I don't think you can take credit for the ending, trippy, can you?

When I close my eyes that's what I see. So I can only presume that Phil Fish climbed into my ear one night when I was sleeping and looked at the back of my eyelids.

I always remember buzzing with adrenaline on the Warthog run in the first Halo when I first played it.

Half Life 2 - Ravenholm.

Destiny - Beating Atheon for the first time / Vault of Glass generally.

Metal Gear Solid - Psycho Mantis and the controller.

Burnout 2 (crash mode) - To this day Ive never seen so many non gamers in a household join in the fun.

Gunstar Heroes - Refusing to fight each other.

Can we do memorable moments?  Beating my time on the Chessboard stage of Trials HD by an unprecedented amount (seriously, it would've taken me into the top 10-25 in the world based on the clock at the final checkpoint), but mistiming the very last bit and watching my crumpled rider swinging back and forth on the chandelier.  Unforgettable for all the wrong reasons, I sat and watched it for a good two minutes before the darkness lifted.

wonderbanana wrote:

I always remember buzzing with adrenaline on the Warthog run in the first Halo when I first played it.
Half Life 2 - Ravenholm.
Metal Gear Solid - Psycho Mantis and the controller.

To this I'd like to add

Ocarina of Time - stepping out onto Hyrule Field for the first time.
Doom 64 - looking out of a window to see the surface of Mars with the Earth hanging in the sky.
Tetris - whenever you beat a high score.
Batman: Arkham City - Call of Duty 4 - Half Life and Halo 2 - the monorail ride.
Manhunt - the feeling of cathartic revulsion the first time you choke a man to death with a plastic bag, hack off his head, then throw his severed bonce to distract another guard.
Metal Slug 3 - when you realised that getting vomited on by a zombie doesn't kill you (at least, not in the traditional video game sense).
Metroid Fusion - any time you and SA-X are on the screen at the same time.
Perfect Dark - the first time you deploy a laptop gun as a turret.
ZombiU - the first time you lose a survivor and realise you can't get them back.
Portal - any "ah ha!" moment.
Shenmue - spending your pocket money on gacha toys.
Silent Hill - the opening sequence. A masterpiece of suspense building.
Super Mario 64 - jumping in paintings, chasing the rabbit, finding the slide. All of it, really.

Will do a proper post later, but I do have quite a few magic moment memories. One of the first that comes to mind is when Saviour Sephiroth descends to the tune of One Winged Angel. What a moment.

Running Man for me.

Anyway, Rez is arguably the purest video game ever made. Its above this thread.

In chronological order, I'm sure there are more.

1. My first boss victory - namely taking out the mothership in Phoenix (arcade). Phoenix was quite a game when it first appeared in the arcade. It was a shmup - but it had recharging shield, hidden point bonuses depending on how you hit enemies, and of course it had the boss motherhip. Felt epic, looked and sounded great - I can still remember the buzz I had from playing that game.

2. First game of Tempest - 2nd big buzz I ever got in the arcade. The first time you zoom down the tube at the end of the level and see the next level off in the distance in miniature coming toward you complete with controllable claw, and that peerless spinner control.

3. Coming across Combat on a 2600 setup for demo in a shop. My two cousins, my bro and I were eventually thrown out. You can get that at home? Fuck me.

3. Finding Special World in SMW - a hidden world within a hidden world. My mind boggled.

4. Mario 64. So many moments - gaming was re-invented here. When you push that stick forward and then when you discover you can tip toe. The jingle when you find a secret. Climbing to the top of a level and looking around.

5. Parodius 2 (aka Fantastic Journey) on the Sega Saturn. There's a level that has you speeding through horizontal tunnels and at the start the William Tell Overture kicks in.

6. F-Zero X. I'm still getting off on this game. Flying around a mad undulating track, power-bar flashing, last bend before the energiser area, your rival just in front. What a rush.

7. When you "get" Mushi Futari - the feeling of switching between the A and B shot and knowing what you are doing while tap-dodging and herding those bullets. Then taking out a large enemy just in time to get a bullet cancel so you don't have to do a heroic cut-back. Just so good.

