Gaming moments that made you tear up/cry

Even if tears formed just a little, put it out there! Would be a good idea to indicate the game, and if the moment is a spoiler, of course spoiler mark that part.

Endings of Persona 3 and 4: Knowing you and Aigis both learned something from each other- how to live. Then the human dies and the machine goes on living. Also leaving the town of Inaba after changing so many people's lives over the course of a year. Such a fulfilling game.

Ending of Shadow of the Colossus: No, not the tragic ending to our hero. For me, it's seriously when the eagle flies away from that garden and that beautiful music plays. I can't help but be overwhelmed every time I play the game and that moment happens.

Ending of Luigi's Mansion: Yeah, I'm not kidding. This isn't a joke. Maybe it won't affect me now but when I finished that game as a kid and Luigi finally rescued his brother, and all he could do was burst out laughing in tears when Mario got the painting stuck on his head...it...I don't know. It affected me. Please tell me I'm not the only one!

Also...Anything involving Vivi in FFIX, pretty much.

There's probably more examples but here's some just for starters.

EDIT: In Bioshock Infinite. The guitar part. It's just so beautiful.

I've never actually cried because of a game but the endings of Shadow of the Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3, Transistor, The Last of Us and Bioshock Infinite Burial at Sea all hit me pretty hard.

The Last of Us is one of the most emotion provoking games that I have ever played.

The funeral in lost oddessy had my in a fragile state.

The second playthrough of Nier.

Good lord, HOW could I forget The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and Journey?

I think I genuinely have brain damage. That, or I have too much video game experience to handle.

Red Dead Redemption.

Everything past when John Marston meets his end and you started playing as his son.

I seriously put my controller down, character just standing still, and cried.

I didn't cry but the final hour of Okami had some touching moments.

The ending of Metal Gear Solid 3, without a doubt. That salute, man.

I've never cried during a game, but I've had that tingling down the feeling where it was pretty emotional.

@finaldasa: I have that game free with XBL gold. I keep hearing about how emotional the ending is. I guess I should play it sometime, huh?

The Last of Us and The Walking Dead did have a few. I also remember getting rather choked the first time I finished Xenosaga: Episode 3.

There's at least one more I know I'm forgetting.

@frostyryan: Even if you don't finish it (which I think you should) it's a great game to explore and run around in. Just a great setting and atmosphere.

Oh, dude, yes! This. I change my answer. This is one of the best endings in video games. I teared for this ending.

I got a few

1. The Walking Dead
2. Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons
3. Mass Effect 3
4. Half-Life 2 Ep. 2
5. Heavy Rain
6. The Last of Us
7. Fallout 3
8. Call of Duty 4 (Not Really Crying w/ this one but a tremendously sad feeling.) [After the Nuke goes off and you die a slow death]
9. Halo 4

The Walking Dead: the ending

Mass Effect 3: Thane and Legion.

I remembered learning about Thane's species through all those conversations with him in Mass Effect 2. Thinking in that gamey way when you recruit him "oh I'm totally gonna make this dude open up to me", and then he comes around in ME3 and it's the saddest thing ever, goddamn.

Similiar type deal with Legion. You meet the character and think "alright, I'm turnin this geth into a homie" and then he goes and has his moment with Tali and the geth and oh god gimmie all the tissues.

Man, Mass Effect is so great.

Never cried but closest I got was ending of Red Dead Redemption

I think I may have teared up a little when Oblivion opened up after the sewer tutorial section. That moment when you exit the sewers and see the impressive landscape before you was fucking beautiful. I can't think of a single story moment in any game having anywhere near that impact though.

End of Walking Dead season 1.

That final crescendo of Journey made me cry. It was so overwhelmingly beautiful I couldn't help it. Everything that led up to that final set piece really affected me in a way I didn't expect.

I balled at the end of the walking dead season 1.

When I hit the credits of Ni No Kuni and this song played. Damn I love that game.

There was a moment early on in Skyrim where I'd been travelling up a mountain, past a village at the bottom, and as I reached the top the sun began to rise and the soaring orchestral music began to play. I looked over the mountainside and saw everything over the peak and below me. I just stood there for a good five minutes and teared up a bit. It was such a beautiful experience.

The end of Burial at Sea got to me. I didn't realize how attached to Elizabeth I was until the end.

