GameSetQ: Your 'Oh My God' Moment In Games?

Max Payne 2 - the end of the game, credits, Poets of the Fall begin to sing "Late Goodbye". Man I was nearly crying!

Chrone | June 20, 2007 7:00 AM

The last Boss (literally) in Metal Gear 3. The white flowers turning red? Oh, my god. And then I cried like a baby when I won.

Leigh | June 20, 2007 7:20 AM

The dialog and character development written into Earthbound on the SNES still pulls on my heartstrings.

By the ending credits, when that muddied, mystery voice says, "I'll miss you," I'm ready to crack up.

The feeling of loss is just the same now as it was when the game first came out...

...the trip is over, and now it's time for everyone to go home.

I don't think any other videogame has articulated missing an old friend in such an emotional, and sentimental, fashion.

Noun | June 20, 2007 7:27 AM

Joy: The very first time I hit max-level with a character in a Massive game was in World of Warcraft. I was hunting Yeti in Winterspring, and I realized I was *almost* there. I FRAPsed the 'final' golden glowie, and then danced around my apartment singing.

Emotive: For a number of reasons, I found the end of Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past extremely moving. I didn't cry, but it was a 'getting choked up here' moment.

Michael | June 20, 2007 7:38 AM

Back in 1986 in one of my first gaming sessions with "Rescue on Fractalus" on my Atari 800 when I had a sneaky alien pilot jump onto the windscreen of my space ship for the first time. I jumped back in my seat and didn't deploy the energy shield in time to zap 'em before he got through.

Ben Combee | June 20, 2007 8:11 AM

I was questing near Sun Rock Retreat in WoW one night with these two other toons. One, just from the way she wrote, was clearly a girl. About 15 minutes in, she /w

"do you like me?"

Knowing that my wife was not looking, I wrote back

"yes. definitely."

She wrote back:

"no, seriously, because this other guy is telling me that he thinks you are fighting the way you are to show off for me."

At that point, I opened up the discussion to all three of us. We retreated to one of those little mounds in the center of the zone and talked about love, difficulties and personal issues. At one point the guy said,

"I had a terrible relationship with my mom. Sometimes I get so angry about it I just punch the walls in my house."

The next night, I was in Sun Rock, turning in quests and repairing, when I saw the girl from the night before. We were chatting about the scene the night before, how weird it was, how awesome WoW was that that could happen, etc. Suddenly, she cried out, her chest exploded in blood, and a lvl 60 alliance rogue appeared behind her, ganked her with one backstab.

It was the most shocking thing I've ever experienced in a game... This girl, who was starting to be a friend, killed in front of me, her blood splashed on my face.

Then the rogue one-hit me. No single player game could ever match that experience.

Matthew | June 20, 2007 8:12 AM

There are a few moments that had rather limited interactivity, but still made a strong impression. One was the end of Meretzky's A Mind Forever Voyaging. The other was near the beginning of that Dreamcast oddity SeaMan, when my precious babies were being devoured by a nautilus.

Chris | June 20, 2007 8:20 AM

More a stain than a globule, really.

Sometime these moments are major plot twists, sometimes they're smaller like the Tap reference. I have a few of both that come to mind, and neither one answers the question "Can a game make you cry?"

For whatever reason I found myself very emotionally invested in the ending of Tony Hawk's Underground. The plot (the series' first) about a friend who stabs you in the back and your quest to get your rightful credit for creating a wild skate video really motivated me to power through even the game's most frustrating segments. The emotional payoff was surprisingly strong.

Also, WoW is full of little in-jokes that have stopped me in my tracks. In Orgrimmar, there's a guy in the Cleft of Shadows in the rogue trainer area named Zando'zan. I sat there dumbfounded; how did a Last Starfighter reference ("Interstellar hit beast!" shrieks Centauri) make it in here? Was it put here just for me? And just last week, I suddenly came across the Lost Vikings in Uldaman. If you didn't recognize Olaf, Baelog and Eric the Swift, it didn't interrupt the game at all...but since I got the reference, it made me stop and look and, at one point, nearly get killed by getting too close to a pack of level 40 elites. I was totally elated, and that kind of subtlety -- that respect for one segment of the audience while not excluding the rest of it -- just reinforces how human game experiences can be. Now I wonder about all the other obscure WoW references I haven't gotten!

