Games are truly a sight to behold. They represent a true melting pot of various types of media, converging to form one emotionally charged entity. Ok, that might be a bit much. But games, more than any other medium, offer the chance for a true connection with the experience at hand. Where else do you find a melding of music, storytelling, character development, AND interactivity on the same level as games. Yeah, it’s tough to find one.
Because of this, video games are in the unique and advantageous position of being able to control how we feel, and delivering a strong message that we can really put our faith behind. Take, for example, the events toward the end of Final Fantasy VII. Unexpectedly, one of the main characters was killed, and it left many a gamer stunned, and deeply saddened. Some people even cried. That’s a long way from the days when moving a block into a position where it could fit with other blocks was as deep as you got.
I myself didn’t cry for that moment, and for a long time, didn’t cry for any other moment – in ANY game I’d ever played. However, that all changed in 2005.
Many gamers are familiar with the Final Fantasy series, and quite possibly, were touched by that very moment in FF VII that I mentioned above. For an exceptionally long time, Square has been crafting stories that will forever stand with the elite tales in video game history, and they don’t look to be stopping anytime soon. Pry enough, and I’m sure you can get a very sizable number of gamers to admit an event in a Final Fantasy game that really effected them. That could not be said for me, until I decided to go back and finish one of their games, that I had never quite had time to complete.
That game was Final Fantasy X. Many different people think many different things of FF X. Tidus has an annoying voice. Tidus is a jackass. Tidus looks like a complete loser. All very sensible statements. But unfortunately, those very attributes often cause some people to overlook the true brilliance of Final Fantasy X’s story. I should say that X is my favorite game in the series, and was so before the moment I’m about to share with you. That moment being the first, and to this date, only, time I have ever cried from playing a game.
Something you should know about me, is that I always connect with one particular character in any given Final Fantasy game, more so than all the others. For example, in Final Fantasy VII, it was Vincent. In Final Fantasy XII, it was Balthier. In Kingdom Hearts, it was Riku. I just tend to pick out my favorite, and they’re generally not the main character. I don’t know why, but I find the supporting casts’ stories to be much, much more compelling. Anyway, in Final Fantasy X, that character was Auron. Maybe it was he cool shades, or his even cooler outfit, or his EVEN cooler sword – I can’t be sure. All I know is that I latched onto him, more so than Tidus, Yuna, Rikku, or any of the other characters in the game.
I spent most of the game building up the idea that Auron was, in fact, the coolest character ever created. I still believe that. However, the funny thing about Auron is that he isn’t technically alive. He is kept so by his need to protect, and to see his mission completed, but for all intents and purposes, he should have been laid to rest. This only served to bolster his awesomeness. However, when you find out his reasons for remaining part of the living world, you’re taken aback by the lengths he has gone to to help others.
Auron became what was known as an Unsent. He finally reveals this to Tidus toward the end of FF X. A bit of a ‘Sixth Sense’ twist, and it was pretty cool to learn. At that point, I was pretty much expecting everything Auron did to be awesome. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was my reaction to his fate. At the end of the game, Yuna finally sends Auron to rest in the Farplane, where he joins Jecht (Tidus’ father) and Braska (Yuna’s father). During this scene, I was speechless. I should point out that there have been plenty of times in my gaming career where I’ve been speechless. When I believed Master Chief dead at the end of Halo 3. When Sora is ripped from his homeworld in Kingdom Hearts. Too many to count. The difference here, was that there were tears running down my cheeks. I didn’t notice them at first, and when I did, I was surprised. This had, obviously, never happened to me before. That moment will forever be embedded in my mind as a gamer, as one of my favorite moments in a video game, period.
I’m sure that many of you have similar moments, and I’d love to hear about them. Games can have a profound effect on our lives, and ignoring that fact is a foolish mistake. Please share with us any moments that you had, where your emotion showed for a game. Comment below. No registration required to post.
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It’d be really awkward if no one else here had ever cried from playing a video game…awkwardddddd
Yeah, FFX is my favorite game in the series as well, in fact it’s my favorite game of all time. Though I agree Tidus isn’t the most likable character by himself, I still sort of liked some things about him. I thought his childish nature was relatable. And a couple tears did stream down my cheeks at the end, but not during that scene with Auron (though that was very sad). For me, the most heart wrenching scene was the one in which Tidus disappears while Yuna tries desperately to hold on to him. That was just the most unforgettable and saddest scene I have ever experienced. Great article btw
I totally agree with you. One other notable part in gaming that made me cry was the end of Metal Gear Solid 4.The most emotional game i have ever played.