I almost never actually cry. Like ever during any part of life. I teared up slightly when Tali's father died in Mass Effect and at a couple different points in The Walking Dead, but I definitely didn't cry during Red Dead, Brothers, MGS3, or Bioshock Infinite (though I haven't played Episode 2 of Burial at Sea yet). I did nearly break down during the intro of The Last of Us but the only game I can say I truly shed a tear for would be To The Moon. There were several moments in that game that brought me to tears which is quite impressive considering, like I said, I don't cry. To give people a sense of how hard it is to make me actually shed tears here are a list of things I did not cry over:

1. The death of my grandmother who I was very close to

2. The death of my cat who I rescued from a shelter and probably loved more than anything in the world

3. Any movie ever. I got some tears of joy when Harvey won the major vote in Milk, and a couple other times I teared up during truly happy scenes, but I don't think I can think of a time I actually cried full at a movie.especially for a tragic event. I'll occasionally tear up during really, really, sad sequences but never full on crying.

4. The end of Where The Red Fern Grows

I should mention that I have been on anti-depressants for most of my life which makes getting sad about anything really quite difficult even if I don't take them for a long period of time and makes it all but impossible to feel the overwhelming sadness that would cause one to cry.

So when I say that I cried, like actual tears coming down my face, (not sobbing tears mind you but there was at least one or two tears on my face) during more than one sequence of To The Moon, I think I can safely say that they are some of the most powerful moments in fiction of any sort.

Yep. And when that ending theme hits, it just leaves you reflecting on how amazing the game was.

I can admit to some chills, for sure. It was fantastic.

And my contribution? I don't know, parts of Halo: Reach were really powerful. The subdued score in that game punctuated a ton of emotional moments that I missed during my first co-op playthrough. When I was alone, I let myself feel!

Oh, and no joke, the ending of the new Wolfenstein. Again, a moment where the ending music just leaves you in awe (spoiler link!)

@pfunk: That nuke bit was like a punch to the gut mixed with a strange sense of awe. The later iterations of COD have been trying to recreate that moment, and not a single one of them have hit it. The game is seven years old, I don't think you need spoilers lol.

Walking Dead Season 1 and Journey are the ones I can think of. I played Bioshock Infinite late night after work, and I basically would enter into sleep-deprived hallucinogenic state - but the first time you see Columbia and the ending, I probably cried a bit.

Teenage me was also pretty darn sad when Sniper Wolf died in MGS1. When Roman got killed in GTA4, I was pretty bummed out for a day or two.

Not really from a video game, but Shuhei Yoshida talking about his experience with Journey is one of the reasons I like it so much. Shit's emotional.

https://soundcloud.com/playstation/playstation-blogcast-episode-3

Games that have made me cry:

• Okami (The ending)
• The Walking Dead Season 1 (The Ending)
• Metal Gear Solid 4 (Almost non stop crying after the Screaming Mantis fight)
• The Walking Dead Season 2 (One tear close to the end of episode 5 when things got real bad and another at the end)

Man I'm so glad people are pointing out moments like this as well. Beauty doesn't have to be too deep, meaningful, or attached. It can be on the surface, right in front of your eyes.

For me, a moment like that was when you first see Columbia in Bioshock Infinite in that pod. It was just simply breathtaking.

There have been a ton over the years but the first time for me was when I saw sniper wolf die in MGS1. Its one of the reasons MGS1 is such a profound game to me its the first time I actually stopped and realized that you could connect to characters in video games in an emotional way. Seriously, even now her speech just gets to me.

Also the ending of Bioshock Infinite was one of those times where I just kind of blankly stared at the TV credits scrolling by just trying to comprehend what I'd just seen. Even already knowing the twist with booker that ending sent chills down my spine.

The end of the prologue to The Last of Us almost got me.

Yup, while the Oblivion moment I posted earlier is the strongest such moment I can think of, I remember having similar moments in Skyrim, Morrowind and Wizardry 8 too. Climbing that mountain in Skyrim certainly was a great moment, but I think my favorite moment from there was coming across a hunter sitting on a hill overlooking a lake, or maybe reaching Falkreath, one of the towns you really never have any story related reasons to visit, deeply in the forest south of your starting position.

The first end most people will get of Atelier Ayesha: The Alchemist of Dusk is my #1. If you can find it on youtube and picture yourself the adventure that led up to that moment, have a box kleenex and chocolate, you'll need it.

