30 Days of Video Games - BONUS: Why Do You Play Games Pg. 142

[Phantomime]

Well, this was a difficult day. I've had almost no real "next-gen experiences", due to feeling "Hmm, that's just about what I expected" about just about every new console. It also took me forever to think of a tragic moment because my heart is an emotionless black void. So for the first question, I'm kind of cheating a little.

 

 

Fondest Next Gen Experience: My First Console

 

So, a little background. My parents were the kind of people who thought video games rotted the brain, turned kids into killers, thought Pokemon was meant to corrupt our youth etc. (My Mom much more than my Dad, and they've both changed their stances drastically since then).  So I was pretty much not allowed to play video games for years. My first gaming device was a Game Boy my Dad bought and never really played. 

 

On one of my birthdays (my memory is terrible, I have no idea which) I got a PS2, and it kind of blew me away, I had never really seen 3D games before. I guess it was just kind of a magical transition I can't ever really feel with anything else.

 

 

Saddest Moment: Rosalina's Storybook

 

 

I don't get sad often, but the complete storybook in Mario Galaxy was pretty upsetting. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it might have something to do with how it starts off with a girl making friends with cute star creatures in space, but then I got to that one page and I got all "Ohhhhhh I'm not sure I like this story anymore...  ". It's done pretty well, and the mood change was refreshing for a Mario game. It's just one of the many reasons why Galaxy 1 is by far my favorite 3D game in the series. 

 

My other choice would be MGS3' ending.

[Goldenlink64]

Day 16: Most Tragic/Saddest Moment

 

 

 

The Wii/DS Servers Shutting Down (May 20th)

 

I've been told the Wii sucks when it comes to online. You know what though? With the exception of Brawl which was abysmal, every other game I played was fine. The lag is just as regular as Xbox Live or PC Gaming or anything else with online play. Matchmaking worked fine. Aside from the bells and whistles of messaging people and voice chat, the Wii's online was fine. Fine enough to get a bunch of friends together, arrange a Skype/Oovoo Voice Chat, and rock a Death Match for the night.

 

With all that said, 007: Quantum of Solace and The Conduit were two favorites I used to play on these servers a lot. QoS was like an interesting mesh between CoD but with actual Health Bars along with Gears of War's cover system. Meanwhile, The Conduit to me felt like the Wii's attempt at Halo and I like it for that. There's weapons you could pick up in multiplayer (not load-outs) and you actually have a life bar and don't just die in one hit unless you had a special weapon.

 

While most of my friends who played these with me have migrated to Team Fortress 2, we still would love to go back and play these games online with each other years from now... I guess not (lousy stupid GameSpy being shut down).

 

I know there's a dedicated group thing towards keeping Brawl and Mario Kart Wii online (even though Brawl's online was terrible), I doubt I can say the same towards The Conduit and ol 007 QoS though. GoldenEye's reboot might have a chance, but really I'd rather play the shooters on Wii that aren't just Call of Duty-lite.

 

It's a shame too, because The Conduit unfortunately doesn't have split-screen or bots so once the servers go down, that entire mode will become completely unplayable. Conduit had my favorite multiplayer on the system, so the idea of it becoming locked away forever makes me very sad. Quantum of Solace at least has Split-Screen... but unfortunately the frame rate goes down and can feel pretty cluttered... it's better than nothing I suppose. At least Conduit 2 has Split-Screen and some of the first Conduit's maps.

 

Until then...

Farewell, old friend. You were my first true online experience.

 

I'll wait for you, Conduit 3... someday, for the 3DS or WiiU maybe.

 

Previously on Day 15:

Next time on Day 17:

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Day 16: A Tragedy of Gaming

 

It's a bit hard for me to approach this, mostly for my own attitudes towards tragedy. I've always held that a truly great tragedy is a hard one to pinpoint, as it needs the surrounding story to truly make it strong. Few of the great tragedies are defined by a single moment, much as they may be recognized for them. I very nearly wish I hadn't spent yesterday's question on the encounter with Andrew Ryan, as that's about as perfectly as I might encapsulate that point.

 

As it is, however, it looks like I'll have to pull something stupid out of my rear-end again because of my own neuroses, so get ready for...

 

 

The End of Mark Meltzer, from BioShock 2

 

This is really a cheap and lazy way of saying everything to do with Big Daddies and Little Sisters, but Mark Meltzer's story is perhaps the most wrenching of all. For those not in the know, Meltzer was the hero of BioShock 2's alternate reality promotion, Something in the Sea. I'm honestly unsure if I've seen a marketing campaign get people so darn attached to somebody, but people connected to Mark on a very visceral level; the poor guy's daughter was hauled off to Rapture to be part of the new wave of Little Sisters, and against the cynical expectations of his friends and family Mark was right on her trail, the only one to have not lost hope for his daughter's rescue. He was headed to Rapture himself, and he would either get his daughter back or die trying.

 

Let me just say that I've seldom felt as depressed by a game as when I found out his eventual fate in BioShock 2. As mad and as overwhelmed as I was by it all, his fate was as poignant as I imagine it could've been. I'll keep my mouth shut for those of you who haven't played it yet, but as someone who had followed the ARG since its inception... man.

 

BioShock 2's entire focus was getting the player inside the head of one of gaming's most tragic monsters, the Big Daddy, but I don't think it was even half as effective as that one encounter. For bringing Soma to a point of despair I haven't seen in gaming in a long while, it's earned its place as my pick for today.

 

Runners Up

• The Entirety of Telltale's Walking Dead
• Rosalina's Storybook, from Super Mario Galaxy

[Sean]

Haven't been keeping on top of this, so first here's my answer for favorite moment:

Beating this motherfucker.

I know that this can also fit with "most frustrating moment," but I can explain. Cave Story's hell run is an aggravating experience, and I legitimately believed I would never have been able to finish it. I came really close to defeating him and would always screw up due to some dumb mistake. You know how when you're playing a hard area in a video game over and over, and you're trying to get better at it, but after a while your playing starts getting worse and worse because you're just wearing yourself out, and at the same time you don't want to stop because you're afraid of having to re-learn all of that short-term skill you've been accumulating in order to pass this one fucking area? Yeah, it was basically that for me. Needless to say, beating the final boss left me absolutely elated.

