Saddest Gaming Moments

[Tuffty]

Just completed Crisis Core and it got me thinking about any other moments where you can feel the waterworks start to act up of their own accord. As many of these moments will be tied to a game's storyline, then it should be warned that this topic probably will contain spoilers:

**SPOILER**

FFVII - I'm sure you all knew it as soon as you read the title. All that EXP, items, limit breaks...Damn you Sqare Enix.

Shadow Of The Colossus - I started to feel some guilt already when I killed the Colossus in the lake, seeing as it wasn't threatening me at all, but the worst part came with Argo at the final battle. Your only companion in the game, been with you through thick and thin and then, it's one jump too far, and he plummets down a cliff while you watch helplessly. It also happened so suddenly and was so unexpected.

Half Life 2 : Episode 2 - Dad'...'
'Close your eyes, honey.'
'I love you dad'
'Don't look...'

Persona 3 - P3 ends somewhat positively, but it was just knowing that the story was coming to end was what got to me. Despite plugging in 100+hrs with it, I still wanted to spend more time with the characters.

Elite Beat Agents - 'Wait, what?' I hear you say Let me explain, nothing sad happens in EBA (well apart from the Christmas dance trying to get a girl to see the ghost of her dead father) so I guess it's wrong to include this but anytime I play 'ABC' on this I feel the heartstrings being pulled. You help the cat try to protect the baby at all costs, then at the end, they return home safe and sound, fast asleep and you can see the baby is having a happy dream of playing with the cat. Seeing that, combined with the song..it just gets to me every time, I have no idea why

[~Dan~]

FFVII
Some of the video sequences made me quite tearful.

I wish I could see some of them again, it's ages since I played it.  They're probably on youtube or something, I've not looked.

[winner]

FF IV

Party members getting sacrificed every few hours. For the greater good of letting the hero go to the moon.
Twins turning themselves to stone to stop magic walls from crushing the party and unable to heal them back because it was of their own will.

[Ayabie]

Suikoden II: The whole series is epic in terms of storylines, but my personal favorite is S2. It's filled with moments from beginning to end, but Riou and Jowy teaming up to take down Gorodu after Nanami is shot gets me every time.

FFVII: Besides from the usual stuff that gets mentioned, I like the mini plot about Nanaki's dad.

Phantasy Star IV: The death of Alys.

[SomethingWild]

Okami: when Amaterasu has to leave Isshun behind.

[coachie]

FF VII I was too shocked and angry at that time (wasted all my good items on her) to feel sad, but afterwards I always get teary eyed hearing her theme.

Shadow of the Collossus I always fell into a depression after playing xD

ICO I was sitting there sobbing like a baby at the end... and that scene at the bridge...

Silent Hill 2 Strangely I always felt more sad for Angela's story than James', the staircase scene at the end... I'll never forget that.

Fatal Frame 2/Project Zero 2 pure tragedy... and that song...

FF X I'm not a fan of the Yuna/Tidus lovestory at all, but for some reason I cried at the end... damn sad manipulating music...

Grandia not sure about this one, but I think I cried at the end too xD

[RatBastich]

The saddest moment is when a game turns out to be to short.
Start playing a game, everything going great, getting all in to it, then you're at the end far too quickly, and its over.
Its very annoying.

[zoolander]

I wholeheartedly agree with Episode 2. Made me sad but also mad. Also, there were a couple moments in CoD4 (if you know what I mean)


This bitch's story however was the only one to make me tear up a bit.

[Deft-Monkey]

Kingdom Hearts : Two parts. Hollow Bastion after defeating Riku for the second time, Sora stabs himself with the keysword (?) to release Kairi's spirit from within him, turning him into a heartless. I was really shocked when it happened. Then there was the ending where Sora and Kairi get separated. It wouldn't have been so sad if Utada Hikaru's 'Simple & Clean' didn't start playing. It was my first time hearing that version, before that it was just the remix from the beginning of the game. I feel all sad and nostalgic every time I hear that song now.

Kingdom Hearts II : When Goofy gets hit by a falling boulder/rock. I wasn't particularly sad, but I got angry and just button mashed like a whore on speed with the Heartless after that.

[Hart]

The Legend of Dragoon - IMO one of the most underrated rpgs to be released on the Playstation console. Similar to Aerith's death scene in FFVII, the death of Lavitz near the end of Disk 1 was heartbreaking. Everytime I replay this game I would spend hours level grinding so that before he died he would be a Lvl 5 dragoon with all of his additions mastered. I was tearing up when Dart pays a visit to Lavitz's house in the end, has a drink, and leaves one behind in his room, sort of fulfilling their promise to drink together once the war was over. There were plenty of other sad momments throughout the game but Lavitz's death hit me the most.

[Ayako-Luna]

Kingdom Hearts : Two parts. Hollow Bastion after defeating Riku for the second time, Sora stabs himself with the keysword (?) to release Kairi's spirit from within him, turning him into a heartless. I was really shocked when it happened. Then there was the ending where Sora and Kairi get separated. It wouldn't have been so sad if Utada Hikaru's 'Simple & Clean' didn't start playing. It was my first time hearing that version, before that it was just the remix from the beginning of the game. I feel all sad and nostalgic every time I hear that song now.

Kingdom Hearts II : When Goofy gets hit by a falling boulder/rock. I wasn't particularly sad, but I got angry and just button mashed like a whore on speed with the Heartless after that.

Completly agree T_T

[Datalanche]

Halo 3 - Avery Johnson's death.