If I need to cry for a scene I just bring up that memory. Works better than thinking about unfortunate deaths of family members and beloved pets.

The ending of Valiant Hearts. Man that shook me to my core.

Red Dead Redemption. I just sat there with my eyes watering.

Yes, I was going to say Lost Oddessy in general due to the overall dismal universe. And some of those Kaim memories? Man.

"Snake he had a hard life.... he needs some time to rest" shit gets me EVERY time. SOTC was the first game to make me cry when i was a kid and that moment you just described is exactly when i lost it too.

Hmm, I think I had a few moments kinda like that, but this one I was more upset by than in awe of for being beautiful. The part in Spec Ops The Line where you're in the helicopter (the second time, after your friend is killed), I got really into it the blowing shit up part because of what just happened. Thing is, so does the main character, and when another character in the game calls him out for the overkill, it got me rattled pretty good.

I noticed you edited out upset from the title (or something like that, I coulda sworn I saw "upset" when I first clicked this thread), so I didn't mention these before, but if we're not just talking sad stuff here, there are two other moments from The Walking Dead that were quite unsettling for me as well. The first was when I killed the brother in episode 2 and found out Clem was watching; that really fucked with me. The second was when Carley is killed. That was a moment that got too close to real reactions towards death. You're there talking to a character that you've gotten to know in the middle of a situation and then they're just gone.

Oh, and there also that scene in Mafia 2 where your cool buddy gets hacked to death in the middle of a park. That was similiar to Carley's death, except it was a lot more brutal.

So I guess two of those are responses to things I did specifically in gameplay and the other two are just plot stuff. Still, they're fucking gut-wrenching. Video games man, I tell ya.

Yeah, That Columbia violin setpiece near the beginning of the game after being baptized (Drowned) was amazing. It left a real strong impression on me for the rest of the game.

I'll just reply with spoilers on Mass Effect 3.

Thane in Mass Effect 3 was fascinating. They took this feared, deadly, top-of-his-game professional from 2 into a dying man stripped of his ability to do what he's best at. It was a small part of the game, but an incredible exploration of an end-of-life situation. Not a suicide mission, but a man slowly coming to terms with death. It was all amazing.

Despite his physical limitations, he still came to aid against Kai Leng. He kept up but was no longer the peerless assassin he was. Just such a risky, unexpected way to close out Thane's story arc.

"It's freeing to find no requirements placed on me. No responsibilities, no fears. It is a good end to a life."

MAN.

I love that piece of music. It takes such a beautiful scene and adds a layer of uncertainty under it. It makes it seem off, at least in my opinion.

The two moments that come to mind are To The Moon and TWD Season 2. I actually didn't tear up at the end of season 1, but there's a scene that really got to me a the end of episode 5.

Also, the ending to To The Moon is the most I've ever cried at anything. Period. I was bawling for at least 15 minutes straight.

Walking Dead: Season 1: Episode 3

MGS3

Gone Home

Last of Us: Ellie killing David and crying on Joel's shoulder. It took a moment to dawn on me that David was likely about to rape her.

The end of Walking Dead: Season 1, as well.

I can't believe I forgot Episode 2. I definitely let out a pained "NO!" when Eli died. But the Walking Dead induced actual tears.

The ending to The Walking Dead season 1 made me bawl. Valiant Hearts' fantastic ending had me all teared up.

@csl316: Oh my god yes.

Also, the ending of Asura's Wrath (the true DLC ending).

You kind of expected Asura to die as the last section was "A Life Well-Lived." When he's meditating under the waterfall, steeling himself for the battle. The spirits of his friends appear. Epic battle, yadda yadda, one final, quiet moment with his daughter.

"And that.... was how my father lived."

I've cried two times in my life. None of them involved games.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons made me start to tear

Journey makes me start to tear

the part where Link leaves Saria on the bridge in the woods in Ocarina of Time made me super sad as a kid. Still does :(

I don't cry a lot but I appreciate any 'feels' I can get.

I also thought parts of Halo: Reach were pretty moving. Not tears, but they definitely managed to develop the characters and the story to the point where Jorge's sacrifice had an emotional impact on me.

And for sure Red Dead Redemption, for all the reasons stated above.

I thought The Last of Us was powerful, but not so much emotional. I'm not really sure what the distinction is. Without doubt it should be experienced though.