The most awesome moment of gaming for me by far, was in the original Unreal for PC (1998). At the beginning you are in a spaceship that crashes on some alien planet. And then you break free from the airship, and have your first view at the luxuriant environments with large panoramas, and flying alien critters in the sky.
At the time the real-time graphics and scenery were incredibly in advance when compared to anything ever released previously. But the ambiance was quite incredible too.
Wow. I played it the day it came out, and I never realized how much Halo ripped it off til I read this after the post about Halo just above yours :lol
quoted for reference purposes..
-Crashing landing on Halo, getting out of the escape pod and looking out at the horizon and seeing the land curve up, up, up, and then up over your head around down to the other side behind you. Breathtaking sense of scope right there.
My own fave from that game was the first time you run into a Skaarj...when the lights go out one after the other, you hear this horrible growling then all of a sudden he'sontopofyouyaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh
Diddy Kong Racing.
Just, everything about it was stunning - the graphics, the gameplay, the characters, the overall originality.. It welcomed me not only to 3d, but also the racing genre.
- First time I played Super Mario 64. I really can't describe the feeling I got the first time I ran around in a circle in front of the castle, it was a fundamental shift in gaming and it was so tangible.
SMB3- The airship levels, Giant World, and falling through the sky after getting a wand from the Koopa Kids.
Sonic the Hedgehog- The first time you went so fast that the screen was hardly keeping up with you.
Super Castlevania IV- That room where you hooked onto a point with the whip and then the room shifted around you.
Actraiser- The level intros. You started high above the world and then it spun around and zoomed into the area you were entering while the music got faster and louder... then that little horn "do do DO doo" as the screen went black.
Zelda LttP: When you defeated Aghanim and then realized the game wasn't even half over. The story of the flute boy. The ending sequence.
Mortal Kombat- Who can forget their first fatality...?
Super Metroid- Crocomire, and the sacrifice...
StarFox- The immensely satisfying explosion after beating a boss; it falling in slow motion to the ground, then "ch-kk-kk... BOOOOOOOOOM" as a bright white light fills the screen. Then the camera dramatically panning around your ship as you escape. The accompanying music was great, too.
Stunt Race FX- The race that went through a clear underwater tube... with a huge whale swimming by.
MUSHA- That one level where you're flying closely over a tiled floor... then the tiles start dropping, revealing a huge chasm below.
Castlevania: SotN- The upside-down castle being revealed. Some of the groteque bosses (the giant hanging from meathooks, the ball of bodies...).
Tomb Raider- Hey, did something just move? OMG IT'S A F*CKING T-REX! RUN! F***********CK!
Metal Gear Solid- Going one-on-one with a f*cking tank, the Psycho Mantis fight, Grey Fox's sacrifice.
Klonoa- The ending... Huepow noooooooooo
Sonic Adventure- seeing the opening cinema play on an import DC way before it was released here. The orca...
Space Channel 5- The fight with Giant Evila and Blank, when the music cuts out and then everybody starts singing an acoustic version of the theme, continually layering on more parts.
Phantasy Star Online- De Rol Le...
Jet Grind Radio- Taking down a f*cking helicopter.
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow- the intro to the fight with Balore(?)... you enter the room and all these bats swarm in and turn into a giant one... "Oh, it's the first boss from the first Castlevania, neat," you say to youself. Then all of a sudden, two giant hands emerge from the darkness and smash it in one bloody clap. Best boss fake-out ever.
MGS2- Snake dropping off the bridge onto the ocean tanker.
ICO- All of it.
Shadow of the Colossus- The first flying colossus; standing on those stones in the water, latching onto its wing as it flies at you, then hanging on for dear life as you're taken way up into the sky.
REZ- Level 5
God of War- Pandora's Temple.
Halo- Landing during an active battle, the escape at the end.
JSRF- Sky Dinosaurian Park...
Panzer Dragoon Orta- The cinema that pans out from the tribal village, revealing it to be on the back of a huge flying stingray-type thing. The stage where you took on pretty much the entire Royal Armada.
