What were the earliest games that invoked real emotion in you?

[Emperor Megas]

I'm not just talking about 'fun, excitement, or frustration' -- even the earliest games did that -- I mean deeper feelings like sorrow, melancholy, fear, elation, tension, uneasiness... And I'm talking about feelings that were brought on by the content of the games themselves. NOT an emotional attachment to a game for reasons outside of the game itself, like if you and your grandmother used to play it and that made it special to you, for example.

Anyway, it seems like most gamers had their first genuine, cerebral and visceral emotional experiences in the 5th console generation, when 3D worlds and CD quality audio became the standard. The tension of stealth action in Metal Gear Solid, the visceral jump scares of Resident Evil, the suspense and terror of Silent Hill, the pain of loss in Final Fantasy VII.

Was it the same for most of you, or did you experience genuine emotion from earlier games? Or, perhaps you didn't until later generations?

For me, games like Alone In The Dark, and MYST, on the 3DO really sucked me in. I don't know if I'm the only one, but AitD was scary as HELL to me. It's hard to imagine when you go back to it now, but it was my first survival horror game and I'd never experienced anything like it before. The shit used to keep me awake at night.

[celerystalker]

Enemy Zero on Saturn got me pretty tense during the section where you're going through the ventilation with lots of sharp corners and your earpiece goes of like nuts... not really scared, but a bit on edge. Eartbound made me genuinely chuckle and kind of... cozy, as it were. Aside from those, the only other one that jumps to mind is Nier. I remember feeling genuinely conflicted at one point where you have the opportunity to tell an old lady nearing death a truth that makes her aware that her entire adult life was a lie and a waste, or you can let her live the rest of her days ignorant in a town where everyone else knows the truth.

[Emperor Megas]

Man, I LOVED Nier, but I don't recall which part that was. Was it the women in the lighthouse?

Sidenote, I didn't learn until recently that Nier was an (unofficial?) sequel to the Drakengard series, which I've never played yet. I own Drakengard 2, but I won't play it until I get the first one.

[celerystalker]

Yes, it was the woman in the lighthouse. That part actually caused me to set down the controller and think for a second. Also, those text dream sequences were well-written and intense. A real pleasant surprise!

[Tanooki]

There were some genuinely sad moments within Final Fantasy II on the SNES. You could feel how they characters would have had they been real. I don't also consider cheapy pop scares a real emotion from a game, someone moving a hand in front of your face would make you jump too if you didn't see it coming and it's a reaction not a feeling. Games don't really give me any deep emotional attachment, not sure if I should tack 'sadly' onto that but they're just sources of entertainment. I can feel a bit of a rush from one or maybe notice a down moment, but I don't start feeling all moody, sad or genuinely scared or touched really.

[Aussie2B]

32/64-bit era? No way, it was way earlier than that for me. There were a number of 16-bit games that got me choked up and otherwise emotional, like Chrono Trigger and Lufia II. FFVII was hardly the first RPG to kill off a playable character or otherwise invoke a strong emotional response in players.

And though earlier games were generally lighter on storytelling, even 8-bit games could create an atmosphere of tension and unease (speaking outside of the tension that comes from a game being very difficult to clear). I thought Metroid and the Castlevania games on NES were plenty creepy. Not like a horror games, sure, but enough to put me more on edge than with a cheerful, light-hearted game.

[celerystalker]

32/64-bit era? No way, it was way earlier than that for me. There were a number of 16-bit games that got me choked up and otherwise emotional, like Chrono Trigger and Lufia II. FFVII was hardly the first RPG to kill off a playable character or otherwise invoke a strong emotional response in players.

And though earlier games were generally lighter on storytelling, even 8-bit games could create an atmosphere of tension and unease (speaking outside of the tension that comes from a game being very difficult to clear). I thought Metroid and the Castlevania games on NES were plenty creepy. Not like a horror games, sure, but enough to put me more on edge than with a cheerful, light-hearted game.

One of my friends jumps EVERY SINGLE TIME an enemy surprises him during the room exploration in Dr Chaos.

[Emperor Megas]

T I don't also consider cheapy pop scares a real emotion from a game, someone moving a hand in front of your face would make you jump too if you didn't see it coming and it's a reaction not a feeling.I don't really consider jump scares in and of themselves to be emotional, HOWEVER, being on edge and extremely nervous and paranoid afterward BECAUSE OF the jump scares I think is an emotional experience.

I've had too many jump scares from games that made me shut the game off immediately after the event or sequence was over because my nerves were shot. I'm a complete pussy when it comes to horror games. I've been playing The Evil Within for like 6 MONTHS or something because I have to play it in itty-bitty increments. With that said, survival horror is my favorite (modern) genre.