Dan Amrich | June 20, 2007 8:41 AM

Chrono Trigger. When Crono (main character) turned into vortex of light to sacrifice him self, so he could save his friends from Lavos. Wow that made me fell bad that I wasn’t good enough to save him. I felt great when the Team use bend in time so you could save him sec before his death. Truly one of the best games ever created with one of the best moments in any game.

Sonic Chronic | June 20, 2007 9:13 AM

Otogi: Level 4 (I think...)

Not having read the manual, (naturally,) I had been running around on the ground, hacking and slashing away and not being very successful. When I got to level 4, (The Water Pagoda,) I somehow realized that you could fly indefinitely with the proper combination of moves. The game completely changed and opened up to me.
Awesome graphics, amazing soundtrack, cool plot and characters, great game mechanics. Stunning.

anoon | June 20, 2007 9:41 AM

Two Photopia-moments stick to mind; first, when I solved the maze, and second when I understood "the big picture".

fluffy bunny | June 20, 2007 9:57 AM

Super Metroid moved me to manly tears back in the day. It's a long story, so rather than just repeat it here I'll direct you to my blog where I've recounted the incident, but long story short, the poor giant baby metroid had to die to teach me that video games can evoke an emotional response.

http://www.pressthebuttons.com/2005/08/the_crying_game.html

MattG | June 20, 2007 11:55 AM

Yes. Super Metroid!

You're super powered. Blasting Metroid after Metroid as you work your way through Tourian. You hit a save point and then drop into a room. The music gets quiet. The room is empty save for some drained corpses of creatures that disintegrate when you get near them. Something's been feeding here.

You enter the other room and all of a sudden you hear the screetch of the Metroid and that big fuck of a creature comes at you, grabs you, you try to escape but you can't. What are you doing wrong? Bombs? Super bombs? Nothing works. You're about to die and... it releases. It lets you live.

And later after fighting Mother Brain you learn why. It was so obvious.

And all that without one shred of text or dialogue. Absolutely "OMG" at the time.

Also, beating the original Metroid as a six/seven year old and then being floored that this bad ass Samus was... a woman?! Totally OMG for a six year old.

n0wak | June 20, 2007 12:11 PM

I think the most emotionally painful moment for me was in Wing Commander II when Spirit dies. For me, having played through Wing Commander I a lot, it really felt like a friend had just passed away.

shdwcaster | June 20, 2007 2:43 PM

Rez level 4 holds a special place in heart, the sequence where the music breaks down as you enter the temple and are about to take on the running man boss with the guitar sample from "Knock On Wood" is one of the moments I'll always fondly remember.

More recently, it's been pretty much all of Dead Rising. It's an absolute delight after all this time, with every playthrough giving something new.

stx | June 20, 2007 2:48 PM

For me it's always been big multiplayer wins. Either winning of the classic giant fleet-battles in Eve (with dozens of ships fighting each other) or playing Quake III competitively and beating a decent team.

Rossignol | June 21, 2007 2:09 AM

I'm surprised no-one's mentioned it yet: FF VII - Aeris.

Steve | June 21, 2007 5:29 AM

Fighting games can also give that emotional hook, as proven by my Saturn VF2 days.

The first time I had pulled off Akira's Stun Palm of Doom combo perfectly against the AI left me stunned. It was one of those moments when your thought process stopped and everything became reactionary. You stopped planning the next move and just did it instantly, your fingers moving on their own. After I had done it, I stopped and couldn't believe that I pulled it off, until the replay came up and I saw... Akira's awesomeness under my complete control.

No other fighting game has rewarded my hours of 'training' as much as that 3 second replay.