Metroid Prime- The whole atmosphere.... got being stranded on an alien planet spot-f*cking-on.
Zelda: WW- The Frozen Castle, the flying centipede boss, the dungeon you go through with the bird girl, the Great Fairies (loved the Hindu-ispired design), the final battle with Ganon.
Resident Evil 4: The lake monster, first seeing Las Plagas pop out of a villager, the Troll battle, the fight with Bitore in the burning barn, the first fight with that blind guy with the claws, the fight with the Right Hand (Verdugo), the Regenerators, the knife fight with Krauser, the helicopter being shot down... Jesus f*cking christ, best game ever.
The first time I climbed to the highest peak in Tail of the Sun. It takes forever, but it was a really special moment for me and my brothers. We used to make a game of finding special spots in that game and "Claiming" them by naming it after ourselves.
The first time I set eyes on the Forest Temple in Ocarina of Time was one of the most amazing game experiences I've ever had. I was completely lost in the game world, to the point that I'd pretty much forgot everything else around me.
Also, thumbs up to all the mode 7 love. I still remember how amazing it was when the screen zoomed in during the intro of Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts when the demon broke through the window to capture the princess. My jaw pretty much hit the floor. It's so silly now, but in 1991, that was the most incredible thing. I'll never forget the rain in SNES Zelda, either.
The intro to RA2.
I was instantly in the game as soon as that intro was done.
Such an awesome one. Hell March combined with attack footage makes it such a powerful intro.
I've said it quite a few times now, and so have others, but when I got out of the hellish magmoor caverns and after a brief tunnel found the Phendrana Drifs lying there, snowflakes falling peacefully, everything covered in a powderish layer of snow.. no need to reach for trite cliches, but that's the single gaming moment I remember fondest.
and i'll further refine the point where i get a very very warm sense flowing over me :
it's the point where the tube comes down and all the rockets fly out and the music just changes perfectly in time to that glorious sample from the 60s song that i forget the name of.
It's like a rush you get when you are clubbing and the music hits the heights.
I find the running man sequence from Level 4 more awe inspiring personally, but it may also be a flashback from the rising acid trip I was on first time I played that one.
Others of note personally:
Syndicate - Gauss gunning a crowd and blowing up a building.
Dungeon Keeper - Possessing a troll and then turning around to witness my creature army awaiting my command.
Phantasy Star Online
Tetrisphere
The first tarty fairy in Ocarina of Time.
Swimming across the water in San Andreas and driving up the strip almost immediately after starting.
The all round assault on my senses when first starting Jet Set Radio.
Spending days doing nothing other than playing Crazy Taxi with a few friends.
Space Channel 5 Part 2's stomp choreography at the end of level 1.
Wipeout: The first big drop on Altima. That was my first PS1 experience ever, I had a preview copy of the new Soul Coughing record (Irresistable Bliss) so I was finally hearing a studio recording of "Super Bon Bon" (i.e. the greatest song written by man) and I was just "THIS IS SO NEW."
JSRF: There's that board that's all orangy and you grind these telephone cables over the roofs of this cramped village. That was just an astonishing moment.
Super Mario 64: sliding from the mountain in the first snow level SotC: 5th colossus and the one in the water with the lights (adrenaline rush!) Pilotwings 64: diving straight down from the snow mountain through the rings with the hangglider Metroid Prime: getting what the game was all about, when I bought it I hated it, then I played it again for two hours and I've NEVER changed my mind so much about any game.
And by far my favorite:
Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time
Semi-related story, one of my fondest memories of Tomb Raider was in i think this same level (kinda hard to remember the layout now), but there were raptors. And i was walking down a dark corridor in it, and i thought i heard some footsteps from a beast. I thought maybe it was, ya know, a mountain lion or some shit. Then two ****ing raptors jump out at me from the darkness and i leaped so far out of my seat that i came slamming back down and severely sprained my leg
Kingdom Hearts 2 - Even though I had seen video of it, just watching as the Title Screen came up and the absolutely beautiful Dearly Beloved remix started playing.