One of my friends jumps EVERY SINGLE TIME an enemy surprises him during the room exploration in Dr Chaos.I love Dr. Chaos!

[goldenband]

For sheer foreboding and stress-filled anticipation, it's hard to beat Dungeons of Daggorath on the Tandy CoCo. Listening to those monsters coming at you in real time, or getting unexpectedly surprised by one that comes up silently behind you...phew. It was an intense game to play back when I was in single digits -- I had at least one or two nightmares about it -- and is almost as intense even now.

I find that certain game music makes me intensely nostalgic, even if I didn't play the game at the time of its release, and though it's a cliché SNES RPGs do top that list (not Final Fantasy, though). The very first time I heard the music to Robotrek and Chrono Trigger, it moved me intensely -- enough so that I stopped playing and set the game aside for some future time (I still haven't played Robotrek).

But very few RPG plots have ever moved me at all, since they're almost always completely silly and cardboard. That said, I seem to remember getting a bit sad at the end of Lufia. That would've been around 1994, so I guess it was the first. Some years later, when I played Chrono Trigger, the apparent death of the protagonist took me by complete surprise and left me with an unexpected sense of loss.

About the only other one I can think of is Out of This World/Another World, which astonished me when I played it back in 1991 or whenever it came out. Its world is captivating and uncanny, and goes beyond pure entertainment to become something more sublime and haunting.

[celerystalker]

I don't really consider jump scares in and of themselves to be emotional, HOWEVER, being on edge and extremely nervous and paranoid afterward BECAUSE OF the jump scares I think is an emotional experience.

I've had too many jump scares from games that made me shut the game off immediately after the event or sequence was over because my nerves were shot. I'm a complete pussy when it comes to horror games. I've been playing The Evil Within for like 6 MONTHS or something because I have to play it in itty-bitty increments. With that said, survival horror is my favorite (modern) genre.

I love Dr. Chaos!

Dr Chaos is the shit. I love that game.

I just remembered, though... the Wii A Boy and His Blob. The first time I played that game, I was with my little brother, whose son was about 3 at the time, and he cried happy tears at how it evoked childhood memories.

[Daria]

Sadness: Shining Force 2. When Oddler remembered his true identity and fought against you. Defeating him was the saddest event I'd ever witnessed in a game.
Fear: Clock Tower. Okay maybe not fear, but intense stress and uneasiness. There was a time when I had to take the game in short 10-15 minutes spurts because my heart was pounding so hard.

[Colorado Rockies]

Metal Gear Solid for me. Especially the scenes with Ninja and Sniper Wolf. I was around 10 at the time so I didn't understand everything but I knew it was powerful nonetheless.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Ico
weaves the tale of a young boy trying to escape his imprisonment in a large, vacant castle. Along the way, he discovers another captive--a beautiful princess ...

&
Shadow of the Colossus

[dgdgagdae]

Shadow of the Colossus

I wish I could get into that game, I really do. I've tried three times and just can't. I can't stand the controls, can't figure out where to go. I found the first colossus once, beat him, and couldn't find another.

To answer the question, my most recent was A Bird Story. It's more interactive storytelling than game, but I highly recommend it. Brought the tears more than once.

[Cornelius]

I more or less skipped the 16 bit generation due to little kid rage-quitting, so I probably missed opportunities there. The first I remember once I started really gaming again would probably be Baldur's Gate. I just got pretty well emotionally invested in my characters, and visiting some of the prettier places was kind of awe-inspiring.

I also remember a sense of tranquility in Bushido Blade, which is odd since you spend most of the game slitting throats, but I think there was a setting with cherry blossoms and snow and peaceful music.

I also agree with Ico and SotC. I really didn't like killing the Colossi(?). The flying one in particular was so much fun to ride on and gave a real sense of exhilaration for me.

[TonyTheTiger]

The first game I can remember that actually put me in a state of actual fear was Castlevania 64. Namely the villa stage where those invincible dogs would attack you at random. It was around then that gaming hit the point where it could convincingly pull off jump scares.

[lendelin]

I never experinced emotional situations with games like I did with movies, novels or poems. The stories and the techniques of storytelling in games are just not there yet. Emotions in games because of their interactivity are much harder to achieve compared to other art forms. However, I was very surprised that I got frightened a lot in Silent Hill 2, and the sadness I felt killing the colossi in Shadow of the Colossus was true. I only watched someone playing The Last of Us, but the story of this game and the ending are remarkable.

[Steven]

Resident Evil and Clock Tower both on PS1

[Videogamerdaryll]

Resident Evil and Clock Tower both on PS1


Clock Tower on PS1...oh the memories...