So why am I listing this particular moment when it's clear that I didn't enjoy playing through it? Well mainly I'm really tired right now and despite being late in answering this question, I haven't had time to come up with a genuine answer lmfao. Beating Cave Story probably isn't actually my favorite moment of all of gaming, but it certainly was one of the ones in which I felt the most accomplished. I felt happy and proud of myself for finishing it and for the respect I gained for this game as I played through it. I'm glad I gave it a chance 'cause I really wasn't all that invested when I first tried the freeware version, but having played and seen the entire game for myself made me realize at last just how much effort and love went into making it, and how humble Pixel is as a one-man team who actually fucking released Cave Story with the synopsis "Get through the caves until you reach the end, oh and you can save your game too!" What a dude.

Alas, this is one moment I probably won't be able to relive anytime soon. I did it in the Steam version and have the achievement to prove it; I'm not about to stress myself sick to do it all over again.

Saddest moment for me would probably have to be from Ghost Trick, so spoilers ahoy:

I'm amazed I found this gif almost right away considering this perfectly sums up what is one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the entire game, which wasn't short on the emotional punches to begin with.

What makes me so invested in Ghost Trick is the theme of loneliness and desire for companionship. Nearly every character in the game experiences this in some form. Amelie is mad at her mother for always focusing on her dumb ass romance novels and not paying enough attention to her family, while her father, the justice minister, is a busy and extremely stressed out man who wants to do the right thing when it comes to his job, and of course doesn't have time for his family as a result. Jowd was imprisoned for years due to the supposedly accidental death of his wife, robbing Kamila of both her parents. Missile has devoted his life to nothing but looking out for Kamila and Lynne, Dandy is obsessed with getting Beauty's approval, and so on and so forth. It's made more apparent with Yomiel being dead for god knows how many years and forced to wander as an empty soul after his fiance's suicide. Aside from kidnapping Lynne and holding her at gunpoint, it was dying that led him to do truly despicable things out of revenge against the world he believed had wronged him and taken everything dear from him.

But the moment I'm citing for this question isn't Yomiel's backstory, but rather Sissel's. Sissel's arc is perhaps the least explored of all of the major characters, but as a young kitten yearning for attention despite the chaos that was unfolding at Temsik Park, he knew absolutely nothing of what was going on other than the fact that he just wanted someone, anyone, to look at him. Ironically, he got exactly what he wanted after Yomiel died and became his caretaker for the next ten or so years. Sissel was loved and cared for, and was never without someone by his side giving him attention. However, he knew that despite his own happiness, he was Yomiel's only reprieve from an existence full of little else but misery and loneliness. His quote from the game sums it up best:

"Those ten years were happy for me. But they weren't happy for the man. And there was nothing I could do for him."

The irony of the situation is all too tragic and the game does enough to showcase the characters' loneliness in brief while leaving a good amount of details to the player's imagination. There are so many depressing moments in this game, but the one that happens to get to me the most is the one involving a little cat who wants nothing more than to be loved and is aware that he could never fill the void in his owner's heart.

[azoo]

Day 15: Favorite Moment

 

I take sentimental value to things, so I kind of absorb the simple moments and consider them the greatest. The one in particular I'm going to bring up is probably amongst the most pure.

 

So... I want you to recall a certain memory. But first play this.

 

 

You see the Lakitu. He looks down at his camera, and the camera you're in turns around. You're in the skyline. Your camera descends downward and swoops around the entirety of the castle. You see all around: the waterfall, under the bridge, around the fields and walkways around. The camera then swoops into a patch of dirt.

 

You hear the music come to slow and hold. The pipe sound rising in echos through your mind, and the camera snip flips over to a shaky cam staring right at the hole in the center of the pipe...

 

*PWOOM* 
"YAHOOOO! HA HA!"
*kroom kroom kroom*

 

And from that moment, you turn around to get a message of urgency. Yet, despite this urgency, you realize something very quickly: you have control of what you do. You can jump around in a hundred different ways. You can swim over there, you can slide on your butt down that hill, you can climb up those trees, run through the bushes, or open the door and start your adventure.

 

The world is your oyster, and you're finally seeing it from all angles.

 

 

Day 16: Saddest Moment

 

 

Most of this flibbidy flabbin' game.

 

Majora's Mask was filled to the brim with moments that just felt full of despair, and overall just really sad. It wasn't gloomy for the sake of it, but actually legitimately a downer kind of game. The tragic depth to the main masks, the backstories for the NPC characters, the entire story of the Skull Kid and the two fairies, Link's lonely travels, background elements and overall just the idea of the burden Link had on his shoulders was amongst some of the most depressing, solemn stuff I could think of in the Zelda series, which when mixed with the lighter elements of the game made the whole experience just.. well, really bittersweet. In the best kind of way, of course.

 

(Runnerup for this one really goes to another game in the series: Twilight Princess, and the moment of Midna's Lament. As shaky as the story was, I really loved Midna, and this part just kinda killed me on the inside when I played it.)

[Tornado]

Day 3 of Ace Attorney Event is the penultimate case in Trials in Tribulations, or "The One With the Sads." The first case in the game was stated early on to be a flashback to Mia Fey's (also known as the hot character from the beginning of the first game who would totally have some sexual tension going on with the player, except she was brutally murdered immediately after the tutorial) second case; one which she basically took on purpose after a year of basically quitting being a lawyer after her devastating first case.

 

Also, this happens:

 

 

 

 

Anyway, 3-4 is the main reason why the tutorial played out as it did, and is perhaps the most humanizing part of the entire series.

 

Meet Terry Fawles:

 

He's one of those Lennie Small-esque big friendly idiot characters. As you can see, he was arrested.

 

This is not why. This is what they say he did when he escaped.

 

Now, it's obscenely obvious from the start that Fawles didn't do it. I'm sure you guessed that in the three sentences I've written since I posted his picture. He's just so blatantly Patrick Star-like that he spends most of the trial being comic relief as everyone is afraid of him.