Indigo Prophecy - a bunch of great moments but the chaos of the car chase sequence was pretty incredible (even though that's when the game had started to head downhill). This was helped by the fact that I beat the game in 3 consecutive days between the hours of 1am-5am.
Super Metroid - Using the Power Bomb to shatter the glass corridor.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater - It was memorable even to just watch my friends play it. I coudn't wait to try it out myself.
(Depressing moment) - Heading to the Chrono Trigger Resurrection page and seeing that white background with text speaking of a Cease & Desist being issued. And the amazing trailer made it even harder to bear.
X-Men vs. Street Fighter - I saw this in arcades and the amount of mayhem on-screen was unmatched at the time.
The Sims - Playing for the first time and wondering how no one had ever thought about it before.
-Star fox SNES when you get to the last planet and about to enter the hole in the ground to fight andross, just before he enters that hole, he goes way up, then flips and boost toward it. I was in total AWE.
-System shock 2 when the many take over your perception and try to convince you to join their ranks
-Zelda wind waker, final boss fight in that surreal environment with the water falling all around the stage. video here
-Deus ex, Gunther + "Laputan machine", nuff said :lol
The entire last 2-3 hours of MGS3
Jumping to the flying colossus in SotC
Beach scene at the end of Ico
First playing Mario 64
First exploring Shenmue
Huge battle in ZoE2
Metroid saving you Super Metroid
Opening level of Sonic Adventure
Some of the amazing views in WoW
First exploring GTA3
Unveiling of MGS2
Grandia. The entire game. I don't care what anyone says, it's the only RPG world I've ever seen on that is truly alive. It's one of the few game plots to have seriously impressed me. Bonus points for Grandia II
being a direct prequel to Grandia
. I really want to know what happened to Game Arts... Sigh.
Valkyrie Profile. Lenneth is pretty much how I've always wanted a female lead to be like.
Space Channel 5. The fellow who mentioned the Ulala vs BlankTV fight is probably the only person in the universe other than me to appreciate what is probably the best final boss ever. Especially when the crowd starts chanting Ulala's moves to cheer her on.
--Metroid
Mother Brain. Never has a boss battle left me feeling so accomplished. By the end of that game, the metroids felt like my mortal enemy, and the sheer challenge of taking out their momma made victory that much sweeter. And just when youre about to celebrate, things go to hell again.
--The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
I think a common thread in moments of gaming awe is atmosphere. The opening sequence of this game had it in droves. The wait for a new Zelda may have been long, but when it came, it literally brought a thunderstorm with it.
--Super Metroid
The integration of cinema and gaming has also brought us a large number of these moments, and Super Metroid was one of gamings cinematic forerunners. No matter how well directed, choreographed, or voice-acted cinema in games becomes, for me its always most effective when youre living it, something that only video games can provide. You lived the opening sequence of this game as you watched it happen--cinema and atmosphere collided and exploded like an atom bomb. For me, this is the first of what I call experience games (which Ill get to later).
--Star Fox
This is owed completely to the visceral experience of playing it when it was new--the moment here is pressing the power button. Polygons, voice clips, enormous three-dimensional explosions, and a real sense of fast and epic sci-fi battles. Good luck.
--Resident Evil
Here, cinema left the players control, but remained effective--and Ill be damned if it wasnt great interactive B-movie cinema.
Weskers betrayal and the release of the Tyrant
were moments of horror-action perfection, and the birthing grounds of two great villains.
--Super Mario 64
Weve all got stories about this one so Ill keep it short and say this: Super Mario 64s courtyard is the ultimate gaming Zen garden.
--Star Fox 64
Another evolution of interactive cinema, and a perfect experience game. By that, I mean that the game is a virtually nonstop series of what would be the singular highlight or set piece of a standard game. Starting with the battlefield of Corneria city, the rumble, the voices, and the general sensory overload, and ending with Venom and the
appearance of James McCloud
, SF64 doesnt let up. It doesnt age, either.
