Famitsu Weekly, the leading Japanese game magazine, recently ran a poll online to determine which games literally drove players to tears. The 20 most popular choices were as follows (thanks to Andriasang for formatting the list):
- Final Fantasy X (Square Enix, PS2, 7/19/2001)
- Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix, PSP, 9/13/2007)
- Okami (Capcom, PS2, 4/20/2006)
- Clannad (Gung-Ho Works, PS2, 2/23/2006)
- Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater (Konami, PS2, 11/17/2004)
- Steins;Gate (5pb., Xbox 360, 10/15/2009)
- AIR (Incerchannel, Dreamcast, 9/20/2001)
- Final Fantasy VII (Square Enix, 3DS, 1/31/1997)
- Mother 3 (Nintendo, GBA, 4/20/2006)
- Final Fantasy Type-0 (Square Enix, PSP), 10/27/2011)
- Little Busters! Converted Edition (Prototype, PS2, 12/24/2009)
- Final Fantasy IX (Square Enix, PS, 7/7/2000)
- NieR Replicant (Square Enix, PS3, 4/22/2010)
- 428 (Sega, Wii, 12/4/2008)
Six-way tie for 15th place:
- Tales of the Abyss (Namco Bandai, PS2, 12/15/2005)
- Metal Gear Solid 4 (Konami, PS3, 6/12/2008)
- Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix, PS3, 12/17/2009)
- Tales of Legendia (Namco Bandai, PS2, 8/25/2005)
- ICO (Sony, PS2, 12/6/2001)
- Shadow of the Colossus (Sony, PS2, 10/27/2005)
It’s not surprising to see so many Final Fantasy titles make the cut, since — before Square Enix ran the series into the ground — the franchise was known for its top-shelf cinematics and compelling stories that expertly explored life, love, sacrifice, and everything in between. Recent releases have carried the torch in terms of production values, but the stories and characters have left much to be desired.
Personally, I’ve only cried once while playing a game — after getting hit by the 50th spiky blue shell during Mario Kart Wii and losing to a not-so-humble 11-year-old. God I hate that game…