 

This is the one witness to the crime.

 

 

She so blatantly did do it that she might as well be covered in blood with "guilty" tattooed on her forehead. Playing the first case, which literally tells you outright that she did it if you think about it for even 2 seconds, doesn't even make it more obvious. Just look at her. It all comes together makes it so you just know the payoff for her ass getting caught is going to be fantastic. She's easily the most vile character in the entire series of truly vile people, and you can't wait for the comeuppance she's going to get. A Matt Engarde "she's shitting herself on the witness stand" confession? Oooh. Hope so!

As the case wraps up, and you know you have all of the evidence to trap her bitch ass, something dawns on you. She can't be getting her comeuppance, because that's what happened in Mia's second case. So what's going on here?

 

 

Nonetheless, you press on. Something has gotta give, and you can occasionally see the cracks in her facade (with increasing frequency, too). Then you see the final thread of logic that will do her in. The game hands you the evidence to fry her on a silver platter, and Mia herself is practically glowing when she sees it. Just one more question and you'll put her away, and the poor bastard she manipulated into all of this shit will go free.

 

Oh wait. That bitch fooled him into a suicide pact.

 

The most sombering moment in the series, because that's the point that you realize that even when you know you're right, and you know you're doing the right thing, it still wasn't enough. Not like the other ones, where nothing you could do would have helped since it was already done by that point, and innocents were already hurt. You had this one saved, and it turns out no. You didn't.

And while you still have the satisfaction of knowing that Mia made damn sure that Hawthorne's pretty face fried; it wasn't for this, and she never answered for the crimes committed here. And since that was several hours ago, gameplay wise, you may not even immediately grasp that Mia did get her in the end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or so you thought.

[Jeffhog]

BITTERSWEET SIXTEEN

~ I'm in So Much Pain Right Now ~

 

 

Day 16/30: Most Tragic/Saddest Moment

 

Moment Selected: Venturing Dream's Deep

Appearance: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Nintendo 3DS, 2013)

 

"Don't leave me!"

~Luigi

 

I'm not sugarcoating this at all, but this particular event in the game turned me into an absolute emotional wreck. I touched upon this briefly during the Favourite Boss day, so now that today's theme is allowing it, I'll be going a little more in-depth about what I was talking about. Nine months on and, yes, I still cry extensively get teary-eyed over this whenever it comes to mind.

 

Princess Peach has been kidnapped inside the Dream World by the king of nightmares, Antasma, and it was up to the titular brothers to save her. Problem was that, once you had the pesky bat cornered, he slipped from in-between your fingers and forced his way down deeper into the dream, reaching an area many layers below dubbed "Dream's Deep". Seeing that there was nothing Mario and Luigi could do to save the princess, they settled for the long way around -- going about the overworld to find more intel on this parallel dimension by reviving the long lost Pi'illo.

 

After some venturing through Mushrise Park and its dreamy counterpart, dealing with a dysfunctional robot gone bonkers and a, well, "rabbit" hunt, the way to Dream's Deep has now been drilled open. While Bowser, having just arrived on Pi'illo Island, began to invade the dream world because of the open portal over the sleeping Luigi's head, Mario and Dreamy Luigi dive down into the abyss...

 

...then Mario winds up alone in this murky purple world of ambiguity and emptiness, with only the company of the game's resident Navi, Prince Dreambert. No Dreamy Luigi in sight.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxnkBSuoWe8 

 

Welcome to the forbidden depths of the dream world.

 

I was mesmerized by the atmosphere (special thanks to Yoko Shimomura, that goddess of a musician), and started to tiptoe around this new area, only beginning to realize that there was something off about this place.

 

For starters, Luigi was everywhere. Multiple copies of his pair of eyes, his moustache, and his nose, all neon and fading in and out of the background, were all over. Outlined copies of Luigi walked, spun, and danced around. Moments later, he started talking. Yes, usually silent protagonist Luigi now had a voice, something which never before happened with this magnitude in a previous game.

 

And that was when I started to break down. The man in green wasn't simply talking: those were his thoughts on display.

 

This is the tragedy that is Luigi's mind.

 

Now, as one of the first gaming characters I've familiarized myself with, all the way back to childhood, I've always liked Luigi because I found him to be the more relatable Mario brother. He's not all that strong, he's soft-spoken, he's shy, he keeps to himself, he's always in the shadow of another, he's usually nervous and is more of an introvert than he is outgoing for the most part, he has little to no confidence in himself, and despite his insecurities, he just wants to prove himself as worthy as Mario in his brother's eyes.

 

Well, it's one thing to just know or figure this. It's another matter altogether when it's all spelt out before you. Imagine what it would be like to actually hear Luigi say all of those things. Don't rush reading through the following -- take your time, let the music above play out, and read.

 

"I'm not clumsy!"

 

"I fight ghosts!"

 

"Let me help!"

 

"You're so cool..."

 

"Big bro! Big bro!"

 

"Take me with you!"

 

"Big bro! I can help!"

 

"Hey! Nobody mess with my bro!"

 

"My bro is the best!"

 

"My bro rules!"

 

"I wanna go too!"

 

My eyes already began to water, and it got worse the more I explored and more insights into Luigi's thoughts I came across. Was this him reaching out to Mario? Is Luigi always thinking like this, so little of himself but so much of his brother?

 

Oh, and then the writers had the gall to slip this last one in there.

 

"Don't leave me!"

 

 

WELP, those three words sure hit really, really close to home. With little to no context provided, my mind just started rolling with what those words could be implying -- fear of abandonment, of loneliness, of despair... or of possibly losing Mario? All of the above?

 

At that point, I could barely even see my screen anymore because I was fucking sobbing. No, no, no, Luigi, you precious human being, please, please don't be sad anymore, okay? Because fucking hell you're making me really, really sad right now.

 

Moving on down this narrow path, a light then shines down from above, and a little further ahead, there's a warp zone. Two options are presented before you, and a manifestation of Dreamy Luigi appears. 

 

"Wait for me! Big broooo!

It's probably dangerous ahead!

You may not be able to come back...

