Top 10-20 Video Game Moments

[Lirael]

Spoiler

I searched for this thread and couldn't find anything similar, but apologies to the mods if I've missed it!

I'm taking this idea from IGN, who have been writing their top 100 list this week.

What are your top 10-20 video game moments? You can choose events in the story, moments in gameplay, any moment when the aesthetics took your breath away.

Why?

1. The ending scene in Final Fantasy X - This scene didn’t affect me until I completed the game, but battling through the final few bosses, watching Yuna sacrifice her aeons and the events which follow (I won’t spoil it here…) was probably my most emotional experience in gaming… I have always valued a bitter ending (they encourage reflection).
2. Sailing in Zelda: Wind Waker - I am one of the few who really enjoyed sailing in Zelda. I think it's primarily down to the Ocean Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gN_x1rpGbY8), which generated a feeling of excitement and incited me to explore the entire world. The musical spirit inside me also enjoyed jumping in time to the music, swinging the camera around in time to it...sailing to the left and then the right...
3. Wheatley turns evil and Glados becomes attached to a potato in Portal 2 - The entire game is a masterpiece, but this scene in particular was very well constructed. The dialogue is great. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSk_37So0Xk)
4. My first successful battle in Uncharted 3 - I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to battle against so many men, one after the other, without dying once! I have never been very good at shooters so completing this section felt like quite the achievement. =)
5. Uncharted 3, Rough Seas and Uncharted 3, Burning Chateau - I decided to tie these two together… Both levels provide an incredible experience. They are atmospheric, and gameplay is intense. (Rough Seas here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP2prJBLync) (Burning Château here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIno1iyor-8)
6. Anything related to Kreia in Knights of the Old Republic 2: Kreia’s character is fascinating! Watching how your actions affect her responses, her morality and how much she is willing to reveal to you is fascinating. Furthermore, her statements about society and one’s personal actions are incredibly thought-provoking.
7. The penny drops in Phoenix Wright - I refer to every moment in which you solve a puzzle or finally crack a case! You can’t help but admire the writers for their imagination. Each case is well constructed - there are moments which feel frustrating, but these are outweighed by the sheer pleasure and satisfaction which follows when the penny finally drops. The experience is made even better by Phoenix’s smug expression as he taps the case files and the prosecutor’s (rather exaggerated) look of sheer outrage, pain then fear.
8. Emerging from the underground dungeon in Oblivion - After 2 or 3 hours in the drab dungeon, you emerge into the vibrant, colourful world of Oblivion! The sweeping mountains, covered in grass, flowers and trees and surrounded by a lake lined with blossom covered trees just begs to be explored... I remember heading out there immediately, only to be chased by a Khajit... I ran up a tall tower, jumped down, thought I'd lost him...then he stabbed me in the back. >=[
9. Defeating the Elite Four in Crystal for the first time - Crystal was my first Pokemon game and will consequently remain my favourite. Battling through the Elite Four was no easy feat at the age of 12, but I did it with a level 61 Feraligatr (who had remained in its cuter form of Totodile until level 59), who was subsequently given the name ‘Champion.’
10. Uncle Peyj's role in Beyond Good and Evil and seeing the citizens get shipped off - I don't want to spoil the game here with details, so I'll only give details about the citizens. In short, seeing them get shipped off on a conveyer belt affected my 14-year-old self quite a bit. There was something incredibly possible about the game... not so much aliens, but the treatment of people and the secret role of the world's elected leader.
11. Completing Spyro: Year of the Dragon - This was my childhood favourite. Completing the game required a lot of work. You HAD to do everything in order to reach the final boss. Some of the minigames were challenging, but with each challenge in life comes the possibility of extreme satisfaction. Needless to say I felt very proud of myself when the Evil Sorceress fell in defeat.
12. Completing Disney’s Dinosaur - This was my first video game ever and one of the most frustrating experiences I have had! The final three levels were awful and I spent many hours trying to kill the Carnotaur in the cave. The game appears here only because I distinctly remember finishing it. I was about 9 years old and went to my friend’s 18 year-old cousin in exhilaration, a massive grin on my face. I remember being slightly disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm.
13. Getting Epona in Ocarina of Time - Who wouldn’t have this on their list!!?
14. The transformation of Edea in Final Fantasy VIII - I was NOT expecting the transformation of Edea’s character in VIII.
15. Infiltrating the Thieves’ Hideout in Ocarina of Time - I didn’t exactly play Ocarina of Time straight… I let my imagination run away with me and insisted on completing tasks that weren’t a part of the game, but had been set by myself. I used to visit the Thieves’ Hideout on a regular basis. I’d get caught on purpose, then shoot each thief with my arrows, call Epona, and make a quick getaway. I’d travel back to LonLon Ranch, speak to Malon, then pretend that the thieves were coming for me… I’d hide behind her chest of drawers….

