Sometimes, I find myself thinking about video games that I've played over the years. There are certain scenes that have haunted me, and for good reason. After spending hours and hours with a game, one tends to identify with the characters. What effects them emotionally effects us. Based on games that I've played, these are the top ten most powerful scenes. Feel free to add your own. I'd really like to see them.
Ahoy!!! There's spoilers ahead!!!!
10. "Aeris & Sephiroth" Final Fantasy VII -After spending much of the game torn between two women (Tifa and Aeris), super baddie, Sephiroth decides to make the decision much easier for main character, Cloud Strife. He runs Aeris through with with his sword, killing her while Cloud watches. Perfectly timed music, and great dialouge make the moment so impactful. When all is said and done, the ultimate goal of the game is clear: Kill Sephiroth.
9. "Poor Harry....." Silent Hill 3 -Main character, Heather has to go through Hell (literally) to get home to her father. After several horrifying encounters, she finally makes it home to her suspiciously quiet dad. To our surprise, dad turns out to be Silent Hill 1's star, Harry Mason! Oh yeah, he's also dead on the sofa. Playing as Harry years earlier, and playing as Heather now gives the player a double dose of "that's f---ed up". Then again, screwing with your head is what Silent Hill is all about.
8. "Baby's all grown up...." Metroid 3: Super Metroid -Samus Aran is the toughest woman in gaming. Mother Brain is whipping her ass up and down the screen, during Super Metroid's finale. Just as Mother Brain is about to deliver the final blow to our heroine, the baby Metroid that Samus saved in Metroid II rushes in. Baby's grown since we last saw her (him?), and for a second, seems like a match for Mother Brain. But just for a second. Mother Brain blows Junior apart, giving Samus the motivation (and power) to take Mother Brain down once and for all.
7. "I hate you" Final Fantasy X -Tidus' dad, Jecht, is an asshole. After spending much of the game in Jecht's shadow, Tidus finally meets his dad face to face. Apparently, even though Jecht was a dick, he was heroic enough to sacrifice himself years earlier in an attempt to defeat Sin.....the same world destroying creature that Tidus and company were trying to defeat now. Unfortunately, Jecht wound up becoming the "New" Sin in the process. Tidus realises that dad wasn't such a bad guy after all. In that moment, he tells dear old dad what he wanted to tell him for years: "I hate you". Then, they hug. Gave me goosebumps.
6. "That's pretty F'd up, right there" God of War -Why is Kratos so pissed? He's got a killer goat-tee. He's got an awesomely ripped body. He has sex with more women in one mini-game than you've had in your whole life! Why so serious? Well, apparently the real God of War gave Kratos the power to defeat any enemy. Because Aries, the God of War is such an ass, he then tricks Kratos into brutally killing his family. Then, he bonds their ashes to Kratos' skin. All of this plays out in a powerful cutscene that gives soul to the series' anti-hero.
5. "Shephard's Choice" Mass Effect -In Mass Effect, the choice is yours. Be a bad ass, or be a hero. You get to choose, but the story will still play itself out fairly similar. But near the end, you have to make a choice with some serious consequences. One of your team mates has to die....and there's not a 1-up mushroom anywhere to be found in this game. As a special treat, we get to witness the end of a character that's fought loyally beside us since the beginning of the game. And live with the fact that we, the player, decided that they were more expendable than another.
4. "The Kingdom falls" Chrono Trigger -Lavos is bad. How bad? In the year 1999, he destroys the Earth. That's bad. So, our heroes are zipping through time, trying to destroy him before that happens. In the year 1200, our band of heroes get their chance. Crono and company have learned magic, have a weapon that can hurt Lavos, and magical heavy weight , Magus on their side. Lavos is asleep in the underwater fortress, being used as a magical battery by the people of the Kingdom of Zeal. Our heroes attack....and boy do they fail! Lavos starts by kicking our heroes' asses in about 3 seconds. Then, he robs Magus of his awesome powers. Then, he blasts Crono into sawdust. As an added bonus, he releases a blast of energy that blows the floating Kingdom of Zeal out of the sky. The Kingdom falls into the ocean, causing a tidal wave that destroys pretty much everyone living on the land. Then, as our remaining heroes flee for their lives, Lavos goes back to sleep. Today's lesson: Don't f*** with Lavos.
3. "What REALLY happened..." Braid -After a long and lighthearted quest to find the Princess, our hero Tim (wich is also my name!) finally sees her. She's in the hands of an evil knight. The Princess breaks away from him, and begins to flee. Tim is right behind her. As an explosive blast follows behind, the Princess opens doors as Tim barely makes it through. Finally, she gets home and goes to bed. Tim stands outside her window while she sleeps. WHAT? Well, it seems that time and perspective are what Braid is all about, and the whole thing happened in REVERSE. Tim was outside of the Princess's window, and she was running FROM him. She wasn't trying to open doors for Tim, she was trying to trap him. She wasn't running FROM the knight, she was running to him....and away from us!! What the hell? Now would be a good time to go back and re-read those text books scattered around the game.
2. "There's a Time For Us" Gears of War 2 -A.K.A. -The reason I made this topic. After Gears 1, it was easy to dismiss the members of Delta Squad as nothing more than Team America on steroids (fuck yeah!). Gears 2 set out to change all of that. Dominic Santiago was given some major motivation, and his motivation became our motivation. In the midst of an all out war, we have to find Dom's wife, Maria (which happens to be the name of my fiancee). After countless battles, finally they find her. And when we finally find her, it's a beautiful moment....but what happens next. Well damn. This game is too new! Go play Gears 2 and see it for yourself!!
1. "All that's left for you to take" Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater -"I raised you and loved you. I've given you weapons. -Taught you techniques....endowed you with knowledge. There's nothing more for me to give you. All that's left or you to take, is my life". -The Boss.
In Metal Gear Solid games, somebody close to you is going to die. Emma, Naomi, Grey Fox, Sniper Wolf, etc., etc. But none of these characters were given as much depth and soul as the Boss. And unlike Sniper Wolf's death scene in Metal Gear Solid, in MGS3 Kojima makes you pull the trigger. If you watched the cutscenes, and were drawn into this game, there is no scene in all of gaming more powerful than Snake pulling the trigger on his "mother". The explanation that followed makes the scene that much more powerful. R.I.P., Boss. You were a true la li lu le lo.....er, I mean Patriot.
There you have it. My list. Like I said, it's only based on games I played. Ico's ending just barely missed the cut. Anyway, comment. Name a few of your own. Whatever. If anything, you may inspire me to play a few of your favorite games. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
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