You can leave if you jump towards that light...

I don't know what's up ahead..."

 

A cry for help from Peach escapes the portal behind the way out you're given. Sure, he's given the option to leave, but Mario knows that he can't abandon the princess. It was his mission to see to her safety, no matter the risk it entails.

 

"Big bro... It's your choice...

Luigi... will follow you...

We're all here for you, bro. Always."

 

The fucking heartwarming. Just the note to end this moment on until you finally run into your regular Dreamy Luigi once again.

 

"Big bro... Let's go!"

 

 

This moment was a long time coming for me, because hey, I stuck with Luigi for years. There were plenty of sad moments in games for me, not gonna lie, but this one was over a good decade and a half in the making on my end.

 

Dream's Deep, man... It got real deep.

 

 

can someone please comfort luigi and give him a hug or something because he could really use one

[SuperStingray]

I put this one off because I've been too upbeat today to really dwell on something sad. So I'll keep this short. Day 16: The Walking Dead Ending

In a game where everything seems to have the worst possible outcome, Lee's death seemed almost inevitable. But goddamn, watching him struggle to stay alive just a few seconds longer to make sure he's done all he can for Clementine just broke my heart. I can't remember witnessing a more painful goodbye.

[Soniman]

 

Lets talk about these two for a minute.

 

Throughout the Majora's Mask you're tasked with helping many of the denizens of Termina, and this sister duo is one you come to meet about halfway through the game, to get Epona back. You first meet Romani, an odd child who asks you if you can help her defend the ranch from Alien Invaders, because no one else will believe her. After you do that you meet Cremia who offers to give you a ride into Clock Town and on said you get to learn a bit more of her character, her relationship with Romani, and her growing concerns with the falling moon, on the way you have to defend the Carriage from Ingo's twins and if you succeed she gives you either a mask or a free hug (something I always loved)

 

So you saved the ranch from and Aliens on the first day and protected Cremia from the Luigi bandits on the second day, what is it there left to do? Well nothing really. It's the final day, the fall of the moon is inevitable, and Cremia knows this, this is where the game gets me. Cremia knows that when the moon touches down, they wont be safe no matter where they go and she seems to accept that. Romani is a child and she has no concept of death or despair, she is blissfully unaware of the onocmming apolcalypse, and Romani doesnt want to take that from her. She goes on and pretends the final day is just another day, for the sake of not scaring her little sister.

 

And since Romani knows there's little time left, she makes sure her sister is as possible before the end, so she makes Romani an honorary adult by letting her drink the Chataeu Romani, something Romani always wanted but couldn't do to her young age, and it makes her extremely happy... And then comes the final kicker.

 

On the night of the last day at a ceartain time you see Cremia and Romani walk out of the barn and towards their house, and when you talk to them, what do they say.

 

Romani: See you tomorrow!

Cremia: Yes.....see you...tomorrow.

 

And those are their final lines before doomsday. That always got to me, as it is tragic on both sides really. Romani doesn't know the end is coming, so she contentley believes that she will get to see Link "Grasshopper" tomorrow, not a care in the world. Cremia on the other hand, expresses obvious doubt but does not want to let her sister know what's coming, so she puts on a brave front just for her. I just...I can't believe a game like Majora's Mask made me care so much about these characters, I feel like they're almost real people because their emotions just feel so natural and like....this game has tons of moments like that and many other of them would contend with saddest moment also but this one just feels so poignant to me with it's simplicity yet strong emotional impact, beautifully tragic.

[DemonShad716]

Day 16: Most Tragic/Saddest Moment

 

 

"Sayonara...Shadow...the Hedgehog..."

~ Sonic

 

 

 

This ending...boy, it hit me right in the feels. I honestly can't think of any sadder moment (besides saying goodbye to Chip in Sonic Unleashed) that is sadder than this moment. Watching this cutscene by seeing Shadow fall towards Earth saying his last words: "Maria... this is what you wanted, right? This is my promise I made to you." IT"S SO SAD! DX

 

 

No matter how many times I play SA2B, this ending always brings a tear to my eye. The music is amazing and it really intensifies the feels. Even having all the characters say their final words to Shadow during the credits as if it were his funeral. Not only that, but all the pain and suffering that Shadow went through half a century ago seeing the one person he cares so much about just eject him from the colony. All Shadow wanted to do was to fulfill his promise to Maria to protect everyone on Earth, but he wanted her to be a part of it and enjoy life. But sadly Maria had contracted an illness (that actually exists in real life but forgot what it's called). So Maria wanted Shadow to live and be happy on a planet he always wanted to visit with her. This is all a one way ticket on the Feelstrain to Feelsville.

 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the most saddest moment I have ever seen in gaming history.

 

[jords]

Day 16:

The last of us

The death of Joel's daughter:

Man the beginning was really bad for Joel.

The beginning showed how the apocalypse started and Joel and his daughter were in the house chilling. The first bit have you controller her after waking up in the middle of the night you go look for joel.

So when you get close to finishing the first part your about to exit the woods you find a soldier and stops you thinking Joel and the daughter are infected. Joel tries to reason with the soldier but it didn't work. You can see the soldier aims his gun and Joel tries to get away quick but the soldier already started shooting. both Joel and his daughter are rolling down the hill. The soldier came to Joel and was about to finish off Joel but was saved by his brother. His brother notices Joel's daughter was in pain. Earlier when the soldier was shooting them...he didn't miss the daughter. The daughter was in pain being shot in the stomach. Joel was holding her trying to keep her alive but couldn't saved her.

It was just so sad to see the daughter go, wakes up to this madness and doesn't survive long.

[Lucky]

Day 16: Most Tragic/Saddest Moment

 

A lot of people have mentioned the ending of The Walking Dead Season 1, so not going to talk about that.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83C216WsYmc&t=1m50s

 

You'll want to skip to around the 1:50 mark.

 

Most people probably know about the baby Metroid by now, but quick back story if not: At the end of Metroid II, Samus discovered a lone Metroid egg after she'd completed her mission and destroyed the rest of the species. The baby who hatched from it as she approached immediately imprints on her and followed along as though she were its mother. Samus decides to disobey her orders and spares the little guy, and she brings him back on board her ship with her before setting off back to the colony.