 

[Martel]

Here are mine...that I could recall. I'm positive I missed something out
Obviously there are some spoilers dotted here and there in this. xD

1. The final battle against Zanza in Xenoblade. This was just such a fantastic final boss, even if it wasn’t a “true” final boss in the sense of being impossibly hard. After so much work, and dying repeatedly against his first two forms, it felt fantastic just to plough through him with the True Monado, with The God Slaying Sword, one of the best final boss themes I’ve ever heard, playing in the background. Everything about this just screamed EPIC. A perfect finish.
2. The opening sequence of Zettai Hero Project: Absolute Victory Unlosing Ranger vs. Darkdeath Evilman. I’ve never laughed so much at a game within the first five minutes. More clichés, obscure throwbacks and overdramatic lines than any other game I’ve ever played. Still makes me giggle.
3. Starting Pokémon Yellow for the first time. I remember how excited I was about Pikachu following me around…not to mention you could get Bulbasaur, Charmander AND Squirtle along the way as well. It was just like in the anime, and I worshipped the anime at the time. So yeah. That first play through of Pokémon Yellow will always be special for me.
4. The arrival of the Grotesqueries, in Drakengard. Giant babies with teeth are the arbiters of destruction. WHAT THE FUUUUUUUU--
5. The opening FMV of Final Fantasy VIII. I remember the first time I saw that; I was absolutely blown away by it.
6. The ending scene of Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Alex gets 2 million respect points for being a genius. I seriously did not see this coming, and that he was revealed to be the mastermind behind everything was an excellent twist to the game. His failure to acquire the power of the Golden Sun, getting pulled into the heart of the earth…it set everything up nicely for a sequel (we’ll ignore Dark Dawn was the result of this) and, at the time, it was so EXCITING.
7. The giant shade attacking the village in NieR. That was crazy.
8. Kratos’ betrayal at the Tower of Salvation. That point was when Tales of Symphonia stopped being a run-of-the-mill JRPG and turned into something truly special, and the plot started to unfold.
9. Getting to Diamond Dust Zone for the first time in Sonic 3D. There was a point in Rusty Ruin Zone I always used to struggle with, because I couldn’t judge the angle for the jump I had to make properly, but once I got past that, I got all the way up to this zone…and I loved it.
10. Psycho Mantis, in Metal Gear Solid. When I first played the game, I found him extremely creepy…plus more than a little frustrating. Now, I find him to be one of the most tragic antagonists I’ve ever seen in a video game.
11. Catching the Red Gyarados in Pokémon Silver. IT’S A GYARADOS AND IT’S RED. FFFFFFF.
12. The battle between the Bionis and Mechonis in Xenoblade, and Zanza’s subsequent revival. It would have been more of a shock if Egil hadn’t of spoiled it beforehand, but…wow. One of the more shocking twists in the game I did not see coming until it was right on top of me.
13. Taking on Dracula and Death at the same time in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. Symphony of the Night ain’t got nothin’ on this shit; it’s easily the best fight in the entire series. The hardest boss and the signature boss, in one battle. Much as I loved Stella, Loretta and Brauner as villains, this made the game so much better.
14. Dark Samus in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Dark Samus was AWESOME. The SA-X was an interesting villain, but it lacked any sort of personality. Fighting Dark Samus was easily the highlight of the entire Prime trilogy; like Samus, she was upgraded with each battle and, whilst the battles weren’t particularly hard, it was a hell of a lot of fun. Good battle theme, as well.
15. Meeting Lymle for the first time in Star Ocean: The Last Hope. D’aww, she’s so CUTE, kay? I don’t care what people say, Lymle is amazing.
16. The Great Mighty Poo in Conker’s Bad Fur Day. Easily the strangest boss I’ve ever fought…a giant shit, defeated by chucking toilet paper into it’s mouth when it went to belt some power chords. Plus you could sing along to its song. WTF.
17. Getting Marin in Link’s Awakening – “You got Marin! Is this your big chance?” I love the way Link held her up in the air like any other item he’d get. Way to go, Link. xD
18. Lezard Valeth using Meteor Swarm in Valkyrie Profile: Silmeria. That was a real “Oh, FUCK.” moment.
19. Seeing Rapture for the first time in BioShock. That was a fantastic scene. “I chose…Rapture.”
20. The genie level in Aladdin. I LOVED that as a kid.

