Hmmm, Marston’s first ride into Mexico in RDR1. The quiet moment, with the song that fades in. I felt like I was in a foreign, unfamiliar land as much as John.
And another moment that stuck with me, in a not so pleasant way, was the beginning of Homefront. You watch a mother & father get forcibly separated from their kids by soldiers who then execute their parents right in front of them. It was hard to watch for me.
Old School…
having figured out how to hook up and tweak your 56k modem, join GameSpy then boot up Quake online for the very first time and then realise that all those other avatars running around on screen and totally owning you are real people.
the very first time you played Half-Life and actually realised that it’s you in the opening credits / sequence.
World of Warcraft…
loading up WoW for the very first time and realising that this is a whole world with tens / thousands / millions of other people
Alterac Valley when it used to last hours if not days
walking through the gate and entering the Burning Crusade for the very first time and thinking what the bloody hell is going on!
Your first raid, followed by every other drunken
night raiding experience that followed.
And the rest…
Portal then Portal 2
Convinced that your rubbish at Bloodborne and what’s the big deal about this game, until suddenly, finally, it just clicks and from then on nothing else matters as every single second from then on is gaming nirvana.
Great topic! Let me contribute:
I cried during a boss battle and I know how hilarious this sounds. Literal tears were streaming down my face while I fought the boss but I kept going. This whole sequence struck me really deep, this whole game resonated with me on such deep level. In the end it felt like I have learned plenty of life lessons after experiencing this masterpiece of a game.
I really don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll be very vague. This is a game that must be played, not just watched, but played and you really understand why later on. I have never felt so much emotion over pressing a key on a keyboard. In the beginning I thought I was getting into just the next casual puzzle-adventure game but in the end it turned out to be so much more. I’ll just say that it was truly an unforgettable experience. and a heart-rending one of all.
It’s a pretty old game that pretty much no one knows of, yeah. But for me it’s the memories of my childhood that make it so special (also the puzzles are so good I had fun struggling on them for hours to count). I remember this moment of excitement and almost unbelief that I finally managed to run it again after so many years. I thought it wasn’t possible. I’ve been searching for so long because I had forgotten the name. It felt so great when I finally found it - like I have found a long lost part of myself. And even greater when I played it through once more. I remembered every hallway, every puzzle and how much I sucked at them as a kid. Replaying it was visiting old memories that I’m very fond of. Funny enough, the game is titled Keepsake and that’s exactly what it is for me.
Earthbound
Walking home with Paula after Giygas has been defeated. It feels like an emotional trip where you have the time to reflect on everything that happened in game.
Metal Gear Solid 2
The colonel/AI starting to glitch because of the virus, a beautifully foreshadowed moment that feels amazing in its pay-off.
Portal
The moment where GladOS plans on incinerating you and there’s the way out, which the game doesn’t tell you directly, but through the environment. I felt like a genius for escaping fate, but afterwards I felt the game was genius for making me feel that way. It all felt so natural.
Dark Souls
The first time I came full circle back to the firelink shrine after ringing the bell. The fear of going into new territory, after beating the gargoyles and the relief of it actually being familiar ground, and the way it just clicks into place in your head
The one that often comes to mind is Valkyrie Profile 2. There is a scene when your characters cross the Rainbow Bridge into Valhalla, and the scene really blew me away visually. I care very little for graphics, and I think gamers (and especially game designers) generally make too much of them. So much can be conveyed by the slightest change of pixel (this comment dates me, I know). But this scene from Valkyrie Profile 2 was simply stunning. It was from here that I finally began to understand what good graphics could do.
Journey. The game itself was a spiritual experience for me. I really can’t pick any part of it. It was all so amazing.
Most of my moments, though, come from SNES and PS1. I have trouble picking out particular moments (like with Journey), though the combination of music, visuals, and the story are important. They’re not moments of big reveals (though a certain moment in FFVII that struck all of my generation does come to mind), but the slow, even plod of the game. I remember many times during Chrono Trigger where I really felt the pain, suffering, and heroism of the main chracters; or the deepening mystery of Fei from Xenogears; or the environmental tragedy of Wild Arms. I think, if I were to consider particular moments, I’d pick out those times when the game designers had the courage to say something that, for the time, was really beyond what video games were “expected” to do. There was an atmosphere of exploration, or concern, or hope, or something that didn’t necessarily bring a character, story, or even home for me, but brought me beyond myself and into another world. This atmosphere made all the difference.
It’s a little silly now, but I remember being so blown away by Neverwinter Nights when it first came out. After Baldur’s Gate, the graphics were nothing short of impressive. And you could scroll in and out!
Dragon Age II’s “All That Remains”, particularly playing female Hawke. Jo Wyatt’s voice acting in that questline is nothing short of stunning.
Mass Effect 2–the loss in the opening scenes, with the piano playing in the background. And the reunion with Joker later: “I guess we’ll have to give her a name” makes me smile every time.
ME3–leaving Earth, and working with Mordin on Tuchanka.
And while there are many stunning moments in Planescape Torment, I think the first time I really grasped the magnitude of the game was sampling the menu in the Smoldering Corpse Bar. All that vivid, lovingly detailed description–I should have been on guard then for the Sensates, but was still utterly unprepared to have my heart broken.
And I too fondly remember the hours-long battles in Alterac Valley!
It’s a little silly now, but I remember being so blown away by Neverwinter Nights when it first came out. After Baldur’s Gate, the graphics were nothing short of impressive. And you could scroll in and out!
Haha, i remember thinking it was really really ugly and a step down from BG. 
Yeah, the graphics certainly were…blocky. BG had prettier environments, but the comparative depth and detail was amazing at the time. Your character had a visible face! And they had some movement animations!
Then KOTOR came out and just put NWN’s efforts to shame.
The ending of all the original bungie trilogy of halos.