 

That's basically where Super Metroid picks up.

 

The Metroid ends up getting stolen by Ripley who plans to make clones of it, and you have to go get it back before this happens. When you do run into it again, it's grown a hell of a lot and goes out on the offensive before it recognises Samus and takes off when it realises what it's done. So you then carry on to battle the final boss.

 

Mother Brain seems to have learned a few new tricks since her and Samus' last encounter and manages to immobilise Samus, leaving her completely helpless as her energy is drained and she charges up for the final blow... the the baby Metroid comes rushing in and attaches itself to Mother Brain and drains her of her powers. When she's severely weakend, the Baby goes to Samus and transfers Mother Brain's energy and powers into her which severely drains its own life energy in the process.

 

That's when Mother Brain gets back on her feet and immediately destroys the Metroid, leaving its remains scattering all around Samus. Who then uses the energy boost to destroy Mother Brain once and for all.

 

It was just quite a touching moment considering how awful the rest of the species were, and that this one had imprinted on Samus on such a level that it came back to defend her right when she needed it the most even if it was at the expense of its own life. I'm pretty sure I've never wanted to destroy a boss as much as I did Mother Brain during that moment.

 

It's certainly been surpassed by other moments since, but it's still one one of my favourites just because it was one of the first that I can remember having quite an impact on me.

 

Honourable Mention

 

 

Your mother's fate in Dragon Age II.

 

A couple of times when you visit home, your mother mentions that she's been receiving flowers from a secret admirer. You later found out this is from the 'Lilly Killer', although  by that point she's gone missing and you set out to find her.

 

It turns out that she's been kidnapped by a Blood Mage named Quentin, who's been driven insane by the death of his wife and has turned to necromancy in an attempt to get her back. He's been kidnapping and murdering various women in order to gather all the parts needed to rebuild the likeness of his beloved, and has targeted your mother because she had the same face. The last thing he needed for his reconstruction... and that's when you find out he's already gone ahead and completed it...

 

Once you've defeated him, the magic that was keeping what was left of your mother alive fades and she dies in your arms. I just was not expecting it and it made quite an impact. Especially as my character had already lost both siblings before that point and her mother was all she really had left, so it just made the moment all the more tragic.

[Noir]

Day 16 - Most Tragic Moment
 
The Walking Dead spoilers below. Yes, that means don't open them.
 

 
What other choice was there?
 
I've already discussed how alive the characters of TWD are. It feels like interacting with real people, but no more the case than in the relationship between Clem and Lee. In a game that never tries for a happy ending, it shouldn't have been so much of a surprise to get to this point, but for Lee to die felt so unreal. I felt like one and the same with him, it was as if I were the one dying. And yet they only find a way to make it worse by presenting you with your final choice to have Clem do it.
 
It was an easy choice, really. I could never let Clem see Lee as a walker and I knew she had to learn to be comfortable killing someone preemptively to survive in the future. And that's the tragedy of the scene, more than that she has to kill the closest thing to family she has left in the world. It makes clear what a world she's entering, alone and not even ten years old. Such a horrid world that children have to face these kinds of situations just to make it to another day and hold onto at least a little more sanity and willpower. It leaves almost a bittersweet feeling in the midst of all the tears, knowing that Clem has the strength to carry on - thanks to Lee.

[Dejimon11]

Day 16

Well the most saddest moment is in my favorite story so ill just copy and paste that

Bob-ombary's backstory

The partners in the paper mario games all have back stories. Some of them want to accomplish their dreams, while the others are trying to prove themselves. The one that stands out to me is capt'n bob-ombary's

I think he has the most tragic backstory in the franchise(haven't played the mario and luigi games, and haven't gotten far in super paper mario and super mario RPG so work with me here). He was a man...bob-omb who loved 2 things. The sea and his wife. One day his wife got very ill and died when he was at sea and he blames himself for not being there for her. He stayed in his house alone for years. Turns out before his wife died she wrote him a goodbye letter the bartender never gave it to him because he felt sad seeing his friend in that state and felt that it would probably make it worse so the tender gives it to mario. After reading the letter the dark cloud that had covering bomb-ombary for all those years had finally faded, confidence restored and he resumed what he loved doing by the end of the game after helping mario ofcourse.

Man this was the first(and only) time I've cried while playing a video game and a mario game no less how about that? And typing this is making me teary. The reason why I love this so much is because I can relate with this in an event that happened in my family many years ago.

[Carbo]

Day 16: Most Tragic Moment

This is really the only thing that comes to mind at the moment right now as something that stood out for me, but it requires me to employ the good old spoiler tags.

Black Psyche-Locks.

This was an element explored in AA4, but since AA4 was a story that didn't know what it wanted to do with it's characters it was left to this game to explore them. Pearl described them thus; the normal, Red Psyche-Locks are secrets that the character consciously hides, while the black ones are unconditionally hiding them in some facet of their subconscious, and that they can't be opened without the risk of severe psychological damage. In Athena's case, this is the truth as to whether or not she really did murder her mother as a child.

Funnily enough the tragedy from this isn't even stemmed from Athena, it's stemmed mostly from Wright. Athena's backstory is tragic enough as is but it's mostly sad to see the extents to which Phoenix goes to prove his clients innocent here. Keep in mind, this is the fifth game in the Ace Attorney series, and the second one that came out after he had fully matured as a lawyer at the end of the third game, where Mia finally said "there is nothing more I can teach you". He was finally left to his own devices, and AA4 showed how much he had grown in maturity to the point that seven years of Batman-esque prep-time had turned him into a force to be reckoned with.

When he finally returns to the courtroom in AA5 he maintains that maturity but since we're experiencing the world through him, we still get to see those familiar quirks that make him the Wright we know, who's developed through the games. But that stops all of a sudden in the final case of the game when he's going against something psychologically daunting for everyone around him. Despite putting on a huge, bold disposition as the "mentor" for most of the game, this is where he finally cracks and when he's not finding his way out, despite over seven years of ongoing experience and two lawyers under his rope.

