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[ignaciobalbuena]

I agree with J-Snake, I actually cried when completing Metal Gear Solid for PSX the first time, after the sniper level with the wolf lady.

[swordofkings128]

Deadly Premonition made me cry the first time I beat it... such a satisfying yet mysterious ending. Also, possibley the best game ever made came to an end.

[knight]

Immortal Defense(The part where your teacher/mentor double crosses you and causes Earth to be destroyed)

[:^)]

Does "moving" mean sad? Or just something that invokes a strong emotional reaction?

Or are you asking which game gives you the most heart-aching case of nostalgia?

Or what?

[Simon Andersson]

The Phoenix Wright games were moving in an entirely different way. They were moving to the point of "oh gawd I gotta put this guy in jail RIGHT NOW" as opposed to moving you to tears or anger or something else. The game puts you in Phoenix's shoes, but, as you play more, you begin to feel the way he does. Also, Dahlia Hawthorne is pretty much the scariest character I have ever seen.

Totally agrees with this! I remember being all in tears at the end of the third Phoenix Wright game. Just wanted to call all my friends and tell them how much I liked them. Had a pretty high fever at that moment though, so I guess that might have contributed some.

Another recent game I found pretty moving was To The Moon. Having to remove John and Rivers relationship completely from johns memory efter having traveled through it all felt really emotional to me. I think it kinda touched me the same way as Phoenix Wright did.

Shadow of the Collosus was really moving for me until the end, which I think butchered everything a bit.

[TaintedFork]

Another "moving" bit of Phoenix Wright is that it makes me paranoid. 

After I play it, I start to think every single person around me is actually a criminal mastermind trying to kill me. I think that says something about how great (ie convincing) the game's writing is.

[Player 3]

Pole Position. Everything's moving so fast, it'll bring you to tears.

[inkBot]

Terranigma. In pretty much all games you go through a LOT of stuff. Relationship drama, battles, dilemmas etc. But for me, Terranigma really hammered the weight of all that you accomplished down.


At the end, you return back to Crysta and face Gaia. There's a weird mix of futility and progress that I felt there, but what really tore me up was the day you were given at the end. That's just brutal. A lot of games acknowledge the end of the game with the credits, some do more, but rarely do we see bittersweet endings. Terranigmas ending was way more bitter than sweet. It stared you straight in the face and said, "This is it. When Ark goes to sleep, this story is 'over'."

To not only have a proper, mostly bitter, ending, as well as acknowledging the end of the game in ingame terms, is to me a stroke of genius.

[maxnarvaes]

Terranigma. In pretty much all games you go through a LOT of stuff. Relationship drama, battles, dilemmas etc. But for me, Terranigma really hammered the weight of all that you accomplished down.


At the end, you return back to Crysta and face Gaia. There's a weird mix of futility and progress that I felt there, but what really tore me up was the day you were given at the end. That's just brutal. A lot of games acknowledge the end of the game with the credits, some do more, but rarely do we see bittersweet endings. Terranigmas ending was way more bitter than sweet. It stared you straight in the face and said, "This is it. When Ark goes to sleep, this story is 'over'."

To not only have a proper, mostly bitter, ending, as well as acknowledging the end of the game in ingame terms, is to me a stroke of genius.

Oh yes, terranigma was simply genius, absolutely moving ending, I think I cried when I finished it. One of the greatest RPG's ever.

[orange08]

Iji has moved me more than any other game.
Mostly just at the end, where Tor dies. It was pretty sad to see it.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

Immortal Defense(The part where your teacher/mentor double crosses you and causes Earth to be destroyed)

you mean dukis, not earth; earth is in a separate galaxy haha

[Fallsburg]

This is an old one, but I've never since become so immersed in a storyline as in Dune.





Abe's Oddyssey came close though, also the first Settlers.

Holy crap, how did I never know about that Dune game?

As for most moving game, let's see.
There was a lot of stuff in Soul Blazer that really got to me when I was younger.  That whole game is just tinged with sadness, death, and longing.

[ink.inc]

katawa shoujo was pretty touching (and not just in a lecherous grope-y manner)

though its a visual novel as opposed to an actual game

[TaintedFork]

Another recent game I found pretty moving was To The Moon. Having to remove John and Rivers relationship completely from johns memory efter having traveled through it all felt really emotional to me. I think it kinda touched me the same way as Phoenix Wright did.

Yeah, earlier today I tried the demo, was instantly intrigued, and bought the full version.

Very emotional journey, from beginning to end. Not pure tragic sad sad sad, either, but a game that makes you feel a variety of different feelings, sometimes at the same time.

I beat it about 2 hours ago and feel very emotionally drained, in the best possible way. It's like playing a sport or exercising, but with your emotions.

Deserves a special mention for its writing and music as well, which basically sum up why it's such a lovely journey. Some very great subtlety in its pixel work, too.

I didn't want this to turn into a micro-review, but it happened anyway.

I strongly recommend this game! (plus you can always try the demo for an hour and see if you like it) http://freebirdgames.com/to_the_moon/

[cronotime]

Chrono Trigger. Not that one part, nor that other one part ((where the first "one part" is undone), but the very beginning during the Millennial Fair. In one of the houses an NPC says "Something tells me I'm as happy now as I'll ever be." It made the Millennial Fair almost bittersweet; in a matter of days, all will be gone, and all will be back to the ordinary for the rest of their life. The parallels to real life are disturbing, to say the least.

"Something tells me I'm as happy now as I'll ever be." I felt exactly the same way about this quote - incredibly bittersweet. Gotta remember and enjoy the hell out of those happy occasions.

The text as you quoted it is from the DS translation of Chrono Trigger. The original SNES translation was the simpler "I'm so happy I could scream!".

I wonder how true the sentiment of the English translation was to the original Japanese text? Sorry about the bump, I Googled the full phrase "Something tells me I'm as happy now as I'll ever be." and was both surprised and happy to see that somebody else liked it as much as me.

[FK in the Coffee]

Yume Nikki, absolutely. As intimate as it is surreal.

[diegzumillo]

Holy resurrected topic, Batman! this thing started five years ago.

I'll go with Chrono Trigger.

[Mittens]

Since it didn't exist when the thread started, I'll say the opening of Ori was pretty moving

[s0]

seeing hyrule castle town as adult link in ocarina of time was pretty sad when i was 8.

hmm, i can't really think of much else that has moved me in a videogame tbh. i don't get into videogame stories the same way i get into movies or books.

[JWK5]

It is not even the fact she dies or the dramatics of the scene that always got me, it's what Cloud is saying. Sephiroth is droning on about how she will become energy, how she'll never laugh, cry, or feel pain, etc. but rather than having Cloud launch into some standard video game hero hollow revenge threats instead they actually make him completely beside himself with shock and disbelief.

"What about us... What are WE supposed to do?"
"What about my pain?"
"My fingers are tingling."
"My mouth is dry."
"My eyes are burning!"

It all culminates with Sephiroth saying "Stop acting as if you were sad, there is no need to act as though you're angry either." "Because, Cloud, You are..."



The game Nier really got to me too, the way Nier is this surly warrior but who barely keeps his emotions in check fretting over his sick daughter Yonah is another example of a game character showing human fragility. For that matter, I really liked Snake's interaction with Sunny in MGS4, it is a shame they didn't make more use of that dynamic.

A sense of vulnerability is one of the most important aspects of humanity, it brings out both the best and worst in us. That so many movies, novels, games, etc. try to pass off these emotionally impervious characters really shoots down their ability to connect deeply with their audience.