ShoPao | June 21, 2007 6:41 AM

Let me echo the "Super Metroid" comments above. That's the one for me too. Can't say I enjoyed it. But it got my heart racing like nothing else. I panicked. Thought the game had just wiped away an hour of hard-fought progress or that I was too clumsy a player to know how to escape what seemed like an interminable energy drain attack. But then when I had just one hit point remaining and was sure I was finished -- after losing hundreds of hit points as I button-mashed in frustration -- everything changed. For the better. Brilliant, brilliant moment.

Stephen Totilo | June 21, 2007 11:41 AM

Agro's re-entrance at the end of Shadow of the Colossus nearly broke my heart. I had been wondering for a while why people kept raving about the characterization of this poorly-controlled, so-far-pretty-dull horse, and I found out then.

The Milkman Conspiracy in Psychonauts. No explanation needed.

The last levels of Ouendan 1 and 2, especially the 2nd one (no matter how cliche it was - the theme and gameplay allowed for it).

Exploring the island of Vvardenfell in Morrowind for the first time, and stealing every object in a person's house, then selling it all to a merchant down the street.

And picking up continents in Katamari Damacy.

Gannon | June 21, 2007 12:34 PM

I've got a few good moments.

The first was beating Zelda: Ocarina of Time for N64 for the first time. That last boss fight against the monstrous Gannon just blew me away: the scale was just epic. I really felt like a hero destroying that bastard. Then the ending came, which was so melancholy. That feeling of sadness juxtaposed with that feeling of accomplishment just blew me away. I ended up staring at the ending screen for about a half hour.

The second one was playing Halo, fighting through "The Two Betrayals". The level was just so beautiful; the snow at night, the pretty lights. What I loved about the original Halo was that all the humans and human technologies were, compared to the covenant, very ugly and utilitarian. I felt like a brute fighting these wondrously elegant creatures in a wonderfully beautiful world which I was fouling up. Then the flood came and you were allowed to watch something even uglier than yourself fight the covenant. It was a battle of beauty and order versus chaos that you were allowed to watch during several set pieces through out the level. Finally, you get to the very ending battle, where a large group of covenant is fighting the flood with tanks, hunters, and turrets. If you stay to watch them, you'll see that they finally win this last battle. After losing and retreating through this whole level, order finally rallies its troops and holds off chaos. And then you join the fight and finish off these last survivors, and by the the end of the game the Covenant has been completely routed. When I joined that fight I felt so damn guilty, and almost overwhelmed by all the beauty. It was the moment I realized that video games actually were a worthwhile medium.

The last moment I recall was from another Bungie FPS, Marathon 2. For the whole game the megalomaniac computer Durandal is sending you on missions with little regard for your health or wellbeing. Durandal knows your a badass, and he is very obviously entertained by your ability to burn through the enemies. He delights in the destruction you cause. The first half of the game draws you into Durandal's megalomania: you, like him, start to believe that you're an invincible cyborg badass who kicks so much ass that you barely have time to take names. The game ramps up in difficulty and the set pieces get more ridiculous. One level has you jumping into the crater of an active volcano into a base below. Durandal sends you in alone because, as he puts it, "only you would survive the fall". Then the level "If I had a rocket launcher I'd make somebody pay" comes along. Durandal is finally touched, and you realize that he's more than just a megalomaniac. The bad guys send their finest fleet after Durandal and he looses the ensuing fight, crashing his spaceship into the moon of the planet you spent the first half of the game invading. Suddenly, you realize that Durandal wasn't just using you for his own purposes. He didn't have you destroying the Phor for pleasure, it was because he wanted a planetary base to fight from when the baddies sent their main force after him. He didn't have you take over a seemingly impenetrable bunker just to see if you could do it, he did because he knew you would need it for a bomb shelter when the space ships came to kill you. He didn't teleport all the human lackies he had on board his spaceship to the planets surface to use as suicide shock troops, it was to keep them safe (safe-ish anyways) during a space battle he knew he'd loose. He didn't launch you into volcano to kill random baddies, he did it to keep you safe and out of the way until he could use you again. And you find out all of this when he teleports you off of the planet and into his crippled spaceship so you can run one last errand for him: Help him commit suicide by destroying his circuitry before he can be captured and cannibalized by the enemy AI. That gave me bloodlust like I had never felt in a game before.