Doubt. That's the tragedy. Phoenix has never had that much to prove before as a lawyer, and despite instructing his two pupils to the best of extent and succeeding, his own advice is failing himself in his biggest time of need when he can't even protect his own students, his friends, when they most need him. He's scared to do anything without permanently scarring Athena for life. For his inner monologue to depict him on the verge of breaking down and questioning everything he knows is frankly heartbreaking.

And the final stake driving all that despair through the heart is when the once starry-eyed Athena who looked up to Nick and had nothing but respect for him for allowing her to fulfill her dream, tells Nick right there on the defendant stand without any hint of malice or desperation that "It's okay. I've come to terms with the fact that it's all my fault. You don't need to do this anymore." In her biggest time of need imaginable, she managed to muster enough courage to bottle up her problems in that very moment and show greater concern over the fact that Nick was being crushed under all of this weight.

Ace Attorney has made me sad a lot of the times in the past but after the ever-anticipated return where time had passed for so long not just in the real world but in the world of the game's universe, this moment was crushing me. I had to put the game down for a few minutes after this point.

[Sami]

Day 17 - Best Combat

Dark Souls

There's no other good answer for me when Dark Souls is a thing that exists. The enormous wealth of options for customization, the depth of the mechanics, and the amazing intricacy with which it is designed all meld together to create a system that is absolutely perfect in every way. Combat in Dark Souls takes a bit more time than most games to learn, but is relatively easy to learn. Mastering it, however, is an entirely different game.

There's a million way to really bite into the meat the game has to offer. A huge variety of different builds for every kind of gameplay style you could imagine, different weapons with different effects, armors with different weights and defense stats, and I could go on and on.

There's a huge amount of strategy to every single encounter - be it a regular enemy, a boss, or another player. Every movement you make is slow and deliberate, forcing you to really think on your toes and make every single second count. Timing and planning is everything in the Souls games, and that's what makes them so addictive and fun.

More games should learn from Dark Souls. There's something here for almost every type of player, as the huge variety of viable options make it easy to play whatever kind of style you like. Slow and hard-hitting, nimble and quick to dodge, long-ranged with physical weapons, long-ranged with magic, buffing and debuffing, and more and more and more.

It's perfect.

[Cola]

Day 16 - Most Tragic Moment - I've got feels, man...

I can't exactly think of something mindblowingly tragic, but something that definitely touched me was Rosalina's Storybook in Super Mario Galaxy.

 

 

It seems to start out as a simple tale of a little girl helping her new friend find her home, but eventually the girl breaks down into tears with homesickness. She's swamped by the memories she's had on her small home planet.

 

"But I know she's not there! I knew all along that she wasn't out there in the sky! Because...because..."

"She's sleeping under the tree on the hill!" The girl's cries echoed through the stars, and a hush fell over the area.

 

I'm not afraid to admit that I began to cry after that. Sure, the story has a happy ending, but my heart still shattered into billions of pieces.

[ElectricAngel]

Day 17 - Best Combat

 

Aye, this is a hard one. I can use a fighting game, right? That's not cheating, eh? I mean, fighting games are all about the combat. Soo, I think I'll go with:

 

Any Game in the Super Smash Bros Series

 

Yeah, ok, it's not that "original" of a pick, I know. But there's something about the combat in this game series that is just so satisfying. The controls aren't as overly complex as Street Fighter or Tekken, and pretty much anyone can pull off all the moves a character has to offer. With that said, there isn't much of a variety when it comes to combat, minus the variety of items and assists you can get. However, the combat, although limited, is really fun. I get major satisfaction out of beating my opponent up. There's something about that "smack" and the whole aspect of the more damage you do, the further your opponent flies off. I dunno guys, I may not pay attention to combat in other games that much, but in Super Smash Bros, it definitely stands out to me.

[Willsy]

Day 17: Best Combat

'The God Damn Batman' Arkham series

I'll have to say the 'free flowing' combat from Batman Arkham is the best combat I've ever seen in a video game. As in the name, it flows freely (and nicely) and allows you to use a whole range of methods to beat the crap out of enemies. It actually makes you feel like you ARE Batman. But you don't necessarily have to dive straight into the fight head first, in fact, there are a lot of situations where such brashness is suicide. When there are a lot of armed enemies will military grade weaponry, you'll have to use your head and use stealth, after all, you are The Bat. The most challenging part is using the environment to your advantage, for example, hiding on gargoyles and waiting for things to walk under you so you can drop down and take them out from behind. There are situations though where you really have to use your head to take all hostiles out without being detected. And that's what I love about the combat in the Arkham games, it's not a mindless beat 'em up, you have to think before you act if you want to succeed. And when you succeed, it feels so rewarding when you see all of the enemies' unconscious(?) bodies on the floor, and you think "wow, I just took all of those guys down, and they didn't even see me!".

When it comes to games that involve a heavy amount of combat, any of Rocksteady's Arkham games are more than worth a play. Origins though....ehhhh....not so much.

[Carbo]

Day 17: Best Combat

Pure viewtiful perfection.

Viewtiful Joe is tied as my favorite game of all time and has every single ingredient of what constitutes a perfect game down pat. It has a memorable visual style, it has a charming story with memorable characters, it has a large world built around it, varied locales, a perfect build up, a perfect ending and overall just feels like a great adventure.

But the biggest part of it is the game play, and Viewtiful Joe is a game that is a pure spectacle and joy to play. This game lives up to it's namesake and is based all around the gimmick of "viewing" movie effects. You are given a plethora of dynamic moves to use as you see fit but the twist is, there is no combo list. You are actively in charge of constructing your own combos, and each attack can be cancelled and flows into the next effortlessly and flawlessly. But you can't maintain a string forever can you?

That's where the V-Watch comes into play. You are given three cinematic "effects" to employ in combat - Slow, Mach Speed and Zoom. This is how you end up maintaining your combos. By slowing down time your attacks are given more knockback and power, also allowing the possibility to stun enemies in your vicinity for one-hit kills. With Mach Speed you will move so fast that your attacks will be given burning properties, and after-images allows you to damage enemies in the distance. Zoom will put all attention on you as you can close in on your enemies to perform sweeping and stylish attacks that have area effects.

