When I say meaningful, I don't just mean fun. I mean what's the game that touched you most? Is there any game that really just drew you in and made you so attached to the characters that you couldn't let go? Is there a game that really had a big effect on you, and touched you emotionally?

Personally, the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games were really meaningful for me. I don't think I have ever been more attached to a set of characters than I am to the characters in those games, and they really touched me.  I'm even man enough to admit that I cried at the end of AA3.  It was such a great ending and the plot twists in the series really just draw you into the plot more.  If you still have trouble imagining what the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney series is: Imagine the best book you ever read, with commedy, tragedy, romance, and mystery, made into a video game.  Sadly, the last of the Phoenix Wright series is over, and by all accounts the first game in the Apollo Justice series isn't all that good.

So, what games were meaningful to you guys, if any?

Okami.

Okami.

Okami.

See how I only said one word?

Yes. Only one.

Okami.

Final Fantasy VI

Where to start...I had been gaming since I was in the area of 4-6 starting on our old PCJr with games like King's Quest I and Jumpman and moved to consoles when the NES came out. Up until FFVI I loved games and loved playing them but FFVI was the thing that got me interested in gaming and ultimately making them.

I remember getting that game and instantly just becoming absolutely enthralled. It's hard for an RPG to catch your attention straight from the beginning and FFVI just did a wonderful job the entire way. I remember daydreaming about the serpent trench, remember trying to get Sabin's Blitz's right, and the awesomeness that was your party splitting into three!

And then came the opera house. Up until that point I never experienced a lot of emotion in games but the music and the scene was just amazing. I remember playing that part over and over again because it was just so amazing. I just had never experienced anything like that.

And then I got to the floating island. I thought I was at the end of the game and I was all prepared for finally finishing what was an awesome game. If the game had ended on the floating island, this game would still be on my top games list, but it just got better. You fight your way through the island, beat Atma, and then get to Kefka and Ghestal. After a great scene, the world ends and you wake up alone.

And then it still got better. Who can honestly say they played the solitary island without at the very least coming close to crying? (see the scene here)? That game just did so much with so little. Ugh, I still get goosebumps thinking about that scene.

FFVI expressed more emotion than its simple (by todays standards) sprite graphics than I've experienced in almost every game I've played in the last 10 years. That game was just one of the best gaming experiences I've ever had and just made me so much more interested in gaming. In fact, I'm going to go dig up FFVI Advance.

For me it would have to be Star War Knights of The Old Republic.

I really liked the games story and feel to it. I was glad to see how much was put into making a star wars rpg the way they made it.

Damn twesterm, I wish I could have said FF6 too. That game was, freakin' incredible.

But I will never abandon my beautiful Okami.

*Hugs game case*

Ocarina of Time. The final battle with Ganon was the most epic thing to happen in a video game up to that point. The final moment where Link hacks away at Ganon's face, just before plunging his sword straight into Ganon's skull literally made my breath catch. No other game gripped me that way until Metroid Prime.

I edited my original post to explain my choice more. Twesterm's detailed explanation about the greatness of FFVI (and I agree wholeheartedly) made me saying "It was great" look ridiculous lol.

 Yeah, I'm a little passionate about FFVI and actually had to hold myself back from completely going off and writing an uber long post.  >_>

I understand. I wish I could say that was possible for me to do about Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, but it's an impossible experience to describe. The prospect of the game seems ridiculous... I mean basically it's a point and click adventure about a defense attorney who also acts as a detective by gathering evidence and going to court with it. Most gamers nowadays are too young to have even been alive during the glory days of point and click adventures, and the concept sounds ridiculous when described. However, the story is so engaging, the characters are so deep, the court cases are so creative, and the whole experience is just so rewarding that it doesn't really matter what the gameplay is. You will get sucked into the world completely. Or at least I was.

I have to say that PW is the game that can make me play 20 hours in a row. One time I had to recharge the DS 3 times and I would still play while it was recharching.
Tales of Symphonia and Legendia deserve some respect too. Those game put so much into character development that I end up caring too much about them.