Mister Yuck | June 21, 2007 6:05 PM

Rolling up the King Of All Cosmos in We (heart) Katamari.

Starflight: THE ANCIENTS -ARE- ENDURIUM! The Keyser Soze of computer games.

Might & Magic II: In this quasi-fantasy world, getting a clue that the nature of the world would be revealed by mapping out every inch of one dungeon, doing so, and finding out that they spell out the four-word technological name of a spaceship -- that, the player realizes, if converted into an acronym, is the same as the name of the game's world, CRON.

One that will never be:
Fans have learned that the original ending for Ultima 9, which Electronic Arts demanded they change, involved the death of Lord British and the whole world of Brittania except for the town and environs of Skara Brae, which would have traveled through space looking for a new world to settle.

The stunning reveal of Hyrule Castle in Zelda: Wind Waker, in the most unexpected of places. Then, the entire ending fight sequence of the game, with the king, Ganon, the Triforce, and the torrents of water falling down all around. Ganon's laughter in this scene, too.

Saving the helper creatures from the destruction of Zebes in Super Metroid.

And finally, and most significantly:

"You offer the Amulet of Yendor to Crom. [more]"
"An invisible choir sings, and you are bathed in radiance. [more]"
"Congratulations, mortal! [more]"
"In reward for your service, I offer thee the gift of Immortality! [more]"
"You ascend to the status of demigod.... [more]"
"Do you want your possessions identified? [ynq](n)"
After that, Kratos can go to hell as far as I'm concerned.

John H. | June 21, 2007 7:36 PM

Freespace 2:
The "Dive! Dive! Dive! Hit your burners pilot!" just gave you an awesome adrenalyn rush.
And the end sequence was also a blast... litteraly.

Monele | June 22, 2007 5:15 AM

As long as we're naming Metroid moments:

Launching a fatal super laser at Meta Ridley in Metroid Prime -- with no spare tanks and one health point remaining.

Jared | June 22, 2007 4:41 PM

My first moment had to have been playing thru the latter levels of Contra on NES. Just using every ounce of gaming ability to avoid getting shot or crushed by spike traps was an amazing feat for a 9 year old kid, even if the 30 lives code had to be used.

My other one was finally obtaining your own ship in Skies of Arcadia (on Dreamcast). At that point you really felt like you were on top of the world and that you could do anything.

It's kind of hard to put these experiences into words. You need to really experience them firsthand to be able to relate (as many of the Super Metroid fans here have).

viewtiful dru | June 23, 2007 12:30 PM

How much can you read into one ASCII character?

I'd been playing Roguelike games almost since their inception and had picked up a new variant of Moria that had colour! (most of us poo poo'd the idea as it felt all too graphicky, but we played it anyway because it actually did have better gameplay).

I'm down at ~level 20, when I turn the corner to see an out-of-depth 'D' only a couple of paces away. OMG. 'D's are ancient dragons, one of the more tougher critters in the game and usually down near the level 50 mark.

I turned to my mate playing next to me and we both freak out a little before looking at all the options and strategizing how to run away without getting eaten or dare we attack?

After 15 minutes we've come up with a semi-decent strategy to take him on (there's no going back) so we take another step and the 'D' changes to red.
"O.M.G"!
Ancient multi-hued dragon! Biggest, baddest dragon around and NO chance of escaping now. We're both screaming at the screen and then, catching ourselves, laughing at each other getting so worked up about one little ASCII character ...

Imagination, the best graphics card bar none.

VRBones | June 25, 2007 3:56 AM

Two of many.

During a game of Road Rash on the Playstation, I drove my motorcycle into a bike-driving policeman at something above 200mph. He made a "whoop" sound and disappeared.

Eight seconds later, as I'm still whaling it on this course, the cop landed, in front of me. And I ran over him.