With all of these at your disposal you are the star of the show, as you endlessly string combos together to gain a ton of V-Points. You can even up the ante by exploiting certain enemy weaknesses, not only allowing you to dodge bullets but punch them right back at your enemies, or dodging their attacks in quick succession to leave them dazed. Each enemy has a certain quirk but every approach has a trick to it.

And this game easily gets hard later you get into the game and the higher up you go in difficulties. In fact, it becomes relentless. But at these moments it requires you to pay attention to enemy patterns and learn them in order to dispatch them effectively, and almost all of the time it is usually the most stylish ways that allow you to do so. I've gone up in harder difficulties to feel completely defeated upon the first level, but managed to truck the first level to learn what goes and then feel like the challenge ahead is completely genuine, no bullshit involved.



There's no game quite like Viewtiful Joe. It still remains, in my eyes, Kamiya's masterpiece, even if TW101 comes very close.

[JezMM]

 

First thought that popped into my head was Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess - while the best screenshot I could find is the Wii version, I talk specifically about the Gamecube Version.

 

I just found the combat immensely satisfying and fun.  It was just another evolution of that which was introduced in OoT and MM and improved in WW, but it did so many things I really liked.  You can swing your sword while running and not locked onto anything, the context sensitive prompts from WW are made manual so you can wreck havoc on any enemy you like with your preferred moves, and most importantly... if you push A to put your sword away after killing someone at the right time, Link does that little swishy thing.  C8

 

 

In the Wii version they ruined it with generic waggles replacing anything the B button did which just sounds awkward as hell to me.

 

 

 

Other games that I greatly enjoy the combat in include the Smash Bros series, Left 4 Dead series, BioShock 1&2, Sonic Unleashed's Werehog (ONCE levelled up), and Phantasy Star Online 1&2 (kind of important in PSO since 95% of the game is combat lol).

[SuperLink]

A few more honourable mentions reminded by other posts for saddest moment before I move onto Day 17..

 

• The post-game sidequest in Pokémon XY, totally took me by surprise considering the relatively weak plot pacing in the main game, Looker's relationship with Emma was wonderfully written and packed to the brim with emotion, towards the end especially it hit me surprisingly hard
• that bit in Jude's side in Tales of Xillia that T-Min talked about
• The final days of KH 358/2 Days, especially Xion's fricking boss music

 

Now that that's over with, let the happier times commence!

 

Day Seven17een - Best Combat

 

Tales of Graces

 

 

Picture this.. you're JRPGs. You had a golden age where you were super popular for your riveting(ish) storytelling and plot-driven gameplay, your attacks were cinematic and explosive in a time where attacks involved shooties or jumping but eventually.. other games caught up with you, and you were left with the same old song and dance. No one was impressed with you anymore, you rarely innovated or did something new with your battles. There's this one series, the Tales of series, that since its inception has always been pretty impressive with real-time JRPG battle systems, but people still feared it would stagnate as it became little more than running towards the enemy, mashing attack and occasionally using a special more flashy looking attack called an Arte, even with its considerable updates between releases.

 

BUT THEN from through the mist came a Tales of game, the 10th Tales of game, with a generic cast that epitomises the generic characters of the Tales series, a generic story that reminds you that yes you're playing a JRPG, and simple-as-fuck dungeon design just incase you worried you would explode from excitement about the motherhecking battle system.

 

Don't get me wrong, the Tales of Graces battle system is unmistakably Tales, and most modern Tales games all have really good battle systems, but this is different, after a slightly slow introductory tutorial process (the game's prologue where the protagonists are kiddies), things really start heating up, pretty quickly. While it's still a Tales battle system, it's been practically re-imagined from scratch. The ideas of what makes a JRPG battle system, what's necessary and what's not, are a little more shaken up than we're used to - for example, gone is the aged TP system that limits how much magic characters can use before they're essentially slowed down until the player can be bothered to go heal it with expensive items or an Inn. Focused on what players got the most enjoyment out of in previous Tales games (combo-ing Artes with regular attacks efficiently), Namco's Tales Studio designed a battle system based almost entirely around comboing Artes. Even the regular attacks are now Artes, and a regular combo succeeds off each other into a much more powerful attack if you're experienced and smart enough with the battle system. The more special Artes are here too, but now both regular and special attacks use this stuff called "CC" (Chain Capacity) which is exactly what it sounds like, your character's capacity to chain attacks. Different Artes use up a different amount of CC, and eventually learning the best way to fight enemies involves changing up which combination of Artes you use for the situation because your Artes Chain, seamlessly, all the way up 'til your CC runs out. And when it runs out? It's not exactly tedious to refill as the TP is in most Tales games. Standing still or guarding for a short while quickly fills it up, or you can recharge a small amount if a small combo is all you need to keep a relentless assault going.

 

The main thing that makes Tales of Graces' battle system so fricking satisfying is that within normal play, getting used to a character's Arte flow feels like mastering them, you can feel like a complete badass because your attacks change depending on your direction and button inputs but due to the more-important weakness system (certain enemies are weak to certain elements, this is actually pretty essential late in the game but it's far less complicated and tedious than you might imagine) the kinds of attacks you choose aren't just important, but they feel SUPER satisfying to hit a weakspot. Relentless assault really is the name of the game here, and even when you're at the top of your game some battles are appropriately challenging right up til the end (some of the endgame bosses can still be ridiculous though). In multiplayer it's even better, as players can alternate teaming up exploiting an enemy's weaknesses while the other recharges their CC and so on. What makes it even better is that by hitting weaknesses or dodging at the right time, CC can recharge automatically or rise even higher than its default maximum, allowing for even more seamless comboing and even more CC rising.

 

And that, my friends, is one of the reasons Tales of Xillia disappointed me. Great story and characters it had, yes, but in an entertainment medium where imo, gameplay is king, Tales of Graces' mediocre plot, generic characters and bland dungeon design just serve to hold back the glorious majesty of its clever as fuck battle system. And the possibility that Zestiria's battle system is gonna build from it is the main reason why Zestiria is probably my single most anticipated PS3 game right now.

