of the most touching moments in a game, then it's clear that your pervy Yuffie fancying has gone too far.

Major, sure, but I just couldn't really get attached to her for some reason. Ah well. As for red's father, yes, that was definitely one of the sadder moments of the game, though my memory of playing the game in general is faded, so I can't remember how impacted I was from it. There's actually probably a whole lot of touching moments that deserve mention but I don't remember, unfortunately. :smallfrown:

[TakeV]

Mother 3,

The final boss. Just the final boss.

[Tyracus]

Valkyria Chronicles is just rife with some of the most touching moments in gaming. What particularly springs to mind are the middle part of chapter eight with Welkin and Alicia in the woods and even more so the ending of the Marberry Shore chapter. Stupid chapter kept me awake for an hour despite being tired because it was so sad.

I'm amazed it took that long for Valkyria Chronicles to get mentioned, that game was so great on so many levels. It's got it's humor (when does Welkin in full nature geek mode NOT make you laugh? or the "oh crap it's a tank!" moment on the mission to seize the bridge), the aforementioned tear-jerker (curse you Marberry Shore, I had to watch the scene after several times just because it was so awesome and sad and the song was just icing on the cake). Not mentioned yet are the scenes after Ghirlandio, well just all of them. There are some great moments that really humanize two of the remaining villains (sadly Maximilian loses out), also Rosie's War without Weapons special and the special chapter that reveals a bit more about Verrot. But the scenes after mission 16 and the ending really top it. And now i need to go watch them again.

[Terraoblivion]

Ghirlandaio as well really. At least i felt really sad at the end of it. Actually the ending of Fouzen was touching for me as well. Especially due to Rosie's actions there. And all those things you mentioned are as well. I just named what are the highlights for me of what i've played so far.

[FeAnPi]

Legacy of Kain
The whole saga, but i found most touching the Defiance chapter.

Especially the introduction of the game, and the last part, from Kain "death" to the end of the game.
Still, poor Raziel. :(

[GrassyGnoll]

Speaking of Starcraft,
The Death of Alexei Stukov.

Yeah, that was the Starcraft moment for me. The other deaths, not so much.

Majora's Mask
Is full of them.

Deku butler says you look like his lost son and in the end credits he's seen mourning by the withered tree in the beginning.

Anju and Kafei exchanging their vows and waiting together for the the world to end.

Skull Kid's backstory.

Let's not forget the Song of Healing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUNbm3vO4Cg)

Windwaker
Ganon's speech. Reinvented the villain for me.

Oblivion
When you kill your fellows in the Dark Brotherhood. The traitor's journal was touching, too, in a very different way.

Fire Emblem
When you learn in the credits that Canas and his wife die in an avalanche.

Lloyd Reed's death.

Sacred Stones
When Joshua kills his old friend/co-mercenary in the Johanna level.