I think this was the first game that actually struck heart beating fear in me...

[eskobar]

I killed myself after the death of Aeris in FFVII, I don't even know how I am writing this right now :beaten:

[Emperor Megas]

I never experinced emotional situations with games like I did with movies, novels or poems. The stories and the techniques of storytelling in games are just not there yet. Emotions in games because of their interactivity are much harder to achieve compared to other art forms. However, I was very surprised that I got frightened a lot in Silent Hill 2, and the sadness I felt killing the colossi in Shadow of the Colossus was true. I only watched someone playing The Last of Us, but the story of this game and the ending are remarkable.Silent Hill 2 probably holds the record among games that wring emotions (in SH2's case, fear and despair) out of me.

I'm wondering, have you tried The Last of Us yet?

[Wraith Storm]

Final Fantasy 6 -
The first game that really made me cry was Final Fantasy 6 on the Snes. I remember just after the floating continent, and the world was destroyed, waking up on Solitary Island. The sad music, the desolate blowing wind and feeling like you were the only person left in the world. It filled me with melancholy and a gave me a feeling of complete hopelessness.

Panzer Dragoon Saga -
One of the most mature and well crafted stories of the era and to this day is just as refreshing. The way all of the characters have their own ambition and motivation for what they are doing made them human, not just a cluster of polygons. Major battles are fought over misunderstandings and you get drawn into religious politics because you ride a dragon in the sky. The world and its people are alive. Nothing however, could prepare me for the end. As the end of the game approaches none of the characters are really sure whats going to happen to them. The dramatic uncertainty plays out across several cut scenes that made me tear up and filled me with anxiety. Most games you get to the end and know what to expect more or less. In Panzer Dragoon Saga it's mostly uncertainty. The characters don't really know whats going to happen. The player doesn't really know and it just made my stomach knot. Then after the credits another cut scene throws a bit of a twist and another heaping pile of anxiety.

Enemy Zero -
For pretty much the same reasons celerystalker pointed out. With limited saves and loads, it makes you feel the weight of each action you take. Once you start encountering the invisible enemies and the different tones and beeps it gets insanely tense. It still gets my heat pounding when there are multiple enemies. Any other game if you die you just reload and its not a huge deal. Not here though, limited saves and loads. VERY tense game.

[calgon]

Only game that has ever made me sad to the point where I was thinking about it all night after, is the final boss battle in mother 3. Won't spoil it for anyone but yeah

[celerystalker]

Only game that has ever made me sad to the point where I was thinking about it all night after, is the final boss battle in mother 3. Won't spoil it for anyone but yeah

That one did get me a bit, even though I was playing in Japanese. I started thinking about my brother.

[SpaceHarrier]

Marble Madness inspired rage.

[dgdgagdae]

To answer the question, my most recent was A Bird Story. It's more interactive storytelling than game, but I highly recommend it. Brought the tears more than once.

I meant To the Moon, not A Bird Story

[GrapeChelly]

I'll have to go with earthbound. I have yet to finish it, I was a bit young when it first came out (born in 1991). I watched my brother play a whole bunch of it, and recently bought the 3DS port to I can finally play through it myself.
The whole home sickness bit, and leaving your mom. From what i've seen it really was touching, exciting, sad, and funny all at once.

As far as new games, Life is Strange really hit me pretty hard.
I thought it was going to be some silly coming of age game, or your basic "girl goes to school, we see her grow".... but this was so much more than that. Without spoilers, it was a true emotional roller-coaster. I teared up really bad a few times and it truly surprised me. It's one of my favorite games now, and I can't recommend it enough.
:)

[kupomogli]

A couple SNES games were the earliest, but there were also PSX games.

Breath of Fire with a late game scene with characters named Alan and Cerl. The music helped add to it because it was a really sad sounding song.

The end of Lufia 2, also the beginning of Lufia. I've played Lufia 2 long before I played the original and at that time, I made my way through the game along with these characters. If I was to play through Lufia 1, I don't think it wouldn't have made a difference because you spend a whole 10 minutes with the characters before they die.

As for PSX, the love story with CLaude and Rena on Star Ocean the Second Story was probably the thing that most got me out of all of them.

I actually didn't play the original XCOM until a few years ago before playing the remake. But being inside an alien base and seeing my first Crysalid really invoked a feeling of feer, especially as long of a distance it traveled and ohkod one of my allies, only for me to kill it, and then the next turn my ally exploded into another Crysalid from the zombie that was created. Obviously the allies that were around that Crysalid died and I was pretty scared about the safety of the other members in the base since I knew the ones that got kiled would turn into additional Crysalids.