Top 20 Defining Video Game Moments of the Century So Far
#20: Tidus & Yuna Embrace
“Final Fantasy X” (2001) We’re starting off with a sequence that was released all the way back in 2001, and yet the beauty of this incredible CG sequence still holds up to this day. Over the course of the game, Tidus & Yuna had the chance to have some incredible heart to heart moments, even if the internet laughed at a particular one. (The laughing scene). Yet this scene established them as one of the most iconic video game couples ever, and this scene is the reason why. The beautiful, romantic setting; the build up and emotion payoff; and the beautiful “Suteki Da Ne” or “Isn’t it Wonderful” by Japanese singer “RIKKI” all blend together in this artistic wonder.
#19: Suicide Mission
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“Mass Effect 2” (2010) Mass Effect 2’s final mission remains one of the greatest climaxes in all of gaming. Everything depends entirely on your preparation alone, and the complexity of the choices remains astounding. If you haven’t prepped the Normandy correctly or send a crew member to do a task they’re not cut out for, someone can die. If you lose everyone, you’ll die too. It serves as the ultimate final task and perfect closure to this incredible space opera. If only the rest of the series could follow suit.
#18: Sora’s Sacrifice
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“Kingdom Hearts” (2002) While a lot of titles rely on killing to make gameplay intense and exciting, it’s always nice to be reminded of our better nature through games. And, there’s nothing more human than a truly selfless act to save the life of another. Thus, when Sora plunges the keyblade to sacrifice his heart – so that it may be given to save Kairi & the Disney Princesses – it reminds us all of the power of humanity to do good in the face of evil. Even more defining was the result, as Kairi would in turn protect Sora allowing him to return to human form, although we later learn it was this action that allowed for Roxas to be born.
#17: First Colossus Encounter
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“Shadow of the Colossus” (2005) There are few experiences in gaming as awe-inspiring as the first time you encounter a colossus. Seeing this hulking beast off in the distance, and realizing you can climb and – eventually – kill it, was a level of interactivity we weren’t used to in the Mid-2000s. However, the ambiguous feeling we were left with after the colossus bled out and fell to its death is what stays with us to this day, as killing something so beautiful and majestic left us conflicted.
#16: The Bathtub
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“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015) Of all the ways one could have started this long awaited 3rd entry, we certainly weren’t expecting this; Introducing Geralt lounging naked in a bathtub. The seemingly innocuous scene sent fans into a frenzy and even became a popular meme online. Even the live-action show on Netflix referenced the meme. There isn’t much to say about this scene, but there is a lot to look at. It may not be the most eventful moment, but it is the most memorable of the series.
#15: John Marston’s Last Stand
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“Red Dead Redemption” (2010) Red Dead Redemption 2 was full of memorable moments, including Arthur showing his vulnerable side and admitting he’s terrified of his tuberculosis. The most defining moment of the series comes at the end of the original redemption, however. Trapped inside a barn by the law he helped the entire game, players are faced with a last stand situation with no chance of survival. Deadeye activates for John Marston’s last time so you can take as many of them with you as possible. After this moment of devastating shock however, came the ultimate form of vengeance from John’s son Jack.
#14: Ezio Meets Altair & Desmond
“Assassin’s Creed Revelations” (2011) While Revelations might not be the strongest “Assassin’s Creed” title, it does house some of the franchises incredible moments. Since Altair, Ezio & Desmond all lived in different time periods, the chances of them crossing paths was thought impossible, but Ezio defied all this, by finding his ancestor Altair’s corpse in his own desolate library, and gets the opportunity to witness his final moments through a precursor artifact. Shortly after, he manages to speak to his descendant Desmond Miles, bypassing hundreds of years of separation. This ending was surprising, groundbreaking, and mind-blowing. Imagine meeting your descendants hundreds of years from now. What would you tell them?
#13: The Marshmello Event
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“Fortnite” (2017) Love it or hate it, Fornite has completely redefined video gaming culture. While it didn’t create the Battle Royale genre, it’s overwhelming impact on mainstream pop culture was influential, it was able to create news headlining events, and it all started by having a Marshmallo Concert live and in-game. It felt like playing the future. It completely changed the way that pop culture can influence games and brought about an era of in-game events from various series, including a Thanos experience and later a Star Wars one.
#12: Ravenholm
“Half-Life 2” (2004) There are few developers out there that are able to commit to such defining and innovating moments as Valve has been able to do. This horror-themed stage in “Half-Life 2” was not only scary, but it really showed off what the Source Engine was capable of in the Mid-2000s; as, we were able to manipulate giant sawblades with our newly obtained gravity gun, slice enemies in half, and launch explosive barrels into the distance. The level of freedom this stage brought gamers felt like a revelation at the time.
#11: Train Sequence
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“Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” (2009) We take it for granted nowadays that Uncharted gave us elaborate, interactive action sequences, but perhaps the franchise’s finest moment in this regard happened over a decade ago. The amount of attention to detail in the train sequence in “Among Thieves'' was mind blowing, and it actually felt like we were playing a Michael Bay movie on a home console. Tons of shootouts, blasting down helicopters, surviving death-defying leaps… Oh and the fact that the background doesn’t repeat as is usually the case with train levels for other titles! This moment came to define the series moving forward.