For me, the moment in gaming that made me cry was in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
**********Spoilers!**********
The scene where Nanako died. Totally unexpected and it not only saddened me but it also made me angry because of what was currently going on in the plot. It was nice to see that the writer of the game was emphasizing both sadness and anger within all the characters, despite the fact that the main character doesn’t speak.
**********End Spoilers**********
I’ve never cried during a game but my eyes watered up a little bit after marathoning metal gear solid 1-3 then playing 4 for the first time. I saluted, too. Also in shadow of the collosus at the end there was a pretty good moment.
p.s. i lied! i cried when my diablo account was hacked back when i was like 10.
lol
Great article, while I certainly didn’t cry – I’d say Final Fantasy X brought me near to it… It’s ending was just fantastic.
On a side note; I remember commenting on the site as Davey B back when the site started up I think; before podcasts and all the usual stuff; loved the articles and how involved you guys were all involved with feedback and wanted you’s to do well and well…I hadn’t been on the site in so long; and it’s looking great. Props to you guys and congrats on the everything; the site really does look brilliant.
Thanks guys
I have only cried twice while gaming. At the end of MGS4 when I thought snake had in fact killed himself and at the end of Kingdom Hearts 2. Tears were shed not entirely for Solid Snake during the incredibly emotional climax to the Metal Gear solid series on my part. I cried because I was thinking that it was the end of my favorite video game series of all time and that, so I thought at the time, it was never coming back. Sure about 5 minutes later I found out that Snake was not really dead and that the entire storyline of the game did not end in the clean, tiddy manner that I thought it had, but a boring half hour long chat between a guy I thought had died twice and the guy who I thought had just killed himself. That Twilight loving creep should have ended it when it made sense. I cried at the end KH2 because I had played it marathon for about 25 hours straight and had more fun paying a video game that featured my most hated video-game character of all time (sora)singing disney songs in full mermaid attire than any other single player game before it.
The 2 time i almost cried while playing a video game. The end of KH 1. I felt like i was gonna cry but i didnt (eyes we trying to water but they were to dry. 2nd time was in KH 2 when everybody THOUGHT goofy died. I would have cried if goofy died..screaming WTF WAS THAT!!! THEY KILLED OFF GOOFY!!! “THE” GOOFY NOO!!! THAT NEVER HAPPENED!!! THIS GAME DOESNT EXIST!
I have to agree with Matthew, Persona 4 is the most emotional, and edge on seat game I have ever played.
I admit FFX came in at a close second, as I shed a single tear at the end of FFX when Tidus high fived his father just before the credits, as it related so closely to my own father issues.
***P4 SPOILERS***
But during Persona 4 there were just so many moments, covering so many different emotions, for example when I thought Nanako had died, when I thought Teddie was going away permanently, thinking he had failed everyone. Even just some of the conversations as you learned about your friends in the game. One of the best scripted games and best developed characters I have ever experienced. <3 persona
end of twilight princess.
WHYYY MINDA! WHY BREAK THE MIRROR!
Honestly ff7 was pretty emotional your right and so was ten even though i never beat it….someone ruined the ending for me so i quite when i heard it. But he most emotional game i have ever played is mgs4. Pretty much from act 4 where you arrive on shadow mosses island all the way to crawling through the microwave oven and the end was just a huge emotional roller coaster….and yes i cried because i’ve played every metal gear solid game and i’ve grown up with snake. But games are pretty emotional its kinda nice that games have grown this involved.
Yeah FFX is the best game in the series, but I advice you to try Lost Odyssey, that’s the first time I ever cried while playing a videogame.
Metal Gear Solid 3. When Big Boss visited the Boss’ grave in the end.
MGS3 watching Big Boss salute the grave of the Boss was amazing
MGS4 the microwave hallway how that is set up is fantastic watching everyone on the different screens then hammering down Triangle as Snake crawls his way to the end of hallway, with the music and the slow motion parts, it was truly amazing i almost cried cuz i knew i was near the end of one of my favourite game series and because i thought Snake was gonna die there
FF9: i got really sad at the end because you don’t know what happens to Vivi! in one of the last fights he says something like “this is gonna be my last fight with you guys” or something and i was like “he’ll come back…right?” and although you see lots of smaller Vivi’s you still don’t know what happened to the main one
FFX: The ending scene is emotional and yes everything about Auron was emotional
i totally agree,the only time i got emotional was when i taught tidus dies…..man that was awfull. seeing yuna cry!!!