--The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
This ones filled with them, and everyone seems to have their personal favorite. Mine is the ominous darkening of Hyrule field after young Link has collected the three spiritual stones, and the realization of Links dream when he encounters Ganondorf face-to-face for the very first time. It felt like living history, living fairy tale, or the beautiful balance of both.
--Skies of Arcadia
This game absolutely bled adventure; if you didnt feel like a swashbuckling air pirate, you may not have a soul. Adventure and camaraderie came to a peak for me when
the armada gathered
to take on the final threat.
--Beyond Good & Evil
Cinema and games marry with perfection here. From the widescreen presentation to the amazing original score, BG&E is another experience game through and through. The opening sequence--highlighted by the games first foray into slow-motion--hooked me mercilessly. Fortunately, the moments dont end there.
--The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
For the sake of redundancy, Ill second or third of fourth whoever said
Hyrule castle frozen in time
. Predictable, yes; but this is the moment the thread title seems to be made for.
--Resident Evil 4
That definition of an experience game I gave before? Yeah, Resident Evil 4 absolutely perfects that art--the game is the moment of awe.
Space Channel 5. The fellow who mentioned the Ulala vs BlankTV fight is probably the only person in the universe other than me to appreciate what is probably the best final boss ever. Especially when the crowd starts chanting Ulala's moves to cheer her on.
Fun thread, reading it kind of made me want to start up some of these games so I could relive some of those moments.
jko said:
Okay this was the first game I played that had full-motion video seamlessly incoporated into the gameplay. I loved it and the voice acting as well, and the game wasn't half bad.
Oh my god! Is that Lost Eden? Wow that is so long ago, I had only played the demo/shareware version back then, but it blew me away. I had never played anything that felt so cinematic in my life at the time. Shame I could never find the actual game and I've never really played it beyond the first 20mins or so.
Let's see if I can remember some more moments...
Super Mario World - I got this with my SNES and thought it was the most amazing thing ever. Great moments were visiting the Star World for the first time, confronting Bowser, finding all the hidden paths, etc.
Starwing/fox - The first time I saw the 3D graphics, the first boss, cruising through those armada ships and the green poisonous sky that filled the last level were all "OMG" moments.
Secret of Mana - Almost the whole bloody game, especially the opening screen, music, flying on flammie for the first time, visiting the Mana tree.
Killer Instinct - The first time I played it at a store. I bought it then and there.
Virtua Fighter - Seeing 3D footage like this for the first time made me drool and dream of the future!
Tekken 2 & 3 - I didn't have a PSX/n64 for a long while until I played T2 at a friends place and I was blown away. I saved up and went to buy a PSX with T3 asap, which blew me away even more.
Vagrant Story - The whole intro sequence. It's ****ing amazing.
- Jumping into the first stage (Bob-omb Battlefield) of Mario 64. The castle itself hadn't really blown me away because it wasn't "for real". But seeing the first stage laid out in front of me, with enemies running around, etc, with the music, ZOMG. Burned into the brain.
- The first stage of Yoshi's Island. It was magical and cemented in place my appreciation for Good Art and Design in videogames forever.
- The intro movie to Soul Blade and that song, Edge of Soul. That got me so pumped up for the theme of the game and the personality of the characters; I'd never gotten into a fighting game like that before, to that degree.
- The first scene in Metroid Prime. Good god, such chills down the spine, when the ship comes in, the music, Samus leaps out, and the camera pulls back through the visor. It almost felt like how the opening of a Metroid motion picture should be.
- Getting my first all-perfect steps in DDR. What's crazy is I'm not even sure which song it was; I have trouble remembering. I just remember standing there with my legs locked up tight from stress, arms out for balance, and I felt like a goddamn superhero.
- All of stage 1 in Sonic Adventure. 'Nuff said.
