Stories of games I played and cried over

In the past, I thought it was a virtue not to cry even when moved.

Hello.
How's it going, this is Kekoze.

I got into FPS games after entering my 20s.
It's a genre with strong competitive elements, but as I mentioned before, my reflexes and dynamic visual acuity have declined as I've gotten older.

I've felt over the last few years that as you get older, not only do these physical abilities decline, but your tear ducts also become looser.
I've become much more prone to crying, especially when watching movies.
Specifically, the 2019 film "Avengers: Endgame".
I watched it four times in theaters, and I sobbed until my shoulders shook every single time.
It's something I wouldn't have imagined when I was younger, but as you age, your sensitivity grows, and you become able to be moved by all sorts of things.

So, onto the main topic.
It's about the games I've played that made me cry.
Please be aware that due to the nature of the topic, this will include spoilers.

MOTHER 3

As far as I can remember, this is the first work that made me cry while playing a game.
I played all the games in the "MOTHER" series on the GBA.
It was a series my younger brother loved.

A feature of this series is that you don't attack during the final boss battle.
In "1", you have to endure while "Singing"; in "2", you similarly endure while "Praying"; and in "3", you have no choice but to "Guard" and endure.
The presentation during these moments is moving in all of them, but since "3" is a story about family, it really hits the tear ducts.
I fought the final boss in the middle of the night, crying in my bed.

Metal Gear Solid 4

The conclusion to the story of Solid Snake that continued through "MGS" and "MGS2".
I was shocked by the visuals of Snake, who had aged into an old man, and I was moved by the sight of him whipping his aging body to head into battle.
The final battle was a shocking fight of old man versus old man, but the presentation, which felt like it was tracing the history of the MGS series, almost made me cry.
I managed to hold it together here.

And then the ending.
It ends by providing answers to all the mysteries, but I cried during Otacon's monologue right before that.
I also cried when that person reappeared.
I even cry when I read the novelization.

It's a work I love, so I want to play it again.

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

A prequel to the masterpiece "FF7".
I cried at the ending, as expected.
The presentation of the final battle was also quite good, and it was quite amazing how they incorporated the battle system into the presentation.
It tore my heart out.
The ending, depicted with beautiful movies for the PSP, cannot be watched without tears.

KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 Days

This is a story that depicts the time between "KH1" and "KH2" from the perspective of Roxas, the other protagonist of "KH2".
I cried during the movie before the final boss in this one too.
Combined with the music, it's an unforgettable work.

KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep

This work depicts an era before "KH1", but it closes in a way that feels like a bad ending.
The protagonists are not the familiar Sora, but three new characters, and after controlling each character and reaching the ending, you naturally become attached to them.
It left me feeling a bit unsettled that those characters met such an unredeemed ending.

In the "Kingdom Hearts" series, you can watch a "Secret Movie" that hints at the development of the sequel if you meet certain conditions.
The secret movie in this work also shows footage that makes you curious about future developments, and I cried here.
The footage plays with the title screen music in the background, and I cried at the development where the characters who hadn't been saved until now were waiting for salvation by the protagonist, Sora.

FINAL FANTASY XV

I feel like I waited quite a while due to release delays, but I really enjoyed it, including the movie, anime, and related works.
I can certainly understand the desire to complain about how things unfold from the middle onwards, but personally, I didn't mind it much.

More importantly, the story.
From the middle onwards, a series of quite shocking developments occur, which is a far cry from the carefree journey of the four men up until then.
I was curious about what would happen next, but the story became so heavy that I found it hard to keep moving forward.
Even so, when I finally reached the ending after much struggle, tears just poured out.
Because the journey up to that point had been so fun, the conversation at the final campfire really pierced my heart, and the fact that "Stand By Me" played there was just...!
It's the most I've ever cried while playing a game.
Although it's a work that is controversial in the public eye, I love it.

Life is Strange

An adventure game featuring a high school girl with the superpower to rewind time.
I love the style and the music, and it's the number one game I wish I could erase my memory of just to play it again.
It's an adventure game similar to a visual novel where you control characters, and its unique feature was being able to rewind time to change conversation choices.

I cried at the final choice.
Whichever you choose, you reach an ending that is in some way unredeemable, but even while agonizing over it, my heart was made up.
However, it bothers me a little that the ending I didn't choose feels more like the canonical one in terms of length.
But I cry no matter which ending I watch.

KINGDOM HEARTS III

I was looking forward to it so much, and it was the latest installment I had been waiting for.
I was so overcome with emotion that I kept crying at the title screen for a while.
The arrangement of the music on the title screen was so perfect, and all my memories came flooding back, so I couldn't start the game for about 20 minutes because I kept crying.

I also cried at the tumultuous developments in the final stages.
In particular, characters who had never been saved before were being saved all at once, and since they were being saved before I could even process my emotions, I had no time to stop the tears.
I sobbed at the revival of a certain character.
I had been waiting for this for so long.

I also cried at the ending.
The theme song "Chikai" plays after the orchestral version of Hikaru Utada's "Hikari," which is so memorable.
That way of ending it is just unfair.
I cried and cried.

I'm looking forward to the recently announced "4".

Ghost of Tsushima

It is the greatest period action game ever made, based on the Mongol invasions.
It is a story about abandoning the samurai way of fighting to battle as a Ghost in order to take back the land of Tsushima from the invaders.
At the end, there is a choice similar to "Life is Strange," but before that, there was a moment where you compose a death poem.
This was truly tear-jerking.

DEATH STRANDING Director's Cut

A delivery game that changed my perspective on games.
This is the version upgraded for PS5, but since I had played it on PS4 and read the novelization, it was in a sense my third playthrough.
Knowing the story meant I knew the points that would make me cry, and as expected, I couldn't stop the tears during the final scenes.

Ghostwire: Tokyo

I cleared it the other day.

It's a very well-made game as a buddy story, and while the ending is simple, it was quite moving.
The "farewell" scene is always tough.
The children's song "Shabondama" plays during the staff credits, and I found myself shedding tears because of the ending's developments and these lyrics.
It's been a while since I cried at a new game.

So, this has been a look back at my memories of crying over games, albeit just in writing.
Just remembering them makes me want to cry.
Games really are the best, aren't they?

Well then, until next time.