You should play the Metal Gear series. I almost cried at the end of FFX it was sad, but the ending to Metal Gear Solid 3 and 4 was way worst. I held it back as much as I could with MGS3 but with MGS4 I had to let it all out, I was practically bawling. Best story of any series by far.
Yea MGS3 was sad as hell too! i cried like a baby!
ff9 was pretty sad when everyone thought zidane was dead then at the end he came back…..but by far it was mgs4…my eyes actually watered up at the last fight with liquid….with the beautiful graphics and music and the emotion in that fight …o man im going to go play it again
MGS3 – EVA’s debriefing, it was like my soul was connected to an LCD 1 foot in front of me. Most. Powerful. Scene. Ever.
Then there’s Shadow of the Colossus, the ending, it was the beauty that struck me so hard.
Oh and how can I forget, MGS4, the father and son reunion, man that was emotional.
I am not usually a huge fan of the Final Fantasy series but I did end up buying the X when I bought a PS2 for the hell of it. To be honest, none of the game dazzled me until I got to the very end. Watching Tidus disappear left me sobbing… it was the first time that Square truly got to me emotionally.
Lost Odyssey, during Lirum’s death and quite a few of the “dreams” are really sad because of how lonely it would be to be immortal.
FFX, I agree.
The end of Ocarina of Time was pretty sad as I remember it.
Pretty much JRPGs. But yeah, Lost Odyssey is a great game and anyone who likes to cry should play it. Haha.
I cried when I discovered the cake was a lie :’(
Even now, 6 years after the period i played Final Fantasy X, i’m sad, i’m really sad while reading your article. Because at the end of that game i cried, i’m a Man, the type of man that never, nevere cry… Nor with a film, nor in real life. But in that moment i cried, for Auron but also, and especially for Yuna and Tidus. Simply amazing.
And I had to say that also at the end of Metal Gear Solid 3 i felt really sad, but no tears… FFX will be forever my favourite game… One of these days I had to play it again, to cry again and again… and again…
It’s funny that you posted this, because nearly the exact thing happened to me with Final Fantasy X. It is, to this day, the only game that has ever made me legitimately shed tears. The entire scene was so well-directed, so perfectly choreographed, it just made me forget that I was playing a video game and pulled me into what has to be one of the most believable fantasy worlds ever created. Even one of my ultra-macho friends admits to crying at the end of FFX. It is still the ONLY game that I’ve bought the soundtrack to, and every time I hear it, I’m transported back to 2001, my middle school years, in front of my TV playing Final Fantasy X.
Great article. Thanks for taking me back for a bit.
WHAT? FFX MADE YOU CRY???
Lol. Any ways I wish I can get the same emotions that you get from games. The only one close is probably MGS3′s end. Like mention above it’s really good, and MGS4 leaves you with a strange empty feeling (in a good way). If you ever get a chance play those games, hey-they are technically RPGS!
The only time I cried was when I was hit in the bollox by a cricket ball.
And when my dog died.
ive played every game you mention emotion runs through every game
games from nes super nes sega SEGA 32x PS1 PS2 PSP old xbox and the PS3 if it made you cry then the story tellers did there job
gta 3 VC San Andrease vcs lcs getting 100 % on
all of them WITH OUT CHEATING would make YOU cry also
PSN id angrystslayer
I’ve never fully cried during a game but I’ve teared up from being so emotional before, my big one has to be the end of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, I don’t know why but it’s so bittersweet at the end, same with Shadow of the Colossus, Wander’s fate is so cruel (despite the fact that he’s only getting his redemption for the horrible thing that he’s done) and you really have to live through just about every moment of it, it was really hard to go through the first time.
I also have to agree with some other people here that the MGS games have some amazingly powerful scenes, but my favourite has to be MGS3, the fight with the Boss and having to pull the trigger after everything you learn about her, then later at the end when Eva tells Snake everything and he goes to the Boss’s grave, really hard not to get highly emotional, and then the game ends with that Starsailor song and then the majestic and emotional MGS theme music
it gets to be too much for anyone at the end of that game, and it’s all so epic-ly done
will i dont really think i ever cryd in a game
but maybe got sad of something
when nariko died in heveanly sword
and when kate faith’s sis fell from the plane in mirrors edge
and lots of cutscenes in lots of ff games
…etc….