Second time was where I was playing Quake, and I can't even begin to tell you what level, but I was high up on a "shelf" overlooking an area that was pure melee (I was on a server). I started lobbing grenades like a maniac down into the orgy of destruction, bearing in mind I was set back on this "shelf", and was rewarded with seeing the body of another player bounce up into view, flip over, and bounce back down. Delightful.

Jason Scott | June 26, 2007 8:01 AM

1st & BEST of all : Riven (from the myst series). this is the best gaming experience i've ever had. It's not a video game. You're ON this island. This game controls your mind !

Le Manoir de Mortevielle on atari (mortevielle's manor) : suuuper weird... those voices !
Super Mario Bros : my first my last my everything
Batman on NES, very dark game
Faxanadu on NES : amazing game, huge influence on me as a kid... superb music
Bionic Commando was intense as well. that ending battle
Zelda 1 on NES
Alone in the dark on PC
Zelda : a Link to the Past on Super NES
Super Castlevania IV : so immersive ... and the music is amazing
Starfox : the last boss (that face...)
F-Zero : the music is soooo moody
Super Metroid... i was ill when i played it. the game was already weird, but playing it while you FEEL weird is quite something
The ending of Zelda : Ocarina of Time with this gloomy castle and these never-ending stairs
The ending of Majora's Mask with this plain and the tree, sooo weird
Metal Gear Solid 2, when the ending approach and everything starts to get fucked up ...
Resident Evil 1 gamecube remake - may be my best game experience ever... that mansion ! it's beautiful
Shadow of the Colossus, that battle on that very high platform in the middle of a lake, that colossus is beautiful. The battle on top of that bird is amazing too. The soundtrack is astounding

i need MORE weird games

bontempi | June 30, 2007 12:32 AM

oh and the first time i ever played Virtua Racing arcade
3 DIMENSIONS ! like in the movies !!!

bontempi | June 30, 2007 12:34 AM

I think to make a complete answer, I should reply by two kind of games : online and offline.

Online : Definitely, Quake III Arena, for the human part of people I have never met... When I quit the only team I had ever, my teammates told me : 'Thanks for having frag and being fragged with us'. I guess that sums up everything. We have shared time, emotions, laughs, 'tears' and a part of our life together.

Offline : Shenmue : this game allows me to feel like I am in a different country and allows me to identify myself, for the only time in a game, as the main character. Even if Ryo is kinda strange 8)

I want also to deliver a special note to the end of Baiten Katos [GC] that has moved me, at the end of the story, when people say a last bye.

Wish to say also a special thanks to the games developpers. Thanks for making us FEEL your game !

Alright | July 1, 2007 7:55 AM

FFVII, when Aeris is killed by Sephiroth : althought it was the second time i was playing the game, althought i already kwew the plot, i was kneeling and crying in the frond of my TV, deeply moved by the music...

o.o | July 2, 2007 1:13 PM

When I used action replay ds it just stays on the never ending white screen and it never seems to end. I have no idea what the hell is going on. My happy moment is that I beat Super Mario 64 DS.

Hermione | February 27, 2008 4:10 AM

ending of Twilight Princess me and my girfriend almost cried when Midna was saying goodbye you could see the pain and sadness she felt when she could not say i love you to link

brad | December 20, 2009 5:20 AM

I've been playing a bit of Fallout 3 and I gotta say that the ghoul scares, sometimes out of nowhere, still make me jump sometimes. Even more than that was when i saw my first giant ants. Those things just freak me the hell out! All I want to do is either get away or just kill it dead. *shudder*

Guardian42 | December 20, 2009 10:55 AM

there are some wild comments here. nice post!

philippine literature | August 24, 2010 3:57 PM

Phantasy Star - SEGA Master System

Everything about that game was riveting

Model Trains for Beginners | September 26, 2010 7:33 AM

i had 3 OMG momments in games:

1) GTA: SA - WOW this is the best game i have ever played!

2) World Of Warcraft: YESS!!! I'M LEVER 60!!!

3) Resident Evil 3: AHHHHHHHHH shit this Nemenis fucker is scary!!!!

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