 

I might be overselling it, but I'm a JRPG boffin, and after years of turn-based, ATB or standard real time JRPG battles, Tales of Graces' battle system drags it right up into my top Tales games ever despite the game's other flaws and mediocre factors. And it once again proved that Tales of is the king when it comes expanding real-time battle systems in JRPGs.

[Jin.]

This is gonna be a tie with me.

 

Day 17

 

Number 1

BlazBlue ChronoPhantasma

(Again again)

 

I guess it would a bit unfair to pick BlazBlue since it's a fighting game, but playing it is an absolute joy from beginning to end, and even when I get salty online, I always come back like the bitch I am. The system allows even bad matchups to quickly turn the tide and achieve victory as long as you play your cards right. The game feeds you a lot of possibilities. It's up to you to use them. Huh? Continuum Shift? We don't talk about that anymore.

 

 

Number 2

Devil May Cry 3 SE

(Again)

 

I've 100%ed Devil May Cry 3, and with a smile on my face all the way. Especially with Vergil. The fighting in this game is so goddamn smooth and allows for such epic shit that I doubt any game comes close in 3D. Okay maybe DMC4 comes pretty close, but it's not DMC3. Vergil4life

[Dr. Homem]

Pretty much other multi-person combat system before Batman: Arkham Asylum feels archaic now. The few that have tried to copy it have not done anywhere near as good of a job (Captain America, The Amazing Spider-Man, etc). It's so much better than the button-mashy systems of many games out there. The base controls are pretty much flawless: X is your basic strike, but you can jump over enemies, batarang the far-away ones, stun the armored ones, etc. When you make contact with an enemy, there's a slight hit pause; just long enough to allow you to pick your next target and move. You can't just button-mash. Any extra button presses or damage taken restarts your combo meter, preventing you from doing finishing moves, reducing the amount of health you recover after the fight, and slowing down your upgrade progress.

 

 

They start introducing enemies with knives and stun rods, and that's when you absolutely need to expand your arsenal beyond your basic attack and counter in order to take the enemies out. You need to stun the knife guys and jump over stun rod guys in order to make them vulnerable. Essentially, a whole fight turns into a combat puzzle where you have to strategically pick your next target in that small window right after your last attack, and you have to make sure that you're also countering basic enemies, disabling enemies with weapons, and dodging items thrown by other thugs.

 

The sequel, Arkham City, did a good job refining the mechanics and making it smoother, then Arkham Origins completed it by increasing reaction times and adding new enemy types. The combat has such a good learning curve; at first you don't really now how to fight properly, then you slowly learn to become a master not by getting flashier upgrades and weapons, but by increasing your own skill as a player. It's endlessly entertaining, and I can spend hours just at the combat challenges. Hard to think of any game that does it better.

[KrazyBean]

Day 17: Best Combat Systems

 

 

Metal Gear Rising: Revengance

 

From all the hack 'n' slash games I've played, none of them feel as satisfying as this game. It just feels SO AMAZING to play! I think that it's partly due to the parry system. Most hack 'n' slash games promote dodging as you primary defence but in this game you have to get right in there and block incoming attacks with perfect timing, and when you do it feels great. The bosses REALLY make the battle system shine as they'll let you use every trick in the book to win.

 

My only complaint about the combat system is that the sub weapons should've been implemented in a way that it doesn't impede your movement. It's kinda counterproductive in this game.

 

 

 

Child of Light

 

This game REALLY refreshes the established turn based battle system. The Timeline system in this game makes your standard turn based fighting FAR more tactical and rewarding.

 

You don't just chose your move and see who executes it first depending on your speed stat in this game since all actions are tied to the Timeline at the bottom of the screen. Your speed stat determines how fast you move on the Wait section, when you reach the left end of the Cast section you can then choose a move. Depending on what move you choose will determine how fast you move to the end of the Cast section. If you play your cards right and you attack an enemy which is also in the Cast section you'll interrupt their attack and move them back on the Timeline, BUT they can also do the same to you. The firefly (called Igniculus) can also be controlled by you and will blind enemies, making them move slower on the Timeline as well as heal allies.

 

It's flippin' awesome. I wonder if Pokemon can work with a battle system like this.

 

 

Tales of Xillia

 

I've 100% this game and played it for approximately 105 hours, and I never got bored of this battle system. From all the real time battle systems I've played in JRPGs, this is my favourite. 

 

This game plays like a 2D fighting game, but you can also free roam the arena by holding L2. If you don't hold L2 you can dash forward and backward towards an enemy and also shift around them later on in the game when you obtain the required skill (it really should've been something you could do from the get go but eh...).

 

How long you can pull off combos depends on your Assault Chain or AC, which is indicated by the number in the dagger looking icon. You can combine Artes and normal attacks anyway you want as long as you have AC.

 

On top of that you can also link with an ally. Linking allows the ally to flank enemies, allowing you to hit them on both sides and depending on what strategies you set for them they can cover your back or prioritize healing, it also activates their link ability, an example would be Jude's Recover, an ability in which he heals and gets you back on your feet whenever you get knocked down, he can also revive you with this ability but it's pretty rare. Link abilities have a higher chance of activating when you fight a specific type of enemy as well as link with a specific partner.

 

Linking also grants you the ability to do Linked Artes. When the link gauge (gauge at the left) fills a section and you pull off a specific arte, the character will flash and an icon will appear on them, when this happens you press R2 to pull it off. Depending on who you're linked with and what artes you have available, you can pull off a whole bunch of Linked Artes. When the link gauge fills up completely, you go into Overdrive mode and can pull off Linked Artes consecutively and you can also pull off your ultimate attack called a Mystic Arte if you use an Arcane Arte whilst holding the attack button.

 

There's more, but I'll stop here because I've already written enough. Props also goes to Tales of Graces with its insanely clever and more tactical Chain Capacity system BUT I guess I just prefer the super-fast nature of Tales of Xillia and I can't wait to play more of this in the sequel.