My own personal revelation in Dark Souls about myths as a method of control and my subsequent shift from trying to save the world to bringing about its end.

davyK wrote:

When you "get" Mushi Futari - the feeling of switching between the A and B shot and knowing what you are doing while tap-dodging and herding those bullets. Then taking out a large enemy just in time to get a bullet cancel so you don't have to do a heroic cut-back. Just so good.

I have no clue what any of that means but it sounds....hard to do!

Bioshock
The voices in the dark, telling me they can see me.

Banjo Kazooie
Realising how Clickclock woods functioned.

GTAO
Mucking around with some mates, we were buzzing the prison, they were in helicopters, I was in a cargo plane.
They all got shot down by Police Helicopters, being heavily armoured I took a few whirly birds down using the wings of my plane.
Began to burn up, I ejected from the plane, parachuting down while firing at the pigs.
Looking for a landing spot I noticed a train going past.
I dived in the back of the train and fended off helicopters until getting into a tunnel.
Nearly out of ammo, low on health and with my car miles away I was stranded. Until I realised my mate had chased the train down the tunnel in his car.
I jumped onto his car as he brought to a stop in a gap in the tunnel, jumped in the passenger seat and burnt it of just as another mate attempted to kamikaze a plane into us.
Couldn't script that shit better.

Journey - all of it, but in particular the end after the end of ya know what I mean. So amazing and beautiful

Bioshock- Mid-point of original Bioshock was a great moment for me. Not so much the reveal/twist; but the whole control and no control gubbins and smashing that face. 

Halo CE - final escape was exhilarating and pumping

Dark Souls - Gwyn fight was all sorts of badass and awesome and oh that music


Castlevania SotN - now the real Castlevania begins (inverted castle reveal)

FF7 - Aeris death. Killing off a main character so early, you jacking what?!

Last of Us - lots of moments but end of intro (it gets me), giraffe moment, Ellie in bedroom after she runs off, last bit (not gameplay but reasons etc). Game so best. 

Tomb Raider OG - T. rex

Mario 64 - this is 3D everyone

Walking Desd - man, fuck that bit at the end. Broke my heart. Broke my fucking heart. 

FF13 - Oerba. Not sure if there is anyone on this forum that will share the feeling/moment. But Oerba when you finally got there, was a moment for me. The music, the melancholy setting and realising what happened, what was left behind, the loss... I dunno.  Was a moment for me. And then you fight Barthandalus. Again. 

Spec Ops The Line - that attack and the aftermath. And when you realise what you've done. One of my fave games from last gen. 

Red Dead Redemption - Please no one spoil it for me. I hear there are moments of greatness. I still need to finish it. 

Day zero of L4D online with badgers. Absolute holy shit insanity. I've went through it before on here, but the point where we locked down a house and hit some kind of switch or something, then The Director decided to change the music, and we looked outside at the hordes coming at us.
"Use the Molotov!", either G or Gunn shouted. The sight of tons of zombies running through the flames as we all shat ourselves was complete hilarity and fear. So, so great. Nothing has topped it since for sheer freshness and trepidation online.

Costa Sprint - Forza Horizon 2 by way of FNF.
Pick a Ferrari. And feel it glide through those corners, Bombay Bicycle Club pounding out, Hair/Frantic/Webbins/G/Iain/Goobs etc etc in my ear, patter flowing. I love it.

Learning to play We Heart Katamari. The moment you first start rolling up people and buildings after starting with drawing pins and paper clips at the start of the level. Absolute joy.

And of course, Area 4 of Rez. Pure gaming.

Half Life 2 - chase scene from waterworks level. That was blockbuster stuff. Which reminds me of... 

MGS3 - that whole final section, right up to epic ending that leaves a bitter taste in mouth. Talking about heart-pumping popcorn blockbuster Shagohod chase scene followed by beautiful last fight.
Also, The End fight. Specially with 5.1 surround sound.

ICO - the bit where you lose her to the Queen and drop down, right down to last fight and ending. Just gotta get to her, just gotta save her... And then she saves you. Final bit on beach. Touching. And also...

SotC - most of it is awesome. But again they got the feels just right with the final fight (atmosphere etc) and the reveal and ending. Can't wait for Last Guardian.