Discussion of the Week: What Were Your Most Memorable RPG Moments?

Some RPGs have the ability to impact your life in such a way that you never look at games the same way again. Some leave you speechless in awe of their beautiful landscapes and grand scope. Some mess with your mind in a way that makes you question what you thought was the norm. Some make your cringe in disgust. Others give you such great satisfaction that you feel like you are a more complete person after experiencing them. These are our favorite RPG moments and they are ones that we will never forget for as long as we live.

Ten year old me thought that he had seen it all. He had fought dangerous beasts in Final Fantasy, he beat the Soviets at their own game in Tetris, he had even defeated hordes of zombies in Zombies Ate My Neighbors. He thought that he was ready for anything that was thrown his way. What he was not ready for was the wonder and majesty that was Hyrule Field. Never before had young me been able to go anywhere he wanted in a fully realized 3D world that was full of secrets and adventure. After getting a glimpse of this magical world I ran as fast as I could toward it, ready to jump in and get right to the action. Then I was stopped in my tracks. What is this? Who is this owl? Why is he stopping me from getting to that beautiful world? I spammed A as fast as I could, what could he possibly have to say that was more important then what was right in front of me? It was a trick. The owl then began to repeat everything he had just said! Is this a trick? A cruel joke? Finally I caught on and it was over, and I was allowed to get a taste of Hyrule Field and explore to my heart’s content.

While some of our most memorable RPG gaming moments happened while we were children, that was not always the case. Some of them occurred when we were more mature and truly ready to see the world for what it was. Or so we thought. Some RPG gaming moments are just so cringy and hard to watch that even being an adult does not prepare you for them. One of these such moments occurred in Heavy Rain for the Playstation 3. Desperate to find your kidnapped son Heavy Rain puts the player in scene that is very reminiscent of some of the horrors you would see in a movie like Saw. In this scene the player has a choice. Either let his son die, or cut off a section of his own finger. This scene is incredibly realistic and has the player squirming with anxiety as it plays out. This scene is brutal, and it is one that the game never lets you forget.

While some RPG gaming moments are awe inspiring or brutal, there are others that are sad, confusing, and move the player to tears. One of these such moments is Yuna’s sending scene from the masterpiece of a RPG that was Final Fantasy X. In this game the player is put in the role of Tidus, a young blitzball player who is tasked with escorting the summoner Yuna on her quest. As events in the game play out the player knows as much as their hero and there is one scene in the game that reveals one of the tasks required of Yuna, sending. This beautiful scene shows Yuna on top of water surrounded by many corpses covered in flowers. She then performs her vital ceremony which brings the souls of these fallen people to the next world. While watching this scene we were unable to hold back our tears as we watched these souls pass into the other world, to finally rest in peace.

So what were some of your most memorable RPG gaming moments? Let us know in the comment section below and be sure to check out our weekly podcast where we talked about these moments and many more!