Dark Cloud/Tear Jerker


 * No Dark Cloud? This troper cannot believe. Okay, seriously, in Dark Chronicle (or Dark Cloud 2), Chapter 3 (The Sage who Became a Star). EVERY SINGLE FREAKING MOMENT after Lin wakes up. In this chapter, you must, at first, find a way to wake the apprentice of a famous Sage called Crest, who died some months prior to Max's and Monica's arrival while trying to protect a great magic crystal from Gaspard. The flashbacks of Lin and Crest are absolutely beautiful, but what really did it for this troper was his death. And even more, Lin talking to his corpse that he was the only sage for her. Oh god, it's happening again... * wipes tears*
 * Gaspard's final battle and death for me. After Max defeats him, he shares his backstory with the heroes in a deliberate Not So Different moment, pulls a partial Heel Face Turn (he basically decides to become neutral) and wishes them well on their quest, and prepares to leave the conflict. Then Emperor Griffon pulls a Villain Override on Gaspard and forces him to attack Max and Monica. After that battle, as Gaspard lies dying, he ruefully says he won't be able to see the end of their journey, and Monica, who had until then hated him for killing her father, grieves for him and curses Griffon.
 * This is made either worse or better, when you realize that the developers realized the scene was so heart-wrenching, they added a scene where Gaspard, now a child again, reunites with his mom in the afterlife, telling her his story about what happened, and with her saying that he found what she asked him to find. This troper always took that statement to mean that he found the will to forgive humans. In his last breath, he was able to finally forgive.
 * Chapter 7. EVERYTHING in chapter 7. As you run through the Chapter, you get flashbacks that define Griffon's backstory:  And finally, FINALLY, when you have to fight him, you are thinking in the back of your head about how to save him. And then, right when you think you saved him,   This game really, REALLY loves that trick. It loves to actually make you sympathize with the characters, and then kills them off as soon as you save them. It really hurts, and I can't stop crying when I think about it...
 * Part of the ending..
 * No one's mentioned the  Even if the last bit is just a vision for them, it's still a deserved ending for them.