#10: New Donk City Celebration
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“Super Mario Odyssey” (2017) The fact that Mario has continued to be a pop culture mainstay for 4 decades now, speaks volumes about his legacy. And this celebration in New Donk City serves as an incredible tribute to his name. It’s a blast through the past as you take control of retro Mario and run through various 2d side-scrolling levels while a concert plays in the background. Mario even gets to relive his origin story as Jumpman as he leaps over barrels comes face to face with a surprise cameo appearance from Donkey Kong. And all to the sound of one of the catchiest songs to come out of gaming this century.
#9: Fighting The Boss
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“Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater” (2004) There are more than enough amazing moments in the Metal Gear series to pick from since the Year 2000. Returning to Shadow Moses Island (in all its PSOne Era polygonal glory) during a flashback in “MGS 4” was unforgettable, but defeating “The Boss” was essentially the moment that Jack became Big Boss; the moment that the student was reluctantly forced to take the life of his teacher whom he believed had turned traitorous. The moment carries even more devastating weight during the ending when Big Boss finally learns the truth about why The Boss did what she did.
#8: “You Died”
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“SoulsBorne” series (2009-) The SoulsBorne had an immense impact on future games, as its challenging combat system was implemented into many franchises to come. One of the most iconic lines, however, happened when you were killed. The blatant “You Died” screen infuriated and humored players so much so, that it became a massive meme, finding its way into pop culture. While “Demon’s Souls” was the first to use the term, many feel that the larger popularity of “Dark Souls” made it infamous. Yet it showed us all that immense satisfaction can come from challenge. So no matter how many we saw these 7 letters, we were just as eager to try again.
#7: Lighting Halo
“Halo 3” (2007) In the first Halo, we learned that lighting the Halo would cause all sentient life in the galaxy to be wiped out, all in an effort to starve the parasitic Flood. So what happens when you light an unfinished one? You get this incredible, white-knuckled escape sequence that capped off the finale of the original trilogy. This had us tingling all over in excitement; The environment exploding all around us, trying to avoid getting killed by lingering enemies and just trying like all hell to stay alive on the way to our ship’s hanger is about as nerve wracking as gaming gets. Not to mention the epic theme song playing in the background.
#6: The Village Attacks
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“Resident Evil 4” (2005) This was the moment in “RE4” when Leon first shows up to the village, that players realized this game was going to be something else. While previous Resident Evil titles were made up of zombies that you could easily avoid or outrun. “Resident Evil 4’s” village arrival set the stage for what was going to be an intense roller coaster. Not only are the enemies much more aggressive and intelligent, their sheer numbers can easily leave the player overwhelmed. It was harrowing, tense … and we had only just gotten started.
#5: By the Book
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“Grand Theft Auto 5” (2013) You can’t talk about a decade of gaming without mentioning “Grand Theft Auto”, and you can’t talk about “Grand Theft Auto” without mentioning the controversy it causes with every major release. Determined to find the infamous Mr. K, your job is to get the suspect to talk… by any means necessary. Not only can you choose which torture devices to use, but you also have to monitor his heart rate to make sure you don’t accidentally kill him while torturing him. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it continues to show that Rockstar is eager to push the boundaries further, than other developers out there.
#4: The Last of Us Ending
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“The Last of Us” (2013) There is a very good reason why so many gamers continue to talk about “The Last Of Us” and this scene is just one of many examples. Having seen Joel and Ellie’s relationship flourish over the course of the game, Joel has a moral dilemma: save Ellie, or sacrifice her at the slim chance of a world saving vaccine. Joel instead chooses Ellie and proceeds to kill the Fireflies, only to be confronted by Ellie afterward. Ellie asking Joel to swear that he’s telling the truth was extremely hard to watch, and his answer was even more so. And to this day everyone continues to debate whether or not Joel did the right thing.
#3: White Phosphorus Bombing
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“Spec Ops: The Line” (2012) It was one of the most surprising and brutal scenes in gaming, ever. There are plenty of war games, but none that make you face the gravity of your decisions like this. Both heartbreaking and jaw-dropping, players are forced to walk through the disfigured bodies of soldiers they had just bombed with white phosphorus - and on a civilian camp. Not only did this leave gamers with a haunting scene they would never forget, but it also made them aware of the devastating consequences of this not so well known real life weapon. If you weren’t talking about White Phosphorus after playing, you weren’t paying attention.
#2: Would You Kindly
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“Bioshock” (2007) It’s gone down in history as one of the most popular plot twists of all time; how something so subtle as a colloquial phrase; could actually be a weapon for something more sinister. Learning that our protagonist, Jack, had been under the mind-control of Atlas – through the words “Would You Kindly” – in order to assassinate Andrew Ryan was a twist we never saw coming and one we’ve never seen since. It’s hard to understate how important this moment is in video game narratives growing up and dealing with subjects once unheard of in gaming. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: Leaving Vault 101 “Fallout 3” (2008) Retrieving the Blades of Chaos “God of War” (2018) Still Alive Song “Portal” (2007) Killing or Leaving Lee “The Walking Dead” (2012) The Sink Baby “PT” (2014)
#1: The Nuke
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“Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (2007) How many games gave you missions where you fought like hell to survive only to be killed no matter what? Not many, right? Well, “Modern Warfare” not only did this, but it pulled it off with a tragic weight rarely seen in games. As, the final moments of Sgt. Jackson’s life – with the mushroom clouds roll toward him, – are shocking and unforgettable. It would take its sequel in “Modern Warfare 2” to give us this same sense of shock with the airport massacre in No Russian. Arguably both these moments combined helped “Call of Duty” in making it the defining juggernaut it is today.