- Getting home with Super Ghouls & Ghosts for the SNES, ripping the shrink-wrap off the box, and starting the game up. When the first stage music kicked in with the "amazing" new SNES quality, and the ground started shaking and upheaving, and coffins began coming out of the ground, it was nearly a religious experience.
And finally:
- Zelda: LttP... which /was/ a religious experience. From the moment it started, through the five hours or so I just played and played.
God of War: First coming upon the schene where Ares is stompin all kinds of s**t in the background, with thousands of arrows flying at him, all portrayed in such scale and such atmosphere. That was when I knew God of War was not just another action game
There were plenty when I was a kid, but the only one recently...
Oblivion- When I was traveling from Bruma to teh Imperial City for the first time and you come down from the mountains. I was standing in this field of swaying wild flowers looking miles and miles into the distance, all of it anchored by the huge white gold tower in the IC. It made me feel like THAT was what people must have imagined when they invented video games. Incredible.
Strider (Arcade) - I still remember getting to the level (i think 2 or 3) where you run down that snowy mountain at full speed and then jump. At the time, the sense of freefall was amazing. (gasp!)
The first time I fought the wooden mecha in Mace: The Dark Age. Still stands as one of the most epic battles in video game history.
Pulling off a special move in Rise of the Robots. The developers of this agonizingly tough but ultimately more than fair title made pulling off special attacks a true accomplishment. Reaching robotic perfection as Brian May's legendary score screams triumphantly in the background trumps anything in Street Fighter 2. If you disagree, you are not hardcore.
Playing Rise 2: Resurrection for the first time. I cautiously attempted a special move, hoping, praying. My prayers were answered as nothing happened. I like the original better only because you can select a character in Resurrection. I see this as a compromise in the perfect original formula.
I'm sure I will remember many more in time, but here are some of my all-time fave moments in gaming.
Killer 7: Many moments from this game have floored me -- the whole Cloudman chapter, for instance -- but anyone who's beaten this game might will never dissociate "Greensleeves / What Child Is This?" from a sequence close to the end.
not to mention the revealing of the whole plot, when Emir opens his case
Zelda: Wind Waker: Pretty much what everyone said.
Hyrule castle frozen in time, and bursting to life in color
and the last battle's area is breathtaking, with all the
columns of water falling around you, it's the end!
Baten Kaitos: It's funny how this game starts as your usual JRPG fare, and suddenly it starts giving you all these plot-twists, namely
Kalas' betrayal, Mizuti's true nature, Queen Xelha and Gibari being a Knight
. And I still haven't finished this game, 'cause the last battle is downright insane.
Zelda: A Link to the Past - Going to the Dark World. Man, seriously -- I guess no one expected that.
Final Fantasy IV: Cecil's huge ordeal
transforming from Dark Knight to Paladin as he faced himself
.
Half-Life 1
except Xen's jumpy sequences
and Half-Life 2, including Episode One, in their whole.
Actraiser: The whole game was excellent, but saving the world
just to see that people forget their deity when their life is doing well
was even better.
Deus Ex: finding out you do have options in a game back then was awesome. Not to mention three different endings.
Metroid Prime 2: sneaking around U-Mos at the Luminoth Temple to see him conjure a ball of light, attracting all the flying bugs to it was really awesome.
Eternal Darkness: the über-ending after you defeat the game three times. Oh, man.
Wing Commander: running from the Briefing Room to the ship. Very cinematic.
and on a very special note,
Final Fantasy VIII: the moment I uninstalled the game was magical. I couldn't stand it.
Metroid - The final escape from Zebes after destroying Mother Brain. Mindblowing back in the day.
Super Mario Bros. 2 - Waking up to realize it was just a dream.
Bionic Commando - Escaping the enemy base with Super Joe with mere seconds to spare.
Zelda II - Seeing the sleeping visage of Princess Zelda in the background inside Hyrule Castle.
Super Mario Bros. 3 - Flying for the very first time. Not to mention Kuribo's Shoe, the Tanooki Suit, and the insane of variety packed into that little cart.