The ending in Eternal Sonata where Polka falls over the cliff… That was a very… weird moment for me.
I can’t remember if I died, though.
This entire article, and all the comments, have left me with loss for words. When I began the article, I thought it was going to be funny. But, oddly enough, this entire page has just connected with me in a deep way. Some of my most memorable moments, as laughable as it is to say, have come from the climaxes of video games. I never cry. At the end of FFX, I think my eyes welled up a bit. For me, it was when Tidus was pulled away from Yuna’s arms. But I have to give props to MGS4, too. Something about the mad, frantic button mashing in that microwave tunnel made me feel like I was truly saving him from cooking in there. Anyway, impressive directing and gameplay (in MGS4′s case) made those scenes what they were.
Also, Claude Kenny in SO:TSS. I really attached to him in the way you attached to Auron. Anyway. Best article I have read in years. And I read gamer news literally every day.
@nsexton
Wow, thank you, I really appreciate it. If sharing my experiences can help others relate, then I’m doing my job.
And to all of you who have commented, thank you so much for the support, and for relating your experiences. You’ve made this writer very, very proud of his industry!
You’re still not the boss of me. INDIVIDUALITY IN A CAPITALIST SOCIETY!!!
Mostly the same as everybody else.
Shadow of the collosus killed me all the way through then the ending totally finished me off. cried like a baby.
Metal gear solid 3 with the battle with the boss and visting her grave.
MGS4 did but not because of the same reasons as everybody else. The point where i just couldn’t take anymore was watching the anguish between Otacon and Naomi. I got so built up by how everything was just crashing down for everybody that i just couldn’t take it anymore. Beautifully done. A few of my friends always just laugh at otacon by they are just heartless bastards. I think it had something to do with recalling all of the terrible shit that’s happened to him through the whole series. He serious lives the most jaded life and the fact that he stays helping snake all the way through makes me have immense respect for his character.
Persona 4 agreed.
FF7 got me close but not quite.
FF8 almost did just because of some of the songs.
WHOA almost forgot about suikoden one and 2. Both of those got me. 1 at the part with teo and 2 in one of the alternate endings.
I find that often after i’ve beaten a game and thought about everything in it the second go gets me much harder when i understand the events before they happen. you start to pay more attention to little things like what everyone says.
Anyway great topic. I’m really excited for heavy rain next year. It’s for sure going to be brutal emotionally to get through.
Shenmue, near the end when Nozomi gets kidnapped. I was worried about her while I was at school that day.
Lost Oddysey did it a lot. I read almost all the dream sequences and some were just so sobering. They dealt with questions that we all ask ourselves: life, death, meaning, purpose. These dreams were just text with music and some blurred images yet they had such deep and profound meanings I couldn’t but help getting a little choked up.
I love the Final Fantasy games, but sadly I haven’t played many of them do to my only having Nintendo products as a child. I really want to go through the Final Fantasy games as a whole one day soon. But I did play all of the metal gear games in about a months time so I could be ready for 4 when it came out. Those games have some serious moment’s in them.
Although the game that ended up making me cry first was not from story elements, it was cause it scared the $#!& out of me. It was back when I was five and my dad was playing doom. I would watch him every once and a while, but this time we were playing it at night and it was dark. To say the least we weren’t expecting a guy to jump out and it scared the crap out of us both.
I completely understand what you are telling us. Auron was always my favorite, and I knew he was a unsent, in fact I played the game for years without ever finishing it.
And finally I did and watched the ending the second I that pyriflies started to fly around him I knew I was crying, I just wished they had included that scene and made it a FMV
I almost cried at the end of FFX, mostly because I was so relieved I had done it after trying to beat the same boss about 12+ times, but I was very sad when Auron left (The greatest character in FFX!)
The part in Okami where Issun and Ammy get seperated is also very sad, but both Zack’s death in Crisis Core or Vivi’s possible death in FF9 made me cry a lot T__T
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Oh man, the first time I cried durign a video game was when Tidus fell from the ship, and yYuna started crying, then performing the ritual for him. I felt so bad, for both of them. Neither got to live out the love that they felt for eachother.
Dont worry bro! I cried too! I balled when yuna told tidus that she loved him then he jump off. i also cried when aerith murdered in ff7!