Hall of shame: games that have made you cry

[lithiumvocals]

"Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.

...

...I am the very model of*BOOM*"


"The prayer was not for him, Commander. He has already asked forgiveness for the lives he has taken. His wish was for you."

Fuck you, Bioware. Making me feel.

 

[I am only a man]

Earthbound and Mother 3, but for different reasons. Earthbound's ending was just so, complete. It got me all misty eyed with joy. Mother 3 on the other; the music for the final boss alone gets to me even long after playing the game.


Aaaaand here come the tears...

 

[StormShaun]

Mass Effect 3...we know why.
Katawa Shoujo...again most people know why.
Almost in Walking Dead ep 4.

Can't remember other games that were later. :S

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

Earthbound and Mother 3, but for different reasons.
Aaaaand here come the tears...

And I like this person right here. The Mother trilogy was the reason I started the long journey of learning Japanese, before the translation roms popped up. Might be the greatest set of JRPGs ever.

I cried as a younger person when Aeris kicked the bucket, almost did at the end of RDR (pretty much frustration). It happens a lot less often to me as an adult, many more games came close when I was younger.

 

[chadachada123]

When I finished Hanako's arc at the end of Katawa Shoujo, I also cried like a little *****. I was depressed for that whole weekend.

Ninja'd in the first damn post.

OT: I had tears in my eyes for Emi's and Lilly's routes, but Hanako's made me cry openly.

No other piece of media has ever made feel true emotion towards the characters as if they were real people, no movie or game or anything else has ever compared to just how "real" Katawa Shoujo was for me. I may have cried more from some movies with depressing scenes, but nothing has ever been as truly touching as Katawa Shoujo.

Katawa Shoujo (this one came the closest to actual honest crying. this is now the standard by which all videogame romances will be measured. and will be found lacking in my book)

I feel this way as well. KS is the new bar for emotion that I feel will take many years to top.

 

[chadachada123]

Borderlands 2 spoilers:

Spoiler

Borderlands 2, when Bloodwing died. It was heart breaking to see her go in such a way. I made Handsome Jack pay after that. God, I got so angry, I had legit nightmares of seeing her die over and over in my mind. It's psychotic of me, but after a few days, it receded into the void of my memories.

I will forever miss you Bloodwing :'(

DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK SPOILERS MUCH.

That game JUST came out.

Not cool.

 

[bigfatcarp93]

Assassin's Creed: Revelation, when

Spoiler

Altair dies.

And MANY times in Mass Effect 3.

 

[debtcollector]

The end of Final Fantasy X.
Liram's death in Lost Odyssey.
Multiple times in Nier.

 

[Terrible Opinions]

Multiple times in Nier.

That feel, bro.

I know it so much.

 

[Bullfrog1983]

I don't really cry when playing video games, but here's a few that made me tear up:

The Walking Dead - Episodes 3 & 4
Red Dead Redemption - John Marsten's Ending
Grand Theft Auto 4 - Niko's choice
Dragon Age: Origins - The Martyr Ending (Elven hero with Alistar as King)
Heavy Rain - most of the endings are horrible
Final Fantasy 8 - Don't know why, when I finished it I felt sad.

 

[Ctmnt08]

For all the hate that ME3 got, it had some real tearjerker moments. The worst?

The death of Mordin Solus in ME3. One of my two favorite characters (the other being Garrus) in the franchise. I'm unashamed to confess that I spilled a tear for Dr. Solus at the Shroud.

If I'd messed up and killed Garrus I would have missed work the next day due to a death in the family.

It's really hard for a game to make me emote, but BioWare seems to do it just about every time. (Notable exception made for the genuinely awful people who populate the Dragon Age universe.)

 

[Wanderer787]

Azurik: Rise of Perathia, because it just sucked so badly.

 

[Launcelot111]

Persona 4 is it for me. The scene with Nanako near the end...god damn

 

[Arpeggi]

When my brother saved over my game on Pokemon Gold. Apart from that, nothing.