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood - The chariot fight against Death.
Super Metroid - The entire lair coming to life after you pick up the Morphiung Ball.
Final Fantasy 6 - The moment Celes, along with Sabin, Edgar and Setzer find Darill's airship, giving them a legitimate feeling of hopefulness after the "destruction" of the world.
Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - Touch fuzzy, get dizzy.
Haven't I seen this thread before... but on the other hand there can't be enough of such threads, so...
(short list)
Silent Hill (PS1)
- When you enter the garden of the doghouse (already mentioned)
- After the first boss battle. This is the all time winner.
- Almost all cutscenes with Lisa.
Privateer add-on Righteous Fire (PC):
- Landing on the
Retro planet
and talking to the priest. Makes you shudder and BTW great music.
Earth 2150 (PC):
- Starting Eurasian campaign. Playing this spoiled Metroid Prime's Phendrana Drifts for me.
Wind Waker (GC)
- Link nods and smiles when offering his help to the bird people. It doesn't get cuter than this.
- First Boss takes the stage
- Countless others
Shadow of the Colossus (PS2):
- Killing the first colossus (already mentioned)
- Getting to the southern border of the land.
Killer 7 (GC):
- Just starting the game is a real eye-opener.
- Last part of the first mission.
- Must play more.
Silent Hill 2 (PS2):
- James looks at himself in the mirror. Wow.
Gitaroo Man (PS2):
- Failing on the acoustic guitar stage. LOL
rebel assault (PC) - seeing the first level and hearing the music... so different from the midi world of console games
sonic - getting the speed boots for the first time
mario 64 - just starting the game and walking around... moving the joystick lightly... seeing how mario reacted
super mario bros - the first time you get the warp zone in 1-2
super mario bros 3 - getting the warp whistle in the first castle
zelda 2 - getting the candle and reexploring all of the dark caves
zelda oot - lighting the stick on fire for the first time... genius
zelda 3 - the opening scenario with his uncle and walking through the dungeon... going to the sanctuary.... that was incredibly well-scripted... it was inspiring...
zelda (GB) - the ending sequence where the island was just a dream
super metroid - getting the power bomb
super contra - the first mode 7 level
castlevania - hearing the music and seeing the castle in the background - fighting the head at the end of the first level... actually being scared :lol
super mario kart - racing in the ghost house for the first time and using the feather shortcut
starfox 64 - first level w/ rumble for the first time... wow... the cinematics.. the voices... it was amazing
wave race - doing the water dive for the first time... the physics were out of this world
quake 1 - 3d engine for the first time... the physics.. the freedom to move the mouse around... amazing
gl quake - a new era of graphics had arrived...
doom 1 - cyberdemon... first time on dwango
we love katamari (since i missed the first) - rolling up the clouds
shadow of the colossus - #5, running sideways on the horse and then jumping onto the colossus - basically every colossus felt awesome here...
ico - the first time those shadow monsters took yorda away... i felt so bad
metal gear solid 2 - the first boss fight... seeing the rain... graphical details... etc. it was true next gen
secret of mana - first time playing with a friend... co-op... so much fun
devil may cry - the first time using your sword to swing up a baddy.. jumping up and blasting your guns on the way down... not that it wasn't repititive later.. just saying... it was cool the first time
goldenye - the first level... objective based... rare was onto something and executed it well enough that half life and others would follow for years to come... multiplayer FPS on console.. how great.. but how evil... hundreds would cash in later
metal gear solid 3 - end sequence
wind waker - the final battle... the story.. etc. etc.
street fighter 2 - doing a hadoken with ryu for the first time
1. First finding Krains area in Metroid (NES)
2. Finaly figuring out what "Dodongo dislikes smoke" means
3. Playing Final Fantasy 2 (SNES) for 20 hours straight when I first got it.
4. Single player Halo (yes the whole game)
5. Fighting Alma in Ninja Gaiden and seeing her hurl columns from the church at you for the first time
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