I know that it's hard for some people to admit that they cry at movies, or when reading books, so on and so forth... any of you ever cried over a videogame? I don't mean tears of frustration over something being too hard or buying a game that turned out to be made of turd, I mean, what games have you played where the storyline, atmosphere, music, etc. has inspired sniffles and wet cheeks for you?
Yeah, I know, I'm a girl... and many of you are guys, but, c'mon... there has to be some game at some time that's gotten to you.
Today, I finished Shadow of the Colossus for the second time (as in just finished it, then came online). I didn't do a straight second play through - no collecting of bonus items or Hard Mode, I just felt like playing a straight up new file and I finished that this afternoon. Between the themes present in the ending, what happens to your player character and Kow Otani's gorgeous music, I don't think I can get through the end of that game without tearing up. And it was better for me today than when I first finished the game - I was alone. When I finished the game before, my guy was with me and I did the thing I do at movies: Try to surpress my emotional reaction so as not to look like an idiot or to inspire some commentary by him... I tend to fail, but it always leaves me surpressing more than I let out, and well, playing alone, I don't have to do that. I can get drippy and cry like an idiot.
Zelda games have done a little of this to me - the completion Kafei and Anju quest in Majora's Mask and Zelda getting sealed in Skyward Sword, but man, SotC really has a way of doing me in because, well, that whole game is steeped in meloncholy. It's still my absolute favorite, or at least tied with the Zelda series as favorite, though.
So, any games out there make you cry like an idiot? Or am I just an idiot?
You're far from an idiot. I admit that, in recent times, I have shed tears over the Assassin's Creed games. Each one has made me cry at least once, aside from the first. It's not the manliest thing I've ever done - clearly - but it's a testament to my sheer adoration for that series. The most interesting thing about all of this, is these instances where I cried weren't my first playthroughs; they were in my third, fourth, or fifth.
Let's begin with Assassin's Creed II. Assassin's Creed II is a generally sad game, seeing as though
Ezio's father, Giovanni, and his brothers, Petruccio and Frederico, were all hung for crimes they never committed.
This fueled Ezio's desire for revenge. However, he wasn't just an angered, women-playing Florentine Noble; he became a charismatic young Assassin who took on the most talented minds in Italia. The beautiful music of Ezio's Family, and Salvation of Forli, found here:
Added to the sadness of the game. There are many different scenes that, looking back at them now, make me smile and cry tears of joy. One of the greatest moments was before Carnival, after Leonardo DaVinci made Ezio the Hidden Gun, Ezio hugged his old friend saying
Salvation of Forli played, perfecting the greatness of the scene.
And yet, perhaps the greatest scene that brought tears to my eyes was
After defeating Rodrigo Borgia, and forcing him to run away, Ezio turned to his friends; Uncle Mario, Rosa, La Volpe - Italian for "the Fox" - and Antonio, and made a surprising revelation - they were all Assassins. This moment, in which Ezio realized that he was not alone in his cause, makes me tear up at the thought of it. Salvation of Forli also played at this scene.
And then there was Brotherhood. Not quite as many sad scenes in this game, but there was one particular scene in the game that made me tear up immediately. All Assassin's Creed Brotherhood fans know what I'm talking about.
Christina's death. This was a particularly sad scene for me. Christina Vespucci - cousin of Amerigo Vespucci - was the first woman Ezio ever loved. Her death brought many different feelings to me, but only one to Ezio; sadness. Ezio, once a man of passion, no longer cared about finding love. This never stopped him from sleeping with women, but his pain from her passing haunted him long after the event.
And then there's Revelations. The most emotional Assassin's Creed game yet. So many scenes were sad in this game, not to mention the many sad songs. Altair's Passing, and Sofia Sartor, namely.
With that being said, there were so many amazing scenes that I cried more than I'd like to admit upon playing Revelations on my third run. The first is easily the greatness of his relationship with Sofia. A Venetian woman who was born in Konstantiniyye, her passion for books helped her and Ezio's path cross. Smitten immediately, Ezio was nothing but a gentlemen to her. And yet, in his letters to Claudia, he would tell her of how he feared what was happening, due to the loss of Christina so many years ago. And yet, that didn't stop the old Mentor from falling in love with her. And she too, felt these feelings, despite her being many years younger than him. To watch their relationship grow was especially amazing. Especially the part where Ezio traded a small bouquet of tulips in exchange for more information. Waiting for him was a picnic that she made for him.
And then there was Altair and Abbas.
Altair and Abbas, once best friends, were torn apart because of a misunderstanding. Altair, after killing the Mentor, Al Mualim, for betraying the Creed and using the Apple of Eden - a tool made by the Ones Who Came Before - to take over the villagers and Assassin's in Masyaf.