It's a bit strange, because I am a total blubber when it comes to books, movies, or music. I love a good cry. I've just never played a game which has taken me anywhere near the point of tears. I wish there had been, and I am seriously looking forward to the game which manages to.

 

[Kuzlo]

Of all the media I've gone through in my life so far, there's only one instance I've had tears running down my face. I didn't get it from a movie, tv show, book or even a conventional game; but a VN.

And not Katawa Shoujo, though I was moved.

The finale of Little Busters got to me bad. Guess a tale of friendship hits me harder than romance.

 

[Hexenwolf]

Okami is the only game that has brought a tear to my eye. A single solitary tear for Issun...

 

[Sassafrass]

Spoiler: These didn't make me cry, but they certainly got me teary eyed. Contains spoilers for Gears 3, The Walking Dead, ME1, ME3, Final Fantasy X, Borderlands 2 and MGS 2.

Gears 3, Dom's death. Whenever I hear Mad World now, I remember that scene.
The Walking Dead, way way too many to count. Ones that stick out are Kenny watching his family die, the kid in the attic, Ben (I HATED that fucker but...god damn.) and telling Clem we might not have time to find her parents.
ME1, when I failed to talk Wrex down. Fuck you Ashley.
ME3, Mordin's death.
Final Fantasy X, the ending.
Borderlands 2, Angel and Jack's reaction during that entire fight. I mean, it was needed but...fuck.
MGS 2, Otacon and the Big Shell. That's all I need to say, really.

 

[Dawns Gate]

Red Dead Redemption.

 

[Dfskelleton]

The Ending to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories:

Spoiler

"You've been with me for so long..."
"I always will be."
*freezes over*
The manly tears... Oh God, the manly tears...

Oh, and Spec Ops: The Line nearly had me in tears at several times. Not manly tears, but guilty tears. Sour, guilty, white-phosphorus flavored tears...
Heck, it wasn't even... that scene that really got to me. It was watching Walker and his squad's slow descent into hopelessness, madness, anger and despair after that point that hit me the hardest.
And then the loading screen messages came...

NO, SHUT UP GAME, IT'S YOUR FAULT
IT'S... YOUR... FAULT...

 

[Savo]

Persona 4

Spoiler

When Nanako died and at the end when everyone is telling you to get up after the boss kicks your ass into next week. Manly tears were shed.

None.

Whenever this topic comes up I'm always left wondering whether everyone else here has emotional issues or if I'm just dead inside.

It's strange, because movies, TV shows and sometimes even books can make me tear up at the drop of a hat. Hell, I cried while watching Avatar. But games just cannot do it, no matter how hard they try. They can make me feel sad, shocked or desolate (Yes, HL2: Ep2, I'm looking at you) but cannot seem to induce tears.

Mostly I think it's just because the standard of writing is abysmal. For all the arguments of "games are art and a totally legit storytelling medium now", 90% of them are unwilling or unable to go beyond "save the world by murdering everything that looks at you funny and get the girl if we remember to put one in".

The good ol' uncanny valley effect doesn't help either. It's hard to feel sorry for a dead-eyed puppet.

Do I just not get it?

Hmm, its a bit of the opposite for me. I form emotional connections much easier with games due to the interaction and the sheer length. Quality of writing aside, I've got a much better connection with the people I spent 80 hours endeavoring to save the world with, than the characters in a two hour movie.

Also, this is on a whole different topic, but I wouldn't call the standard of writing abysmal. There's a load of well-written games out there, it's all about applying Sturgeons law and sorting the good from the crap. It's more of an issue of lack of variety than anything else if you ask me. Infamous, DMC3, hell even the first Army of Two have fine writing, it's just that they have no ambition to be anything more than power fantasies. It makes for a fun and engrossing game story, but not a story that can translate well to other mediums.