Moments in games that just stay with you

[Cerys]

'Little (or not so little) things that make you hope the person responsible gets the recognition they deserve' is the thread title I wanted to use, but it takes up too much space.

Anyway.

Over fifteen years after I first saw it, the 'IV' being the first image in Oblivion is still, for me, a moment that makes me hope that whoever suggested it gets a warm glow whenever they think about it.  It's a tiny, simple thing - and yet so magnificent.  I don't even care if it smacks of 'look how clever we're being' - I love it.  It gives me shivers.

[bgmnts]

Zell's stupid backflip introduction in FFVIII.

Honestly, any moment in a video game between 1998-2004 is probably going to stick with me.

Super Mario 64's Cave level had a riff that always sounded like Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood and that sticks with me too.

[Utter Shit]

The ride off from Shady Belle in RDR2 with Unshaken playing. I never played much of the original RDR so never had that 'arriving in Mexico' moment, but the equivalent in RDR2 was incredibly powerful. It's perfectly timed, as you can see the world shrinking before your eyes and it's clear that

Spoiler alert

the fates of Arthur as an individual, and the gang as a whole are pretty much sealed

[close]

. And it's just a rare moment of serenity before everything kicks off again. A beautiful, haunting, perfect moment.

[madhair60]

without even the slightest irony

[madhair60]

this too, bellowed FUCK OFF at my telly

[Average Comedy Enjoyer]

Rdr2 - final mission

 

Spoiler alert

The beautiful Bepe Columbo, my faithful mount throughout many adventures, lies dying. Arthur kneels down to gently calm the stuttering beast, at which point I notice it's a completely different horse and BC got exploded off a bridge an hour ago. RIP random horse

[close]

[Inspector Norse]

Over fifteen years after I first saw it, the 'IV' being the first image in Oblivion is still, for me, a moment that makes me hope that whoever suggested it gets a warm glow whenever they think about it.  It's a tiny, simple thing - and yet so magnificent.  I don't even care if it smacks of 'look how clever we're being' - I love it.  It gives me shivers.

For me it was emerging from the sewers half an hour or so into Oblivion and just seeing this huge, beautiful expanse of world in front of me and realising I could go anywhere and do anything.

So I went into a nearby ruined temple and got one-hit killed by some high-level warrior and had to reload and play through half the sewers again.

[Cerys]

I feel both your wonder and your pain.  There's really nothing quite like that first view of the sandbox, is there?

[Shaxberd]

The sound effect and animation of the Tesla Coils in Red Alert 1. Especially when it zapped soldiers and you saw their skeletons wiggling around, cartoon-style. It was so absurd and I loved it.


The first time I played an Assassin's Creed game and dived off the top of a tall building. Done to death now, but that first time was outstanding.


Most recently (ok, 2020), the bit in Paper Mario: Origami King where the trees all burst into song. It caught be completely by surprise and made burst out laughing, games don't often have that effect on me.

[oggyraiding]

Resi 1 cutscene where you meet the first zombie and he's eating a fella's head.

Wind Waker final fight.

Psycho Mantis.

Ashtray Maze in Control.

The SH2 cutscene that has Pyramid Head looking like he is raping the leg monster.

[dontpaintyourteeth]

First time you get on the world map on Final Fantasy VII. Longest game I'd played at that point was probably Sonic 2 or something, so this felt massive.

[Kelvin]

Playing the Resi 4 opening village sequence at uni with my friends. None of us knew what to expect, and when the chainsaw guy turned up I remember the entire room (six of us) going absolutely ballistic; screaming, jumping up and down, yelling out where he was.

Obviously that sequence would have been great even if I played it by myself, but the reaction from the room was unlike anything I've ever had playing a game, and cemented it as a really great memory for me.

After that my friends/flatmates would insist I called them all in whenever I played the game, but I don't think anything ever topped the delirious reaction to that section.   

[beanheadmcginty]

First time Batman gets gassed by Scarecrow in Arkham Asylum. Totally unexpected weirdness.

[copa]

Mine would be driving a vintage Maserati around a snowy Nürburgring. It's one of the challenges in Project Gotham Racing 4.

I'm not really into racing games but there was something about this level that stuck with me. It's just such a simple and beautiful thing.

The red sports car against the snowy/wintery surroundings. The growling and hissing of the engine. The beautiful ambient lighting. The tactile feel of trying to nurse a big lump of a car around an icy track.

And the fact that the challenge itself seemed impossible. At least, for me.
Played it loads of times, just for the experience.
Sometimes, if I can't sleep, I'll imagine myself back behind the wheel.

[Kelvin]

This moment from Ocarina of Time, which pretty much forged by twenty five year obsession with Zelda.