I don't play many story-driven games.

[Tyler_Wood_2005]

***Spoiler, of course***

Ace Combat 5: Death of Chopper...I really really enjoyed his comic remarks, jokes and playful attitude throughout the entire game, but come that level when your defending the stadium from bombing and Chopper gets hit and crashes his jet into the middle of the stadium while still inside to avoid hitting any populated areas...OMG, for the first few seconds after I just stared at the screen, controller in hand, not moving or anyting. The slow piano song they played after he died was so sad...I started crying during the ending cutscene of the level when the entire squad flies over the stadium.

[Tuffty]

Max Payne - This one's a bit more harrowing than sad, but the opening of the game where Max finds his wife and baby girl murdered by junkies. It was probably more effective knowing that had Max maybe arrived earlier rather than play a card game with his cop buddies, things might have been ok. But being in that house, hearing the screams, the junkies yelling, gunshots and then silence. It certainly created a powerful opening to a game.

The Legend of Dragoon - IMO one of the most underrated rpgs to be released on the Playstation console. Similar to Aerith's death scene in FFVII, the death of Lavitz near the end of Disk 1 was heartbreaking. Everytime I replay this game I would spend hours level grinding so that before he died he would be a Lvl 5 dragoon with all of his additions mastered. I was tearing up when Dart pays a visit to Lavitz's house in the end, has a drink, and leaves one behind in his room, sort of fulfilling their promise to drink together once the war was over. There were plenty of other sad momments throughout the game but Lavitz's death hit me the most.

That actually sounds rather good, not good that he died obviously, but it seems like a rather effective scene.

[Mucca]

I don't think it needs to be said, but SPOILERS ahoy

Persona 3 - P3 ends somewhat positively, but it was just knowing that the story was coming to end was what got to me. Despite plugging in 100+hrs with it, I still wanted to spend more time with the characters.

I'd say P3 was sad for an entirely different reason: your character dies at the end with only Aigis at his side. Worse yet, he passes on just as the other party members remembered the entire (successful) mission to stop the Dark Hour and are on their way to reunite with you and Aigis.

[Datalanche]

Max Payne - This one's a bit more harrowing than sad, but the opening of the game where Max finds his wife and baby girl murdered by junkies. It was probably more effective knowing that had Max maybe arrived earlier rather than play a card game with his cop buddies, things might have been ok. But being in that house, hearing the screams, the junkies yelling, gunshots and then silence. It certainly created a powerful opening to a game.

Nice one! The level where you are in a drug-induced nightmare where Max faces his torment for not being able to save his family could also qualify for this thread.

[Tuffty]

I'd say P3 was sad for an entirely different reason

[bgcolor=#090909]That part was indeed the saddest part about the game, the culmination of all that's happened before. But in building up to the final showdown with Nyx, after Ryoji reveals to the group that he is the appriser and that they have one month to live before inevitable death, the atmosphere of the game changes entirely. Everyone, initially at least, is dejected and depressed that all of their efforts eventually come to naught and that they have to accept that they're going to die no matter how hard they fight it. Referring to my original point, it's at this time in the game that I, as a player, could sense that the game was also going to reach it's end and it was a time for me to reflect on what I'd done to reach this point. And I realised that I cared for these characters, I didn't want them to die, nor did I want the game to end! Having the background music change when you're running across the world was also effective in doing that.[/bgcolor]

Thought I should also mention another moment in Persona 4:

[bgcolor=#090909]When Nanako is captured. An innocent child who gets captured out of some twisted sense of justice and you're just urging that Dojima or the gang find her before she's taken into the TV. But it's too late and as you save her, she needs to be hospitalised. Things start to look up until you get a call from Adachi saying things have taken a turn for the worse. She says her final words with you at her side calling you big bro for the last time. Then the heart monitor produces a flatline and the reaction from everyone to it. Uh, heartbreaking! [/bgcolor]

Max Payne - This one's a bit more harrowing than sad, but the opening of the game where Max finds his wife and baby girl murdered by junkies. It was probably more effective knowing that had Max maybe arrived earlier rather than play a card game with his cop buddies, things might have been ok. But being in that house, hearing the screams, the junkies yelling, gunshots and then silence. It certainly created a powerful opening to a game.

Nice one! The level where you are in a drug-induced nightmare where Max faces his torment for not being able to save his family could also qualify for this thread.

True, all memories I have of that part was those terrible platforming parts where you have to make an inch-perfect jump to the next ultra thin platform

[Yuna]

This part you mentioned in Persona 4 almost brought a tear to me eye   
This game is full of emotional moments.

A good one I just remembered is in Metal Gear 4
*spoiler highlight to read*

When Raiden meets his son but he's scared his son won't like him, but the kid doesn't mind at all. All he also finds the truth about Rose, that she still loved him and she was with the Colonel just for cover. I loved that part!

[shirenuファクトリー]

FF6 had many heart destroying moments imo, which is quite an achievement for the pixel graphics!

When the world's destroyed and people are shown dying
When an entire castle of people are poisoned
When Celes attempts suicide

etc.etc.

Also the opera theme (that also plays when Celes attempts suicide) is the most likely melody to ever get me teary-eyed. TRUE FACT

[LeeMusume]

Half Life 2 : Episode 2 - Dad'...'
'Close your eyes, honey.'
'I love you dad'
'Don't look...'

man, that scene was totally sad!

but I was sad when I was in the last level of Constantine and my save file corrupted and I lost all my progress lol!