Once defeating the Mentor, Altair had to burn the body, assuring himself that the corpse wasn't one of Al Mualim's phantoms created by the Apple. Abbas, already angry at Altair, gathered a rebellion and drove Altair out of Masyaf. Returning many years later after hearing word of Altair's son, Sef, being killed, Abbas was waiting for him. Abbas' guard told Altair that he told Sef, before killing him, that Altair ordered his death. Sef died believing Altair ordered his execution. Outraged, Altair used the Apple that he took from Al Mualim to have the guard cut his own throat. Maria, Altair's wife, stepped in the way, and cut off Altair's advances. Regaining his strength, the guard stabbed Maria in the back, killing her. Altair fled once again.
Returning many years later, an eighty four year old Altair meets a group of Assassin's discussing the changes in the order as of late. Conflicted about who's right - Abbas or Altair - the elderly Assassin is recognized as the former Mentor. Finally all taking his side, the group heads for Masyaf Castle. And there, Altair ends the rivalry between the two men as he shoots Abbas using the Hidden Gun. And from there, one of the saddest scenes happens.
Abbas: I can never forgive you, Altair. The lies you told. The humiliation I suffered.
Altair: They were not lies, Abbas. When I was ten years old, your father came to me, telling of how he betrayed my father. And then he cut his own throat. I watched his life ebb away at my feet. I will never forget that image.
Abbas: No!
Altair: But he was not a coward, Abbas. He regained his honor.
Abbas: I hope there is a life after this. I will find my father, and learn the truth. And when it is your time to leave this world, we will find you, and then, there will be no doubts.
The events I just explained were shown in sections, each shown in one of five Masyaf keys left behind by Altair. These keys were used to open the library in Masyaf Castle, which contained infinite wisdom. Each sad part made me shed at least one tear.
Ahmet, the future Sultan, wanted these keys. In order to do this, he tried to take Sofia away from Ezio. And what resulted in this was not only that, but the killing of Yusuf, a young, optimistic Turkish Assassin. I adored Yusuf's personality, and his loss made me personally want to kill Ahmet.
And then the final part: the Library Scene. Instead of explaining it, it's best to watch it yourself:
Altair's final memory was perhaps the saddest part in all of the game.
To see his final moments like that was sad, and was definitely a tear jerker. Ezio's final speech was equally sad, and I've learned it by heart because I feel it's just that powerful.
And then the final scene that has ever brought me tears; Assassin's Creed Ember's ending.
With Sofia and his daughter, Flavia, Ezio goes to the market. Sitting down while his wife and daughter shop, a Florentine Noble sits down. He complains about Firenze, saying
Florentine Noble said:
Al Diavolo! [To hell] I hate this damn city! I wish I was in Roma, I hear the women there are like ripe grapes on the vine, you know? Not like Firenze
Ezio, replying sharply, began to have trouble breathing. The Noble grabbed his hand, telling him to get some rest, and then stood up and walked away. Flavia looked over at her father, smiling. However, her smile faded, catching her mother's attention. There, on the bench, was Ezio, dead. That scene brought me to tears the first time I saw it.
As you can see, there were plenty of scenes in which I too have shed tears. It isn't weird at all that you have.
I will be the first to admit that I cry ALL the time when it comes to movies or books. It doesn't even have to be terribly sad – I'm so easily effected by movies and books that I'll start to cry even if the death of an unimportant character death is MENTIONED. Heck, even some Legend of Zelda fanfictions have had me in tears.
...But no video game has ever made me cry.
I think it's because I normally have my sister or a friend with me, in which I'm always joking around with them while playing the game. During the cutscenes in Skyward Sword with Zelda, I was laughing at jokes my sister kept making about the goddess and everything, although I did have to pause for a moment at Link's expression, because that was quite heartbreaking. And during that cutscenes with Fi? I don't know... it was sad, but I didn't feel like crying. I think Skyward Sword and Link's Awakening are the games that have come closest to making me cry, but it's more like... just a big wave of emotion, not necessarily sadness.
I have no idea why video games don't have the same effect on me as books and movies, because honestly, I cry SO easiily at those. It's kind of strange, actually. I suppose I just haven't played sad enough games. ^^
I cried during Star Ocean: The Last Hope. The ending made me cry. If you played SO1, SO2 and/or SO3, you'll come across this thing called "the UP3", which basically is the Underdeveloped Planet Preservation Pact. SO4 being a prequel to the entire series, it had an amazing ending scene with Reimi and Edge, and when Stephen D. Kenny announced the creation of the UP3, I literally cried and screamed "YEAH!!!". People would call me a pansy for that, but I had great emotion as I had logged over 900 hours into Star Ocean Till the End of Time. Seeing such a minor plot detail arise...that made many emotions rage inside me
When I laugh really hard my eyes have this habit of watering up; so I have cried over laughter in video games before, but never over sadness. The closest I've ever come is actually in Skyward Sword; when Zelda got sealed away and when Fi says her final words to Link.