I remember being 15 years old, stood outside my first ever job and daydreaming about how amazing that moment would have looked in a Zelda film. Now, aged 40, I actively dread the prospect of seeing these iconic moments bungled in the newly announced Zelda film.

[Cerys]

Lara turning to gold.

[Beagle 2]

Mine would be driving a vintage Maserati around a snowy Nürburgring. It's one of the challenges in Project Gotham Racing 4.

I'm not really into racing games but there was something about this level that stuck with me. It's just such a simple and beautiful thing.

The red sports car against the snowy/wintery surroundings. The growling and hissing of the engine. The beautiful ambient lighting. The tactile feel of trying to nurse a big lump of a car around an icy track.

And the fact that the challenge itself seemed impossible. At least, for me.
Played it loads of times, just for the experience.
Sometimes, if I can't sleep, I'll imagine myself back behind the wheel.

That looks absolutely cracking.

[Fru]

Frederico Auditore:
It is a good life we lead, brother.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze:
The best. May it never change.

Frederico Auditore:
And may it never change us.

pan to Title Drop

[Video Game Fan 2000]

repeatedly looking at the moon in Grim Fandango until they recite the poem together. also pissing Carla off, "I've got one your boys down here in the morgue" and "tell me Manny, would I have had a chance?"

what you have to do at the end of Death Stranding justified all the games failures and pretentions

president suicides in Vanquish

getting to New Donk City

the big city at the end of Dark Souls III felt triumphant even though that game had worn me down to a nub with the constant fan service

[C_Larence]

There's a jump scare in the second Uncharted game involving a silhouetted yeti in the foreground. Played through the game three times and each time it surprised me even though I knew it was coming. Never really seen anything like it before or since. Perfect misdirection.

Also obligatory Nier Automata ending E mention.

[Rev+]

DIE MORTAL

[Capt.Midnight]

Silent Hill 1 demo disc.

That bit near the start - walking down the alleyway, sinister camera tracking, air raid sirens, gradual descent into hell. Never experienced terror like it in a game.

[bgmnts]

Oh yeah I played that over and over again as a kid, and I don't remember playing the actual game.

One more modern example of "whoa" was the first 10 minutes of Dead Rising. I remember seeing and reading about it for YEARS and finally got it, and played it on my shitty telly (one of those with a built in vhs player you know). The creepy music, taking photographs of all the carnage and just the general sense of spectacle was brilliant, and sticks with me proper.

[Lemming]

The psychic torture corridor from the end of Fallout. I remember the messages you get in the event log off by heart:

Spoiler alert

The hairs on the back of your neck rise. You feel something from the corridor ahead. The bile rises as you recognize the mass of flesh ahead - human parts in the wall itself. The worst part is that it is moving, calling to you.

Your nose starts to bleed. You hear voices in your head. They are calling your name. Darkness washes over your eyes for a moment, but you recover.

A voice calls to you. You turn your head and see the image of a forgotten friend, obviously dead. The worms fall from her rotted jaw as your headache grows.

It is getting harder to move forward. Your foot seems bonded to the floor. You look down, and the flesh of the floor is crawling up your leg. Teeth gnaw at your knees. Still, your headache gets worse.

Something catches your attention, a flash of movement from the ceiling, and then a sliver of bone pierces your eye! With it comes the thoughts of the dead and tortured!

The pain in your head is maddening. You feel the sins of others wash over your soul. And it gets worse, as your sins answer them.  Like madmen, they fight through your psyche, and in the process tear your personality apart.

Your head is pulsing with the intrusive thoughts of others. The pain grows and grows. Suddenly, as if it never existed, the pain vanishes. You fall to the ground and weep. But something does not feel right.

[close]

Always loved it because, to this day, I have no idea what the fuck is actually meant to be happening here. I get that there's psykers in the room nearby, but I still could not tell you what the deal with the corridor is.

Lara turning to gold.

That always really bothered me as a kid. The weird strangulated groan she does before toppling over, horrifying.

[madhair60]

if you weren't there and you weren't a sonic fan you will never, ever understand.

[bgmnts]

"Mr Rowland? It's been such a loooong time"
and
"How about a game of Lucky Hit? Would you like to try a game of Lucky Hit? Would you like to play? How about a game of Lucky Hit?"

Beautiful.

[FredNurke]

I'm sure I've said this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again: opening the Door of Time in Ocarina of Time.

[Pink Gregory]

Silent Hill 1 demo disc.

That bit near the start - walking down the alleyway, sinister camera tracking, air raid sirens, gradual descent into hell. Never experienced terror like it in a game.

Similarly, Silent Hill 2, walking that tunnel that goes under the lake, impenetrable darkness, can only see a foot in front of you and

Spoiler alert

nothing happens

[close]

[Magnum Valentino]

Jill? Is that you?

Is that voice...Enrico's?
































































YEAH

[Glebe]

hiya jill mate