 

[Sir Fratley]

1.> Final battle in Hell (BG2: Shadows of Amn)
This is what a final battle should be like. Jon Irenicus is perhaps one of the greatest villains in all of gamedom. Powerful enough that he could destroy the likes of Elminster and Blackstaff, and even Kefka and Sephiroth. He steals the soul of a godling (you) and uses your own powers in addition to his powerful array of spells and several demonic monsters to beat you down with. He even has a number of insta-death spells at his command, so if you don't have any protection against those spells then shove your head between your legs and kiss your @$$ goodbye.

2.> Any rants from Minsc (Baldur's Gate series)
You will do one of three things when you listen to Minsc: Laugh your ass off, Facepalm, or both. This guy is crazy and his rants show it. Yet every word from his mouth is just about hilarious (with the few exceptions inbetween but those are few.)

3.> The exchange between the Bard and the old fogey who wants to teach you the ropes (The Bard's Tale)
I laughed hysterically through this. This entire game makes fun of itself and all of the stereotypes associated with RPGs, including the basic tutorial.
O: Now I'll teach you how to play that lute of yours.
B: What? Does my name not mean anything to you? The Bard? Did you not see that rat I summoned a few moments ago?
O: Press the left trigger.
B: You're not listening to a word I say, are you?

4.> The final confrontation of the Eldean siblings Cirrus and Radoria (Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean)
At the end of a long, hard battle between your character Pike who wields Cirrus Eldean (A mage who turned herself into a sword long ago), and her corrupt, power-hungry brother Radoria, Cirrus sacrifices herself to slay her elder brother. Perhaps one of the saddest moments in any game I have played.

5.> Battling the Great Grey Wolf Sif (Dark Souls)
Easily one of my favorite bosses. Personally I love wolves, and certainly wish that rumor of sparing Sif was true (it isn't), but this boss battle is awesome. While he has his patterns, he is still formidable. And nothing is more epic that a giant wolf who can beat you down with a giant sword. By the end of the fight, she's limping and more than likely you're out of estrus flasks. I think it adds a nice touch.

6.> The bittersweet reunion (FF9)
One of my favorite scenes in FF9 and one of the saddest. After searching for so many years, Freya finally finds her beloved, only to discover that he has developed amnesia so severe that he cannot remember anything, including their past. It also shows Freya's strength. Despite this crushing blow, she still fights on for the sake of the world, happy in the knowledge that her beloved still lives.

7.> Link and Midna's relationship (Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess)
I loved seeing how Midna plays with Link's head and then gradually starts to care for him. The way she rags on him is rather humorous. It's rather sad they had to part ways in the end.

8.> The final battle against Yami (Okami)
Yet another epic final boss. You're stripped of all of your brush powers and have to start this fight off in your pure wolf form. As you regain your powers, you have to make use of them in order to regain another paint power. Then once you regain all of them, the true final fight begins. And when Amaterasu gains her true form, which is an epic cutscene in and of itself, the battle becomes intense and all-out.

9.> Viconia's Romance Ending (BG2: Throne of Bhaal)
After reading through the romance ending after completing Throne of Bhaal, Viconia's romance ending is perhaps the most beautiful yet tragic of the three romance-able females. The fact that she is a Drow in a world that despises her kind, and the fact that her kind has hunted her down since she ran away to the surface speaks volumes about her.

Spoiler: Ending

Robert and Viconia continued adventuring long after leaving Tethyr. He became an important political figure, and she was his trusted counsel. Eventually Viconia bore Robert's child, which first served to strain their relationship. The birth, however, changed her, and she dedicated herself to raising the boy, teaching him both the ways of the drow and of Robert's people. She marveled at the understanding in his eyes, but, unfortunately, didn't live to see him grow. Viconia was poisoned by a servant of Lolth, her last words whispered to her loving mate in private. Robert raised his son in secret, and tales vary on the result. Some say they waged a crusade against the drow, but all agree that the former child of Bhaal never forgot the love of his dark maiden."

10.> Misnc's Ending (BG2: Throne of Bhaal)
I feel this is truly a wonderful ending for such an incredible (and crazy) character. The last few lines especially are rather heartwarming.

Spoiler: Ending

"With the saga of the Bhaalspawn closed, Minsc fulfilled a long promised oath. He returned to Rashemen, hoping to regale the Icedragon Berserker Lodge with the tales of his deeds, and earn a place within its hallowed halls. His words were not needed. Every tavern in Faerun had a bard singing of the valiant ranger, and he was welcomed as a hero. Eventually he formed his own adventuring company, the Justice Fist, striking fear in the hearts and faces of evil until, in his advancing age, he again set out across the Realms... and disappeared. And what of Boo? Well, what is Minsc without Boo? The two would never be separated, and some say they are together still, up amongst the stars where hamsters are giants and men become legends."