Fi's farewell scene inspired fanart from me... I did a piece of art about all of Link's in-game companions because Fi made me sad...
Anyway, since you're all showing videos, I figured I'd search for video of the endscenes of Shadow of the Colossus. The only non-modified looking vid I could find has the written text in German, apparently. I'm pretty sure I'd need to explain what's going on, anyway, as the ending to this game is a tad confusing to begin with. (The spoken language is a fictional language in-game, it's just the text that's odd). Do NOT click the video if you are playing SotC for the first time or want to play it someday and don't want to have the game's sense of mystery completely WRECKED for you. The ending of the game really brings it all together. Seriously, SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER.
The whole game, really, is a game made of sad. When you start the game, you're a young man riding into the Forbidden Lands with a maiden who was slain as a ritual sacrifice. Desperate to bring her soul back, you beseech an ancient, sealed entity who can control the passage of the souls of the dead. He warns you of the high price you may pay for this and says that he cannot help you until you un-seal him (it, they...actually) by destroying, in sequence, sixteen stately, gigantic creatures. So, you ride off with your magic sword to murder mountains who would have gladly left you alone if you'd left them alone.
One of the rare videogames that really does make you feel bad for slaying the boss-monsters. Honestly, their eyes look so sad when you do the final stab and they go down...
And, through the game, you progressively grow more and more disheveled, until, finally...
The priest from your homeland and his knights who have been tailing you catch up to you and find out what's been going on. Meanwhile, your young man character gets frigging POSSESSED by the entity he sought for help (Emon here says "posessed by the souls of the dead")... The knights go Medieval on you, the thing that is posessing you turns you into a slow-moving, largely helpless Colossus the likes of which you've just slain sixteen of (you know how it feels now!) and finally, the priest enacts a seal that destroys the demon-entity and sucks you away as well.
And the dead woman that you're STILL reaching out to, still reaching for even as you're a demon's puppet, finally ressurects after you're gone. The young man doesn't get his reward. (Nor does he get to see that his horse survived that nasty, fatal-looking fall she took earlier in the game).
Instead, your character becomes a squirming baby, who probably doesn't remember anything that happened. I suppose that's a hope-spot for the end of the game, but the characters are still left in a land they cannot get out of and there's been a whole lot of suffering and death (the game pans over the slain Colossi in the end credits) with no real benefit - except maybe for one alive but no-doubt very confused girl.
Not many games made me cry, but a handful have made me crack. Red Dead Redemptions ending made me really sad and depressed. The ending of Assassins Creed: Embers also made me shed a tear. Outside of games though the anime Gurren Lagann made me cry once or twice. Anohana is another anime that me me cry. One more game scene I can think of is in Skyward Sword when Link finally catches up with Zelda after he passed the door of time.
I'm one of those people who NEVER cries over movies, books or video games. Sure, i'll get that sad/emotional feeling but it ends before I have enough time to tear up.
Besides, when I play video games. I'll ALWAYS manage to find that ONE funny thing that just makes the whole scene not sad anymore.
In the ending to Dragon Age: Origins. (well, there in four endings)
You can either kill your character off, kill Alistair off, kill Logain off, or do a special ritual to make it so none of the characters die.
Anyways, to get an achievement, I wanted to get all 4 different endings. So, I killed my own character off. The scene is AWESOME. Dragon Age: Origins Death of the Warden in 1080p - YouTube
So yeah, my warden is a male city elf, though. So anyways, that played then the ended credits played.
I'm not sure if I was happy about all the people I saved, or sad because they were sad over my character.
Anyways, the saddest part for me was when my characters lover, Liliana, killed herself in despair over my character.... yeah :c
The only other game that made me come really close to tears in Twilight Princess or (mostly) Skyward Sword. Fi sealing herself away, Midna leaving, Zelda sealing herself away. Yeaahhh those three, you all know what I talking about.
Those are the only games that brought me CLOSE to tears.
Well, there is one famous scene in Final Fantasy VII that got to me. It really tugged on my heartstrings and made me cry in a way that few video games can.
Let me show you in a spoiler.
Final Fantasy 7, Aeris's Death.
The death of a main character is a rather cliche reason to become upset, but it's particularly sad because how Cloud was rendered powerless and his body was turned against her, plus she was one of the sweetest and most innocent people in the game. Everyone else was tough. She was not.
