What were your most emotional moments in playing video games?

Fragile Dreams and Katawa Shoujo?

The moment in Bastion where they stop firing at you and just watch you carry him.

James Sunderland sitting in that chair, remembering what he did.

Deus Ex, crawling around the sewers alone when a voice you've never heard before says "I now have full control of your systems."

wow fallout 3 made you emotional? christ. Even I didn't do that and I am mad overemotional (admittedly because I thought the game was terribly written but still)

for me? Nier, Persona 2, and uh...silent hill: shattered memories? maybe? I dunno I cant think of anything else atm

Katawa Shoujo. Dragon Age 1 aaand Heavy Rain.

Dark Souls. For many other reasons than the normal ones. I've written about it many times, but, in short, it engages the players emotions on a deeper level than most other games by requiring you to control them and tap into them in a different way.

I second the FF8. AND FF9... the ending... I dno why but that scene where they get reunited is absolutely awesome.

Every Nintendo game in the last 10 years has given me the feeling of deja vu.

Clearly I have no soul because the only time I got any legitimate emotional reaction was after the "snap" sound effect of a sniper round hitting close in Battlefield 3 I almost shit my pants.

@runnah555 said:

Every Nintendo game in the last 10 years has given me the feeling of deja vu.

That's hilarious!

I don't really have emotional responses to video games. Is that weird?

Rage is an emotion

Probably the Mass Effect 3 ending

Playing through Shadow of the Colossus. Sometimes we do the wrongs actions for the right reasons.

The end for Bioshock (good ending) and seeing Jack getting back what was taken away from him, family.

@TeflonBilly said:

Rage is an emotion

Probably the Mass Effect 3 ending

Yeah, they might as well put up a giant middle finger. I was also playing that game in front of a decently large group of people. They weren't even invested in the series and got pretty pissed.

@Brodehouse said:

The moment in Bastion where they stop firing at you and just watch you carry him.

Yes! I loved that part. Especially when that one dude keeps shooting you and the chief or whatever smacks him down.

Let's see...The end of Nier, Walking Dead episode 3...you know the fucking part I'm talking about. The end of Persona 3 when I realized what happened. Persona 4 had a lot of happiness. That's all I got off the top of my head right now.

MGS4 ending. I actually just finally beat that game less than a week ago. I cried 3 or 4 times during the final long-as-hell cut-scene sequence. That's the first time I've full-on cried (I teared up pretty good in GTA IV, but not cried) over a video game (hell, I've not cried over very many movies.) I shed tears of joy for Raiden and that's the only time I've ever shed tears of joy in my entire life. That game, man. Kojima really tugged at my heart strings.

Two times, both in To The Moon. First, when you realize that the boy had a twin brother who died. And second, when I broke down in tears for maybe the second time in my life,

I remember getting really choked up toward the end of Dragon Age: Origins, it has the usual "last moment with your party members" scene a lot of RPGs have and found it difficult to say goodbye to some of those characters.

I've never cried at a video game. Chrono Trigger made me feel pretty happy in a childishly innocent sort of way and I've played some intense multiplayer sessions of Battlefield 3, among other games.

metal gear solid 3 ending.

@Sgtpierceface said:

Two times, both in To The Moon. First, when you realize that the boy had a twin brother who died. And second, when I broke down in tears for maybe the second time in my life,

SPOILER WARNING: Click here to reveal hidden content.

when the rocket launched and Johnny finally got to space.

This.

•  Mass Effect 3 - When I said goodbye to my Shepard, I teared up, bad writing and shitty ending be damned. 
• Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, New Vegas - Exiting the starting areas and entering the main world for the first time always fills me with glee and excitement.
• Spec Ops the Line - No particular moment, but I felt sick and depressed for about a day after completing the campaign.
• Red Dead Redemption - Plugging Edgar Ross full of holes felt so damn good.
• Saints Row the Third - The end of the final mission, with "Holding Out for a Hero" in the background. I don't think "awesome" is an emotion, but that's the only word for what I felt.

