The first time I saw and played Super Mario World on the recently released SNES. I was WoWeD.
FF2(US) was the first RPG that I felt emotional during gameplay.

@naz. I am on second case on PW3. Looking forward to the crying part.
I used gamefaqs twice and getting used to the game now. No more "cheating" :)
I used walkthrough for the second game and I think that ruined the whole game.

ICO. Easily the most emotional experience I've ever experienced in a game. Other games can create more detailed characters and more epic story lines, but when it comes down to raw emotion, ICO wins hands down.


FFVI was great when I first played it, but for some reason, I never finished the game. I tried playing it again a few years ago, but the magic was no longer there. :(

I really liked the ending of Myst IV, the closing line is one of my favorite quotes: "The harder the ending is to face, the more hope we bring to the next beginning."

But honest, overall best plot? Mafia for the PC. It was a more dignified, more plot driven version of GTA, and it came out before Scarface/Godfather/etc. The ending was phenomenal, both in terms of the unexpected introduction of the title music and the final speech given by the main character. If anyone's played the game and wants to see it again, Youtube has it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5G0i1MR_L8

Metal Gear Solid series, the story pulled in me and I never got out.

Good luck.  It gets tough in there.  I'm sure you'll love it.  There are some major twists throughout the game, but the biggest one, and maybe one of the biggest plot twists I have ever seen in any game, comes right after the final case.  

Golden Sun for GBA. I loved the game and it was the only game I got for the handheld.

No game has yet to do that.

FFX and MGS came close.

1. Super Mario Bros. 3: My older brother and I played that game for weeks. One day, we set out to beat the game in one marathon session. I don't know exactly what words left my lips when the credits finished, but I figure it was somewhere along the lines of "wow".

2. Snake's Revenge: I know this game gets a lot of bad press, but I was just a kid when I played it. All I remember was that after I beat it, all of Solid Snake's team mates where dead, or missing. The first time I knew somebody was "really" dead in a videogame. This "silly" game TRAUMATISED ME!

3. Chrono Trigger: My first RPG, and the first truly incredible videogame story I ever experienced. It was like losing my virginity to a super-model. I was pretty much ruined for any other RPG's after that lofty standard was set.

4. Zelda 3: My first Zelda game. I really felt like I accomplished something when I beat that game. Total Satisfaction!

5. Tetris: I was always considered the videogame geek of my neighborhood. The random kids I buried in 2 player tetris on the Gameboy cemented that fact.

6. WWF Wrestlemania (nes): The first game I spent my own hard earned money on. I hope you're happy for publishing that crap, Acclaim. You made a little boy save up $10 a week for five weeks so that he could cry himself to sleep. If Acclaim were a person, I would kick him in the balls!

MGS1, that game grabbed me like no other, the characters, the surreal story. no game before that ever made me perfect my gaming, playing it over and over and over, just to get it right. even the super cool bosses were amazing. the whole franchise in fact, i bought a ps2 when MGS2 came out and was so excited i forgot to get a memory card, so i played it continuously until i beat it, twice. i got to save the world, woohoo!!!

after that maybe ffvii or ultima EDIT: BTW, if Kojima kills Snake at the end of MGS4, you'll see a grown man cry like a little girl... then curse that would make a sailor blush, i'll even write a letter, not an email, a real one!!!

METAL GEAR SOLID 3- This is the penical of story driven gaming to this point. From beginning to end I was gripped, and did not put the controller down more than 20 minutes at a time in my first play through (31 hours). Kojima is the best director in gaming, I put him with the Steven Speilbergs, and George Lucus' of the world, no one is better than him at what he does.

Final Fantasy X - I liked every single charictor in this game. The story is in the top 5 in gameing history, and it was mind blowing when it came out. I have played this game all the way through 4 times, and my latest playthrough is at 217 hours right now. I have spent so much time in the world it is almost like home.

Mario 64 - I was nine when this game came out andf had no clue that there even was a thing called the Playstation. The only thing I new in life was that I had to get all 121 stars. I think this game made me the dedicated person I am today, because at nine years old it is very easy to give up, but I never quite on this game, and it is one of my if not my all time favorite.

Thouse are the three most influintal games so far in my life. I have played over 500 games in my short 19 years and out of them these 3 have stuck with me. Their have been many other games that have took me away and left a place in my heart, but none have touched me on the level these three have.

Honorable mentions

Star Wars (SNES) I am in love with this game, it is only about an hour and a half long, but it is great.
True Lies (SNES) I played this game with my dad fo hours upon hours as a little guy.
Final Fantasy VII (PSone) Tifa was hot even back then, Barret is awsome, Red 13 wise, and Cloud.
Gran Turismo (PSone/2/3) The reson I have become Sony Fanboy.
God of War (PS2) Easy to play hard to forget, and completly bad ass.
Gears of War (360) Must own for all 360 owners, good to have friends with consoles.
Donkey Kong 64 (N64) Another one of the awsome platformers on the N64 stil N's best console.
Zelda (NES,SNES,N64,GCN) My favorite series as a kid, disopionting as of late.
Halo (Xbox) The first was the best, I played 6 hours everyday for a summer with my brother and 2 buddies.
Oregan Trial (MAC) Best thiung that ever happend to elementry school.
Daxter (PSP) Every PSP game needs to feel this good, I really felt like it was a PS2 in my hands.
Pokemon Yellow (GBC) The best of the Pokemon games, I have lost touch with the new wild versions.