This recent survey, asking of Japanese gamers “Which games moved you to tears?”, presents some interesting results.
The resultant ranking:
1. Final Fantasy X (PS2)
2. Clannad (Xbox360, etc.)
3. Crisis Core – Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
4. Metal Gear Solid 3 – Snake Eater (PS2)
5. Kanon (PSP, etc.)
6. Tales of the Abyss (PS2)
7. AIR (PSP, etc.)
8. Dragon Quest V (DS, etc.)
9. Final Fantasy VII (PS, etc.)
10. Little Busters! (PC)
Via Dengeki.
The sample was mostly male, and this perhaps goes some way to explaining why 53% of those asked reported never having been moved to tears by a game. Presumably they were unmoved by film or novel either?
Personally, I was surprised to see a Metal Gear game make the cut – perhaps they were tears of joy that the story had finally ended. The presence of RPGs and visual novels is quite expected however, and it is gratifying to see a magnificent title such as Tales of the Abyss feature.
Since it perhaps would not be in the spirit of the investigation, I will spare you any evaluation of the statistical validity of the results and instead pose the questions: what do you think of these results, and which game have you found most moving?
The only games that have moved me to tears have been visual novels.
Clannad, saya no uta, utawarerumono and ever 17 to be precise.
I played Metal Gear 3 and enjoyed it! It didn’t make me cry though… That one electrified guy (can’t remember his name) was a bitch to kill though. Fighting him almost brought me to tears…
Final Fantasy X… #1?
What is this? Explain this madness.
MGS33 had the nice touch of makiing you pull the trigger at the end, it shifts out of the cutscene with you immobile standing there and press[] boom!
I choked up in Klonoa and Zone of Enders but maybe im just a crybaby. The MGS1 characters were emotive despite having smudges for faces
i think final fantasy X should f♥♥k off and give its place to Tomoyo After ~ It’s A Wonderful Life~ that is the most heart touching game I’ve ever played