MGS3 and 4 endings

FFX ending

FF7 Aeris dying.

ME 1,2, and 3 endings, though I'm not sure the first 2 were really emotions, just got super pumped from them.

Bayonetta

The entirety of Silent Hill 2

Lunar 2, Halo Reach, Gears 3, and FF IV and VI all in quite a few spots each.

Yep. I'm a pussy.

I don't think I've ever cried during a video game, but the ending to the original Kingdom Hearts really struck an emotional chord with me. I was probably 9 or 10 when I beat it and I can't even really remember the reason why it got to me so much, looking back on the dialogue in that game kinda makes me feel silly in retrospect.

A more recent example would be the endings of Phoenix Wright 1 and 3. I picked up the first 3 games cheap about 2 years ago and ended up marathoning all 3 in pretty much a week. I ended up getting pretty attached to the characters, which makes sense considering they are more or less interactive novels.

The only game that actually made me tear up: To the Moon.

Other emotional experiences:

• Spec Ops: The Line, the heavy dread of seeing one mans world fall apart.
• Journey, from playful joy through dark and cold to an ultimate triumph. Exhilarating.
• HL2: Episode 2, fuck you Valve for 5 years of that black screen accompanied by Alyx's sobbing.
• The Walking Dead, Telltale is not pulling any punches; shit is fucked up.
• Heavy Rain, shooting that guy, cutting things, not shooting that guy... It's not perfect but it got me.

That time in Tokyo Jungle when

The 4th Generation of Pomeranians died to consistent Lion and Gator attacks.

I'm easily saddened so here we go.

• Mass Effect 3 - That whole game gave me goosebumps and made me sad.
• Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII - I almost cried at the damn ending. Too bad I can't cry. My heart is ice.
• Heavy Rain - That game is just an emotional thrill-ride!
• inFAMOUS 2 - Good ending. You know what I mean.
• Red Dead Redemption - Got the ending ruined for me and it still made me sad.

I've never really been sad over a video game personally. As far as just an emotion filled moment goes?;

That would have to be the end of Mass Effect 2. For me, it was such a fist pumping "fuck yeah that was awesome!" moment. I actually felt proud of my character. I have never felt a connection like that with a video game otherwise.

Then Mass Effect 3 happened. Not a bad game, but yeah, talk about a let down. It wasn't even the ending stuff, I haven't actually finished the game. I was just put off by the game in general. I set my expectations entirely too high.

@xobballox said:

MGS4 ending. I actually just finally beat that game less than a week ago. I cried 3 or 4 times from during the final long-as-hell cut-scene sequence. That's the first time I've full-on cried (I teared up pretty good in GTA IV, but not cried) over a video game (hell, I've not cried over very many movies.) I shed tears of joy for Raiden and that's the only time I've ever shed tears of joy in my entire life. That game, man. Kojima really tugged at my heart strings.

MGS4, to me, had the most emotional ending of any game. I think the moment for me was when snake eater came on during the fist fight at the end. I think for people involved in the franchise, MGS4 will be the most powerful game emotionally.....until MGS5 of course.

I got sad during the part with Dom's wife in Gears 2, damn you sad music! Your powers over me are too strong!

Sniper Wolf's death scene in MGS1 makes me sad to this day, the bit in MGS2 when

funny story. In both Mega Man Star Force 2 and 3, I cried at the beginning of ending, close the DS to charge it, and later, cry again from scratch when watching the rest of the ending. Double knockout! And this happened in both games! (funny coincidence that the battery went red both times)

Other than that there's the Crisis Core ending which is another notable example. Also misc FF titles, MGS, etc.

also I'm guessing it doesn't count, but various games have depressed me on various levels, both the games themselves and fan and/or media reaction to them. (i.e. when people like a game I don't like or vice versa) That is seriously annoying.

Max Payne 1, when Max's family is murdered. I was 9 at the time, and that was so shocking to me.

The last two/three hours of Red Dead Redemption are some of the best emotional pieces in any game ever.

The Walking Dead was also pretty fantastic, through-out.

Uh well I might have got a some dust in my eye when Dom finally finds Maria, gears 2. Might of....maybe......kinda....Ok I cried goddamn it, was a tough week.

I usually don't get emotional by big block-buster games, but more often when I don't know what to expect.

1. Braid - I was feeling pretty strange when I started playing and a few hours later, when the big turnaround comes at the last level, I was literally screaming "NO!" at my computer and felt sad for days.

2. Shadow of the Colossus - SPOILER. When Agro died I got really sad. When the end came about and I realized what I had done, I was even sadder.

3. Battlefield Heroes - the first months of playing it in beta and after release I had a lot of childhood memory types of emotions. In a good way. That used to be a happy game.

And finally...

4. Call of Duty, Minecraft, Civ5 etc. - After playing one of these games for five hours straight without getting up and realizing I'm not making any progress (because there's no end-game), I go "WTF AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?!". That gets emotional.

whenever Professor Pester shows up in Viva Pinata, sometimes i would just turn off my console straight away, other times i would just watch helplessly as he targeted and maliciously slaughtered my innocent Pinatas eating their candies. I always have to take a break after that happens.

Journey and MGS4

As I age I notice games affect me less and less w/r/t emotion. Most games that had an impact on me emotionally were things like Pokemon Blue, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario Bros 3. After beating these and watching the credits roll I just felt happy in that carefree kid kinda way. Back in 2000, when I was 8 years old, I played Half Life and Starcraft. I remember Half Life being creepy and StarCraft having a sad ending what with the sacrifice and all. I don't think either of those games would impact me to such a degree if I were to play them for the first time today.

More recently, I remember Hotel Dusk being somber and interesting, although it's been 6 years, and I don't remember much about it beyond some vague impressions.

I played Hl2 Ep2 only a couple years ago and that had a pretty big Holy Shit moment at the end that surprised me in a way games really don't manage to.

Digital A love Story was sad and innocent and nostalgic, which is kinda weird cause I'm not old enough to be nostalgic about BBS boards.

And though The Walking Dead is kinda an animated film it has its moments. I find the calm moments of the game more emotional than some of the gut grabs and gross outs which can feel a little too contrived. Talking with Clementine can have more resonance with me than cutting off some guys leg after 50 zombies appear in the middle of a field from apparently nowhere while Lee trips and fumbles around like a drunk kid on roller skates.

Also Amnesia made me jump once or twice before the scare factor wore off, but that's more than any other game can boast since I've turned thirteen.

The ends of Shadow of The Colossus, Red Dead Redemption, Kingdom Hearts, Persona 3, Crisis Core, and my first Dragon Age: Origins playthrough. There were some parts in Final Fantasy 7 and Fire Emblem 7 which involved ladies and giant swords, this part in Enslaved after you find Tripps village, and the end of the first week in The World Ends With You that got me pretty bad too. Looking at this giant list sure does make me feel like a big fat baby though.

The Ending of Sleeping Dogs. I was expecting what was going to happen after a certain cellphone message, but I was still shocked after what happens.

First time I became Champion in a run of Pokemon where I had used the same team the entire game I basically collapsed in an emotional freakout of embarrassing proportions.

The phrase "WE DID IT!!!!" just might have been uttered even.

Gears of War 3, Dom...

Alyx pressing her hands against the glass and watching as I slowly descend, Alyx ambushed and gravely wounded by an Antlion, finally getting Alyx back on her feet, and the very ending of Episode 2.

The end of Bioshock.

Battlefield "Hooah" 3 (ignorant fuckin Swedes).

There were parts of playing through Fallout 3 that made me pretty sick to my stomach about what I did to survive. But I was playing in a pretty immersion first kinda way. Yay Metagaming.